Oct 25 (Island) Thank the gods, whether Olympian or Hindu hierarchical, for sharp people among us the citizenry and a watch-dog organization. The former latch onto the Big Men of the past and presently on stage too, and expose extravagances. Electioneering and the elongated list of presidential candidates is proof of this fact – the public voice dissent fearlessly and there is much to dissent. We have to keep exposing the fact that one condition on which Yahapalanaya was elected, more..

Oct 25 (FT) Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Economic Affairs and Livestock Development says the Importation of poultry and eggs has been stopped as the Poultry Producers Association has agreed to sell a kilogram of chicken for Rs. 450 during the festive season. During a meeting with Minister P Harrison , the Poultry Producers’ Association has agreed to provide the poultry without a shortage during the festive season. Accordingly, Maximum Retail Price of a kg of skinless chicken will be Rs. 570. more..

Oct 25 (TM) A group of Pro Gota President’s Counsels questioned the motives of Ahimsa Wickrematunge who filed a motion against Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the U.S. court at the eleventh hour. Prez’s Counsels Kushan de Alwis, Mohan Weerakoon, Mayura Gunawansa and Razeek Zarook were speaking at a press conference. “Ahimsa Wickrematunge had 10 years to file a case since assassination of her father in Jan 2009, more..

Oct 25 (CT) Olympian Javelin Thrower Sumedha Ranasinghe won the second medal for Sri Lanka at the World Military Games 2019, when he clinched the Bronze medal with a throw of 75.37m at Wuhan, China yesterday. Sumedha, with a personal best of 83.03m, was in good form this year, constantly throwing around the 80m mark, and could have achieved this mark and won the Silver, but a miscommunication by Sri Lankan officials did not help his cause. more..

Oct 25 (DM) SL Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) announced plans to launch a Rs.100 million promotional campaign on a selected German TV channel within the next two months in an attempt to lure more German tourists to the country. SLTPB Chairman Kishu Gomes revealed that tenders will be floated locally within the next few days to select an advertising firm to carry out the campaign on a selected national TV channel in Germany. He made these remarks in the presence of more..

Oct 25 (Island) Addressing the Parliament, former Test captain Arjuna Ranatunga said SLC Vice-President Ravin Wickramaratne was involved in match fixing. SLC Executive Committee member has been probed for his role in fixing a club match two years ago so that Panadura SC, of which he was the Immediate Past President would get promoted to the top division of Premier League cricket. The incident attracted wide publicity more..

Oct 25 (DM) The Elections Commission gave a strict warning to heads of state media institutions to adhere to the media guidelines in covering the presidential polls an official said yesterday. The members of the Commission, including its Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya, met with the heads of the state media institutions and the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission at the Information Department on Wednesday to discuss complaints regarding partial coverage. more..

Oct 25 (CT) National Sports Festival (NSF), the country's premier multi-sport and track and field competition, is set to begin here today at the Vincent Dias Stadium in Badulla. But lack of top national athletes, almost paddy field-like muddy grass track, inclement weather and bizarre scheduling, means its set to be the worst, if not one of the worst National Sports Festival's ever. The Education Ministry and the Schools Athletics Association changed the venue of all their competitions more..

Oct 25 (EN) Airlines have started to denominate tickets in US dollars instead of rupees, travel agents in SL said, in a new fallout from the collapse of a so-called flexible exchange rate, an unusually unstable soft-peg backed by contradictory money and exchange policies. The Board of Airline Representatives had decided to charge air tickets in dollars instead of rupees several months ago to reduce exchange risk, more..

Oct 25 (FT) Western Province Governor A.J.M. Muzammil said in Kinniya, an eastern town in the Trincomalee District, that Gotabaya Rajapaksa, if elected, will ensure the security and safety of all citizens in the country. Governor was speaking at an election campaign in support of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Kinniya in the Trincomalee District. Muzammil said Rajapaksa has been a person who could understand the needs of the society. “I am very confident that he will be an impartial more..

Oct 25 (DN) Corporate leaders and entrepreneurs should conduct business activities to ensure Sri Lanka is a key player in the global supply chain while taking measures to guarantee that benefits of business activities are distributed among all stakeholders in a justifiable manner, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya told a conference yesterday. He said all stakeholders including public and private sector needs to work together with a common purpose to realize set goals in the country. more..

Oct 25 (Island) Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) had incurred a loss of USD 4.7 million (Rs. 849.4 million) due to purchasing oil using spot tender method between 2017 and 2018, Chairman of the PCoI, retired SC judge, Upali Abeyrathne said. Abeyrathne said so while Minister Arjuna Ranatunga was being questioned. Ranatunga had earlier made a statement before the CID unit attached to the Prez Commission more..

Oct 25 (DM) The Disaster Management Ministry has teamed up with the Election Commission to work out arrangements to conduct elections without any hindrance in the event of any possible disaster situation on the day of polling, an official said yesterday. The Spokesman for the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) Pradeep Kodippili told Daily Mirror that arrangements would be made this time, as usual, to ensure polling without any hiccup despite any possible disaster situation. more..

