Oct 16 (RN) Attorney General Dappula de Livera has instructed police today to arrest the former MP and talk show host Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam aka Jaya Sir Ranga and 6 others including police officers over a fatal accident that took place in Vavuniya in 2011. According to police an unregistered vehicle driven by former MP Jaya Sri Ranga had met with an accident near the Settikulam hospital in Vavuniya on 30 July 2011. more..

Oct 16 (AD) Several stone weapons used by prehistoric man have been found in the area nearby Panikkan Kulam in Mankulam, Mullaitivu, says Prof Paramu Pushparatnam. Prof. stated that he had inspected the area after he was notified by the residents that artefacts belonging to the prehistoric times exist there. According to the estimation of Prof. Pushparatnam, the stone weapons recovered from the area had been used over 10,000 years and he added that these artefacts would be directed more..

Oct 16 (DM) While saying that the simplicity of NDF prez candidate Sajith Premadasa was not genuine, NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa said today Sajith had held only one public day during the past four and half years as a minister. He said even this particular public day was also held very recently, which was made viral on social media under the instruction by himself. �When Sajith Premadasa gets onto the stage, he always speaks of the people and his immense concern on people. more..

Oct 16 (TL) Acting Leader of SLFP Rohana Lakshman Piyadasa says that hooting is a nation custom in Sri Lanka. Referring to the hooting at SLFP MPs by SLPP supporters at SLPP election rallies, Piyadasa has told the media that Sri Lankans hooted as a method of communication from ancient times. �We hoot at someone to insult or ridicule him. We hoot in joy at musical shows and we hoot at singers more..

Oct 16 (NR) The evidence hearing of the case filed against former Minister Basil Rajapaksa and four others at the Colombo High Court, under indictments on five counts, has been postponed to the 7th of Nov. High Court Judge Shashi Mahendran decided to postpone the evidence hearing because the High Court Judge hearing the case, R Gurusinghe was on leave today. The case was filed against former Minister Basil Rajapaksa and four others under indictments on 5 counts including charges of more..

Oct 16 (EN) Cabinet of ministers had cleared the setting up a debt management bureau as a separate unit in the finance ministry, the state information office said. SL�s domestic and foreign debt securities are now sold and managed by a unit in the Central Bank while foreign loans are raised by the external resources department of the finance ministry. The cabinet has also cleared the drawing of a debt management law. To develop the institutional framework, a five member debt management more..

Oct 16 (DM) A large consignment of over 14,000 kg of refuse tea was seized by the STF during a raid at Kandegoda in Ambalangoda today. STF said three suspects were also taken into custody along with the consignment. Initially, the STF arrested two suspects who were transporting 4,000 kg of refused tea in a lorry. Further questioning of the suspects led the STF to raid a warehouse in the area and found another more..

Oct 16 (RN) UNP MP Harshana Rajakaruna says although the Rajapaksa brothers Gotabaya and Mahinda are ready to take the credit for the war victory, they betrayed the troops by refusing to take responsibility of the alleged war crimes saying that they did not lead the army during the war. Rajakaruna said that Gotabaya Rajapaksa should have been able to speak with a backbone at the press conference yesterday when foreign journalists questioned him about alleged war crimes. more..

Oct 16 (RN) Executive Director of People�s Action for Free and Fair Election (PAFFREL) Rohana Hettiarachchi said that they have set up two teams to monitor online content on social media to curb the spread of hate speech, fake news and racism during the Prez Election period. Speaking at a media briefing Hettiarachchi said that the teams will report to the Election Commission and social media networking sites for further action in the days leading up to the Prez Election on 16 Nov. more..

Oct 16 (AD) Chairman of Election Commission Mahinda Deshapriya says the upcoming Prez Election will exceed 80% of voter turnout. He stated this addressing a press conference this morning. Commenting on the Elpitiya PS election, Deshapriya said it concluded peacefully and that the people of the area had shown such enthusiasm in casting their ballots that the voter turnout of some wards had exceeded 80-85%. more..

Oct 16 (MoD) SL Navy�s flagship annual int'l maritime conference, Galle Dialogue will be held in Colombo on 21st and 22nd of Oct. This year, the Galle Dialogue - 2019 will be held under the theme Refining mindset to address transnational maritime threats: A review of the decade. This was revealed at a media briefing held at the Navy Hq. Prez Sirisena, is scheduled to grace the inaugural ceremony of the annual maritime conference at the Galle Face Hotel as the Chief Guest. more..

Oct 16 (FT) The 40th National Conference of Chartered Accountants, organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), this year underscored the critical role business dynamism and agility in corporate leadership could play in driving a country forward and igniting its mojo. The three-day event was inaugurated on Monday at Waters Edge under the aegis of Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) President Fiona Wilkinson. more..

Oct 16 (RN) SLPP today accused all state media of distorting and misinterpreting its prez candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s statements. Addressing the media, Gotabaya�s official media spokesman MP Dullas Alahapperuma said that the state media have distorted the statements made by Gotabaya during his first-ever press conference held yesterday. �All the State media whilst following a biased policy, are trying to tarnish more..

