Oct 15 (Island) Who said the UNP is democratic and non-violent? It has to be somebody who has come from a different galaxy and not from the Milky Way. Since 1931, when universal franchise was introduced by the English, thinking that the Senanayakes and others who had a ‘decent education’ in schools they established could deceive the hoi polloi and look after the country for the colonialists, the UNP and its predecessors have adopted all sorts of anti-democratic methods. more..

Oct 15 (NS) In a damning indictment of the controversial NGO, the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA), and its all-powerful Executive Director Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, website Colombo Telegraph (colombotelegraph.com) has exposed the organization’s scant regard for transparency and accountability as well as multiple instances of fraud and subsequent cover-up. more..

Oct 15 (Island) The JVP insists that President Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot contest another presidential election. Its contention, reiterated by its General Secretary Tilvin Silva on Monday at a media briefing, is based on former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva’s claim that the inauguration of President Rajapaksa’s second term preceded the enactment of the 18th Amendment which did away with the presidential term limit and, therefore, he is disqualified to seek another term. more..

Oct 15 (ST) Construction work of the US$400 million mixed development project at Slave Island undertaken by India’s Tata housing, the real estate arm of the Tata, is now underway. D.P. Jayasinghe Piling Company has started the piling construction of the first phase of the housing project for displaced residents. In keeping with the company policy of providing a customized service with state-of-the-art equipment, it is utlizing the best available piling machines for the project, more..

Oct 15 (ST) Some 30,000 workers could lose their jobs in the face of a growing threat of bankruptcy faced by Sri Lankan footwear and leather product manufacturers due to imports of cheap Chinese and Indian Bangladeshi, Vietnamese and Indonesian products taking advanage of the present duty structure, local manufacturers warned Ten large export companies, 30 medium scale companies and about 3000 small scale more..

Oct 15 (ST) Amidst the hive of activity that is a hospital, with patients walking in and out and doctors and nurses hurrying to their wards, there is a tiny corner for those troubled or traumatized. This corner in the clinic where women are screened for non-communicable diseases at the De Soysa Women’s Hospital (earlier known as the De Soysa Maternity Home — DMH), is manned, nay ‘womanned’ by Ramyalatha Kodikara. It is the place where any woman who has faced abuse, more..

Oct 15 (Island) Sarangi Silva of Sri Sumangala College, Panadura became the first ever school girl to break the six-metre barrier at a school competition as she achieved her personal best with a jump of 6.01m to own the Under-20 girls’ long jump record at the Sir John Tarbet Senior Athletics Championship at Diyagama on Tuesday. No athlete has ever cleared the six-metre mark at either the Sir John Tarbet Athletics Championship or the All Island Schools Games Athletics Championships more..

Oct 15 (CT) Ministry of Investment Promotion and the Board of Investment is awaiting a decision from the UDA to wrap up the much delayed Indian mixed development project by Krrish. According to Minister of Investment Promotion, the decision on the continuation or wrap up of the Krrish Transworks Tower project rested with the UDA, as the investor was introduced by that agency. So far UDA has not made any decision on project. more..

Oct 15 (CT) Despite some impressive macroeconomic indicators the country will not realize equitable and sustainable growth without rule of law, good governance, transparency and an accommodating bureaucracy. "Macroeconomic indicators point to a thriving economy, but the reality is far from this. Non-economic fundamentals such as rule of law, good governance, transparency and an enabling bureaucracy are poor, this is why despite single-digit inflation and low interest rates, more..

Oct 15 (CT) University of Colombo recently renewed its partnership with Mobitel the National Mobile Service Provider, to deliver a continuous service of the online learning initiative 'mLearning' that facilitates distance learning for a range of post-graduate degree programmes. 'mLearning' is an exclusive learning platform designed and developed by Mobitel, that provides a quality education while catering to the needs of a student's lifestyle. Mobitel 'mLearning' is the only commercially available more..

