Nov 5 (FT) Joint Opposition claimed that the Govt should interdict the suspected police personnel who beat students of the HNDA at Ward Place last week. NFF Leader Wimal Weerawansa stressed that if the Govt condemned the incident such action must be taken to prove its stance. “Photographic evidence clearly shows how HNDA students were beaten by the Police but no action has been taken against the suspects,” more..

Nov 5 (Island) Speaker Karu Jayasuriya overruled objections raised by the Govt against JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake moving a motion for a debate on the Avant Garde floating armoury at the time of adjournment of the House. When JVP leader got up to move the motion, Minister Lakshman Kiriella raising a point of order said that the matter was sub judice and could not be debated in the House. There was a case being heard before Galle Magistrate courts on the same issue. more..

Nov 5 (DN) An advanced and more scientific census will be carried out to calculate suitable and the actual number of families, suitable for receiving Samurdhi, Social Empowerment and Welfare Minister S.B. Dissanayake said. "The number of Samurdhi recipients will be calculated through a scientific census carried out by the Census and Statistic Department to ascertain whether the ideal families are receiving Samurdhi and whether to add more families for Samurdhi beneficiary" more..

Nov 5 (Island) The Super Gains Tax, introduced recently with retrospective effect, has caused huge controversies among the business community. It came into effect on October 30 after being endorsed by the Speaker of parliament Karu Jayasuriya. The deadline for payment of the tax by the relevant companies is Dec 31, 2015, a senior official of the Finance Ministry said. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake had said that this tax would more..

Nov 5 (DM) Kandy Police today took into custody a mother for allegedly attempting to push her own six-year-old child in front of a moving train. However, the mother had denied the allegation. The incident took place in the precincts of the Kandy Police, where there is a level crossing on the Lama Gara Mawatha. The attempt was foiled by the public and the mother and the child were handed over to the Kandy Police Women's and Child Bureau. The mother, who is from Kaikawela in the Matale more..

Nov 5 (CT) The Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Moratuwa confirmed that Senior Lecturer in the Department of Architecture Dr. K.W. Janaka P. Wijesundara had been a supervisor and not an examiner at the aptitude test 2015 for the selection of candidates. The aptitude test was for the courses of Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Landscape Architecture for 2015, the exam for which Dr. Wijesundara's son had also sat for. Allegations of nepotism and family bandyism more..

Nov 5 (FT) Anti-Corruption Commission grilled the former Navy Chief Admiral Somathilake Dissanayake for nearly 10 hours yesterday about weapons provided by Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd. (RALL) to Avant-Garde Security Services Ltd., which is a private security services provider. He arrived before the PRECIFAC to give a statement at 10 a.m. and was questioned for hours by Police investigators led by ASP Lalith Abeysekara more..

Nov 5 (Island) A GCE A/L student of Bandaranayake Vidyalaya, Gampaha, Welagedera Suranjan Pradeep Seneviratne, has filed a fundamental rights violation petition claiming that he was unduly and wrongfully arrested abused and assaulted by the police over the abduction, rape and killing of five year old Seya Sanderani Bakmeemanage on September 11, 2015. He has cited as respondents, Sujith Udayakumara, the OIC of the Kotakadeniya police station, ASP of Negombo Division, more..

Nov 5 (CT) Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told Parliament that he prevented former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa being arrested in connection with the Avant Garde floating armoury case. "I took up the position that he should not be arrested in this connection. I brought this to the notice of the President and the Prime Minister and both of them said we should do what is legal," Rajapakshe said. Speaking in an adjournment debate on the Avant Garde floating armoury more..

Nov 5 (CT) In a dramatic turn of events during the adjournment debate on the alleged corrupt deal of the infamous Avant Garde floating armoury, several govt members were seen engaged in scathing attacks on their own colleagues, while the members of main Opposition UPFA were busy using the floor to cleanse themselves of whatever sins were merited on them. As usual it was JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake who more..

Nov 5 (DM) National Govt will today reach a landmark in its journey when PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs, outlines in Parliament a medium-term economic strategy, with the centerpiece being sustainable, eco-friendly rural development for the benefit mainly of the needy or impoverished people. For thousands of years, organic agriculture has been a vital part of the heart of SL’s time honoured culture and civilisation. more..

Nov 5 (DM) Fortunes of a nation lie on a trunk of a leader. If the heart of Mahinda Rajapaksa were attached to the mind of Ranil Wickremesinghe, the nation could come smelling of roses after the war. Patriotic sentiments blended neatly with worldly wisdom. It was not to be. Becomes a land of a splintered torso. Who is Boss? Need is for a Boss of Bosses - Capo di Cape. President Sirisena wisely leaves thorny issues with a foreign component to his better-educated PM than to sartorially elegant more..

Nov 5 (DM) Amartya Sen in his internationally acclaimed book Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny laments the little boxes of identity to which people put themselves into and live in a world of single dimension of seclusion. The book which was seen as a foil to Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilization theory, no doubt, among others, underscored the ethnic complexity of politics especially those of Sen’s native more..

