Oct 1 (Island) A group of Kelaniya University undergraduates who went into occupation of the campus sports pavilion and refused to return to the Polhena male hostel, claiming that there was no security there, were trapped by security officials, for four hours, when they went to stage a protest opposite the administration building yesterday morning. As the hostel was attacked by some villagers, nearly 450 undergraduates had more..

Oct 1 (LT) The Coordinating Committee for Trade Union Alliance will commence struggles to win the 21 demands it has forwarded for the budget for next year says the committee member of the Alliance Wasantha Samarasinghe. He said the govt would be pressurized to win the 21 demands the Alliance has put forward and as a fist move a leaflet distribution campaign would be carried out to apprise the public. more..

Oct 1 (DM) Apparel exports must be expanded to cater to the growing demand for Sri Lankan made products in the Japanese market, according to Japan’s House of Councillors Member Yamatani Eriko. “Sri Lankan apparels are of high quality but unfortunately, the supply of Sri Lankan apparels to the demand of the Japanese market is not sufficient at the moment. Therefore, we request steps be taken to expand exports of more..

Oct 1 (ST) New voter-buying strategies in the Central and North Western Provinces and an emergence of a new political class that ended the domination of a Jaffna Tamil elite in the North, were some of the observations found in the final report of the polls monitoring group CaFFE. “Distribution of liquor, clothes, cellular phones and even three-wheelers took place, mostly through the black-money pumped into election campaigning. more..

Oct 1 (Island) The Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) yesterday alleged that the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) had been unable to implement the laws governing the permitted levels of lead in decorative paints. CEJ Executive Director Hemantha Withanage said that the CEJ had taken legal action based on a research carried out by it in 2009, in which a fundamental rights petition was filed in the Supreme Court (SC FR 64/2011). more..

Oct 1 (CT) The TNA said that it will take up the issue of the Tamil Nadu fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan territorial waters, with the central govt as soon as it takes oaths next week. TNA MP Suresh Premachandran said that the problem of poaching in the northern territorial waters is going on for a long time and that soon a solution will be found to the problem plaguing the northern fishermen. He said that the TNA is getting complaints more..

Oct 1 (Island) The Health Ministry warned that the country’s elderly population would double by the year 2030. Ministry spokesman said that with the World Celebrating World Elders’ Day today 10% of Sri Lanka’s population was made up of the elderly. He warned that by 2030 the elderly population in Sri Lanka would increase to 22%. This would pave the way for an increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). more..

Oct 1 (AP) Sri Lanka's foreign minister says his govt has no case to answer over the reported deaths of thousands of civilians at the end of the country's civil war, even as pressure grows for an international inquiry to account for the dead. The UN's top human rights official said last week Sri Lanka needed to show progress by next March or the international community should establish its own inquiry. The allegations centre on civilian more..

Oct 1 (CT) The International Day of Older Persons being marked across the world today, is a good time as any, to reflect on the shifting age pyramid in Sri Lanka and the rest of the world. The report by the United States Department of Commerce on Global Ageing, which draws attention to the historic transition currently taking place states that in less than 10 years, there will be more people aged 65 and older than children under 5 years. The number of people aged 80 and over is more..

Oct 1 (CT) In the very early years after India’s Independence, an important issue needed resolution. Nehru was of a strong opinion while the higher echelons of the Indian Civil Service (ICS) had a different view. The latter delegated KPS Menon a much respected member and a confidant of Nehru to present their views. As the discussion proceeded, it became clear that Nehru was in no mood to change his mind. He told Menon, KPS you have done horse riding, more..

Oct 1 (Island) Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification, for desiccated coconut producers, which was introduced last year, would not in future be issued to any industry, other than those who have already obtained it, Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development Minister Jagath Pushpakumara said. He said that coconut production in Sri Lanka faced severe competition in the international market, especially with countries like Indonesia, Philippines, India, and more..

Oct 1 (CT) Making policy statements from the Bench in open court in support of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa led UDA, Chief Justice said no one should obstruct ongoing development programmes in Colombo, and denounced shanties and low income neighbourhoods as breeding grounds for vice. CJ Mohan Pieris said it was the responsibility of all stakeholders is to extend their support for the Govt's programme to create a better living standard for low income earners in the city of Colombo, more..

Oct 1 (Island) India’s External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will sign five agreements, in connection with the 500MW Sampur Power Plant, when he visits Sri Lanka on Oct 7. Power and Energy Ministry Secretary M.M.C. Ferdinando, who was on a personal visit to Australia and cut short his trip to add the final touches, said that matters pertaining to the land lease agreement and power purchase agreements were ironed out by more..

Oct 1 (GDI) The State Literary Awards Ceremony -2013 was held under the patronage of Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa and Cultural and the Arts Minister T. B. Ekanayake at the BMICH on Monday (30). "Senkottan" authored by Mahinda Prasad Masimbula won the award best Sinhala novel while “Uppukkattu” by Kalaiyarvan (K. Rayappu) and “Miracle under the Kumbuk tree” was the best Tamil and English novels respectively. In addition 'Sahityaratna' Lifetime award was presented more..

