Nov 25 (ST) Prez ready to appoint new PM if Parliament follows Standing Orders as the country’s political turmoil entered the second month, Prez Sirisena declared that he would appoint a new PM. “if Parliament follows Standing Orders and shows a majority.” “If Mahinda Rajapaksa has the majority in Parliament, he can continue with the government without any obstacle. If it is proved that Mr Rajapaksa does not have a majority, more..

Nov 25 (DM) Ports and Shipping Ministry will develop Jeya Container Terminal (JCT) of the Port of Colombo at a cost of US$ 25.7 Million by deepening it up to 15 metres, fixing three Gantry Cranes and extending the quay to facilitate two 350 metre ships at a time, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said. “Cabinet approval has been granted to offer the contract to supply three Gantry Cranes to the JCT to Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Ltd. and the contract to deepen more..

Nov 25 (Island) Responding to the UPFA’s demand for the establishment of a Caretaker Govt in the run up to the next parliamentary election, the UNP-led United National Front (UNF) said that there was no provision for such an arrangement in the Constitution. An UNF spokesperson said that both President Sirisena who had approved the 19th Amendment to the Constitution and the purported PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, were shamelessly violating the Constitution in their greed for power. more..

Nov 25 (ST) Sri Lanka’s political turmoil entered its second month with no tangible sign of a settlement in sight. Amidst the continuing chaos and confusion for the fifth week in succession, there was a new entry this week — a politically oriented Buddhist monk who has assumed the role of a peace broker. In back-channel moves he has talked to the two politically warring sides but it is extremely unlikely, more..

Nov 25 (Island) As the coup closes on a month of chaos, authoritarian entrenchment and expansion have kicked into gear. Constitutionally, the President’s vaulting ambition has been comprehensively thwarted. Thrice. The No Confidence Motion against Mahinda Rajapaksa is recorded in the Hansard. A month in, not a single bilateral, multilateral entity or any country, save for Burundi, China and Pakistan, have recognized Mahinda Rajapaksa as PM. more..

Nov 25 (Island) An uneasy peace lies over this land of ours. It’s akin to being on the edge of a volcano. We saw the dogs of war let loose accompanied by a couple of bitches as slogan-shouters within the august House of Parliament. We were introduced to a new offensive weapon that attacks a human’s most priced organ - the eyes. We saw a new kind of ball throwing, the ‘ball’ being bound volumes of the country’s priciest possession – the Constitution. We had the Speaker of Parliament forced to enter more..

Nov 25 (Island) On Jan 9, 2015 the newly elected President Sirisena, dismissed summarily the duly appointed sitting PM D.M.Jayaratne. He acted legally as provided in Article 47(a) of the 1978 Constitution - yet a truly sordid episode. Jayaratne was a most senior member of the House and was not in the best of health. Sirisena went onto appoint Ranil Wickremesinghe Prime Minister, perhaps in the expectation that he would more..

Nov 25 (CI) The sight of Suranga Lakmal throwing his water bottle to the ground in frustration spoke volumes for SL's fortunes on the third day in Colombo. The SL captain had watched his spinners drag his side back into contention with four wickets in the first hour of play. At 39 for 4 England were wobbling and Lakmal knew it. But then he saw Ben Stokes, who had just driven a catch to extra cover, reprieved after replays more..

Nov 25 (ST) Police are probing an alleged plot to throw acid at Speaker Karu Jayasuriya during the commotion in the well of Parliament on Nov 16, a top parliamentary source said yesterday. Speaker Jayasuriya was informed of the event and he took additional precautions when he was escorted into the well of the House by a group of policemen, the source said. Asked for his response, Mr Jayasuriya said, more..

Nov 25 (DM) Indicating that his party could support a motion in the House to ask President to dissolve Parliament and go for an election, UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said over the weakened that Parliament could decide on having an election, the type of election and the time it should be held. “Parties in Parliament will decide on the election. They will decide on the date of the election as well,” he said. more..

Nov 25 (CT) An estimated 5,000 Sri Lankans, the bulk of them ethnic Tamils, based overseas, have exhausted their asylum appeals and are currently protected by an international human trafficking mafia that is active throughout Europe and elsewhere, a senior official with the Foreign Ministry said. “The human traffickers, who are also known to have the backing of errant local officials, spend millions of dollars on Court proceedings to more..

Nov 25 (CT) What Hu En Tsang - the great Chinese traveller and Buddhist Monk saw when he visited Sri Lanka in 640 AD, nearly 1400 years ago, is exactly what it is now. Tsang’s Great Journey, reads thus: “The Island is known for the best pearls and gems. But the life is tough in this paradise. Only the Buddhist monks are leading a slightly better and peaceful life. Island is full of political anarchy and violence. more..

Nov 25 (AD) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa issuing a special statement today (25) requested the public to show him support like they did during the war times. He says that “I urge people to support me like during the war as this is the final chance to rebuild the nation”. PM Mahinda Rajapaksa issued a special statement regarding the October 26th change of PM and govt. The complete message of the Prime Minister is as follows: more..