Nov 5 (Haveeru) Police have arrested a Sri Lankan sniper from the Maldives days after a sniper rifle bullet was found in the biggest weapons bust in the country's recent history. The sniper who had served in the Sri Lankan military was arrested a week ago and remains in custody. Maldivian authorities, neither confirmed nor denied the arrest. Weapons had been seized from Hibilhadhoo island in Baa Atoll being developed as a resort. more..

Nov 5 (DM) Law & Order Minister Tilak Marapana told Parliament that the Police had raided the Avant-Garde floating armoury ship at the Galle Harbour soon after the election to 'score point'. While dismissing allegations over the whole matter, the Minister stated that it was similar to the millennium city affair in 2002. “The reality was that,” he said. "Facts have been distorted to create a wrong picture in the minds of the people." more..

Nov 5 (CG) Top businesswoman Soma Edirisinghe passed away today at a private hospital. She was 76 years old. Edirisinghe was the chairperson of the EAP Group of companies. Her career as an entrepreneur began in 1974 with the sudden demise of her husband EAP Edirisinghe, the founder of the EAP group of Companies. From that day onwards she has been playing the role of Chairperson of EAP Group of Companies. more..

Nov 5 (Island) Students of Higher National Diploma in Accountancy (HNDA), who were attacked by the police last Thursday while protesting opposite the UGC, met the special committee appointed by the Ministry of University Education to look into their grievances at the Ministry in Ward Place, Colombo yesterday. Member of the Committee and Additional Secretary to the Ministry of University Education more..

Nov 5 (CG) A group of Tamil detainees were presented to Court today and most of them were re-remanded after they refused to accept an offer to undergo rehabilitation. The detainees, who call themselves “political prisoners” but are not recognized as such by the Govt, said that the court, Govt and TNA will be held responsible for their lives if they are not freed unconditionally. TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran told Parliament more..

Nov 5 (CI) SL's quest for youth continues in the Twenty20 format, as rookie bowlers Binura Fernando and Jeffrey Vandersay, as well as allrounder Shehan Jayasuriya, find places in the squad for the two-match series against West Indies. Dinesh Chandimal returns to the T20 fold after being rested against Pakistan, but Lahiru Thirimanne, who had made significant contributions to World T20 campaign last year, has been left out. more..

Nov 5 (Island) Undergraduates of the IUSF who met State Minister Mohan Lal Grero yesterday expressed their displeasure at what they termed the minister’s failure to give them an assurance to solve their grievances, especially in relation to stopping of the education privatization process. Convenor of the IUSF Lahiru Weerasekera said the cabinet or state minister did not give them a discussion last Thursday, but more..

Nov 5 (Island) Anuradhapura Panorama Night Club owner Wasantha de Zoysa was a very close friend of mine and one of several who had supported my election campaigns, former Minister Mervyn Silva said. "He was a gentleman and I even have in my office a photograph of his, which was presented to me by him," he said. "Karate Wasantha was a sportsman and people like him do not get involved in illegal activities. more..

Nov 5 (CT) Chief Opposition Whip Anura Kumara Dissanayake made potentially tangible revelations in Parliament yesterday regarding the controversial Avant Garde case, in the course of which he mentioned the names of several powerful ministers in the govt. Dissanayake mentioned the names of President Maithripala Sirisena, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, Minister Thilak Marapana, and Minister Vajira Abeywardena more..

Nov 5 (CT) CT published a statement issued by National Peace Council titled Deal with the Muslim Expulsion also through Geneva process and the comments that followed. Amarasiri in his comment rightly claims that Ethnic Cleansing is a WAR CRIME. Period. Refer to war Crimes. The expulsion of Muslims from the North was ethnic cleansing even if that was retaliation for violence against Thamils in the east by Muslim Home Guards aided and abetted by the armed forces. more..

Nov 5 (EN) Sri Lanka will reform the Central Bank, taking out exchange control and the management of a retirement fund funds away from it, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said. Exchange control act will be reformed into an exchange management act he told parliament. Sri Lanka had free capital movement under British rule but some restrictions were brought during World Wars in the last century and draconian exchange controls were brought after a money printing central bank was built in 1951. more..

Nov 5 (LBO) Sri Lankan stocks closed up at 0.2% on Thursday following a policy statement by the PM in the afternoon with gains in blue chip stocks, brokers said. Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed up 13.82 points at 7,017.39 higher 0.2%. S&P SL20 closed 8.18 points higher at 3,792.79 up 0.22%. “The market turned during the afternoon following special statement in Parliament by the PM on medium term economic framework of the present Government,” Lanka Securities said. more..

Nov 5 (DM) FCID unit two OIC who was noticed to show cause as to why they had violated court procedure by producing former President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunge and Former TRC Director General Anusha Pelpita in High Court without producing them before a Magistrate, today apologised to Colombo Additional Magistrate Nishantha Pieris following an explanation. Magistrate earlier issued notice on the OIC of the FCID, the DIG and Western Province ASP to more..

