Oct 28 (DM) NDF Prez candidate Sajith Premadasa, who previously challenged his opponent Gotabaya Rajapaksa to a one-to-one debate, renewed his call yesterday by challenging the entire Rajapaksa family to debate alone. While stating that his opponent SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa had not responded to his challenge to come for a public debate despite a written request made by him more..

Oct 28 (Island) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, on Saturday, urged the country to put party politics aside and come forward to protect democracy. Participating in a vigil conducted by a group of civil society and political party leaders at the Independence Square to mark the first year after the defeat of the constitutional coup to overthrow the UNF govt, PM said that some sections of society seemed to have taken more..

Oct 28 (AD) All countries in Asia are now at a developed stage and this is due to the use of technology and intelligence, according to the SLPP prez candidate, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Pointing out that Sri Lanka doesn’t have a large industrial system, the former Defense Secretary stated that Despite the lack of resources, the greatest asset the country has is its intelligent people. He mentioned this at a public rally more..

Oct 28 (ST) Former FCID head Senior DIG Ravi Waidyalankara’s wife assumed directorship of a company along with the wife of a key suspect his office was assigned to probe for suspected money laundering, documents filed at the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court this week show. Meanwhile, a company owned by his son–Asela Waidyalankara–paid Rs 52mn to buy a flat in Monarch Residencies in Kollupitiya. more..

Oct 28 (LBO) Applications for Chevening Scholarships to study in UK are closing on 5 Nov, with applications to be submitted via www.chevening.org/apply. Chevening Scholarships are awarded to individuals with leadership potential and strong academic backgrounds. The scholarship offers full financial support for future leaders to study for any eligible master’s degree at any UK university, whilst also gaining access to a wide range of exclusive academic, professional, & cultural more..

Oct 28 (FT) This series is based on business leader Dhammika Perera’s recently revealed Economic Growth Strategy and Action Plan to increase GDP Per Capita from $ 4,000 to $ 12,000. The document outlines goals and action plans for 23 ministries and today’s column focuses on the Ministry of Agriculture. Goals: Drive inclusive agricultural transformation. Increase agricultural productivity for farmers. Increase farmers’ household income. Increase equitable consumption of a safe, more..

Oct 28 (DM) Many years ago, I had the opportunity of spending a few days in a German village sheep farm. In the evening of the first day, for the first time in my life, I witnessed how the farmer rounded up his sheep. He had a lead ram with a bell around its neck. His working dog drove the lead ram into the corral and the rest of the flock automatically followed. After the last sheep was in the corral, he closed the gate. Farmer explained that the sheep have been trained to follow the ram with more..

Oct 28 (Island) Former Northern Provincial Council Chairman C. V. K. Sivagnanam, said that the SLPP manifesto had left out the aspirations of the Tamil people. Addressing a Depavali celebration in Nallur, Sivagnanam said it was quite clear that the SLPP manifesto had been prepared targetting the Sinhala polity only and the party was making an attempt to come to power without the support of the Tamils. Former NPC Chairman said that SLPP prez candidate Gotabaya Raajapaksa was more..

Oct 28 (AD) NDF Prez Candidate Sajith Premadasa says although some may think that he follows a certain kind of economic and social system as the deputy leader of the UNP, he actually follows a mixed economic system and social equality and democracy. Speaking at a conference organized by several leftists groups and organizations in Colombo today, he added that as a person who very strongly stands for equality, social democracy more..

Oct 28 (RN) A video clip doing the rounds on social media, purportedly of President’s Counsel Mohamad Ali Sabry making a controversial remark regarding the Muslim vote in the upcoming prez election, has drawn the ire of the UNP. UNP MP S.M. Marikkar accused the senior lawyer today of threatening Muslim voters into supporting prez candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa. “Muslims will receive a giant thrashing if they do not vote for Rajapaksa,” Marikkar accused Sabry of saying. more..

Oct 28 (MFA) Sri Lanka participated at the GIC 2019 – Food and Beverage Sector International Exhibition, which is one of the most popular professional food and beverage sector exhibitions in Canada. GIC is visited by several thousand buyers, buying agents, importers, food sector distributors, experts, wholesalers, and retailers. The event was held in Toronto from 22 to 23 Oct. Sri Lanka’s national participation was coordinated by the High Commission in Ottawa and more..

Oct 28 (DN) “We, the SLMC, have supported Sajith Premedasa as the Prez candidate for NDF/UNP,” Minister and SLMC Leader Rauff Hakeem told a political rally in Kattankudy. “In 1988, former Prez R. Premedasa contested as the Prez candidate representing the UNP. After that no one contested the Prez polls representing the UNP till 2019. 19th Amendment prevents Mahinda Rajapaksa to contest in the Prez polls. more..

Oct 28 (DM) The former Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C. V. Wigneswaran, said that their future course of action would be decided according to the response to the 13 proposals put forward to the presidential candidates by the Tamil parties in the North. These proposals had been forwarded to the presidential candidates by now. He said that he would like to discuss face to face with these three candidates if they were going to reject these proposals. more..

