Oct 4 (AD) Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday that the President should now pullout the SLFP prop that is supporting the govt. He said the UNP could not run the govt alone and added that the govt was sustaining because of the SLFP support. �This govt is running due to the SLFP prop. It is time to pullout that prop. We all say that time has come for the President to pullout that prop,� he said during the opening of the Mahinda Rajapaksa Public Library in Ganemulla, Gampaha. more..

Oct 4 (DM) Joint Opposition (JO) today alleged it is now being revealed that some govt forces had a hand behind the communal violence in Digana, Kandy earlier this year, as claimed recently by the Anti-Corruption Movement. JO MP Shehan Semasinghe said that as revealed there was an alleged assassination plot on President Maithripala Sirisena and former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa whereby some more revelations more..

Oct 4 (DM) CID today recorded a 9-hour long statement from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) CEO Ashley De Silva in connection with the fraudulent attempt to transfer USD 5.5 million, connected to broadcasting rights of the England tour, to an offshore account. Earlier, the CEO of the SLC lodged the complaint with the FCID under the direction of Minister Faiszer Musthapa to probe the attempted fraud. The investigation was later handed over to the CID by IGP Pujith Jayasundara. more..

Oct 4 (CI) England have honed a reputation over recent years as one of the most big-hitting ODI sides around, but they are prepared to play a more measured game in Sri Lanka if conditions dictate, according to opener Jonny Bairstow. The five-match ODI series, which pits top-ranked England against No. 8 Sri Lanka, starts next week, with pressure on the hosts after a failed Asia Cup campaign that led to the controversial dropping of captain Angelo Mathews. It is a far cry from four years ago, more..

Oct 4 (DM) Legal and judicial procedures have to be followed if DIG Nalaka De Silva is to be arrested, Minister Ranjith Maddumabandara said. Responding to a question as to why the DIG has not been arrested yet, the minister said there were ongoing investigations and the progress of them have to be submitted to courts. DIG Nalaka De Silva is alleged to have been involved in an assassination plot on President Sirisena and more..

Oct 4 (MFA) First Session of the SL-Finland Bilateral Consultations at senior officials� level was successfully concluded on 1 Oct at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo. SL delegation to the Bilateral Consultations was led by Sumith Nakandala, Additional Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of SL, while the delegation of Finland was led by Ambassador Kimmo L�hdevirta, Director General for the Americas and Asia of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. more..

Oct 4 (DN) The Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade, together with the Board of Investment, Export Development Board, and the AHK Germany, led a successful investment and export promotion visit to Germany last week. During the 3-day 3-city promotion mission led by Malik Samarawickrama, SL�s interests and capabilities in the trade and investment arena were showcased to a range of German and European investors ranging from international logistics players, more..

Oct 4 (EN) Profitable catering arm of the loss-making state-owned national carrier SriLankan Airlines had supplied meals for political, social and charity functions free of charge, an official said. Group Assurance and Advisory Services Senior Manager Mahesh Nanayakkara testified at a PCoI that meals prepared at SriLankan Catering Limited had been sent for political campaigns & social functions without any payments. more..

Oct 5 (CT) The Colombo International School and its Acting Principal have been practicing daylight discrimination against a pupil in the most shameless and despicable way. The pupil�s fault? Wanting to include a rainbow flag in a fashion show outfit. When the Acting Principal, a cis white British woman, did not give permission, the child complied, and instead found more creative ways of including the rainbow flag in her routine, by covering her school bag in a rainbow flag. more..

Oct 5 (CT) In a speech titled Can the Subaltern Speak English? delivered at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies in Kandy on August 9, Dhanuka Bandara takes to task those he sees as academic messiahs who write about emancipating the marginalised Other who cannot wield English as the privileged can. For Dhanuka, such messianism is a cover for crass careerism, a path to de-hegemonisation of language standards that promotes traditional intellectuals minorities�) more..

Oct 5 (SO) The proclamation that human rights have become the new religion in Western nations, expressed by the head of the Catholic Church in SL, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith earlier this week, drew sharp responses, especially from those of the Catholic faith. Following publication of the controversial statement, in a country that has a long record of human rights abuse over four decades of war and youth insurrections, more..

Oct 5 (CT) Sri Lanka is still lagging behind digitization when neighbouring India and even Bangladesh has surpassed us. Bangladesh has introduced biometric ID�s for their 110 million citizens which is a base for digitization in other areas, as Sri Lanka struggles to issue ID�s for her 21.2 citizens. In the UK the National Health Service is digitized and centralized to give the best Healthcare in the world, when the USA is trailing behind to study the system for their citizen�s health regime. more..

Oct 5 (CT) What is solid waste? Solid waste refers to a wide range of garbage created by human and animal activities and discarded as unwanted and useless. The main creators of solid waste are residential, industrial and commercial activists in the given municipal areas. Warm and humid climate makes solid waste extremely putrid. The waste, therefore, has to be removed and disposed of quickly, efficiently, and safely before it gives rise to bad odour, infectious disease, and other more..

