Oct 11 (Island) Sandya Ekneligoda wife of disappeared Prdeep Ekneligoda began a Sathyakriyawa outside main entrance to the Mahamaluwa in front of the Sri Dalada Maligawa on Wednesday (10) morning seeking the blessings of the Sacred Tooth Relic to receive some clue about her husband. Sandya told the media that the authorities were hiding information regarding her husband. She along with family members of disappeared in the past would continue with more..

Oct 11 (DH) Lasith Malinga, well known for his distinctive round-arm bowling action and long curls streaked with colour, has become the second Sri Lankan cricketer after Former skipper Arjuna Ranatunga to be accused of sexual misconduct. Singer Chinmayi Sripaada has claimed that Lasith Malinga sexually assaulted a woman at a Mumbai hotel and posted it on her Twitter handle. Malinga, who has played all 10 seasons of more..

Oct 11 (AD) Minister Arjuna Ranatunga says that the degradation of cricket has been caused because of interference of money. “We were delighted when we got the opportunity to represent school team or national team. National team will represent 20 million people. We never betray the expectation of 20 million people for money. Unfortunately, now there is such culture as a country and as a sport. There should be a proper way to exempt from this culture,” he said. more..

Oct 11 (EN) Small nations are facing economic chaos from financial turmoil on top of natural disasters minister Mangala Samaraweera had told a Commonwealth forum. "Vulnerability must be looked at not only from a trade and commerce point of view but must take into account financial risk as well," Samaraweera had told a Commonwealth Forum. "In an era where currencies and interest rates are volatile, mainly due to the unpredictability of external factors such as more..

Oct 11 (PMD) The inaugural event of The Indian Ocean: Defining our Future Conference, which aims to create a platform for Indian Ocean littoral states and major maritime users to discuss issues of mutual interest and concerns, was held under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena at the Temple Tress, today. The conference is being held today and tomorrow in Colombo. This Conference is held at a time when more..

Oct 11 (DM) The govt is expected to present the Commissions of Inquiry Amendment Bill in the near future which will provide provisions for the Bribery Commission (BC) to use the same evidence utilised by presidential commissions for investigations. The legislation would pave the way for the BC to use the same evidence as done by presidential commissions without calling for fresh evidence. “This will expedite the probes of the BC and make the investigating procedure less complicated. more..

Oct 11 (AIR) A team of 30 Sri Lankan Police Officers participated in a training program on Industrial security at the National Industrial Security Academy (NISA) in Hyderabad last month. The training programme was fully-funded by Govt of India, with a sponsorship of over 50 lakh SL rupees. The 30 officers, ranging from ranks of Chief Inspector of Police, Inspector of Police and Sub-inspector of Police, participated in the programme. Besides lectures conducted by subject matter experts, more..

Oct 11 (AD) World Bank Group unveiled a new system to rank countries based on their success in developing human capital, an effort to prod governments to invest more effectively in education and healthcare. The bank’s Human Capital Index, showed poor African countries fared the worst in the rankings, with Chad and South Sudan taking the two lowest spots, while Singapore topped the list, followed by South Korea, more..

Oct 12 (CT) In societies where secular officialdom considers it blasphemous to rebel against the power of sacerdotalism, and therefore sacrosanct to remain subservient to their dictates, even tinkering with the most blatantly oppressive elements of what is claimed to be sacred by the hierocracy becomes a virtual impossibility. This seems to be the fate of the long awaited recommendations made by Justice Saleem Marsoof Committee (JMC), appointed at tax payers’ expense, to investigate into MMDA. more..

Oct 12 (CT) The appeal petitions filed by the former Presidential Secretary Mr. Lalith Weeratunge and the former TRC Director General Mr. Anusha Palpita, challenging the Colombo High Court judgement of three years imprisonment in the Sil-Redi case is fixed for consideration on 12 Oct. The judgement of the Sil-Redi case and the announcements by the Hon. President and the Auditor General of unprecedented bribery and corruption in the public sector organisations, more..