Oct 25 (FT) SDF Counterpart Agencies from eight SAARC Member States (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and SL) are meeting in Malé, Maldives this week for the 6th Counterpart Agencies Meeting of the SAARC Development Fund (SDF). Minister for Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail graced the inaugural session of the Meeting on 23 Oct. During his inaugural address, the Minister committed to strengthen Maldives’ interaction with SAARC more..

Oct 25 (FT) Sri Lanka Customs (SLC) is awaiting the Court of Appeal’s decision based on the Govt Analyst’s (GA) report to proceed with its investigation over the controversial importation of 232 waste containers from the UK. In September, the Court had asked the GA to submit a report to determine whether containers at both locations – the 112 containers at the Colombo International Terminal (CIT) at the Port and 111 container loads more..

Oct 25 (FT) Professionals backing SLPP prez candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa expressed confidence that he will present a strong policy framework capable of tackling economic challenges that would warrant the confidence of the working community. Dr. Charitha Herath, representing the pro-Rajapaksa group Professionals Intervention for Policy Dialogue (PIPD), charged the current Govt was unable to address economic challenges and had failed to uplift living standards of citizens. more..

Oct 25 (DM) Former Army Commander and National People’s Party (NPP) prez candidate Gen. Mahesh Senanayake said he would bring the cabinet to 20 under his govt. He expressed these views at the launch of his NPP’s election manifesto at the SL Foundation Institute. Gen. Senanayake said the fundamental substance of his manifesto is to create one country and to establish one and equal law to all in the country. “Every cabinet minister is entitled to work with a sense of financial discipline,” more..

Oct 25 (FT) NPM prez candidate and former Army Commander Gen. (Rtd) Mahesh Senanayake expressed his confidence that if elected as Prez, he will have adequate powers to bring effective change, in spite of downgraded executive powers under the 19th Amendment. He made the observation yesterday at the NPM election policy launch, held at the Foundation Institute. He downplayed the concerns about his health, more..

Oct 25 (MFA) Leading the Sri Lanka delegation to the 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Govt of the Non-Aligned Movement, Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan on Tuesday. Minister Marapana is taking part in the Preparatory Ministerial Meeting which will lead to the Summit scheduled to be held from 25 – 26 October, under the new NAM Chairmanship of Azerbaijan. The preparatory Ministerial meeting follows the Senior Officials meeting which was held 21–22 Oct. more..

Oct 25 (MFA) Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha has emphasized the urgent need for the development of an overarching security architecture and institutional frameworks that address the security issues in the Indian Ocean Region. Referring to the Track 1.5 Conference The Indian Ocean: Defining our Future hosted by Sri Lanka in Oct 2018, which is to graduate to a Ministerial level conference, he noted that it held the promise of contributing to the development of more..

Oct 25 (Island) United Left Front (ULF) has been sharply divided over its stand on the candidate to be backed at the prez poll, with its National Organizer Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne PC and Secretary Lal Wijenayake pulling in different directions. Responding to yesterday’s front-page story headlined Left turns right, backs Sajith, Wijenayake alleged Dr. Wickramaratne was backing NDF candidate Premadasa contrary to more..

Oct 25 (DN) Minister of Sports Harin Fernando announced the opening of the final stage of the 45th National Sports Festival at the Vincent Dias Stadium in Badulla yesterday with Governor of Uva Province Maithri Guneratne, Uva Chief Minister Laksiri Bandara, Secretary to the Ministry of Sports Chulananda Perera and Director General Sports Dhammika Muthugala also being present. Two great sports personalities who are products from the Uva Province former national record holder for more..

Oct 25 (FT) President of Emirates Airline, which managed and part-owned SriLankan Airlines, and aviation industry leader Tim Clark said on Wednesday that looking for a strategic investor may not be the best option for the latter. “Given the current aviation industry outlook and Sri Lanka’s tourism ambitions, finding a strategic investor may not be the best approach for SriLankan Airlines,” Clark told the Annual General Meeting of the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 25 (Island) Acting police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said that the CID hadn’t received information/evidence to link the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) proscribed over the Easter Sunday attacks, with the Islamic State (IS). He said so in response to a query whether the CID had found new evidence to prove IS link since the senior DIG Ravi Seneviratne, in charge of the CID told the Parliamentary Select Committee more..

Oct 25 (DM) Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) report which gives its final findings of the Easter Sunday Bombings is viewed with raised eyebrows. This is because the PSC consists of a member in Rauff Hakeem who is at present bombarded with allegations that he had links with the extremist terror organisation which carried out the bombings. Reason for Hakeem coming under fire is a video that went viral showing the minister in the company of hate preacher Zaharan Hashim. more..

Oct 25 (DM) In recent days and months, Hong Kong, Iraq, Chile, Ecuador, Haiti, Lebanon and several other countries have seen mass-scale public protests. Though the reasons that drew the people to the streets vary, a common thread or a powerful message binds them together. Rulers, be mindful. Do not underestimate the people’s power or take their docility for granted. Beware! Their collective force has brought down tyrannical monarchies and dictatorships. more..