Oct 5 (CT) Minister Vajira Abeywardena says that the UNP is ready for any election and will announce UNP�s Presidential candidate when the time comes. Q: There is talk about a conspiracy to assassinate President Maithripala Sirisena and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The name of a senior DIG has also been connected to it. At the same time, there are allegations against the govt too. more..

Oct 5 (DN) Needless to say, cities are of the people and for the people. Although ideally, they must also be by the people, it is almost always not so. More often than not, cities are made by others despite the fact that the origins of them must have been small settlements initiated by people themselves. However, as the settlements grow and populations increase transforming such habitats to cities, they come to be transformed, conceptualized and even owned by others; professionals & admin.s. more..

Oct 5 (Island) IGP Pujith Jayasundera is in the news again albeit for the wrong reason. His critics in the Opposition have sought to vilify him. They have even called him a joker. Why should the police chief be insulted in this manner? In a country where the govt, the Opposition and the public service are full of jokers in high positions, we believe that it is not fair to expect only the IGP to be different. Jayasundera used to be an efficient, tough cop and earned the admiration of the public and the media more..

Oct 5 (DN) World Teachers� Day is celebrated on Oct 5 annually but in Sri Lanka, the Teachers� Day is celebrated on Oct 6 every year. We celebrate this day in honour of the great service rendered by our teachers. As far as the teaching profession is concerned this is the mother of all other professions in the world because no other profession is possible without the profession of teaching. Teaching creates and builds all other professionals, doctors, engineers, architects, dancers, more..

Oct 5 (Island) Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, at the service of St. Matthew�s Roman Catholic Church in Ekala, recently said something along the lines that 'human rights had become the latest religion in the West. Sri Lankans have been inclined towards human rights through religion for centuries. Those who do not practice religion are the ones who are hung up on human rights.' Despite the comment being criticised as populist by Minister Mangala Samaraweera, more..

Oct 5 (CT) Several photos, which portrayed a group of young men being semi-naked while on top of the Pidurangala Rock, aroused public outrage in the country last week, after the youths published those photos on social media platforms. The photos went viral on social media and were widely discussed on social media and received mix responses. Some of the public, especially the religious leaders called for appropriate action more..

Oct 5 (CT) The Boxing Referees and Judges Association of SL has paid tribute to Former National Boxer Ajantha Gamini Perera, who met with an untimely death on 1 Oct 2018. It is with deep regret that we announce the death of former National Boxer Ajantha Perera, who was involved in a road accident in the early hours of 1 October. His family members had also been in the car at the time of the accident. After the accident he was able to rush his family to Kalubowila Hospital to more..

Oct 5 (CT) Organizers of UAE�s first owned international T20 league, UAE T20x, on Wednesday announced Kumar Sangakkara as the fifth icon player to sign up for the inaugural tournament, which is set to take place from 19 Dec to 11 Jan. Sangakkara�s announcement follows the news that Pakistani legend Shahid Afridi will also join the league alongside cricketing icons from around the world including England�s Eoin Morgan, SA�s David Miller & West Indian Andre Russell. more..

Oct 5 (Island) Sri Lanka Cricket has decided to accommodate two additional players who are in their World Cup plans during the Dambulla and Pallekele legs of the upcoming bilateral series against England. Kusal Mendis had a horror Asia Cup campaign where he was dismissed for ducks in both games SL played in the competition. Shehan Madushanka, who took a hat-trick on debut in Bangladesh in the final of more..

Oct 5 (DN) The CH & FC 15-a-side rugby team led by former SL national rugby captain cum flanker Yoshitha Rajapaksa left the island yesterday to play against Doha Rugby Football Club (Doha RFC) in Doha-Qatar in preparation for the upcoming Dialog inter-club league rugby season. SL national 7s captain Sudarshana Muthuthanttri, centre Nishon Perera, scrum half Sudam Sooriarachchi and winger Naveen Heenakankanamge were not part of the team due to the upcoming Asian 7s series more..

Oct 5 (FT) Ahead of the 2019 Budget, State Finance Minister Eran Wickramaratne yesterday stressed that balancing industry interest with public and consumer welfare is a challenge that the Government is committed to get right, ushering greater socio-economic prosperity. Pointing out that a country�s Budget is no different to a company�s Budget, where to give one has to take from the other, Wickramaratne said it is always about balancing priorities. more..

Oct 5 (DN) The Police defended the actions taken by the Thebuwana police Officer In Charge in releasing the lorry transporting sand and said that the said lorry had a valid permit for the transport of sand. A lorry transporting sand had been taken into custody by the Sergeant on Sept 28. however, the OIC of the Thebuwana Police Station had released the lorry the following day, stating that the vehicle had a valid permit to transport sand. more..

Oct 5 (CT) Binadi Malsha Kumari and Dinusha de Silva excelled for Sooriyawewa National School and continued the middle distance legacy of Sooriyawewa, when the duo secured record breaking Gold medals at Sugathadasa Stadium yesterday. Sooriyawewa has been the place which has produced some of the top middle distance runners. 800m duo Nimali Liyanarachchi and Gayanthika Abeyrathne, who won the Gold and Silver medals at the last Asian C'ship, more..