Oct 16 (DN) Cabinet approval was granted to implement a five year project aimed at resolving the water issue in Jaffna, which was presented for approval by the Mahaweli Development and Environment Minister today. As there are no rivers in the Jaffna Peninsula, in order to resolve the shortage of water, a project termed A river for Jaffna has been designed to be implemented within five years. The project aims at reducing the salinity of the well water bordering Wadamarachchi lagoon, more..

Oct 16 (AD) The local employees in Malaysia, who are staying in the country while violating immigration and emigration laws, have been granted a general amnesty period. High Commission of Sri Lanka in Malaysia had informed the SL Bureau of Foreign Employment that this general amnesty period will be in effect until the 31st of Dec 2019. Accordingly, the Sri Lankans in Malaysia, who have overstayed their visas and do not have the passport stamp, are allowed to submit a letter of request more..

Oct 16 (TS) Bukit Aman will not discount any piece of evidence linking several individuals, including politicians, to the Tamil Tigers following the circulation of related videos and photos on social media, says Deputy Comm Datuk Ayob Khan. Counter Terrorism Division (E8) head said the police were aware of photos and videos of Malaysian politicians attending LTTE-linked events making their rounds on social media. more..

Oct 17 (DM) The election results in Elpitiya a few days ago underscored the fact that politicians can obtain benefits from investments if they�re done wisely. Many moons ago the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime invested heavily on the Southern Expressway. Political analysts point out that the people of Elpitiya, a village in Galle District, benefited immensely by this facility; largely because the folk in the village are involved in producing cinnamon, low grown tea, rice and rubber. more..

Oct 17 (CT) Public attention has been drawn towards Sri Lankan academia and the State University sector when two prominent Vice Chancellors were sacked by the executive president of Sri Lanka. After Prof. Ratnem Vignaswaran, the former VC of the Jaffna University was dismissed a handful of current and retired academics issued a statement condemning the situation and discussed the consequences that the academic community in the country would face. more..

Oct 17 (CT) SLPP Founder and National Organiser, Basil Rajapaksa, says the people are asking for a country where they can live safely, without any fear or doubts. "That is why Gotabaya is coming," he said. Q: At the last moment, the SLFP decided to support the candidate of your camp. Actually, did you expect this to happen even at this last moment? A: Actually the leaders of the two parties & the people of this country expected more..

Oct 17 (CT) The Island newspaper of 12 October carried a report titled ULF reviewing its decision to back JVP; likely to support Sajith by Shamindra Ferdinando. The Sunday Observer of 13 October followed up with �United Left Front poised to change course and back Sajith?� This report said: �Speaking to the Sunday Observer, UNF Parliamentarian and United Left Front member Dr Jayampathy Wickremaratne confirmed that there had been calls for the party to change its decision. more..

Oct 17 (DM) Life consists of 3 Ex+Ex+Ex�s� Yesterday was Experience Today is Experiment and Tomorrow is Expectation our political morons have not yet learnt to use the Experience of their Experiments to achieve their Expectations!!! We should learn to treasure the Experience of Yesterday, in order to learn from it and add value to Today�s Experiment which should jointly fortify us to face Tomorrow�s Expectation or at least be prepared for it!!! more..

Oct 17 (CT) It is no secret that our Govt authorities and institutions lack coordination, and in many cases, fail to work in alignment with a well-defined plan, with several measures implemented at the whims of whoever happens to be in the leader's seat. A recent case of such shortsighted strategies has resulted in a number of families losing their homes and driven closer to the brink of poverty. In this case, Western Province Waste more..

Oct 17 (TM) In the run up to elections, SL is once again witnessing various news activities highlighting how the govt is losing revenue due to increased consumption of illicit cigarettes and beedi. However, the wider govt policy on tobacco control is aimed to reduce smoking rates and the related direct and indirect costs � which was estimated to amount to 6% of govt revenue in 2015 � through taxation. This blog argues that although controlling the availability of illegal cigarettes in the market is important, more..

Oct 17 (ST) Probably, the issue that we dealt with last week ended with more questions than answers. The issue that we focussed on was that �there are too many people in rural agriculture sector in SL, producing too little�, so that they continue to remain in poverty without an adequate income. Our discussion led to an important question: �What is the best strategy to get them out of rural poverty�. The answer that we arrived at was that a significant number of people in rural agriculture sector more..

Oct 17 (DN) Technology transformation is the next biggest challenge as well as the biggest opportunity that is before us in the years to come, Chairman, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and CEO � South Asia region and Corporate Executive Vice President, Axiata Group, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya told the 40th National Conference of Chartered Accountants organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA SL) on Monday. �This digital transformation paves the way for the rise of more..

Oct 17 (CT) DNF Prez candidate, Sajith Premadasa, says the people must decide on 16 Nov, whether they are willing to go back to the dark days of the Rajapaksa regime, where people who demanded water at Rathupaswela, the FTZ workers who protested to safeguard their EPF, and the fisher folk of Chilaw who demanded fuel concessions were answered with bullets, or whether they are ready to hand over the task of ushering in a safe and secure Sri Lanka to him. more..

