Dec 12 (CI) Alastair Cook's search for a significant ODI score goes on but his side showed impressive composure in completing a five-wicket win in the fifth ODI against Sri Lanka. Joe Root's third hundred of 2014 and a second consecutive half-century for James Taylor helped England to overhaul their target after play resumed on the reserve day, meaning they are 3-2 down in the series with two to play. Having dismissed Sri Lanka for 239 on Wednesday, with Chris Woakes taking more..

Dec 12 (WSJ) It was the mountain of a million yawns. All over the flagstone stairway, people slumbered in various uncomfortable positions. Some huddled in groups, their heads on their arms. Others sat on benches, hats pulled low to block out the lights of the tea stalls. Parents trudged uphill with their children slumped on their shoulders. For half the year, such sleepy scenes are a ritual on the slopes of the 7,359-foot-high Sri Pada, more..

Dec 12 (CT) Common candidate, Maithripala Sirisena said when he is elected President he would have the 'Right to Information Act' passed in Parliament within 100 days. He added that they will finalize their election manifesto today and will be able to release it to the public in the coming few days. He added, both the print and electronic media, under the ownership of State and private institutions had a role to play in informing the people of the real situation of the country. more..

Dec 12 (CT) The Opposition common candidate, Maithripala Sirisena's brother, Dudley Sirisena is confident that his brother will waltz to a landslide victory at the forthcoming Presidential Polls. Dudley Sirisena and Central Council Provincial Councillor, Azath Salley held a joint public rally at the Wellington theatre grounds in Valaichenai in the Kalkudah electorate on Wednesday (10). The public rally was attended by a large gathering of Tamil and Muslim people in the area. more..

Dec 12 (Island) A Senior Minister who was to join the Joint Opposition Front (JOF) this week had decided to remain in the govt on account of his age, a minister who defected to the Opposition recently, said. Former Minister Rajitha Senaratne said that the minister concerned had told him on Wednesday that he was disgusted with the dictatorial and undemocratic manner in which the Rajapaksas ruled, but on account of his age, more..

Dec 12 (Island) Metallics, neon colours, laser cuts, sequins and leather vied for attention when Brandix, Sri Lanka�s inspiration-driven apparel manufacturer, brought the curtain down on the �Fashion Innovation Runway� of the Sri Lanka Design Festival (SLDF) with a show-stealing segment. In-house designers and the products of several business units within the Brandix Group came together to present �Urban Collective� � an assortment of purpose-designed casual wear, active wear, more..

Dec 12 (FT) The Ambassador of the Netherlands to Sri Lanka, Louis W.M. Piet, launched the third volume of �Towards One World� � the memoirs of renowned jurist and former Vice President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Judge C. G. Weeramantry � in Sri Lanka on 8 December in Colombo. Prior to its local launch, the book was released on 17 November at the Great Hall of Justice of the International Court of Justice at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. more..

Dec 12 (Island) WPC member Udaya Gammanpila yesterday returned to the UPFA�s fold to back President Mahinda Rajapaksa�s re-election bid, after resigning as the JHU�s Deputy General Secretary. He warned that in the event of Maithripala Sirisena securing the presidency the country would be plunged into an unprecedented crisis. Gammanpila said he had been left with no option but to quit the JHU as his priority more..

Dec 12 (Island) Supreme Court yesterday fixed for argument on June 3, 2015, the Special Leave to Appeal application filed by the personal aides of late Anura Bandaranaike. The appellant has challenged an order of the Provincial High Court of Colombo which upheld an order of the District Court of Colombo. By that order the District Court has refused to allow the filing of a photostat copy of the last will of the late Bandaranaike as evidence, at the trial conducted at the District Court. more..

Dec 12 (Island) Minister Reginald Cooray called for far-reaching constitutional reforms while expressing the belief that President Rajapaksa�s manifesto for Jan. 8, 2015 presidential election would address their concerns. Kalutara District MP emphasised that the govt couldn�t ignore the need for remedial measures without further delay. Cooray, one of those who had been earlier tipped to join Maithripala Sirisena�s camp, said that members experienced problems. more..

Dec 12 (DM) Police said that 80% of cutouts and posters had been removed by the police in Colombo so far and Rs. 50 million had been allocated by the Elections Commissioner for the removal of posters and cutouts during the entire campaign period. SSP Ajith Rohana said 2010 casual workers would be recruited for the task of removing cutouts and posters. �Police alone cannot safeguard election laws but the supporters, more..

Dec 12 (DM) The prices of bakery products could not be reduced despite a fall in fuel prices, All Ceylon Bakery Owners' Association (ACBOA) said. They said they would not gain any befit out of a price cut. Only 20% of the bakeries use gas ovens for baking, while the rest use fire-wood, ACBOA Spokesperson N.K. Jayawardena said. Only a tariff reduction on ingredients could help them reduce the costs of bakery products. �We expect a tariff reduction on essential bakery ingredients more..

Dec 12 (CT) Western Provincial Councillor, Malsha Kumaratunge received a call from the Western Provincial Council (PC) on Wednesday requesting her to proceed to the Chief Minister's official residence, situated next to the PC office at Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha, Colombo for a meeting with Chief Minister. However, when Kumaratunge arrived at the Chief Minister's official residence in response to the invitation, she discovered that the gate of the office was closed. more..