Nov 25 (EN) President Maithripala Sirisena said he will appoint a commission of inquiry to probe frauds that took place from 2015 under PM Ranil Wickremesinghe. President Sirisena triggered a political crisis, by suddenly appointing Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister on October 26. President Sirisena said a number of frauds had taken place under Wickremesinghe, which made it difficult for him to continue an alliance. more..

Nov 25 (ST) Since the start of the political crisis on Oct 26, civil society organisations have been in the forefront of protests against the decisions of Prez Sirisena. Civic groups, professional associations and rights groups have held protests, rallies and conferences to voice their concerns about democracy and the rule of law. One notable movement was Rise Up Sri Lanka protest held near Independence Square on Nov 19, more..

Nov 25 (AD) Prez Sirisena on Sunday vowed to never to reappoint Ranil Wickremesinghe as PM again, reports foreign media. Mr Wickremesinghe’s party has a majority in parliament and Mr Sirisena’s bid to replace him with the country’s former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse has already failed. But Mr Sirisena choked back tears in a meeting with foreign correspondents as he accused Mr Wickremesinghe, who he sacked more..

Nov 26 (Island) The current situation in the country is being discussed in a vigorous debate in the print media. The adversarial and angry environment witnessed in parliament, and more recently in the incident involving some monks, is not replicated in these fora. It is rarely that a commentator makes a snide or personal comment about a contribution by another. This respect and tolerance for view point difference, and the environment of peaceful protest within the country is a tribute to SL People. more..

Nov 26 (CT) The events in the last three weeks has left the country in shock, and Sri Lanka becoming the laughing stock around the world, and setting the scene for a major economic collapse. We have observed the recent parliament sittings, the many press conferences from all sides, some full of lies and fake facts and one sided justifications. What examples would our children draw from seeing all this? Can they differentiate right and wrong, truth and lies, and correct democratic procedures? more..

Nov 26 (CT) UPFA Kandy District MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage says that they did not take ruling power in an unconstitutional manner. “If we had waited another year we could have obtained a two-thirds majority and established the govt,” he said. Q: What happened to the Flower Bud by taking on govt power at a time when there was no people’s base at all? A: We wanted to take govt power, to stop more..

Nov 26 (CT) Leader of the Opposition and the TNA, R. Sampanthan, met diplomats from 15 countries, based in Colombo, at his office on Tuesday, to explain to them the current political situation in the country. Except for Chinese diplomats, several Western and Asian diplomats, from countries which closely interact with SL, participated in the meeting and they were briefed in detail on the current state of politics in the country as well as the consequences if the political turmoil continues. more..

Nov 26 (CT) A recent article titled, Sri Lanka’s Unfolding Political Crisis & Muslim Community’s Indifference, by Latheef Farook, raised a very pertinent question regarding Muslim community’s callous nonchalance towards the current political crisis in the country triggered by President Sirisena’s equally callous disregard to the nation’s constitutional proprieties. The author was quite justifiably critical of Muslim MPs escaping to Mecca rather than remaining in the country, more..

Nov 26 (SO) ‘It is like our own cult, you see, someone knows someone who sells hallucinogens or any other form of drug at these parties and after that everything is a roller-coaster ride’, said 26-year-old Tharindu Sameera*. Sameera is a regular at parties promoted via social media sites commonly known as Facebook parties. This year he has been to four such events, all in coastal areas, promoted by various groups. more..

Nov 26 (ST) Former President Rajapaksa’s brazen boast that he had the Midas touch to turn the country’s economy around and turn, through his own personal designer brand of alchemy, Lanka’s copper to gold is, it seems, now in peril of being proved false. Four weeks after he had been surreptitiously sworn in as Lanka’s new PM in the twilight hours of Oct 26 by Prez Sirisena, ousting, in the process, the incumbent legitimate PM Wickremesinghe in a dramatic constitutional coup which took all by more..

Nov 26 (Island) The people are said to get the govts they deserve. But there are occasions when they have to contend with govts they never bargain for. It may be some consolation for nations across the globe that their cultural progress is not usually judged by the conduct of their elected representatives. Friday saw the police carry out a special operation by using sniffer dogs inside the trouble-torn Parliament here. Those canines have been trained to sniff out explosives. more..

Nov 26 (Island) After much consideration, I decided to write this article on the above subject as I have had long years of experience in Constitutional Law, Legislative Drafting and Statutory Interpretation in many parts of the world. At present, I conduct lectures on Legislative Drafting and Statutory Interpretation at the Sri Lanka Law College and draft legislation for various international organizations and statutory boards in Sri Lanka and abroad on a regular basis. more..

Nov 26 (ST) Beyond the distasteful power squabbles that presently make up the sum total of Sri Lankan politics or politricks as cynics are wont to say, the three men at the core of the crisis undermining the nation’s constitutional text, (viz; Maithripala Sirisena, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe) need to realise a basic fact. Their currency of political credibility has been virtually exhausted, to a greater or lesser extent as the case may be. It is time for all three to step aside more..

