Nov 14 (Island) PAFFREL has called on Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to obtain affidavits from each MP that he or she does not hold dual citizenships. The PAFFREL made this request from Speaker Karu Jayasuriya close on the heels of a Supreme Court judgment, disqualifying Geetha Kumarasinghe from being an MP on the grounds that she was a dual citizen of SL and Switzerland at the time she submitted nominations to more..

Nov 14 (Island) Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) urged all MPs to defeat govt efforts to promote alcohol consumption. SLMA President Prof. Chandrika Wijeratne said moves to reduce beer prices and introduce a new tax structure for alcohol were "misplaced and dangerous". While the govt’s free health service was striving to reduce alcohol consumption and battle alcohol related diseases, the govt itself was attempting to introduce a new policy which would increase alcohol consumption. more..

Nov 14 (SLN) Royal Australian Navy Ship HMAS Newcastle arrived at the port of Colombo on a goodwill visit today (14). SL Navy welcomed the visiting ship in accordance with naval traditions, upon her arrival. Vessel with a length of 138.1 m and width of 14.3 m is manned by a crew of 184. The displacement of the Newcastle is 4,200 tons. During their four-day official visit, the crew members of the vessel are scheduled to take part in several events organized by the SL Navy. more..

Nov 14 (EN) SL's budget for 2018 sticks broadly to the targets for fiscal deficit reduction under its 3-year IMF programme, Fitch Ratings said while noting that revenue projections may be overestimated. Govt has said it expects revenue to rise strongly again in 2018, to 15.7% of GDP, after rising 14.7% in 2017. Revenue should be supported by an Inland Revenue Act passed in Sept 2016, provided implementation is effective, more..

Nov 14 (DM) A SriLankan aircraft from Colombo to Mumbai made a safe landing at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) with 138 passengers and seven crew members early this morning due to a technical failure, a SriLankan Spokesman said. The flight UL-141, which had taken off from the BIA at 11.47 pm last night, had been in the air for two hours and eight minutes and the technical failure had occurred when the aircraft was getting closer to Mumbai. more..

Nov 14 (Stuff) After eight years of living and working in New Zealand, the Wijerathne family face returning to Sri Lanka after their work visas were cancelled. Living in a one-bedroom former camping ground cabin in Queenstown are three brothers, their mother and father. There's not much space but the family's priorities are clear. On the walls are maps and mathematics charts. Desks and chairs cluttered with books and papers sit in a line under the window. more..

Nov 14 (CI) The last time Sri Lanka toured India for a Test series in 2009, MS Dhoni was India's Test captain and Virat Kohli had no ODI centuries, and had not yet made a Test debut. Eight years later, the only two players of the current squad who were part of the 2009 team are Ishant Sharma and M Vijay; for Sri Lanka, only Rangana Herath and Angelo Mathews in the current squad made that trip to India in 2009. more..

Nov 14 (DM) A rare occurrence was witnessed in Parliament today where members who were due to pose questions under standing order 23 (2) were not present to raise those issues. Both Chief Opposition Whip Anura Kumara Dissanayake and MP Douglas Devananda were not present to pose the two questions. Questions raised under standing order 23(2) are usually matters of public importance. Meanwhile, another absentee at today's sessions was Minister Tilak Marapana who was to more..

Nov 14 (AD) Commissioner General of Examinations W.M.N.J. Pushpakumara has been transferred to the Ministry of Education, with immediate effect. Ministry announced that the transfer has been made in order to assist an ongoing investigation into exam papers. The move comes just days after the Deputy Commissioner of Examinations who served as the Head of the Confidential and Agency Examinations Division of Dept of Examinations was suspended more..

Nov 14 (DN) The 3-member committee appointed by the President Sirisena to investigate the cause of the Island wide fuel shortage revealed that Ceylon Petroleum Corporation officials who knew of the impending crisis had not maintained the existing stocks. “On an average day, Sri Lanka has a storage capacity for nearly 120 000 Metric Tons (MT) of fuel when our daily requirement is only 2000 MT,” said Minister Champika more..

Nov 14 (DM) Govt medical faculty students will attend lectures from November 20 after the issue of the SAITM was solved satisfactorily, Convener of the Medical Faculty Student’s Action Committee (MFSAC) Ryan Jayalath said. He said that the anti-SAITM protests carried out by Inter University Students' Federation, the MFSAC, parents and several other groups came to end on November 8, after a discussion held with Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva.  more..

Nov 14 (NR) Avant Garde Maritime Services has filed a case at the Colombo District Court alleging that the SL Navy forcibly acquired a ship owned by the company which was engaging in maritime security services. Avant Garde informed court that it incurred a loss of 2.4 billion rupees after the Navy acquired the ship. Chief of Defence Staff Ravindra Wijegunaratne, Former Navy Commander Admiral Travis Sinniah and current Navy Commander Vice-Admiral Sirimevan Ranasinghe more..