Oct 28 (RN) The Cabinet has granted approval to recruit 729 graduate teachers to teach foreign languages in govt schools. Accordingly, teachers will be recruited to teach French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Arabic and Korean languages to Grade 10, O/L and A/L students. The program intends to enhance learning opportunities of foreign languages, increase the number of schools that teach foreign languages and promote students to pursue foreign languages for their tertiary education, more..

Oct 28 (FT) Relations between the European Union and Sri Lanka have seen tremendous improvement, affirms the outgoing Ambassador of the EU to SL and the Maldives Tung-Lai Margue. The EU is by far the biggest export market for Sri Lanka accounting for nearly 30% or Euro 2.8 billion of the total. Ending a very successful 3-year tenure in SL, Ambassador Tung-Lai Margue says since the reinstatement of GSP+ in May 2017, more..

Oct 28 (AD) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has congratulated US Prez Donald Trump on the successful operation in the fight against terror. At a press conference in the White House yesterday, President Trump had declared ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi dead. Baghdadi was killed in a raid conducted by the US military in northwest Syria on Saturday, Trump said. In a twitter message on Monday, PM commended US Prez and stated that this would undoubtedly cause a set back more..

Oct 28 (CT) The Sena caterpillar (Fall Armyworm) threat has affected maize cultivations around the Anuradhapura and Moneragala Districts, Director General ofAgriculture Department, W.M.W. Weerakoon, said. "As the Agriculture Dept, we have taken adequate action to prevent the Sena caterpillar from spreading," he added. Weerakoon also stated that the Govt has decided to stop importing maize from 31 December because it has planned to cultivate maize in an area of more..

Oct 28 (CT) Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratna ordered the CID to arrest and produce in Court all suspects involved in the fraudulent take over of 40 acres of land in, valued at Rs 24 million, by Northern Provincial Councillor Rifkhan Bathiudeen after having compiled fraudulent deeds. Rifkhan Bathiudeen is the brother of Minister Rishad Bathiudeen. Magistrate gave this order after a case, filed through a motion, more..

Oct 28 (RN) SLFP MP Mahinda Samarasinghe says the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) which probed into the Easter attacks has failed to identify who was behind the bombings. He expected members of PSC to do their job comprehensively but they had been pointing fingers at various officers and the lapses in the part of the President and the PM. “But that is not sufficient, we need to really find out who was behind this thing as this kind of thing could again happen,” he added. more..

Oct 28 (AD) The majority of Sinhalese in the country is with the SLPP Prez Candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa, says UPFA MP Faiszer Musthapha. The MP speaking at an event in Malwana area stated that Gotabaya Rajapaksa will win the prez election with the blessings of the majority Sinhalese. He pointed out that the UNP knows that it doesn’t have the vote of the majority of the Sinhalese. Therefore they are attempting to gain a higher vote percentage by collecting Tamil & Muslim votes, he added. more..

Oct 28 (CT) Political analysts have strongly criticised former Minister Mervyn Silva and Sajin Vaas Gunawardena, two politicians who have been accused of causing the collapse of the Mahinda Rajapaksa Govt, expressing support to NDF Prez candidate Sajith Premadasa. The JO, including Mahinda Rajapaksa, have understood that one of the major factors that led to the defeat of the Rajapaksa Govt was the accusation more..

Oct 28 (AD) UNP MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka stated that they worked with Prez Maithripala Sirisena with great difficulty and dislike. He mentioned this addressing a public rally held in Hunupitiya, Kelaniya, today. Fonseka says that he was the first to raise his voice against the Prez and since then revenge was taken against him. The former Army Commander added that he has the luck to identify the enemy. Although there are UNP ministers who are ready to serve more..

Oct 28 (AD) The Attorney General has informed the Colombo Magistrate’s Court that the Central Bank is conducting a forensic audit on the Bond Scam issue. State Counsel Lakmini Girihagama, who appeared on behalf of the AG informed this to the court when the complaint, filed that fraud was involved during the issuance of CB Bonds in 2015, before Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne. State Counsel informed the court that investigations are carried out on bank accounts of W.M. Mendis Company, more..

Oct 28 (DM) Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) probing corruption of the current administration has completed 30 cases along with its proceedings. An official from the commission said it received a total of 1,346 complaints and that the police unit attached to the commission completed the initial inquiry into 166 of them. “Out of 166 inquires, the commission has started recording evidence on 40 cases. However, more..

Oct 28 (TM) The Govt of the Philippines says it’s studying the successful eradication of the 30 year insurgency in Sri Lanka. These views were expressed by Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Teodoro L. Locsin during a courtesy call made by Ambassador-designate of Sri Lanka to the Philippines Shobini Gunasekera, last Friday (25). Gunasekera said Sri Lanka was keen to share best practices on reconciliation process and mechanisms for counter-terrorism. more..

