Oct 5 (Island) Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne has assured he won’t protest against a decision taken by President Rajapaksa and the party to deny his son, Anuradha, the Chief Ministership of the CP. Minister John Seneviratne quoted Premier Jayaratne as having told him that there was absolutely no basis for media reports that he and his son, Anuradha, who polled the highest number of preferential votes in the Kandy district more..

Oct 5 (ET) An indication of the schism that exists in Sri Lanka was that even the swearing-in ceremony of the chief minister designate of the Northern Province, CV Wigneswaran, slipped into a controversy. After the TNA swept the historic PC elections, optimism was quickly tempered by a number of developments. One of the demands of the TNA, for instance — as part of its objective to raise the issue of militarisation of the Tamil areas — was removal of the Governor of the NP, more..

Oct 5 (TOI) Dilmah, Sri Lanka's best-loved and among the world's top five tea brands, was formally flagged off at Radisson Blu Plaza, by founder-owner Merrill J Fernando and his son Dilhan, in Hyderabad to endorse India's first Dilmah t Bar, and the eighth one globally. The smallish, but visually appealing bar is located in the spacious, atrium hotel lobby. The attractive line-up of tea caddies on the wall, and the counter displaying tea leaves, brews and herbal infusions more..

Oct 5 (BBC) The Sri Lankan military has blown up one of the final places where the dead leader of the Tamil Tiger militants, V. Prabhakaran, lived. Since the end of the separatist war in 2009 the house and its deep bunker had become a tourist attraction for Sri Lankan visitors. Now it has gone there will be questions about the fate of similar sites. Prabhakaran was the founder of the rebel group and led it for 25 years before its more..

Oct 5 (CNN) I arrived in Negombo at the beginning of August. While waiting a few days for my expedition to start, I hired a local guide in order to travel around this beautiful region of Sri Lanka. The first day, which was going to be one of most perturbing days of my trip, he took me to the "Lellama," the country’s second-largest fish market. It was a basic concrete construction with large open areas and a few wooden tables, situated on the crowded beaches of the Indian Ocean. more..

Oct 5 (Island) Around 20% of the Lankan urban population and 15 per cent of rural population were detected to be suffering from diabetes. Although all government hospitals had been equipped with required care, the measures taken for the prevention of the disease were inadequate, Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Diabetic Conference held at Hotel Galadari on Thursday (3). more..

Oct 5 (IL) A special discussion between President Rajapaksa and TNA Leader R. Sampanthan was held at President’s House today (4). The meeting between the two leaders took place this morning at 8.30 am and the pair last met in July this year to talk about the parliamentary select committees. The intention of the today’s meeting was to discuss about the swearing in of NP Chief Minister C.V. Wigneshwaran who was elected more..

Oct 5 (DN) Apollo tyres opens its first 'Apollo Zone' in Sri Lanka, Chairman IDEAL Group of Companies, Nalin Welgama told the Daily News Business that they will be opening 'Apollo points' throughout the country. They hope to open the first Apollo branch in the Southern area of Sri Lanka. According to Welgama there are 35 Apolloz branches in India, and two others ovedrseas. He said opening the Apollo zone in Sri Lanka, they will be able to enhance the image of the tyre industry more..

Oct 5 (LBO) A high level conference on building 'future ready enterprises' kicked off in Colombo where over 40 resource persons from Sri Lanka and the region are sharing their knowledge and debate issues. "The areas of discussion are not what one commonly finds in a typical enterprise management conference," Lakshaman Bandaranayake, publisher of LBR and LBO said. "The sessions have been developed to cover vital and critical enterprise imperatives. "The 42 speakers represent the more..

Oct 5 (Island) Two govt MPs were importing heroin and ethanol, UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake said. He refused to name them. He said that the Mahinda Chintana had pledged a drug free society, but its own members were flouting the law and importing large quantities of harmful substances which were being sold mainly to the youth. By a quirk of fate some container loads of heroin and ethanol had been detected by the Customs more..

Oct 5 (CT) Two separate protests were carried out by school teachers and undergraduates yesterday, urging the govt to resolve issues pertaining to the promotions of the teachers and the hostel facilities of the undergraduates, respectively. The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) engaged in a protest outside the Education Ministry premises, demanding placements for officers in the Principals’ Service, while undergraduates of the University of Kelaniya engaged in a protest march demanding more..

Oct 5 (CG) Two journalists, Ananda Fernando and C.S. Kodikara, have lodged a complaint with the Kilinochchi police raising concerns over their safety. The two journalists, Ananda Fernando, is the Kilinochchi reporter of Hiru TV and CS Kodikara is a Kilinochchi reporter attached to Swarnawahini. A statement released by the two journalists said they had sought accommodation at a room of a house along Jayanthi Nagar in Kilinochchi to cover the Northern provincial Council elections and more..

Oct 5 (Island) The UNP yesterday claimed that the proposed party reforms to be taken up for discussion at Monday’s Working Committee meeting would be ‘sustainable, believable and workable’. Asked at a press briefing in Colombo how long the proposed changes could be sustained, considering the frequent clashes within the party, senior UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake said that there would be a complete overhaul with a Leadership more..

