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Sri Lanka Cricket will hold its long-overdue elections on December 27, the country’s sports ministry announced on Tuesday. Harsha Abeykoon, a ministry spokesman, said that a period of two weeks will be given for candidates to submit their nominations starting November 25.
“The Sports Minister has appointed Director-General Sports Development Ranjani Jayakody to conduct the elections [...]

Ajantha Mendis has been included in Sri Lanka’s 16-man Test squad for the tour of South Africa in December ahead of the offspinner Suraj Randiv. There was no place for the experienced batsman Thilan Samaraweera, who continues to be ignored after having been axed for the Pakistan series as well.
The squad also includes fast bowler [...]

A special lounge named as ‘Silk Route’ was declared open at the Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake today(22), under the auspices of Minister Priyankara Jayaratne.  It has been set up by the Airport and Aviation Services Limited together with Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel. The main objective of opening the lounge is to provide more ease in access for the travellers who are visiting [...]

Customs Air Parcel Processing Division at the Airport will be open on Saturdays as well, Director General of Customs Sudarama Karunaratne said.
(JNW)

Rs.500 million have been allocated to buy 5 new Air Buses and to modify the Sri Lankan airline fleet, Minister of Civil Aviation Services Priyankara Jayaratne said.
(JNW)

The National Performing Arts Theatre constructed at the Nomands Ground in Colombo 07, will be open to public from January 2012, Minister of Cultural Affairs T.B. Ekanayake said. 
Construction of the Theatre began in May 2008 and the total cost of the project was Rs. 3,080 million. Forty percent of the total cost of the project was provided by the Chinese [...]

Speaker of the House Chamal Rajapakse has said that there will be an inquiry regarding the incident which occured in the parliament during the budget yesterday(21).
(JNW)

Egypt’s cabinet has offered to resign after three days of mass protests against the military rulers. Cabinet spokesman Mohammed Hegazy said the resignation had not yet been accepted by the military council.
Thousands of protesters remained in Tahrir Square overnight on Monday after a call for further mass demonstrations to take place on Tuesday.
More than 20 [...]

Chamara Silva, a middle-order batsman, has joined Sri Lanka’s squad in the UAE as back up for Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene, who are both injured.  
 While the extent of Dilshan’s niggle is not known, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) already announced that Jayawardene will not be considered for selection for the Twenty20 international against Pakistan in [...]

Government employees and Security Force personnel are to recieve a salary hike of 10% of their basic salary next year, the President said while presenting the proposals of the budget for the next year.
(JNW)

Tax on registration of luxury vehicles is to be increased in next year, President Mahinda Rajapakse said while presenting the 2012 budget proposals to the parliament today(21).
(JNW)

MPs of the United National Party have walked out from the parliament chambers while the President was presenting the 2012 budget.
(JNW)

Rs.100,000 is to be given to each child born into the family of a policemen from year 2012, President Mahinda Rajapakse disclosed while presenting the budget proposals for the year 2012 to the parliament.
(JNW)

Postal Trade Unions have called off their strike from 12 noon today(21), after the discussions with the Minister of Postal Services Jeewan Kumaratunga. Around 2,200,000 letters and registered mail had been piled up at the Colombo Central Postal Exchange as a result of the trade union action, representative of the Postal Trade Unions Association D.M. Hettiarachchi [...]

A special cabinet meeting has been convened by President Mahinda Rajapakse today(21) to discuss several matters with regard to the budget for the next year. The President’s Media Unit  decisions with regard to several other matters including the wages of public servants, encouraging local production and the transportation sector will be reached at this special [...]

Nomination date for Sri Lanka Cricket elections will be announced next week, Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage said. Elections are to be held by the end of December, he disclosed.
(JNW)

For the second time in five days, a game was won and lost in the batting Powerplay. This time, however, Sri Lanka were at the receiving end as they fluffed the phase, picking up just 19 for the loss of two huge wickets, leaving their tail needing 72 off the last 10 overs. In conditions [...]

Pakistani skipper Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss for the first time in the series, giving his team an opportunity to bat first in Dubai. Both the previous games followed similar templates in the first 25 overs of play, with Sri Lanka’s top order struggling to force the pace. They never recovered in the first game, but [...]

Sarath Fonseka was found guilty and sentenced to 3 years in prison and a five thousand rupees fine was imposed after the verdict of the case regarding the ‘White Flag’ case was given today by the Colombo High Court.

The three member bench of Judges consisting Deepali Wijesundera, W.T.M.P.B. Warawewa and M.Z. Razeen has [...]

Newly-appointed Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is due to outline austerity measures aimed at steering the country out of its debt crisis.
He will present his plans to the Italian senate ahead of a confidence vote in the upper house.
Mr Monti, who has unveiled a cabinet of technocrats, has revealed little about his plans, but they [...]

Darren Bravo‘s resolute century, which left him with statistics identical to Brian Lara’s at the end of 12 Tests, wasn’t enough to deny India an innings win. Bravo, Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul made India work hard on the fourth day, and took West Indies to their highest score following on. India preferred to wait [...]

