Oct 5 (EN) Kaduwela Municipal Council plans to expand generation of biogas energy from solid waste and eventually supply the national grid while reducing garbage sent to landfills. Waste Management Unit in Kaduwela currently accommodates one tonne of degradable solid waste a day with the gas produced fed in to a 5 kW generator which supplements the electricity requirement of the Waste Collection Center. Kaduwela MC will scale-up the initiative to more..

Oct 5 (FT) Prominent individuals and NGOs now clamour for economic and social rights in the new constitution. They want them incorporated as fundamental rights in a new Bill of Rights. To quote a recent Daily FT column, such rights would cover “education, food, water, adequate housing, social security, a living wage, decent and safe work, freedom from forced evictions, and a safe, clean and healthy environment.” more..

Oct 5 (Island) Alcohol is undoubtedly the commonest toxin consumed willingly the world over. In Sri Lanka, alcohol dependence is a major health and social problem. Most medical and social workers are aware of this problem. Unfortunately, few speak openly of this grave malady which is destroying our countrymen in the prime of their lives. Consumption of increasing amounts of alcohol over a period of time leads to the development of the Alcohol Dependence Syndrome more..

Oct 5 (DM) This young girl got her appointment as an assistant to a white-collar high up in an august establishment only two months ago. Nevertheless, she has been included in a team of officials selected for a foreign tour over the heads of many seniors counting long years in service. The selection of this young girl for the foreign tour, a kind which is normally meant for senior executives has raised many an eyebrow and caused much discontent among the staff, they say.  more..

Oct 5 (FT) Upcountry politicians in the ruling alliance pledged support for worker demonstrations in the central highlands that entered their eighth day yesterday, calling for just wages for Sri Lanka’s estate labour force. Ministers Mano Ganesan, Palani Thigambaram and V. Radhakrishnan said TPA, which the trio is leading, had organised a mass demonstration in Thalawakele on Thursday, to agitate for more..

Oct 5 (FT) Ahead of the presentation of a report by the COPE on the Controversial bond issue by the CB, Joint Opposition (JO) called for a Presidential Commission to investigate the issue. Highlighting that former Governor Arjuna Mahendran’s son-in-law’s company, Perpetual Treasuries gained a super normal profit of Rs. 5.2 b the JO appealed to President Sirisena to appoint a Commission with total powers to investigate the alleged bond scam that took place on January 2015. more..

Oct 5 (Island) Developing skills required for the global economy shouldn't wait till one becomes an adult, its foundation needs to be laid within the walls of national schools through digitally resourced projects, connecting with their counterparts overseas, was the theme of the British Council International School Award (ISA) ceremony held last week. The event held on a grand scale at the Eagles' Lakeside Banquet hall in Attidiya, Dehiwela in collaboration with the Ministry of Education more..

Oct 5 (Island) Navy Chief Vice Admiral Ravi Wijegunaratne revealed Sri Lanka was likely to take delivery of a second US vessel next year. The ex-US Coast Guard vessel is already in service here. He said that talks in this regard had been successful and the transaction was expected to be finalised next year. Asked to explain the ongoing naval project, VA Wijegunaratne said that since the conclusion of the successful more..

Oct 5 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s diversified conglomerate John Keells Holdings said Dialog Group CEO Hans Wijayasuriya has been appointed to their board with effect from today. The company said Wijayasuriya who has been appointed as an independent non-executive director, does not have a relevant interest in the shares of the company as at today. Wijayasuriya functioned as the Group CEO of Dialog Axlata since 1997. From early 2016, Wijayasuriya has functioned as the Regional CEO for more..

Oct 5 (CI) West Indies A stumbled on either side of a substantial fourth-wicket partnership between Shamarh Brooks and Vishaul Singh to fold for 276 on the first day against Sri Lanka A at the Khettarama Stadium. West Indies A were immediately put under pressure after opting to bat, as dropped Test opener Rajendra Chandrika's poor form continued. He was trapped in front by Lahiru Kumara, who had spearheaded the SL Under-19s pace attack on their recent tour to England. more..

