Nov 4 (NR) The Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) has decided to remove TNA MP S Viyalanderan from the party after he took oath as a Deputy Minister recently. The leader of ITAK Mavai Senathirajah consented to the decision following the request by Dharmalingam Siddharthan leader of People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), an affiliate party of the ITAK. Accordingly Viyalanderan’s ITAK membership will be terminated from tomorrow. more..

Nov 4 (ST) The nine-day political turmoil after President Maithripala Sirisena ousted Ranil Wickremesinghe and swore-in Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new PM with a new government showed signs of receding yesterday. In brief remarks made to the Sunday Times, Prez Sirisena said he would reconvene Parliament soon but did not mention a date. “We have the required majority for the new govt,” he said amidst his chores of swearing-in ministers, state ministers and deputies. more..

Nov 4 (CT) MP of the Puttalam District, Range Bandara yesterday produced voice tapes containing recordings of telephone conversations with a powerful figure of the SLFP, requesting him to join the Govt and saying that he will be given Rs 500 million (US$ 2.8 million). He produced the recordings at a media briefing. A number of voice tapes containing telephone conversations regarding this deal were produced. more..

Nov 4 (SO) The GMOA will launch an island-wide strike without prior notice if the Health Minister’s post given back to Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge said. He said that Dr. Senaratne is the most unsuitable Health Minister in the Sri Lankan history. He did the largest damage to the Sri Lankan health sector during the past three years. According to Dr. Aluthge, he had gone and asked for the position again from the President on November 2nd. more..

Nov 4 (ST) Govt Printers Office has been put on standby since yesterday morning to print any gazette notification, Govt Printer Ganga Liyanage said. Ms. Liyanage said they were informed both by the Presidential Secretariat and the Speaker’s office that there could be an important gazette notification issued at any moment and to keep the staff prepared. However, until last evening no gazette notification had reached the Department. The convening of Parliament which is currently more..

Nov 4 (ST) For nine long days, Sri Lanka remains plunged in chaos and confusion. Every morning, the nation and its people wake up to see what is in store for them with a new PM and a govt in office. Behind closed doors, the week has seen small groups of Ministers, State Ministers and Deputies being sworn-in by Prez Sirisena. More are to come. They are tweeted by Prez Media Unit – main source of info. to anxious Sri Lankans. more..

Nov 4 (Island) There is no denying PM Ranil Wickremesinghe’s economic agenda has failed. There is no denying he will have an uphill battle at the next elections. However, far more important at this moment is that there is no denying President Maithripala Sirisena has launched a political coup in brazen violation of the Constitution – specifically 19A – and deserves to be impeached. (Jayampathy Wickremeratne’s video gives a full account of the constitutional position). more..

Nov 4 (Island) As the country heads into Week 2 of the Sirisena Act, the only certainty is continuing uncertainty. There are conflicting claims and counter-claims from the two sides of the parliamentary divide, and even from the same side. It is not clear whether Week 2 will bring any conclusive answers to the questions that have emerged and keep emerging after President Sirisena embarked on his clearly unprecedented political adventure. more..

Nov 4 (ST) President Maithripala Sirisena had an interesting analogy for naming Mahinda Rajapaksa as PM and forming a new govt. In our society, he said, “there were accusations of illicit affairs by both wives and husbands.” They separate and it was the children who suffered. “Let us unite again, we have lived together,” he said speaking at the party’s Central Committee meeting at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday night. more..

Nov 4 (BBC) What is happening in Sri Lanka right now sits somewhere in between House of Cards, Game of Thrones and Shakespeare's darkest Roman plays. It involves a man who betrayed his leader only now to return him to power, an alleged murder plot, and two men laying claim to a grand white mansion that is a symbol of political power. Here's what you need to know about the constitutional crisis gripping this island nation, more..

Nov 4 (PTI) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa's legislator son Namal Sunday indicated that the long-held demand of the Tamil minority community to release all Tamil prisoners may be fulfilled soon, a move aimed at persuading the Tamil legislators to support Rajapaksa. "President (Maithripala) Sirisena and Prime Minister Rajapaksa would make a decision (on the issue) very soon," Namal tweeted in Tamil. more..

Nov 4 (Island) Disciplinary action will be initiated against policemen who issue temporary permits to road traffic offenders, instead of fines as sufficient books have been printed and sent to all 489 police stations in 42 divisions in the country, SP Indika Hapugoda said. He said that if the offence can be categorized under the relevant ambit for which a fine can be given at the time of detection, it should be done so. more..

Nov 4 (CT) Minister Arumugam Thondaman urged the plantation workers to call off the 7 Nov protest stating that newly appointed PM Mahinda Rajapaksa has instructed him to hold discussion with the Finance Ministry to accommodate the Rs 1,0a00 basic wage request by the workers. Minister said that he and Minister Vadivel Suresh met the PM on Friday to remind about the wage hike before the workers’ strike is called. more..

