Nov 17 (GV) A quiet revolution is taking place in the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Priyasath Dep that only a few close observers have so far noticed. During the course of 2017, the Court has made a number of decisions that are nothing if not remarkable when viewed in the context, both of the unimaginative timidity of the older SL judicial tradition, as well as the Court’s record in the last two decades. In one case, the Court determined that advocating federalism more..

Nov 17 (CT) The gist of the Rice Revolution is the Strength of Human Resources as the Pivotal Base for all the other activities, and the so far underutilized human resources becomes the Prime Mover that can generate the locomotion for the project. Raw and unskilled Human Resources shall have only a very low, and therefore negligible, cost against an enormous potential with an infinitive value. Once organized, it shall be a pool of labour of at least fifty persons more..

Nov 17 (CT) Pradeep Jayewardene, eldest grandson of SL's first Executive President J.R. Jayewardene, pioneer of solar power in SL, cautioned the Govt, the Opposition and all southern political parties that the LTTE diaspora were waging a new kind of war against the Govt and southern SL and that the South should not fall prey to their machinations. Now that all their military options for a separate State have run out, more..

Nov 17 (DN) Local Govt elections are no longer a distant dream and will become a reality early next year. With the polls in sight the major political parties are jostling with each other to enter the good books of the voter. This was evident as Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera presented his first budget last week. The two major parties in the National Unity govt, UNP and the mainstream faction of the SLFP loyal to President Maithripala Sirisena, will go their separate ways at the LG elections. more..

Nov 17 (Island) Former President Rajapaksa has said the govt is using the controversial beer price reduction to distract public attention from its anti-national agenda being advanced through the Budget 2018. Maybe, he has a point. It is up to his Joint Opposition (JO) to flag up other dangers and educate the public on them while resisting sinister moves aimed at initiating Sri Lankans into alcohol consumption at an early age. Moderate drinkers who don’t let alcohol get the better of them, more..

Nov 17 (DN) In sworn statements to Police, 18 young women who were living at the Darun Nusra orphanage in Dehiwala said they were systematically sexually harassed and abused by a long-time male employee. They said they repeatedly complained about the behavior to the man’s wife, the resident administrator of the orphanage, and were told “not to take it seriously.” In response she threatened them, saying that the orphanage would be shut down if they reported the abuse, more..

Nov 17 (Island) Prof. O. A. Ileperuma in The Island (16), supporting what I had written, stated that Fr. Fernando has labelled the President, PM and the Finance Minister as honest politicians. Though I do not fault Prof. Ileperuma for implying from what I wrote that the President, PM and the Finance Minister as honest politicians, I did not explicitly vouch for the honesty of anyone. Nevertheless I thank Prof. Ileperuma for hig1hlighting the commissions and omissions of power holders more..

Nov 17 (Roar) Travelling along the Colombo-Kandy road, you may have heard stories of bandits from days of old. Narrated in awed tones, the storyteller would have pointed to a monolithic hill—Utuwankanda—in the distance, and told you of Saradiel, the highway-man who robbed coaches at gunpoint and then distributed his stolen goods among the poor, before disappearing into his hide-out in forest surrounding Utuwankanda. more..

Nov 17 (Island) Sri Lanka’s head of delegation to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, Dr. Harsha de Silva, making his presentation to the UPR Working Group, said with reference to Resolutions 30/1 and 34/1,"I wish to reaffirm ourfirm commitment to ensuring their implementation". He also said that the Unity govt had ended the "acrimonious relationship that the former Govt maintained with the Human Rights Council, by calling for repeated votes every year", more..

Nov 17 (CI) Suranga Lakmal ended up with figures of 6-6-0-3, but the most unplayable ball of this 11.5-over day was delivered by his new-ball partner Lahiru Gamage. It turned out to be the last ball before bad light brought the curtains down: it swung from wide outside off stump, pitched so full it was nearly in the blockhole, and still seamed away enough to beat Cheteshwar Pujara's outside edge and miss off stump by a millimetre. Extravagant swing, extravagant seam. more..

Nov 17 (DN) The 2018 Budget proposals towards the liberalisation of the shipping industry were presented with a view to making Sri Lanka a true regional maritime hub, said Ministry of Finance’s Senior Advisor Mano Tittawella. Speaking at the seminar on the national budget, he said that the proposal to liberalise the shipping and logistics industry would also bring in additional foreign exchange to the country. more..

Nov 17 (Island) Since the heydays of Chaminda Vaas, you had hardly seen any Sri Lankan bowling like Suranga Lakmal, as he did yesterday at the iconic Eden Gardens here in Calcutta as he reduced the hosts to 17 for three as the opening day of the first Test was called off at 3:40 p.m. after several rain interruptions. Lakmal reminded the Indians of Glenn McGrath as he bowled with pinpoint accuracy. He may not have express pace, but gets the ball to move enough to trouble the batsmen. more..

Nov 17 (Island) At a time when the world seems to be struggling mightily to put human rights at the forefront of a global discourse burdened by conflict, fear of terrorism and radicalisation, and real or perceived security threats of various kinds, mechanisms like the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UNHRC gain an added importance. The UPR was enacted in 2006 by General Assembly of the UN as a process in which the human rights record of every member state is scrutinized more..

