Sep 26 (Island) Grand Oriental Hotel, the legendary hotel in Colombo is organizing the most delicious buffet of Jaffna Cuisine for all the Jaffna Food lovers from 27th of Sept to 6th of Oct at the Harbor Room, the Hotel’s famous int'l Restaurant which has the most stunning ambience and the scenic view of Colombo Harbor. When we speak about the cultural diversity, Jaffna Food culture is different from other SL food cultures. But it is not only Tamil people even many Sinhalese like to taste more..

Sep 26 (SLN) 1243.3kg of Beedi leaves wrapped in 34 parcels were recovered by the Navy during patrols carried out in Southbar and Oluthuduwai areas in Mannar on 25th Sept. Accordingly, a suspicious Bolero cab parked at the beach was observed during a foot patrol carried out by North Central Naval Command in Southbar beach area and by further search 12 parcels were recovered. These parcels contained 368.4kg of Beedi leaves. Further, on the same day, 874.9kg of Beedi more..

Sep 26 (Island) Parliament’s Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education and Human Resources Development has proposed to implement royalty payment to artistes at the rate of Rs. 50 per song for broadcasting and Rs. 125 per song for telecast. The proposal was tabled at the committee meeting held at the Parliamentary complex on Tuesday. Accordingly the artistes would be entitled for royalty amounting to Rs. 50 and Rs. 150 per song more..

Sep 26 (TN) Batting legend Mohammad Yousuf on Thursday welcomed Sri Lankan team's arrival and deemed it a good omen for Pakistan cricket but claimed that there is massive gulf of quality between the two sides. "The SL team's arrival is a good sign for Pakistan cricket. It will enable cricket fans in Pakistan to watch cricket in stadiums," he said. "It is being said that Sri Lanka's prominent players have not come. I feel that that does not matter. Their mere arrival is a good thing." more..

Sep 26 (EN) SL’s spice exporters have slammed India for slapping a series of non-tariff barriers to the island’s spice shipment which has almost brought trade in some items almost brought trade in some items to a complete halt. Spices & Allied Products Producers’ & Traders’ Association (SAPPTA) said India has slapped minimum import prices two and half times the local price of pepper and arecanut to block exports from SL. SAPPTA said the India has slapped an unrealistic minimum import price more..

Sep 26 (AD) The CID has obtained two court orders for an investigation on the former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. This was regarding an investigation launched on a complaint that Gotabaya Rajapaksa had violated the Citizenship Act, the Immigration and Emigration Act, and the Elections Act by engaging in political activities back during the 2005 Prez election while holding US citizenship. more..

Sep 26 (AD) The presidential hopeful of the United National Front (UNF), Minister Sajith Premadasa has said he would contest in the upcoming election under the Swan symbol. Earlier today, the Working Committee of the UNP unanimously decided to name Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa as the UNF’s candidate for the Prez Election 2019. The UNP Working Committee convened a meeting at 3 p.m. today at the party headquarters – Sirikotha, to finalize the UNF’s prez candidate. more..

Sep 26 (DM) The UNP is divided into two factions and are fighting like cockerels for candidacy and the country cannot be developed by giving power to fighting cockerels, SLPP Leader and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa said. He said this at the national convention of a collective of family members of war heroes held in Colombo on Wednesday. “One UNP faction is holding rallies asking for the candidacy while the other continues to reject him. Even if these two factions agreed more..

Sep 26 (AD) As per the recommendation of the Special Commission on reviewing salaries of the public sector appointed by the President, the monthly salary of all public servants are to be increased by a minimum amount of Rs.3000 and a maximum of Rs.24,000 per month effective from January 2020, Finance Ministry says. Ministry said the increment is in addition to the salary increment which was granted up to 107% by 2020 more..

Sep 26 (TM) SLFP Spokesperson Weerakumara Dissanayake said the SLFP will not take the responsibility of abolishing the Executive Presidency as many attempts to do so had proved futile. Dissanayake was speaking at a press conference today. “Prez Sirisena has tried many times to abolish the executive presidency but has failed in the current govt. Since many attempts in the past and the present have failed, we remove our selves from the duty of abolishing Executive Presidency,” more..

