Gota rejects Mangala’s allegation on his son

Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa rejected Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s allegation that a house in Angeles had been rented as the official residence of the Sri Lankan Consul General in 2013 and it has used by the son of the former Defence Secretary.

While posting a Tweeter message Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa said making such allegations is a cheap tactic to discredit him

Mangala Samaraweera yesterday in Parliament charged that a house had been rented as the official residence of the Sri Lankan Consul General in Los Angeles in 2013 and a sum of Rs. 27.6 million has been spent for it while it was occupied by former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa's son for more than a year.

Participating in the budget debate in Parliament yesterday he said US Dollars 10,000 had been paid as a deposit for it. Minister Samaraweera also charged that Rs. 2.3 billion had been spent for overseas visits during the Rajapaksa regime between 2012 and 2014.

O/L tuition prohibited from today

Conducting extra classes or tuition classes for the 2016 GCE Ordinary Level Examination has been prohibited from midnight of 30 November.

Sources at the Department of Examination speaking to Ceylon Today, noted that all extra classes conducted by teachers and other educators, including private tuition classes, will be prohibited as it will have a negative effect on the upcoming GCE Ordinary Level Examination.

Issuing a press communiqué, Examinations Commissioner General W.M.N.J. Pushpakumara said the order will be in place till the conclusion of the examination.

Accordingly tuition classes, conferences, lectures, the printing and distribution of past papers and the display of banners and posters will also be prohibited.

More than 700,000 students will sit the Ord. Level Examination that commences on 6 December, next Tuesday at 5,600 examination centres.

Lanka IOC hikes fuel prices

Lanka IOC announced an increase in the prices of XTRA PREMIUM Euro 3 and XTRA MILE by Rs. 2 per litre, today. Lanka IOC cites high customs duty as reaspn for the Rs.2 price hike. 

Other prices remain unchanged.

Mathews is Dialog Cricketer of the Year

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews won the Dialog Cricketer of the Year 2015 at the Dialog Cricket Awards 2016 held at Waters Edge, Battaramulla last night, while retired cricketer Tillakaratne Dilshan was voted the Dialog People’s Player of the Year polling as many as 493,126 votes through sms and web voting.

Mathews also bagged two other awards in a glittering ceremony graced by Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera and Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram who was the chief guest – the All-rounder of the Year for both Test and One-Day Internationals.

The awards which featured the performances of Sri Lanka’s cricketers for 2015 saw Dilshan and fast bowler Lasith Malinga bag two awards apiece.

Dilshan also won the T20 Batsman of the Year while Malinga picked up the Bowler of the Year award for both categories ODI and T20.

Wasim who played in 19 Tests and 59 ODIs against Sri Lanka between 1985 and 2002 recalled many memories of the matches between the two countries since his first visit to the country with Imran Khan’s Pakistan side in 1985.

“We had many major battles on and off the field, but lots of them off the field. Sri Lanka is a memorable place for me. It’s a ‘Heaven on Earth’ and we call it the Pearl Island,” said Wasim.

“What I like about the country is the positive energy that generates from the people. Everyone in Sri Lanka is happy and with a smile on their face. When I walk on the road I feel safe and it’s like my second home. People smile and say hello and some want to take selfies,” he said.

Wasim said his love for the country has made him an unofficial ambassador of Sri Lanka and wherever he went he always told people that Sri Lanka was one country they should not miss visiting.

Speaking of the country’s cricket Wasim said, “Sri Lanka played cricket in the real spirit. They are quite calm but deadly.”

Wasim praised the school system in Sri Lanka and said that it was “an unmatchable school cricket structure” that has helped the country produce so many great cricketers like Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga, Chaminda Vaas, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muthiah Muralitharan.

Wasim thanked Sri Lanka Cricket president Thilanga Sumathipala for inviting him to the awards presentation and said, “I am always available for Sri Lanka Cricket in any capacity. Pakistan and Sri Lanka are brotherly countries and one should help each other.”

Dialog Cricket Awards 2016 @ Waters Edge - Sri Lanka.

