Dec 8 (EP) FOR the past ten years, he has travelled the world indulging his three passions of cookery, surfing and photography. Jon Lewin's lifestyle may sound an enviable one for many, but it has not been without its darker moments. In 2004, while on a surf trip to Sri Lanka, the former Swansea Metropolitan University student was caught up in the tsunami which devastated the beautiful island. But the relationships he forged with locals in the aftermath have never been forgotten, more..

Dec 8 (CI) Brendon McCullum will not say it, but his team are wolves at home. His quicks do not blow their own horns, but on seaming decks, they make the ball sing. In the outfield, New Zealand whizz about like pinballs. In the slips, flesh-and-bone bends and flexes like elastic. There will be talk of weakness now, after a series just lost, but do not believe it. New Zealand's XI may seem a little imbalanced with two allrounders injured. more..

Dec 8 (DN) Litro Gas has exhibited a significant sales growth of above 30% in the domestic market during the first 10 months of this year. This complements with the imposed price reductions by the govt. The recent decision taken by the govt to reduce the price of 12.5 kg domestic LP gas will further have a positive impact on its sales and volume, which are expected to surge by end this year, company said. Price reductions imposed within a year is significant (44%) benefitting more..

Dec 8 (DN) Chairman Stassen Group and Aitkin Spence, Harry Jayewardene and Dilmah Tea Chairman and Founder Merrill J. Fernando strongly criticized the move by the govt to import tea to the country subsequent to the Budget 2016 proposals. Speaking at the Business Forum on budget 2016, the duo said that this move would have severe negative impacts for the local industry. "It would dilute the quality of Sri Lankan brand name of tea which we have strived for years to create." more..

Dec 8 (CT) Opposition Whip Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, the JVP would at the opportune moment reveal detailed information of journalists who accepted financial kickbacks from Avant Garde in return for soft-pedalling negative publicity relating to the controversy that has been dogging the company for years. He said in Parliament that the party would vote against the proposals. more..

Dec 8 (CT) While the govt has been taking immense steps to implement housing projects in several parts of the Eastern Province, however, in several parts of the Ninthavur Divisional Secretariat division officials find it difficult to allocate and identify lands for such housing projects, said Faisal Cassim, Deputy Minister of Health. He said so addressing an event that followed the handing over of bags of cement to low income farmers to plaster their newly constructed houses. more..

Dec 8 (Island) Hiran Cooray, president, Tourist Hotels Association of SL appealed to the authorities recently to leave the hoteliers' mother fund intact without dividing or distributing it according to Finance Bills passed in line with a recent budget proposal. Cooray said this referring to some of the moneys in the Tourism Development Levy (TDL) which are to be transferred to the Treasury, consistent with a budget proposal presented by the Finance Minister. more..

Dec 8 (DM) GMOA said a letter of demand would be sent to Minister Champika Ranawaka for allegedly making defamatory comments alleging a connection between the island-wide strike launched last week by the GMOA and some other professional groups with the Avant Garde issue. Minister Ranawaka has said govt should investigate whether there was a connection between the island-wide strike and Avant Garde issue. more..

Dec 8 (DM) A married man who was employed as an executive of a private company was caught red-handed by his wife while honeymooning with a 24-year-old woman at a star class hotel in Colombo today. The man, a father of two, had married the rich 24-year-old directress of another private company. He had allegedly paid a woman to pose as his mother. His wife, an account of a private hospital in Colombo, with the assistance of several others had barged into the hotel where the newly-wed more..

Dec 8 (DM) Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were auctioned for 550,000 USDs at an auction held today for the inaugural edition of the Masters Champions League (MCL) which would be held in Dubai in January next year. Legendary cricketers like Brian Lara, Sourav Ganguly, Jacques Kallis and others have also been assigned to six teams. According to IBT, Muttiah Muralitharan had been auctioned for 100,000 USDs and is the ICON of the team, Gemini Arabians. more..

Dec 8 (DM) JVP criticized the budget proposal to exempt taxes on foreigners when purchasing lands in Sri Lanka and asked whether those who voted for the government were foreigners. JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the same proposal was implemented by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2001 as the then PM. “Many properties at the Galle Fort and coastal areas of Beruwala were purchased by foreigners more..

Dec 8 (FT) JVP claimed farmers who have five acres of land would lose Rs. 37,500 per year due to the recent budget proposal taken to curtail the fertiliser subsidy and insisted the allocation is inadequate for current farming needs. Criticising govt suggestion to give Rs. 25,000 per hectare (2,5 acres) for farmers instead of the traditional fertiliser subsidy, JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka charged that amount was insufficient to buy fertilisers for both Yala and Maha seasons. more..

