Oct 24 (CT) Chief Minister of the North C.V. Wigneswaran refused to hoist LTTE flag at a meeting, organized by a group of pro-LTTE organizations, in London yesterday. Wigneswaran was in London to sign a memorandum of understanding linking Britain's Royal Borough of Kingston City with Jaffna. The signing of that memorandum took place last Tuesday. Meanwhile, a series of meetings were organized, by Tamil expatriates in London, more..

Oct 24 (Island) A demonstration of how healthcare providers use Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms. Microsoft Sri Lanka gave visitors to this year’s Commonwealth Medical Association Conference the opportunity to experience the technology driven solutions that are redefining the parameters and response levels of healthcare. The 24th Triennial Commonwealth Medical Association Conference that took place from 14th – 16th Oct, explored the theme of more..

Oct 24 (DM) Former Minister Mervyn Silva commenting on the deaths of the youths who died recently in Jaffna, after they were shot at by the police allegedly for disobeying orders to stop their motorcycle when ordered to do so, today said the authorities had acted too hastily to take action against the police personnel who were involved in the shooting. While expressing shock and disbelief at the speed in which the authorities had reached their decision to take legal action taken more..

Oct 24 (EN) Two police intelligence operatives were attacked with knives and swords by six unidentified men in Jaffna peninsula heightening tensions two days after the killing of two university students. Two constables were hospitalised after the attack at Chunnakam, near the home of one of the Jaffna university students killed in an alleged police shooting. Masked men travelling on 3 motorcycles without number plates carried out more..

Oct 24 (FT) President Maithripala Sirisena says the present government will not allow any conflicts to take place in the country based on the languages spoken by the different communities. President pointing out that countries across the globe including Sri Lanka have experienced conflicts based on languages, stressed that such unfortunate occurrences need to be eliminated. Speaking at the All Ceylon Tamil Language Day Awards held at the Dharmaraja College in Kandy, more..

Oct 24 (FT) Criticising the Appropriation Bill presented in parliament last week the JVP said yesterday the govt has exercised the biggest funding cuts on some of the crucial ministries, stressing that the govt has failed to deliver 2016 budget promises. Addressing the media at the JVP head office in Palawatte, JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake pointed out that although defence allocations has been reduced this year, the amount is still the highest in the 2017 Appropriation bill as well. more..

Oct 24 (ENS) A top of the line Indian business delegation, comprising both public and private sector companies, headed by Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, had a round of meetings on Sunday with officials of Sri Lankan economic ministries to explore possibilities of collaboration and investment in a wide range of fields. On Monday, Indian private sector companies, which are here courtesy of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), more..

Oct 24 (DM) The US presidential election will be held in November this year. There are major differences between the US presidential election and elections held in most other countries.   In Sri Lanka the president can call for an election at any time in his 5-year term. He can call a snap election before his period of office is completed if he feels that an impending down-turn in events could dampen his chances of re-election.  In the US date of each presidential election is fixed and more..

Oct 24 (DM) As it is well known, ethnic tensions in the country have been on the rise again in recent times. This does not necessarily mean that a majority of the people want another ethnic war. But, in the absence of credible public opinion surveys, we do not know the extent of the spread of hostile ethnic attitudes in the country. Agitated nationalist groups naturally come on to the streets and shout slogans, because there are no attempts by the authorities to quell such campaigns due to more..

Oct 24 (DM) The delay in executing the law has made people lose faith in the judicial system. This is a common problem found worldwide, where similar judicial systems prevail. The causes for the delays are many and varied. It is not uncommon to come across a land case taking 20 to 30 years to be concluded, when, by that time most of the litigants are no longer alive. Daily Mirror in a quest to find the reasons behind such delays spoke to more..

Oct 24 (SL) Despite of serious allegations levelled against the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), last week they have once again granted a promotion to a suspect involved with the murder of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge. Highly reliable sources of SLA, told this newspaper how the Commander of the SLA had granted a promotion to Brigadier Anura Wanniarachchi to the rank of Major General on Thursday (20), without considering that more..

Oct 24 (DN) Minister John Amaratunga has decided to do away with minimum rates on rooms at city hotels in Sri Lanka with effect from March 31, 2017. Decision was made based on a recommendation by Tourism Advisory Council, comprising key players in the hotel and travel trade, chaired by business tycoon Harry Jayawardena. Council arrived at a unanimous decision to recommend the Minister abolish more..

Oct 24 (MO) Foreign aid to Sri Lanka was significantly increased after a businessman from the country oversaw donations of more than £1 million to the Conservative Party, the Daily Mail reveals today. David Cameron announced last November that £6.6 million was being set aside for Sri Lanka over three years, including help for Tamils forced from their homes during the civil war. In the year before the announcement, more..

