Oct 17 (NS) Fonterra, the owners of the now well-known brand Anchor, has boldly announced that it is venturing into the fresh milk market. The company didn’t have the best of times after the DCD controversy a couple of years ago. It can be said that the initial reaction did more harm than good to Fonterra. Time will tell if this move will see Fonterra completely dropping powdered milk products, but it still signals a fresh start and one that’s arguably a step in the right direction. more..

Oct 17 (SL) In Japan on his second overseas visit after becoming Prime Minister nine months ago after the maiden one to India, Ranil Wickremesinghe has reiterated his Govt’s resolve to negotiate a political solution to the decades-old ethnic issue and power-devolution. He has said that the Govt would hold discussions with the TNA, other Tamil parties and other stake-holders. He has also been promising a new Constitution, which, it is implied, would reflect the results of these negotiations, too. more..

Oct 17 (GV) Travel to the North and East of Sri Lanka and you may notice, dotted amongst the fields and along the dusty expanses of road, brand new houses, many of them brightly coloured. The roofs bear the names of different aid agencies – the UN perhaps, or Red Cross. These are part of the Indian housing project. This project, initiated by former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2010, will see an estimated 50,000 houses built for more..

Oct 17 (GV) Almost 3 weeks ago on Sept 23 too an investigating team visited Rajapaksa’s residence and recorded a statement on a petition the PRECIFAC had received, alleging that ITN had sustained a loss of Rs. 200 million because of non-payment of outstanding dues by former president Rajapaksa for telecasts of his presidential election campaign advertisements. However big or small the person, however large or small the sum, any allegation of misappropriation, fraud or more..

Oct 17 (PF) The history of State-Owned-Enterprises (SOEs) goes back to British colonial rule. Even after the Independence, ownership and management of commercial enterprises by the state were, justified by the parties identified with socialist ideology. State involvement in businesses increased due to regimes which gained power on a populist agenda. This trend was reinforced by a wave of thinking which advocated insulating developing countries from the vagaries of an international economic system more..

Oct 17 (CI) Tharindu Kaushal, wiry, 22 and tightly wound, charges at the crease, knees climbing, arms drawn briskly up, body like a loaded spring. When his left foot lands, it pivots quickly. His hips wring around, then his wrists. The ball emerges a blur, seam scrambled, whirring when it's tossed up. His is almost a violent action. It sometimes gets violent results. Rangana Herath, now greying at the temples, stands at the top of his mark, more..

Oct 17 (NS) A recent visit to Jaffna with a group of informed individuals for a small meeting with their counterparts was not only revealing, but also alarmingly informative. The meeting was scheduled to have three short presentations and a discussion. The theme was biblical with special reference to the story of Cain and Able, the two sons of Adam and Eve. The murder of Able by Cain in the book of Genesis was the background for the suggested theme. The verse goes as more..

Oct 17 (CI) A century from Shammu Ashan followed by an impressive spell of fast bowling from Jehan Daniel helped Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in a rain-affected Youth ODI in Hambantota. Ashan came in with his team at 50 for 3 and helped hold the innings together with an 86-run partnership with captain Charith Asalanka, who contributed 65 off 75 balls. Sri Lanka's recovery though was dented when Asalanka was removed in the 34th over. With the score at 136 for 4, Pakistan would have more..

Oct 17 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s much talked port city project is still under water as the new administration has questioned project approvals. The builders of Sri Lanka’s Chinese-funded port city project say discussions are ongoing and they await a positive reply from the government after the suspension of work. Sri Lanka’s cabinet last month approved an extension of the Colombo port city agreement for further six months. more..

Oct 17 (ST) It is not every day that one gets to talk about a man who has been an inspiration to the private sector of the land and it is not every day that one gets to tell others about the good works done by such a man. Here is a man who pursued his dream, despite obstacles. In Sri Lanka, his is a name that conjures up a mixture of grudging admiration and heroic antics. Blessed with a never-say-die attitude, his vociferous and his often frank and forthright rhetoric has given him various labels more..