Oct 1 (Island) UNP MP Harin Fernando praised the police for their swift action in thwarting a daylight robbery by an armed gang at the Samara Reception Hall in Wattala, where his businessman father was conducting his business activities. OIC of the Wattala Police Indika Lokuhettige said that they had deployed a team to raid the area immediately on being alerted by the Ja-Ela police. The police Emergency Service had informed Ja-Ela police station instead of them, he said. more..

Oct 1 (CNN) The game of chicken failed. Neither side blinked. Now millions will pay the price. Americans watched a colossal failure by Congress overnight and the shutdown of their govt. For weeks, the House and the Senate blamed and bickered, each claiming they're standing up for what the public wants. In the end, it led to the one outcome nobody wanted -- one that will stop 800,000 Americans from getting paid and more..

Oct 1 (PTI) 31 Indian fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy two months ago for allegedly breaching the country’s maritime boundary were on Tuesday freed by a court. The fishermen had been arrested on July 30, 2013 off eastern Sri Lanka and handed over to the police. On being produced before Trincomalee Magistrate U.L.D. Arshad, instructions were issued to the Navy to hand over the fishermen to Indian authorities at the International Maritime Boundary Line. more..

Oct 1 (LBO) Stocks closed 0.39% lower and the rupee gained against the US dollar on export conversions and dollar sales by foreign banks, dealers said. The Colombo All Share Price Index closed 22.49 points lower at 5,780.83, down 0.39% and the S&P SL20 closed 3.48 points lower at 3,213.87, down 0.11%. Turnover was Rs. 1.28 billion according to provisional data, up from 750.85 million the previous day, with shares of 66 firms gaining against 116 losing. more..

Oct 1 (CG) The Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) today voted in favor of the 13th Amendment to the constitution despite opposition raised by the Chief Minister of the EPC Najeeb Majeed. A resolution calling for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment, put forward by SLMC Group leader A.M Jameel was passed with 16 members voting in favor and one against it. The other provincial councils had earlier more..

Oct 1 (GDI) Former Supreme Court judge C.V. Vigneswaran received his Chief Ministerial appointment letter from the Northern Province Governor – Major General G.A. Chandrasiri, today. Vigneswaran, who was nominated as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the NPC polls, obtained a total of 132,255 preferential votes topping the preferential vote list in Jaffna District. Monday, Vigneswaran, the chief Ministerial candidate of the TNA has met the Governor at his official more..

Oct 1 (PTI) The Madras High Court today sought Centre's response on a PIL against the proposed sale of two Naval warships to Sri Lanka. The HC bench of Justices Jayachandhran and M Venugopal ordered issuance of notice and posted the case for hearing to October 8. Petitioner K Stalin, a city-based advocate, had submitted yesterday that Minister of State in the PMO V Narayanasamy had recently stated that India was in the process of supplying two warships to Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 1 (GDI) During an interaction with Minister G.L. Peiris on the margins of the UNGA sessions in New York, Foreign Minister of Barbados Maxine McClean confirmed that the Prime Minister of Barbados will participate at CHOGM 2013 in Sri Lanka. Welcoming the Barbados delegation, Minister G.L. Peiris noted that the programme for CHOGM has been arranged in a manner to enable participants to experience more..

Oct 1 (CD) The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday heard the case of a Malaysian and a Sri Lankan charged with using fake bank cards to withdraw up to $50,000 from ATMs during Khmer New Year in 2012. Delvin Joshap, 30, of Malaysia, had masterminded the crime and been the source of the fake cards, according to deputy prosecutor Heang Sopheak, while Aruna Vin­orajh, 34, of Sri Lanka, was sent to withdraw the money from Singapore Banking Corporation (SBC) ATMs more..

Oct 1 (GDI) More than 20,000 devotees in Thalavila, Nallur and Kandy served through “Suwa Saviya” camps. Medical assistance and relief were offered to pilgrims attending major religious events around the country as part of “Panadol Suwa Saviya” program. Panadol, is a pain reliever and the flagship brand of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Conducted during the months of August and September, the “Suwa Saviya” medical camps served more than 20,000 devotees attending the Thalavila Church more..

Oct 1 (CT) SLMC has warned that it would withdraw its support to the current administration of the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) if it drags on without finding satisfactory solution to the land problems faced by the Muslim community in Pulmoddai in the Trincomalee District. The leader of the SLMC in the EPC, A.M. Jameel, issued the warning at the monthly meeting of the EPC held on Monday. Chairperson of the EPC, Galapathi, presided. more..

Oct 1 (CG) Germany says its ties with Sri Lanka remain strong as both countries celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations. The German Ambassador to Sri Lanka Dr. Juergen Morhard said that more than the diplomatic and political ties, the people to people ties have grown. His comments come just days after Germany made some strong statements at the UNHRC on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. At the UNHRC Germany had expressed “dismay” at reports that some people who spoke to more..

