Sept 2 (CT) It was reported last week that a senior intelligence official, himself a Muslim from what I have gathered, has requested National Security Council (NSC) to consider banning SL Muslim women of wearing burqa or niqab. The proposal was squashed by PM and that the President is to inform diplomats from Islamic countries that such a decision will not be taken. The niqab covers the face only, showing the eyes, while the burqa covers the entire body, including the face. more..

Sept 2 (CT) Former Minister and JO member Bandula Gunawardena says Mahinda Amaraweera fights shy of calling his predecessor, Susil Premajayantha, the most inefficient organizer of the SLFP. Q: How do you see the recent political developments in the country? A: There's a big mess in the present political arena. No major political party has the majority in Parliament to form a govt. It's a lie when somebody says that his party has more..

Sept 2 (Island) SLFP is celebrating its 65th anniversary while being in the throes of a deepening crisis. Its leaders are busy papering over the cracks. All its woes, in our book, boil down to longstanding, mutual hostility between President Sirisena and the Rajapaksas. It is in the current predicament, struggling to avoid a debilitating break-up because President Rajapaksa, during his second term, prevented Minister Maithripala Sirisena achieving his prime ministerial dream more..

Sept 2 (FT) President Sirisena is the cynosure these days. Like the joker Trump on a State-side stage, he has evidently been identified as the King of Diamonds, the jewel in the SL ruling coalition’s crown, to heartily club to death for the sake of the off-stage King of Spades. JO’s runaway train, fuelled by Rajapaksa-injected turbo-revenge, is bearing down on him like an unscheduled express at virtually every parliamentary and propagandistic opportunity. Clearly, enemy action! more..

Sept 2 (DM) Long journeys have traditionally been a preserve for men. However, in more recent times, labour migration in Asia meant more and more women to take up paid work outside home. Women migrant workers, one of the most exploited groups in the country, are faced with numerous difficulties that have now become customary to be ignored by the public. Reports of abuse, ill-treatment and even torture have become a commonplace. What is even more distressing is that these women more..

Sept 2 (DN) Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga said the talents of the 17-year-old boy who hacked the President’s Website should be utilised in a positive manner and it was her belief that this website created recently did not contain adequate security measures. The former President made this comment answering the media when she visited Veyangoda Madya Maha Vidyalaya to inspect the new technological laboratory opened by Speaker earlier in the day. more..

Sept 2 (FT) The govt of India has commended SL’s efforts to improve the security and reconciliation in the Indian Ocean Region. Indian Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar made this observation when he met with PM Ranil Wickremesinghe during the 2016 Indian Ocean Conference Inauguration held Thursday in Singapore. Indian Minister said PM’s participation at Indian Ocean conference has strengthened more..

Sept 2 (CI) Opener Aaron Finch, who smashed 55 off 19 balls to set Australia on the path to a series win, identified that going hard in the mandatory Powerplay was the key to victory. Chasing 213, Australia sprinted to 35 for 0 in three overs, with Finch having scored all 35 runs. David Warner then found his groove with successive fours off left-arm spinner Amila Aponso as the visitors went on to slice 109 runs off the target in the first ten overs. "In a small chase like that more..

Sept 2 (FT) A young man robbed S$ 30,000 at MNC bank branch in Holland Village in Singapore on 7 July. Robber simply delivered a handwritten note to the bank employee at the counter and got away with the money and took a flight on the same day to Bangkok. He had also taken a meal from a popular nearby hawker centre before taking the flight; and acted very cool. Police acted swiftly and with the cooperation of Thai Police the man was caught while staying the night in a hostel in Bangkok. more..

Sept 2 (MoD) SL Army's 6th international defence conference, Colombo Defence Seminar - 2016 began in the BMICH today (1). Minister of Regional Development Hon. Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Minister Ruwan Wijewardene and Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Karunasena Hettiarachchi also attended the event. Two day international conclave is attended by many more..

Sept 2 (ST) Several hundred depositors (most of them aged) of the now collapsed 532 C Wattegedera (Maharagama) Thrift and Credit Cooperative Society (TCCS) Bank gathered at the Western Provincial Council office in Battaramulla on Tuesday August 23 and staged a protest demonstration over the non-payment of their deposits. Amidst tight police security, they also marched close to the Battaramulla office chanting slogans demanding the authorities to find more..

Sept 2 (DM) Decisions with regard to educational policies should be taken by the Govt and not the students, Minister Lakshman Kiriella said. Issuing a statement, Minister said the Govt had provided all the facilities required by the university students including the increase of bursaries and student allowances. “Arrangements have been made to provide all university students with hostels facilities by 2018. Therefore the students have no problems to complain. more..

Sept 2 (Island) Minister Harin Fernando said that Plantation Industries Minister Naveen Dissanayake would not resign from his post over the Cess fund row with Minister Ravi Karunanayake. Dissanayake earlier threatened to quit in protest against Finance Minister’s move to transfer the monies in the plantation ministry Cess fund to Treasury. However, Minister Dissanayake, who was scheduled to be present at more..

