Oct 11 (TOI) Indian Coast Guard apprehended four Sri Lankan boats and 26 fishermen off Kanyakumari coast on charges of trespassing into Indian waters on Wednesday. The detained fishermen and their four boats were brought to Tuticorin and were handed over to Marine Police on Thursday evening. Indian Coast Guard ship, Vaibhav, which was on a routine patrol in Gulf of Mannar, spotted four Sri Lankan fishing boats illegally fishing in Indian waters and rounded them up. more..

Oct 11 (Island) The UNP yesterday demanded to know what action the govt would take with regard to the findings and recommendations by the COPE in its report. Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga moving the House for a debate on the COPE report at the time of adjournment said that the report had been tabled in Parliament on July 23, 2013 albeit after an inordinately long delay. No explanation was given for the delay. more..

Oct 11 (Island) Two elephants taking part in a perahera on the Ulapane Road at Mawela, ran amok on Wednesday night and trampled to death a man and a woman. One of the animals, a calf, had stepped on some burning copra which had fallen from one of the torches used to illuminate the procession. The enraged elephant triggered a stampede and two victims who fell on the road were trampled. The man, 55-year-old M.M. Piyadasa, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital more..

Oct 11 (TOI) Tipped off by local fishermen, marine police arrested a Sri Lankan Tamil widow who clandestinely landed at Arichalmunai off Danushkodi with her two grandchildren in tow on Thursday morning. The illegal migrants were identified as S. Sisilia Margarat (48) and her grandsons P.Jacky (6) and P.Lexture (2). Margarat, who landed at Arichalmunai around 8.30 a.m., told the police that she left Talaimannar at 5.30 a.m. in a boat and had paid Rs 15,000 for the trip. more..

Oct 11 (CT) The TNA MP, Suresh Premachandran, severely criticized the ITAK hierarchy, saying it had selected ministers to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) in an authoritarian manner as the constituent parties in the TNA had been sidelined. Premachandran told Ceylon Today, the ITAK had acted in an authoritarian manner and had not listened to other constituent parties in selecting the ministers of the NPC. more..

Oct 11 (AFP) Sri Lanka’s new football supremo Ranjith Rodrigo vowed Thursday to rebuild the country’s image the day after one of his predecessors, Manilal Fernando, was handed a lifetime ban for corruption. The Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) said the decision by the game’s world governing body FIFA to increase an eight-year ban on Fernando to life was a serious setback to the island’s footballing ambitions. “His football chapter is closed, but this has caused damage to more..

Oct 11 (GDI) Marking a key achievement in Sri Lanka Tourism's consistent efforts to boost Chinese tourists to the country, a Charter Flight, UL 1402 consisting of 93 high end travelers arrived in Sri Lanka to spend a week long holiday. The tourists comprising of high end Chinese travelers, including businessmen and professionals and their families visited Negombo, Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, Yala and Galle before arriving in Colombo to attend a special function, which was organized by more..

Oct 11 (CT) The UNP questioned why the govt had renegotiated with the Chinese Exim Bank, to increase the rate of interest from 1.3% to 6.3%, an increase of 5%, on the loan of US$ 306.7 million, which it had obtained to construct the Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa International Harbour, Hambantota. UNP MP Dr. Harsha de Silva, raising an oral question in Parliament, asked the Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena, why more..

Oct 11 (FT) President Rajapaksa will preside over the commencement of the Divi Neguma National Program Phase 5 today, at the auspicious time of 10:11. Parallel to this event, a program to plant vegetable seeds and fruit, coconut, herbal and other plants in 14,022 Grama Seva Divisions and establish 125,000 Divi Neguma model home gardens will also begin island-wide. Agricultural and Production Research Assistants based in Department of Agrarian Development more..

Oct 11 (Island) Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told Parliament yesterday why it had been decided to name the Nelum Pokuna theatre after President Rajapaksa. The minister was responding to a query raised by JVP Parliamentary Group Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake as to why the theatre was not named after the world renowned Lankan scholar but after President Rajapaksa. Minister said: "There were several problems with regard to implementation of this project with China. more..

Oct 11 (Island) There were no shortcuts in politics and the rise to great heights was a gradual process, President Rajakapsa said yesterday. Addressing nine newly appointed deputy ministers, at the Presidential Secretariat, he said people trusted the party and all were receiving posts due to that. Therefore, all should be committed to protect the SLFP. Nine PMs, including former national cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya, had polled more..

Oct 11 (DM) The social stigma surrounding private universities in Sri Lanka is now evidently subsiding, except a few university students and dons and left-leaning political parties grumbling about it from time to time. The education system in Sri Lanka begs for private tertiary education institutions, as almost one-fourth of the students who qualify for tertiary education could not be taken into state-run universities. The system is such that only those who get the highest marks at the GCE A/L exam more..

Oct 11 (DM) The recent decision of the Supreme Court, coming in the wake of the first ever election to the NPC, has aroused much concern and mixed reaction that it is in the public interest to make with due respect to the court, a realistic analysis of its content. The appeal to the Supreme Court stems from an application filed by Solamuthu Rasu, a workman in a tea estate, before the Provincial High Court of the Central Province, seeking a writ of Certiorari to quash a notice to quit more..

