Oct 11 (FT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe cautioned the nation to prepare to bear the adverse impact from a possible increase of oil prices in November. The increase is likely due to the US enforcing restrictions on Iran, the ongoing excise duty disagreement between US and China, and the annual demand for oil with the winter season, which will last until mid-2019. Responding to a question raised by JVP MP Anura Dissanayake, the PM explained the macro-economic factors more..

Oct 11 (DN) The Supreme Court is to deliver its judgment today regarding the appeal filed by five accused-appellants including former MP Duminda Silva who challenged the judgment of Colombo High Court that found them guilty for committing the murder of four persons including former MP Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra. On July 25, Supreme Court five-judge-bench comprising Chief Justice Priyasath Dep, Justice Buwaneka Aluvihare and Justice Priyantha Jayawardena, more..

Oct 11 (Island) MP Namal Rajapaksa yesterday said that he would take the membership of the SLPP when former President Mahinda Rajapaksa accepted the leadership of that party at its convention later this year. The MP said that not only him but the entire group loyal to the former President would take up membership of the SLPP. Rajapaksa said so in response to The Island query whether he would take up the SLPP more..

Oct 11 (DN) Former Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunge yesterday testified in the controversial RADA case filed against former MP Tiran Alles and three others. Attorney General had filed indictments against four accused for allegedly conspiring to misappropriate Rs.200 million public funds belonging to the RADA in 2005. During yesterday’s trial, the seventeenth witness, Lalith Weeratunge identified his signature placed on the copy of a proclamation issued by former Prez more..

Oct 11 (Mirror) A pair of newlyweds got so drunk on their honeymoon they bought their own hotel. Gina Lyons, 33, and Mark Lee, 35, wed in June 2017 and went on a three week backpacking honeymoon to Sri Lanka in December. During their trip, the London-based couple checked into a rustic hotel on the beach and immediately hit it off with some of the staff members there. On their first night, they took to the beach with several bottles of rum and drank with one of the hotel's bartenders, where t more..

Oct 11 (DM) Following the beautification projects of the roads surrounding the Parliament complex, UDA has directed that all billboards erected along Parliament road within 30 days with effect from Sunday (7). The billboards and hoardings along the road reservations, within building limits, canal reservation and on buildings and facing access ways should be removed as it is considered to be a part of city beautification programme. more..

Oct 11 (AFP) Sri Lanka’s Parliament on Wednesday passed legislation to pay compensation to victims of the island’s brutal civil war, nearly a decade after the end of the conflict which claimed 1,00,000 lives. The legislature voted 59-43 to approve a broad reparations Bill, which seeks to establish an independent office that will compensate survivors as well as victims’ next of kin. Former strongman President Mahinda Rajapakse’s followers voted against the Bill, arguing that it amounted to more..

Oct 11 (AD) Lanka IOC has also revised the prices of fuel with effect from midnight yesterday, following the hike in CPC fuel prices. Revised Prices (per litre): 92 Octane Petrol - Rs 155; 95 Octane Petrol - Rs 172; Auto Diesel - Rs 129; Super Diesel - Rs 141. The finance ministry had decided to raise the price of gasoline by 4 percent to 155 rupees a litre and kept diesel steady at 123 rupees at state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corp (CPC) during a review meeting on Wednesday. more..

Oct 11 (DN) Air freshener machines have been installed in the newly opened Western Provincial Council building at a cost of Rs. 16,362,500 to provide a pleasing odour inside the building, said WPC UPFA member Salochana Gamage. He said another Rs. 2,625,000 had to be spent at a time to refill the air fresheners in the 15 storey building. He was addressing a meeting of the WPC held yesterday. more..

Oct 11 (CT) UNP MP Hirunika Premachandra denied the reports that a sum of Rs 18,864,929.67, from the account of the Maga Neguma Road Construction Equipment firm’s Welfare Fund, had been deposited to her bank account and said she is ready to handover details of her bank accounts to the FCID to prove her innocence. Premachandra told Parliament yesterday that the FCID has not contacted her to inquire about the matter. “The FCID should contact me regarding this today. more..

Oct 11 (DN) Supreme Court yesterday directed the petitioners to send notices on the Vice Chancellor of the Jaffna University and several others to appear in court on Dec 5 regarding a Fundamental Rights petition filed by five students for allegedly penalizing them for bringing a Budu Kutiya to the Vavuniya Campus. Five students including four Sinhala Buddhists and a Tamil Hindu student attached to the Faculty of Business Studies in Vavuniya Campus of the Jaffna University more..

Oct 11 (Island) Minister Malik Samarawickrama yesterday called on the Speaker to take necessary steps to prevent MPs being insulted and defamed by the media, spreading fake news. "If not, no decent person will want to enter Parliament," the Minister said. He said that there seemed to be a determined attempt by certain sections of the social media and an electronic media channel to discredit him. more..

Oct 11 (DM) With Sri Lanka again being devastated by floods and landslides with about 60,000 people left homeless and at least nine dead and with hurricane Michael hitting Florida and the adjoining areas - the worst in their history - the UN has warned that the world has only 12 years to limit the climate change catastrophe. The United States’ impulsive and dangerously unpredictable President Donald Trump is still rejecting climate change or global warming as a hoax made in China more..