Sept 2 (Island) Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews says that cricketers at all levels should start using helmets with latest safety standards. Mathews was hit on the back of his head during the fourth ODI at Dambulla by Australian fast bowler Scott Boland. The protective strap designed to safeguard the back of his neck was broken, but there was no serious harm to the batsman by the impact. Play was stopped for several minutes as Mathews recovered from the impact. more..

Sept 2 (DN) Excerpts from the speech delivered by Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe as chief guest at sessions of the International Conference on Human Rights, Citizenship, and Democratisation. Human Rights are nothing else other than a life. Now, the question of human rights has arisen not during the recent past, but since the inception of the concept of states. It is an old subject; in the early part of the human civilisation there were organised states. more..

Sept 2 (ENS) Tamil Peoples’ Council (TPC), a non-partisan body floated by Northern Province CM C.V. Wigneswaran, is inviting people to join a mass protest in Jaffna on Sept 24, to demand a stop to the construction of Buddha statues and Buddhist temples in areas in the Northern Province where there are no Buddhists, and the systematic settlement of Sinhalese in Tamil areas. Demonstration will also seek withdrawal of more..

Sept 2 (DM) India appreciates the role played by Sri Lanka in ensuring security of the Indian Ocean region, Indian State Minister of Foreign Affairs Sri M J Akbar said today. Mr. Akbar said India also welcomed Sri Lanka’s efforts to bring in reconciliation. He made these remarks during bilateral discussions with PM Wickremesinghe at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Singapore last evening. He said that the cooperation among the states in the Indian Ocean was as old as Indo-SL relations. more..

Sept 2 (FT) Supreme Court re-fixed for support on 14 Oct the granting of leave to proceed with the petition challenging the singing of the national anthem in Tamil. The bench comprising Justices Priyasath Dep and Anil Gooneratne took note that the bench was not properly constituted and the matter was open to constitutional interpretation and re-fixed for support. Petitioners Sudath Perera, Pradeep Soysa and G.A.D. Premarathna cited President Sirisena and AG as respondents. more..

Sept 2 (FT) In a strikingly candid evaluation of Sri Lanka’s economic performance, a top minister acknowledged the Govt is falling behind in meeting public expectations and called for a preferential trade deal with the US to achieve stronger growth dividends. Minister Malik Samarawickrama acknowledged that people were becoming impatient for better economic returns, at opening session of US-SL TIFA in Colombo. more..

Sept 2 (FT) The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and Lanka IOC Plc have been dealt a double whammy of back-to-back hikes in taxes, increasing their cost and threatening financial viability, though the Finance Ministry thinks otherwise. Last week the Finance Ministry slapped a 333% increase in excise duty on the import of diesel i.e. from Rs. 3 to Rs. 13 per litre. This was on top of increasing the customs duty in June by over 60% from Rs. 9 per litre to Rs. 15 per litre. more..

Sept 2 (DN) IFC Country Manager for SL and Maldives Ameena Arif says, her organization is ready to finance Sri Lanka’s private sector projects by providing mid to long term loans via a multiple of financing methods. She said, the loan component for potential partners would start from around US$ 3 million, but stressed that those projects need to be Development Oriented. Arif explained the IFC’s Sri Lanka role, when she as the Guest speaker addressed the main committee more..

Sept 2 (CT) In an alarming twist to the alleged Rs 700 million IT project, to digitalize activities of the People's Bank, it was revealed that CB, in a written observation, has warned the People's Bank Board of Directors not to go ahead with the project. In its report on Core Banking System and on purchase of Digital Banking Solution, CB, in its report issued in April, has made serious observations on imprudent and improper more..

Sept 2 (CG) UK has increased the number of Chevening scholarships for Sri Lanka, for the second consecutive year. The increase in awards was announced at a reception hosted at British High Commissioner’s Residence on 1st Sept, where eight Sri Lankan scholars were presented with their certificates. This year’s scholars will travel to the UK on fully funded scholarships to read for one year Masters courses in Politics, Environmental Design and Engineering, Finance, Int'l Business more..

Sept 2 (DN) Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) activists emphasised on the need to inquire into missing persons through a proper and systematic mechanism such as the process of the Office of Missing Persons (OMP). The FSP which organised an awareness seminar on the importance of looking into missing persons, highlighted that leaders are duty bound to strengthen democracy by looking into the incidents of missing persons. The seminar was held under the theme Beyond the Grief. more..

Sept 2 (UN) Involvement of all sections of the society, in particular its young people, in bottom-up peace building approaches is vital to ensure sustainable social justice, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at a youth event in SL. “Why should young people be sent off to fight wars, but be prevented from building peace?” Mr. Ban said in his remarks at the event, which had the theme of Reconciliation & Coexistence: Role of Youth. more..

Sept 2 (CT) Athurugiriya Police, using Navy Divers yesterday morning retrieved another micro Pistol, from the Diyawanna Oya which is also believed to have belonged to the LTTE, and thrown into the waters by the Lieutenant Colonel who has been remanded on charges of having shot his wife. Police have decided to question the suspect, now in remand custody, further, in connection with the latest find. Athurugiriya Police said the Kaduwela Magistrate had granted Police permission to more..