Oct 17 (TM) Ministry of Plantation Industries� plan to appoint a task force to monitor the regional plantation companies (RPC) is facing backlash by the RPCs, The Sunday Morning Business learns. Sources at the Ministry of Plantation Industries told us that a 10-member task force to monitor RPCs would be set up by the end of this year. The proposal for same was proposed by subject Minister Navin Dissanayake and more..

Oct 17 (FT) SriLankan Airlines was adjudged the Leading International Airline in South Asia for the third consecutive year at the South Asian Travel Awards 2019 (SATA) and also bagged the Leading Airline Passenger Class � Business award for the third year running, beating out many top airlines in the region. SriLankan Airlines Group CEO Vipula Gunatilleka said: �We are delighted to once again be recognised as the airline of choice in the South Asian region. more..

Oct 17 (MFA) Rationalization of areas of cooperation of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and draft Charter of the organization were deliberated and a draft MoU to be signed between the BIMSTEC Secretariat and the Asian Development Bank was agreed on during the 2nd meeting of the (BIMSTEC) Permanent Working Committee (BPWC) hosted by Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo on 10-11 Oct. more..

Oct 17 (DM) NDF prez candidate Sajith Premadasa said his opponents had finally accepted that Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka was the real victor when it comes to the war. Speaking at an election rally, Mr. Premadasa said his opponents finally had to accept that they have lied to the people on the war victory. �The whole country found out the false claim made by my opponent on the war victory. more..

Oct 17 (DN) England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced Australian duo Steve Smith and David Warner, West Indies opener Chris Gayle, and speedsters Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka and Kagiso Rabada of South Africa among the most expensive players listed in Sunday�s draft for the new domestic tournament The Hundred. Smith helped Australia retain the Ashes in England last month while Warner endured a miserable series, managing just one fifty in five tests. more..

Oct 17 (ST) Master Divers (Pvt) Ltd, the renowned marine services company, also the company behind W.A. Tucker, recently celebrated four decades of marine experiences and pioneering speciality in underwater projects, under the theme Greater Together. The event was attended by an esteemed gathering of Master Divers�s value chain including maritime stakeholders, services stakeholders, business partners, staff and other dignitaries. In a media release, Master Divers said more..

Oct 17 (ST) Indian Automobile major Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd has placed its confidence on SL�s growing economic prospects increasing vehicle demand and future export potential when stamping the company�s global footprint on the country�s motor industry. With the recent inauguration of its automotive assembly plant in Welipenna in Kalutara District in collaboration with its local partner Ideal Motors, newly formed more..

Oct 17 (ST) Sri Lanka ended as runners-up in the recently concluded South Asian Regional Under-21 Badminton Championship worked-off in the city of Addu in Male. India defeated Sri Lanka 3-1 in the five match finals. Sri Lanka managed to win only the Men�s Singles but went down tamely to South Asian giants, India in Women�s Singles, Men�s Doubles and Women�s Doubles events. As India was in the lead with 3-1 the Mixed Doubles event was not played. more..

Oct 17 (CT) Sri Lanka Golf Union (SLGU), governing body of the game in SL, is taking forward the initiative of creating golf awareness throughout the country. They took another step forward with the SL Golf Junior Sub-Committee, represented by enthusiastic committed Committee members Chandana Weerasinghe and Niloo Jayathilake who made the long journey to the Northern region of SL and introduced a golf awareness talent search programme at the Kilinochchi Central College more..

Oct 17 (CT) Retired Prisons Additional Director V.K. Kudabandara testifying as the second witness before the three-Judge Bench of the Colombo High Court in the case related to the deaths of eight inmates during the Welikada Prison riots in 2012, said he had witnessed that a few of the inmates had been called by name before being taken away. The case was taken up before Judges Gihan Kulathunga, more..

Oct 17 (Island) Genie, SL�s first and only PCI-DSS certified mobile payment app by Dialog Axiata, clinched gold awards for Most Popular Electronic Payment Product (Fintech) and Best Mobile Application for Retailer Payments at the LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2019 held on Oct 7. The awards, organised by LankaClear Ltd., the operator of the LankaPay national payment network aims to recognise the frontrunners of the payment technology innovation industry who have more..

Oct 17 (EN) Sri Lanka is relaxing by two months a repatriation requirement slapped on exporters during a 2015/2016 balance of payments crisis triggered in the course of operating a highly unstable rapidly depreciating soft-peg labeled the flexible exchange rate. CB triggered the 2015/2016 currency crises initially by releasing tens of billions of rupees of liquidity temporarily mopped up with term repo deals after a 2011/2012 crisis, to generate excess liquidity and later through money printed by more..

Oct 17 (Island) Minister Rajitha Senaratne has been entrusted with leading the election operation of NDF Prez Candidate, Minister Sajith Premadasa, and preparing the manifesto and handling media operations. This was declared when Minister Senaratne opened the NDF election operations office at Beruwala on Oct 15. "There was a meeting this morning (15) on running the election campaign with the participation of the PM. more..