Oct 24 (ST) Authorities are investigating whether fires lit for cultivation purposes caused the tripping of the Anuradhapura-Kotmale transmission line last Saturday. The incident led to the complete shutdown of the 900 megawatt (MW) Lakvijaya coal power plant in Norochcholai, leading to island-wide power cuts over two days. CEB engineers had observed fires on cultivation land at various locations from more..

Oct 24 (CT) Former Mayor of Batticaloa Sivageetha Prabakaran and eight others, including her husband were arrested, by a special Police team yesterday, for running a brothel in Batticaloa. The Police raided the house of Sivageetha and arrested her along with her husband Prabakaran, two women and five men. All nine are expected to be produced before Batticaloa Magistrate M. Ganesharaja today, sources said. more..

Oct 24 (DN) Labour officers are poised to relaunch a countrywide strike coupled with an indefinite satyagraha campaign from Wednesday against the govt reneging on its promises to redress their grievances. Protesting labour officers had suspended their trade union action following an assurance from Minister WDJ Seneviratne that they problems would be resolved, said President of Public Service Labour Officer’s Union. more..

Oct 24 (CG) Jaffna university students staged a protest march today and later submitted a petition to the Govt over the death of two Jaffna university students last week. The protest march resulted in traffic along the A9 highway being disrupted as the students protested in the Jaffna town. Students later gathered opposite Jaffna Govt Agent’s office and handed over a petition to be handed over to President and PM. more..

Oct 24 (AD) Former Deputy Minister Sarath Kumara Gunaratne has been remanded until 1 Nov. He was remanded after being produced before Negombo Additional Magistrate today. He was arrested as he surrendered to police through a Counsel this morning. A fresh investigation into the accident was initiated after a person was killed and another was injured following a crash involving Gunaratne’s vehicle in 2002. more..

Oct 24 (DN) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said since the war has now ended, the country needs a new constitution. “We should all join hands and think of taking the country forward. We should all make a joint effort to develop the country by shedding the dark shadows of a 30 year war from our minds,” he said. PM was addressing a Daham Hamuwa at the Sri Vivekaramaya, Pengiriwatta, Gangodawila to mark the opening of a new more..

Oct 24 (CT) The untimely deaths of two Jaffna University students have sent shock waves throughout Jaffna and the IUSF has also expressed its dismay over the incident. Preliminary investigations have revealed that Nadarasa Gajan and Pavunaraj Sulakshan were killed when they were speeding on a motorbike. However, the autopsy report of the Jaffna Judicial Medical Officer Dr. U. Mayurathan has confirmed that the rider of the motorbike was hit by a bullet on right side more..

Oct 24 (CT) The incident of two Jaffna university students being killed due to gunshots by the police has set off countless arguments and debates. A majority of these arguments come from one single perspective. They highlight this incident as a racist attempt or as ethnically motivated. But, there exists a necessity to list out the issues surrounding this incident. That will be the healthiest way to deal with it. Firstly, the fact that the students have been subject to shooting amounts more..

Oct 24 (EN) Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Sri Lanka has entered into a MoU with the Department of Inland Revenue to co-operate in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, including tax evasion. The agreement is to exchange information in order to facilitate investigations and prosecutions on money laundering and terrorist financing, the central bank said in a statement. “Money laundering and terrorist financing are internationally and domestically connected more..

Oct 24 (DM) Sørlandet, the oldest of the three Norwegian Tall Ships and the oldest full rigged ship in the world still in operation has arrived in Colombo yesterday. The ship, nicknamed The pearl of Norway was on a two year circumnavigation of the world with seventy high school students from A+ Academy, a boarding school at sea with an exotic itinerary and Advanced Placement curriculum. During the stay in Colombo the students would greet Sri Lankan maritime students, more..

Oct 24 (CT) Ex-Governor of the Central Bank, Arjuna Mahendran has been found guilty by the COPE in the Treasury Bond Scam. Colombo Telegraph has managed to get a copy of the draft report by the Committee Chairman Sunil Handunneththi, which has been endorsed by majority of the members, except for the UNP members in the committee. The report will be presented in Parliament this week. more..

Oct 24 (Reuters) Shares closed Monday at their lowest in 12 weeks in lean trade as investors awaited cues from the central govt budget and the five-year plan ahead of corporate results. Sri Lanka's quarterly earnings season started two weeks back, but the bulk of locally listed firms will not report until late October or early November. National budget is scheduled to be presented on Nov 10. Colombo Stock Exchange ended 0.45% or 29.19 points lower at 6,418.34, its lowest close since Aug 1. more..

Oct 24 (DM) NFF MP Jayantha Samaraweera, who was in remand custody on charges of misusing a vehicle belonging to Presidential Secretariat causing a loss of Rs. 5 million to the State, was released on bail by Colombo Fort Magistrate today. He was released on a cash bail of Rs. 25,000 with two sureties of Rs.1 million each. Meanwhile, MP Wimal Weerawansa's brother Sarath, who was remanded in connection with misusing a govt vehicle causing a loss of Rs.10.5 million, was remanded till more..