Nov 5 (Island) Leader of the JVP-splinter group Frontline Socialist Party Premakumar Gunaratnam alias Kumar Mahattaya was arrested at his ancestral house in Kegalle by police yesterday. Arrest had been made around 1.45 pm at Gunaratnam’s house at No 211/26, Anguruwella, Kegalle by a team of policemen from the Kegalle police on charges of violating immigration regulations. Gunaratnam has been remanded more..

Nov 5 (CT) Deputy Minister of Local Govt & Provincial Councils, Karunaratne Paranavithana in an interview with Ceylon Today has claimed that local bodies are full of corrupt SLFP politicians. He had stressed the need to introduce young blood into local bodies, while claiming it is the UNP which is capable of performing that task. The Deputy Minister's statement is correct. Over the years, both the UNP and SLFP have nurtured corrupt politicians, from as far back as 1977. more..

Nov 5 (AD) A Sri Lankan housemaid was stabbed to death by a 27 years old Citizen in Umm Al- Hayman area this morning, Kuwaiti media reported. The father of the suspect had called police, saying that his son killed the maid and then he escaped to an unknown area. Later, he was arrested by Ahmadi detectives. The body was recovered by the coroner and the suspect was sent to concerned authorities while a case was registered for investigation, the Kuwait Local reported. more..

Nov 5 (DM) Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka today hit out at Law and Order Minister Tilak Marapana and Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe saying that if what they said in parliament over the Avant-Garde floating armoury ship was true, then an inquiry should be launched against the police and action taken against them. “Law and Order Minister will have to carry out an investigation against the police and impose more..

Nov 5 (EN) Sri Lanka has sterilized or taken out of the real economy, about US$ 1 billion of liquidity from a US$ 1.5 billion bond sale, ensuring that the proceeds are not available to drive domestic credit, consumption and imports, but other newly minted money remains. Central Banks' Treasury bill stock or domestic assets taken into to its balance sheet to print money and generate a balance of payments crisis and currency depreciation was sold from 229 billion rupees to 82.6 billion rupees. more..

Nov 5 (Island) There has been no positive gesture the TNA as regards the resettlement of more than 60,000 North East Muslims evicted since 1990, State Minister of Rehabilitation and Resettlement, M. L. A. M. Hizbullah says. "Already plans have been approved by the government to build 65,000 houses in the North and East commencing January 2016, but with the present scenario things don’t seem to be moving in the right direction," the State Minister said. more..

Nov 5 (CG) The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances* will undertake an official visit to Sri Lanka from 9 to 18 November 2015, at the invitation of the Govt. During the mission, the UN experts will study the measures adopted by the State to prevent and eradicate enforced disappearances, including issues related to truth, justice and reparation for the victims of enforced disappearances, more..

Nov 5 (Island) Members of the Professions Supplementary to Medicine have threatened a token strike today at the Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital against the transfer of a Medical Laboratory Technologist. Vice President Joint Council of Professions Supplementary to Medicine (JCPSM), Ravi Kumudesh said that it was the first time in the history that the professions supplementary to medicine had taken the decision to strike at the LRH. Hospital had always been exempted more..

Nov 5 (EN) Sri Lanka will review property and firms expropriated by the ousted Rajapaksa regime and enact a new law to guarantee investment protection, PM Ranil Wickramasinghe said. Firms and property expropriated by a controversial law will be reviewed Wickramasinghe told parliament presenting a policy statement similar to the first section of a budget speech. A new law guaranteeing the safety of domestic and foreign investors which is in line with the constitution (section 157) will be enacted more..

Nov 5 (LBO) Sri Lanka should urgently bring legislations to give effect to the needed policy reforms to become a highly competitive social market economy, Deputy Minister Harsha De Silva said. “The 3rd generation economic reforms, as referred to and presented by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe today in Parliament, has gone beyond even what was expected by most towards restructuring the economy to prepare for more..

Nov 5 (CI) New Zealand Women thrashed Sri Lanka Women by 10 wickets by bowling them out for 126 and then chasing the score rather easily in under 15 overs, in the second ODI in Lincoln. New Zealand captain Suzie Bates impressed with an all-round performance that included figures of 3 for 27 from her ten overs and an unbeaten and aggressive knock of 70 from 44 balls, to help her team to a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Put in to bat, Sri Lanka were rocked early, being 4 for 2 in 3rd over, more..

Nov 5 (LSJ) Two psychology students from the University of Lincoln have returned from Sri Lanka after completing a mental health placement. Laura White and Kiara Jackson found difficulty in applying for a Clinical Psychology Doctorate, as fewer than 4% of applicants are successful, so they decided to travel to get the experience they needed. Trip was organised by SL Volunteers, which was founded in 2010 by Psychology graduates and focuses on helping develop mental health care in SL. more..

Nov 5 (DM) Committee which investigated the alleged corruption at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had failed to find evidence or proof of any misdeeds and had not recommended action against any former officials of SLC, Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara revealed. “We read all the ideas and recommendations of the appointed committee. Nine recommendations have been made. But nowhere in those nine recommendations does the report more..