Oct 12 (CT) UNP MP, Hesha Vithanage says a majority of UNPers are against bringing in a common candidate. Q: Is Hesha Vithanage’s dissent against certain issues within the Party over, now? A: I said various things and raised my voice to make it known that reorganization of the Party should be carried out properly. Q: As a backbencher, you made strong statements against the Party Leader. Why did you become silent, more..

Oct 12 (DN) The political grapevine is abuzz once more with talk of changes in the National Unity govt, brought about by a series of discussions between the leaders of mainstream SLFP and its breakaway faction, SLPP loyal to former President Rajapaksa. That there have been differences of opinion between the two partners in the govt, SLFP and UNP is no secret. That their two leaders, President Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe do not see eye to eye on some issues is also self-evident. more..

Oct 12 (DN) “The challenges faced by the OMP are many and need to be balanced with the urgency of the needs of families of victims enduring years of physical and mental suffering. The OMP recognises the multiple needs and positions of various families and the importance of securing their trust.” - The OMP suggests recommendations after it had several consultations with the affected people and communities. The OMP had six public consultations within the six months. more..

Oct 12 (CT) Soldiering in SL during ancient, medieval, colonial, post-independent and contemporary times undoubtedly mirrors how the exercise of military power, as in the case of many countries around us, turned our Nation to Statesmanship while ensuring a potent and dynamic force for defence of the new nation-state in place. These histories, many of which are replete with sagas of gallantry and selfless dedication more..

Oct 12 (CT) “One cannot stop wondering whether there is a scarier and a more doomed economy than that of Sri Lanka, where the people have been reduced to some kind of numbness, which has neutralized their power of rationality. A nation needs leaders who would not lament, but stand up to face the odds fearlessly, without misleading the people and taking them in circles, giving them the feeling that they are in a fabulous merry-go-round, but in the right direction. more..

Oct 12 (Island) Yes, plenty to comment in-house, meaning all sorts of happenings in this paradise of ours within the last fortnight. Cass seems to have misjudged an event of two weeks ago: the plot to kill the President and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Her penultimate para in last Sunday’s comment was: Cass thinks (not prophesies) the chase after plotters will fizzle out there having been no plot. Both Cass’s thinking and dismissing doomsday as a non-event, seem to be misjudgments. more..

Oct 12 (Island) The govt's price control practice through taxation on essential items does not serve the purpose because it limits the value in reducing cost and damage markets by preventing the supply of products from rising to meet demand, a top market research company said. "The price controlling of consumer goods actually can cause significant welfare losses, deterioration in product quality and a reduction in investment in the long run for traders in the country due to higher prices. more..

Oct 12 (Island) The govt is all at sea. It is blaming US President Donald Trump for the free fall of the rupee and the attendant economic woes in a bid to cover up its pathetic failure to find ways and means of mitigating the adverse impact of the present currency crisis. It seems to have taken the discerning public for a bunch of suckers. Some govt pundits claim that the fall of the rupee is good for the country. If so, would they explain why the Central Bank (CB) has made a frantic effort to more..

Oct 12 (SO) When organisers of the Jaffna Int'l Cinema Festival cancelled a scheduled screening of his documentary film Demons in Paradise from the festival programme last week, Tamil filmmaker Jude Ratnam claimed he was not surprised. Demons in Paradise debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. The film has been screened many times in Sri Lanka since – but always in the island’s south. more..

Oct 12 (CT) Swimmer Akalanka Peiris failed to get into the finals of either the 50m or 100m backstroke, but his time of 26.33 seconds in the 50m backstroke is a new National record. His time also secured him 10th place in the event, while he finished 16th in the 100m event. Earlier, to enable Akalanka to compete in the 4x100m Freestyle Relay at the Asian Games, the Education Ministry made an exception and conducted the GCE (A/L) exam in Jakarta exclusively on his behalf. more..

