Sept 16 (DM) The youth from Bandagiriya, who went missing while in the custody of the Hambantota Police and found later in a temple, has not been psychically harmed, a Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) said after examining him. Matara General Hospital JMO Dr. K.A.P. Gunawardene confirmed that there were no signs of assault or any debility. G.G. Gayashan who was brought under high police security from more..

Sept 17 (NS) The residents of Ja-Ela and Ekala have launched a massive protest campaign against the govt’s move to relocate the Meethotamulla garbage dump to Ja-Ela in terms of an undertaking given by the CMC to the Supreme Court. This was the result of a fundamental rights petition filed by the residents of Meethotamulla seeking a declaration from Court that the proposed expansion of the dumping site was an imminent infringement of their fundamental rights. more..

Sept 17 (CT) In the highly politicised and sensationalised reporting of the events, the concerns of the parents and students who are most impacted by the school were drowned out. Parents and students are concerned about the quality of education, of accountability for abuses against students, curtailing the interference of church politics, and democratising the management of the school. At a time during which reports of the event involve a focus on factional Tamil politics more..

Sept 17 (SL) TNA Northern Provincial Councillor M.K. Sivajilingam said the Tamils are hopeful that the govt will keep their promises they made to the UN Secretary General when he recently visited the country. The councillor said that the govt made pledges in Geneva, but they went back on them after awhile like they did with their promise to include foreign judges in the investigation process. more..

Sept 17 (CT) Shedding the blood of a Buddha is a heinous crime. I am not trying to be a provocateur, but imagine for a moment, a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk saying to his devout lay followers, If you see the Buddha coming down on the road, kill him! Of course, a Zen master used these words Buddha, road, and kill metaphorically, when he warned his disciple. This metaphorical Buddha can be a Buddhist monk that you venerate or your own self, if you have been striving to achieve nirvana. more..

Sept 17 (FT) At COP 21 in Paris, parties to the UNFCCC reached a landmark agreement to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future. The Paris Agreement builds upon the Convention and – for the first time – brings all nations into a common cause to undertake take ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries to do so. more..

Sept 17 (NS) President Sirisena appointed Kapila Jayampathy as the new Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) after the retirement of Gagana Bulathsinhala. Jayampathy has an illustrious career in the Air Force which boasts of many triumphs. He was also an active officer during the historic victory against the LTTE. He served as the Base Commander in China-Bay and as Commandant of Air Force Academy more..

Sept 17 (Island) Major General Kamal Guneratne‘s Road to Nandikadal is the most comprehensive, credible, incisive, riveting and objective book in English on the entire 26 year old conflict in SL. (It is also available thankfully in Sinhalese and a copy in Tamil would be welcome too). It is the inside story of one who fought the war from its inception to the end and gives an impeccable account of the conflict that took 100,000 lives. While the actions are fast moving and his blunt opinions of various people more..

Sept 17 (Island) Scores of govt doctors forcibly occupied the Education Ministry’s auditorium on Wednesday night, demanding schools for their children, only to be thrown out the following morning. The GMOA has condemned the govt action and reiterated its position that the children of its members who either return from overseas training or are transferred must be admitted to state-run schools. Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam has claimed doctors’ demand is unreasonable more..

Sept 17 (FT) I am indeed honoured and privileged to be invited to make the keynote address at this ninth international research conference organised by General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University on the theme Professional Integration for a Secure Nation, and I thank the Vice Chancellor and the conference organisers for inviting me to initiate the deliberations of this important conference. At the outset, I must convey my congratulations to KDU for the achievements it has made more..

Sept 17 (Island) The anniversaries have been marked and time for celebration is over. Blue and Green flag waving, the stuff of politics the past few weeks, has given way to the real stuff of politics, or the sport of it. The former Sports Minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who also had a spell as deputy in Power and Energy, has been caught in the political whirlwind of sports, and is now in remand prison. Recalling jokes about sports, it has been said that Old chess players never die, more..

Sept 17 (SO) Feeling hungry or thirsty after a stroll in the city? Chances are that the nearest snack bar may not be the safest for food and drink. Again, the take-out on your way home may not be the safest for your fried rice or kotthu dinner. Food safety is a term we often hear, but, only a few outlets adhere to safety regulations. Many food outlets offer sub-standard food prepared and displayed under poor hygienic conditions. more..

Sept 17 (ICC) Australia is only one point away from gaining automatic qualification for next year’s ICC Women’s World Cup but captain Meg Lanning is not taking the upcoming ICC Women’s Championship matches against Sri Lanka lightly. “We go out there to win every game we play in, and this series is no different. We’ve been in pretty good form in one-day cricket, so we’re looking forward to testing ourselves in different conditions against a good team,” the top-ranked ODI batter said of more..

