Nov 20 (GV) By the evening of Jan 8th 2015, I had a slight headache. It was a headache of excitement and uncertainty fueled by an inability to eat or sleep. It was also a headache of expectation and of anticipation. The anticipation rested on the hope that I was about to witness a historical event unfold, and somehow my participation as an election monitor on behalf of the swan would make me in some infinitely minute way an agent in this present moment of change-making. more..

Nov 20 (Roar) In the 100 years since its establishment, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) has grown to become the world’s largest professional body of management accountants with 228,000 members and students across the world. In June this year, SL-born Amal Ratnayake, FCMA, CGMA, was elected as CIMA’s 86th President, setting a crucial mark on the global financial stage for Sri Lankans. more..

Nov 20 (GV) Editors note: The following was sent to Groundviews by a regular contributor, who wished to remain anonymous. It was written by the contributor for a young, first-time voter who had been extremely distressed by the result of the 2019 Prez Election. On the basis that it would resonate amongst a wider public, permission was sought and given for re-publication. Accept the result. This is democracy at work. Sometimes it gives you not just what is unbearable but also what is dangerous. more..

Nov 20 (CT) Is there a more precious gift a family patriarch, who himself a former ruler, could expect to receive on his 74th birthday, than to see his own brother becoming the supreme head of the country he ruled? The victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) as the seventh president of Sri Lanka was an unforgettable birthday gift to his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR). On the 18th of November, while the new president took his Oath of Allegiance, not in front of members of the legislature, more..

Nov 20 (DM) Sri Lanka said good morning to Monday with a sense of belief that the future would be better for them under the new presidency of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Fire crackers were lit and milk rice was served on the road side to celebrate Gotabaya’s victory after a hotly contested prez elections produced a winner on Sunday (17). This was despite views being expressed that neither of the two popular candidates, Gotabaya and more..

Nov 20 (DM) The people have spoken and their decision is sovereign. We all have to respect it. I congratulate His Excellency President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on his impressive electoral victory and wish him success and good luck throughout his career. Since I am a senior citizen, I have had the privilege of casting my vote for all Presidential elections since 1982. Within these 37 years I have realised that every Prez who held the reins had his (or her) own strengths and weaknesses. more..

Nov 20 (Island) The election of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has plunged the UNP-led govt into chaos. The UNF parliamentary group is divided; one faction is calling for an early general election and the other the resignation of the Cabinet for a caretaker govt to be formed. These two factions backing PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa seem to be settling scores. Both of them, however, are agreed that they should respect the people’s verdict at Saturday’s presidential election. more..

Nov 20 (DM) The presence of gun-toting-soldiers, stationed at selected points, brings back wartime memories to the otherwise bustling township of Kattankudy in the south of Batticaloa. But, life moves on as usual in this densely populated town located on a strip of land between the lagoon on one side and the sea on the other. Kattankudy is the birthplace of Easter Sunday attack mastermind Zahran Hashim. As such it has virtually become synonymous with Velvetithurai in Jaffna, more..

Nov 20 (DN) Seven of SL schoolboy pugilists will create history at the King of the Ring International boxing tournament, as they participate for the first time at this tournament from Nov 21st to 25th in Boras, Sweden. Schools Boxing Association of SL (SBASL) selected seven winners of Junior, Youth and Elite boxers at the Stubbs Shield Boxing Championships held as part of the All Island National School Games held earlier last month, at Jayathilaka Boxing Stadium in Nawalapitiya. more..

Nov 20 (Island) Among the 35 candidates who contested the 2019 prez election were two retired army officers, namely General Mahesh Senanayake and Lt. Colonel Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Senanayake retired early this year. Rajapaksa retired over a year after the outbreak of Eelam War II, in June 1990. General Mahesh Senanayake contested on NPM ticket. NPM accommodated Senanayake with the blessings of its leader, more..

Nov 20 (Island) I believe the causes for the defeat of the UNP candidate were very clear, seeing the bickerings at the very first post-election meeting of the UNP hierarchy held earlier this week. Although at the election the party leadership apparently decided, under pressure, to back Sajith Premadasa, it is very clear to the public that the party’s senior leaders have pulled in different directions. It is simply disgusting and extremely sad to see the thoroughly in-effective, stubborn, and more..

Nov 20 (CT) If there is a lesson that fellow politicians in the country can learn from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, it is the utmost dedication and sincerity of purpose that he displayed on the job in hand, or for which he needed to prepare himself. As Defence Secretary, he would not be tempted to be distracted to take to big-time politics. This was so even after the successful conclusion of Eelam War IV and when a ruling party MP under elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, publicly offered to resign, more..

Nov 20 (TM) International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) urged SL’s new prez, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his govt to uphold human rights and rule of law, and ensure that SL sustains its int'l obligations and commitments to justice and accountability. “Gotabaya Rajapaksa faces credible allegations of involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity that took place during the country’s armed conflict,” ICJ said in a statement. more..