Nov 14 (DM) Although the govt is hoping to liberalise the economy by amending various Acts and Ordinances as proposed in the Budget, amending of these acts will result in the country being caught up in a debt trap, JVP said. MP Bimal Ratnayake said these Acts and Ordinance were archaic and the govt was attempting to amend them according to the needs of foreign multinational companies. He said in the recent past, country’s exports had been more..

Nov 15 (DN) While environmental protection is vital, a fundamental problem facing conservation is finance – especially for the vast amount of the planet’s biodiversity that lies outside of protected areas. New market-based mechanisms that encourage biodiversity and resource conservation are a promising set of tools to help take conservation and sustainable natural resource management to global scale and significance while simultaneously benefitting the guardians of more..

Nov 15 (CT) Sri Lanka has not had a real development programme since 1977. The last major development programme where a concerned attempt was made to create employment was the Divisional Development Councils Programme (DDCP) of the Premier Sirimavo days. Grama Shakthi Programme is therefore an initiative to be hailed. It is also the responsibility of everyone who know and have first hand experience in poverty alleviation through employment creation – more..

Nov 15 (SO) Sri Lanka’s waste management issues came to a head in April this year when the Meethotamulla Garbage dump collapsed. The incident not only took a large number of lives but resulted in the piling up of garbage along the streets in Colombo and its suburbs, with the govt facing staunch opposition from residents in areas where garbage dumping sites existed following the collapse. Understanding that disposing of more..

Nov 15 (CT) Earlier this year, the country’s top economists and policy planners, current and previous, were gathered together to honor the country’s top development thinker and perhaps the finest SL intellect alive, Dr. Godfrey Gunatilleke. The specific occasion was to launch a volume of his writings covering forty years. Described as A Collection of Writings 1975- 2015 it is with excellent reason that the main title of the volume was Towards a SL Model of Development. more..

Nov 15 (DN) Thirteenth Amendment has introduced a new conception of a unitary – decentralized State based on a system of Provincial Govt at a sub-national level. This description is of extreme importance, since the Constitution specifically provides that the Republic of Sri Lanka is a Unitary State and the majority of the people attach much sentiment to the unitariness of Sri Lanka. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution provides for the establishment of Provincial Councils. more..

Nov 15 (Roar) Male-dominated SL colonial society looked upon European women as, essentially, adjuncts to the White male administrators, planters and soldiers who ran the show. However, a rare cookery book, available in Colombo Museum Library, gives us an insight into their lives. The year 1917 was not a good one for the British Empire. First World War had dragged on for three years, a purgatory of mutual slaughter, more..

Nov 15 (GV) It started with a few comments on Facebook. A 26 –year-old woman shared her opinion on a Facebook status. The discussion was about religion. Someone disagreed with her. The status transformed into a bitter comment war. Nothing particularly unusual so far. It was what happened afterwards that was disturbing. “Following the comments, I had several hateful messages sent to me via Facebook,” she shared. It didn’t stop there. Angry commenter had purchased a website more..

Nov 15 (CT) The saddest casualty of the Yahapalanaya Govt determination to abandon all pretence of promoting democracy, let alone good governance, has been Karu Jayasuriya. I once thought of him as a decent man, weak but never doing dastardly deeds on his own. When he first started abusing the Office of Speaker, I made excuses for him, and even wrote to apologize for harsh criticism since I thought he must have been affected by family bereavement he suffered. more..

Nov 15 (Island) President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Maithripala Sirisena, has explained his position pertaining to post-war accountability issues and alleged attempts made by his opponents to exploit the situation at the expense of political stability. It would be pertinent to mention that the President addressed the Army top brass at the auditorium of the Army Hospital, Narahenpita, last Thursday afternoon, as his Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera delivered more..

Nov 15 (Island) Yahapalana leaders declared, in the run-up to the 2015 presidential election, that there was no threat of war. They accused the Rajapaksa govt of tilting at windmills, years after the conclusion of the war, and suppressing people’s democratic rights in the name of national security. True, the successful end of the country’s war on terror in 2009 figured prominently in the UPFA’s presidential election campaign five years later, but it did not have the desired impact on the electorate. more..

Nov 15 (SAM) The world is getting increasingly interconnected with roads, railways, shipping links criss-crossing national boundaries. Besides increasing trade, schemes for sharing and jointly developing national resources are floated and executed across the globe. Developing countries have had to dilute their new found independence and sovereign status for the sake of development. Even as inter-dependence is taken as given more..

Nov 15 (Island) While I was collecting field data on Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Aetiology (CKDu) in Medawachchiya in 2013, I wondered why healthcare providers believed that the Veddas were less affected by the deadly disease. I knew that urinary tract infections had been reported among Vedda people in Hennanigala and Dambana in the Mahaweli areas through a study conducted by Premakumara de Silva and Asitha G. Punchihewa on a Socio-Anthropological Research Project more..