Oct 12 (ST) Aiming to dazzle the audience with some ultimate showstoppers, Colombo’s beloved amateur theatre group the Workshop Players will showcase a wide variety of Broadway hits when they present The Greatest Shows – a musical revue from Sept 11 – 14 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. With 13 musicals each day within a two-day programme, the task of picking which programme to attend is a daunting task…but fear not! This is where we step in. Included below is your guide to more..

Oct 12 (CT) National Sports Festival, which is considered as Sri Lanka’s little Olympics, is once again conducted on a grass track in Polonnaruwa, with the Island’s only living Olympian, Susanthika Jayasinghe, participating as the Chief Guest. The world has moved on from grass tracks to synthetic tracks several years ago. None of the top countries conduct their National level competitions on grass tracks anymore, and certainly not countries more..

Oct 12 (Island) The combined schools of Colombo will take on the combined schools of Kandy in their annual rugby encounter today at Nittawela Grounds, Kandy. This match will also act as a selection trial for the Asia U19 Rugby Championship which will be held in December 2018. Gamunu Chethiya of St. Joseph’s College will lead the Colombo ‘Blues’ with the likes of Janidu Dilshan of Royal College, Jason Karunarathne of St. Peter’s College accompanying him. more..

Oct 12 (DM) Jetwing Group Chairman Hiran Cooray recently urged the Colombo city hoteliers to be united to increase the minimum hotel room rates in Colombo, as the room rates were getting depressed. Cooray admitted that he was not in much favour of the govt regulations. “We don’t need the govt to come and set the prices. It’s needed because the Colombo hoteliers are not united. We, hoteliers, must have the confidence to say that this hotel worth this much and please pay this price. more..

Oct 12 (DN) Paralympic bronze and World Para Championship silver medalist Dinesh Herath created a new Games Record of 61.84 meters in the F46 Javelin Throw event as the Asian Para Games continued in Jakarta Indonesia yesterday. In a remarkable competition, Dinesh Herath defeated World Record holder D. Devendra who could only reached 59.17 meters placing fourth. India's Gurjar Singh (61.33m) and S. Rinku (60.92m) more..

Oct 12 (EN) Central bank has tightened a loophole in newly slapped import restrictions to stop items like baby cologne, deodorants, footwear, rubber tires and air conditioners being imported without letters of credit on which restrictions were originally placed. The trade controls were slapped after the rupee came under pressure from operating a so-called flexible exchange rate. The flexible exchange rate has turned out to be an unusually unstable soft-peg where the anchor swings suddenly more..

Oct 12 (DN) It is clear as day for everyone who follows cricket that Sri Lanka’s weakness in ODI cricket lies with their batting and fielding. The batting since the retirements of Mahela, Sangakkara and Dilshan has not touched the heights of that bygone era and SL’s performances over the last one year or so has resulted in more defeats than wins largely due to the batsmen being unable to put up decent totals for their bowlers to defend and the drastic drop in fielding standards. more..

Oct 12 (FT) The lacunae in laws governing digital verticals and databases in SL will result in a further delay in issuing of digital identity cards. Minister Harin Fernando said that issuance of digital identity cards to replace the conventional National Identity Cards was a key point mentioned in Budget 2016. Issuing of digital identity cards to replace conventional national identity cards was a key point mentioned in Budget 2016. more..

Oct 12 (CT) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows to Sri Lanka during the first six months of this year increased 139 per cent to US$ 1.35 billion from US$ 567 million a year ago, according to Central Bank data. The Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade hopes to attract more than US$ 2.5 billion worth of FDI during this year, after it managed to get nearly US$ 1.9 billion last year with the support of the Hambanthota Port lease. China Merchant Port Holdings Limited made more..