Sep 26 (DM) Stern action will have to be taken against those behind the trade union action if they do not call off the strike by Monday, State Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Ashok Abeysinghe said today. He told a media briefing at the Transport Ministry that the people would curse the railway strikers for the unjust strike and also assured that more SLTB buses and private buses would be deployed near train stations to provide alternate transport for the commuters during the strike. more..

Sep 26 (AFP) Nadungamuwa Raja, 65 years old, is a celebrated elephant towering around 10.5 feet (3.2 metres) in height, the tallest tamed tusker in Sri Lanka. And he has his own armed guards. Raja’s owner said the govt has allocated troops to provide security for his pet as it ambles along main roads to attend temple festivals across the island. “In Sept 2015, a motorcyclist very nearly crashed into Raja. more..

Sep 27 (CT) Our history of impunity, especially since the ascent to power of J.R. Jayewardene in 1977, brings us to the strange and largely un-mourned disappearance of the law. The Easter eruption, the evidence suggests, was a gamble the protagonists stumbled into in confronting the arithmetical realities of the coming presidential election. Their expectations appear to have gone awry. What transpired was in effect, a second attempt at disenfranchisement, this time of the Muslims. more..

Sep 27 (CT) It will be politically suicidal for Sajith Premadasa to accept the outrageous conditions set by UNP seniors to obtain nomination as UNP’s official Prez candidate. If not for the serious implications to the country, they are laughable. The conditions purportedly set are that Sajith must give the undertaking in writing: 1) Ranil Wickremesinghe will remain the UNP Leader and the PM 2) commitment to abolish executive presidency 3) To work on a “power devolution package” to more..

Sep 27 (SO) Police Orders (formerly known as Departmental Orders) A-5 and A-6 clearly set out the promotion scheme for the 85,000 strong cadres of the SL Police. But for decades the granting of promotions within the SL Police has been ad hoc and haphazard while the promotion scheme has been treated merely as a suggestion. The failure to grant promotions according to an accepted scheme by officials had inadvertently left more..

Sep 27 (CT) Finance Ministry on Tuesday announced that all service personnel and Policemen, made disabled while fighting Tamil terrorism in connection with the island's at least 26-year terrorist war which ended in May 2009, would be entitled to a pension equivalent to 100% of the salary they drew at the time of retirement. This is a departure from the status quo, where previously, only a percentage of the last salary drawn were/are paid to retired service personnel, Policemen more..

Sep 27 (DN) Nearly 2,000 young women employees who were affected during the past 30-year conflict in Karadiyanaru, Koppai, Vakarai, Kathiraveli, Mandur, Vellaveli, Thikkodai, Kiran, Valaichchenai and Chenkalady in the Batticaloa district are employed at the Arayampathy, Kovilkulam Brandix garment factory. To give them gainful employment after the war for a reasonable salary and to ensure safe and comfortable travel to and from work while respecting their religious practices and customs, more..

Sep 27 (TM) Concerns have been raised over the Crab City project in Rekawa but authorities have dismissed the concerns and are moving ahead with the construction work. The project will use some 50 acres of paddy land near the Rekawa Lagoon in Tangalle that was left barren due to the mixing of seawater to farm crabs. However, environmentalist Jagath Gunawardena stated that their concerns were on whether proper more..

Sep 27 (DM) If there is one exercise our SL Politicians are brilliant at it is Power Struggle and the struggle is on! All the Rajapaksa brothers are in the forefront, Cases pending in court and dual citizenship notwithstanding ! How can we forget our erstwhile President presenting himself probably as the candidate par excellence! With all his new found theories, not forgetting the Death Penalty, he must indeed see himself as the star candidate, the saviour who plunged this country into unprecedented more..

