Oct 19 (FT) Supreme Court ordered the Attorney General to ascertain whether a Gazette notification made on 6 May 2011 by the Secretary of Justice Ministry indicating the eligibility of persons to be appointed Hospital Coroners was still in force or revoked. SC made this direction to the AG after considering an application filed under Article 126 of the Constitution by City Coroners M. Ashroff Rumy and Iresha Samaraweera against nine Respondents, including National Hospital coroners more..

Oct 19 (AD) Minister Daya Gamage today recorded his statement with the Presidential Commission of Inquiry over the probes into the alleged loss incurred to the govt during the paddy storage at the Mattala Int'l Airport. Minister Gamage today (18) arrived at the PCoI. Responding to the questions raised by the media persons after recording his statement with the Commission, the Minister said the prices of local paddy went down in 2015 as then-govt had largely imported paddy by the end of 2014. more..

Oct 19 (FT) Govt of Japan has provided a total sum of $ 1,266,825 (Rs. 219 million) to SKAVITA Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Project (SHARP) and the HALO Trust for humanitarian demining in northern Sri Lanka. The grant contracts were signed on Friday at the HALO Trust’s Muhumalai Control Point in Kilinochchi, between Japanese Ambassador Akira Sugiyama and SHARP Program Manager Sarath more..

Oct 19 (EN) Cabinet of ministers has approved a five-year govt plan to phase out protective tariffs that were seen as raising the cost of living for consumers, hindering international trade and protecting inefficient domestic industries. The plan proposed by finance minister Mangala Samaraweera will phase out during 2020-2024 para-tariffs imposed to raise government revenue and protect domestic industries from imports, the state information office said in a statement. more..

Oct 19 (AD) The Organisation for the Protection of Muslim Rights today lodged a complaint with the Police Headquarters calling for the arrest SLMC leader and Minister Rauff Hakeem, over his alleged ties to the ringleader of Easter Sunday terror attacks Zahran Hashim. Members of the organization also handed over to police a CD containing footage and images from a discussion allegedly attended by both Hakeem and Zahran. The organization also released the controversial video to media today (18). more..

Oct 19 (Island) Minister Arjuna Ranatunga has been asked to make a statement to the CID unit attached to the PCoI on 21 Oct. Ranatunga will be questioned on the alleged loss of Rs. 700 million, incurred by Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) by purchasing oil using spot tender method between 2017 and 2018. Former Chairman of the CPC Dhammika Ranatunga has also been asked to give a statement to the police unit. more..

Oct 19 (Island) Defence Secretary General (retd.) Shantha Kottegoda has cmmended Australia for the assistance extended to Sri Lanka in many areas, inclusive of legislative and law enforcement, intelligence gathering, vessels monitoring, sharing of information in the concerned areas. Gen. Kottegoda was addressing the 6th meeting of Australia-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter People Smuggling and other Transnational Crime that concluded in Canberra. more..

Oct 19 (FT) SLFP will sign a MoU with SLPP prez candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa to pledge support for his election campaign. MoU will assure that Rajapaksa will agree to SLFP’s terms on forming a govt if he is elected prez, SLFP has said. SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara earlier this week said the MoU would strengthen confidence among SLFP supporters that the party’s identity will remain unchanged. SLFP and the SLPP on 10 Oct signed a separate MoU to pledge support more..

Oct 19 (RN) The NPM Candidate for the Presidency Anura Kumara Dissanayake is saying that rural poverty in the country is being exacerbated by increasing debt and a comprehensive plan is needed to solve this major issue. Dissanayake says that the parties that have ruled the country before this have made the country poorer by taking loans. “When they can’t pay back the money they sell the assets like the Rajapaksa regime sold the land more..

Oct 19 (DM) Police arrested eleven suspects including two PS members and a former PS member so far with regards to the received complaints and election law violations, SP Ruwan Gunasekera said. He said a total of ten complaints and fourteen election law violation incidents had been reported so far to the police department regarding the prez election. "One of the two PS members from Walallavita PS division who was the vice president was arrested for transporting illegal posters. more..

Oct 19 (AD) Former Western Province Chief Minister and chairman of CEA Isura Devapirya has been removed from the posts he held in the SLFP, says SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara. Accordingly, his SLFP Central Committee membership has been suspended while he was removed from the Maharagama chief electoral organizer position. It is reported that this measure was taken as Devapriya had attended a public meeting of SLPP member MP Bandula more..

Oct 19 (DM) Ministry of Finance has decided to suspend the purchase of vehicles for state institutions until further notice. Ministry has also decided to stop the commencement of new projects during the remaining two months of this year and also to postpone the purchase of non-essential office equipment until next year. A circular in this regard, underlining the instructions, had been issued to all ministry secretaries, provincial chief more..

