Nov 27 (DM) The JVP said they would not align with any political party at the upcoming elections, its MP and Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath said today. He told a news conference that the JVP would contest the upcoming elections with a unique policy and manifesto under the bell Symbol. He said President Maithripala Sirisena was bidding time without resolving the current political crisis which had plunged more..

Nov 27 (DM) Two underworld figures, Habarakada Wasantha and Meegoda Upul, were killed in a shoot-out with police at Rukmalgama, Kottawa, this evening (26). The shooting occurred when STF officers visited the Rukmalgama area to gather information on organised crime in the area. �Some individuals opened fire at an STF officer, and after an exchange of fire, two people were found dead. They were admitted to the Homagama Hospital. They were dead at the time of admission,� more..

Nov 27 (CT) Both, public and Very Important Persons galleries in Parliament will be closed during the sittings today. Accordingly, no one would be allowed inside the gallery except for media personnel as same as it was on 19 and 23 Nov. Dept of the Sergeant-at-Arms decided to restrict the gallery to the public following the violence which erupted at the Chamber on 16 Nov. Meanwhile, UPFA said that it would take a decision on whether to attend the Sittings after holding its more..

Nov 27 (DN) Govt is seriously thinking about boycotting Parliament. One political party should have a minimum number of 19 seats in the Parliament to have a seat (place) in the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) and therefore the Speaker�s appointments are not acceptable at all, SLPP Chairman G.L. Peiris said. He said that both the JVP and TNA cannot have places in the PSC because when 225 seats more..

Nov 27 (DM) The one month long current political mess demands rectification in presumptions on two important matters that involve the country�s Constitution. One is the importance of the majority power in the Parliament and the other being the crossover by the people�s representatives from one party to another. Majority in Parliament is not a matter of ego or ritual; rather it is a matter of practicality. If we are to put it in simple terms, a ruling party must have a relatively consistent more..

Nov 27 (DM) There was some hope for Sri Lanka when the majority within the parliament came together to move a no-confidence motion against the Sirisena-Rajapaksa Govt. But togetherness seems to have been temporary with both the TNA and the JVP making it clear that they wish to be no part of a broad alliance that the UNP wishes to form in the future. In other words the forces who love and promote democracy are in a way divided; hence a divided Sri Lanka! more..

Nov 27 (DM) Minister Wijith Wijayamuni Zoysa speaks about the change of govt. He served in the same post under the previous UNP-led govt representing SLFP�s faction loyal to President Sirisena. Q: How do you see the decision taken by the President to bring about change? A: I always stand by the decisions of President Sirisena. He takes well-calculated decisions. President said he offered the premiership to Speaker more..

Nov 27 (ST) Foreign Minister Sarath Amunugama has warned SL diplomats that he will have a dim view of those Heads of Mission abroad who are unable to get adverse travel advisories lifted. Britain, Australia and Canada updated their travel advisories after the events of Oct 26, while the US issued four security alerts. At a staff meeting chaired by Mr Amunugama on Oct 31, he ordered Heads of all SL Missions abroad to be instructed more..

Nov 27 (DM) Not long ago, the stooges of Mahinda Rajapaksa, and MR himself, spewed some fanciful justifications for the contested (and obviously unethical) sacking of Ranil Wickremesinghe, and MR�s appointment as prime minister in one Friday night quirk by President Maithripala Sirisena. One argument was that MR was appointed to salvage the crumbling economy. That Ranil though had a vision, was a poor more..

Nov 27 (DM) There was nothing wrong in appointing a Presidential Commission to probe into alleged corruptions that had taken from 2015 to 2018 but it should not be done to victimise people politically, UNP MP Champika Ranawaka said. He said that any Commission that would be appointed should be an impartial one. He was referring to a statement made by Prez Sirisena on Sunday that he would be appointing a Prez Commission more..

Nov 27 (AD) The excavations at the mass grave, which was discovered near old CWE building in Mannar, have been resumed, according to the Judicial Medical Officer in charge of the inspection Dr S. Rajapaksa. He stated that the 105th day of the excavations is to be resumed from today after it temporarily came to a halt recently. Under the instructions of the Mannar Magistrate�s Court, a group of officials from German Embassy, more..

Nov 27 (Island) A tender had not been called so far for providing school uniforms for 2019, General Secretary of Ceylon Teachers Union, Joseph Stalin said. He said that the National Procurement Commission had been established under the 19th Amendment and that Education Ministry officials had to provide school uniforms through the Commission. "However, they have done nothing so far and Education Ministry officials need to more..

Nov 27 (EN) Sri Lanka debt office managed by the Central Bank had issued 14.2 billion rupees in Treasury Bonds as capital injection to state-run SriLankan Airlines, exceeded a budget allocation in 2012. CB Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy, testifying at a PCoI, said that only 10 billion rupees in capital injection was allowed for SriLankan Airlines in the 2012 budget. The issuance of 14.2 billion rupees in Treasury Bonds more..