Nov 4 (CT) Net Foreign Outflows (NFOs) from the Treasury (T) Bond market in the six months ended last month passed the Rs 100 billion mark as the market suffered the largest of such NFOs for the year in the week ended Wednesday (31), coinciding with the appointment of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the country’s new Premier last Friday and its new Finance Minister as well. NFOs in the week ended more..

Nov 4 (ST) A multimillion dollar US grant aid programme which was to be signed in December is hanging in the balance due to the political turmoil in Sri Lanka. Earlier this year, the United States’ Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) approved a five-year grant of about US$ 460mn for Sri Lanka’s land and transport sectors. The money was for upgrading road networks and the bus system in the Colombo metropolitan area. more..

Nov 4 (AFP) The banquet hall at Sri Lanka’s ousted PM’s official residence is packed with supporters — many sleeping on chairs and the floor — who have come to stand guard as he tussles for power with an old rival. Thousands of loyalists from across the country are camped out at the Temple Trees residence in Colombo, a colonial-era bungalow where Ranil Wickremesinghe has been holed up since his shock dismissal more than more..

Nov 4 (NR) Several public representatives of the United National Front today called on the Chief Incumbent of the Asgiri and Malwathu Chapters. MPs Lakshman Kiriella, Champika Ranawaka, Ravi Karunanayake, Daya Gamage and Ranjith Madduma Bandara had accordingly called on the Chief Prelates and discussed the country’s present political situation. MP Champika Ranawaka addressing more..

Nov 4 (AD) Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero has made a statement that he will remain independent in the Parliament. However, he will be supporting Prez Sirisena, he stated addressing a press conference today. He further says that he agrees with the President’s decision to appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new PM. Thero said that he requests the President to dissolve the parliament as soon as possible. more..

Nov 5 (CT) Sirisena our president may not have read or heard of Gibbon. The matter did not cross my mind when on 8th January 2015 I voted for Maithripala Sirisena- the common candidate. At the time I wanted Mahinda Rajapaksa out of the presidency. For that matter, I did not think it was important to verify if candidate Sirisena had read anything at all. I vaguely remember him claiming to have read Maxim Gorky. Now, having made the man our president, I am doing the maximum more..

Nov 5 (GV) Leader of PHU, MP Udaya Gammanpila in a candid interview spelt out the reason for proroguing Parliament as being the preparation for the forthcoming 2019 revolutionary Budget and said that in no uncertain terms that proroguing parliament was not because of a lack of a majority of MPs for PM, Mahinda Rajapaksa but the real case scenario was setting up a Budget which has to be done with concern for the people of this country and for the benefit of the country as a whole. more..

Nov 5 (CT) Leader of PHU, MP Udaya Gammanpila in a candid interview spelt out the reason for proroguing Parliament as being the preparation for the forthcoming 2019 revolutionary Budget and said that in no uncertain terms that proroguing parliament was not because of a lack of a majority of MPs for PM, Mahinda Rajapaksa but the real case scenario was setting up a Budget which has to be done with concern for the people of SL more..

Nov 5 (CT) Sri Lanka’s proud history of Parliamentary democracy is now at peril with Prez Sirisena grossly violating the constitution by appointing a PM who has failed to demonstrate a Parliamentary majority. He has exacerbated the subsequent political crisis by proroguing Parliament without any consultation with the Speaker, once again in contravention of the constitution. As a result, the country, which has a history of long and unbroken constitutional democracy, more..

Nov 5 (ST) Continuing his swift disastrous strike last Friday, President Sirisena has taken a familiar problem of public fury with an inept and malfunctioning Govt to a perilously extra-constitutional trajectory, prompting deep revulsion on the part of even those strongly critical of many follies of the UNP. This step was prompted by fiendish legal advice by whom the President referred to as neethi visharadayo (legal experts). It is safe to presume that this supposed expertise more..

Nov 5 (Roar) For Kamla Bhasin, a well-known name amongst NGO and feminist circles, working towards equality was never something to be compromised on. Having conducted trainings and capacity building programmes for both men and women in govt and NGOs, Bhasin has been working towards gender equality for decades now. She organised her first course in 1976, for people who bring about change in their more..

Nov 5 (GV) Maithripala Sirisena violates the constitution, stands to destroy democracy itself. Liberals, overwhelmingly Sinhalese, are aggrieved, appalled, aghast. As a minority, I laugh. Not the happy laughter of someone enjoying a good joke. But the bitter, mirthless cackle of someone forced to read this script many times before – like every full moon, when the temple speakers blare its bana and you can’t blot out the noise with sleep because the liquor stores are closed. more..

Nov 5 (ST) Ever since President Sirisena used his madu walge (stingray tail) on his prime minister and deposed Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lankans abroad have had their eyes glued on the changing political scene at home. The comings, goings, stayings and the may-be goings, may-be comings, as the wavering politicians rushed to their family astrologers, have provided enough delectation for many of those here shivering from the early onset of what appears will be a really cold winter. more..