Competant authorities will be appointed to the 37 institutions that were reaquired by the government, in the next few days, Cabinett Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said. He disclosed this while addressing the weekly cabinet briefing held in Colombo today(17).
(JNW)

It has been revealed that every four hours a person dies due to road accidents in Sri Lanka, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Health Dr. Palitha Mahipala said. Furthermore, around 2000 persons die each year from the road accidents as well, he added.
(JNW)

The euro zone looks for some respite Wednesday, with Italy due to unveil a technocrat-led cabinet and a new Greek coalition expected to win a confidence vote, as Europe battles to prevent its debt woes from dragging down the world economy.
Former EU commissioner Mario Monti is set to inform Italy’s president that he has assembled [...]

Those who apply for National Identity Cards through one day service will be provided with the card within 2 hours from January, Commissioner of the Department of Registration of Persons Jagath P. Wijeweera said. He disclosed at a media briefing held in Colombo today(16).
(JNW)

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan today gave birth to a girl in a hospital in suburban Andheri here. She was admitted to the Seven Hills Hospital on Monday night.
“IT’S A GIRL!!!!!! :—))))),” husband Abhishek Bachchan wrote on social networking site twitter. The baby is the couple’s first child.
“I AM DADA to the cutest baby girl!! [...]

Smart and electronic card system for paying toll to be introduced for the Southern Expressway within a year, the Road Development Authority said. In addition 20 CCTV cameras will also be set up.  
Maximum speed limit for vehicles travelling in the expressway will 100 kmph. Drivers of the vehicles who violate the rule will be fined, an official [...]

Sri Lanka Cricket Interim Committee has been dissolved, Ministry of Sports said. Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage has appointed Secretary to the Ministry Udaya Seneviratne as the competent authority of the Sri Lanka Cricket. Elections to appoint new office bearers will be held within one month.
(JNW)

Eye hospital is to send birthday greetings to those who get treated, Ministry of Health said. It has been taken as a step to encourage annual eye testings, it added.
(JNW)

The ICC Test Championship will not be held before 2017, Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said. The tournament was initially scheduled for 2013, but it cannot be conducted before 2017 due to the ICC’s commitments to its broadcaster and sponsors.  
 ”I am afraid that [the Test championship] is no longer going to happen in [...]

The ICC’s latest fiddle with the rules was primarily responsible for the intrigue in Dubai, where the tale of two batting Powerplays decided the course of the second ODI; Sri Lanka stole 48 off theirs, to poke a slumbering innings to life and propel a surge that yielded 136 runs off their last 20 overs. [...]

The private bus operators have called off the bus strike that was scheduled to be carried out from midnight tonight(14). They reached this decision at a discussion held with Minister C.B. Ratnayake today.
A revision of private bus fares will not take place at present, the minister said. A fuel subsidy could also not be granted [...]

Singer Sri Lanka has organized an International Trade Exhibition and Fair. It will be held at the BMICH premises from November 18 to 20. The event has been organized to mark the 160th anniversary of the company.
“All the products of the Singer will be available under one roof at this event”, its Marketing Director Kumar Samarasinghe said. “It [...]

The government has been notified on the discovery of the 2nd natural gas well by Cairn Lanka Limited over the weekend, the Government Information Department said. It is believed that the well spans acorss an area of 4067 to 4206 meters in a range of 24 meters, it added.
(JNW)

Emirates airline placed a blockbuster order for 50 Boeing 777 jetliners at the Dubai Air Show on Sunday, underscoring the confidence brimming among fast-growing Gulf airlines despite growing fears of stalling global growth.
The Dubai government-owned carrier, expanding its role as the world’s largest operator of Boeing’s most profitable plane, said the deal was worth $18 billion, [...]

The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia Robert Scher is to speak at the “Galle Dialogue 2011″ today (14) to present U.S. perspectives on security in the Indian Ocean, the U. S. Embassy in Colombo said in a statement.
Scher will speak on “Importance of Common Strategies for Global and Regional Maritime Security” [...]

With every passing match, the stock of Pakistani captain Misbah-ul-Haq continues to rise. A dysfunctional board, the loss of world-class fast bowlers to the spot-fixing crisis, a fall-out between captain and coach earlier in the year leading to the brief retirement of the talismanic Shahid Afridi – none of that has stopped Misbah from steering [...]

A ship with 1000 cars arrived at Colombo harbour to be released from the customs before the budget, Director General of Customs Sudharma Karunaratne said. It is the fourth ship that arrived this week, she added.
(JNW)

Leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Somawansa Amarasinghe has said, the doors are still open for those who left the party. However, he added the party will not pardon those who mislead the members of the JVP.  Somawansa Amarasinghe stated this while addressing the ceremony held at Viharamahadevi open air theatre this evening (13) to commemorate the founder [...]

Private bus owners are to take their buses off the roads from midnight on November 14 protesting the losses suffered after fuel price hike, Chairman of Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association Gemunu Wijeratne said.
All private bus owners suffer a loss of Rs.600/- per day from short distance travels and a loss of Rs.1200/- per day [...]

