Sep 10 (RN) Bangladesh Navy ship Somudra Avijan which arrived Sri Lanka on 7th September, departed the port of Colombo, today (10 Sepember). Sri Lanka Navy bade customary farewell to the departing ship in accordance with naval traditions. The crew members of the ship who were on a four day tour took part in several programmes including sports, cultural events and visits to interesting places of Sri Lanka, organized by Sri Lanka Navy, during their stay in the island. more..

Sep 10 (CT) That Ranil Wickremesinghe has just named himself as a candidate for Prez Election is not so much because he had not always wanted to keep Sajith Premadasa out of the race. It's because he has not wanted his name out in the open until such time as he knew the name of the SLFP's own candidate. That Sajith would always be out of the running was a fact that was always there with RW. Sajith would always be out of the Premiership stakes as well, as far as RW is concerned. more..

Sep 10 (DN) The bribery case filed against President�s former Chief of Staff Kusumdasa Mahanama and former State Timber Corporation (STC) Chairman Piyadasa Dissanayaka will be taken up today by the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar, for examination of witness statements. The court was informed yesterday that several charges were amended in the indictment and a revised indictment was served to the court and the defence by the CIABOC, which has filed the case. more..

Sep 10 (FT) When an Act is passed by Parliament it becomes Law. Everyone has to abide by it. Parliament passed the Provincial Councils Elections (Amendment) Act, No. 17 of 2017, which was certified on 22 Sept 2017. This was an amendment to the original Provincial Councils Elections Act No.2 of 1988. This Act was passed by the Parliament following a Constitutional Amendment as published in the gazette in Oct 1987, which came to be known as 13th Amendment of the Constitution. more..

Sep 10 (RN) General Secretary of SLFP Dayasiri Jayasekara said that Prez Sirisena decided to take SL Rupavahini Corporation under the purview of the Ministry of Defence to protect it from the arbitrary decisions of the subject minister Ruwan Wijewardena. Jayasekara said that many questions are being raised about Prez�s decision. Referring to a tweet by Minister Wijewardena in which he had said that SLRC is losing money more..

Sep 10 (CT) The intra party war within the UNP should be dragged out for as long as possible and under no circumstances should Speaker Karu Jayasuriya become the UNP compromise candidate, former Prez Rajapaksa advised his political loyalists last week. �As Leader of UNP Ranil Wickremesinghe should be the candidate how can he give that position to anyone else? It has to be him� the former Prez noted. He added that the public battle against for the candidacy was keeping the UNP more..

Sep 10 (DN) The bribery case filed against President�s former Chief of Staff Kusumdasa Mahanama and former State Timber Corporation (STC) Chairman Piyadasa Dissanayaka will be taken up today by the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar, for examination of witness statements. The court was informed yesterday that several charges were amended in the indictment and a revised indictment was served to the court and the defence by the CIABOC, which has filed the case. more..

Sep 10 (AD) Sports Minister Harin Fernando has issued a special directive preventing former SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala from holding any position at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). In a letter to the country�s cricket governing body, minister directed the officials to exclude the UPFA MP from participating, sitting or voting in any meetings of SLC committees and prevent him from performing any functions or duties as an office bearer or more..

Sep 10 (Island) Experts Elephant, said that despite numerous warnings against using elephants in musth in processions, such animals were paraded. Jayantha Jayewardena, who is one of the leading authorities on Lankan elephants, when contacted for comment told The Island that public safety should be of paramount importance and those organising peraheras should bear in mind that fact. He stressed that prior to releasing elephants to take part in perheras, there should be a committee, more..

Sep 10 (CT) Prez Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe obtained votes of the Tamil people to secure power but did nothing, former Deputy Minister and Leader of Tamil United Freedom Front (TUFF), Karuna Amman alias Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan said. "Currently there are 134 political prisoners, but Prez Sirisena has failed to release them. However, former Prez Rajapaksa's Govt released 12,000 rehabilitated cadres." "The TNA that received the Tamil people's votes is supporting the Govt, but more..

Sep 10 (DM) Since it was PM Ranil Wickremesinghe who submitted the Cabinet paper on leasing out the DPJ building to relocate the Agricultural Ministry, it is the PM who has to take the responsibility for the misleading information in the Cabinet paper, former agriculture minister Duminda Dissanayake told the PCoI today. He said the PM had submitted the Cabinet paper on Sep 21, 2015, stating that more..

Sep 10 (AD) The Supreme Court has set dates to consider 2 petitions filed against the presidential pardon granted for Ven. Galagoda Atte Gnanasara Thero. The petitions were filed by Sandya Eknaligoda, the wife of the missing journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda and the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA). The petitioners claim that the president�s decision to grant presidential pardon to release Gnanasara Thero is against the Constitution. The 2 petitions were called before more..

Sep 10 (Island) The GMOA, yesterday, said that when they pointed out there was a shortage of more than 600 varieties of drugs, Minister of Health Rajitha Senaratne and some officials had dismissed their disclosure, but now Medical Supplies Division had confirmed shortages in many hospitals. GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge said that the Medical Supplies Division (MSD) of the Health Ministry itself had admitted that there was a shortage of some 20 to 30 drugs in many state hospitals. more..

