Nov 13 (DM) President of Buddhist Cultural Renaissance Committee, Ven. Medagama Dhammananda Thera criticised the Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera and Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera and charged that their organisations were backed by NGOs. “Ven. Sobitha Thera and Ven. Rathana Thera have fallen prey to the NGOs today. Their organisations, National Movement for Social Justice and Pivithuru Hetak Udesa Jathika more..

Nov 13 (Island) JVP yesterday declared that it would continue to protest against President Rajapaksa seeking a third term. A senior party official said that the party was going ahead with a planned protest campaign though the President secured Supreme Court approval to seek another term. JVP is planning a major protest in Colombo on Nov. 18. "We’ll inform the electorate of the need to ensure President Rajapaksa’s defeat at the presidential poll," the official said, more..

Nov 13 (Island) Further cementing the historical relationship between India and Sri Lanka, the two countries agreed to facilitate exchanges of entrepreneurs and investors through trade and investment symposiums. This was effected by Sri Lanka Investment Promotion Deputy Minister Faiszer Musthapha and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman during a special meeting held recently at Minister Sitaraman’s office in New Delhi, India. more..

Nov 13 (Island) President Rajapaksa who once walked from Colombo to Kataragama calling for the abolition of the executive presidency could become another Mahasen if he only listened to reason, a constituent member of the UPFA govt said yesterday. Leader of the JHU Omalpe Sobitha Thera addressing a rally at Muttiah Park in Colombo, organised by the Peoples Movement for a Just Society, more..

Nov 13 (DM) The elections fever is on. Though the exact dates are not yet known, it is speculated that a presidential election is going to be held either in January or March next year. While, the govt led by President Rajapaksa is busy getting ready for the important event, the opposition seems to be embroiled in an elusive quest for a common candidate who could pose a serious challenge to the incumbent President. The media mentioned several names including that of former president more..

Nov 13 (DM) The mafia paid Margret Thatcher, on her retirement millions through her son Mark’s MT- Foundation for her role in lobbying and advising on how to promote smoking in the third world. In July 1992, both Philip Morris and BAT, the US tobacco giants gets their first indication that the news had leaked to UK newspapers that Margaret Thatcher had become their consultant and appoint political trouble shooters the task of creating counter. What they are capable of ! more..

Nov 13 (DM) No politician in the world would ever relinquish power on his or her own volition, unless there is something drastically imposed upon him or her by an outside force or an irreversible debilitating condition has set in health-wise. Such is the addictive quality of power. Political power is the most potent ‘aphrodisiac’ in the world, Henry Kissinger once said. It could lure a most unsuspecting damsel into lust; it could sway more..

Nov 13 (DM) Nineteen political parties, trade unions and civil society organisations have agreed to work according to a common agenda at the presidential election widely expected to be conducted in early January. Yet, consensus is yet to be reached by them on the candidate to be picked as these parties and groups have divergent views on the three main personalities being proposed for it at the moment. more..

Nov 13 (ST) It took off with aplomb after the war’s end but the domestic aviation industry is facing formidable challenges amidst rising costs. Companies dependent upon air passengers are the worst affected. Those who run training schools are better off, though not much. Some airlines have now revised their targets and are expecting to break even later than anticipated. This includes Cinnamon Air, the only domestic airline that currently offers more..

Nov 13 (SL) Once again Aluthgama was in the news last week with the reported clash between two groups. The latest incident was reported in the Pathirajagoda area in Dharga Town in Aluthgama on Nov 1. Two youths were reportedly admitted to hospital following the clash, while several persons have been taken into custody following the attack. According to police, the clash had occurred when a group of Muslim youth were celebrating after more..

Nov 13 (Island) The UPFA said it had already completed 50% of its presidential election campaign, but joint opposition had not even found a suitable candidate to field against incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Addressing the media conference, Minister Susil Premajayantha said his party had already started a massive propaganda campaign targeting 11,478 polling booths in 168 electorates. more..

Nov 13 (BBC) 25 years ago, on 13 Nov 1989, the Sri Lankan govt announced that Rohana Wijeweera, an extreme-left Sinhalese nationalist leader of two failed insurrections, had died in police custody - in unclear circumstances. "I heard about the death. Of course it was not unexpected, I knew it was coming," recalls his friend, lawyer and election agent, Prins Gunasekara, speaking to the BBC history programme, Witness. more..

Nov 13 (AM) With the JHU falling out with the govt, the UPFA, which is on the verge of a crucial presidential election, is now on a mission to draw the support of the BBS organization. As the first step in this direction, BBS Leader Kirama Wimalajothi Thera took part in the rally organized by the Jathika Sanvidhana Ekamuthuwa (Collective of national organizations), led by Minister Wimal Weerawansa. However, BBS General Secretary more..