Sept 17 (DM) Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association (SLGJA) welcomed a directive supposedly made by President Sirisena to prohibit foreign gem mining companies carrying out mining activities in Sri Lanka by on their own or through local proxies. “The SLGJA has welcomed a directive by President Sirisena to prohibit and protect the local gem industry from foreign gem mining companies, a move if not thwarted would see over 1.5 million people affected,” a SLGJA said. more..

Sept 17 (DS) Just as Dinesh Herath made history, winning Sri Lanka’s first ever Paralympic medal in the Men’s javelin throw F46 final, the SL athletes suffered a near loss in the Men’s 4x100m event, falling three seconds short of claiming Bronze. SL came fifth recording a timing of 47.12s but the winning team US suffered an unexpected disqualification, enabling Germany to take Gold. Germany finished the race in 40.82 seconds more..

Sept 17 (Island) DFCC Bank opened its first solar powered offsite ATM at the LINDEL Industrial Estate on Sept 15, located at Pattiwila Road, Sapugaskanda, Makola. It was declared open by Arjun Fernando – CEO, DFCC Bank and H.A. Samarakoon – CEO, Lanka Industrial Estates Limited, in the presence of members of the community and staff from the Bank. Commenting on the latest addition to DFCC Bank’s ATM network, Arjun Fernando said: more..

Sept 17 (SLT) Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) with the support of SL High commission in Malaysia participated in the MATTA Travel and Tourism Exhibition from 2nd to 4th Sept, in Putra World Trade Centre, Kualalumpur, in Malaysia. Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) is regarded as Malaysia’s largest outbound fair attracting over 100,000 visitors nationally and globally. The event was organized by MATTA and supported by Tourism Authority of Malaysia. more..

Sept 17 (NS) Chief Minister of the Western Province, Isura Devapriya has accused the Govt of omitting the Western Provincial Council (WPC) in its plans to address the garbage menace in the city and criticized its move to shift it from Kolonnawa to Ekala. The move to shift the garbage dump to Ekala continues to face opposition from residents of the area who have also received the support from Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. more..

Sept 17 (Island) Sri Lanka’s national payment network – LankaPay is celebrating yet another milestone in its operations by completing one year of successful operations of their innovative ‘USD Online’ service. Striving to further extend the convenience factor to the country’s banking population, LankaPay launched USD Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) in July 2015, enabling all member banks to offer same day US dollar transfers within the country. more..

Sept 17 (NS) Legal experts last week said that the National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (2011-2016) was weak as the tasks and targets allocated for the Ministries had not been achieved. Senior Lecturer at Department of Commercial Law of Faculty of Law of Uni of Colombo, Dr. Prathiba Mahanamahewa called for the matter to be rectified in the new one from 2017-2021. He said that a practical methodology must be considered and established. more..

Sept 17 (NS) TNA hopes to make representations to Canadian Govt over the ruling of a Federal Court where an application of a TNA member who sought refugee status was dismissed. It was reported that the Federal Court of Canada had dismissed an application seeking refugee status and protection filed by an alleged TNA member V Seeniyan (who had arrived in Canada in 2013) on the grounds more..

Sept 17 (CT) The much awaited Colombo International Book Fair 2016 was opened yesterday at the BMICH. It is organized by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association. Have you ever seen a drug addict, rapist or burglar reading a book? Books are of no use to them. That is one reason why libraries are not robbed. Robbers do not know the value of books. If they know, even our private libraries will not be safe. Only civilized people read books. Those who have never stepped into a library or more..

Sept 17 (DN) Plantation companies have agreed to raise the daily wages of estate workers from Rs. 450 to Rs. 600, according to MP Vadivel Suresh. He said negotiations between the got and estate management companies for a daily wage increase for estate workers had been successful and an agreement will be signed by next week. MP identified this as a victory for the workers as negotiations for a change in current wage structure had been going on for close to 1.5 years. more..

Sept 17 (CT) The 2015 report on Bribery and Corruption states that 10,634 unaddressed complaints have created a huge backlog at the CIABOC. The report that was handed over to President recently states that the Commission has had to deal with a barrage of institutional issues in its very difficult task of probing thousands of complaints which continue to flow in. The number of complaints received by CIABOC at the end of more..

Sept 17 (DN) Amara Indumathi will contest the final event for Sri Lanka today at 7.57 pm at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro when she takes part in the 200 metres T45-46-47 event. Amara finished in sixth position with a time of 27.55 secs in the 200 metres T45-46-47 preliminary round held yesterday morning and qualified for the final. Yong Deja of America recorded best timing in this event with 25.58 secs. Meanwhile, Ajith Prasanna Kumara finished seventh in the 400m more..

Sept 17 (Hindu) Tamil parties in Sri Lanka, including some at loggerheads, have come together to express solidarity with Indian Tamils on the Cauvery issue. Leaders of the parties recently wrote to PM Narendra Modi expressing deep concern over violence in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, on sharing waters of the Cauvery. The ITAK, EPRLF, PLOTE, TELO, EPDP, TNPF and TULF signed the letter that was handed over to A. Natarajan, Consul General of India in Jaffna. more..

