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The strike action taken by the private bus operators on Colombo, Avissawella and sub-routes has been called off with immediate effect, the Lanka Private Bus Owners Association stated. Private buses on High Level Road from Avissawella to Colombo and several other sub routes stopped services as a protest over the issuance of route permits earlier today.

Sri Lanka’s first Communications Satellite SupremeSAT – 1 was launched today (November 27) on board China’s Long March 3B/E Launch Vehicle from the Xi-chang Satellite Launch Centre.  SupremeSAT – 1 was launched successfully at 15:43hrs (Sri Lankan time) from the Space Center in China, Vijith Peiris Group CEO of SupremeSAT said. “This is a proud moment for us as citizens of Sri Lanka,” he told Ada Derana. Sri Lanka becomes the 45th country to own a Communication Satellite and becomes the third South Asian country to have launched a satellite after India and Pakistan. The Satellite will be positioned above Sri Lanka in the Geo-Stationary orbit at 87.5 degree east approximately 36000 km above the surface of the earth. Built by Thales Alenia Space of France, SupremeSAT – I will operational for commercial purposes and has a design life of 15 years. Its design is based on SB 4000 series satellite bus which comes under the medium class telecommunications satellite category with its launch

A person was stabbed to death with a sharp object in the Mendis Road, Moratuwa last night.  The body of the deceased, a 38-year-old man, has been placed at the Kalubowila Hospital while the postmortem examination is scheduled for today. Moratuwa Police is conducting further investigations. 

Sri Lanka’s maiden satellite launch has been delayed by five days due to technical difficulties and weather conditions, Space Systems Engineer Rohitha Rajapaksa stated. The Supremesat’s engineers are working with the Chinese engineering team to fix these issues at the moment while he stated that a new launch time will be announced by tomorrow (November 23). Sri Lanka’s maiden satellite was scheduled to be launched today (November 22).

At least two persons have been reported dead while nine others have been hospitalized after inhaling poisonous gas due to a gas leak at the Sapugaskanda oil refinery today. 

British Prime Minister David Cameron is being urged to follow Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s example and threaten to boycott next year’s Commonwealth leaders’ summit in Sri Lanka. The Canadian prime minister’s threat — designed to spur changes in Sri Lanka’s dismal human rights record — is being held up by the British House of Commons’ foreign affairs committee as an example for Cameron to emulate. The committee made the recommendation in its report on the future of the 54-country Commonwealth. Committee chairman Richard Ottaway tells The Canadian Press from London that a boycott could force the Sri Lankan government to properly investigate atrocities committed by its forces. Harper wants Sri Lanka’s government to independently investigate war crimes allegations by its own forces against Tamil rebels and civilians in the dying days of the civil war in 2009. A United Nations report this week offered scathing self-criticism of the world body’s inability t

Public Relations Minister Mervyn Silva stated that the government is willing to not only reduce the price of racing cars but even air planes if it was to promote sports. Speaking to the media, Minister Mervyn Silva stated that the President comes from a sporting family while he and his sons are sportsmen. He added that no one had the right to complain about the budget proposals on tax concessions for racing cars because it was to encourage a sport. Furthermore, the Minister stated that no one can be blamed if the critics cannot afford to buy their sons Lamborghinis and proclaimed that he would buy one for his son if it was for racing purposes. Mervyn Silva went on to claim that he would like to purchase one himself as he also enjoys racing. The Minister finally requested all Sinhalese friends and relatives to produce more children while suggesting that he was undertaking just such a task himself. In view of promoting sporting tourism all vehicles used for racing spo

Galle District Senior Superintendent of Police Vaas Gunawardena has been transferred to Ratnapura District effective immediately, police spokesman said. B.A.D. Padmasiri who served as SSP in charge of Ratnapura District has been transferred to Galle, SSP Prishantha Jayakody said pointing out that the transfers were ordered by IGP N.K. Illangakoon.  The transfers come in the wake of the recent quadruple murders which took place in Galle. 

Sri Lankan security personnel stand outside the  Welikada Prison complex during the riot on Friday. Sri Lanka’s military on Monday defended its soldiers who have been accused of “massacring’ prisoners during a jail riot last week, saying the inmates were heavily armed and posed a danger to the public. The United National Party has accused security forces of “killing in cold blood” after the deaths of 27 inmates in maximum-security Welikada jail in Colombo during a riot on Friday and Saturday morning. “I reject these allegations completely,” military spokesman Ruwan Wanigasooriya told AFP, adding that there was “stiff resistance” from prisoners armed with assault rifles looted from the prison armoury. “Our objective was not to go in and (fire) burst around. If we did not go in, there was a risk of 4,000 convicts escaping and posing a bigger danger,” he added. The army was deployed at the request of the police in line with legal provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, Wanigasoori

A group of UNP representatives led by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe has held special discussions with National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Minister Wimal Weerawansa on the 13th Amendment, sources said.   During the discussions held at the Parliament Complex today, Weerawansa’s group stood firm on the need to abolish the 13th Amendment. The UNP representatives led by Wickramasinghe while not opposing the repeal of the amendment were of the opinion that a different solution was required.   However, the UNP leader had pointed out that a final decision regarding the matter is expected to be reached at the party’s next General Assembly.  