Oct 5 (FT) Minister Ravi Karunanayake pulled no punches as he set the record straight on multiple points including the Rs. 25 billion payment to airline leasing company AerCap for cancelling four A350s, maintenance of electricity tariffs, the submission of the Appropriation Bill to Parliament and an increase of cigarette prices.   A visibly miffed Finance Minister criticised the media for what he termed inaccurate statements more..

Oct 5 (DN) Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2016-17 draft saw 85 players - including 23 overseas ones allocated across seven franchises - picked through a lottery system last Friday. The T20 tournament is set to begin on Nov 4 in Dhaka. After the franchises were allowed to retain two local players from the previous season, two new franchises - Khulna Titans and Rajshahi Kings were given the chance to pick two each up front. While Khulna went for left-arm spinner Mosharraf more..

Oct 5 (FT) The Supreme Court reserved its order on the Preliminary Objections raised by the Attorney General on the maintainability of the rights petitions challenging the purported request made by the PM for Speaker’ Ruling on certain Supreme Court pronouncements in the Singarasa Case.  Deputy Solicitor General Viraj Dayaratne, appearing for the Attorney General proceedings in the Parliament is covered by the Parliament (Powers and Previleges) Act already in force. more..

Oct 5 (Island) Chairman of Sri Lanka Ayurvedic Drugs Corporation admitted before the COPE that 12 henchmen of Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne had been recruited on the recommendations of the minister’s wife. Two top officials of the corporation admitted before the COPE that out of 61 workers they had hired after assuming duties in the corporation, 43 had been recruited without following stipulated procedure. more..

Oct 5 (Island) Chairman Fred Hochberg of Export-Import Bank (EXIM) of the US has visited the Badulla site of the EXIM-funded water reservoir project this week. The Rs. 9.4 billion project was funded in 2012 through a 12-year direct loan for this Integrated Water Supply System. "The water-supply project will integrate new and rehabilitated treatment plants, storage tanks, pumping stations, a new dam and impoundment reservoir, new and existing water intake structures, more..

Oct 5 (FT) Medical exams conducted on former LTTE cadre were negative for any traces of poison, Northern Province Health Ministry said. A total of 146 rehabilitated former LTTE members have undergone the test conducted by the provincial health authorities. So far none of the medical tests conducted detected any traces of poisonous substances. 29 ex-LTTE members from Jaffna, 24 from Kilinochchi, 7 from Vavuniya, 81 from Mullaitivu and 5 from Mannar have undergone medical more..

Oct 5 (DN) Former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda is to appear before the CID to give a statement with regard to the abductions of five Tamil youth, in Dehiwala, on Sept 17, 2008. Top Police sources said that the former Navy Commander would be summoned by the CID, today. “Former Navy Commander would be summoned only to record a statement. It is a part of the ongoing inquiry,” source said. more..

Oct 5 (CT) The participation of director and management level members of the People's Bank in a protest held in Colombo Fort on 27 Sept, against media exposure of the Rs 700 million People's Bank digitization scam, was an illegal act. Several employees of the PB told this paper that the participation at the said protest of R. Pathirage, who is a member of the bank's Board of Directors, Deputy General Manager B.M. Premanath and assistant of branch operations Boniface Silva, more..

Oct 5 (Island) CM C.V. Wigneswaran had complained that media had attributed some statements to him that he did not utter with regard to the situation in the North, TNA leader R Sampanthan said in Parliament. He said so participating in the debate that ensued after MEP leader Dinesh Gunawardena, who made a special statement demanding to know the govt’s position on Northern CM Wigneswaran’s recent statement which he said was detrimental to national security more..

Oct 5 (Island) VAT (Amendment) Bill was presented to Parliament by Minister Lakshman Kiriella amidst concerns from Opposition lawmakers that for the second time the Bill had been presented in an irregular manner. Soon after the Bill was presented, UPFA MP Bandula Gunawardena pointed out that the Bill had been published in the gazette before it got Cabinet approval. The proper procedure was to get Cabinet approval more..