Sep 10 (IE) A day after 10 Sri Lankan players refused to travel to Pakistan citing security reasons, Pakistan minister Fawad Hussain alleged India had influenced their decision. He said that informed sports commentators had informed him the SL players were confronted by Indian authorities and were told they would be excluded from the IPL if they went to play in Pakistan. Fawad tweeted: �Informed sports commentators told more..

Sep 10 (DM) Lanka Private Bus Owners' Association President Gemunu Wijeratne yesterday said that 50% of bus drivers and conductors islandwide were addicted to drugs. He said this situation had caused a collapse of the bus industry. He said bus drivers and conductors used to be addicted to ganja, but now the trend has moved towards Crystal methamphetamine which is known as ice. Drug addiction has increased due to the failure to implement the Sahasara project. more..

Sep 10 (PMD) Director of Int'l Nitrogen Management System (INMS), Prof Mark Sutton pointed out that Prez Sirisena being the Minister of Environment was one of the key factors in introducing Nitrogen Management to Sri Lanka. He said that it has been recognized that there are multiple pollution threats resulting from anthropogenic reactive nitrogen with adverse effects on the terrestrial freshwater and marine environment contributing to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. more..

Sep 10 (GUK) UK's International Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French outlined that the UK remains steadfast in its commitment to help Sri Lanka deliver peace, reconciliation and prosperity for all communities. This statement is on behalf of Canada, Germany North Macedonia, Montenegro, and the UK as members of the UNHRC core group on Sri Lanka. We thank the High Commissioner for her update and repeat our more..

Sep 10 (PMD) The President Maithripala Sirisena handed over title deeds of sacred premises for 75 temples on Tuesday (10) morning at the President�s House. Providing title deeds of sacred premises is being conducted in parallel to the National Program of handing land deeds and land certificates to one million citizens of Sri Lanka. Over 355 title deeds of sacred premises have been issued from 2015 with arrangements being made to provide another 700. Most Venerable Dimbulkumbure more..

Sep 10 (AD) All Ceylon Suwa Sewa Association launched a protest action this afternoon based on several demands. The protest was staged before the Colombo South Teaching Hospital (Kalubowila Hospital). Several trade unions of the health sector including the All Ceylon Suwa Sewa Association joined in the protest. The protest was based on 12 issues in the health sector including the provision of a uniform allowance, halting the cutback of the weekly breaks, payment of salary arrears more..

Sep 10 (NR) Fuel prices will be revised as of midnight today. A litre of 92 Octane, 95 Octane and Super Diesel will accordingly be reduced by Rs.2. The price of a litre of Auto Diesel however will remain unchanged. A litre of 92 Octane will accordingly be sold at Rs.136 while a litre of 95 Octane will be available at Rs.161. A litre of Auto Diesel remains unchanged at Rs.104 while a litre of Super Diesel will be sold at Rs.132. more..

Sep 10 (AD) Ministry of Agriculture says that wheat flour companies have agreed to scrap the recent price hike and to sell wheat flour at the previous price with immediate effect. Companies had increased the price of a kilogram of wheat flour by Rs 5.50 on Friday (6) while agents had been notified to comply with the price increase. Meanwhile the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) had stressed that legal action would be sought against the increase of the wheat flour price without its approval. more..

Sep 10 (AD) Five suspects including Deputy Minister Palitha Thewarapperuma have been remanded until 16th of September for forcibly burying a body at an unauthorized land. The order was delivered by Matugama Magistrate Neetha Hemamali Halpandeniya when the deputy minister and other suspects were produced before the court today (10). The suspects had reportedly violated a court order and forcibly buried a dead body in the cemetery at Troit Estate in Nebada, Matugama. more..

Sep 10 (AD) UNP Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe claims that the letter sent to him by the party�s General Secretary is fake and has been sent with the intention of gaining cheap publicity. Recently, it was reported that the UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam had forwarded letters to Ministers Sujeewa Senasinghe and Ajith P. Perera informing them with a decision to launch disciplinary action against them. more..

Sep 11 (CT) 2019 conference of Bohra Muslims, held in Colombo for ten days from 1st Sept, attended by more than 20,000 members of that community from several parts of the world, and with the theme, We Believe in Sri Lanka, was a remarkable event for several reasons. Firstly, it was the first conference of that size organized by this tiny Shia Muslim community of between 2,000 and 3,000 souls. Secondly, it was unique in the sense that it was held in a country whose nearly 2 million more..

Sep 11 (CT) Do terrorist bomb explosions and elections have a relationship? In South Asia, a region engulfed with a high level of terrorist activity, the record clearly shows that terrorists see the run-up to an election as an opportune time to act. India and other South Asian nations have faced terrorism during election time. Erica Chenoweth explains that high levels of political competition in democracies relative to non-democracies help explain why democracies experience more..

