Sep 27 (SO) Early hours of Tuesday morning brought the heart wrenching reports of a tanker train transporting oil from the East, colliding with and killing a pregnant mother elephant and two elephant calves, close to Habarana. The reports, along with the gruesome pictures of the elephant carcasses, led to a public outcry requesting for measures to prevent recurrence of such tragedies. Following this, General Manager Railways, Dilantha more..

Sep 27 (Island) The UN is striving to make itself relevant as can be seen from the theme of this year�s UNGA session: Making the United Nations Relevant to All People: Global Leadership and Shared responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies. This can be taken as an indication that a sense of becoming irrelevant in a changing world seems to have dawned on the UN. Wars are fought and the world has become a dangerous place in spite of its existence. more..

Sep 27 (Island) David Luchow, who is now based in Germany, will be in Colombo, in November 2018, to have a series of Recording and Mixing and Mastering (beginner to advanced) workshops at Sri Lanka�s first international audio production studio. He says it�s aimed at giving Sri Lanka�s top and upcoming producers a chance to compete with the international music scene and also to enable international recording artistes to produce their works, in Sri Lanka. more..

Sep 27 (CT) In spoken Sinhala, Ammata-Hudu is an exclamatory expression. It is used by many with least bother, care or mind. It can be an expression of surprise, disbelief, bonhomie and rarely to shock an audience. Our meditating, preaching and pontificating IGP Pujith Jayasundara resorted to the expression Ammata Hudu repeatedly at a school assembly where he had been invited to be the guest of honour in commissioning the school�s new batch of school prefects. more..

Sep 27 (DN) The Govt has imposed price controls on a number of basic foods in order to control the cost of living. For the purpose of study, we wanted to ascertain the products subject to controls, as well as the prices at which they were supposed to be sold. A list of price controlled items is a straightforward piece of information that should be readily available to any consumer. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be available anywhere. The website of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) lists more..

Sep 27 (ST) A chillingly gripping double murder reeking with illicit booze, vehicle hijackings and bodies burnt to ashes with only a tell-tale double belt buckle which finally leads to the gallows. Not within the pages of a thriller set in A'pura but very real, leaving the lives of many shattered just a little more than 50 years ago. His demeanour was gentle and for people who knew him he was a soft-spoken man, always with a smile wreathing his lips. more..

Sep 27 (CT) U-19 Asia Cup 2018 will kick start on 29 Sept in Bangladesh. The SL young cubs will leave the island today with hopes for becoming the best youth team in Asia. Afghanistan will play against UAE in the opening match on 29 while the final will be played on 7 Oct. SL is in group �B� together with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong while India, Afghanistan, Nepal and UAE will make up the group �A�. The Squad is led by Nipun Dhananjaya of St. Joseph Vaz College more..

Sep 27 (Hindu) Sleuths of Divisional Customs Preventive Unit here have detained a Sri Lankan Tamil woman and two others when they attempted to ferry her clandestinely to Sri Lanka on Tuesday night. Acting on the direction of Rajkumar Moses, Assistant Commissioner, Superintendents of Police (SPs) M Muniasamy and Prem Babu kept a vigil on the Manthoppu seashore near Thangachimadam around 11 30 p.m. and detained the trio along with a car. more..

Sep 27 (DW) A decade after the Sri Lanka Civil War, the country�s economy is growing fast. The govt has big plans, but high debt levels � and high levels of Chinese influence � cast a cloud as the country seeks investors. You don't need to be an expert on international trade routes to look at a map and understand that Sri Lanka's location is one of potentially serious economic advantage. The island nation � population 22 million � more..

Sep 27 (CT) There is an extraordinary sense of mastery in Vasantha Obeyesekere�s early films. Of them, I have not watched his first, Ves Gaththo. Walwath Wuwo, Diyamanthi, and Palagetiyo are representative of the kind of cinema he put into that work, which like Walmath Wuwo was about the dispossessed. Buttressed by a naturalism that never even once deteriorates into melodrama, and a wide canvas that lets us both empathise and criticise his characters, these 4 films belong to a different more..

Sep 27 (Island) The LP Gas Distributors Association of SL (LPGDASL) called a press conference in Colombo yesterday and made quite a strong case for increasing their channel margin from 7.5% to 12%, in the absence of which measure the island-wide LPG Gas distribution could come to an inevitable halt at the risk of putting crucial sectors of the economy and society in jeopardy from households to hotels to crematoriums. Sathyendra Wijayapura, president of the Association said more..

Sep 27 (DN) Former Minister of Sports Dayasiri Jayasekara took the bull by the horns for the first time like no one has done before to slam former SL captain and present Minister Arjuna Ranatunga for his hypocrisy. Jayasekera said that nobody had run down the country�s cricket than the former World Cup winning captain himself and alleged that he has more evidence to suggest he (Ranatunga) had connections with bookies. more..