Oct 17 (ST) Colombo Marathon drew a lot of attention what with the participation of foreign runners and VIPs. There was this particular tent on the Negombo beach front where some top officials had gathered to relax and watch the proceedings. Then came a sudden burst of wind which uprooted the tent and had the officials running for cover. Spotted amongst the runners was this top sports boss. He showed a clean pair of heels and many spectators commented that he too should more..

Oct 17 (NS) The world’s greatest all-rounder the game has ever produced Sir Garfield Sobers will arrive in Sri Lanka on Oct 20 on the invitation of Sri Lanka Cricket. Sir Garry will be a guest of Sri Lanka Cricket during his one week stay here and will be a guest of honour at the second Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies to be played at the P Sara Oval from 22-26. The ongoing series is played for a trophy named after more..

Oct 17 (LR) Canada’s Sri Lankan born Ruvindu Gunasekera and Srimantha Wijeyeratne were selected to represent ICC Americas team in the Nagico Super 50 Tournament to be played in Trinidad & Tobago from January 4 to 24, in 2016. The other teams that will take part are Jamaica, hosts T&T, Guyana, Leeward & Windward and a Combined Universities XI. Americas team were selected out of players invited from Canada, USA, Argentina, Bermuda, Surinam & Cayman more..

Oct 17 (DM) Minister Navin Dissanayake has appointed Rohan Pethiyagoda as the new Chairman of Sri Lanka Tea Board. Rohan Pethiyagoda, a SL businessman and a distinguished officer of the Govt Service, whose immediate prior assignment has been Consultant to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, is being now appointed to the Tea Board. Pethiyagoda completed his secondary education at St Thomas’s College, Mount Lavinia and B.Sc. (Eng.) Hons. in Electrical and Electronics more..

Oct 17 (PSL) President Maithripala Sirisena pledged to construct a new storage facility for paddy in Medirigiriya area due to the inadequate storage facilities in the area. The President also promised to provide few generators to hospitals and water purification centers in the Polonnaruwa District. The president made these comments during the Polonnaruwa District Development Committee meeting held at more..

Oct 17 (NS) Govt’s decision to buy tea from the auctions has come under severe criticism from exporters who alleged that the decision was haphazardly made without consulting the stakeholders. Ministry of Plantation Industries last week had requested the Treasury to allocate Rs.1 billion in order to purchase tea from the auctions as a move to contain the situation which had affected the tea industry. However, Chairman, Tea Exporters’ Association of SL (TEA) when contacted more..

Oct 17 (NS) The Export Development Board (EDB) of Sri Lanka recently extended its support to batik manufacturers as a part of its initiative to back the country’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). A statement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade last week said that the EDB had stepped up moves to stamp Brand Sri Lanka in the global Batik map while linking the local manufacturers with top institutional stakeholders. “24 leading Lankan SME Batik manufacturers are more..

Oct 17 (NS) The proposed energy pricing formula, which has been in the planning stages for several months, is likely to be delayed as the Ministries of Petroleum Resources Development and Finance yet to finalize the draft before being presented for Cabinet approval. Interim Govt which was formed after the Presidential election in January this year announced that it would be introducing pricing formula for fuel. more..

Oct 17 (CT) 37-year-old left arm spinner Rangana Herath once again proved Sri Lanka's one man army in the Test bowling attack, claiming his 23rd five-wicket haul as Sri Lanka ended day three of the first Test smelling victory against the WI at Galle yesterday. Herath has now collected five wicket hauls against every Test playing nation apart from Zimbabwe and he is now just 15 wickets away from 300 Test wicket mark, which only two other Sri Lankans, Murali & Vaas had achieved before. more..