Dec 8 (FT) With a financial envelope of Euro 14 million, more than 300,000 people are expected to benefit from the support provided by the European Union to build houses and improve community infrastructure for internally displaced people and returnees. The activities will be implemented from 2016-2018 in nine selected divisions of the Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Batticaloa districts by Habitat for Humanity. This initiative dovetails on the earlier housing programs for more..

Dec 8 (3N) Sri Lankan team says it was completely taken aback with news that wicket-keeper Kusal Perera had returned a positive drugs test. The team was informed of the result last night with the player himself being sent home immediately. It's been reported the banned substance were steroids, though this has not been officially confirmed. SL coach Jerome Jaraynte fronted the media on positive test saying more..

Dec 8 (DM) In the aftermath of a regime where corruption and fraud, wasteful expenditure, luxuries and extravagance reached their worst-ever proportions, Sri Lanka joins the world community in marking the UN International Anti-Corruption Day tomorrow. UN in a message to mark the day says corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon that affects all countries. Corruption undermines democratic institutions, slows economic development and contributes more..

Dec 8 (DM) Internal politics at places of work, in associations, schools, universities, trade unions and various kinds of coalitions, are insignificant when compared with national politics and politicos who hold the reins of a country’s affairs. And when in power, these characters through habit and even by design make others, including the voters who placed them in charge, hapless onlookers who realise far too late the wrong choices they had made in using their franchise. more..

Dec 8 (DM) Whether Budget 2016 was presented by the Good Governance govt, would bear the fruits of prosperity or take the country’s economy down the drain is yet to be seen. However speaking to the Daily Mirror, a few individuals including trade unionists who represented both the public and private sector expressed their views about the Budget and how it would affect the lives of Sri Lankans. more..

Dec 8 (EN) Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said budget allocation for 2016 made to provincial councils through ministry for the subject was in line with a constitutional requirement and it was not an attempt to undermine or cut funds to the bodies. He told reporters that funds for the provincial councils were allocated to the relevant line ministry from 1988 to 2004 which then gave it to each ministry. more..

Dec 8 (SL) The government’s decision to initiate an investigation into the alleged siphoning of millions of rupees from state coffers to be given to the LTTE by the Rajapaksas before and after the 2005 presidential election has been hailed by all quarters of the country. According Minister Gayantha Karunathilake, once the investigation is concluded, entire country will come to know how the Rajapaksas, who boasted of being patriots, more..

Dec 8 (ST) Cabinet this week passed a Right of Access to Information Bill which will ensure citizens the right to obtain information from a public authority subject to certain exceptions. A public authority has been defined as a ministry, any office established by the Constitution (other than the Companies Act), a department, public corporation, a company in which the state holds 25% of the shares or more, a local authority, a private entity more..

Dec 8 (DM) A group International Trade Ministry officials will leave for India on Dec 21 to make a final decision on Economic and Technology Cooperative Agreement (ETCA) with India which was earlier known as Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), GMOA revealed on Monday. Revelation was made by Minister Malik Samarawickrama during a meeting held with GMOA members who continuously opposed the more..

Dec 8 (Island) The 2015 International Award was presented to Dr. Sarath Gunatilake, Director, Employee Health Metropolitan State Hospital and Professor Health Science Department, California State University, Long Beach. Dr Gunatilake received the award at the APHA annual meeting in Chicago. This award was presented primarily in recognition of Dr. Gunatilake’s research work with Dr. Channa Jayasumana, more..

Dec 8 (DN) Teachers and Principals will take measures to prevent the govt from distributing vouchers instead of school uniform material next year, All Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin said. He said that a number of problems have arisen due to the distribution of vouchers adding that it is a complicated procedure. Parents were seen waiting in long queues to collect the vouchers for their children's uniforms. more..

Dec 8 (DM) Former Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris has expressed serious concern over the govt considering a general amnesty for LTTE cadres in custody, particularly those who had been convicted on terrorism charges. Prof. Peiris said that the govt stand should be examined against the backdrop of a 17-year-old boy taking his own life, demanding the immediate release of LTTE cadres from custody. Former law professor said he considered that more..

Dec 8 (PSL) President Maithripala Sirisena says the responsibility will be fulfilled as a govt for a healthy nation, through the govt’s policy on alcohol and tobacco. He added that the govt will address the issue of the non- infectious diseases, faced by the world community and will do the best to build a healthy nation. He made these remarks speaking at the ceremony to felicitate Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne; who has been honored more..

Dec 8 (LBO) Tea exports continued to decline in Sept 2015 severely affected by lower demand from main tea buyers in Russia and Middle East reflecting declines in both export volume and export prices. Tea exports recorded a drop of 20.4% in Sept this year compared to corresponding month in 2014. Average export price of tea decreased to US$ 4.32 per kg compared to US$ 5.01 per kg recorded in Sept 2014. more..

