Military probes Prabhakaran’s poster!

An organized group (10) pasted posters showing Velupillai Prabhakaran and the Eelam state, on the bus halt in front of Maradamadam Kovil in Jaffna, says the military.

The state intelligence is investigating the posters and it has already revealed that extremists opposed to national reconciliation are behind it.

Investigations have also revealed that the poster in question had been printed during the period of the war.

Mahendran’s fate in President’s hands

State Finance Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena yesterday said that President Maithripala Sirisena would make a final decision with regard to the action to be taken against former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran accused of treasury bond scandal.

The Monetary Board would meet on Friday (14) to consider the content of the COPE reports on the bond scandal and take a decision, the minister said, adding that those reports would be helpful for the President to also take a final decision with regard to the action to be taken against Mahendran.

State Finance Minister said he was awaiting the decision of the monetary board on the Perpetual Treasuries involved in the bond scandal.

The minister said so in answer to a question raised by media personnel who demanded to know what action would be taken against Mahendran accused of the biggest ever loss making scandalous treasury bond deals.

The Minister said that it was his position that those found guilty of the bond scandal should be severely punished. He said that the Monetary Board was expected to discuss the report of an internal investigation conducted by the Central Bank Debt Department with regard to the bond scandal.

Finance Minister, Ajith P. Perera in assault case

Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne Monday ordered the Slave Island Police to send to the Attorney General, (AG) case documents relating to a probe conducted into an incident in which UNP MPs are alleged to have assaulted some employees of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) after entering its premises forcibly.

The Slave Island Police making submissions to Court in this case stated that investigations into the incident have been completed and the case documents were being compiled and will be soon sent to the AG.

The Slave Island Police had begun a probe following a complaint lodged with it, which stated that UNP MPs Ravi Karunanayake, Ajith P. Perera, P. Yogarajan, Nimal Bandara and Ports JSS President Udeni Kaluthanthri and P. Rupasinghe had forcibly entered an SLPA office at Morgan Road, Slave Island and assaulted the employees, on or before 14 October 2014.

Returns from the dead

How would you feel if one of your deceased family members suddenly walked through the door?

The reaction of a family in Mahamodara, Galle was a mix of happiness and horror when suddenly their  loved one who was thought to be dead, walked in through the front door, while his funeral arrangements were been made. Ishan Manjula, a 21-year-old fisherman from Mahamodara who was thought to have drowned at sea walked home to witness grieving relatives and banners and posters announcing his death. It later transpired that Manjula’s purported death was due to a mishap involving a phone call.

Last Saturday, a 22-year-old youth named Sajith Madusanka had died at sea after his boat collided with another fishing vessel.

The news of his demise had been conveyed to officials ashore by phone call. However, instead of Madusanka’s name it was Manjula’s name which had been mentioned, The miscommunication had led to relatives making arrangements to hold Manjula’s funeral. However, Manjula who was thought to have died returned home yesterday alive and well while Madusanka’s body was handed over to the hospital for a post mortem.

Colour code system for sweetmeats

Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne has proposed to introduce a colour code system indicating the sugar level contained in sweetmeats. The system will be introduced soon and the relevant gazette notification will be issued, Health Ministry sources said.

According to sources, recently Minister Senaratne held a discussion with the Sri Lanka Sweetmeats Manufacturers Association and pointed out that diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate among the farming community.

The colour code system for the sugar content in all sweetmeats including cake, dodol, boondhi, biscuits etc will be introduced soon and the relevant gazette notification will also be issued. The members of Sri Lanka Sweetmeat Manufacturers Association can hold discussions with food advisers in connection with any issue, the sources said.

The colour code system (traffic light system) is already implemented for sugar content in drinks available in the local market. The Red label is for sugar content exceeding 11 grams per 100 milliliters. A green label is for drinks which contain two grams or less sugar, while the middle level sugar content (between 2 and 4 grams per 100 ml) is indicated by a yellow label, the sources added.

New system to detect speeding vehicles on expressways

Steps were being taken to establish a speed detector system at the Southern and Katunayake Expressways so that the speeding drivers could be fined at the exit points, Expressway Operation, Maintenance and Management Division Director S. Opanayaka said today.

He said the steps were taken to minimize the increasing number of accidents on the expressways involving speeding vehicles.