Oct 5 (FT) In a first-of-its-kind forum, 26 top female professionals yesterday spoke out on a multitude of issues confronting them and the economy and shared their ideas and recommendations for the Govt to considerahead of next month�s Budget. The forthright comments on industry and gender issues and the appropriate solutions to resolve them were highlighted to a top team from the Finance Ministry at the unique Daily FT-Colombo Uni MBA Alumni Association-organised pre-Budget Forum more..

Oct 5 (DN) Alex Marshal, the head of Anti-Corruption unit of the ICC issued a press statement detailing investigations underway into corruption in cricket that has stunned this cricket loving country. The statement included the announcement of a meeting the ICC delegation has had with the President, PM and Minister of Sports, and investigations that are on-going. The seriousness of the information divulged in more..

Oct 5 (Island) Senior DIG Northern Range Roshan Fernando yesterday said that although the so-called Aava group operating in the north was demonised by certain elements, it was not a terror group. "It is a band of youth influenced by south Indian movies and they were not capable of causing great harm. Senior DIG Fernando said the Aava, group to date had committed only two killings. He said their operations were only restricted to four police divisions in Jaffna, namely Jaffna, Manipay, Kopai, Chunnakam more..

Oct 5 (CT) Trade target of US$ 1 billion by 2020 between Vietnam and SL is unlikely to be achieved, given the global economic challenges and the trade war between China & US, Vietnamese Ambassador to SL, Phan Thi Ngoc said. SL trade with Vietnam during the first six months of 2018 had reached US$ 169.77 million, with exports of US$ 46.67 million and imports reaching US$ 123.10 million; pointing out, however, that the growth of trade at the end of 2018 may remain stagnant at around 20% more..

Oct 5 (FT) US sanctions on Iran, devaluation of the Russian rouble and the financial crisis in Turkey have had repercussions on the Colombo tea auctions. However, increased buying of SL tea by Syria and Libya, resulted in some compensatory gains for SL. Syria� s problems being ironed out, influenced their buying of Ceylon Tea by as much as 90 percent. Additionally, Libya too has been strong over the past few weeks. more..

Oct 5 (SLN) The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ship Hai Yangdao arrived at the port of Colombo on a goodwill visit today (4) and it was welcomed by the SL Navy in accordance with naval traditions. Upon its arrival at the Colombo harbour, Commanding Officer of the ship, Commander SHA Qi met the Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne at the Western Naval Command Headquarters and held a cordial discussion on matters of mutual interest. more..

Oct 5 (DN) A strategy to complete the process of absorbing SAITM students to the Kotelawela Defence University (KDU) will be in place soon concurrent to the KDU Act passed in Parliament recently. GMOA media spokesman Dr. Samantha Ananda said the GMOA Executive Committee met Prez Sirisena to discuss the latest developments of the SAITM issue and this decision was taken during the meeting. Minister Wijeyedasa Rajapakshe, Prez�s Secretary and KDU high officials more..

Oct 5 (CT) Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Thilanga Sumathipala condemned Minister of Sports Faiszer Musthapha for alleging that Sri Lanka was the most corrupt cricket playing country in the world. He said that it was a statement which undermined the morale of the Lankan cricket team. �I can firmly say that none of the cricketers were involved in any form of corruption during the last 10 years,� he said. more..

Oct 5 (DM) The existing regulations on extending SL online visa facility would be relaxed to encourage tourists, The Visa and Border Controller of the Immigration and Emigration Department Chaminda Hettiarachchi said. Department was planning to relax the online visa regulations. �Already online applications are available. But conditions like sponsorship will be relaxed,� he said. Department is issuing visas for 30 days from the date of arrival although it may be extended up to 6 months, more..

Oct 5 (EN) The Qatar government will next week launch a new visa process system in Sri Lanka that includes biometrics and in-house medical tests, giving quicker entry for migrant workers and reducing exploitative practices. A dedicated visa center for Qatar directly supervised by Qatari authorities will open in Colombo, making Sri Lanka the first country in the world to have one, and then be rolled out in other key South Asian cities, a statement said. more..

Oct 5 (DM) The CD which was supposed to carry recordings of Former Minister, MP Ravi Karunanayake giving a statement to the CID the investigations which was produced before courts by the CID yesterday did not contain the said recording. The case brought against the former MP for allegedly giving false evidence at the sittings of PCoI on the Bond issue that was taken up before Colombo Fort Chief Magistrate more..

Oct 5 (DM) IGP Pujith Jayasundara should resign from his post at least till investigations into the allegations levelled against him are completed, Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake said today. The Deputy Minister said this in response to a question raised by a journalist when he arrived at the CID to testify on a complaint lodged by him against the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, which he alleges had obtained money from the Perpetual Treasuries Limited. more..

Oct 5 (CT) Police reiterated that the woman doctor, who was responsible for the road mishap that killed Police Inspector (IP) Ajantha Gamini, was driving under the influence of liquor. DIG Ajith Rohana said that the breathalyzer test has proven that the doctor was drunk when the accident occurred. �We will produce the samples of the breathalyzer test in the Court. Doctor, at the Kalubowila Hospital has just issued a certificate on the contrary, without subjecting suspect to a proper medical test,� more..