Nov 13 (CT) As the country worries over a possible shortage of US$ 1 billion foreign direct investments in 2016 for the anticipated economic gains, a senior minister claimed that if the govt removed some of the restrictions, the BoI would be able to attract more FDI and surpass targets. Sri Lanka is in an ambitious journey of improving its GDP to US$ 100 billion by 2016 with a per capita income of US$ 4,000 by that time. more..

Nov 13 (DM) The JHU today said that it had not yet taken any decision to join the common opposition or had any discussions with opposition political parties on a common candidate to be fielded at a Presidential Election. “We have only had discussions with the SLFP and the UPFA. The discussions had shown a positive outcome so far. Our attempt is to make the government accept JHU proposals,” more..

Nov 13 (CI) Sri Lanka chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya has expressed alarm at Mahela and Sangakkara's statements to the media regarding team selection, and has said the players' comments revealed Sri Lanka's plans. Mahela has made public his desire to open the innings, while Sangakkara suggested he was disappointed to be heading home mid-series, after the selectors had chosen to rest him. more..

Nov 13 (LBO) Sri Lanka's stocks closed higher with the positive price movements in Access Engineering amid strong foreign buying. All Share Price Index closed 10.28 points higher at 7,479.69, up 0.14%. The S&P SL20 closed 7.27 points higher at 4,143.86, up 0.18%. Turnover was 4.08 billion rupees, up from 2.68 billion rupees a day earlier with 96 stocks closed positive against 117 negative. People’s Leasing and Finance closed 50 cents higher at 24.50 rupees with seven off market more..

Nov 13 (CT) Muslim community will strongly oppose any move of the govt deciding to hold the Presidential Election on Friday, 2 January, a senior govt source said. Since the govt astrologers have advised the holding of the election on either the 2, 3 or 7 January, Muslim community believes that the election should not be held on Friday, 2 January as the Muslim communities engage in religious activities on that day. They suggest, however, conducting the election either on 3 Jan or 7 Jan. more..

Nov 13 (Island) Supreme Court granted leave to appeal in respect of a petition filed by the driver and some aides of the late Anura Bandaranaike. The appeal application requests the Supreme Court to set aside a Provincial High Court order which has upheld an order of the District Court of Colombo dated Feb 8, 2011. The District Court refused permission for submitting a photocopy of the last will of the late Bandaranaike. The counsel for Bandaranaike’s siblings raised objecting, more..

Nov 13 (Reuters) Sri Lankan rupee forwards eased slightly on Wednesday due to importer dollar demand, but moral suasion by the central bank prevented a fall in the spot currency, dealers said. Traders said the local currency was under pressure as imports continue to rise in a stable exchange rate and low interest rates amid a globally weak yen. The spot currency ended at 130.90/131.10 per dollar compared with Tuesday's close of 130.90/131.00. Dealers said banks were reluctant to trade more..

Nov 13 (CT) Educationists in Sri Lanka and the Asian region met at the Earl's Regency Hotel in Kandy last weekend to deliberate on a much topical subject, a cause for concern over a period of time. The theme of this year's two day parley was 'Managing Change in Schools'. Conference which came under the aegis and the banner of The International Schools of Sri Lanka, (TISSL) the second of its kind. more..

Nov 13 (Island) A state-of-the-art centralised cardiac monitoring machine for the benefit of pre-surgery and post-surgery child patients was installed at the Lady Ridgeway (LRH) Hospital by German Rotary Club at a cost of Rs. 10 million recently. LRH Director Dr. Linton Padmasiri said equipment is capable of monitoring the conditions of 12 patients simultaneously. The pre-surgery child patients and post-surgery patients could be easily monitored by doctors without individual observation, more..

Nov 13 (Island) About 749,000 local and foreign tourists had visited the National Zoological Garden, at Dehiwala and the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage from January to October this year, helping rake in Rs. 685 million, Botanical Gardens and Public Recreation Minister Jayaratne Herath said yesterday. Minister Jayaratne said that 960,172 local and foreign tourists had visited the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens up to October and Rs. 332 million had been earned. more..

Nov 13 (CG) Mauritania today backed the stand it took on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC saying SL had overcome difficulties following the war. Sri Lanka and Mauritania signed an agreement today to establish a Joint Commission on Cooperation to further strengthen relations between the two countries. The signing took place following bilateral talks between President Rajapaksa and President of Mauritania Ould Aziz, more..

Nov 13 (AM) In fear of possible landslides 101 families from the Koslanda, Meeriyabedda and Haldummulla areas have been evacuated. Disaster Management Center (DMC) took this decision due to a crack which has appeared on the ground above the place where the landslides occurred earlier this month. The DMC has taken steps to remove 408 civilians from the Koslanda Sri Ganesha Vidyalaya also in fear of landslides. A massive mudslide, triggered by torrential rains, swept away more..

Nov 13 (PTI) AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa is disqualified from contesting elections for ten years, the TN govt has said in a gazette notification. "Consequent upon the conviction of Selvi J Jayalalithaa, Member of the Legislative Assembly, she stands disqualified for being a Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from the date of conviction, i.e., the 27th day of Sept, 2014 for the period of her sentence (four years)," gazette notification dated Nov 8 read. more..