Nov 17 (PMD) President Maithripala Sirisena held a discussion with the family members of the missing persons at the Presidential Secretariat, today (16). During this meeting, they presented their issues and demands to the President in detail. Prez said that he has a clear understanding regarding the issues faced by each community in this country, and said that the govt including he himself is committed to more..

Nov 17 (Island) India want underdogs Sri Lanka to force them into an uncomfortable zone in their latest Test series starting Thursday, captain Virat Kohli said. Kohli said his world number one Test side have to use the series to toughen up ahead of their visit to South Africa in January and England later in 2018. "If you can embrace playing in difficult conditions that will be the difference," Kohli told reporters. "We want to be uncomfortable, we want to embrace being uncomfortable more..

Nov 17 (Island) Sri Lanka Cricket President Thilanga Sumathipala paid tribute to the late Jagmohan Dalmiya on his 77th birth anniversary on Tuesday at the Crystal Room at Taj Bengal. Dalmiya is literally revered as the godfather of Indian cricket especially for redefining cash strapped world cricket as an administrator. Delivering the inaugural speech at the solemn commemoration to a packed audience, Sumathipala paid a glowing tribute to Dalmiya, who died on the 20th Sept 2015. more..

Nov 17 (DN) Deputy Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle yesterday assured that the pricing formula on petroleum products would be implemented by March next year. “You will have the formula for the New Year in April,” he said addressing a post budget discussion. The electricity formula however is expected to be delayed, as, he said, it was more complicated, given the various subsidies given to electricity consumers. more..

Nov 17 (Island) Sri Lanka’s bowling coach Rumesh Ratnayake praised the efforts of strike bowler Suranga Lakmal, who claimed all the three Indian wickets to fall in the rain-shortened day one of the opening Test against India here at the Eden Gardens yesterday. Lakmal sent down six probing overs and didn’t concede a run, while accounting for the wickets of K.L. Rahul (0), Shikhar Dhawan (8) and Virat Kohli (0). "I would say it is one of the finest spells I have seen in a long time. more..

Nov 17 (DN) Magistrate’s Court and the District Court in Matara had to stop work for one and half hours due to a telephone call received by the police emergency unit 119, in the wee hours of Nov 15. Caller had reported of a person with a firearm was in the Courts premises with the intention of committing an offence. However, after receiving the information, the police had taken steps to search all persons at the premises at that time. Police had not been able to find any firearm from anyone’s possession. more..

Nov 17 (DM) Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe was involved in a showdown with JO MPs D V Chanaka and Namal Rajapaksa when the two MPs informed Parliament that Mr. Senasinghe has had more than 54 conversations with PTL owner Arjun Aloysius. A heated argument followed after Senasinghe stated “Malli do not shout as I have appeared for your father and got him cleared when he was involved in a case involving ships," more..

Nov 17 (Island) President Sirisena has expressed his deep appreciation to Lord Naseby for the efforts he has continued to take to further Sri Lanka’s cause both within the UK Parliament and outside. In a letter dated Nov 2, 2017 the President says; "I have followed with keen interest the debate on Sri Lanka at the House of Lords held on 12th Oct 2017 which you had secured with much effort. It was noted that an overwhelming majority of speakers spoke well of the efforts taken by my Govt towards more..

Nov 17 (FT) The Cabinet has given its approval to amend the Land Development Ordinance to change the methods of preparing a new grant and revising available conditions. Minister of Lands and Parliamentary reforms Gayantha Karunathilaka presented the proposal to Cabinet. According to the Cabinet paper, several new methods have been proposed as amendments to the ordinance, such as not requiring the approval of the Govt agent in disposing of a holding within the family itself.  more..

Nov 17 (FT) Testifying before the PCoI on the controversial bond issuance, CID official said that former Director of Perpetual Treasuries Arjun Aloysius had telephoned several members of the second COPE investigating the matter during the period of its tenure in 2016. According to a report submitted by Sub Inspector Yasanka Jayasinghe 62 calls had taken place between the mobile phones registered to Aloysius & UNP MP Sujeewa Senasinghe. more..

Nov 17 (DC) Close on the heels of a controversial alleged attack by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Rameswaram fishermen in the Palk Bay for their alleged twin trawling, the SL Navy have apprehended ten fishermen of Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu and seized their mechanised boat near Delft Island for alleged poaching in Sri Lankan territorial waters. SL Navy personnel on board a fast attack craft attached to the Northern Naval command on routine patrol apprehended more..

Nov 17 (DN) For the first time, a company would be investing in Sri Lanka to produce alternative energy from sea waves. Finland-based AW Energy, an ocean wave energy company, is working with the Govt to set up a project to harness the potential of ocean wave energy around the southern coast of Sri Lanka. They are ranked number one globally in this technology, according to a survey by Bloomberg and they will work with SL company Sunpower Systems (Pvt) Ltd, in their local operations. more..