Oct 11 (DM) The UNP led by Ranil Wickremesinge is hellbent on finding stability at present. It’s the UNP that calls the shots in the Govt and also takes the blame for much of the mess that the regime is in now. As much as it’s focused on brainwashing the people to believe in what it preaches on public forums, the Govt these days is also keeping an eye on the dissident former ministers and the SLPP marshaled by Mahinda Rajapaksa. This is largely due to talks about the former president and more..

Oct 11 (DM) Subramaniam Swamy, a stalwart of India’s ruling BJP, in an email interview, speaks about India-SL ties. Swamy, a Harvard-educated economist, recently invited former President Rajapaksa to address a seminar in New Delhi. He is an ardent critic of the LTTE. Q How do you analyze the current status of Indo-SL relations? A: Friendly, but not as partners. Q: There is perception here that India, more..

Oct 11 (FT) Global finance and reserve bank chiefs will gather this week in Bali, Indonesia for the annual gathering of the IMF and World Bank amid rising concern over trade war and risks of global economic crisis. Minister Mangala Samaraweera is chair of the Groups of 24 developing nations, which is active in lobbying international institutions on issues of concern in the global economy. more..

Oct 11 (Island) The majority of SLFP lawmakers have strongly opposed a move to form a caretaker govt with Joint Opposition (JO) heavyweight Kumara Welgama threatening to sit on the opposition in such an eventuality. Political sources said that SLFP MPs had exchanged views at a meeting chaired by former President Rajapaksa on Tuesday at the residence of G.L. Peiris, chairman of SLPP. more..

Oct 11 (CT) Nearly 9,000 hectares are to be added to the Sinharaja Rain Forest Reserve according to the Forest Conservation Department (FCD). It has decided to add the 9,000 hectares to the 11,000 hectares already in the Sinharaja Rain Forest Reservation, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1974. Moves are underway to gazette the increase in land area. Meanwhile, Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has more..

Oct 11 (ST) Supreme Court, unanimously, dismissed a Fundamental Rights (FR) Petition of a vehicle importer, against the Sri Lanka Customs (SLC), and ordered the petitioners to pay Rs 1 million in court costs, which is the highest court cost ordered in the country’s Legal history. In its verdict, the 3-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Vijith Malalgoda, Buwaneka Aluwihare and more..

Oct 11 (Island) Minister Wijayadasa Rajapakshe told Parliament that a well-organised plan was underway to instigate racial and religious tensions by certain unscrupulous elements publicising false reports to the effect that heritage monuments of the country were being destroyed by minorities. Minister said that there were serious allegations and news reports regarding the destruction of archaeological sites in SL. more..

Oct 11 (CT) Overcrowding is a massive issue at the National Eye Hospital (NEH), Acting Director of the Hospital, Dr. I.C.M. Rifaz said. He said that the Hospital’s Out-Patient Department and clinics attended to a minimum of 1,200 patients daily. People from all parts of the country come to the Hospital even for minor services such as getting tested for spectacles, even when that service is available in hospitals nearest to them, more..

Oct 11 (DN) The fare for the first kilometre in a three-wheeler taxi would be increased by Rs.80 and the second kilometre by Rs. 60 from midnight today, Lanka Self-Employed Professionals' National Three-Wheeler Federation Sunil Jayawardana announced. He said the decision was taken after the Govt’s fuel price revision with effect from last night and for not consulting them in the price revision and the Govt not regulating more..

Oct 11 (DN) Minister Sajith Premadasa said that President Maithripala Sirisena is facing the same vilifications that his father Ranasinghe Premadasa had to endure during his tenure as the President. “Those who are jealous about the achievements of President Sirisena are plotting his downfall. They attack him mercilessly, fuelled by rage, jealousy, envy and grudges. These were the type of attacks my father too faced,” he said. more..

Oct 11 (CT) Govt could have saved Rs. 1.56 billion, in transport cost only, if it had allowed the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to use 16 out of the 99 tanks at the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm, said JVP MP Bimal Rathnayake. He said it was illegal for LIOC to declare ownership over 14 tanks of the lower half of the Farm when the agreement that was formed between India and SL in 2003 had been annulled due to disputes in leasing the land. more..

Oct 11 (CT) The CID has revealed the details, to Colombo Chief Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake on Tuesday, of its findings on the threats posed to the security of President Maithripala Sirisena during his recent visit to New York to participate in the annual UNGA sessions. It is shocking to note that President Sirisena, who comes under the category of VVIP, was monitored closely and the details of his room number along with his phone number in New York were published on a website. more..

Oct 11 (FT) If a country has grown with science and technology driven by its own internal research and development and deployment, Korea should enter into anyone’s mind – or does it? Certainly when one hears the story of the miracle on the Han river, the story is quite amazing and many a lesson are perhaps can be taken. There is one catch – these lessons are not easy to emulate and do not come with recommendations for leisure and enjoyment but hard and smart work and also with sleepless more..