Oct 15 (Island) eWis Colombo Limited, well known as E-wis, last week joined hands with TOS Lanka Co. to reach what may be called a revolutionary milestone for Sri Lanka’s IT Industry, as it will be the first time that a six layered PCB (computer) with surface mounted technology will be produced here. eWis CEO, Sanjeewa Wickramanayake said that his team members are privileged to work with Japanese company, more..

Oct 15 (Island) The Sri Lanka Council for the Blind will celebrate the International White Cane Safety Day today in the main auditorium of the Colombo Public Library. Consultant eye surgeon Dr. Mrs. Kala Sivayoganathan told The Island that more than 200,000 people, including children in Sri Lanka were totally blind and 70 per cent of them had lost sight due to cataract. Cataract patients were everywhere. They did not undergo surgery for various reasons. Dr. Sivayoganathan pointed out that more..

Oct 15 (CT) After 23 long years of absence from the railways the famous Yal Devi, the legendary train that linked Jaffna with Colombo, returned to her home station–Jaffna Railway Station on 13 October 2014 bringing President Rajapaksa and Minister of Transport Kumara Welgama. With the arrival of the Yal Devi the President ceremonially opened the Jaffna Railway Station for operations. This historic moment signifies the re-commencement of the railway operations from Jaffna and more..

Oct 15 (DM) BBS chief, Ven. Kirama Wimalajothi Thera said that it was high time to select a well educated and disciplined youths to govern the country and to dissolve the monopoly of dishonest and prejudice politicians those who had already governed the country. Prelate said that these ‘neither local nor foreign politicians’ were created by the colonial rulers who governed the country under ‘divide and rule’ policy. more..

Oct 15 (Island) President Rajapaksa had gone to Jaffna and distributed others peoples gold, but no matter what he did the northern Tamils would not vote for him, UNP said. Assistant Secretary of the UNP Akila Viraj Kariyawasam addressing a news conference said that the Tamils were not fools and they were fully aware of how the UPFA govt had violated their democratic rights, after having claimed that all communities would be treated alike with the end of the war. more..

Oct 15 (CT) A Trincomalee bound Sri Lanka Transport Board passenger bus, of the Kilinochchi Depot, was attacked with coconuts, by an unidentified group, at 2 a.m. yesterday at the Mankulam junction. This passenger bus was heading towards Trincomalee, from Mullaitivu. When the bus stopped at Mankulam junction for a short break, to allow passengers to relieve themselves, it came under the coconut attack ,according to the driver and the conductor of the bus. more..

Oct 15 (MoD) Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared open the refurbished Kankasanthurai Lighthouse on an invitation extended by the Commander Security Forces-Jaffna, Major General Udaya Perera. Secretary to President Lalith Weeratunga was also present. In accordance with the annals of the Lighthouse history, this has been built in 1892 and it stands proudly with a height of 22m facing Northern Sea. more..

Oct 15 (Island) Customs at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake took into custody three Sri Lankan passengers trying to smuggle foreign currencies to the tune of Rs. 22,106,331 concealed in their rectums to Singapore in the early hours of yesterday. Customs media spokesman Leslie Gamini said that the smugglers aged 34, 38 and 25 from Matale, Jaffna and Negombo had in their rectums Euros 30,000, Euros 41,500 and Swiss Frank 37,000 respectively. more..

Oct 15 (FT) President Rajapaksa yesterday visited the Nagadeepa Purana Raja Maha Viharaya in Jaffna peninsula. After participating in a number of official events and ceremonies in Jaffna yesterday, President Rajapaksa visited the Nagapeeda Temple and received blessings from the chief incumbent of the temple venerable Navadagala Padumakiththi Tissa Thera. President also laid the foundation stone for the construction of a 48 ft. Buddha statue in Abhaya Mudra and took time out to more..

Oct 15 (FT) Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery Expansion and Modernisation Project (SOREM) is poised to move beyond just a blueprint towards becoming a reality. After an exhaustive screening process that involved receiving and evaluating over 20 proposals and short-listing five, CPC and the Ministry of Petroleum have selected a joint proposal by S.S. Lootah Group, a UAE-based international energy corporation, more..