Nov 26 (CI) If you do not know much about offspinner Dilruwan Perera, please acquaint yourself with some 100% accurate, rock-solid, absolutely-not-made-up facts about the man. As a reserve firefighter he routinely runs into blazes no one else dares go near. He has rescued nine infants, five cats and - though he hates to admit it - three MPs. As a teenager, angered by his school's continued refusal to fix leaks in classroom more..

Nov 26 (ST) He has gone through the revolving door at Sri Lanka Cricket many a time as the manager of the SL Test team, in short he has been in an out at the SLC not only as Manger but also as head of marketing. Charith Senanayake greeted me with open arms at his Rajagiriya Residence which only had the bare necessities. I was dumb struck to note after serving at the SLC at top level wearing two different hats for quite some time why he has not accumulated the riches. more..

Nov 26 (NR) The UNP says the general public must expect a new Uva-Wellassa revolt against Sirisena-Rajapaksha regime. Speaking during an event in Badulla, MP Chaminda Wijesiri said the present administration should be eliminated from the political sphere. He said a programme has been launched in a bid to unseat the illegitimate administration. MP Wijesiri added the UNP will launch demonstrations against the Maithripala Sirisena-led administration across the island. more..

Nov 26 (CI) It is possible the no-balls were the result of straining too hard for wickets. That was the only explanation Sri Lanka spin-bowling coach Piyal Wijetunge could offer for the events on the third morning in Colombo, when left-arm spinner Lakshan Sandakan had Ben Stokes caught at cover on 22, then at slip on 32, only for the bowler to have been shown to have overstepped on both occasions. Twice, Stokes aborted his return more..

Nov 26 (CI) Australia have never lost to England in a women's cup final, and that record will now stay at least till the next world event in 2020. Meg Lanning's side romped to their fourth World T20 crown with an eight-wicket vanquishing of England at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua. As was the case four years ago in Bangladesh - when the sides last met in a World T20 final - England limped to 105. And remarkably, both times, Australia knocked off the runs in 15.1 overs more..

Nov 26 (DN) Muttaiah Muralitharan, the world record holder off spinner facilitated by SSC yesterday. Murali has taken highest test wickets of 166 at SSC which is the highest test wickets by a bowler at one test venue. Tommy Ellawala, President of SSC presented a special replica to Murali just after unavailing a special plaque at SSC to honour Murali on the third day of the ongoing England test match. Both SL and England cricket players were present this occasion while SSC members and more..

Nov 26 (SO) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa will launch a direct communication strategy through diplomatic missions to inform the global travel industry about the ongoing political situation in Sri Lanka, to ensure the growth in tourist arrivals, Director General of SL Tourism Development Authority, Upali Rathnayake said. A few countries including the US, UK and Canada have issued travel advisories on Sri Lanka recently, drawing the attention of their more..

Nov 26 (CT) Central Depository Systems (Pvt) Ltd (CDS), a fully owned subsidiary of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), will host the 22nd Annual General Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Central Securities Depository Group (ACG) in Sri Lanka from 26 to 28 Nov. The event will carry the theme Fintech – shifting or shaping the future of CSDs, and will be held at the Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo. This premier gathering of Central Securities Depositories in Asia-Pacific has been more..

Nov 26 (PTI) SriLankan Airlines plans to connect more Indian cities with Colombo as India is an important market for the carrier. Currently, SriLankan operates 122 flights every week from 13 destinations in India. “India will be an important market for expansion for the airline. We plan to fly to more destinations (in India),” SriLankan Airlines’ Manager (North India) Chinthaka Weerasinghe said. He was speaking at a briefing here to mark the airline’s 25 years of operations in India. more..

Nov 26 (PSL) Prez Sirisena says that he is swimming upstream in politics for the betterment of the future of the Motherland. Prez further said that, he is not alone in the struggle for betterment of the motherland, and all the common people who love the country have join hands with him and added that in this effort he is not alone. He made these remarks addressing the Silver Jubilee of National Gem and Jewellery Authority more..

Nov 26 (CT) A Chinese company contracted to construct a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal in the Hambantota Port has completed the mechanical construction of the plant. The plant has been constructed for LAUGFS, SL's largest LPG distributor, by China Huanqiu contracting & Engineering Co, LTD, subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation. LAUGFS Chairman, W.K.H. Wegapititya has said on Friday that the LPG terminal in Hambantota would bring more..

Nov 26 (FT) SL Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM), representing the knowledge services and innovation industry – SL’s fifth-largest and highest value-adding exporter – requested a swift and constitutional settlement to the current political crisis. SLASSCOM Chairman Jeevan Gnanam, speaking on behalf of the SLASSCOM Board of Directors and General Council, stated: “As an industry body, we are disappointed to see the current state of more..

Nov 26 (Island) A newly formed civil society organization People’s Movement for a General Election said that the deepening political and constitutional crisis could be resolved only through fresh parliamentary polls. Addressing the media, Ven. Elle Gunawansa, Gevindu Cumaratunga, Anupa Pasquel and Janaka Sakalasururiya warned of dire consequences unless those political parties represented in parliament sought a fresh more..