Sept 2 (FT) Extending its support for humanitarian mine clearance in the Sri Lanka’s North, the Japanese govt has provided a grant of Rs. 86.3 million to continue the de-mining projects in the North. Under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Humanitarian Security Project, the Japanese Govt has given funds to the HALO Trust, which is the major international de-mining agency in the North. The grant contract was signed yesterday between Ambassador of Japan Kenichi Suganuma more..

Sept 2 (Island) Joint Opposition wants the Office on Missing Persons Bill presented in parliament afresh. JO leader Dinesh Gunawardena emphasized that the govt should present the OMB Bill in accordance with accepted procedures. He said as the govt had accepted that the Bill hadn’t been properly passed, it should be presented again. OMP couldn’t undertake inquiries until the Bill received fresh parliamentary approval. more..

Sept 2 (TOI) A Sri Lankan national was detained at the Pune international airport on Thursday for allegedly using a fake Indian passport in his bid to fly out of the country to Germany. Marimuthu Raju of Alangottai in Tamil Nadu was detained by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) officers manning the immigration counters at the airport before he could board a flight to Frankfurt in Germany. During sustained questioning, he told police that his real name was Suthan Suppiah (37). more..

Sept 2 (TG) A Melbourne woman who staged a protest on board a Qantas flight to prevent the deportation of a Tamil asylum seeker to Sri Lanka will plead not guilty when she faces court on Friday morning, her supporters say. Jasmine Pilbrow, 22, refused to take her seat on a flight in February last year that was headed from Melbourne to Darwin, from where the asylum seeker was expected to be deported to Sri Lanka. Another passenger also stood in protest once Pilbrow made others more..

Sept 2 (Island) Police yesterday dispersed a group of persons protesting outside the UN compound demanding an end to UN intervention in Sri Lanka. The protest got underway in the wake of outgoing UNSG Ban Ki-moon arriving in Colombo on Wednesday night for a 2-day visit. The police prevented demonstrators led by Buddhist monks identified as members of Ravana Balaya from marching on the compound just before more..

Sept 2 (DM) Next Monday September 5 is the International Day of Charity and the United Nation in a statement says charity contributes to the promotion of dialogue, solidarity and mutual understanding among people. Poverty persists in all countries, regardless of their economic, social and cultural situation, particularly in the developing world. In recognition of the role of charity in alleviating humanitarian crises and human suffering within and among nations, more..

Sept 2 (DM) Panic struck certain quarters in politics last week after media reports appeared quoting Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera as having said that the new draft Constitution would be presented to Parliament for enactment prior to the budget. The interested parties and groups took this news by storm. It could possibly lead to an uproar. Later on, when a question was directed at the Minister during a session with a select group of local and foreign journalists, more..

Sept 2 (DM) Sexual abuse cases where doctors abuse patients are seldom worldwide, as there are stringent ethics and standards in place by the health administration to prevent such incidents. Even in the Hippocratic Oath, which states the standards and ethics that all doctors should uphold, it clearly mentions, “I will enter to help the sick, and I will abstain from all intentional wrongdoing and harm; especially from more..

Sept 2 (SL) The protest recently staged by sugarcane farmers of Hinguarana, Ampara demanding to release lands for paddy cultivation seem not to have been met as the lands were reserved for sugarcane cultivation. Sugar cane farmers in Hinguarana staged a protest recently demanding the release of around 250-300 hectares out of 6000 hectares of sugar cane cultivation lands in a bid to cultivate paddy. more..

Sept 2 (CT) Upul Tharanga, Dasun Shanaka and Niroshan Dickwella have been called up for the national team ahead of 5th ODI to be played at Pallekele on Sunday. Skipper Angelo Mathews who suffered a calf injury during fourth ODI had been ruled out of the series while Thisara Perera and Lakshan Sandakan have been dropped. Dickwella although got called at Dambulla too, ahead of Dilshan's retirement, was sent back more..

Sept 2 (ST) Mini hydro power plants set up in sensitive areas can cause environmental damage and harm the biodiversity and ecosystem of forests, groups campaigning to protect Sri Lanka’s biodiversity and the environment have warned. Environmental Foundation and Sri Lanka Jalani said this week that there are deficiencies in the approval process of plants sited in protected as well as ecologically-sensitive areas. more..

Sept 2 (AM) CPC Member and MPUS leader Azath Salley slammed the good governance govt for not being able to ensure a respectable quota for Sri Lankan Hajj pilgrims. Salley said that Sri Lanka was given a quota of 6500 by the Saudi govt when former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was in power. In addition 350 others who work in Saudi Arabia were sent through the SL Embassy while 150 could get the permission more..

Sept 2 (Island) GMOA gave the Health Ministry two weeks to carry out investigations into the alleged violation by Director (Medical Services) of the Establishment Code. GMOA Spokesman, Dr Samantha Ananda, said his union had held an emergency meeting to discuss the manipulation by Director Medical Services as regards doctors transfers. It had been decided at the meeting to call for an investigation into official’s conduct, more..