Nov 13 (GDI) Minister Susil Premajayantha revealed that the President will launch a Policy Manifesto on behalf of the future Presidential election. He mentioned that a new manifesto was being planned to be launched, as a slew of pledges enunciated in the Mahinda Chinthana and the Mahinda Chinthana Future Vision have been honored. He said that during a national election they release an election manifesto. more..

Nov 13 (Island) The Communist party of Sri Lanka at its Central Committee sessions on Oct 26 and Nov 9, 2014, decided to throw its weight behind SLFP presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa. DEW Gunasekera, the General Secretary of the CPSF, in a statement issued yesterday said that his party intended to formulate an election manifesto by itself or jointly with the Socialist Alliance; conduct its own election campaign based on its election manifesto in addition to the Joint Election Campaign and more..

Nov 13 (Island) The Epidemiology Unit yesterday revealed that the number of dengue patients in the country had exceeded 36,600 by the second week of November. That was in contrast to the total number of cases reported by the end of December last year—32,063. They said that the highest number of cases this year had been reported in June (6,736). In May, July and October 4,292, 5,671 and 4,099 were reported respectively. The death toll is not disclosed officially. more..

Nov 13 (CT) Undergraduate Kaushalya Vijithalal (19) had a fall on Saturday when undergoing leadership training at the Kalattawa Military Camp, Anuradhapura, and sustained serious injuries. The victim sustained this injury while trying to jump over a seven-foot high wall in one of the training events, IUSF Convener, Najith Indika, told the media on Tuesday. Vijithalal was admitted to the Anuradhapura Hospital for treatment. more..

Nov 13 (Island) Sri Lanka had been able to gradually reduce importation of canned fish due to the significant increase in the fish production in the northern and eastern seas, Parliament was told. Fisheries Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said that the fish imports had decreased by nearly 38%. The canned fish imports had been reduced by 37.7% during 2013-2014 period. "There are four fully integrated fish canning factories in the country. They cater to the local market. more..

Nov 13 (Island) A leading Chinese maritime academy had agreed to provide training and academic assistance to lecturers and students of the Ocean University of Sri Lanka, Chairman of the university, Prof Ranjith Senaratne said. He said that during the recent visit of Chinese President Xi Jingping to Sri Lanka, President Mahinda Rajapaksa had proposed maritime education as one of the high priority areas for cooperation between the two countries. more..

Nov 13 (TT) Rohit Sharma made history on Thursday by smashing an incredible 264 for India against Sri Lanka to break the record for the highest individual score in ODI history. Sharma, whose previous best was 209, surpassed the previous ODI record of 219 scored by his compatriot Sehwag against West Indies in 2011 and became the first man to register two innings above 200 in the process. All the more remarkable was the more..

Nov 13 (AM) Several other Trade Unions of Colombo Port launched a strike a short while ago after a container driver who is on strike allegedly assaulted a security officer and spat at the Managing Director of the Ports Authority. Trade Unions stated that all workers of the SLPA have joined the strike which was launched this morning. As a result daily operations of the port have now come to a halt. The incident occurred in the aftermath of a trade union action launched by more..

Nov 13 (CT) Animal Welfare activists are protesting about the brutal methods used to remove stray dogs from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) recently by officials. Sathva Mithra President, Sagarika Rajakarunanayake told Ceylon Today that despite a letter sent to NIMH Director, Dr. Jayan Mendis proposing a more humane solution to the stray dog problem, Mendis and his staff had the dogs removed from the hospital premises in a most brutal manner. more..

Nov 13 (CG) Former Sri Lanka cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga says Sri Lanka cricket has now become the laughing stock of the cricketing world following the humiliating performance of the national team in India. Ranatunga slammed the decision to send the national cricket team to India after the team was thrashed by the Indians in the ongoing series. The Sri Lanka cricket board had agreed to send more..

Nov 13 (CG) The joint opposition will sign an agreement on Monday on the modalities under which they will work together at the next Presidential elections. The agreement will be signed at different times on Monday by representatives of the political parties and groups who have decided to work together with the leader of the People’s Movement for a Just Society the Venerable Maduluwawe Sobhitha thero. A meeting was held last night where some amendments were made more..

Nov 13 (CG) Executive Director of the Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), Godfrey Yogarajah, has discussed concerns over incidents of violence against Christians in Sri Lanka during a meeting with Pope Francis. Godfrey Yogarajah was part of a delegation of the WEA that met with Pope Francis and representatives of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCCU), the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of SL said. more..

Nov 13 (AM) Minister and leader of NFF Wimal Weerawansa has said that JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s campaign claiming “Mahindata Ba" (Mahinda cannot) is actually motivated by Dissanayake’s inability and lack of confidence to contest against President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the forthcoming Presidential Election. He made this comment yesterday speaking at the meeting organized by Jathika Sanvidhana more..