Sep 11 (SO) With the AG successfully indicting individuals behind the Avant Garde ship that entered Galle harbour in Oct 2015, carrying weapons and ammunition on board without permission, the initial case where the Avant Garde floating armoury was detected in Jan 2015 still remains closed with glaring and ample evidence implicating the former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in authorizing the private floating more..

Sep 11 (SO) It is ironic that the two general secretaries of the two major political parties in the country, the UNP and the SLFP, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and Dayasiri Jayasekara respectively, are like peas in a pod in their political journeys. They both hail from the Kurunegala district. Both of them studied law. As youngsters knocking on the door of national politics, both contested the general elections in 2001 from the UNP but did not get elected to Parliament. more..

Sep 11 (CT) Now that a seven-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, has begun the hearing on what could be described as the Easter Blasts Case, there will be no dearth of fireworks, even if some of them may be a repeat of what the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) has heard. Unlike the PSC & Prez's Commission, which also went into it all, SC can decide on a fundamental question that has been thrown before the Nation for adjudication. more..

Sep 11 (CT) Minister Vajira Abeywardana says PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has given UNPers the freedom to act in a democratic manner and also to question any decision. Q: It was reported that an attempt to appoint 30 individuals loyal to PM Wickremesinghe to Working Committee was foiled. Isn't such move unconstitutional? A: It was a fabricated story. Q: But reality is that UNP Leader Wickremesinghe is hated by many isn't it? more..

Sep 11 (ST) Iceland�s most active volcano erupted on May 21, 2011. The next day on May 22, Iceland had to close down its international and domestic airports, because the air space was a blackout with ash clouds fumes from the volcano. Ash clouds began to spread across Europe, and covered the skies so that during May 22-25, most of the airports in the Northern and Western Europe were also closed; thousands of flights were cancelled, and planes were grounded. more..

Sep 11 (DN) The large majority of people who adhere to most religion are lay people. Some religious denominations do not have clergy. Their leaders are also lay people. Yet they gather together in places of worship and are directed by lay leaders. In any case the lay people of all religions today are reasoning and more educated than in former times. They are influenced by various media of world-wide communication. Today people come to know what is happening and what people are thinking more..

Sep 11 (Island) At the time the govt conferred Sri Lanka Ratna, its highest national honour bestowed on foreigners for exceptional and outstanding service to the country, on Michael Wolfgang Laurence Morris (Rt. Hon. the Lord Naseby PC), in mid Nov 2005, who could have imagined the Britisher would defend the war-winning armed forces of the Commonwealth nation, over a decade later. Lord Naseby would never have anticipated such an eventuality for obvious reasons. more..

Sep 11 (Island) Good news has come from the WHO, in these depressing times, fraught with ennui and despair. A WHO report, which received wide publicity on the World Suicide Prevention Day (10 Sep), reveals that there has been a 70% drop in suicides in SL and 93,000 precious lives were saved between 1995 and 2015 due to the regulation of the use of hazardous pesticides. It is no mean achievement. Suicides in SL average eight or nine a day, if one goes by police statistics. more..

Sep 11 (CT) A living testimony of horrendous hate and crime against humanity during Apartheid South Africa is an Anglican Priest, Rev. Fr. Michael Lapsley and he is in town. Fr. Lapsley, who was in the apartheid struggle, survived when a bomb, sent to him inserted in a magazine three months after Nelson Mandela was freed from prison in 1998, went off. Till now he does not know who caused him that pain and more..

Sep 11 (Island) Sri Lanka suffered a 42 run loss at the hands of Bangladesh in the Under-19 Asia Cup to finish second in Group �B� at Moratuwa yesterday. Sri Lanka needed to win their last group game to avoid meeting India in the semi-finals but after their poor show, the hosts will meet the defending champions at P. Sara Oval on Thursday. Bangladesh posted 273 for seven batting first and then bowled out SL for 231 with 14 deliveries to spare. It could have been lot worse for SL as more..

Sep 11 (TM) A 2019 poll commissioned by the Advocata Institute found that 81% of surveyed Sri Lankans did not believe that the services provided by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were worth the financial losses incurred by them. Spanning eight provinces and 18 districts, the poll revealed an overwhelming dissatisfaction amongst citizens of all ages and income demographics about the continued use of state funds to bail out loss-making SOEs. SOEs such as SriLankan Airlines continue to more..

Sep 11 (Island) A tight competition in the Under-20 boys� long jump and record breaking performances in the lower age categry competitions highlighted day one of the Sir John Tarbat Senior Athletics C'ship which commenced at the Sugathadas Stadium on Tuesday. Probably the closest contest in yesterday�s field events was between Chamod Yodasinghe and Elroy Kamalraj who were seperated by a mere centimetre more..

Sep 11 (Island) I refer to the feature article written by a Concerned Citizen under the caption Tourism or Fisheries appearing in The Island of 09.09.2019. The correspondent fears that building a fisheries harbuor at Mawella will destroy the pristine beach which is a tourist attraction not found in many places in the country. However, a more damaging proposal is the CEB�s plan to build a coal power plant at this site as described in its Long-Term Generation Expansion Plan 2020-2039 (May 2019), more..