Oct 8 (CT) During the last nine months of the present year (Jan-Sept 2018), the rupee depreciation had been nearly 10%, and that is what has prompted the government and the Central Bank to take some measures (at the last moment). The situation has also sparked a heated debate on the pros and cons of liberalization and govt’s economic policies. To underscore the gravity of the situation, the rupee depreciation during the same period last year did not exceed 5%. more..

Oct 8 (CT) If newspaper and online media reports this weekend are something to go by, President Maithripala Sirisena is toying with the idea of forming a Caretaker Govt with his erstwhile arch-rival Mahinda Rajapaksa. Several newspapers have reported of a meeting between Sirisena and Rajapaksa at the residence of former Minister S.B. Dissanayake, a member of the so-called 15 Group of the SLFP. Although the outcome of the discussion is still not clear, it can be assumed more..

Oct 8 (SO) Sri Lanka - a land like no other, is probably the only country in the world where parents literally dread the decision to send their child to university, even after he or she makes it through one of the toughest examination hurdles in the country, the local GCE A/L. Generally 250,000 eighteen to nineteen year-olds, sit for the GCE (AL) each year. Of that number, 150,000 obtain the basic minimum qualification for uni entrance, 3 ord. passes. more..

Oct 8 (SO) The Inspector General of Police is the symbol of the rising confrontation between the two main parties of the ruling coalition. President Sirisena did not mince his words when he said the IGP was a joker and his behaviour had made a joke of the entire Police Department that embarrassed the Govt, and the Police Service needed corrective reform, at this week’s Cabinet meeting. It came just days after the Prime Minister was full of praise of the IGP’s performance, more..

Oct 8 (SO) This week, SL will host an international conference on the future of the Indian Ocean. On Oct 11 and 12, 2018, we will bring together countries that surround and use this great body of water, in the centre of which SL holds a pivotal location. Why are we taking the initiative to host an int'l conference on the Indian Ocean, and what might this forum achieve? The answer to these questions is threefold. First, the Indian Ocean region is set to define the destiny of the planet in the 21st century. more..

Oct 8 (ST) The limelight seems empty, the uproarious hilarity he once provoked has faded into a silence that washes over everything. As the nation mourns one of its best loved singers and comedians, there is disbelief first to overcome. How could he have given up on us, when the party seemed to be at its gayest and liveliest? Suddenly.. Due to a cardiac arrest… In Perth while on tour… phrases buzzed around creating shock more..

Oct 8 (Island) US Vice President Mike Pence has expressed Washington’s growing fear that China may use the Hambantota Port as a forward military for its blue-water navy. Sirisena-Wickremesinghe govt, known for its special affinity with the US, has repeatedly assured that it will not allow Hambantota to be used for military purposes. But Washington does not seem to have taken its assurances seriously. Why the US is so concerned about China’s military ambitions is understandable. more..

Oct 8 (ST) Even before Prabhakaran’s dead body had turned cold, the race was on to claim the spurs of victory. The spoils of war. First off the mark was the then President Rajapaksa. Returning from Jordan, two days later after the Tiger Supremo’s swift death had been announced, his first act after climbing down the plane’s ramp steps and setting foot on Lankan ground was to go down on his knees and worship the Katunayake tarmac, to humble himself in the dust and kiss the ground more..

Oct 8 (ST) Sri Lanka’s political landscape is distinguished by an oddity not evidenced to that unnerving extent elsewhere in this region, even with all its considerable turbulence. This oddity is that despite an increasingly uncertain economic future as the rupee free falls to unfathomable depths and law and order falters with the IGP embroiled in one unseemly controversy after another, there is little unified thinking by national level politicians on how to face risks to the country’s economic more..

Oct 8 (FT) Minister Malik Samarawickrama revealed that the long-delayed Costal Shipping Agreement between Bangladesh and SL will be signed this month. “The Costal Shipping Agreement between Bangladesh and SL will be signed very soon after receiving Cabinet approval,” he said at the official launch of the Trade Facilitation Framework for Multi-Country Consolidation (MCC) with the assistance of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GAFT) together with Women in Logistics & Transport more..

Oct 8 (FT) As per the Monetary Law Act (MLA), it is a statutory duty of the Central Bank’s is to maintain economic and price stability. In so doing, the MLA requires the Monetary Board to maintain the international stability of the Sri Lanka Rupee. Towards that end, the Monetary Board has to maintain an International Reserve which has to be adequate to meet any foreseeable deficits in the International Balance of Payments. more..

Oct 8 (ST) Following an initial insinuation that Royal College had cheated in fielding an extra player in the Dr. R.L. Hayman Trophy water polo encounter with traditional rivals, St. Thomas’, later recanted to allow the points accumulated by their traditional rivals to be counted in computing the tally of the two games. Royal College, while admitting what they said was a bona fide mistake in playing an extra player for 1 minute and 45 seconds dismissed the allegation that it was a deliberate ploy. more..

Oct 8 (Island) Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other forms of deliberate injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. This practice is mostly carried out by traditional circumcisers, who often play other central roles in communities, such as attending on child births and assisting religious preparation of the dead (especially females) for burial. In many settings. more..