Oct 24 (Island) National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) has said that President and PM should take decisions in consultation with each other to avoid unnecessary conflict. NMSJ leader Sarath Wijesooriya emphasized that ruling coalition couldn’t pursue different foreign, media and administrative policies. He acknowledged that disputes between those who had been longstanding opponents wasn’t surprising, more..

Oct 24 (DM) Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) has identified the suspects involved in the Mattakkuliya shooting which killed four and critically injured three yesterday. Police said seven individuals were admitted to the Colombo National Hospital and four were declared dead upon admission. Investigations revealed the shooting was a result of a personal dispute between two groups involved in heroin smuggling and underworld activities. Rivalry between the groups had led to the murder more..

Oct 24 (NR) Former Secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket Nishantha Ranatunga has been released on bail. The Former Secretary was released on a surety bail of 100,000 rupees following an order issued by Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya. Charges were levelled against Nishantha Ranatunga for threatening the Secretary of the Colombo Cricket Association during the previous cricket elections. Details were produced in Court by the Cinnamon Gardens police over the incident. more..

Oct 24 (AM) In a landmark decision, Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne rejected the arguments presented by lawyers of UPFA MP Jayantha Samaraweera and Sarath Weerawansa, and determined the FCID to be a legal institution. This judgement was given during the Magisterial Inquiries regarding the alleged misuse of state vehicles by the two suspects. Their lawyers had argued that the FCID is illegal and therefore the arrest of their more..

Oct 24 (PMD) National polythene, plastic and electronic waste prevention week will commence from today across the country, by the Central Environmental Authority under the guidance of President Sirisena. During this Week which concludes on Oct 30, the public can hand over disposing polythene, plastic and electrical and electronic waste to the main collection centers established at the district levels. When plastic and polythene mixed with the soil it lasts for more..

Oct 24 (AD) Avissawella High Court has granted bail to two army intelligence officers who were remanded over the disappearance case of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda. The suspects were granted bail following a bail application filed at Avissawella HC. They were enlarged on a cash bail of Rs.1.5 million and three personal bails of Rs.3 million rupees.  CID had earlier arrested an Army Corporal, a Sergeant, and two Lieutenants, in connection with the mysterious disappearance of the journalist.  more..

Oct 24 (CG) Sri Lanka says the world is facing considerable challenges today yet these challenges can be overcome. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, speaking at the UN Day event held in Colombo today, said that the UN system has been in the forefront in drawing attention to the greatest problems faced by mankind, and helped lift large populations across the world out of poverty, promote democracy, more..

Oct 24 (CT) A multi-disciplinary group of professionals from across the country has urged the Govt to expedite the process of retendering the project to build 65,000 houses in the North and East, while underscoring the need for the re-tendering to be carried out in an unbiased and transparent manner. Statement signed by Ahilan Kadirgamar, Piyal Ganepola, Chandra Jayaratne, Prof. Priyan Dias, S.C.C. Elankovan, Ramona Miranda, Iromi Perera, Sumangala Jayatillaka, more..

Oct 24 (DM) European Union (EU) delegation to Sri Lanka will partner with cricketing legends Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara to raise awareness on Violence Against Women (VAW), the Union said today. Mahela and Kumar have joined the EU Delegation to help put an end to VAW in Sri Lanka through Let's Hit Violence Against Women for a Six campaign which will be launched on Nov 25 to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. more..

Oct 24 (PMD) President Maithripala Sirisena says he would issue a circular which indicates that the allocations for Provincial Councils should be spent, based on a document which recognized the priorities of development. “Many injustices have been occurred in many provinces due to spending of money over the personnel opinions of individuals, without recognizing the priorities of development”, he added. more..

Oct 24 (NR) Minister of Foreign Employment Thalatha Athukorala says the selection of Samurdhi beneficiaries are carried out in a fair and proper manner. Speaking at a function held in Balangoda today, Minister Athukorala said Samurdhi benefits were only provided based on political affiliations during the previous tenure of the UPFA led govt. Minister Athukorala stressed on the need for a new selection criteria to determine the Samurdhi beneficiaries. more..

Oct 24 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka, India and Maldives will begin a four-day coastguard exercise in the Maldives on Tuesday with the aim of strengthening corporation and enhancing the interoperability of forces. SL Navy's Offshore Patrol Vessel, SLNS Sagara' left for Maldives on Monday from the Port of Colombo in order to take part in the tri-lateral coastguard exercise dubbed DOSTI - XIII. The 13th edition of the tri-lateral coastguard exercise this year will focus on Maritime Search and Rescue, more..

Oct 24 (Xinhua) The UN on Monday said it is adapting and refocusing its work in Sri Lanka with evolving global and national development priorities. UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Una McCauley said that this year the UN has scaled up its interventions to support the SL govt's peacebuilding, reconciliation and governance agendas, to tackle the impacts of climate change, promote universal norms more..