Nov 20 (Island) Sri Lanka has created many a brilliant mind, who, as valuable assets, have provided their services and shared their knowledge with the intention of creating a better society at large. The country is not short of smart individuals and we are yet to see what the youth and future generations have to offer, both to the country and the rest of the world. It is important for Sri Lanka, as a developing nation, to maintain ties with influential individuals, because there lies an untapped more..

Nov 20 (ST) Even as this first feature of this new Sports column, Anything but Sports goes to Press, we would be on the verge of a new Presidency, with or without the ambiguity that beset the previous government. It will thus be an opportunity for the affable Minister of Sports to demonstrate that he brooks no-nonsense in the composition of sports delegations that venture abroad for various events, notably international competitions. The South Asian Games (SAG) thus gains major precedence, more..

Nov 20 (FT) The Prez Elections held last week was largely peaceful and orderly, opined the Commonwealth Observer Group yesterday, but called for more women candidates and recommended an independent self-regulatory system to uphold media standards and reduce misinformation. Former Ghanaian Minister of Interior and Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) Chair Prosper Bani commended Sri Lankans and the EC more..

Nov 20 (EN) Softlogic Holdings made a loss of 762 million rupees in the Sept 2019 quarter compared with profits of 372 million rupees a year ago as finance costs stayed high and its retail and tourism businesses recovered slowly. The loss per share was 64 cents. The stock closed unchanged at 16 rupees Tuesday. In the six months to Sept 2019, the group lost 1.27 rupees a share. Groups revenue grew 10% from a year earlier to 20 billion rupees in the September quarter. more..

Nov 20 (FT) Mangala Yapa has tendered his resignation from the position of Chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI) and ceased to function as Technical Advisor to Development Strategies and International Trade Minister with effect from 18 November, ending a short tenure in the public service. Making an announcement on this personal Twitter profile, Yapa said: “I resigned on my own volition. BOI chairmanship (and the Board) is appointed by the Prez in terms of the Act. more..

Nov 20 (Island) Speaker Karu Jayasuriya yesterday said that a final decision on the dissolution of parliament or the appointment of a caretaker Cabinet until parliamentary polls in April 2020 would be made immediately after the constituents of the UNP -led UNF reached a consensus on a future course of action. The UNF comprises UNP, SLMC and ACMC. Speaker Jayasuriya said so more..

Nov 20 (IANs) Sri Lanka has often produced great bowlers with unorthodox actions, with Lasith Malinga being a prime example. The latest in that list to have perplexed onlookers is 21-year-old spinner Kevin Koththigoda. Hailing from Galle, Koththigoda's action has been compared to that of former South African spinner Paul Adams by his coach Dhammika Sudarshana. Koththigoda is playing for Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T10 league and a video of his perplexing action has gone viral on more..

Nov 20 (AD) Ravinatha Aryasinha has been reappointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the newly elected Prez. “Mr Ravinatha Aryasinha has been appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of #Foreign Affairs by the Prez with effect from today (19),” the foreign ministry tweeted on Tuesday. Aryasinha, a career diplomat and senior officer of the SL Foreign Service, who was the former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva, more..

Nov 20 (Reuters) Amid the lush paddy fields of central Sri Lanka, a large, state-of-the-art hospital rises between the cranes and cement mixers. Its perimeter walls are adorned with pictures of China’s president Xi Jinping and prime minister Li Keqiang, along with SL leaders hailing the $67 million gift from Beijing. The hospital, specializing in kidney-related diseases, is helping China gain popular support in a country where more..

Nov 20 (FT) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa took to twitter yesterday to reply US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo's congratulatory tweet, stating that Sri Lanka looks forward to fostering warm and mutually beneficial relations with the US. "I thank @SecPompeo for conveying the good wishes. #lka looks forward to fostering warm mutually beneficial relations with the #USA, including bilateral economic and trade ties between the two nations and increased inward investments," more..

Nov 20 (FT) Lord Naseby PC, President of the All Party British SL Parliamentary Group, has extended his congratulations to the newly-elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. “I wish to congratulate Sri Lanka on successfully holding a nationwide election in peace with a high turnout of voters for the new Executive President. I am delighted that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was successful. No one should forget that it was his leadership that saved SL from the onslaught of Terrorism by the Tamil Tigers. more..

Nov 20 (DN) In terms of air quality, the World Air Quality Index ranks SL 56th of 100 countries according to the real-time data as at yesterday. As at 11am yesterday, Colombo’s air pollution status stood at a moderate level of 76, as measured by PM 2.5. The moderate level, which ranges from 51-100, means the air quality “is acceptable, but for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people more..