Oct 11 (CT) Former Prez Rajapaksa would lead any alliance or govt formed in collaboration with the SLFP faction led by President Sirisena, the JO has decided. The meeting of the JO was held at the personal residence of SLFP Chairman G.L. Peiris, in Colombo, last night 99). Addressing the meeting attended by a large number of JO seniors and party leaders, former President Rajapaksa spoke about widespread speculations on forming a coalition govt with President Sirisena. more..

Oct 11 (DM) TNA MP Sivasakthi Anandan today accused Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan of violating his freedom of speech in Parliament. “As an MP representing the people of Wanni, I have a right to speak on behalf of them. But the opposition leader continuously deprived me of this right. I have written to the Speaker about this situation. I personally explained to him about the injustice meted out. But nothing has been done yet. It is surprising that my rights are violated under more..

Oct 11 (AM) A 5-judge Supreme Court bench confirmed the death penalty imposed on former MP Duminda Silva over the murder of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra. Supreme Court rejected the appeal by Silva's lawyers. filed on the basis that the former Parliamentarian did not face a fair trial. First accused in the case, Anura De Mel, a bodyguard of Silva, was acquitted of all charges by the Supreme Court. more..

Oct 11 (CT) Colombo Fort Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne ordered the two suspects, arrested and charged with cheating, to be remanded till 15 October. The suspects, Shereen Osmund and Ruwan Edirisinghe have been charged with cheating money from the UAE Consular Office by producing bogus bills for the obtaining of school equipment, using letterheads belonging to the Presidential Secretariat (PS). The prosecution has stated that the President had ordered the CID to probe more..

Oct 11 (AD) The fundamental rights petition filed against Uva Province Chief Minister Chamara Sampath Dasanayake and several others by the Principal of Badulla Tamil Girls’ Maha Vidyalaya, is to be taken up for consideration at the Supreme Court on Oct 25. Court stated that the case will be taken up on the 25th Oct for confirming facts when the relevant petition was taken up today (11). As the Attorney General had rejected representing the defendants including the CM Dasanayake, more..

Oct 11 (AD) A fire has reportedly broken out at a large clothing store located in Pelawatta, Battaramulla. The Emergency Fire Service of the Kotte Municipal Council confirmed that several fire trucks have already been dispatched to the location and that firefighters are currently attempting to extinguish the flames. The fire had erupted at a leading clothing to homeware store located near the Pelawatta Junction while the fire has still not more..

Oct 11 (EN) SL has widened dollar trading positions of some banks, market participants said, which were recently slashed amid a run on the rupee triggered by a spike in unsterilized excess liquidity. Cuts in the so-called NOPs (net open positions) have led to heightened volatility of the rupee in the past, according analysts who have closely studied policy errors of the central bank. A wider NOP allow foreign exchange flows from day-to-day to be matched without altering the monetary base, more..

Oct 11 (NR) The BBS Organization has addressed a letter to President Maithripala Sirisena calling for Venerable Galagodaththe Gnanasara thera to be released on a Presidential Pardon. The Organization claimed the verdict issued against Gnanasara thera was unfair and an injustice. While highlighting that Gnanasara thera’s statement in Court regarding the country’s intelligent units wasn’t a case of Contempt of Court, the Organization stated the thera made a mere request. more..

Oct 11 (AD) Kayts Magistrate’s Court has ordered to arrest of the police officer, who allegedly aided and abetted in the escape of the suspects arrested in connection with the gang-rape and murder of a schoolgirl in Jaffna, and to produce him before the court. The police officer in question, a Sub-Inspector (SI) named Sundaresan Srigajan, had been attached to the Jaffna police station at the time. more..

Oct 11 (AD) Perpetual Treasuries owner Arjun Aloysius and CEO Kasun Palisena have been further remanded until 25 October by the Colombo Fort Magistrate. The suspects were today (11) produced before Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne, who ordered that they be further remanded. They were arrested by CID officers on February 04, who arrived at their respective residences in Colombo. On February 02, the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court named former CB Governor Arjuna more..

Oct 11 (AM) Parliament approved the names of Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala, Javid Yusuf and N. Selvakumar as civil society members of the Constitutional Council. They will be appointed for a period of three years and will serve as independent committee members free of any political affiliation or obligation. The Parliament endorsed the name when it met at 10 am today, with under the patronage of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. Dhanapala, a well-known diplomat, is the former UN Under-S General more..

Oct 11 (Island) Foreign Ministry says that it hasn’t been officially informed of Yuan 2 bn Chinese grant (USD 300 mn) offered to President Maithripala Sirisena. Foreign Ministry suggested that The Island contact the External Resources Department for further details. Senior Director General/Legal C.A.H.M. Wijeratne, in his capacity as the Information Officer of the Foreign Ministry denied any involvement in more..

Oct 11 (CT) Minister Arjuna Ranatunga has dissolved the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Investigation Unit and has instead appointed a team, which is involved in extortion from furnace oil traders engaged in connected rackets, the Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Public Workers Union (CPPWU), Asoka Ranwala, claimed yesterday. “Some businessmen have got used to mixing furnace oil with inferior quality oil such as leftover engine oil to make more profits. more..