Online VISA fee to Sri Lanka has been revised as US $ 10 for SAARC countries and US $ 20 for other countries, Department of Government Information said. This will come into effect from 2012, it added.
(JNW)

Kumar Sangakkara has replaced Jacques Kallis at the top of the ICC’s rankings for Test batsmen, following his strong showing against Pakistan in the UAE. On the bowling front, Dale Steyn extended his lead at the top, while a lethal spell with the ball against South Africa has catapulted Shane Watson into the top ten.
Kallis, [...]

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has congratulated Australia for winning the bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He has expressed the belief that the Sri Lankan sports personnel will bring honour to the country by showing their talents at the Commonwealth Games that will be held in Gold Coast city of Australia in 2018.  President Rajapakse also said that Sri Lanka [...]

Sri Lanka’s batsmen betrayed a shocking lack of stomach in moderately helpful conditions for the bowlers, to crash to an eight-wicket humbling in the first ODI in Dubai. After losing the toss, Pakistan rolled the years back with a vintage bowling display – their fast bowlers softened the prey, before the allrounders and spinners came [...]

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission is to present its final report to the President on November 20. Over 1000 verbal evidence and 6000 written evidence were submitted to the Commission. The final report of the LLRC will be based on them and the observations as well as the recommendations made by the Commission itself, its spokesman [...]

Director General of Customs requests the public lodge any complaint regarding their activities on 0112471471. So far no complaint has been received.
(JNW)

The 17th South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit will begin at Addu city in Maldives today(10). The summit, themed ‘Building Bridges’ is expected to review the progress in the implementation of the decisions taken in earlier Summits.
Five regional agreements concerning Charter of Democracy, Rapid Response to Natural Disasters, Seed Bank, Multilateral Recognition of [...]

The debate on Reacqusition of Underperforming Enterprises Bill was passed in the parliament with a majority of 76 votes today(9). 122 votes were received in favor of the bill while 46 votes were against it. The UNP, TNA and DNA cast their vote against the bill.
(JNW)

The debate on Reacqusition of Underperforming Enterprises Bill began in the Parliament a short while ago. Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne has explained about the bill to the Parliament.
(JNW)

£ 272 million are to be spent on 2018 Commonwealth Games, if Hambanthota is chosen to host it, Cheif Government Whip Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told the parliament today(9). 75% of it is expected from the private sector, he added. The Minister stated this while responding to a question raised by Parliamentarian Ajith Perera.
(JNW)

President Mahinda Rajapaksa who left the island to take part in the 17th SAARC summit has arrived in Maldives. The President and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa were received by Maldivian President Mohomed Nasheed and First Lady Laila Ali Abdulla on their arrivel at Addu-Gan International Airport in Maldives today(9), the President’s Media Unit said.
The 17th [...]

President Mahinda Rajapaksa left for Maldives this morning (9) to participate in the 17th South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, the President’s Media Unit said.
The two day SAARC summit is beginning on Thursday(10) at Addu City in Maldives.
President Rajapaksa is addressing the Summit on November 10, the first day of the Summit, it added. 
He [...]

A federal judge ordered Sri Lankan born Raj Rajaratnam, the Galleon Group hedge fund founder sentenced to 11 years in prison for insider trading, to pay a record $92.8 million penalty in a related Securities and Exchange Commission civil case.
The penalty imposed by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan is in addition to the [...]

A big asteroid made its closest fly-by of Earth in 200 years on Tuesday, but there was never a chance of a crash landing as it zipped past our planet, NASA said.
Astronomers around the world aimed their telescopes to catch a glimpse of asteroid 2005 YU55, which is about as big as an aircraft carrier [...]

Servicemen arrested in connection with the killing of a doctor at Karandeniya will be punished under military law as well, Military Spokesperson Brigadier Nihal Hapuarachchi said.
(JNW)

Prime Minister D.M.Jayaratne presented the bill to revive underperforming enterprises and underutilized assets to the parliament a short while ago. Speaking at the debate held with regard to the bill, Leader of the House Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva said that the Supreme Court has given a clear decision on the bill and the government is ready [...]

Supreme Court has stated that the bill to revive underperforming enterprises and underutilized assets is subject to the correction of defects and is accordance with the constitution. This was informed to the parliament by the Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody a short while ago.  
(JNW)

The Southern Expressway, which is the first ever expressway in Sri Lanka, will be declared open by President Mahinda Rajapakse on November 27. The total distance of the expressway is 98 kilometers, Chairman of the Road Development Authority R.W.R. Premasiri said. The public will be able to travel from Kottawa to Galle with less than 90 [...]

Michael Jackson’s personal doctor has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the singer’s death following a six-week trial that captivated Jackson fans around the world.
Dr. Conrad Murray, 58, was led away in handcuffs after the Los Angeles jury reached a unanimous verdict. The doctor, who could face up to [...]

Pakistan extended their impressive run in Test cricket since the spot-fixing scandal deprived them of three first-choice players, securing a series win over Sri Lanka on a rare rain-hit day in Sharjah. Sri Lanka batted for four overs before calling an end to their series, setting up a target of 255 runs.

Although Sri Lankans were [...]