Oct 5 (DM) Former President Rajapaksa rejected the statement made by President Sirisena, that the foundation stone originally laid by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga to construct the Nelum Pokuna Theatre had been bulldozed. Media Secretary to former President Rajapaksa said that even though Mr. Rajapaksa had constructed another memorial to initiate the construction work of the theatre, the memorial erected by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga was intact. more..

Oct 5 (DN) TNA General Secretary Mavai Senadhiraja has requested TNA and Opposition Leader R. Sambandan to arrange full armed security to Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran after discussions with the government. Senadhiraja in a letter addressed to Sambandan has referred to the statement issued by Wigneswaran alleging that there were threats to his life from communalist forces in the South who were trying to harm him and blame it on the LTTE. more..

Oct 5 (FT) JO Legislators demanded an official Govt response condemning statements made by CM C.V. Wigneswaran in Parliament, saying his remarks at a controversial rally in Jaffna had been in violation of the constitution he was sworn to protect. Raising a question in the House, UPFA MP Dinesh Gunewardane said CM’s statements at the Eluga Tamil rally were dangerous because they were harmful to the country, more..

Oct 5 (DM) President Sirisena stressed that the presentation of the Buddhist Temporalities (Amendment) Bill and the Theravada Kathikawath Bill in Parliament was postponed at the request of the Mahanayakes of the three chapters, and added that the govt would always act according to the advice of the Maha Sangha. Chief Prelate of the Asgiriya Chapter, the Most Ven Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana, Anunayake of the Malwatte Chapter, Ven Divulkumbure Wimaladamma Thera more..

Oct 5 (DM) Govt yesterday sought Cabinet approval to do away with the charge imposed on land purchases by foreigners on 99 year lease for investments in the country, it is learnt. However, the Cabinet Paper submitted in this regard was deferred as some Ministers said it should be done only on conditions stipulated for foreign investors, intending to purchase land. They said the amount of money to be invested, and the number of employment opportunities to be created were factors to be more..

Oct 5 (DN) Sri Lanka will be among the slowest growing economies in South Asia, according to latest regional comparison of forecast made by World Bank. According to twice-a-year, South Asia Economic Focus released yesterday, SL’s economic growth is projected to grow at 4.8% this year and improve to 5.0% in 2017. These estimates are only better than 3.5% for Maldives, 0.6% for Nepal and 0.5% for Afghanistan in 2016 more..

Oct 5 (DM) Monday, Oct 3 was World Temperance Day and it is an appropriate time for us to reflect deeply on Sri Lanka’s battle against alcohol consumption. Temperance also means moderation or self restraint especially in eating and drinking.   Briefly taking up the second aspect, there is a need for us to re-commit ourselves to the hallowed precepts of a simple and humble lifestyle or Alpechchathavaya which means learning to be content with basic needs in terms of food. more..

Oct 5 (DM) Is it going to actually benefit patients or is it only a political gimmick? Questions the Dailly Mirror  Editorial on 26th instant.”   There’s a huge heap of evidence to confirm that the pharmaceuticals industry is untrustworthy at best, and scandalous at worst; still they are the spinal column of our corrupt health services. Bureau of Investigative Journalism US, for decades have investigated and publicized the criminal actions of these giants, but more..

Oct 5 (DM) Lal Wijenayake, Chairman of the Public Representation Committee, that deliberated with the general public and engaged with large organizations on constitution making, says the constitutional reforms are introduced in the proper way for the first time. In an interview with, he says Sri Lanka is already a secular state. Q:  As the person who spearheaded the committee that deliberated with the general public to seek more..

Oct 5 (Island) The CEB would lose more than Rs. 25 billion next year if it continued to buy electricity from high cost thermal power produced with diesel and renewable energy from the private sector without going for coal – fired power plant at Sampur, CEB engineers said. President of CEB Engineers Union Athula Wanniarachchi said the govt would have to increase electricity tariff and other taxes or obtain loans to meet additional cost. more..