Oct 5 (DM) It was a day of mourning in Italy yesterday and a minute’s silence was observed in all schools in the aftermath of one of the worst ever refugee boat tragedies as recovery efforts were resumed off southern Italy where a 66-foot boat carrying about 500 African migrants sank off the island of Lampedusa. According to latest reports the vessel sank about one km offshore, and at least 113 bodies had been recovered by noon yesterday while about 200 are still unaccounted for. more..

Oct 5 (DM) A Sept 26 newspaper carried a response from Denish Dharmadasa, Corporate Affairs Director of The Ceylon Tobacco Company, stating categorically that the company never tried to offer money to the Minister of Health or to any other individual/organisation to stop the issuance of the above-referenced special gazette notification. Some have offered bouquets to the minister congratulating and saluting him for his great public spiritedness. But to a discerning observer, the minister’s more..

Oct 5 (SL) A controversial report titled ‘Coercive Population Control in Kilinochchi’ by an anonymous group known as The Social Architects (TSA) has incited public uproar not only in Sri Lanka but in the international arena as well. Last week, the President of Pasumai Tayagam and former Health Minister of India, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, termed the incident ‘genocide’ and urged the UN to carry out an investigation, while speaking at the UN more..

Oct 5 (Island) The CEB has paid an additional Rs. 3,840 million during the past 47 days to purchase power from private thermal producers to meet the shortfall owing to the shutting down of 300MW first coal fired power plant at Norochcholai, an organisation that fights for the welfare of electricity consumers says. National Movement of Electricity Consumers, Convener Bandula Chandrasekara said that its estimates were more..

Oct 5 (SL) The lustre of the white water rafting in Kithulgala is to be damned for the sake of a 35MW power plant. The proposed Broadlands Hydropower Project, which is to generate 35MW to the national grid, is to dry a 5km-6km stretch of Kelani River due to blocking its two main tributaries, the Maskeli Oya, Kehelgamu Oya and even the water that is discharged from the Polpitiya power station. more..

Oct 5 (CT) Q: The UNP has split into two. Which side are you on? A: I’m in the UNP regardless of sides, and my one aim is to help the Party win. I’m not on any particular side and I do not need to be. Q: A hot topic these days is Dayasiri Jayasekara. The UNP said his switching parties has not been a loss at all, but it seems that your Party has indeed lost a good candidate, isn’t it? A: This is the truth. Whatever said and done, more..

Oct 5 (AD) The Matara Magistrate’s Court has issued an order to stop the ongoing protest march by a group of UNP supporters, demanding the removal of Ranil Wickramasinghe as the UNP leader. The protest against Wickramasinghe, led by Provincial Councilors Maithri Gunaratne and Shiral Lakthilaka - who were both sacked from the party, commenced from Devinuwara in Matara this morning and is heading towards Colombo. more..

Oct 5 (CG) The govt is considering making November 15 a public holiday on account of the CHOGM. Govt sources said that a decision on this will be taken soon and a formal announcement will then be made. The main heads of govt meeting of the summit will take place at the Nelum Pokuna theater in Colombo on Nov 15 and several roads are expected to be closed to facilitate the movements of the delegates. more..

Oct 5 (ST) Farmers around the country complain they find it difficult to sell their produce, for the third consecutive week. Farmers from Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Bandarawela and Jaffna have produced an excess of vegetables, but the demand for them has lessened. Pettah Manning Market Secretary Gamini Handunge said that the market finds it difficult to sell the large supply received from the farmers as demand has dropped. more..

Oct 5 (Island) A special count that was carried out at the Puttalam District Court yesterday on marked ballot papers found in three fertilizer bags at the St. Andrew’s College totalled 6,464 votes and the Puttalam Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake said he would give his verdict on the issue on Oct 9. 78 of the ballot papers were in a mutilated state. The discovery of these ballot papers in an abandoned state caused much controversy. more..

Oct 5 (PTI) Sri Lanka's main Tamil party TNA, which secured a thumping mandate in northern provincial council polls last month, is facing an internal crisis over the selection of cabinet ministers. Selvam Adaikkalanathan, the leader of TELO, has offered to resign from the party post as he is unhappy over the selection of K M Shavjilingam as one of four ministers in the government to be formed by the TNA. more..

Oct 5 (AD) A tense situation has been reported near the Matara Town following a clash between UNP supporters during a protest march demanding that Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe step down from party leadership. At least seven persons have been reported injured, one critically, following a shooting incident during the protest. The protest against Wickramasinghe, led by Provincial Councilors Maithri Gunaratne and more..

Oct 5 (CT) The United Nations Multi-Country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific depicts a scary picture of gender violence against women across the region, which accounts for the half of the world’s population. The report is based on a quantitative survey conducted in nine sites across six countries in the region: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea. The survey reveals that of all men interviewed, from 10% in Bangladesh-urban more..