Oct 8 (DM) Torrential rains which caused havoc over the weekend is showing signs of declining but risks of floods and landslides remain. DMC said rains have declined to some extent as of last morning but risks of floods and landslides remain as showers which exceeds 100mm are expected in the coming days as well. “Threat of floods still remains as the water levels of Gin Ganga, Kalu Ganga and Attanagalu Oya were rising. more..

Oct 8 (Island) Real estate consultancy JLL Lanka this week commended the passing of recent legislation pertaining to foreign ownership of land in Sri Lanka, noting that the move will provide a much-needed boost to investor confidence. JLL refers to the amendment to Section 3 of the Land Act No 38 of 2014, which was certified on 30 July. The amendment enables foreign companies to acquire and hold freehold land in Sri Lanka, so long as that entity is listed on the CSE more..

Oct 8 (CT) If President Sirisena and former President Rajapaksa join hands and prepare to form a coalition govt, UNP will take action before that to form a separate govt, UNP Badulla District MP Chaminda Wijesiri said. There is a strong rumour that such preparations are underway and in the event it is discussed at the UNP Parliamentary group meeting, he would again propose the formation of a separate UNP Govt, MP pointed out, while adding UNP Parliamentary group more..

Oct 8 (FT) Capital market stakeholders will make a fresh push this week to woo new investments from Europe into listed Sri Lankan companies via two forums in London and Edinburgh. The popular Invest Sri Lanka Investor Forum will be held today at the London Stock Exchange, with the city being the financial hub of Europe, whilst in Scotland, it will be held at the capital Edinburgh’s Waldorf Astoria on Wednesday. more..

Oct 8 (DN) President Maithripala Sirisena said the country’s child generation had to face great inconvenience since parents consider the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination as the one and only barrier which decided their future. As such, he directed all school principals to organise an awareness programme for parents one week before the release of Grade 5 results, on the manner they should treat their children with affection irrespective of their success or failure at the examination. more..

Oct 8 (SLN) SL Navy’s SLNS Sagara and SLNS Suranimala left the Port of Colombo for India yesterday (6), on a goodwill visit which includes training exercises too. The departing ships were bade farewell by the Navy band in accordance with naval traditions. Commander Western Naval Area Rear Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenna and senior officers of WNA were also present on this occasion. SL naval ships which are on a 4-day official tour, are scheduled to reach Cochin tomorrow (8). more..

Oct 8 (CT) The latest findings revealed that 30,000 employment redundancies have been recorded in the country during the past three months, according to Senior Lecturer Madhani Herath, of Dept of Economics and Statistics, Uni of Peradeniya. She revealed this at a media briefing yesterday. She also claimed that the youth unemployment rate has seen a drastic leap from 17.6 to 21.1% during the past 3 months. more..

Oct 8 (FT) LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index (BCI) shed eight basis points to register a lowly 87 in Sept – its lowest level since April 2009, in fact. The index is also well short of its 12-month average of 109. In the Oct issue of LMD, Nielsen’s Managing Director Sharang Pant observes: “The fact that year on year inflation has also crept up from 2.5% in June to 3.4% in July has not helped and businesses are worried about how this will impact consumption, which was displaying signs of a recovery.” more..

Oct 8 (CT) Spinner Harsh Tyagi ripped through the SL Under-19 batting line up after their batters put up a big show to score 304-3, as India sealed a massive 144 runs win in the final of the Asia Cup to clinch their sixth title yesterday in Dhaka. Chasing a massive target of 304 to win, SL never got going as they conceded two maiden overs up front, and the batters lost wickets regularly while trying to cope up with increasing asking rate. Opener Nishan Fernando (49) and Navod Paranavithana more..

Oct 8 (Island) ICC has denied sharing any names of players or officials who are under the spotlight of the ongoing investigations into corruption in the sport. Following a statement by ICC Anti Corruption Unit Head Alex Marshall, the names of several players and an ex-player has been circulated widely. An ICC spokesperson denied highlighting any names. "We would certainly counsel against speculation of any kind and more..

Oct 8 (ST) SUBWAY, which opened its restaurant in Sri Lanka – a few yers ago – and now has four outlets, has expansion plans with its fifth outlet to be opened later in 2018. The global restaurant chain has also signed a partnership with Varun Beverages Lanka (Pvt) Ltd as its new exclusive beverage partner in the country. With this, consumers at all SUBWAY restaurants in Sri Lanka can now enjoy a range of popular brands like PEPSI, 7up, Mirinda along with many other delicious flavours more..

Oct 8 (DN) Kenyan runners dominated the 18th LSR Colombo Marathon conducted by Lanka Sportsreizen from Colombo to Negombo yesterday by winning the first three places in the men’s race. The women’s marathon was also won by a Kenyan runner but Sri Lanka’s M.S.P.M. Perera managed to finish third. Kenyan James Tallam won the men’s race in a time of 2h.21m.52secs. Stephen Mugambi also from Kenya finished second in a time of 2h.21m.58secs. more..