Nov 27 (DM) PHU Leader Udaya Gammanpila accused Speaker Karu Jayasuriya of altering the contents of the Hansard, which recorded what has happened in parliament chamber during the no-confidence motion debate on November 14. Minister Gammanpila said there were changes between the unedited copy of Nov 14 Hansard which he recently obtained and the official copy issued on Nov 23. more..

Nov 27 (DN) Minister Wimal Weerawansa has requested Prez Sirisena to disclose the list of names connected to the Central Bank Bond Scam, so far not released, for the public to know them. Addressing a public meeting, he said that he would also request the President to disclose the outcome of Presidential Commission Reports on the conflicting situations both in Dharga Town Aluthgama, and Teldeniya in Kandy. more..

Nov 27 (AD) The Parliament session commenced at 1.00p.m. today under the Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. However, the MPs of the governing party have decided not to attend today�s parliament session. The decision had been reached during the UPFA�s parliamentary group meeting, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. Prior to the commencement of the session, the parliamentary group meetings of the 2 main political parties more..

Nov 27 (CT) Controversial IGP Pujith Jayasundara who faced a wave of tirades following the attempted transfer of IP Adrian Nishantha Silva of the Organized Crime Investigations Unit (OCIU) of the CID was grilled over the alleged conspiracy to assassinate Prez Sirisena. This is the first time in the history of the Police Department, that an incumbent IGP was grilled. Police sources revealed that their chief was questioned for nearly three hours at CID Headquarters in Colombo on Sunday. more..

Nov 27 (FT) Three UNP strongmen, MPs Eran Wickramaratne, Dr. Harsha de Silva and Mangala Samaraweera in a recent public statement declared that the economy is at edge of abyss! The sum total of their predicament is as follows: Political turmoil which has led to a credit rate downgrading; Challenging debt payments leading to higher interest rates; As Speaker has said Cabinet is dissolved Finance Minister cannot obtain money from consolidated fund; Wants President to accept more..

Nov 27 (EN) Central bank has called upon the Colombo Stock Exchange to ask listed companies to pay dividends through electronic means and stop issuing paper cheques. "We encourage and request the CSE to consider the possibility of mandating use of electronic payment methods currently available," CB Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. He said a committee set up to find ways to reduce physical cheque payments found that dividend payments by listed firms made up a large volume of more..

Nov 27 (AD) The case against the former President�s Chief of Staff Gamini Senarath and 4 others was taken up before Special High Court judge-bench consisting of Justices Sampath Abeykoon, Sampath Wijeratne and Champa Janaki Rajaratne today. Accordingly, witness statements were recorded from former deputy governor of the Central Bank P. Samarasiri, today. Further recording of witness statements was postponed until tomorrow. AG had filed the case more..

Nov 27 (CT) Namal uses Office of PM for one month into his father�s illegal term as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. The fake PM Rajapaksa�s eldest son and heir is back to his old tricks, abusing power and using his father�s status and official resources at his own whim and fancy. For several days now Namal Rajapaksa who holds no official position in the purported Govt set up by President Sirisena following a coup on 26th Oct, more..

Nov 27 (CT) Questions have been raised over Justice Vijith Malalgoda�s inclusion in the seven-member judge bench hearing the petitions filed against the dissolution of Parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena. Vijith Malalgoda�s inclusion in the bench has come under public scrutiny on the basis that his wife, Champika Malalgoda, was promoted as the Director General of the Board of Investments, by President Sirisena, a day before he installed the Coup Govt. more..

Nov 27 (DM) UNP MP Sarath Fonseka today requested Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to summon IGP Pujitha Jayasundara to Parliament within 48 hours, over the recent remarks made by the President with regard to the alleged assassination plot. MP said Prez Sirisena had recently said that Sarath Fonseka was plotting to kill him. �This is a serious allegation which raises privilege issues since I�m an MP. Therefore, I request you to summon the IGP to parliament within 48 hours to give answers more..

Nov 27 (AD) Central Bank of SL has issued a new series of circulation coins with face value of Rs.10, Rs.5, Rs.2 and Re.1 with objectives of reducing the cost of coins minting, increasing the durability of coins, giving more portability and identifying easily by visually impaired people. The first coins pack was officially presented to the PM and Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Mahinda Rajapakse by Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Governor more..

Nov 27 (DM) Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said today he had asked the CID to carry out an investigation on the fake letters that have been put out with his signature. He said this in response to a question raised by UNP MP S.M. Marikar. �We have asked the CID to carry out an investigation on fake letters in order to determine as to who was behind them,� the Speaker said. UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake then asked Speaker as whom he suspects might be behind the move. more..

Nov 27 (GDI) The Rabobank of Netherlands has agreed to provide Euro 52.1 Million financial assistance to construct approximately 250 steel bridges island wide especially in the rural areas. Mr. S R Attygalle, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs signed this Credit Facility Agreement today (26) at the Ministry of Finance. Govt has accorded high priority for connectivity improvement within the country with a view to providing full benefits to the remote villages more..