Nov 20 (EN) Sri Lanka needs modern laws to bring investments to Port City, top SLPP official and former economics minister Basil Rajapaksa has said. He said several decades ago, when Sri Lanka started to draw foreign investments the law which now governs the Board of Investment was enacted. “That was to bring investments like garment factories,” he said. “But for advanced financial and commercial investments are planned. They need different legal framework.” more..

Nov 20 (Island) Elections Commission (EC) had decided to send a warning letter to former Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa for declaring that the SLPP prez candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa had secured 80% of postal votes, but it had not been sent, Member of EC, Rathnajeevan Hoole said at an event organised by election observers. "He made this statement at a time when we had not even started counting the postal votes. This is a major offence that could have led to a loss of his voting rights. more..

Nov 20 (Hindu) It is unfair to attribute a racist dimension to the Tamil vote at the Prez Election, according to TNA Leader, MP R. Sampanthan. His remark comes a day after the results of the Election were declared. The winner - newly- elected Prez Gotabhaya Rajapaksa - garnered his 52.25% vote share almost entirely from areas where the majority Sinhalese community is concentrated. On the other hand, NDF Prez candidate, more..

Nov 20 (Island) Airforce headquarters said that helicopters and fixed wing aircraft had been deployed on Monday (18) on commercial terms to airlift guests for president elect Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s oaths taking ceremony at the Ruwanweliseya, Anuradhapura. The passengers included Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family. The Air Force said that the full payment had been made for the deployment of the chopper. The Island raised the issue with Air Force more..

Nov 20 (PT) Pakistan PM Imran Khan extended a cordial invitation to Gotabaya Rajapaksa – the newly-elected President of Sri Lanka – to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience, which the latter duly accepted on Tuesday. The premier telephoned Rajapaksa to felicitate him on his election as the 7th President of SL, according to an official statement issued in Islamabad. The election win reflected the trust reposed by the Sri Lankan people in the leadership and vision of Prez Rajapaksa, more..

Nov 20 (FT) Speculation was rife last night that PM Ranil Wickremesinghe will step down today, along with members of the Cabinet, to pave the way for Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa to make new appointments, whilst others claimed the former will hold on for a little longer. Sources in the PM’s Office said that he will hold several discussions today, including with ruling party MPs, before stepping down. more..

Nov 20 (FT) Entrepreneur and business and technology specialist Oshada Senanayake is to be appointed as the Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRCSL). His LinkedIn profile says Senanayake is a visionary business and information technology professional with over 15+ years of experience in corporate management, strategy implementation, business analysis, process optimisation, software development and delivery management with exposure in working more..

Nov 20 (DM) Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara, known to be a Sajith Premadasa loyalist was critical of a move by the UNP to support a resolution to dissolve Parliament saying the govt should step down as soon as possible to pave the way for Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa to form a new administration. He said a snap general election would be advantageous only to the SLPP. He said only the deal makers in his party were interested in getting Parliament dissolved at this time. more..

Nov 20 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe will step down today making the way for Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa to appoint a new Cabinet. PM called on Prez Rajapaksa yesterday and discussed it. He will have a special Cabinet meeting at 4 p.m. today. Afterwards, he will make a public statement announcing his resignation from office. Later, Prez is slated to appoint a small Cabinet to govern country for a brief period more..

Nov 20 (DM) With the resounding victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the presidential election conducted on Nov 16, much attention is now focused on what will happen or what should happen in Parliament. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya’s office in a statement says it has been holding consultations with PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa and other party political leaders about what course of action should be taken. According to the Speaker’s statement, more..

Nov 20 (DM) The election is over; done with. At least for the time being that is. In the run-up to the election, so much attention was paid on the threat posed by fake news and disinformation. Even within these columns, I have written, on several occasions, on the threat and fact-checking measures. A positive impact was that the attention, national and international, organically created a set of amateur fact-checkers and also imbued a cautionary attitude among others. more..

Nov 20 (ST) Swearing in ceremonies of presidents are stately occasions. J.R. Jayewardene had his at Galle Face amidst much pomp and pageantry and Ranasinghe Premadasa’s was at the Paththirippuwa at the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. Both Chandrika Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa were sworn in at the Presidential Secretariat in elaborate events that ran with clockwork precision. more..

Nov 20 (AD) Major General (Retired) Kamal Gunaratne today assumed duties as the new Secretary to the Defence Ministry. He ceremoniously took office at the Ministry at 09.15 am this morning in the presence of Chief of Defence Staff, Tri-Service Commanders, acting IGP, Director General Civil Defence Force and a representative gathering of all Defence Ministry establishments. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday appointed more..

Nov 20 (AD) It has been decided to temporarily hike the price of a 450 g loaf of bread by Rs 5 from midnight today, stated the Chairman of All Ceylon Bakery Owners’ Association N.K. Jayawardena. The decision has been taken reluctantly as bakery owners are in a difficult position due to the increase in wheat flour prices. However, the price hike will be only for bread and other wheat flour prices will not be affected by price hike, more..