Oct 15 (FT) Magampura Port in Hambantota is currently undertaking the biggest-ever supply of bunker, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said yesterday. Bulk carrier ‘MV Madeira’ will be getting the bunker supply until 18 Oct. The stem is for 2600mt of IFO 380cst via ex-wharf at the tanker terminal of the MRMRP. Vessel is in ballast with a LOA of 292mtrs and draft of 11.5mtrs. The supply is through World Fuel Services Singapore Ltd., valued at around $ 1.6 m (Rs. 203 m). more..

Oct 15 (DN) The second Senior Officials Meeting of the ‘Colombo Process’ and the third Asia - EU dialogue, two key intra and inter-regional processes on facilitating managed and legal international labour migration, will get underway in Colombo today with the participation of representatives from over 30 countries. The second senior officials meeting will be held under the theme ‘International Labour Migration for Prosperity: Adding Value by Working Together’ and the third Asia more..

Oct 15 (HT) The vexed Sethusamudram project — which proposes to provide a navigable shipping channel across the Palk Straits between India and Sri Lanka — could see the light of day with the Centre set to clear an alternative route that avoids dredging through the Ram Setu. Union cabinet will very shortly give its nod to the proposed new alignment, which will not damage the Ram Setu structure. more..

Oct 15 (CT) The Minister of Higher Education should be questioned in connection with the attack on Sabaragamuva University students as he had threatened students prior to the incident, the Ceylon Teacher Services Union (CTSU) yesterday said. Speaking to Ceylon Today, General Secretary of the CTSU, Mahinda Jayasinghe said, it was clear that the attack on the protesting students was organized by the government as the attack was led by a Pradeshiya Sabha member. more..

Oct 15 (AN) The Haj pilgrim who was off-loaded in Riyadh from a flight bound to Colombo from Jeddah on Friday will be discharged from the hospital within the next few days, a senior official from the Sri Lankan Embassy here told Arab News on Tuesday. The Sri Lankan Airlines flight, which was transporting Haj pilgrims back home, was forced to make an emergency landing at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh after a Haj pilgrim complained of severe chest pain. more..

Oct 15 (Island) The TNA is in a quandary over the ongoing large scale Indian funded projects meant to facilitate post-war reconciliation process. The five-party TNA on Monday boycotted the inauguration of the 38 km Pallai-Jaffna railway line with the participation of President Rajapaksa. Indian High Commissioner, Y.K. Sinha joined President Rajapaksa at inauguration ceremony. Addressing officials in Jaffna, a smiling President more..

Oct 15 (Island) Barely a few days after the rescue by some soldiers of a drowning infant at Mankulam, Kilinochchi on the eve of the Army Day (Oct 10), a similar operation was undertaken by a group of military personnel working at the Keppapilaw Model Village in Mullaittivu to save the life of another 14-month old girl who had fallen into a 30-foot well last Sunday afternoon. On hearing a commotion in the Keppapilaw Model Village a group of soldiers, engaged in construction work rushed to more..

Oct 15 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa made the first ever visit by a Head of State to Delft Island yesterday. The President who was accorded a rousing welcome on the occasion opened several development projects and vested them in the public. The government has taken measures to upgrade the standard of the Northern Province, including the islands of the Jaffna Peninsula, in parallel to the massive development activities taking place throughout the country. more..

Oct 15 (DM) JHU MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera said today that they would do everything possible to defeat President Rajapaksa, if he was going for a presidential election without implementing the proposals for the 19th Amendment to the Constitution prepared by ‘Pivithuru Hetak’ National Council. Prelate expressed these views at a function held at BMICH to release the proposal for the 19th more..