Dialog Cricket Awards 2016 – Award Winners 
Cricketer of the Year 2015 –  Angelo Mathews
Dialog People’s Player of the Year – T.M Dilshan
Future Cricketer of the Year – Kusal Mendis
Test Batsman of the Year 2015 – Dinesh Chandimal
Test Bowler of the Year 2015 – Rangana Herath
Test All Rounder of the Year 2015 – Angelo Mathews
ODI Batsman of the Year 2015 – Kumar Sangakkara
ODI Bowler of the Year 2015 – Lasith Malinga
ODI All Rounder of the Year 2015 – Angelo Mathews
T20I Batsman of the Year 2015 – T.M.Dilshan
T20I Bowler of the Year 2015 – Lasith Malinga
ODI Batsman of the Year 2015 (Womens) – Chamari Atapattu
ODI Bowler of the Year 2015 (Womens) – Inoka Ranaweera
ODI All rounder of the year 2015 (Womens) – Shashikala Siriwardena
International Commentator of the Year – Russel Arnolrd
International Journalist of the Year – Rex Clementine
International Umpire of the Year – Ruchira Palliyaguru

Mangala Samaraweera On Gotabhaya

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told parliament Wednesday that former defence secretary’s son had illegally occupied a house rented for a consulate in Los Angeles and caused millions of rupees in losses to the state.

The minister said the then defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s only son Daminda Manoj Rajapaksa occupied the rented premises even after the fall of his uncle Mahinda Rajapaksa at the January 2015 presidential election.

“This house had been rented even after our government came to power, but when we got to know about it in July 2015 we stopped it,” the minister said during the committee stage discussion on the votes of his ministry.

He said Sri Lankan tax paye 27.69 million rupees for 21 months.rs had to bear the cost of Daminda Rajapaksa’s water, electricity, gas, cable TV and telephone bills in addition to rent which amounted to 27.69 million rupees for 21 months.

The younger Rajapaksa had no official position with the Sri Lankan foreign ministry, but he had also been provided with two Sri Lankan soldiers for his security.

The opposition JVP wanted the minister to recover the payments from officials who had authorised the payments and Samaraweera said an investigation was underway in to the abuse of state resources during the final years of the Rajapaksa regime.

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, a lieutenant colonel in the army, secured a discharge from the military in 1991 and lived in Los Angeles and obtained US citizenship. However, he returned in 2005 for his brother’s presidential election campaign and went onto become one of the most feared defence secretaries.

“White-vanned” became a verb during his tenure because a large number of people were kidnapped in ubiquitous white painted vans and in most cases the victims were killed for being either political rivals or suspected Tamil rebels or their supporters. He is also accused of orchestrating the killing of prominent anti-establishment editor Lasantha Wickramatunga, a charge he has publicly denied.

He currently faces charges of causing a loss of 11.4 billion rupees to the state by illegally allowing a private company to operate floating armouries. He also faces allegations of siphoning off millions of dollars from a controversial MiG aircraft purchase deal.

The world’s oldest woman celebrates her 117th birthday

Emma Morano, the world’s oldest living person, has celebrated her 117th birthday.

Ms Morano, born on November 29, 1899, was raised in the Italian city of Vercelli but moved to the northern town of Verbania soon after, where she has lived ever since.

According to the BBC, Morano, who celebrated her 117th birthday on Tuesday, credits her longevity to her genetics and diet; her mother lived to 91 and many of her sisters lived to see 100.

Morano’s daily diet included eating three eggs — two of which were raw, on the recommendation of a doctor after a case of anemia — every day since she was a teenager; now, she’s reduced it to only two eggs and few biscuits.

Ms Morano took in the festivities for her milestone celebration sitting in an armchair in her one-room apartment, joined by her two elderly nieces, a pair of caregivers and her long-time physician.

She happily accepted some gifts, including her favourite cookies, which she ate with some milk.

Then she blew out the candles on her cake — not one for every year, but three numerals to show her age, 117 — and quipped, “I hope I don’t have to cut it!”.

Committee appointed to probe heart-patient deaths

The Health Ministry has appointed a three-member committee to look into the deaths of four patients who died after undergoing heart surgeries at Colombo National Hospital, Health Ministry sources said.

The committee, appointed under the directions of Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, will be headed by Health Services Director of Dr. Palitha Mahipala, and will consist Dr. Lakshmi C. Somathunga, Dr. Kamal Jayasinghe and Rohana De Silva.

Six persons underwent heart surgeries at the Colombo National Hospital and four of them died within two days - only two have survived.

Cyclonic storm ‘Nada’ edges towards Jaffna

The cyclonic storm ‘Nada’, currently located 400km east of Mullativu is expected to move Northwestward closer to Jaffna peninsula, with wind speed up to 70-80kmph.

People have been warned to be cautious of possible high tides of up to 3m along the Mannar - Kankasanthurai - Trincomalee - Batticaloa coast.

The Meteorological Department earlier today warned of a deep depression in the southwest Bay of Bengal, likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm during next 12hrs.

The storm, named ‘Nada’ is likely cross the North Tamil Nadu coast on midnight on December 1, the Met. Department said.

It said very strong winds and heavy showers can be expected in the Northern, Eastern and North-central provinces of Sri Lanka as a result of the storm, until December 2.