Oct 1 (CG) The US Embassy in Colombo will remain open despite the US government shutdown today, an Embassy spokesman said. The spokesman said that the Embassy will be open for normal public business including the visa and the American citizens services. “With no new fiscal year appropriations by October 1 as required by law, only certain multi-year State Department and USAID accounts have residual funds that will be available after September 30. more..

Oct 1 (LBO) Sri Lankan power users have adopted energy saving lighting in a big way conserving an estimated 312 MegaWatts of load a day and keeping a night peak from rising faster, a sector official said. Harsha Wickramasinghe, deputy director general of Sri Lanka's Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA), which promotes renewable energy and conservation said penetration of compact fluorescent lights (CFL) had more..

Oct 1 (DN) Health Services Director General Dr. Palitha Mahipala asked food inspectors to strictly implement Food Act No 26 of 1980 to ensure food safety, a Health Ministry spokesman said. The spokesman said a large number of food poisoning incidents have been reported from all parts of the country during the recent past while a large number have fallen sick due to food poisoning. Food poisoning is caused due to the ignorance of consumers, traders and manufacturers. more..

Oct 1 (CT) The first robbery in the Colombo bound train from Kilinochchi took place on Monday. Rs 150,000 in cash and a large amount of jewellery had been stolen from four men who had been traveling to Colombo from Kilinochchi, sources said, and added that two other male passengers who had been sitting next to the four men had befriended them before going on to commit the robbery. The victims are from Bogowantalawa. The two robbers had offered the victims soft drinks, more..

Oct 1 (MEA) Minister G.L. Peiris and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed a Joint Statement on “No First Deployment of Weapons in Outer Space” on the margins of the UNGA Sessions in New York. Joint Statement, while noting the significance of Outer Space activities for social, economic, scientific and technological development of states, as well as its role in maintaining national and global security, more..

Oct 2 (NS) On Sept 8, The Nation revealed that the Sri Lanka College of Pediatricians (SLCP) had obtained sponsorship from Fonterra, which although perfectly legal compromised the integrity of the College due to the implied endorsement of all Fonterra products. Suspicious indeed was the fact that Fonterra did not name itself (why?) but instead used advertising elements used in PediaPro (its flagship infant milk food product) promotions in branding the Annual Scientific Congress more..

Oct 2 (NS) ‘And life is but a drop of dew on the tip of a blade of grass,’ the Venerable Vidagama Maithree Maha Thera reminds us in the Lovedasangarava (pana nam thana aga pinibindu vanne).  The Maha Thera asks, consequently, why one delays or is slothful about engaging in meritorious activity (kumatada kusalata kammeli vanne?). One can be inspired, as many are, by the words of doctrines one subscribes to. The objective of slaying the klesas or defilements persuades the reflective Buddhist more..

Oct 2 (SO) As Sri Lanka prepares to celebrate World Children's Day which falls on Oct 1, under the theme ‘The Family Protects you’ the situation faced by children in SL is in the limelight as statistics show that four to five children are raped on a daily basis in Sri Lanka, despite the fact that the subject of combating child abuse is frequently discussed at various fora. In April 2013, 1,750 cases of child rape, and in 2012, 5,475 cases more..

Oct 2 (Island) C.V. Wigneswaran is yet to be appointed as the Chief Minister of the Northern Province. The Constitution is very clear on the appointment of chief ministers and the other ministers of provincial councils. Article 154F (4) and (5) are reproduced below. (4) The Governor shall appoint as Chief Minister, the member of the Provincial Council constituted for that Province, who, in his opinion, is best able to command the support of a majority of the members of that Council: more..

Oct 2 (GV) The recent elections to three provincial councils, namely the Northern, North Western and Central and the consequent results together with the general political expectations that several more provincial elections would be held next year followed by national, presidential and general elections, make the opposition or non UPFA political landscape a rather important factor in determining the extent of a genuine alternative or real challenge to the current Rajapakse Regime. more..

Oct 2 (CT) Early Sri Lanka shared with its neighbouring cultures in South Asia, a long tradition of earthenware ceramic production, distinguished by both incised and painted decoration since the beginnings of long-distance navigation of the Indian Ocean, been connected to China, the world's leader in the production of high-fired stoneware and porcelain ceramics. Likewise, it did not develop a tradition of high-fired ceramic more..

Oct 2 (CT) No doubt about it, cerulean has trumped viridescent, again, in the Sinhala heartland, the blues even comfortably winning Kandy District which the greens had hoped to bag. In the Tamil north, Rajapakse and his factotum Douglas have been given the thrashing of their lives in a TNA landslide like never before in our electoral history – over 80% of the vote. The Tamils have in an emotional sense affirmed war crimes accusations, they have also rejected the Sinhala State; more..

Oct 2 (CT) The Islamic fundamentalists created quite a stir over Indonesia’s decision to host of Miss World 2013. One of the articles I read, printed in one of Indonesia’s mainstream media, raised a valid fundamental question. Are these fundamentalists getting their priorities right? The social validity of beauty pageants is a hotly debated issue. The objective of the writer was not to justify the beauty pageants, but rather challenging the silence of these warriors of cultural policing over more..