Dec 12 (CG) Northern Province Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran assured TNA NPC member M K Sivajilingham that a controversial resolution submitted by him will be discussed after the Presidential elections next month. Sivajilingham threw a tantrum at the council session last week after the chairman of the council refused to conduct a vote on the resolution presented by him. NPC member had thrown the mace of the council more..

Dec 12 (ST) Sri Lanka�s elite Presidential Investigation Unit (PIU) has begun investigations into alleged financial misappropriation and malpractices running into millions of rupees at the Development Lotteries Board (DLB), Presidential Secretariat sources revealed. The PIU had received a complaint relating to an over Rs. 30 million fraud in the procurement of 50 super luxury vehicles worth Rs. 500 million which were given away as prizes to winners of �Highway Dreams� lottery. more..

Dec 12 (CT) President Rajapaksa, addressing a massive election rally in Anuradhapura yesterday, said that he will not compare the crowd before him to the crowd at the NDF rally on Tuesday. He said the people wanted a developed country. "Didn't we develop the country? People wanted the war to end and have a free country, didn't we do so?" He said that clean drinking water would be provided to Anuradhapura as there is a large number of kidney patients in the Anuradhapura District. more..

Dec 12 (DM) Addressing his maiden propaganda rally in Anuradhapura, President Rajapaksa said that he needed only a cup of coffee to lure Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to the UPFA. He said, �It is not a big problem when one leaves the party to welcome another, Tissa Attanayake joined our party soon after having a cup of coffee with me. If they take someone from us we will retaliate by taking someone from them. more..

Dec 12 (CT) Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya has asked all District Secretaries to be present for a meeting, at the Election Secretariat, today (12). The Commissioner will have wide ranging discussions, on arrangements related to forthcoming Presidential Election . with all Additional Election Commissioners, District Secretaries and Divisional Secretaries from 10 a.m. He stressed that they would take all measures to hold a free and fair election. more..

Dec 12 (Island) The Joint Oppositions Presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena said yesterday that about eleven hours before he defected to Opposition ranks, President Mahinda Rajapaksa had told him that UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was joining the government. Addressing a JOF election meeting at Kirulapone, Sirisena recalled that in response to the Presidents sarcastic reference to Wickremesinghe, he had smilingly replied "Yes , Sir, he is coming." more..

Dec 12 (DM) Global technology leader Google Inc. yesterday said it would begin imaging Sri Lanka for its �Street View� service to create new views of the country to share with the world. �Our attractions should go to digital media. This will allow more people to discover Sri Lanka and at the same time, allow people in Sri Lanka to explore new parts of their country online,� Sri Lanka Tourism Director General D.S. Jayaweera said. more..

Dec 12 (DM) Immediately following the Uva PC elections, I published an article in this column arguing that good governance, despite serious set-backs in recent years, still matters in the country from the point of view of the wider population. In fact, it is the issue of good governance that has given rise to a broad-based opposition to challenge the incumbent President. The value of good governance and rule of law for any country is quite obvious. Yet, there are many countries more..

Dec 12 (DM) With corruption or tough anti-corruption laws being one of the key issues in the current intense campaign for the crucial presidential election on January 8, Sri Lanka joined the world in marking International Anti-corruption day on Dec 9�the theme being �break the corruption chain�. Appropriate indeed for Sri Lanka. Cross-overs and rumours of cross-overs this way and that way with some doing long jumps, double or triple jumps have diverted attention from the key issues more..

Dec 12 (SL) Recently parties who came together to support the common presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena signed a MOU based on several grave concerns which included the concerns over the total breakdown of the Rule of Law, the erosion of democratic institutions essential for governance, an unprecedented widening of social disparities and social injustices and severe strains on co-existence between different more..

Dec 12 (Island) The CEB Management has decided to purchase a brand new car from a top car sales agent costing Rs. 37 million CEB Chairman W.B. Ganegala, but he has ordered that a car be purchased in  Sri Lanka at a much lower price. Ganegala, contracted for comment, said he had asked for a car used by Divisional Secretaries and the chairmen of govt institutions. He said that since he had been using a vehicle belonging more..

Dec 12 (Island) A section of university lecturers was manipulating the FUTA, the esteemed trade union of varsity dons in support of the opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena�s campaign without considering their reputation, Secretary of the Higher Education Ministry Dr. Sunil Nawaratne said. He said that FUTA had organised a token strike and demonstration opposite the Higher Education Ministry on Tuesday against more..

Dec 12 (CI) With Sri Lanka having been expected to wrap up the series handily, Angelo Mathews and the selectors had hoped to don their white coats and put World Cup hopefuls under the microscope in low-pressure matches towards the back end of the tour. But now they must delay their research. With England having won a second match, on the driest track of the series so far, the series is still on the line. more..

Dec 12 (YN) Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) has just signed a deal with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Sri Lanka, which could see more international students studying business at NMIT from 2015. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in Colombo, Sri Lanka in November is the first of its kind between CIMA Sri Lanka and a New Zealand tertiary institution. more..