Oct 8 (Island) Apropos the news item on the front page of The Sunday Island of Oct. 7, under the headline, Ex-navy Chief Karannagoda emerges as key suspect in killing of children, former Navy Commander Admiral (Rtd.) Wasantha Karannagoda has said it is extremely damaging to him as it is full of false information giving a totally distorted picture and suppressing the truth. Text of Karannagoda’s statement: more..

Oct 8 (M) While Sri Lanka’s annual GDP growth has been surging by double digits, only 30% of the population is active on the Internet and social media. This represents a significant growth opportunity for both existing SL companies and digital start-ups. The stakes are particularly high for incumbents. From 1965 to 2015, the global topple rate at which incumbents lost their leadership positions increased by almost 25% as digital technology ramped up competition, disrupted industries, more..

Oct 8 (SLA) Troops of the 12 Gajaba Regiment and 4 Sri Lanka Light Infantry of the 14 Division under the Security Force Headquarters - West (SFHQ-West) during small hours on Sunday rushed to the Parliament complex area and took necessary steps to prevent the entrance areas from getting inundated with rainy water which has risen to flood levels. 14 Division troops to attend to the emergency situation developing around the Parliament complex due to prevailing torrential rains. more..

Oct 8 (AD) Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa stated that he had not held any discussions with the incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena, on last Sunday (30 September). Former president made these remarks while answering questions made by journalists in front of the Kegalle remand prison today (07). Rajapaksa had visited former Minister Johnston Fernando, who was currently remanded, at the Kegalle remand prison today. more..

Oct 8 (PTI) In a significant development, the United States State Department announced that it is sending one of its top diplomats to Maldives and Sri Lanka. During her three-day trip from Oct 9 to 11, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Alice Wells, will reiterate the strong US commitment to its partnerships with Sri Lanka and Maldives and their shared interests in a prosperous and open Indo-Pacific region, an official statement said. more..

Oct 8 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan will hold talks soon to finalize the appointment of members to the Constitutional Council (CC) which makes recommendations to make key appointments in the govt sector and the Independent Commissions, it is learnt. The term of the nominated members of the CC has already lapsed rendering it defunct at the moment. It is a ten member body. The Speaker, PM and Opposition Leader hold its membership more..

Oct 8 (Island) The CID is expected to obtain a court order today, preventing former head of the Terrorist Investigation Division DIG Nalaka de Silva and Director of Anti-Corruption National Movement Namal Kumara from leaving the country. Senior CID source said that both DIG De Silva and Kumara were under investigation over the alleged plot to assassinate President Sirisena & former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. more..

Oct 8 (AD) Train services on the Polonnaruwa-Batticaloa railway line as a train had collided with three wild elephants on the track. The collision had occurred at around 9.35 pm last night (6) at Namalgama, between Welikanda and Punani. Three wild elephants had died of the collision with an express train en route from Battocaloa to Colombo. Three compartments of the train had derailed in the accident and the railway track had too suffered severe damages. more..

Oct 8 (Island) Minister of Transport Nimal Siripala de Silva says the Matara– Beliatta new railway track will be vested in the public before the end of this year. This railway line is 36 km long. It has been constructed under the first stage of the proposed railway line from Matara to Kataragama. Minister De Silva said so during an observation tour, on Saturday (6). The total estimated cost of the project is USD 278 million. The funds are provided by the China Exim Bank. more..

Oct 8 (DM) SL Land Reclamation & Development Corporation (SLLRDC) temporary quits undertaking garbage collected in the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) area from tomorrow as the CMC failed to make an outstanding payment of Rs.207 million to them for garbage management process. Responding to a statement made by Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake that SLLRDC is taking extortion for garbage management, more..

Oct 8 (DM) On September 26, 1960, Cuban leader Fidel Castro addressed the United Nations General Assembly and held the General Assembly’s attention for almost five hours. However, the most significant thing of Castro’s words before the UN was not the length of his speech, but his attack against the philosophy of war, his denunciation of US actions against the Cuban Revolution, and the use of force through the growing arms race. His speech provoked ovations and applause. more..

Oct 8 (DM) Every citizen has a role to play in supporting and promoting social justice. In Sigalowada Sutta the Buddha enlightens us very clearly on the roles as reciprocal obligations existing between Monarch [ruler] and Subjects, husband and wife; parents and children; teachers and pupils; employer and employee; friends, relatives and neighbours; clergy and laity, without leaving out anybody. The writer is no authority on Buddhism, but the greatness in these values here is, more..

Oct 8 (ST) Following agitations launched by area residents, against shifting the sanitary landfill from Arawakkaru to Serakuliya, Puttalam, Megapolis Ministry intends to educate and create awareness among the residents. Ministry officials who met the protestors, will make the area residents inclusive and involve them in the project. With this in mind, representatives of the protestors, religious dignitaries, pradeshiya sabha members and more..

Oct 8 (Island) International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Free Media Movement - SL strongly criticized the decision to cancel the screening of Demons in Paradise at the Jaffna Film Festival and urged the film festival organizers to respect freedom of expression. Screening of internationally acclaimed film by director Jude Ratnam Demons in Paradise was canceled by organizers of Jaffna Int'l Film more..