Oct 17 (FT) In a bid to address the grave issue of youth unemployment in the Mannar district, the International Labour Organization (ILO) in partnership with the Mannar District Secretariat and the Department of Manpower and Employment established the District Public Employment Services (PES) Centre of Mannar District. The centre was declared open recently by Willem Verpoest, First Counsellor of the European Union Delegation for SL, H.G.G.J. Dharmasena, Director General, more..

Oct 17 (NS) The government has incurred a revenue loss in excess of Rs.100 million from ethanol imported illegally into the country, the Ministry of Finance has revealed. On Friday, the ministry stated that Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake has instructed authorities to initiate measures to recover from the relevant parties, losses incurred by the govt as a result of importing ethanol illegally to the country. more..

Oct 17 (FT) The Sri Lanka Navy has arrested 22 local fishermen in two separate occasions for using illegal methods for fishing. Naval personnel attached to SLNS Therapuththa in Silawathurai arrested five personnel along with a Fiber Glass Dinghy (FGD) and a Purse-seine net in the seas of Arippu while engaged in illegal fishing on 14 October. The arrested personnel along with items were handed over to Assistant Director of Fisheries in Mannar for onward action. more..

Oct 17 (NS) Former Minister of Finance and Home Affairs of India, Shri Palaniappan Chidambaram, will deliver the oration at the 20th Annual Tax Oration of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) on Oct 22, 2015. The former minister will center his oration on the Challenges Faced by Emerging Economies in Revenue Collection. Chidambaram, a corporate lawyer by profession, holds a Bachelor of Laws and double Master’s Degrees from Loyola College, Chennai and more..

Oct 17 (DM) The CID today informed Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitya that drug kingpin Mohamed Siddeek had funded the LTTE, and that some persons had deposited money in Siddeek’s wife’s accounts which the CID and the Interpol were investigating. The CID said the accounts were originally handled by Siddeek but were later handled by his wife, and that further investigations were continuing. more..

Oct 17 (GDI) A team of 23 sportsmen and women representing Sri Lankan Armed Forces who attended the 6th World Military Games in Munchiyan, South Korea during Oct 2-11, succeeded in securing 2 Bronze Medals. Sapper M.V.S Silva, Sapper A.L.M. Ashrof, Lance Corporal A.R.M Rajeshkhan, Sapper A.M.Y.P Abeykoon jointly won a Bronze Medal (3rd place) in the 100 x 4 Men’s relay event and Staff Sergeant 1, Nadeesha Lakmali of SL Army Women’s Corps won more..

Oct 17 (IE) A visually captivating close-up has ornate foot jewellery worn by a Hindu bride. In another frame, a family poses in front of their houseboat at the Kelani river, and another photograph has extravagantly costumed elephants parading through the streets during an annual Buddhist procession. These are three of the 125 photographs that comprise Imaging the Isle Across: Vintage Photography from Ceylon. On at National Museum in Delhi, depicting SL in 1880s. more..

Oct 17 (CT) 16 months after the communal riots in June 2014, Aluthgama saw the armed forces completely quitting the city yesterday with a celebratory farewell from the town's people. Aluthgama Development Foundation (ADF), together with the residents of Aluthgama, hosted the tri forces to a dinner in appreciation of all the work they had done. In July 2014, govt instructed Army, Navy and Air Force to more..

Oct 17 (CT) The Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife will, with police assistance, begin keeping track of tourists sneaking in alcohol into the country's Wildlife Parks. The move is aimed at stemming the rising number of incidents in which drunken tourist Safari drivers are believed to have been responsible for running down rare species of wildlife in the parks. Tourists are prohibited from bringing in alcohol to the parks in the interests of the animals. more..

Oct 17 (DN) Commission to Investigate Allegation of Bribery or Corruption is conducting further investigations to arrest two more higher officials in the Customs Department pertaining to the case of allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs. 125 million. Commission's Director General Dilrukshi Dias said investigations pertaining to the matter were still progressing, adding that five senior Department officials were involved in the incident. "Only 3 were arrested. We will arrest other two soon. more..