Oct 11 (SL) Nearly two years have passed since the report of the Commission of Inquiry on LLRC was submitted to President Rajapaksa with over 140 recommendations to be implemented. The LLRC was appointed by the President in 2010 to investigate matters related to the failure of the ceasefire agreement made operational in 2002 right up to the final phase of war in 2009. This was done with the intention to support the reconciliation more..

Oct 11 (ST) Thanks to the research scientists of the ITI (industrial Research Institute), Sri Lanka has its own designer eggs. This new breed of eggs branded as ‘Arogya Omega 3+ DHA Eggs’ would be soon available in Sri Lanka and marketed for the first time in this country. Cleared for consumption for consumers who earlier considered bad for health including cholesterol sufferers, has been perfected after some modifications more..

Oct 11 (IL) The newly built seven storied building for Bikku hostel of the Sunethra Devi Pirivena in Pepiliyana was vested in the Bikku community this afternoon (10) under the patronage of President Rajapaksa. The new hostel will accommodate student bikkus from different parts of the country who are pursuing education at the Pirivena. The hostel was constructed by the Army under the guidance of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa more..

Oct 11 (CTV) Another migrant from the MV Sun Sea whom Canada sent back to Sri Lanka was detained on arrival and has since lost touch with his family and lawyer, according to a court document obtained by CTV News. The man, who can only be identified as B005, was not suspected by the Sri Lankans of being involved in any terrorist or criminal activities but was arrested anyway, wrote federal court justice Sean Harrington in a judgment more..

Oct 11 (CG) A top UN official has noted the failure of the UN system during the final stages of the war in Sri Lanka in 2009. Jan Eliasson, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that an internal review of UN action at the end of the civil war in 2009 noted a ‘systemic’ failure of different parts of the UN. Member States did not meet the tasks they themselves had set. more..

Oct 11 (CT) Police Acting Media Spokesman, SSP Ajith Rohana, refuted media reports that the IGP, N.K. Illangakoon, sent the Army to Weliweriya, and said the Army had been deployed at the request of the Gampaha SP, Vijitha Komasaru, and to announce a message from the Defence Ministry. SSP Rohana said, "The IGP sent a team of Army officers initially on 29 July to provide protection to the factory in Rathupaswala as there was more..

Oct 11 (Island) Due to the unexpected surplus of hydro generation this year, the CEB was not much concerned about the stipulated targets, thermal or any other power sources, for next year. However, it was also too early to comment on the targets, CEB General Manager, Senior Engineer, Shavindranath Fernando said. Fernando, who assumed the General Manager’s post yesterday, counts more than more..

Oct 11 (Island) The govt decision to sign the Sampur coal power plant agreement with India, despite opposition by a section of the CEB engineers and the former subject minister, was a severe threat to the country’s national security, the JVP claimed. JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake alleged that former Power and Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka had lost his portfolio due to submitting a report to the Cabinet regarding more..

Oct 11 (SM) Under the current Rajapaksa regime, many state institutions have become mere political "clubs" operating outside the accepted norms and customs, which only fulfill the needs of the rulers, says the UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera. While delivering a speech at the Parliament, he said that all the state institutions which are maintained by the public money, must be accountable to the people through more..

Oct 11 (AD) The TNA, which secured a thumping mandate in NPC polls last month, is facing an internal crisis following the selection of provincial ministers. A dispute had initially surfaced within Sri Lanka’s main Tamil party when former SC Judge C.V. Vigneswaran, who was elected as the Chief Minister of the Northern Province, had taken oaths before the President on October 7. However, the party gathered yesterday to announce more..

Oct 11 (CT) Sri Lanka must indeed be a very strange place, if not to its own people, then at least to the outside world. For, where else would the citizens organize a protest March to oust a politician who is not in power, as was witnessed last week when thousands gathered in the South to hound out UNP Leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe. Wickremesinghe appears unfazed by everything that is being said and written about him, biding his time perhaps in the hope he'll be the one to more..

Oct 11 (SM) The total amount of money spent by the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) on the 2 Brazilian trainers, exceeds Rs. 10 Million, reports say. As stated in the football account reports, the total amount paid to the Brazilian coaches during the period of last 4 months is Rs.10,502,381.41. However, the FFSL has only received 2 months funding from the Ministry of Sports on behalf of the Brazilian coach. It has been entered in the accounts as USD 10,000 (Rs.1,310,000). more..

Oct 11 (LBO) Stocks ended a seven-day rally to close 0.17% lower Friday and the rupee gained slightly against the US dollar, brokers and dealers said. All Share Price Index closed 9.95 points lower at 5,947.42, down 0.17%, after reaching an intraday high of 5,969.68. The S&P SL20 closed 3.29 points lower at 3,283.62, down 0.10%. Turnover amounted to 1,020.88 million rupees, up from 575.09 million rupees a day earlier, with shares of 110 firms making losses against 67 that gained. more..

