Sep 7 (Island) A new Diyawadana Nilame will be elected for Sri Dalada Maligawa for a term of ten years in Kandy tomorrow afternoon. A meeting of 300 representatives, both Sangha and laymen, will be held for this purpose at the Senkadagala Buddhist Centre, Hall and it will chaired by the Buddhist Commissioner. A Diyawadana Nilame is elected if there is more than one contestant. Those qualified to vote at the election are the Mahanayake Theras of Malwatte and Asgiriya chapters, more..

Sep 7 (DN) A National Govt was formed as the country is in need of a high speed journey to solve the burning issues of the people, UNP Leader and PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said. He was addressing the 69th anniversary celebrations of the UNP at Sirikotha yesterday. SLFP Chairman and President Maithripala Sirisena was the Chief Guest. The event marked a historic milestone as it was the first time in post independence history that more..

Sep 9 (DM) In yet another historic event for Sri Lanka in this new era of a new political culture beyond party politics, President Maithripala Sirisena who is also the leader of the SLFP yesterday attended the 69th anniversary convention of the UNP, to give the keynote address. This new chapter in Sri Lanka’s history began on Jan 8 this year with the silent people’s revolution whereby President Sirisena was elected by the sovereign people to lead a yahapalana Govt for democracy, more..

Sep 9 (DM) Ever increasing complexity of our wider environment challenges empirically minded natural and social scientists to comprehend what is happening around us. Recent advances in climate science show that human activities have already altered global climate, and if no steps were taken to reverse the present trend, the consequences could only be catastrophic. There are of course other areas of human thought and action that are of lesser significance in comparison to climate change. more..

Sep 9 (SL) Sri Lanka’s new cabinet was sworn in on Friday, endings weeks of negotiations regarding the formation of the National Govt. While the cabinet has been expanded beyond the originally promised 30 (as was stipulated in the 19th Amendment), for the first time ever under Sri Lanka’s current constitution parliament was given the final authority regarding the expansion. On Thursday afternoon a debate was taken up more..

Sep 7 (CT) It was a very dry but a beautiful surrounding. The roads we were travelling were outstanding. Some ultra-modern buildings could be seen here and there. Some of them are Hambantota hospital, Hambantota International Conference Hall, and Hambantota District Secretariat. Irrespective of political allegiances, it is development. Villagers might not have imagined such development taking place in country. more..

Sep 9 (IE) AS Kumar Sangakkara disembarked from Angelo Mathews’ shoulders at the P’Sara Oval two weeks ago, he had left his young cohort with a bigger burden-that of literally carrying Sri Lankan cricket single-handedly into the future. A task that the 27-year-old skipper has dealt with manfully so far-a Test average of 68.80 since taking over-despite his team’s dip in fortunes. Like was the case against India, more..

Sep 9 (CNBC) Sri Lanka's central bank is allowing the local rupee to become more market-oriented but like Bejing, it has shied away from turning the currency into a true free float. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said on Friday that it would stop quoting a reference rate for the currency, letting markets determine the rate instead, as sliding foreign reserves and weak exports worry officials. more..

Sep 7 (AM) TMVP leader Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pilleyan opposed an international investigation into the alleged war crimes during the latter stages of Sri Lanka's civil war. Speaking at a media in Batticaloa on Sunday, Chandrakanthan said that a domestic inquiry is sufficient since a new govt has been formed. Meanwhile, he also pointed out that the LTTE was responsible for war crimes as well. more..

Sep 9 (ST) A report commissioned by the Central Environment Authority (CEA) on the total bill for the clean-up of Coca Cola’s diesel oil spill into the water supply is due next week and the CEA warns it is prepared to go to court to extract compensation estimated to be up to Rs. 1 billion. “A survey is currently being undertaken by an academic of the Sri J'pura University to calculate the total expenditure and loss the NWSDB bore. more..

Sep 9 (EN) Sri Lanka's credit to state from the banking system rose 1.67 billion rupees in June 2015, up 21.5% from a year earlier, with central bank soaring 30% to 186.7 billion rupees. Credit to state enterprises were up 38.2% to 482 billion rupees, from a year earlier. State started borrowing heavily from the banking system after a budget deficit expanded with state salary hikes and deceptive subsidies in Jan 2015, more..

Sep 7 (DN) Mass Media and Parliament Reforms Minister Gayantha Karunatillake requested all media persons and journalists to always report the truth. “For the first, second and third time, always report the truth,” he said addressing those present to greet him at the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation premises on Friday. Minister Karunatillke visited SLBC immediately after taking oaths as a minister of Yahapalanaya Govt. more..

Sep 7 (AM) Minister of Justice and Buddha Sasana, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe revealed that a new Chairman and Commissioners will be appointed for the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption once the Constitutional Council is set up. Speaking the Ministry after assuming duties, Rajapakshe said that three members of the Constitutional Council have already been selected. more..

Sep 7 (AD) Former DIG Vass Gunawardena, who is in custody following the murder case of Bambalapitiya businessman Mohamed Shyam, has been admitted to the Colombo National hospital following a sudden illness. The former DIG likely suffered a cardiac arrest when he was brought to the court this morning, according to the reporter. The ex-DIG was arrested after the body of the businessman with gunshot injuries was more..

