Nov 7 (IL) President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the government is determined to mould a sporting child generation, who face and embrace both victory as well as defeat equally to make life a success. Students should determine to make their lives triumphant by enduring both wins and losses. He made these remarks at the ceremony held in Kalutara Tissa Central College to mark its 75th Anniversary on 05 November. more..

Nov 7 (FT) A fundamental rights violation petition was filed before the Supreme Court challenging the Bill that is proposed to be passed in Parliament to acquire underperforming enterprises and unutilised assets. Ven. Thiniyawala Palitha Thero who is the Chief Incumbent of Nalandaramaya Nugegoda, filed his petition against the Bill titled “An Act to provide for the vesting in the State identified Underperforming Enterprises and Underutilised Assets.” more..

Nov 7 (ET) While lauding Pakistan’s clinical role in combating terrorism, Sri Lanka is hoping that a comprehensive and well-conceived strategy to weed out terrorism in the region would be the priority of member countries in the upcoming 17th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister GL Peiris shared his views ahead of the regional summit which is scheduled to be held in Addu City in the Maldives, next week. more..

Nov 7 (Island) The UNP and the UPFA are heading for a showdown on Tuesday (8) with the latter seeking majority representation on all 16 Standing Committees in the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) on the grounds that the Opposition parties and independent groups have the majority in the 53-seat council. A section of the Opposition members led by M.H. M.Manzil, the chief organiser of the Opposition, said that they would push for control of the committees. more..

Nov 7 (IC) The sports minister has decided to dissolve the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) interim committee. The reason for this action is not obvious but it is highly appreciated by the cricket clubs and fans. This column, time and again, discussed how interim committees have destroyed our cricket. The members of interim committees have been trying to change the policy of our cricket to the chagrin of clubs. The previous DS de Silva-led committee did major damage to the game. more..

Nov 7 (TN) Some resettled Tamil farmers in Thennaimaravadi village were taken aback in the weekend to see their paddy lands they prepared for sowing for the forthcoming Maha cultivation had been sown by Sinhalese encroachers at the instance of the Sri Lanka Army stationed in the area. They fear this is a part of a covert plan by Colombo govt to forcibly take over paddy lands in the traditional Tamil village Thennaimaravadi, located at the narrow boundary more..

Nov 7 (DM) The JVP yesterday stressed the need to use people’s power as in Tunisia and Egypt to pre-empt anti-democratic moves of the present government instead of using Parliament as the venue for it. Addressing a hurriedly summoned news conference, JVP parliamentary group leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the govt that enjoyed overwhelming majorities of MPs had been toppled by the people’s power in some countries such as Tunisia. more..

Nov 7 (FT) Sri Lanka Tourism participating this years’ World Travel Mart (WTM) in London to promote Sri Lanka to new markets apart from the traditional West European segment. WTM 2011 will showcase Sri Lanka as ‘Miracle of Asia’ and focus Sri Lanka as a destination offers unrivaled variety with 100 waterfalls, 17 national parks, 7 World Heritage sites and over 2,000 years of recorded history. World Travel Mart, one of Europe’s leading travel markets, will kicks off today, more..

Nov 7 (DN) Private and CTB buses will operate on a joint timetable from next year. Transport Minister Kumara Welgama said that the ministry will implement a new co-ordinated bus service from the new year, integrating the state owned passenger transport service with the private omnibus service. He said the joint timetable system will be introduced among provincial bus services. The system is expected to provide a higher level transport service to the public, more..

Nov 7 (DN) The govt said that it has no intention whatsoever to acquire private sector enterprises through the proposed legislation titled, ‘Revival of Under Performing Enterprises and Under Utilized Assets.’ It said that only institutions which had deviated from the specific aims and objectives laid down by the govt when they were originally vested in the private sector will be subject to the new legislation to effect their revival and meet the original objectives. more..

Nov 7 (ST) The Sri Lanka Exhibition and Conference Centre (SLECC), a popular exhibition centre owned and operated by Intertrade Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, is among the 37 enterprises listed by the govt for take-over under controversial, new laws. The company, part of the Singapore-based Pico Holdings, is a Board of Investment project and has a facility consisting of 4,000 sq. m. of column-free fully air-conditioned space, which is widely used for exhibitions, fairs, conventions, more..

Nov 7 (DM) For the first time in recent political history, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed senior MP John Amaratunga as the acting opposition leader to stand in for him in parliament this week, sources said today. Mr. Wickremesinghe is expected to undertake a foreign tour this week. In the past, the UNP leadership used to appoint Karu Jayasuriya as the acting leader of the party when he (Mr. Wickremesinghe) goes aboard on private or official matters. more..

Nov 7 (FT) The country’s private sector in a welcome united move, has succeeded in securing some assurances over the upcoming Expropriation Bill from the Govt, which however remains stubborn in not withdrawing the contentious new piece of legislation. Leading chambers of commerce and trade, which met early last week at an emergency session in a rare yet urgent unity, got an audience from President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Govt on more..