Oct 5 (ST) Water has always been a scarce resource for people living in far-flung drought prone areas in the Hambantota and Monaragala districts, but in spite of being familiar with the inhospitable nature of the land, thousands of people in these areas are reeling under a severe shortage of water. For several weeks now, the daily lives of residents of remote villages around Kataragama and Kirinda revolve around their quest for water, more..

Oct 5 (AD) Some 200 flights will be cancelled and a revenue loss of U$ 47 million to be incurred due to maintenance of the runway at the BIA. The BIA is scheduled to be closed for eight hours in 2017 for three months to carry out maintenance work in the runway. The airport operations will be halted for eight hours per day for a period of three months from January 05 from 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.  more..

Oct 5 (SL) No one has to be reminded about the horrors of the explosion that wrecked the lives of the residents of Salawa. The poor villagers who lost their homes and belongings from the explosion that took place at the Salawa Army camp are still waiting for the authorities to do justice for their losses. Over 115 days have already lapsed since the explosion. During this time period we cannot say that govt has not done anything more..

Oct 5 (Island) UPFA constituents, the NFF and PHU have accused the UNP-SLFP coalition govet of bending over backwards to appease India at the expense of traditional ally, Pakistan. UPFA MP Udaya Gammanpila and NFF spokesperson Mohammed Muzammil said that the ruling coalition shouldn’t have announced that SL wouldn’t take part in the SAARC summit before Pakistan made its own announcement. more..

Oct 5 (DM) Controversy surrounds a letter purportedly sent by the Student Action Committee of the SAITM to the GMOA claiming that the SAITM had allegedly forced its students to sit for the professorial appointments without pre-professorial clinical rotations and forensic medicine. GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge said that they received a letter from the SAITM Student Action Committee two weeks ago. more..

Oct 5 (Island) A collection of trade unions representing all sectors will stage a protest in Colombo Fort today against VAT (amendment) Bill and privatisation of state ventures. They will also demand higher taxes on the super rich. Convener of the Combined Association of Unemployed Graduates (CAUG) Dammika Munasinghe said 20 trade unions would take party in today’s protest. He said plans were underway to divest public institutions more..

Oct 5 (DN) The Govt Medical Officers’Association (GMOA) praised President Maithripala Sirisena and Health Minister Dr.Rajitha Senaratne for increasing the price of a cigarette, amidst various obstacles thrown at them, GMOA Editor Dr. Nalinda Herath said. Addressing the media during a press conference, he said that increasing the price of a cigarette by just seven rupees is not adequate at all, but the GMOA welcomes the increase. more..

Oct 5 (AN) The Sri Lanka Consulate in Jeddah launched a comprehensive website on the first day of the new Islamic year to enable the country’s expatriates to avail themselves of its services, and for others to have a glimpse into the island’s tourist and economic potentials for mutual benefits. The website, scgjeddah.embassy.gov.lk, will help to promote Sri Lanka in all aspects, with a provision to contact govt officials and more..

Oct 5 (CT) Sri Lanka's decision to bandwagon with India in boycotting SAARC last week has infuriated many individuals, parties and organizations both locally and internationally. It is obvious that the decision to support India in the SAARC boycott didn't come as a surprise, but as a deliberate move to show good faith to the country. That much was obvious. India is one ally SL Govt does not intend to lose ever. Losing India as an ally would have severe implications on our country, more..

Oct 5 (Island) The youth who was knocked down by Minister Champika Ranawaka’s SUV at Welikade was yesterday discharged from the Rehabilitation Hospital at Ragama after treating him for more than seven months. Victim’s father said his son Sandeep Sampath was finding it difficult to balance himself while standing or walking. The father said not a single politician had visited the victim in hospital. Gunawardena (Snr) said his son would have to undergo surgery on one of his hands shortly. more..