Nov 5 (Island) The only redeeming feature, if at all, of the current political situation is that serious flaws in the Constitution have come to light as never before. Even laypersons have evinced a keen interest in the country’s supreme law, which had, until recently, been considered the province of bow-tied, owlish constitutional experts. Executive powers of the President, as amended by the 19th Amendment (19-A) and the sacking of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe are being discussed even more..

Nov 5 (Island) It is with a sense of gratitude that I read the Opinion titled ‘A Flawed Argument’ by Savitri Goonesekere in last Friday’s issue of The Island, in which she has explained that it is not the discrepancy between the Sinhala and the English versions of the 19th Amendment, but the principle – the Golden Rule – of relevance to an adjudication of Prez Sirisena’s removal of Ranil Wickremesinghe from the premiership is that "Constitutional Provisions must be given a meaning more..

Nov 5 (CT) According to UNFPA Sri Lanka representative regarding Sexual and Reproductive health rights, National Programme Analyst, Sarah Soysa, Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) is the cross road at which education and health meet. Sex education is an important part in young people’s lives, it can help prevent unwanted pregnancies, absence of knowledge leading to misuse of sexuality, protect against more..

Nov 5 (Island) Extraordinary times, these. Aside from everything already published on the President’s actions, my fear – which has grown since 2015 – is that politics in SL amongst the largest vote base is negotiated through and predominantly framed by vicious, divisive commentary and content, robbing electoral processes of vitality and validity. Most of what I’ve done in recent years, written on, championed and studied is around the net effects of ever greater division over social media, more..

Nov 5 (CT) Independent of the domestic outcomes of the current constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka, it may have already opened up the floodgates for a neo-Cold War centred on South Asia, and knocking at India’s multiple gates already. For a thinking Sri Lankan politician, sacked UNP PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, may have done the unthinkable by inviting select Western diplomats, and also the Indian envoy, to explain his case, keeping out countries like China & Russia, among others. more..

Nov 5 (CI) It is impossible to watch Rangana Herath bowl a difficult spell and not gain a sense of the human being. On those days - the tough ones - when he's set a batsman up for the slider only for the opponent to have worked him out, when he's tried the gentle floaters, the over-spinners, the round-arm darts, and none of these has come good, these are the moments that lay him bare, the sessions that expose him. more..

Nov 5 (CI) You know what Joe Root means when he says England have to show courage if they are to prevail in SL. You know what he means when he says they have to take the odd risk and find a different formula, too. He means they have to consider altering the balance of their side. He means they might have to ditch their long-held reliance on seam - and their record-breaking pair of opening bowlers - to find room for three spinners and, perhaps, a wicketkeeper who might not more..

Nov 5 (EN) The new So Sri Lanka tourism promotions theme and campaign is the best that has ever been, one of the country's leading hospitality and travel groups said, two days before its launch. "This is the best campaign I have seen in my professional life," Jetwing Group Chairman Hiran Cooray said. Jetwing, a family owned hotels and travel company, is among the three largest industry firms in the country. "They have included all aspects of SL, from beaches to wildlife to culture," more..

Nov 5 (DN) Killer Whale Aquatics Club retained the senior men’s national swimming title with a convincing win while Visakha Vidyalaya dethroned Mahamaya Kandy to take home the women’s title at the conclusion of the 2018 Swimming Nationals concluded at the Sugathadasa Indoor Swimming Pool Complex yesterday. Reigning champions Killer Whale Aquatics collected a tally of 251 points in the men’s division – more..

Nov 5 (EN) Sri Lanka's apparel exports have grown 9.2% to US$ 451 million, in September with exports to America up 16.23% to US$ 222 million, an industry body said. Exports to the EU were marginally down by 0.57% to US$ 173 million. Exports to other markets were up 16.67% to US$ 56 million. Total exports up to September were up 5.04% to US$ 3,732 million, with exports to the US up 5.85% to US$ 1,664 million. Exports to the EU were up 4.43% to US$ 1,578 million. more..

Nov 5 (DN) The role played by Chartered Surveyors all over the world is a strong and important one as most of the time they are involved in building towns, cities and villages, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) UK, Past President Dr. Louise Brook Smith said. Dr. Smith was speaking at the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors SL held in Colombo. Eminent personalities in the caliber of British High Commissioner James Dauris, more..

Nov 5 (FT) Three relatively poorer provinces, Uva, East and Wayamba, had increased their share of the country’s GDP last year whilst that of the rest of the country either shrank or remained stagnant. As per the latest Provincial GDP data published by Department of Census and Statistics, Uva Province’s share of GDP increased to 7.9% from 7.2% in 2016, that of the Eastern Province improved from 5.3% to 5.7% more..

Nov 5 (ST) Sri Lanka now faces escalating economic headwinds following the sudden change in premiership and the cabinet with a single stroke of the pen by Prez Sirisena. At a time of govt transition, international agencies and foreign countries are keeping an anxious eye on the country’s present decision-makers wondering whether they have the plans, skills and resilience to cope with present economic challenges. It is still premature to predict the ability of the present more..