Oct 25 (DM) Altruism is one of the most highly prized qualities in society. The special qualities of people who act selflessly to try to find out what sets them apart, that they just have more empathy for others. The Daily Mirror discovered a story that needs to be shared about a former SL Army soldier who saved four drowning South Koreans in a boat accident in Maemul Island in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province more..

Oct 25 (EN) SL’s capital markets regulator has summoned auditors and other stakeholders for talks where it will share its concerns and expectations, including discussing case studies connected with audited accounts of listed companies. Securities and Exchange Commission of SL (SEC) said the talks on 31st Oct will be its first such initiative and comes after a revamping of the regulator aimed at improving its efficiency. more..

Oct 25 (DM) The National Elections Commission (NEC) Chairman has been pressing for fair and independent reporting of election-related issues at different fora and at meetings with political party representatives. He nevertheless remains challenged by me, in how he allows a private print media to go without any legal action against it on an election campaign advertisement published in Sinhala that included more..

Oct 25 (RN) Former Minister and UPFA MP A H M Fowzie says he will take legal action against the Hiru TV network which erroneously reported him saying that to protect the SLFP Gotabaya Rajapaksa should be killed. He said that what he said was to protect the SLFP Gotabaya Rajapaksa must be defeated. News item which was the lead story on 6:55 PM Hiru News Bulletin was repeated in a corrected form on 10 PM newscast. more..

Oct 25 (Island) Sri Lanka needs 196,000 MT of rice per month for consumption and the challenge before the country was to increase production without resorting to rice imports, an authority on agricultural science, says. Speaking on the sidelines of the Sustainable Nitrogen Management and Media Forum on Climate Change, on Wednesday night at the BMICH, Prof. Buddhi Marambe said that country’s food security more..

Oct 25 (ST) Many cases of killings and suicide in Sri Lanka are going unsolved because of the need for sophisticated equipment to determine the cause of death, two senior forensic experts have said. Dr. Colin Seneviratne, a toxicologist from the UK, and Prof. Sarathchandra Kodikara, a pathologist & Head of Peradeniya Uni’s Forensic Medicine Faculty, have said SL should have modern toxicology testing equipment more..

Oct 25 (AD) Examining the complaints lodged with the Prez Commission of Inquiry probing the allegations of corruption and frauds at state institutions is set to conclude today. Commission has taken this decision as the official term of the panel is to expire on the 31st of Oct. Accordingly, the remaining few days are allotted for preparation of Commission’s report after reviewing the evidence recorded during the inquiries. more..

Oct 25 (Island) Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has once again offended the majority of Sri Lankans by warning of Universal Jurisdiction in case Sri Lanka declined to honour Geneva resolution co-sponsored by the current dispensation on Oct 01, 2015, former Navy Chief of Staff and ex-UPFA MP Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera says. Weerasekera issued the following statement in response to Minister Samaraweera’s more..

Oct 25 (RN) Propaganda Secretary of JVP Vijitha Herath said that the true SLFPers are now gathering around NPM to ensure the victory of Anura Kumara as they are against Gotabaya Rajapaksa and UNP. Speaking to media this morning, he said that the true SLFP supporters have not joined Gotabaya as they are against the family rule and not joined Sajith Premadasa as they are also against the policies of the UNP. more..

Oct 25 (AD) SLPP’s prez hopeful Gotabaya Rajapaksa today vowed far-reaching tax removals including Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and Withholding taxes. This was announced at the ceremony held to unveil Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election manifesto, The Ten Principles of Inclusive Govt, at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre this morning. Marking the launch of the manifesto, Gotabaya Rajapaksa presented more..

Oct 25 (CT) The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to inquire into the Easter Sunday Islamist terror attacks which took place on 21 April 2019 and which killed more than 250 and wounded nearly 500, in a report submitted to Parliament on Wednesday, warned of the possibility of the infiltration of fifth columnists to create havoc in the country. The PSC in its report said that it makes a very serious finding in terms of the status of the State intelligence apparatus, more..

Oct 25 (FT) 2010 Prez Election was a royal battle fought between two war heroes. Prez Rajapaksa, who gave the war its political leadership, was able to defeat General Sarath Fonseka, who had given it its military leadership. In the 2015 Prez Election, Prez Rajapaksa was defeated not by an equally powerful leader, but by a small man from Polonnaruwa. The Civil War had produced three major war heroes. They were Mahinda Rajapaksa, General Sarath Fonseka & Gotabaya Rajapaksa respectively. more..

Oct 25 (DN) The two cases filed against Hambantota District Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa and three others for alleged involvement in laundering money amounting to Rs. 30 million through Gowers Corporate Services (Pvt) Limited between 2013 and 2014, were yesterday postponed till February 27 by Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne. When the case was taken up before the court, the FCID informed court that the Attorney General’s instruction had not been received yet. more..