Oct 19 (FT) This series is based on business leader Dhammika Perera’s recently revealed Economic Growth Strategy and Action Plan to increase GDP Per Capita from $ 4,000 to $ 12,000. The document outlines goals and action plans for 23 ministries and today’s column focuses on the Ministry of Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET). GOALS: Increase TVET certificate holders from 79,200 to 144,000, which will result in 40% of the 360,000 students per annum. more..

Oct 19 (FT) An orator addressing a big political meeting in the North Central Province invites a journey to an atavistic glory, invoking names of several kings as well as notional imagery from the animal world. “Coming from these historical lands you are proud inheritors of a glorious heritage. There are threats from outside forces. Lions do not act like jackals…” History can be both a discipline for academic study as well as the wellspring of social and cultural consciousness. more..

Oct 19 (FT) Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok arrived in SL yesterday on a brief visit. In an email interview ahead of his visit, Blok shared his views on the historic ties between the two countries and the importance of accountability and rule of law as well as economic engagement. Q: It’s the first ministerial visit from the Netherlands to Sri Lanka in over a decade. Can you elaborate on the purpose of your visit? more..

Oct 19 (Island) The Movement to Unite Motherland (MUM) issuing a statement says it "joins with an outstanding academic and political visionary to take forward the system changes it promotes, through his candidature at the Prez Election 2019. "Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, who has three earned Degrees from the University of Oxford will combine his vision for change with the New Political Order presented by MUM, more..

Oct 19 (ST) The first successful cadaveric liver transplant – that means from a brain dead donor – was done by a team led by Dr Joel Arudchelvam, Consultant Vascular and Transplant surgeon at the Teaching Hospital in Anuradhapura. Dr Arudchelvam said the recipient, a 43-year-old male who had cirrhosis, was doing well and had gone home without complications. The liver was taken from a 22-year-old male donor more..

Oct 19 (AD) Prez hopeful of SLPP, former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he would not undermine the trust that the SLFP has placed on him even after they form a new administration in the future. He made these remarks addressing the ceremony held to sign a MoU with the SLFP at the Western Province Aesthetic Resort this morning. Rajapaksa said there is no need for baseless fear that the agreement between more..

Oct 19 (Island) JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake contesting Prez election under the NPM banner, signaled the possibility of some independent candidates withdrawing from the race to strengthen the fight against the two main party contenders. Dissanayake, when asked to comment on a recent statement made by Prez candidate Rohan Pallewatte that he was willing to withdraw from race if there was an assurance more..

Oct 19 (TM) Sri Lanka has been taken off from the Grey List of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global policy setter on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT). The FATF congratulated Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and Tunisia for the significant progress made in addressing the strategic AML/CFT deficiencies identified earlier by the FATF and included in their respective action plans. more..

Oct 19 (FT) Army Commander Lt Gen. Shavendra Silva has informed the Election Commission (EC) that the use of his photograph as well as a comment attributed to him in a newspaper advertisement placed in support of SLPP prez candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa was done without his knowledge and permission. The letter giving the clarification sent to the Defence Ministry by Lt. Gen. Silva, was forwarded to the EC more..

Oct 19 (TM) Commander of the Army, Lt Gen. Shavendra Silva today released 150.15 acres of land in Kilinochchi belonging to the State and private owners. The Army said the release was done in line with the Presidential Secretariat’s policy of releasing military acquired land in the North and East. The release of the mentioned land has not compromised national security interests. Accordingly, documents, related to more..

Oct 19 (AD) The prez candidate of NDF Minister Sajith Premadasa says the new administration that they would form following the Prez Election victory will design its fiscal and monetary policies to ensure that private enterprise is given the maximum amount of opportunity to participate in the wealth creation process. He stated this addressing a meeting held with the country’s entrepreneurs at Colombo yesterday (18). more..

Oct 19 (AD) SLFP and the prez candidate of SLPP Gotabaya Rajapaksa have signed a MoU a short while ago. The agreement regarding the upcoming Prez Election was inked by Gotabaya Rajapaksa and SFLP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara during a ceremony held at the Western Province Aesthetic Resort. UPFA MPs Mahinda Amaraweera, Nimal Siripala de Silva and several other SLFP more..

Oct 20 (SO) This being the election season, there are promises galore, laid at the feet of prospective voters. That is only to be expected. Promises made during election time are similar to New Year resolutions: many are made, but they are rarely honoured. Nevertheless, promises made at election campaigns should be within the realms of reality and it should be possible to implement them; otherwise, they constitute an insult to the intelligence of the voters. more..

Oct 20 (CT) A collective of Tamil political parties representing the Northern Province created a political maelstrom last week, when they presented a proposal containing 13 demands, promising to back the candidate agreeing to the majority of them, in the upcoming Presidential Election. Granted, that many of the social, economic and political issues of the northern people remaining unresolved, even 10 years after the end of the separatist war, those who have prepared the list of demands more..

Oct 20 (CT) The SLFP will never support a programme aimed at dividing the country. All demands made by the TNA are aimed at dividing the country and devolving power to the Provincial Councils, said the SLFP's Weerakumara Dissanayake. Q: SLFP was initially very critical about SLPP. What made you to change your stance? A: We, as a responsible political party, were mainly wanted to ensure victory of people. more..