Nov 7 (Island) Colombo Mayor A. J. M. Muzammil (UNP) requested the UPFA Group Leader MMC Milinda Moragoda to read the Local Govt Act and Municipal Ordinance properly and that he (Muzammil) was prepared even to conduct classes for Moragoda on these two subjects. Muzammil said that what Moragoda was doing at present ran counter to what he had preached before the LGpolls such as democracy, and good governance. Never in the history of the CMC had two rooms been forcibly occupied in more..

Nov 7 (Island) Minister S.B. Dissanayake was at his vintage best when he addressed a ‘Vap Magul’ ceremony yesterday in the Southern Province. He recalled a speech he made at a similar festival where he had lambasted a judgment of the highest court in the land for which he was punished by the Supreme Court headed by then Chief Justice Sarath Nanda Silva. Dissanayake said that the then Chief Justice tricked the other judges to give the verdict against him, but he had more..

Nov 7 (SL) The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) says that the monies ordered to be paid, as damages to a Malaysian company due to the mismanagement of a tender a few years back, would be taken from the officers who were responsible for the bungling. However, the cash-strapped CEB is also trying to reach a settlement outside court with the company that has taken legal action against the Board. An international tribunal has ordered the CEB to pay more..

Nov 7 (Independent) His name was Abi, he was six, and the last his family glimpsed of him was in the frenzied moments after deadly shells struck close to the bunker where they had been sheltering. His sisters were gravely injured, his mother too, and the young boy put his arm around her. "Mother," he sobbed three times. That scene played out in May 2009, on a patch of blood-soaked sand in northern Sri Lanka where Tamil rebels made a more..

Nov 7 (LB) Sri Lanka is among 41 countries out of 54 member nations of the Commonwealth that impose discriminatory laws against homosexuals. British Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that countries that discriminate minorities, including homosexuals would stand to lose British aid unless they make the necessary reforms to such laws. Would Sri Lanka lose finances through British aid? Not much. more..

Nov 7 (TOI) Fishermen in Ramanathapuram have alleged that they were attacked by Sri Lankan navy personnel in the sea off Rameswaram coast in the wee hours of Sunday. One person was injured and several boats were damaged in the attack, fishermen who returned to the shore alleged. The fishermen had ventured out into the sea from Rameswaram on Saturday morning in over 600 boats. more..

Nov 7 (Hindu) Forty-nine Sri Lankan Tamil refugees will return to their homeland by a commercial ferry that will leave Tuticorin on Tuesday, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency here has said. Comprising 12 families, presently residing in different camps across the State, they belong to the second batch of refugees who will go back to Sri Lanka with UNHCR assistance, R. Vidjea Barathy, Associate Repatriation Officer, more..

Nov 7 (Island) The Transport Minister Kumara Welgama yesterday said that all three wheelers would be fixed with metres soon, as the commuters are charged at will by those operating three wheelers especially after the recent fuel price hike. The minister said that the Ministry had received numerous complaints about such drivers and had to take this decision. Earlier they charged Rs 50 for a kilometre and more..

Nov 7 (DM) While there were reports that opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had requested President Rajapakasa to remove some companies that had been listed for takeover by the government under the proposed laws to nationalize under performing and under utilized enterprises, the tense situation prevailing at Sevanagala Sugar Industries, which is also on the takeover list had somewhat improved. more..

Nov 7 (DM) UNP Kurunegala District MP Dayasiri Jayasekara today said that the stock market is run by a mafia with black money. “The stock exchange is completely dominated by a few people who are investing their illegal money into the system and at the end of it all they make their millions and the small timers are left wondering what happened to all their hard earned money,” he said. more..

Nov 7 (DM) The UNP today warned that there would be a public surge very soon if the government continued to violate democratic norms through its actions such as the introduction of a bill to acquire underperforming and unutilised assets. Addressing a press conference, UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya said that autocratic ruler Robert Mugabe also introduced similar legislations to acquire private assets in Zimbabwe at that time. more..

Nov 7 (Island) The proposed National Drug Policy would be implemented next year and one of the benefits accruing to the people from it would be controlled price of drugs, Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said. He said that the Draft Bill for the National Drug Policy would be presented to Parliament in January. Minister Sirisena said that drugs had been under price control earlier but the UNP-led UNF govt (2001-2003) had abolished the more..

Nov 7 (DM) After Sri Lanka’s adventures and many misadventures at the Commonwealth Summit at Perth, it is the TNA’s tour in Europe and America that has become a topic of constant discussion and debate. Reporting on the TNA’S progression, one weekend paper went on to reveal what transpired between the party delegation and Robert O’ Blake; according to which the MP’S were strongly advised to seek a feasible solution to the issues of the Tamils with the support of India. more..

Nov 7 (GDI) As Male is fully prepared to host the 17th SAARC summit in its southern island city of Addu, the meetings of the Standing Committee comprising the Foreign Secretaries will be held on November 7-8. The Foreign Ministers of the SAARC countries will meet on November 9. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa leading the Lankan delegation will leave for Male this week. The delegations from the member states have started arriving in Addu for joining the summit. more..