Oct 17 (FT) While there was freedom of speech, there was no absolute media freedom under the present govt, Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday, while refusing to comment on certain queries raised by journalists. The former president made these comments following a hearing of the PRECIFAC. Rajapaksa criticised the govt for allegedly having some media censor his comments. more..

Oct 17 (DM) Yesterday was World Food Day with the year’s theme being social protection and agriculture: Breaking the cycle of rural poverty. It spotlights the link between ending hunger and food insecurity by enhancing social protection, a key tool in breaking the cycle of poverty. Education, healthcare and financial support are all forms of social protection which play a major role in ensuring direct access to food or the means to buy it. According to the 2015 State of Food Security more..

Oct 17 (DM) Opposition to the implementation of capital punishment by many politicians is nothing but the best manifestation of hypocrisy. That could be corroborated by their behaviour during politically turbulent times in the country. During every regime after 1970, leaders of many political parties-ruling or Opposition- have resorted to extra-judicial methods, while the country maintained a moratorium on capital punishment. During the first insurrection of the JVP in 1971, more..

Oct 17 (ST) “I take upon myself the rule of training to abstain from taking the life of living beings.”- The First Precept. My father, Mahanama Samaraweera MP, knew two people who were to be hanged for murder. They were from Matara, his electorate. So, like everyone else in the district, he also knew something that most of the country didn’t: these two individuals were convicted and sentenced on false evidence. more..

Oct 17 (Island) MEP leader Dinesh Gunawardena said that the govt had not yet provided the relevant documents to MPs for the debate on the Geneva issue scheduled to take place next week. He said that the govt had agreed to a debate the issue on Oct. 22 and 23 but it had failed to provide relevant documents to MPs. "We are ready to debate, but this is like a boxing match with nodding hands of one competitor," more..

Oct 17 (SL) A spate of thefts and burglaries in the Kolonnawa and Wellampitiya areas by organised gangs has caused a fear psychosis in the minds of the residents of the area. The police have been accused of not taking proper action to eradicate crime in the area but, negotiate deals with the victims when carrying out the investigations in to the complaints that have been lodged. In some occasions victims it is learnt have withdrawn more..

Oct 17 (Island) Departmental action would be taken against the three Customs officers arrested by the Bribery officers on Thursday and remanded by the Colombo Chief Magistrate yesterday, if Director General of Customs R. Semasinghe was directed to do so in writing, Customs Spokesman Leslie Gamini said. Gamini said that CIABOC had informed the Customs that evening verbally that three of their officers more..

Oct 17 (Island) The govt says that it will regulate the issuance of diplomatic passports which had been abused by the previous regime. Minister Gayantha Karunathillake said that the Rajapaksa govt had haphazardly issued diplomatic passports to many persons who did not qualify for such a facility and it had been misused. "We will streamline the issuance of diplomatic passports in keeping with our pledge to establish more..

Oct 17 (ST) The siting of the Sampur Power Plant seems to be unsuitable with its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) being rejected twice and the third amended EIA report being currently scrutinised by the Central Environment Authority (CEA). India’s media reported that Sri Lanka has requested India to consider relocation of the coal power plant being planned to be built at Sampur in Trincomalee. more..

Oct 17 (DN) Department of Immigration and Emigration has already received about 13,300 dual citizenship applications since it was reintroduced by the present govt, DIE Citizenship Division Deputy Controller Chamika Gamage said. With the Amendment of Act No. 45 of 1987, the granting of Dual Citizenship provisions which had been suspended by the previous regime since September 2011 was reintroduced. more..

Oct 17 (DM) The number of marriages taking place in Sri Lanka has declined according to the latest data published by the Department of Census and Statistics. According to its data sheet 2015, the total number of marriages registered in last year had dropped to 175,728 when compared with 180,760 in 2013. The decline had begun after 2011 with the 200,214 marriages registered in 2011 dropping to 198,710 in 2012. more..