Dec 12 (ST) Incessant campaigning by finance companies, including door-to-door canvassing, has caused rising debt in the Northern Province amongst people who are only just emerging from a debilitating war, community leaders say. Newspapers are writing of suicides related to an inability to settle dues, although there has been no scientific research to connect these deaths with indebtedness. more..

Dec 12 (ST) Maithripala Sirisena: �Equality, democracy and people-friendly governance once elected�. Opposition�s Common Candidate for the presidential election Maithripala Sirisena pledged equality, democracy and people-friendly governance, once he is elected to office. He made the pledge after he signed a MoU at the Viharamahadevi Park, where representatives of parties backing his candidacy were present. more..

Dec 12 (LBO) Central Bank says the current monetary policy stance is appropriate and accordingly decided to unchange the policy rate corridor at 6.5% to 8%, respectively. Inflation continued to remain in low single digit levels, for 70 consecutive months and at levels below 5% in the last 12 months. In Oct and Nov 2014, headline inflation was at 1.6% and 1.5%, mainly due to the downward revisions to domestic fuel and more..

Dec 12 (DM) Several players in the Sri Lankan national cricket team have been forced to appear in an election advertisement of a presidential candidate, former Sri Lankan cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga charged today. Speaking during a rally in Wattala he said some cricketers have informed him about this forceful act. �Sri Lankan cricketers should not be intimidated this way as it would affect them. more..

Dec 12 (DM) Four Air Force Officers were killed and another hospitalised after a Russian made Antanov-32 (fixed wing) aircraft of Sri Lanka Air Force crashed into a rubber estate in Hokandara at around 6.30 am today, police said. Injured air force official, LAC Chaturanga GKN, was admitted to the National Hospital for treatment. Captain of the aircraft Squadron Leader JMWN Abeywardena, Co-Pilot Flight Lieutenant AADT Amaratunge and more..

Dec 12 (AM) Former Eastern Provincial Councillor of the All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC) Ameer Ali took oaths as a MP to fill the seat vacated by the former UPFA national list Parliamentarian A H M Azwer. Amir Ali was appointed as a Parliamentarian of the UPFA at the last Parliament session before the upcoming presidential election in January 8. Amir Ali was onr if the three members of the Eastern Provincial Council who decided to become independent. more..

Dec 12 (CT) The common presidential candidate, Maithripala Sirisena once again pledged last Wednesday to uphold media freedom. If elected to office, he plans to introduce a Bill to ensure the people's right to information. All political leaders during their campaigns over the past four decades made that pledge. They shed crocodile tears for the media. But, nothing happened. The muzzling of the media began under the United Front govt of Ms. Sirima Bandaranaike when Lake House more..

Dec 12 (CT) Mahinda, you ask us to vote for you on the claim that you have defeated terrorism and you have given us roads. Yes we agree that your claim is well founded. Yet we have numerous other questions for which we are desperate to get answers before deciding to vote you in for an unprecedented third term. We cannot do it just because Dayan Jayatilieka says that you deserve a third term. He has lost our respect more..

Dec 12 (LBO) Sri Lanka�s economic growth will be driven by tapping into global market through exporting high value manufacturing products, agricultural products and services, a senior economist said. �Sri Lanka is a 67 billion dollar economy, which I think not large by any strategy imagination,� Deshal de Mel, Senior Economist of Hayleys Sri Lanka said. "I think going forward, Sri Lanka�s future growth potential necessarily will drive on the ability to tap into global markets.� more..

Dec 12 (CT) Though there are several peripheral issues the main issue, whipped up by the Opposition, is to change the presidential system and revert to the parliamentary system. This is another of way of the Opposition saying: Get rid of the Rajapaksas. But changing of the constitution, in itself, is a non-issue. It has failed to cut much ice with the voters so far. Ultimately the election will boil down to a contest of personalities, I think, between President Rajapaksa & Maithripala Sirisena. more..

Dec 12 (Island) The CEB procurement committee will shortly decide whether to retain or seek Cabinet approval to award a USD 100 million contract to a Japanese company to build the new 220KV high tension line from Habarana to Veyangoda. Some senior engineers of the CEB fear that in case of retaining the contract it may slip out of Japanese hands. CEB Chairman Ganegala said he was not aware of any new development. more..

Dec 12 (Island) Anti-Malaria Campaign (AMC) of the Health Ministry expressed concern that malaria patients returning from overseas who went undetected could ruin SL�s chances of receiving the WHO certification as a Malaria Free Country next year. Director of AMC, Dr. R. Premaratne said that a majority of malaria patients detected in Sri Lanka at present were categorised as imported cases. They were Sri Lankans who had travelled abroad for business purposes, pilgrimages etc. more..

Dec 12 (CG) The Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Ramanathapuram has informed 12 Sri Lankan fishermen that they had a statutory right to seek bail as they were in jail for over 60 days after their arrest on the charge of poaching in two trawlers in Indian waters. When the fishermen were produced before the court for the extension of remand, magistrate T. Jayarajan told them that the police had not filed the charge sheet within 60 days of arrest. After their remand was extended till Dec 23, more..