Oct 28 (TM) EPRLF leader Suresh Premachandran says Tamil parties will announce their stand with regard to the forthcoming prez poll on the 30 of this month. Tamil political parties held make-or-break talks today on the stand they will urge Tamils to take at the election next month. With just a few days to go before the election itself, neither of the main two candidates has invited the five political parties, as a group, for talks. Rajapaksa and the SLPP have already rejected the 13 demands and more..

Oct 28 (RN) The SLPP Prez candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa held a rally in Jaffna today telling the Northern Peninsula that better times are ahead, amid protests and tight security. “Many people want you to live in the past but I will take you to the future,” he said as extraordinary security measures were enforced in the Jaffna city area with troops deployed on the streets. Gotabaya said that they were not the people who started the war, more..

Oct 29 (ST) It was a damning report by all accounts. It answered some questions that had been troubling Sri Lankans of many, if not all, communities and religions since that dastardly terrorist attack on Easter Sunday, killing many innocent people, some of them at prayer on this holy day for Christians. This act of indiscriminate terror revives memories of the Tamil Tiger attack on Buddhist worshippers at the venerated Sri Maha Bodhi and its environs at Anuradhapura on May 14, 1985 more..

Oct 29 (CT) With every passing day, the two primary Prez candidates are vying with each other to offer greater inducements to the electorate. They include free fertilizer to farmers and free meals with two sets of uniforms to schoolchildren. Also on offer is the reduction of VAT, elimination of income tax under Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and an increase in daily wage of plantation workers. Given the precarious position of the national economy, the offer of all the mentioned incentives by more..

Oct 29 (Roar) Winding roads and lush green paddy fields lead to the small coastal town of Rathgama in the Galle district of the Southern province, where somewhere a little past the town’s junction is the area known as Monroviawatte. Rathgama is beautiful—deep waters and greenery giving way to sandy shores and tossing waves. But the closer to Monroviawatte you get, the more pungent the smell of rotting garbage. more..

Oct 29 (CT) Supreme Court rules in favour of setting guidelines for President Counsel appointments. Articles 17 and 126 cited by the petitioner are quoted below: “17. Every person shall be en​​titled to apply to the SC, as provided by Article 126, in respect of the infringement or imminent infringement, by executive or administrative action, of a fundamental right to which I such person is entitled under the provisions of this Chapter. 126. (1) The SC shall have sole and more..

Oct 29 (ST) On Nov 16, a new president will be elected. Will the election usher in political stability or will the post-election period be one of confusion and chaos? Are there prospects of an economic revival? Would the election lead to a period of political instability? The worst scenario would be another constitutional crisis. Constitutional experts have pointed out that the new prez’s powers are severely limited by the 19th Amendment. However, the prez candidates and vast majority of the electorate more..

Oct 29 (SO) Calistas Anthony Perera finds it hard to swallow food now. He was working in the backyard of the house he shared with his three siblings and 11-year-old son, Chamod Shivan Perera, in Webada Road, Katuwapitiya when he heard the loud explosion. He first thought it was a fire cracker, but a telephone call from a relative immediately after proved it was far more serious and sinister. Ayye, bombayak pupuralada palliye? more..

Oct 29 (Island) A common perception prevailing in the country is that the President of Sri Lanka under the 19th Amendment (19A), is nothing but a shadow of the Executive Presidents who existed prior to 19A. One commentator went to the extent of stating that "All executive powers of the Executive President were downloaded to the PM. Their dentistry would make the once uber Executive President toothless and the hitherto simple PM … to become an uber Executive Prime Minister with full bite" more..

Oct 29 (CT) Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) report on the Easter Sunday Terrorist Attacks, was presented to Parliament on 23 Oct. The PSC members held a press conference, to spell out key components of the report. Some of the main findings reiterated the fact that reliable evidence emerged that prior intelligence information was available about the impending attack, but that it was not acted upon. The PSC noted that intelligence information related to the attacks was first received by more..

Oct 29 (CT) According to Chairman, Election Commission, the PE results will be officially announced only on 18 Oct. The writer is of the view that the probable outcome would be known to the people by the early hours of 17 Oct itself, as there seems to be a fairly clear mandate being given to one of the leading prez candidates, although 35 contenders are running, thus wasting public money. The amount of time, money and energy wasted is enormous - could have been used sparingly, more..

Oct 29 (Island) US Prez Donald Trump has declared that elusive IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died, on Saturday, like a dog, in an American Special Forces raid on the terrorist’s safe house in Syria. The death of the IS chief is certainly most welcome though ideally he should have been captured alive and tried for the heinous crimes against humanity. He blew himself up before being caught. One may take exception to the simile Prez Trump has employed to describe al-Baghdadi’s end. more..

Oct 29 (Island) The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) says that socialists should not vote for Gotabaya Rajapaksa of SLPP, Sajith Premadasa of the UNF, or Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the JVP at the Nov 16 presidential polls as they advocate a thoroughly bourgeois programme. A statement issued by the SEP said that "pseudo-left Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP), Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) and United Socialist Party (USP), more..