Oct 15 (DM) As Malala Yousafzai, the Swat Valley activist became the co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, there won’t be a better time to talk about Nabila Rehman of Wazirsthan, who didn’t even get ten per cent of the attention and recognition Malala received. On Oct 24, 2012, the nine-year-old Nabila was learning how to pick okra from her grandmother in their home garden in Waziristan in rural Pakistan. Suddenly they heard the sound of a CIA operated drone, more..

Oct 15 (DM) Those who do not learn from history will be condemned to relive it. The UNP and the mainstream parliamentary Opposition in Sri Lanka should be condemned for throwing away a fighting chance to grab electoral victory at the forthcoming Presidential Elections. That is, if they choose to go alone without the help of the rest of the Opposition in the forthcoming Presidential Elections. Everything that could go right for the Opposition went right in the Uva PC elections. more..

Oct 15 (SL) The BBS has once again come under the media spotlight for the alleged involvement of its Deputy Finance Secretary, Ven. Wellampitiye Sumanadhamma Thera, in a fraudulent land transaction. The monk had allegedly been involved in a financial misappropriation of Rs 7.5 million, and he was arrested last week on a complaint made by a businessman, Mervyn Perera. It was reported that the monk had sold a more..

Oct 15 (ST) The brutal attack on a female sex worker by a policeman in Ratnapuara town recently, has helped expose the sordid and pitiful life of such women, an issue that authorities prefer to keep unaddressed and hidden, despite the stark reality that thousands of women engage in the flesh trade in the country. The story of 35-year-old W.A. Kanthilatha who was the victim of the police attack, is the untold story of thousands of more..

Oct 15 (DM) UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa had pledged to back a people’s struggle to prevent the incumbent president from contesting for a third term. Mr. Premadasa who was speaking at a programme organised to distribute drinking water to the drought victims in Hambantota said a peoples’ struggle is needed to prevent the incumbent president from contesting for the third term and that he will back such a struggle. more..

Oct 15 (Economist) Rail services between the south of Sri Lanka and its battle-scarred northern peninsula resumed on Oct 13th, for the first time in 24 years. Moments after the first train to complete the reopened service chugged to a halt at the new Jaffna railway station, teenagers bounded onto the tracks to take pictures with their mobile phones. They would have spent most of their lives weathering a brutal war between Tamil Tiger more..

Oct 15 (AM) JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that the JVP would not allow President Rajapaksa to compete in the presidential election for a third time. The JVP Leader said that the JVP will rally the country’s citizenry against what they termed as the ‘illegal’ presidential election which is rumoured to take place in January. We are organizing campaigns island-wide to educate the people on injustices committed by more..

Oct 15 (CG) International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says on the basis of the results of an island-wide survey, it intends to recommend to the authorities a programme to address the economic, psychosocial, legal and administrative needs of families of missing persons. The ICRC, which on 16 Oct will mark the 25th anniversary of its humanitarian activities in Sri Lanka, said that it is currently helping vulnerable persons in the more..

Oct 15 (DM) Defence Ministry said that foreigners wishing to visit the North should obtain prior permission from the Ministry. Military spokesman Ruwan Wanigasuriya said that foreigners who wish to visit the North either as tourists or in connection with some projects should inform the Ministry of Defence about the nature of the proposed visit and the area they intend visiting and obtain its prior permission to do so. more..

Oct 15 (SMH) The federal govt has said it acted lawfully when detaining 157 asylum seekers on board a Customs boat for a month, telling the High Court that India was an "obvious place" to send them. In a separate case on Wednesday, the Federal Court in Brisbane dismissed an application to allow a baby born in Australia to asylum-seeker parents to apply for a protection visa. Judge Michael Jarrett ruled that baby Ferouz Myuddin more..

Oct 15 (CG) The TNA says it does not support an Eelam State in Sri Lanka but is only pushing for devolution of powers to the provinces. TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said that President Rajapaksa, who had recently called for the idea of an Eelam State to be dropped, should abolish the Executive Presidency before the Presidential elections. President had said on Sunday that he is ready to change the Executive Presidential system if more..