Oct 12 (CT) Ceylon FT reported the impending fuel price hike. As reported, the hike came into effect yesterday (11). According to a statement from the Finance Ministry, Fuel Pricing Formula Committee, which met on 10 Oct, decided to increase Octane-92 to Rs 155 from Rs 149, Octane-95 to Rs 169 from Rs 161, and Super Diesel from Rs 133 to Rs 141. However, the price of Auto diesel, they said, remained unchanged at Rs 123, even though it was scheduled to be increased by Rs 11. more..

Oct 12 (FT) G-24 Chairman Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera this week called on developed countries to reinforce global trade and action to contain global economic risks. Chairing the biannual ministerial meeting of the Group of 24 developing countries in Bali, Indonesia, Samaraweera said: “Global growth continues broadly but risks are rising for developing economies with higher oil prices, rising interest rates, more..

Oct 12 (EN) Sri Lanka is seeking off-shore seismic data from a Soviet-era study conducted over four decades ago, the island's mission in the Russian Federation said. Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat Director General Vajira Dassanayake, during a visit to Moscow to attend the Russian Energy Week International Forum, had called on SL's Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka to get diplomatic support to obtain the data. "The ambassador assured the mission's fullest more..

Oct 12 (FT) State Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasantha Senanayake paid an official visit to Portugal from 18-20 September, during which he met with Portugal State Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Teresa Ribeiro. During the discussions, the State Minister highlighted the longstanding historical ties between Sri Lanka and Portugal, with special focus on the centuries-old shared history and heritage, exchange of knowledge, visitors and trading companies. more..

Oct 12 (DN) Supreme Court was yesterday informed that the Attorney General has taken a decision not to appear on behalf of Uva Province Chief Minister Chamara Sampath Dasanayake and other respondents regarding a Fundamental Rights petition filed against them by the Principal of Badulla Tamil Girls’ Maha Vidyalaya. Accordingly, the Fundamental Rights petition filed by the Principal of Badulla Tamil Girls’ Maha Vidyalaya who more..

Oct 12 (FT) The JO yesterday welcomed the Supreme Court ruling on several proposed articles of the 20th Amendment presented in Parliament by the JVP. Supreme Court determined that the proposed articles required a special majority in Parliament followed by a referendum on par with the provisions of Article 84 (2) of the Constitution in order to be approved. The 20th Amendment was presented in Parliament on 5 Sept by JVP MP Vijitha Herath as a private member’s bill to amend more..

Oct 12 (CT) A Rs 17.6 million misappropriation in South Asia’s largest private sector workers’ pension fund, the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) of Sri Lanka, was pointed out by the Auditor General, which, though informed, had not been rectified. In his review on the much-delayed EPF Annual Report of 2016, he said that Rs 17,571,467 was yet to be recovered from Central Bank officials attached to the EPF, to rectify a payment made by the fund on their behalf. more..

Oct 12 (Island) New constitutional council would meet today to decide on a new Chief justice, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya told Parliament. He said so when he submitted the names of ten members of the new council for the approval of Parliament. House gave its approval for the names proposed for the council. Party leaders, who met on Wednesday, had given their approval for the names of civil society members, more..

Oct 12 (Island) Ten persons convicted of murdering six members of the same family inside their house at Anugunakolapelessa in 1998 were yesterday sentenced to death by the Provincial High Court Judge R.S.S. Sapuvida. Among the convicts are four members of the same family. The family members among the convicts are Liyanapathiranage Ariyadasa, Liyanapathiranage Rupasena, Liyanapathiranage Dayananda and Liyanapathiranage Nandasena. more..

Oct 12 (DM) Former President Rajapaksa said at present there was only a proposal on the table to form a coalition govt and re-iterated that there had been no discussions in this regard as yet. Responding to a question raised by a journalist at the Abhayaramaya, Mr. Rajapaksa said there was only a proposal on the table at the moment. “We want to intervene to prevent a crisis in the country in order to help the people. However, there is no talk of a coalition govt. more..