Sep 27 (DM) Tempered by the travail of time, now I am ever ready to accept blame when I go wrong. Further, I admit an ageing brain can misinterpret facts. On seeing the glaring headline Where did Dr. Upul go wrong (DM, 19 Sep), I began wondering whether this is happening to me. However, on re-reading my article Where did Sajith go wrong (DM, 14 Sept), after carefully studying the comments of Dr Susantha Karunaratne, I realised the practice of mindfulness meditation since retirement, more..

Sep 27 (DN) On Sept 26 1959, PM S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was assassinated in cold blood, by a person clad in yellow robes. Bandaranaike had an enlightened philosophy, the full realisation of which suffered certain setbacks. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was educated at Oxford, UK, according to his father’s wish. Solomon Dias Bandaranaike was determined that his son graduated from one of the best seats of learning in the world and the result was, he was packed up into a ship to UK more..

Sep 27 (DN) Prabhash Madushanka of SL Navy team won the third leg of SLT Speedup Cycle Sawariya from Bandarawela to Kurungala yesterday covering a distance of 159 kilometres. The third leg started in front of Sri Lanka Telecom regional office Bandarawela and travelled through Nuwara Eliya, Peradeniya, Kandy and reached the finish point at Kurunegala. Following the winner Madushanka was Thushan Rajapaksha of SL Army team and Chamika Sandun Kumara of SL Navy team. more..

Sep 27 (CI) It has been ten years since Karachi saw its last ODI. In that time, three World Cups have been staged, a generation has grown up, and the one-day game has been through a revolution. Sure, this is only a tender sapling of a tour, containing only limited-overs fixtures, with 10 Sri Lanka players having refused to travel. But we are at the start of the longest trip an international side has made to Pakistan since 2009, more..

Sep 27 (FT) SL’s Most Admired Companies were announced and awarded on Wednesday by the International Chamber of Commerce, SL (ICCSL) together with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Daily FT. The 10 in alphabetical order were Aitken Spence, Bank of Ceylon, CBL Investments, Ceylinco Life Insurance, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company, Hatton National Bank, John Keells Holdings, LOLC Holdings & Sampath Bank. more..

Sep 27 (FT) I AM NOT SURE IF my readers have realised that I’m not a 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl bent on saving a crooked world from a sticky end. But it is fairly certain that a discerning readership – and viewership – would realise and acknowledge that Greta Thunberg is a superhero at speaking truth to power. Since her no-holds-barred campaign against the planet’s corrupt and polluting powers that be went viral, the phrase #HowDareYou has become No. 1 hashtag in blogosphere. more..

Sep 27 (ABC) Pusparani Kumaravel is 52-years-old and has short, cropped hair, the result of a decision to shave her head earlier this year. She shaved her head as a physical reminder that she can control some aspects of her life. It is important to Ms Kumaravel as her family have no certainty about whether they can stay living in regional Victoria after travelling to Australia by boat six years ago. more..

Sep 27 (DN) Day 2 of the 2019 So Sri Lanka Pro World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 3000 has seen Arugam Bay provide super clean two-to-three foot surf for the completion of Round 2. Santa Cruz surfer Sam Coffey (USA) seems to be settling into life as an internationally traveling competitive surfer as he posted the highest single-wave score of the event so far. Coffey earned an 8.17 (out of 10) for an impressive combination of turns on one of the smaller waves of his heat. more..

Sep 27 (ST) SriLankan Airlines has introduced a live auction for Business Class seat upgrades from September 17 onwards in a bid to provide more convenient options for its passengers to enjoy premium comforts. Through this live auction, passengers can bid online for Business Class seats where real-time status of their bid is available to them, giving them a better chance of securing their bid, similar to a real auction, the airline said in a media release. more..

Sep 27 (FT) PM on Wednesday presented four personalities with Most Admired Leaders in Sri Lanka Awards, initiated by the Int'l Chamber of Commerce, SL (ICCSL) and Daily FT. The four were His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith (Peace and Reconciliation), Speaker Karu Jayasuriya (Statesmanship), business leaders Harry Jayawardena (Entrepreneurship), Dhammika Perera (Innovative and Bold Investments). more..