Sep 7 (CT) In a year of constant, yet quite necessary upheavals and usurpations, all have been done amidst many exhortations to the rule of law and yahapalanaya/good governance by the many Janus faced proprietors of the mainstream political parties of the land, especially the UNP and the SLFP - the country has thus literally been besieged by the (re)establishment and encroachment of democracy. The major highlight of the much publicized 100-day plan cum programme outlined more..

Sep 7 (Island) Much has been said and read about the disastrous state of the Tea Industry, Chrysantha Perera, Chairman of Ceylon Tea Brokers has in his Annual Report suggested a five point strategy to get out of this mess. At present we are losing on average of Rs. 70/- on every Kg of Tea we make! How much longer can the producer survive? In order to keep the estates going the lands and fixed assets have been mortgaged. It has reached a crisis point where the Banks are not lending more..

Sep 7 (CT) One of the horrendous legacies of the ousted MR regime was an economy burdened with oppressive debt, a culture of rampant corruption if not outright thievery, and gargantuan projects of colossal waste. Mattala airport is the best example of such a project. Therefore it should be an obvious priority to the regime that just came in to take steps immediately to bring down the debt to manageable proportions, eradicate corruption and cut down the number of or cancel all wasteful projects. more..

Sep 7 (GT) It is a novel narrated in short stories and Vasantha, the cab driver, is your personal guide through the post-civil war North and post-Tsunami South of Sri Lanka. Just pick up Noontide Toll and you would find yourself in the island country, trying to cope with the trauma of the 30-year long civil war and more than 30,000 deaths in the 2004 tsunami. Such is the clout of Romesh Gunesekera’s writing. Sri Lankan-born British author, who was a finalist in the Man Booker Prize for more..

Sep 7 (EN) Sri Lanka's forex reserves had dropped US$ 420 million to US$ 6,466 million by end August 2015, down from 6,887.22 billion in July, amid continued sterilized forex sales. Without 400 million US dollar swap from the Reserve Bank of India, foreign reserves are down 34% from a peak of US$ 9,185 million in August 2014. Last week Sri Lanka got another US$ 1.1 billion from the Reserve Bank of India, which more..

Sep 7 (CT) Required steps are now being taken to establish a database of terrorists, drug dealers and their supporters in SAARC countries. Police sources disclosed technological assistance for this endeavour is from the Moratuwa University and that the database is scheduled to be established at the Terrorist Investigation Division located at the New Secretariat office building in Colombo Fort. Heads of Security divisions and state officials from the eight countries in the SAARC region are more..

Sep 7 (LBO) Stocks closed down 0.91% on Monday with losses across the board. Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed down 65.41 points at 7,149.70, lower 0.91%. S&P SL20 closed 26.83 points lower at 3,931.00 down 0.68%. “There was low investor activity as it was affected by the impact of the regional markets and the rupee devaluation,” Lanka Securities said. The Sri Lanka rupee opened flat at 137.50/138.00 Monday, the second day after the Central Bank reduced interventions more..

Sep 7 (DM) Newly appointed Tourism and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga said he would consider introducing regulations to prevent locals from entering casinos. He told the media after assuming duties at his ministry portfolio that casinos should be out of bounds for Sri Lankans and only foreigners be permitted their use. He said this matter was severely criticised by religious leaders because more..

Sep 7 (CG) A group of Sri Lankans were among 19 migrants held captive by a criminal group who were rescued in Tamaulipas state, Mexico, by Mexican police and immigration authorities, the El Universal news portal reported. Migrants from Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Sri Lanka had been held hostage in several locations throughout the city of Nuevo Laredo in Tamaulipas. The criminals had reportedly deceived their victims by offering to take them from the city of San Luis Potosi more..

Sep 7 (EN) Ruling UNP Chairman Malik Samarawickrama is to be sworn in as minister of International Trade and Investment when the cabinet is expanded this week along with new deputy ministers, party sources said. Samarawickrama, a key figure in the new administration, is set to be a key policy driver of the new administration and placed in charge of strategic investment projects. "Large scale projects will come under this ministry while it will also be entrusted with negotiating more..

Sep 7 (PTI) Sri Lanka's new sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekera is keen to set right all issues concerning national sports governing associations including calling for fresh elections of the cricket body. Assuming his duties Jayasekera, 47, said he wanted to make sure that problems with regard to all sports associations are resolved. "The first issue is the current problem with the International Olympic Committee," Jayasekera said. more..

Sep 7 (CT) President Sirisena‘s daughter Chathurika has turned his passionate pledge of putting an end to nepotism and family bandyism on its head when she dragged state officials with her on a visit to villages in Welikanda, Polonnaruwa. Chathurika stated to the media that she had not come just to show face with an entourage, but had come instead to share her father’s dream in helping to solve the problems of the people. She added that this is why she was accompanied by state officials. more..