Oct 20 (Island) With the presidential election only days away, it is clear to all that the fight is between Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa, both of whom had formidable obstacles to enter the race. For Gota it was a legal battle. The unanimous judgment of a 3-judge Appeal Court bench cleared the way for his candidature. The court held that the belated challenge on how his dual citizenship was obtained had a collateral intent and has declared that litigants invoking writ jurisdiction more..

Oct 20 (ST) Prez Sirisena’s neutrality at the Prez election has created a buzz of sorts in the country. What ought to have looked a noble, apolitical, and non-partisan act is enveloped in suspicion, intrigue and questions on motive. Unfortunately for the incumbent Prez, his credibility as a leader is shaky, to say the least. His contradictions in both word and deed too numerous to mention, his political somersaults earning him many a sobriquet, least offensive arguably being Aiyo Sirisena. more..

Oct 20 (CT) UPFA MP Faiszer Musthapha explains in an interview why the SLFP chose to back Gotabaya Rajapaksa's Presidential bid. Q: What made the SLFP support Gotabaya Rajapaksa? A: The SLFP is a progressive leftist party; the ancestral home to all in the Flower Bud Party. There are no differences in policies between us. The SLFP's Central Committee (CC) and Politburo took the concerted view that the SLPP candidate more..

Oct 20 (CT) The latest news about a haul of weapons and explosives by Kilinochchi Police, hidden in a former LTTE member's house and two claymore bombs later, has made national security officials to seriously think whether the LTTE is attempting to raise its ugly head once again. On 18 May 2009, SL Security Forces decimated the entire LTTE terrorist unit. However, after a decade, does the latest arrest of Joseph Robinson (alias Theepan) in Kilinochchi confirm the saying more..

Oct 20 (ST) My dear Gota, I thought I must write to you, even though you must be quite busy these days, having to criss-cross the country on the campaign trail with Mahinda maama following you closely — so much so that it seems as if, like in the old nursery rhyme, everywhere that Mahinda maama went, you are sure to go! Gota, you do need to go out and about a bit on your own, if you want people to vote for you. They must feel that you are the one campaigning instead of having more..

Oct 20 (ST) T20 skipper Lasith Malinga says next year’s T20 World Cup will be the focus when they take on Australia in a three-match T20 series starting next Sunday. Sri Lanka will leave the island today for the short series and hope they could carry on the momentum of beating world’s number one ranked Pakistan to the new series against one of the toughest of opponents in world cricket. “The conditions and wickets will be different what they played in Pakistan. more..

Oct 20 (SO) With the prez election campaign now well underway, it appears that the contest is between the two main candidates, Sajith Premadasa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa. In the absence of scientific polling in SL, no credible voter sentiment analysis is available. Therefore we are all compelled to rely on speculation. Outside the two main candidates, Anura Kumara Dissanayake who leads the JVP alliance and former Army Chief Mahesh Senanayake have emerged as the two alternative candidates more..

Oct 20 (CT) The rift between two groups of the SLFP became quite evident with former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (CBK) and Party's General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara taking to social media to criticise each other. While the former accused Jayasekara of trying to uprooting the Party from its soil, the latter accused Kumaratunga of having underhand deals with the UNP to destroy more..

Oct 20 (Island) The 13 demands put forward by five Tamil political parties in the north want marks a watershed in northern Tamil politics. The five political parties involved in the process were the ITAK, TELO, PLOTE, EPRLF faction led by Suresh Premachandran and TMK led by C.V. Vigneswaran. A sixth political party, ACTC led by Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam participated in the process but did not sign the final document. Nevertheless the political parties that released the 13 demands more..

Oct 20 (SO) Sri Lanka’s batting discovery Bhanuka Rajapakse relies on timing of his strokes rather than slogging around the park while using a heavy bat which is his strength that helped him perform very well in the concluded T/20 series against Pakistan this month. It was in this series that most Sri Lankans and even the team Selectors realised there was something special about Rajapakse and why was he left out in the cold for so long until he reached the age of 27. more..

Oct 20 (ST) The decisions of Sri Lanka Cricket, whose latest feat is to sideline some of the most promising young cricketers from national cricket contracts–continue to baffle. Kamindu Mendis, the 21-year-old former Sri Lanka U-19 skipper, has been in cracking form and has scored heavily for Sri Lanka A and Emerging teams. But he hasn’t earned even a Premier category contract–the lowest in the five tier format more..

Oct 20 (PMD) National Policy on Pre-School prepared by the National Education Commission will be presented to the Cabinet of Ministers next week, President Maithripala Sirisena said. The preparation of this Policy was commenced under the guidance of Prez Sirisena fulfilling a national need in order to streamline the pre-school education in Sri Lanka. This was revealed during a discussion between the President and Governors and Provincial Chief Ministers held at the Prez’s Office today (18). more..