Oct 11 (CT) The struggle for devolution in Sri Lanka can be equated with a medley relay. A combination of factors, internal and external, is needed to ensure the success of each of its phases. The pro-devolutionary moderates succeeded in winning the last phase in this contestation thanks to two conjunctural – and thus transitory – factors: the Colombo Commonwealth and Indian elections. The participation of the Indian Prime Minister in the Colombo Commonwealth is more..

Oct 11 (CI) Simon Taufel will lead an eight-day training workshop for top umpires in Sri Lanka, beginning on October 14, Sri Lanka cricket has announced. The programme aims to enhance the skills and knowledge of the best umpires in the country, and mark out a path to the elite panel. "All Level I and Level II umpires, including the Lankan ICC Elite Panel which comprises Kumar Dharmasena, Ranmore Martinez, more..

Oct 11 (Island) Following the abolition of the telegram service which began during the colonial era with effect from the beginning of this month, the Cabinet yesterday approved the tele-mail service as an alternative legal document for public servants to obtain leave without prior approval. Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that a proposal, submitted by Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister John Seneviratne, to revise Sections 2:5 of Chapter VI, 1:5 of Chapter XII more..

Oct 11 (AD) UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera today alleged that even VIP security personnel had taken part in the recent protest march against Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe in Matara, and that even army soldiers were attacked by protesters in the clash. Speaking on the clash which erupted between UNP supporters during a protest demanding the removal of Wickramasinghe from UNP leadership, he stated that several state employees were among those wounded more..

Oct 11 (TRF) Ankumbura, a remote village in Sri Lanka’s Central Province, has a unique feature: It has resisted the mass shift to hybrid rice varieties that has swept Sri Lanka in the last six decades. Sri Lanka’s first hybrid rice variety was unveiled about 60 years back. It was a harbinger of change and since then over six dozen new rice varieties have been released. Today about 15 hybrid varieties dominate Sri Lanka’s staple rice more..

Oct 11 (Island) A teenaged girl, who is allegedly a rape victim, has complained to the Supreme Court that she was unable to attend school because the principal wanted her to leave as she (principal) had received threatening calls and feared for the safety of the other students. The petition said that the principal told her mother that she feared that the lives of other children, attending the school, would be endangered and hence, for security reasons, she would suggest that the rape victim more..

Oct 11 (CT) Minister of Private Transport Services, C.B. Ratnayake, insisted that a combined timetable system would provide a quality transport service to commuters. He stressed that the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) and private buses need to ply according to combined time- tables. He noted that most roads in Sri Lanka had been developed and passengers cannot reap these benefits if the buses are not deployed according to a proper time-table. "At present, the govt is taking many more..

Oct 11 (Island) The Ministry of Cooperative and Internal Trade, on an order issued by the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court, announced the banning of ‘Amaron’, a brand of bottled water, which had been found unfit for human consumption. Samples of the bottled water had been taken in August, following a large number of complaints received by the CAA regarding the quality of bottled water available in the market. more..

Oct 11 (Island) Milco (Pvt.) Limited is developing its three factories in Ambewela, Digana and Polonnaruwa, at a cost of Rs. 6 billion. Work has just started and will take about 18 months to complete. Milco Chairman Sunil Wickramasinghe said that state-of-the-art machinery was being set up under the Desmi project funded by Denmark. He said that the machinery included a new full cream milk powder drying tower for the Ambewela factory and Ice Cream and Yoghurt more..

Oct 11 (CG) Sri Lankan authorities are keeping a close eye on a ship said to be heading to Colombo with heroin on board. Director of Sri Lanka Customs, Parakrama Basnayaka said that the ship is currently in the Arabian sea. He said that several countries in the region have been alerted about the suspected ship. Basnayaka said that initial reports indicated that the heroin had been loaded on the ship from Afghanistan and from there it was taken to Pakistan. In Pakistan the heroin has been smuggled more..

Oct 11 (CG) The govt says there is no move to ban protests or demonstrations during the CHOGM in Sri Lanka next month. President Rajapaksa’s international media spokesperson Anuradha Herath said in a tweet that reports of a ban on protest marches and the display of banners and black flags during the summit is not true. A leading international human rights group says moves to ban all protests in Colombo and more..

Oct 11 (M&G) In a stand of scruffy palms a few metres from a dirt track, two brothers are building their third house in less than a ­decade. They hope it will last longer than the others. They do not want to be identified for fear of security agencies, but their story is a common one in Kilinochchi, a small town in northern Sri Lanka, once the capital of the de facto state run by the separatist LTTE. All over the north of Sri Lanka, men are building. In Kilinochchi, more than four years after the Tamil Tigers were more..

Oct 11 (CG) The govt today insisted that there is no attempt to suppress the investigations into the murder of the founding Editor of The Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunga. Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told Parliament today that while there were differences of opinion between Lasantha and the govt on political issues the govt respected him as a journalist. Gunawardena was responding to allegations raised by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake that the govt was attempting to more..