Oct 5 (CT) A document outlining New Education Policies and Proposals (NEPP) was presented recently to the speaker and the members of the parliament by the Ministry for Education. This document is a result of deliberations on a new education act that began with a public notice published in November 2007 by the Committee to Draft a New education Act seeking input, and culminated with a series of sittings by a Select Committee of Parliament held during 2012. more..

Oct 5 (ST) Elated that the party of their choice had won, a youth group in a Jaffna church asked their pastor for a treat. He gave them money to buy “kottu roti”. At Paranthan, a couple who had been complaining about structural shortcomings in their donated house breaks into smiles when asked if they were happy that the TNA had won. “Why not?” states the head of the household. Along the Mullaitivu coast, two fishermen take more..

Oct 5 (Island) The Public Health Department (PHD) of the Colombo Municipal Council expressed concern over the increasing number of dengue patients reported from the army hospital, at Narahenpita. PHD Chief Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam said that more than 50 dengue patients had already been reported from that hospital. The new construction site, within the hospital complex, had been identified as a dengue breeding place. Dr. Kariyawasam said he feared that the disease more..

Oct 5 (CT) Election Results.’ Analysts’-if they can seriously be called so -argue from a particular vantage point of their personal bias. Sri Lanka’s famed ‘political analyst,’ Dr Dayan Jayatilleka, has given the following assessment: “The biggest losers are the UNP and its leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe, as well as the JVP. In both cases, the issue is the leadership. Neither party has a personality as a national leader, who is capable of retaining, let alone attracting, votes. more..

Oct 5 (CT) The service contract of the Associate Editor of The Sunday Leader newspaper Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema who recently fled the country after her residence was attacked, has been terminated with immediate effect by Leader Publications. The service of her husband Romesh Abeywickrema who was the business editor of the same newspaper has also been terminated. more..

Oct 5 (F2F) Sri Lanka's single largest apparel exporter Brandix has come forward to support the second edition of the HSBC Colombo Fashion Week Resort Wear Show to be held in Galle on 5th and 6th October. In keeping with the Group's credo of 'inspired solutions' Brandix will showcase a collection designed in-house under the portfolio of 'House of Inspiration'and based on the platforms of innovation and creativity. The collection reflects the Brandix Group's commitment to cherish, more..

Oct 5 (Island) There’s something amiss with the tale that Justice CV Wigneswaran should take his oaths as Chief Minister before the Governor and no other; certainly not the President. Watching the well-made, well researched and gripping movie Madras Cafe, and conscious of its gaps and oversimplifications, I was reminded that I have lived through those times and events as peripheral participant-observer, ranging from the run-up to the Provincial Council election to the assassinations more..

Oct 5 (BM) A mother-of-five was killed in a hit-and-run crash as she cycled to work in Birmingham on Friday morning. Muthumanaka Pinhamy, known as Manaka, died in hospital after colliding with a lorry near her home at 6.45am. The Sri Lankan-born 55-year-old suffered multiple injuries in the smash, which happened at the junction of Speedwell Road and Brickfield Road, Hay Mills. more..

Oct 5 (CT) This attempts to position the National Policy Framework for Social Integration (NPFSI) named “Access for every one” (Savivara) within politics of post war Sri Lanka that Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara proudly exhibits as his National Languages and Social Integration Ministry’s most formidable contribution for reconciliation. The whole programme was funded by the German govt through its GIZ administered Facilitating Initiatives for Social Cohesion and Transformation (FLICT) that more..

Oct 5 (ST) With just a month to go for the hosting of the Commonwealth Summit, the beautification of Colombo city is taking place at a rapid pace. Workers are busy paving the streets, equipment used for road repairs stand idly at different points in the city. Huge vehicles used for road construction, parked carelessly along busy streets are common sights. While everyone agrees on the need to give the city a facelift, pedestrians and motorists alike complain that traffic police have failed to more..

Oct 5 (CG) The leader of the TELO, Selvam Adaikalanathan, has decided to resign from his post. He said the decision was taken over a dispute on the appointments of provincial ministerial posts for the TNA. The TNA had over the past few days, failed to reach a consensus on selecting ministers for the NPC. Attempts were made to allocate ministerial posts to all the constituent parties in TNA including TELO. more..

Oct 5 (SM) Two more Managers have been recruited by the already cash strapped Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). These Managers have been recruited for the Marketing Division of the SLC, and it is said that the monthly pay for each of these managers, including monthly allowances will be over Rs.50,000. These recruitments are said to have been made with the backing of SLC Secretary - Nishantha Ranatunga. One of these new recruits has been appointed as the SLC Brand Manager, more..

Oct 5 (CG) A man has been arrested in Bogawantalawa after he burnt and injured his child for failing the Year 5 scholarship exam. The police said that the man had used an iron rod to burn his 10 year old child after heating it in the fire. Based on information received by the police over the incident the man was arrested, the police media unit said today. The police said that the child has been admitted to hospital to receive treatment. The 38 year old man was to be produced more..

Oct 5 (MW) MPs from island nation of Sri Lanka have voted to set up the 48th national chapter of the Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC). Govt and Opposition MPs signed up to ensure there was transparent oversight of anti-corruption, mindful that in 2004 Sri Lanka became the first South Asian country to sign the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). more..