Sep 27 (CT) Marathoner Hiruni Wijayarathne, who qualified to run the 5,000m and 10,000m at the South Asian Games (SAG) by winning both events at the National Athletics Championship, said she will be opting out of the 5,000m. She also added that if the SL officials are smart, they would give that opportunity to Nilani Rathnayaka who broke the national record in the event a few days after the National Championship. "I'm the South Asian record holder in the marathon. more..

Sep 27 (DN) A team of 10 young sailors has qualified to represent Sri Lanka at the IODA (Int'l Optimist Dinghy Association) Championships for Asia and Oceania. The event will be held off the coast of Mussanah, Oman during the first week of Oct 2019. “This event is the top-ranked event on the sailing calendar for our junior sailors, and we are delighted that we are able to field a full team this year”, says Yachting Association of SL (YASL) Sailing Convener, Asanka Goonewardene. more..

Sep 27 (DM) The economic activity in most of Sri Lanka’s provinces had remained stagnant in 2018 as their contribution to the country’s GDP remained more or less unchanged. Apart from the Western Province, the only other province that reported an increase in the provincial GDP (PGDP) share was the North Central Province. The shares of the Central, Sabaragamuwa and Uva Provinces decreased in 2018, while more..

Sep 27 (DN) SL should develop and implement long term strategic visions and make use of the country’s location as a maritime hub as well as an IT hub to support the economic growth, said Ambassador and Head of Delegation of European Union to SL, Tung - Lai Margue at the seminar on Int'l Trade Agreements: Policy options for SL. Trade agreements impact the growth of a country. “Lanka has the opportunity to further develop as a trading hub if proper plans are put into action.” more..

Sep 27 (DN) Alliance Air, Air India’s associate airline, is looking at operating direct flights to both Palali and Batticaloa making both these regional airports go international. This would be Alliance Air’s, first international route. An official from Air India Colombo office said that some of the Air India staff members recently visited both the airports to inspect the progress of the airport. Alliance Air is a subsidiary of Air India and operates services to 52 Indian destinations with a fleet of 18 ATR 72-600 more..

Sep 27 (Island) Supreme Court, yesterday, reserved the order on whether to grant leave to proceed or not with the 10 fundamental rights violation petitions, filed over the Easter Sunday suicide blasts. Attorney General Dappula de Livera, PC. appeared with Additional Solicitor General Indika de Silva, PC, Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Pieris and State Counsel Nishara Jayaratna. AG did not appear for IGP Pujith more..

Sep 27 (DM) In the wake of MP Hesha Vithnage’s statement that the SLPP's prez candidate will have to wear a jumper if UNP candidate Sajith Premadasa is elected president of this country, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe instructed UNP seniors to make sure that the UNP campaign was carried out in a decent and disciplined manner. While meeting some senior ministers, he advised that all party members should work with the commitment to make the UNP candidate victorious at the prez election. more..

Sep 27 (Island) Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam had presented cabinet papers on providing tab computers for GCE A/L students and their teachers, 13 times, PCoI was informed. Minister said: "I have been to developed countries like Japan and South Korea and in those countries children use tab computers. I also think we have to move that way. Each year, we spend billions of rupees printing text books and if we can give kids tab computers instead we can save all that money." more..

Sep 27 (FT) Sri Lanka Army (SLA) said yesterday that UN Peacekeeping Department (UNPD) has not yet informed them about their decision to ban the deployment of SLA troops in UN Peacekeeping missions in the future. It was reported that the UNPD had taken said decision as a result of Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva’s appointment as the new SLA Commander despite alleged war crime charges. more..

Sep 27 (FT) The SLFP plans to hold a decisive Central Committee meeting next Monday to discuss the potential of forming an alliance with the SSLPP for the upcoming Presidential Elections, SLFP spokesman Weerakumara Dissanayaka said. The meeting is to be chaired by Prez Sirisena, and will be held at his official residence. Dissanayaka said that the possibility of an alliance between the two parties were remote, due to disagreements on which symbol the alliance should campaign under. more..