Sep 27 (ST) Prof. T. Jogaratnam, Emeritus Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Peradeniya passed away at the age of 88 on Tuesday. Prof. Jogaratnam was a pioneer in the field of Agricultural Economics and is considered the Father of Agricultural Economics in Sri Lanka. He graduated with honours in Economics from the University of Ceylon. He joined the academic staff of the then University of Ceylon in 1953 to teach courses in the economics of agriculture. more..

Sep 27 (Hindu) With the AIADMK launching an aggressive campaign against its arch-rival DMK on what it has described as the latter�s complicity in the massacre of Tamil civilians in SL during the final phase of the Eelam War in 2009, the ruling party is making a renewed bid to revive the importance of SL Tamil question in the State�s political discourse. But questions remain on the relevance of this particular issue in electoral politics, so many years after the ethnic conflict came to an end. more..

Sep 27 (FT) Considering the rising world market prices and rupee depreciation, Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. yesterday said it would increase the price of a 12.5kg domestic LP gas cylinder by Rs. 195 from today. In addition, prices of the 5kg domestic LP gas cylinder will also be increased by Rs. 78 and 2.3kg by Rs. 36. Accordingly, the current price of the 12.5kg domestic cylinder, which was at Rs. 1,538, will go up to Rs. 1,733, more..

Sep 27 (ST) Kandurata Group has introduced anti-mosquito socks to the market for the first time in SL, specially catering to school children. The socks will protect school children from mosquitoes and insects when they are away in school, the company said in a media release. Dengue mosquitoes are very active in the mornings and evenings and they mostly fly close to the ground. The new socks will provide an ideal shield against dengue mosquitoes in and out of school, especially during mornings/evenings more..

Sep 27 (FT) Following the unprecedented depreciation of the SL Rupee against the US Dollar, SL Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI) issued a statement calling on Minister Rajitha Senaratne and the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA)to urgently formulate a viable pricing mechanism for the industry, given that over 85% of all pharmaceuticals are imported and hugely impacted by the rupee depreciation. �Today the SL Rupee stands in a historically weak position more..

Sep 27 (DM) Former Prez Rajapaksa denounced Minister Mangala Samaraweera�s response to Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and asked whether the response was the govt�s opinion. He expressed these views to media after a group of Catholic MPs and Provincial Councillors met him to express their displeasure over Minister�s response. �We want to know whether this is the opinion of the govt or its policy. more..

Sep 27 (AD) President Sirisena, addressing the UN General Assembly, has emphasized the importance of the identity as Sri Lankans when moving forward as an independent country, says Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe. President has requested the international community not to interfere with the country�s path to reconciliation, Minister said. He added that Prez has provided the best answer in his speech at the UNGA to the individuals who had recently accused Prez is betraying country. more..

Sep 27 (FT) The first of the series of Entrepreneurship Caravans conducted by Venture Frontier Lanka Entrepreneur Caravan was held at the Faculty of Engineering of the Uni of Ruhuna in partnership with Marvel Crew Innovation and Entrepreneur Club of the Uni of Ruhuna on 23 Sept. The series of Entrepreneurship Caravan events are being held to build a social network of entrepreneurs around the country and lay the seeds of entrepreneurship among youth and more..

Sep 27 (AD) Malaysian PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad praised Sri Lanka�s steady progress and assured continued cooperation. He said this during a meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena at the Hotel Plaza in New York today (26). The two leaders exchanged pleasantries and Dr Mohamad recalled earlier meetings between them, particularly about a meeting in Kuala lumpur in 2017 when he was out of power. more..

Sep 27 (DM) Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the Indian national had not revealed any assassination plot to the CID on Prez Sirisena and former Prez Rajapaksa but had only spoken of a threat to several individuals following the revelation by Anti Corruption Movement�s Director Operations Namal Kumara on assassination plot. He told a news conference that the CID in its B-report filed in the Colombo Magistrate�s Court on Tuesday had not mentioned anything about more..

Sep 27 (FT) Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) now stands as the largest employer of Sri Lankans outside of SL and has committed $ 300 million for Sri Lanka�s development projects. �Relations between KSA and SL are excellent and are based on mutual respect and joint cooperation. KSA commits to projects in SL through the Saudi Fund for Development,� said Ambassador of Saudi Arabia in SL Abdulnaser Al Harthi, addressing the 88th National Day celebration of KSA in Colombo. more..

Sep 27 (CI) Poor running between the wickets, and a particular propensity to run his partners out is among the main reasons Angelo Mathews has been left out of ODI squad. Chief selector Graeme Labrooy said that Mathews had been sluggish between the wickets during the Asia Cup, but coach Chandika Hathurusingha went further, detailing number of times he felt Mathews had been involved in run-out dismissals. more..

Sep 27 (PMD) President Maithripala Sirisena held an important discussion with a leading institute in Washington about health and food habits of SL people and the possibility of formulating a policy to ensure healthy food intake to minimize malnutrition. This was discussed when Director General of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Shenggen Fan called on him at the Loews Regency Hotel in New York today (26). Revealing the alarming health issues in Sri Lanka more..