Two inmates who escaped during the Welikada Prison riot on Friday have been arrested by police Minister of Prison Reforms and Rehabilitation Chandrasiri Gajadeera stated. It has been reported that four other inmates who had escaped have returned to the prison, he said adding that there is no avoidance to prove any prisoner had escaped with firearms.  Security personnel are continuing operations to locate 5 weapons stolen by inmates, the Minister said. Meanwhile police says that the lane from Dematagoda to Borella on Baseline Road will remain closed, however the opposite lane has been opened for traffic. Police spokesman SSP Prishantha Jayakody however said that currently the situation in the area is peaceful. Heavily armed troops moved overnight into the maximum security Welikada prison to restore order after hours of gunbattle between inmates and police commandos, the worst prison riot in nearly three decades. A large quantity of weapons were reportedly recovered from prison wards

Fresh from a decisive re-election win, President Barack Obama returns from the campaign trail on Wednesday with little time to savor victory, facing urgent economic and fiscal challenges and a still-divided Congress capable of blocking his every move. Obama defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney on Tuesday night after a grueling presidential race and used his acceptance speech in front of a huge cheering crowd in Chicago to strike a conciliatory note toward his political opponents. But in the cold light of the election's morning-after, it was clear that even though voters have given their stamp of approval for a second Obama term, he could have a hard time translating that into a mandate to push forward with his agenda. Americans chose to stick with a divided government in Washington by leaving the U.S. Congress as it has been since the midterm elections of 2010. Obama's fellow Democrats retain control of the Senate and Republicans keep the majority in the House

A woman has been murdered in the Karambagollewa area in Mahavilachchiya while police found the victim’s body in the garden outside her home this morning (November 7). The victim was a 34 year old woman, police reported. The murder was committed last night police added while stating that no suspects had been identified as yet. Further investigations are being conducted into the incident.

European Union regulators are to end an antitrust probe into e-book prices by accepting an offer by Apple and four publishers to ease price restrictions on Amazon, two sources said on Tuesday. That decision would hand online retailer Amazon a victory in its attempt to sell e-books cheaper than rivals in the fast-growing market publishers hope will boost revenue and increase customer numbers. "Faced with years of court battles and uncertainty I can understand why some of these guys decided to fold their cards and take the whipping," said Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, an ebook publisher and distributor that works with Apple. "It's certainly another win for Amazon," he added. "I have not seen the terms of the final settlement, but my initial reaction is that it places restrictions on what publishers can do, slowing them down just when they need to be more nimble." A spokesman at the EU Commission said its investigation was not yet fi

The four suspects arrested in connection with the quadruple murders in Poddala, Galle last week were ordered released by court today.  The bodies of four youth -shot and killed - were found on Sunday (04) near the Mahasen culvert in Walpitawatta, Poddala with their faces covered and hands and feet bound. Following investigations police arrested four individuals, under suspicion, and were produced at the Baddegama Magistrate’s Court yesterday (05). The court had granted approval for the detention and interrogation of the suspects. Magistrate Mahinda Pinidiya today stated that according to the ‘B Report’ submitted to court by Poddala Police,  the arrested suspects have no connection to the murders.  

Google Inc. said there are about 700,000 applications available for downloading onto mobile devices that run the Android operating system, challenging Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s lead in the race for software tools. That means Google has matched Apple in the number of games, productivity tools and other programs that are usable on handheld electronics, including tablets and smartphones. Apple said last week that its App Store has more than 700,000 apps. By luring software developers to its Android platform, Google is attempting to eliminate a key selling point Apple has used for the iPhone and iPad. Applications have become a battleground as the two companies look for an edge in the $219.1 billion smartphone market, akin to how Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) dominated the personal-computer business by getting other companies to write programs for its Windows operating system. The rivalry extends beyond smartphones. Google today unveiled a tablet with a 10-inch screen and costing $399