Mr. Opanayaka said most of the accidents reported on the expressways during the last three months had been caused by speeding vehicles.

“Even though the speed limit on the expressways had been limited to 100 kmph, it is reported that most of the vehicles violate the restriction. We do not have a sufficient number of speed detectors at present and they do not have a night vision facility to function at night,” he said.

He said the new system would be operational round the clock as they were equipped with night vision and added that speeding drivers would be given a spot fine at the exit point.

“According to the new system, the errant drivers would be given a video clip of the over speeding vehicle at the exit point and no one would be able to escape. The Expressway Police would be trained to use the new system,” he said.

Mr. Opanayaka said the new system would be in place within the next two months and added that the initial test would be done at the end of this month.

“We will be able to install the system within two months time. Procurement procedures are in the final stage,” he said. (Ajith Siriwardana)

Aiyo! is now part of Oxford dictionary

The 'aiyo' word- a Sri Lankan and South Indian phrase that expresses distress, regret or grief, was included in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), last month as a part of the latest addition of words to its database.

OED has defined the popular word as, "In southern India and Sri Lanka, expressing distress, regret, or grief; 'Oh no!', 'Oh dear!'"

Apart from aiyo, 'aiyoh' and 'aiyah' have also been included in the lexicon, India Today reported. Though the two words can be identified as part of the Indian vocabulary too, OED has actually included their Chinese usage.

The latest addition saw the inclusion of various Singapore English words like mamak (Malaysian word for street stall), pancit (flat tyre) and even popular dishes from Singapore and South-east Asia like "char kway teow", "chicken rice" and "rendang".

The dictionary also paid a sort of a tribute to author Roald Dahl, by adding words he invented like "splendiferous", "human bean" and "Oompa Loompa." The children's books writer's birthday falls in September too.

The OED updates its bank of words four times in a year, and almost every year some people find its choices like "srsly", "squee", obvs" and "omg" hard to believe. Some quirky entries can be found in this month's list too, including biatch, butt-f**k, jagoff, 'Merica, scrumdiddlyumptious, moobs, yoda and YOLO.

The Oxford English Dictionary has been the foremost authority on the English language, all over the world. OED is more than 150 years old and contains at least 6,00,000 entries. It is updated four times -- March, June, September, and December -- in a year.

Stop selling Galaxy Note 7: Samsung

Samsung has asked all retailers across the globe to stop selling and exchanging its Galaxy Note7 smartphone, and has instructed all owners of the phone to power it off and seek a refund or replacement.

The phone was originally recalled after a battery issue lead to several reported cases of overheating and combustion. In recent weeks there have been at least five cases of replacement Note7's also catching fire or overheating.

While the Korean company was recently reported to have stopped making Note7s as it investigated the reports, it has always been careful to state it believes the new phones are safe, or that the issue is "limited". In its latest statement on Tuesday morning, Samsung is more direct.

"Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note7 or replacement Galaxy Note7 device should power down and stop using the device and take advantage of the remedies available."

In Australia, as well as around the world, many retailers and telcos had already stopped selling or replacing Note7s. Vodafone has said it will replace customers' Note7 with a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, with Telstra and Optus both also indicating they would swap the handset for an alternative phone.

"Because consumers' safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note7 while the investigation is taking place", the statement reads.

Before the exploding batteries, Samsung had defied a slowing smartphone market with better-than expected Galaxy sales and successfully capitalised on a lull in demand for new iPhones. In recent months, Samsung had expanded its already considerable market share. The company shipped 77 million smartphones in the second quarter, according to IDC.

Now the South Korean company enters the crucial holiday shopping season with no large-screen smartphone. Because Samsung and Apple have basically split the market for premium-priced smartphones between them, the latter is a natural beneficiary of Samsung's woes.

Investors seem to expect that to happen and pushed Apple shares up 2.1 per cent on Monday in New York, the highest level since December 2015. In the long-term, Apple could attract Android users to its "sticky iOS ecosystem, which boasts around a 95 percent loyalty rate," Credit Suisse Group AG analyst Kulbinder Garcha wrote in a note.

Google will also provide an alternative large-screen this holiday season, alongside a smaller version, with the Pixel, the first phone to carry the company's name.