Nov 15 (Island) Sri Lanka bowling coach Rumesh Ratnayake revealed that his team has prepared elaborate strategies for the upcoming three-Test series against India but said it would be all about executing those plans on the field. "We have done all that we could have to counter attack. Whatever we would expect in the Test series. I hope our strategies will work," Ratnayake told journalists. "We can only plan but it’s about executing them on the field. It’s a huge challenge more..

Nov 15 (Island) World’s highest wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan expressed his reservations yesterday whether Chandika Hathurusingha will be given a free hand in coaching Sri Lanka. After the former Test opener tendered his resignation as Bangladesh Head Coach, the 49-year-old has been linked with the Sri Lankan job, but Muralitharan doubted whether his former Tamil Union team-mate will be given a free hand. more..

Nov 15 (CT) A prayer service and bodhi pooja were held yesterday in remembrance of the Royal College student who was killed in a motor vehicle accident and for the speedy recovery of the students who sustained injuries in the same accident. A prayer service was held at the Good Shepherd Church, Jawatte by the Student Christian Movement of Royal College, and a bodhi pooja was held at the Bellanwila Temple. In addition to this, Grade 12/13 students of Royal College held a bodhi pooja more..

Nov 15 (DN) India were knocked out of the U-19 Asia Cup after suffering their second straight defeat in three days. The defending champions lost to Nepal on Sunday and suffered a similar fate against Bangladesh on Tuesday to crash out of the tournament. Rain in Kuala Lumpur had forced the match to be reduced to 32 overs per side and Bangladesh, after electing to field, restricted India for 187 for 8 in 32 overs. India were reduced to 87 for 4 at halfway mark and were struggling to more..

Nov 15 (Forbes) Over the last few years, this tear-drop shaped country off the tip of India has become a travel writer’s darling. Earning accolades for its ring of beaches, enduring ruins, distinct cuisine, vibrant culture, and wild game-viewing, this up-and-coming destination for tourists seeking India Light was pure, untouched and unspoiled and ready for its close-up. Sri Lanka sounded like a veritable Shangri-La. Encouraged by high expectations set by effusive media praise, more..

Nov 15 (FT) Maersk Line, largest global container shipping line and a market leader in SL, said it fully supported the 2018 Budget proposals made by Minister Mangala Samaraweera to open up the shipping and logistics sector to foreign investments and introduce an independent port regulator. Maersk Line Managing Director Steve Felder said “Maersk Line supports any efforts that govts make to liberalise and improve the business environment for the maritime industry, and for our customers. more..

Nov 15 (CI) It has been four months since Angelo Mathews stepped down from the role, but it's hard not to look at him with the feeling in the back of your mind that you're watching Sri Lanka's captain do his thing. There's SL's captain, pulling an underarm throw-down (flick-up?) from a crouched member of the support staff. Here he is now, in the nets, defending off the back foot, looking like a captain, looking burdened by everything that more..

Nov 15 (TI) Thilanga Sumathipala, the president of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), has dismissed talk that the witchcraft controversy embarrassed the SLC. "Dinesh Chandimal visited a lady sorcerer before the two-Test series against Pakistan. He did so in his individual capacity... "It just so happened that we won both the Tests..."Resorting to witchcraft or sorcery isn't something which has been institutionalised by SLC, so there's no question of any embarrassment," more..

Nov 15 (DN) Tharjini Sivalingam (Genie), also known as the tallest netballer in the world excelled in Australian Netball League tournament, where she represented two clubs namely Falcon and St. Albans. The League competitions which took place in two stages (Victorian Netball League and Geelong Netball League) had over 20 teams from across the world. The teams locked horns as the battle for the championship marched ahead in the form of the elimination process. more..

Nov 15 (DM) The JO said the excessive taxes imposed on the people through the 2018 Budget should be described as bond scam taxes instead of Medamulana taxes. JO member G.L. Peiris said though the govt had reduced prices of essential items, it had in return hoped to obtain a colossal revenue by way of indirect taxes. “The govt will have to spend Rs.18 billion next year to provide the price reductions on essential items. more..

Nov 15 (Island) 'Women’s empowerment and an enlightened economic culture were aspects of budget 2018. Empowerment of women was a newer aspect that could gain in importance particularly because 51% of the population are women and focus on gender and the contribution of women to the economy were not recognized in most previous budgets, president, National Chamber of Commerce of SL Sujeeve Samaraweera said. NCCSL was holding its budget seminar Monday. more..

Nov 15 (DM) MP Piyasena Gamage said today that the Court verdict confirming his appointment as an MP was delayed, because some people attempted to interfere with the judiciary. "There are some who try to influence the judiciary, though the govt has a whole does not do so. A case such as mine would have been resolved within a short period, but in SL, it is a time consuming affair. The verdict on my case would have been given much earlier if not for the influence by some," he said. more..

Nov 15 (Island) Jaffna District TNA lawmaker M.A. Sumanthiran said that former Justice Minister Dr Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, was making a despicable bid to sabotage the ongoing constitution making process. He said so in response to MP Rajapakse’s controversial request to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to rescind a motion passed in Parliament to set up the constitutional assembly to prepare a new Constitution. more..