Ceylon Petroleum Corp (Ceypetco) will resume operation of Sri Lanka’s sole refinery, a 50,000 barrels-per-day facility, after a 10-day closure, because it has received a cargo of 75,000 tonnes of crude from Dubai, officials said. Sri Lanka’s decades-old refinery is configured to run on Iranian crude and has been scrambling to fill a shortfall after Western sanctions prevented it from bringing in the crude from Iran. The sanctions have hurt its economy by forcing it to spend more to import oil and oil products. The refinery was shut on Oct. 26 after exhausting its supply of mainly Iranian crude oil, and its general manager, Susantha Silva, said it would be shut until the island nation received the Dubai cargo. “We have received a 75,000-metric-tonne crude cargo and everything is arranged to unload,” Silva said in an interview on Monday. “If all goes well, we’ll be able to resume operations from tomorrow.” Silva declined to comment on the origin of the cargo, but an

The most venerable Mahanayakes have requested President Mahinda Rajapaksa to objectively reconsider the necessity of the impeachment motion brought against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. Mahanayakes of the Malwaththe and Asgiriya chapters as well as Mahanayake of the Amarapura Nikaya Most Ven. Dawuldena Gnanissara Thera and Mahanayake of Ramanna Nikaya Ven. Napana Premasiri Thera in a letter have requested the President to act patiently, in a manner that will not tarnish the public’s trust in the independence of the judiciary. The letter states that according to Buddhist teachings it is important to make decisions highlighting justive with emphasis on the country, society and race.

An international conference on Tamils, co-hosted by a British Parliamentary Group, will kick off in London tomorrow during which political leaders would discuss alleged rights violations by Sri Lankan Army in the last phase of the civil war.  Communist Party of India (CPI) National Secretary D Raja and chief of CPI’s Tamil Nadu unit D Pandian will be taking part in the four-day conference in London that is being hosted by All Parliamentary Group for Tamils in collaboration with British Tamils Forum.  The conference, which will see leaders representing Tamil community from across the globe, will call for justice through an international independent mechanism for truth and accountability with regard to the civil war in Sri Lanka.  Raja, who left for London today, will highlight the “callous” attitude of Sri Lankan government in addressing the concerns raised by international community with regard to alleged violations of human rights.  “The United Nations Human Rights Council in Genev

Several areas in the Ampara District are experiencing a power outage since last evening due to a fault in the main power transmission line supplying electricity to Amapara from Badulla. Repairs have already commenced on the transmission line, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) chairman Prof. Wimaladharma Abeywickrama said adding that power supply is expected to return by tonight. It has been reported that the fault had occurred near a conductor connecting a high voltage cable on the transmission line from Passara to Ampara. 

Four bodies were found by police at Poddala-Balagoda Junction in Galle this morning, police spokesman SSP Prishantha Jayakody said. All bodies were found with their faces covered while the hands and feet were bound, Ada Derana reporter said.  Police said that initial inquiries have revealed that the four killings had occurred as a result of a dispute between two groups. The murder of individual, who was hacked to death around two weeks ago, at Dickson Junction in Galle is also connected to this incident, the police spokesman said. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the four victims found dead today are the same persons suspected of being involved in that murder. The four youths were reportedly shot dead near the Mahasen culvert in Walpitawatta, Poddala. Three of the deceased have been identified as Janaka Pushpakumara of Anekapura, Amila Nishantha and Jayasekara Mohottige from Weladeniya. The Police Spokesman further said that two special police teams are currently inve

The Disaster Management Center (DMC) says that around 135,000 families have been displaced in 17 districts due to prevailing inclement weather conditions in the island. Steps have been taken to provide them with necessary facilities through Divisional Secretariats, the DMC said while advising the public to contact the hotline    0112 670 002  regarding any disaster situation. Matara, Galle, Kalutara, Kandy and Kegalle have been the worst affected districts from heavy rain.  Two sluice gates each have been opened in Kotmale and Lakshamana reservoirs while water levels of Wimalasurendra, Castlereigh and Maussakele reservoirs are on the brink of overflowing, according to engineers in charge of the reservoirs. It is reported that 17 medium size reservoirs including Angamuwa in the Anuradhapura District have also neared levels of overflowing. 

An apparent stampede at a public Halloween party in Madrid early on Thursday left three girls dead and two others in critical condition, emergency services in the Spanish capital said. It was not immediately known what caused the crush of people at the party, which featured electronic music and was held at the Madrid Arena in the west of the city. "Two of the girls died there and one died later in hospital," a spokesman said. "There was a human crush at the only exit they had because the others were sealed off," a partygoer identified as Sandra told Cadena Ser radio. The incident recalled a mass panic at the German music festival Love Parade that killed 19 people in July 2010.