Nov 7 (LBO) The toll for cars using Sri Lanka's first expressway, scheduled to be opened later this month, has been set at 400 rupees for the full distance and a minimum of 100 rupees, an official said. The southern expressway, linking Colombo with the town of Galle on the south coast, is to be formally opened on November 27, 2011 by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The toll rates would be given legal sanction and formally announced soon. more..

Nov 7 (CI) Dhammika Prasad, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, has been ruled out of the limited-overs series against Pakistan in the UAE due to an injury he sustained during the third Test in Sharjah. Prasad pulled his quad muscle and bowled just four overs in the game. He's been replaced by the allrounder Thisara Perera, who played in the World Cup final, and toured England earlier this year. The Sri Lankan team was criticised for its fitness standards by more..

Nov 7 (DM) The IUSF today questioned why the authorities had still not investigated the assault against two Jaffna University students which took place last month and appealed to the government to protect the rights of university students. IUSF Spokesman Sanjeewa Bandara said that several university students, including the two who were severely assaulted last month receive death threats over the phone and that there lives are constantly under threat. more..

Nov 7 (DM) Sri Lanka played a key-role to admit Palestine to UNESCO at its biannual general conference on the 31st of last month and was commended by many a member country for the act, Senior Minister Prof. Tissa Vitharana said today. The vote at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters which required approval by two-thirds of the agency’s General Conference, passed by a vote of 107 to 14, with 52 abstentions, he said. more..

Nov 7 (DM) UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe stressed the need of change in the education system keeping abreast with the interests of the 21st century. He said that a decision should be taken at national level in this matter. He said that even the opposition had a challenge to face in this respect along with the arms of the govt. “Education is important to go ahead with trends in the modern world. Late Ministers such as C.W.W. Kannangara introduced scholarship programmes. more..

Nov 7 (DM) The police are investigating a person in Colombo who was engaged in preparing forged driving licenses for a considerable time period. The police took steps to conduct investigations on the individual following the arrest of a person, a member of the Civil Defense Force in the Aralaganwila area in Polonnaruwa, with a forged driving license after gathering vital information about his fake license. He had confessed to the police that he obtained the driving license from more..

Nov 7 (CT) In a leaked US diplomatic cable the TNA leader R. Sampanthan has been described by a senior official of the US Embassy, as a “show me the money” kind of individual. “Sampanthan noted that he recognized the leverage the Tamil community increasingly held as a possible kingmaker in the election and he wanted to extract as many concessions as possible from General Fonseka and President Mahinda Rajapaksa before he committed his support to either candidate.” more..

Nov 7 (BBC) An opposition parliamentarian has lodged a formal complaint with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) against alleged intimidation by the govt. UNP MP, Anoma Gamage, in her letter to CPA General Secretary Dr William F Shija alleges that the government “is trying to suppress and oppress” opposition MPs by bringing in new regulations. The government, which commands a two thirds majority in the parliament, says it is determined to go ahead with more..

Nov 7 (BBC) A former political ally of Sri Lanka president has admitted it was wrong to support either Mahinda Rajapaksa or former military leader Sarath Fonseka in consecutive presidential elections. The JVP that made this admission for the first time on Sunday added that the national issue was overlooked by the party due to its strong pro-war stand against the Tamil Tigers. The JVP that campaigned for Rajapaksa presidency in 2005 presidential elections supported his main rival, more..

Nov 7 (CI) Pakistan extended their impressive run in Test cricket since the spot-fixing scandal deprived them of three first-choice players, securing a series win over Sri Lanka on a rare rain-hit day in Sharjah. Fittingly, Misbah-ul Haq, the man who took over as captain and provided a backbone to a team that was in disarray last year, remained unbeaten to ensure there were no implosions and confirm the draw. more..

Nov 7 (PTI) Describing India's concerns on safety of its fishermen as having fallen on 'deaf ears' of Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa on Monday asked the Centre to take a "strong stand" against Colombo and "convey its serious apprehension through tough words and action". In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she said the attacks should be viewed as a national issue and not as an isolated problem of Tamil Nadu. "I request you to kindly take a strong more..

Nov 7 (AD) The govt opted to bring forth the proposed Revival of Under-performing Enterprises and Under-utilized Assets Act in order to revitalize companies incurring losses, the SLFP pointed out. Minister Maithripala Sirisena in a release today (7) claimed that the bill is being criticized by certain parties ‘without a proper understanding regarding the bill’. Therefore a program will be put into practice to educate the public on the bill, the Minister of Health states. more..

Nov 7 (LBO) Senior Sri Lankan Buddhist monks asked the state to withdraw a planned law to expropriate businesses, saying it violated citizens rights and that loss-making state enterprises should be turned around first. They said the proposed law would deter local and foreign investment the current administration is trying to attract to accelerate economic growth after the end of the island's 30-year ethnic war in 2009. more..