Sep 7 (TOI) By naming TNA’s R Sampanthan as the Leader of the Opposition in the 225-member Parliament, Sri Lanka as a nation and the Sri Lankan Tamil (SLT) population may have sent out a message that they are ready to recognise the stand taken by the TNA and its acknowledged leadership on all matters ethnic. This despite the fact that much of the polity and some uninformed sections in Tamil Nadu continue to be guided by the hardline sections of the SLT diaspora that more..

Sep 7 (AD) Following a directive from the Chief Justice, court hearing of the case, in which an ex-LTTE carder is accused of killing 31 people including Major General Janaka Perera in 2008, will be heard at the Anuradhapura Special High Court from the next hearing. The directive has been issued since all the cases related to terror activities have been referred to the Anuradhapura Special High Court from the Anuradhapura High Court, more..

Sep 7 (CT) Elections Commissioner (EC) Mahinda Deshapriya has asked those who did not obtain the right to vote at the recent Presidential and general elections, to inform the Elections Secretariat of the address where the family members are residing, their names and identity card numbers. Deshapriya has requested that the details be sent to the District Election office with a copy to the Additional Elections Commissioner at the Elections Secretariat in Rajagiriya. more..

Sep 7 (AM) UPFA MP Bandula Gunawardena, who is one of the MPs sitting in opposition, stated at a recent interview that the confusion with regards to the Opposition Leader's position was created by the newly appointed UPFA General Secretary Prof. Vishwa Warnapala. He said that Warnapala has acted against the UPFA constitution and sent a letter to the Speaker without informing the partners of the UPFA. Under such circumstances, the future of the UPFA is uncertain, he added. more..

Sep 7 (FT) Tears well up in Murugathas Gajenthini’s eyes as she recalls the moment she last saw her husband, in a SL army camp just 24 hours after their family surrendered during the gruesome final stages of their country's civil war. It was May 18 2009, the same day the head of the rebel Tamil Tiger army was killed nearby after weeks of desperate rearguard battles against govt forces, bringing more than two decades of conflict to more..

Sep 7 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka is eyeing more Chinese tourists to the island nation as the new government is aiming to make tourism as the top foreign exchange earner, a cabinet minister said here on Monday. The country's new Tourism Minister, John Amaratunga, who took oaths before President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday and who officially began his duties on Monday, told journalists that the government wanted to increase the number of Chinese tourists. more..

Sep 7 (DN) Wildlife Conservation Board officials have requested the Anuradhapura Government Agent to submit proposals regarding electric fences to be installed and other strategies to prevent the increasing human- elephant conflict. Anuradhapura Govt Agent D.P.G. Kumarasiri told the Daily News that they have received reports about the inconvenience the villagers face due to the conflict. At District Agriculture Committee meetings, Farmer Organisation members have said that more..

Sep 7 (AD) The Magisterial inquiry with respect to the floating armory of the Avant Garde Maritime Services (Pvt) Ltd has been terminated after the CID apprised the Court that it would not proceed with the case under AG’s advice. The Galle Magistrate last week also lifted the foreign travel ban imposed on former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa over this case. Police this year seized more than 3,000 weapons in 20 containers more..

Sep 7 (EN) Foreign holdings of Sri Lanka bonds dropped 24.75 rupees to 351 billion rupees, in the week to Sept 2, involving a roll-over of a large tranche of bonds. Foreign investors have cut their holdings steadily from mid-April following a rate cut, as a balance of payments crisis was fired by an expanding budget deficit financed domestically and money was printed to keep rates down. Since the April rate cut foreign investors have sold down 114 billion rupees of bonds more..

Sep 7 (PHC) The High Commission of Pakistan in Sri Lanka celebrated the 50th Defense Day of Pakistan last evening in Colombo, to commemorate the 1965 war events and sacrifices rendered by valiant Pakistan’s armed forces. The event attracted large gathering including Sri Lankan Govt Ministers, Chief of Defense Staff, Commanders of Armed Forces of Sri Lanka, High Commissioners/ Ambassadors, senior officers of three segments of Armed Forces of Sri Lanka, more..

Sep 7 (Hindu) A report on alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka during the Eelam War is likely to be presented on September 30 during the 30th session of the UNHRC. As per the present time table, the subject on Sri Lanka will come up during the third and final week of the Council's session, which starts on Sept 14 and concludes on Oct 2. The sitting on Sri Lanka is expected to go on for three hours on Sept 30. more..

Sep 7 (CG) Over 25,000 IDP are still in welfare camps, NGO said at an event today. In the event organized to draw attention to the several people still in displacement camps, the NGOs said that 25,328 IDPs are in 38 welfare camps in the Jaffna peninsula. According to NAFSO and Praja Abhilasha, there are 89.000 war widows, including women headed households in the north and east. NGO also noted that women have been suffering from various social issues while working in more..

Sep 7 (CT) Several studies carried out on the locally produced rice, cereals and vegetable have been found to be toxic. Bugbear of the Food Department is that it has no mandatory authority in the Food Act to check them before being prepared for consumption. Food Act of 1980 gives the power to health officials to check the food made for consumption at any establishment in the country. If found to be contaminated, outdated or in any other way seem unfit, establishment can be sued. more..