Nov 27 (N18) Sacked PM Ranil Wickramasinghe may not be the most popular leader at present, but he is still giving tough competition to current the PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, says Sri Lanka�s former Minister Arjuna Ranatunga. In an interview with News18, Ranatunga reflects on the ongoing political turmoil in his country and says the controversial appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as PM was a wrong decision at a time when more..

Nov 27 (DM) Former Minister Basil Rajapaksa who formed the SLPP said yesterday that there was no agreement reached with the SLFP to form a broad political alliance. Mr. Rajapaksa said that though there were some talks in this regard, no agreement was reached. He was responding to Minister S.B. Dissanayake who said that the two parties had agreed on a common front to contest the general elections under a different symbol. �There is no truth in it,� he said. more..

Nov 27 (DM) Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Ravindra Wijegunaratne said today that he was not informed by the Senior DIG of the CID, IGP or the Defence Secretary to appear before the CID to give a statement this morning. �I have seen the newspaper reports that I was summoned by the CID. But I was not officially informed by the SDIG, IGP or the Defence Secretary,� Admiral Wijegunaratne said. Inspector of Police (IP) Nishantha Silva of the CID who is handling the case, last week informed more..

Nov 27 (PTI) A senior SL lawmaker Tuesday urged Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to direct the media not to refer controversially appointed PM Mahinda Rajapaksa's regime as the lawful govt of the island nation. Rauff Hakeem, the leader of the main Muslim minority party SLMC, urged Speaker Jayasuriya that "the print and electronic media are continuing to recognise MP Mahinda Rajapaksa as PM. more..

Nov 27 (CB) They had to wait till the very end of the series before they had something to cheer. England fans have grossly outnumbered their Sri Lankan counterparts on this tour. But do not be duped into thinking that is purely down to cost. True, the volume and enthusiasm of the travelling support has bumped up the price of tickets. But if you're local, you can find one for near enough face value. It's not a matter of expense. This series, SL fans have been voting with their feet. more..

Nov 27 (Island) A 26-member student officer delegation of the Bangladesh National Defence College (NDC), led by Senior Staff Officers at the NDC arrived in SL on Sunday for a familiarization tour as part of their study programme. The delegation during their 10-day stay in SL is expected to call on the Secretary Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, Commander of Army, Commander of Navy and Commander of Air Force and visit Lakshman Kadiragamar Institute of Int'l Relations and more..

Nov 27 (CT) Confusion reigns supreme in Jaffna and the North-East today as thousands of people came forward defying magisterial orders to celebrate the birthday of the LTTE Leader, the deceased Prabhakaran, using prohibited symbols of the LTTE. The North was a sea of red and yellow flags symbolizing the LTTE. Jaffna is at its noisiest today. LTTE Graveyards (called Maaveerar Thuyilum Illam, or Great Heroes' more..

Nov 27 (DM) President Maithripala Sirisena had instructed the relevant authorities to release the Tamil and Sinhala translations of the report of the PCoI into the Central Bank Bond scam within two weeks, UPFA MP Dallas Alahapperuma said today. He said that the debate on the PCoI report was halted after TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran raised a question about non availability of the Sinhala, the Tamil translations of the report. He said the previous govt had prevented the translations more..

Nov 27 (DM) Seventy Judicial Officers and 18 Presidents of Labour Tribunals (PLTS) had been transferred with effect from Jan 1, 2019 on annual transfers, the Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission Sanjeewa Somaratne said. He said that appeals should reach the Judicial Services Commission Secretariat on or before Dec 7 this year. District and Additional District Judges, Magistrates and Additional Magistrates and a Supernumerary Additional Magistrates more..

Nov 27 (AD) Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs has issued a press release refuting the alleged illegal instruction given by the Finance Minister PM Mahinda Rajapaksa to the SL Customs to release the foreign currency in US Dollars that had been apprehended while being smuggled out at the BIA. The press release read that the SL Customs officials sometime back had apprehended an outbound foreign national at the BIA while more..

Nov 27 (AD) All the institutions attached to the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force have been requested to further maintain its excellence achieved with regard to countering human trafficking and to take necessary measures in this regard. Minister Susil Premajayantha mentioned this during a special meeting held with the officers of the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force at Ministry of Justice last evening. National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force was established by more..

Nov 27 (Island) President Maithripala Sirisena claims that only a few diplomats are concerned about the political situation and constitutional issues in Sri Lanka. When it was pointed out that no country had officially recognised the Mahinda Rajapaksa govt, President Sirisena during a meeting with the Foreign Correspondents Association at his Paget Road residence in Colombo 7 on Sunday, said, " Only four or five diplomats are making a fuss. All the others are silent." more..

Nov 27 (DM) Cabinet today approved a Vote on Account (VoA) for the govt to cover State expenses for the time being and it would be presented in Parliament shortly for approval, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said. He noted that the govt did not have a problem on the govt expenditure for the rest of 2018 as the funds had been already allocated from the Budget 2018 and through the Appropriation Bill and therefore the VoA more..