Sep 27 (CT) Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) has appealed to President Sirisena to prevent the release of 100 acres of land from the Muthurajawela Environmental Protection area, gazetted under the National Environmental Act, for a Liquefied Natural Gas power plant. In a letter to President Sirisena, dated 25 Sept, Executive Director of CEJ, Hemantha Withanage states that it is understood that the Cabinet had approved a project proposal presented by Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, more..

Sep 27 (Island) A group of civil society activists has called for specific procedure to pick three outsiders for the 10-member Constitutional Council. Activists have made representations in this regard to Speaker Karu Jajasuriya and Secretary General of Parliament W.B.D. Dassanayake. Executive Director of PAFFREL Rohana Hettiarachchi said that Speaker Jayasuriya had assured them the issue would be taken up more..

Sep 27 (DM) Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe is reported to have questioned at the UNP electoral organizers� meeting, as to how the President�s Office referred a complaint against his Ministry and the Board of Investment (BoI) to the Bribery Commission for investigation. The UNP had a meeting for its electoral organizers on Tuesday to discuss the organization of the party in view of the future elections. MP Senasinghe had said that a certain party had lodged a complaint with more..

Sep 27 (FT) The Special Investigation Unit of the CID yesterday informed the acting Fort Magistrate that the witness who provided information on Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Ravi Wijegunaratne�s involvement in assisting a suspect abscond arrest is facing death threats. The CID revealed that Lieutenant Commander Galagamage Laksiri is facing death threats after it was revealed that he provided the CID with information regarding Admiral Wijegunaratne�s involvement in helping more..

Sep 27 (DM) Minister Mangala Samaraweera said several media outlets had given wide publicity to false, unattributed claims that the CID had alleged in court that an Indian national had confirmed the existence of a plot to assassinate President Sirisena, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family members. He said in a statement that the reason CID officers sought to detain Mr. Thomas more..

Sep 27 (DM) To be well informed with a balanced awareness of important national issues is not only a right but also the responsibility of citizens who are committed to the goals of eco-friendly, sustainable development and a vision of a just, peaceful and all -inclusive society. The free media are expected to play a key role in this area which is regarded as one of the four pillars of democracy. Unfortunately some Sri Lankan media groups appear to be playing party politics with their news being more..

Sep 27 (DM) There are no two ways to think of the environment. This doesn�t mean there�s only one way. There are in fact countless ways of understanding and engaging with the world around us. The environmental cake, so to speak, can be cut in many ways; according to the �needs� of the moment, envisaged futures, cultural habits, philosophical frameworks, theories of being etc. It�s a cat, so to speak, that can be skinned in many ways and in fact is being skinned in many more..

Sep 27 (DM) Minister Champika Ranawaka, in an interview with Daily Mirror, responds to questions about the current status of politics and the economy. Q: What will be the future of the present govt in a situation where there is a rift between the President and the PM? A: It became clear at the last LG elections that the SLFP is no longer a political force to reckon with. All the political forces led by SLFP have been absorbed by more..

Sep 27 (ST) The Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai has been without a crucial environmental protection device for almost a month, resulting in the plant releasing sulphur dioxide levels above the national legal limit, environmentalists charge. The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) however, counters that it is using low sulphur coal and as such, the emissions are still within the legal limit. more..

Sep 27 (EN) SL�s annual growth rate has been lowered this year and the next in the Asian Development Bank�s latest outlook owing to weak investments and exports. In an update to its Asian Development Outlook, ADB said it had revised down the island�s annual economic growth rate to 3.8% from 4.2% in 2018 and 4.5% from 4.8% in 2019. �SL�s growth forecast is downgraded for both this year and next on weak investment & exports, more..

Sep 27 (CT) The Ministry of Health yesterday noted that there was a drop of over 300 in dengue deaths recorded during the nine months (January to September) of 2017 and 2018. Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Dr. Anil Jasinghe said that in 2017 the dengue death toll had been 350 while it reduced to 45 this year. He said that in 2016, the number of dengue deaths during the same period had been 64. more..

Sep 27 (CT) The All Ceylon Medical Officers� Association (ACMOA) alleged that Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, was carrying out farce by claiming that he had implemented Prof. Senaka Bibile�s Drug Policy. ACMOA General Secretary Dr. Jayantha Bandara alleged that Dr. Senaratne had merely amended the Cosmetics, Devices and Drugs Act, No. 27 of 1980, when the alliance Govt came to power in 2015, to set up more..

Sep 27 (CT) Should anyone even hesitantly entertain the idea of my not attending meetings out of a fear of death, then that person is sadly mistaken, former President Rajapaksa said in reference to alleged death threats. �This is an alarming revelation. This is no one�s fabrication. This was revealed by the CID. There were reports of a similar nature in the past. All of that stopped at the top level and not let out by the Police. more..

Sep 27 (CT) Former Secretary to the then Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, has held him and Lt. Commander Sumith Ranasinghe accountable if 11 children had gone missing after being abducted. The CID yesterday, informed Colombo Fort Acting Magistrate Deemani Baddewela that Rear Admiral Shamal Fernando, the former Secretary to former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, more..