Dec 8 (CT) Lanka Private Bus Owners' Association (LPBOA) is expected to file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka against the manner in which the police are implementing lane laws. President of the LPBOA, Gemunu Wijeratne, recently revealed about his organization's plan to lodge a complaint at the Human Rights Commission within the next week as many bus drivers had to face undue harassment and injustice due to the police imposing the lane laws arbitrarily. more..

Dec 8 (Island) Health Ministry yesterday said that a special investigation had been launched by the Director General Health Services, Dr. Palitha Mahipala into a medical misadventure at the Kalutara Nagoda General Hospital (KNGH) early this month when a surgeon allegedly operated on the wrong breast of a patient. K. Shriyani, a mother of two from Agalawatta, was admitted to the KNGH by her husband for surgery on a nodule in her right breast. more..

Dec 8 (CT) Remember the revulsion and disgust with which our society reacted to the gruesome murder of that angel Seya last September. Suggestions for the punishment of the accused at that time ranged from decapitation, to killing by torture, to stoning to death like in the Middle East. The rage was all over their faces and the revengeful fury of the public expressed in their loud voices. Today, we are concerned about the sentence to death by stoning or lapidation of a SL woman more..

Dec 8 (TD) President Maithripala Sirisena, will soon complete his first year in office and many promises remain unfulfilled. More recently, we’re now hearing talk about the creation of a special court to handle alleged wartime abuses and the drafting of a new constitution. Would expecting genuine progress on either of the aforementioned fronts be realistic? After all, there remain other, less complicated aspects of reform that the Sirisena administration has yet to address, such as more..

Dec 8 (CI) A 27-year-old opening batsman, 23 Tests in, and still developing the guts of his technique may reasonably expect a senior's arm around his shoulder and a wise word from time to time. For three years, since his debut in late 2012, Dimuth Karunaratne got that from the greats he used to share a dressing room with. But now, only 12 months after winning his way back to Test side, Karunaratne finds himself dishing out advice. more..

Dec 8 (DM) Former Sri Lankan cricket captain Mahela Jayawardena said today that everyone should remain positive and should not make early-statements about the result on the random drug test done on Kusal Janith Perera. Kusal was recalled by the SLC yesterday from New Zealand after a sample he provided for a random drug test during the recent Pakistani tour had been positive for a banned substance. Mahela in a tweet said we should not jump the gun with Kusal. more..

Dec 8 (Island) Socialist Alliance accused the Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake of having altered some figures presented in the budget proposals and hoodwinked the masses by claiming that some properties already belonging to the health ministry are to be acquired. SA General Secretary Raja Collure warned that though there had been a surplus in rice production in the previous year the govt decision to stop providing fertilizer at subsidised prices would result in a shortage of rice. more..

Dec 8 (EN) Sri Lankan exports fell for the seventh successive month in September 2015, down by 5.9% to US$ 850 million from a year ago as rubber product and tea shipments slumped, the central bank said. Spending on imports also fell, down by 5.1% to US$ 1,583 million over the same period, with lower spending on fuel imports. The trade deficit in September 2015 contracted by 4.1% to US$ 733 million from a year ago. more..

Dec 8 (DN) Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar severely warned former UPFA MP Duminda Silva for his failure to hand over his passport to Court promptly, following his visit to Singapore. Special Trial-at-Bar comprising three High Court Judges Shiran Gunaratne, Pathmini Ranawaka and C.B.S. Moraes had allowed former MP, the 11th accused in the Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra murder case to travel Singapore for medical treatment. He was permitted to leave the country for more..

Dec 8 (Island) The highest number of candidates in the country’s history would sit the GCE (O/L) Exam scheduled to commence today. Exam Chief W.M.N.J. Pushpakumara said that the exam would be held at 4,670 centres countrywide. It would conclude on Dec. 17. For the first time there were 664,715 candidates including 261,271 private applicants. The examination would begin at 8.30 a.m. and candidates would have to be present at their examination centres before 8.00 a.m. more..

Dec 8 (TN) A high-level 17-member Sri Lankan delegation on Monday held meetings with their Pakistani counterparts at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The delegation was headed by Prasanna Jayasinghe while LCCI President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad, Vice President Nasir Saeed and Executive Committee Members also spoke on the occasion. LCCI President and Sri Lankan delegation agreed to make joint efforts to enhance exiting trade volume. more..

Dec 8 (CT) A large number of people from all walks of life gathered at Maruthamunai Muslim Public Burial Grounds, at the Janaza of former Kalmunai Mayor and Senator Mashoor Moulana a veteran politician from the East, on Saturday to pay their last respects to the late Senator Mashoor Moulana who passed away early Friday morning, at his residence in Colombo. He was 84 years at the time of his death. Ministers, deputy ministers, state ministers, MPs, Provincial Councillors and more..