Nov 17 (DM) The forensic communication report presented before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) by SI Yasanka Jayasinghe of the CID revealed phone calls between former CB Governor Arjun Mahendran and several employees of PTL including CEO Kasun Palisena. It was also revealed that Mahendran had had spoken with the Chairmen of the BoC, NSB and People’s Bank on the day that former Finance Minister more..

Nov 17 (Island) In spite of strong objections by attorney-at-law Chanaka Silva, Counsel for former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran, the PCoI yesterday allowed the CID to submit a comprehensive report pertaining to telephone conversations among some of those persons summoned by PCoI probing into alleged treasury bond scams during the period under investigation. Sub Inspector Yasantha Jayasinghe of the CID handed over the report to PCoI yesterday. more..

Nov 17 (Island) Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTC) said govt could not solve the problems at the Examinations Department by appointing committees. Even the interdiction of high ranking officials of the department who had been found guilty of wrong doing was not a solution to the problem. Education Minister should reveal what the decisions and recommendations made by the committee the govt appointed and take disciplinary action against all those responsible for more..

Nov 17 (DM) Evidence revealed that former Minister Ravi Karunanayake and his family spoke to Arjun Aloysius over 750 times in total during the period Feb 5, 2015 to June 20, 2017. There were 84 calls between Aloysius and the former Minister between Feb 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016 the period of the controversial Bond Issuance, out of the total of 387 calls. Aloysius had been in communication with minister's wife 320 times more..

Nov 17 (Island) The Joint Council of Health Professionals (JCHP) issued a warning that trade unions in the health sector would resort to a token strike next week to pressure the govt to rectify salary anomalies caused by a new salary structure introduced to the Railway Department. Joint Convenor of the JCHP, Ajith P Tillekeratne warmed that 16 health sector trade unions inclusive of the Govt Registered & Assistant Medical Officers (SRAMO), Govt Nursing Officers (GNOA), more..

Nov 17 (Island) JVP, in Parliament, raised the problems and grievances of thousands of sugar cane farmers of Sevenagala, Pelwatte and Hingurana now engaged in the Satyagraha campaign. JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, said more than 25 days had elapsed since the sugar cane farmers commenced their Satyagraha, demanding solutions for several longstanding problems. Farmers participation in negotiations with authorities concerned, held demonstrations more..

Nov 17 (DM) Evidence revealed that PTL Owner Arjun Aloysius spoke to several members of COPE during COPE hearings. Aloysius had spoken a total of 227 times to Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe, 18 times with Dayasiri Jayasekara, 176 times with Harshana Rajakaruna and 73 time of Hector Appuhamy during periods commencing January 2015. Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara had also been in communication with Aloysius with 18 calls more..

Nov 17 (DM) After a long-running wrangling between its main constituent party and the other relatively smaller parties, the main Tamil coalition - TNA - seems to have finally split clearly. Suresh Premachandran, the leader of the EPRLF, one of the constituent parties of the TNA announced on Sunday that his party along with the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) would form a new political front in the north to contest the forthcoming elections under a new symbol.  more..

Nov 17 (DM) I do not come to bury Yahapalanaya or to herald the blossoming of the pohottuwa. The Yahapalanists are burying Yahapalanaya and that’s not cause for celebration but lament. As for the fortunes of the pohottuwa, again it appears that Yahapalanists are doing the honours and this too is not a cause for celebration.    Let’s not talk of burial and resurrection or their relative merits. Let us, contrary to all logic, assume that we are ruled by or sought to be ruled by honourable men more..

Nov 17 (DM) Much has been said and more talked about Mangala’s maiden budget, the 72nd budget in Independent Ceylon and now Sri Lanka. Yet there’s enough left that can be said and should be said about his budget for year 2018.  Leaving out all controversies over beer and moonshine, pollution-free urban travel and then wild beasts and safari in Yala National Park among many others, Mangala’s preamble to the budget more..

Nov 17 (ST) The week-long fuel crisis which triggered a war of words between Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC) and the Minister of Petroleum Industries has highlighted the urgent need for an independent regulator. LIOC, which claimed it was unfairly criticised for the petrol shortage, is among those calling for market regulation. The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka has also long pushed for reform. more..

Nov 17 (NR) The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court today denied a request calling for the release of Former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and 7 others from the Avant Garde case. The order was issued by Colombo Chief Magistrate Lal Ranasinghe Bandara. The request in this regard was made by attorneys of the individuals. The case was filed by the CIABOC for allegedly incurring a loss of 11.4 billion rupees to govt more..

Nov 17 (PSL) President Maithripala Sirisena says the Sri Lankan society nurtured with disciplined and moral values, which we cannot see anywhere in the world, as a result of the teachings of Buddhism and said that the present govt is totally committed for the progress of the Buddha Sasana.  President made these remarks participating in a religious ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the three-storey more..

Nov 17 (Island) Minister D. M. Swaminathan has, in a letter to TNA & Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan, said Mullaitivu land issues raised by the former have already been addressed. A spokesperson for the ministry said that Minister Swaminathan was in touch with relevant administrative, military and civilian representatives. The ministry made available a copy of Minister Swaminathan’s letter to Opposition Leader more..