Sept 17 (Island) US intends to extend a military logistical agreement it entered into with the previous Rajapaksa administration in March 2007. Then SL Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and then US Ambassador Robert Blake signed the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) in Colombo. Left parties at the time condemned the ACSA both in and outside parliament. Agreement valid for 10 years more..

Sept 17 (CI) Zimbabwe's Harare-based players have refused to train in protest over unpaid match fees, which date back to July last year. The players were due to begin preparations for a series against Pakistan A, which starts at the end of the month, followed by fixtures against Sri Lanka, but have instead insisted on a meeting with Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) managing director Wilfred Mukondiwa to discuss their worsening situation. Apart from the outstanding player bill, more..

Sept 17 (Island) Politicians who are sent to remand prison by courts charged with committing various crimes are highly disturbed and agitated with the news that the Merchant Ward of the National Hospital has been closed for renovation. Sources said that the beds of Merchant Ward were mostly occupied by politicians in remand custody as they fall sick the very moment they were remanded. They said it was a ruse adopted by politicos to avoid being in remand prison. more..

Sept 17 (Hindu) MDMK general secretary Vaiko has released a letter written by LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran to DMK leader M. Karunanidhi in 1989 in which he had asked the latter to bring to the attention of opposition parties the atrocities committed by the IPKF. “Prabhakaran gave the letter when I met him in the jungles of SL. Few months after I handed over the letter, Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) said he had destroyed it. more..

Sept 17 (CT) A proposal has been mooted for SLFP members in the govt to submit proposals for incorporation in Budget 2017. Negatives left unaddressed, on matters arising from some proposals in Budget 2016, will be taken into consideration when the SLFP members in the govt draft their proposals for Budget 2017. Some issues arising from Budget 2016 were of significantly negative social impact, and will hence be taken into consideration in the drafting stage to ensure more..

Sept 17 (CT) Lanka Private Bus Owners' Association (LPBOA) has called for the immediate resignation of National Transportation Commission and for the sacking of its entire Board of Directors. The demand comes in a sequel to discovery that there have been discrepancies in the issue of expressway route permits, which have resulted in govt losing millions of rupees in revenue. LPBOA President Gamunu Wijeratne said that the call for applications for route permits, more..

Sept 17 (FB) A top bundler for Hillary Clinton and President Obama was never punished for waiting months to register his work on behalf of a foreign govt, a delay that violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Imaad Zuberi, a venture capitalist and high-dollar Democratic fundraiser, raked in millions of dollars working on behalf of govt of SL over the course of 5 months in 2014. Zuberi was paid $4.5 million by the Sri Lankan govt more..

Sept 17 (DN) A cache of rusted bullets was recovered from a well in the North Central Chief Minister's official residence in Anuradhapura, today. Police said the cache included 259 T56 bullets and 15 84 S bullets. North Central Province Chief Minister Peshala Jayaratne currently occupies the official residence, located on Bandaranaike Mawatha, Anuradhapura. Workmen contracted to clear the well at the back of house at found the stock of bullets when they emptied the well. more..

Sept 17 (TN) Congratulating the people and govt of SL on completely eradicating malaria from the country, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has urged Pakistan and its authorities concerned to work towards emulating the success achieved by SL. PMA Secretary General Dr Mirza Ali Azhar said the WHO had declared SL as a malaria-free country. Despite having meagre resources, he said, SL govt had proved that a country could achieve a goal with political will, planning and proper efforts. more..

Sept 17 (DN) Solution to the national question must be found in the new Constitution being formulated, Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan reiterated at an event in Trincomalee. He said his party will be forced to withdraw support if the govt does not propose a viable political resolution to the national problem through Constitutional reforms. While noting that the views and aspirations of the Tamils had not being taken aboard more..

Sept 17 (DM) Yesterday Sept 16 was a vital day for the world but unfortunately most people were not even aware of it though at one point it meant life or death for millions of people. In 1994, the United Nation’s General Assembly proclaimed Sept 16 as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. It marked the date of the signing, in 1987, of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The ozone layer, a fragile shield of gas, protects the Earth from more..

Sept 17 (DM) The declaration of Martial Law and imprisonment of National Heroes in 1915 intensified the political struggle for national independence in Sri Lanka. Labour Leader A.E. Goonesinghe, by spearheading the 1928 historic Tram Car Strike, pressurized the colonial Masters. At a time when only a few people owned private cars, the security eye of the day had spotted a young man driving to and fro, within the metropolis to strengthen and support the ongoing strike. more..

Sept 17 (SL) Two former Ceylinco Group companies – the Fingara Town and Country Club along with one of Sri Lanka’s oldest finance houses are being thrown from the frying pan into the fire, due to acts of both the management and sometimes the authorities, deliberately or otherwise, The Sunday Leader through its exposes showed during the past few weeks. During our investigations an overwhelming number of stakeholders more..