The Sri Lankan government does not fall into the Chinese trap.

Exclusive - Sri Lanka rejects Chinese request for local fuel sales

            This is a citation of the Reuters report.

China does not, deal honestly with any country in the world.

They are not as honest as the Western nations.

And their culture does not match ours.

Today, the Chinese economy is strong.

Under such conditions, they are trying to consolidate their influence in small countries around the region.

Sri Lanka has also been confined to China.

It is important that the present government understands this situation.

 Sri Lanka has blocked a proposal by Chinese firms bidding to build the island’s biggest oil refinery to sell fuel locally, fearing a threat to domestic firms that dominate the small but growing market.

The veto is the latest in a tussle over Chinese investments in Hambantota, a southern town near an important shipping route, where China controls the sea port and plans an industrial zone for Chinese firms and a $3 billion (2.26 billion pounds) refinery with annual output of around 5 million tonnes.

The world's fastest man had released footage showing the incredible power of the engine.

Footage has been released showing the incredible power of the fastest car in the world ahead of a 1,000mph speed record bid.

The Bloodhound supersonic car arrived at Cornwall Airport Newquay in September ahead of its maiden tests later this month.

The ultimate aim with the extraordinary machine will be to crack the unprecedented 1,000mph mark, breaking the land speed record in the process.

The man who will be tasked with reaching these extraordinary speeds is Wing Commander Andy Green, the current land speed record holder.

The former RAF pilot hit 763mph from behind the controls of Thrust SSC on October 26, 1997, exactly 20 years before the Bloodhound’s first speed test.

Engineers unloaded the Bloodhound from a truck inside a cold-war-era hangar at the airport’s Aerohub Enterprise Zone on September 25, ahead of a month of trials.

Giant python attacks Indonesian man.

A giant python attacked an Indonesian man, nearly severing his arm, before hungry villagers chopped up the reptile and ate it, a police chief said Wednesday.

Security guard Robert Nababan crossed paths with the giant creature while patrolling an oil palm plantation in the remote Batang Gansal subdistrict of Sumatra island on Saturday.

"The python was 7.8 metres long (25.6 feet), it was unbelievably huge," local police chief Sutarja, who like many Indonesians only has one name, .

Sutarja said the 37-year-old Nababan, who sometimes liked to eat snake, tried to catch the giant python and stuff it in a gunny sack.

The 40 years of the open economy have not been good for the country.

Sri Lankans who is suffering from the guilt of the leaders who do not have a correct vision.
                                        Article by the Hindu newspaper B Skanthakumar.

Before Sri Lanka ushers in new economic reforms, it must take a hard look at the story so far

The Sri Lankan government recently released its ‘Vision 2025’ manifesto, heralding a new wave of economic reforms. Its timing coincided with the 40th anniversary of the island’s embrace of deregulation, trade liberalization, and privatization ahead of the rest of South Asia. While the current government seeks to revive neoliberal momentum, there is no assessment of the legacy of liberalisation even on narrow economic benchmarks.

Modest growth

Growth in gross domestic product has been modest. It averaged 4.8% between 1978 and 2009 compared to 3.5% between 1971 and 1976. Some of the initial expansion was from massive inflows of grants and soft loans, as Western donors and multilateral agencies rushed to reward a regime hailing the virtues of high growth, foreign investment, and free market capitalism.

2019 green card visa lottery open for Sri Lankans.

The U.S. Embassy in Colombo is pleased to announce the start of the 2019 Diversity Visa Lottery Program, also known as the “Green Card” Lottery.  The program will be open for online registration from October 3, 2017 to November 7, 2017.  The Diversity Visa Lottery allows randomly selected applicants the opportunity to interview for an immigrant visa and become legal permanent residents of the United States.  The program is the “2019” lottery because applicants enter in 2017, interview in 2018, and—if selected and approved—receive Green Cards in 2019.

A few items to keep in mind:

• The lottery application entry period is open from October 3, 2017 to November 7, 2017;
• The lottery is open to those born in qualifying countries – both Sri Lanka and Maldives qualify;
• Applicants may only apply once; multiple entries will result in disqualification;
• Applicants must meet all qualifications for the Diversity Visa Lottery;
• Applicants should keep the application confirmation number received after applying;
• There is no cost to register for the Diversity Visa Lottery.  Beware of scams, of persons or companies making claims of affiliation with the U.S. Government, and of those who promise improved odds of selection.  No third party assistance is needed to complete and submit an application.

Please go to U.S. Embassy Colombo’s website at https://lk.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/diversity-visa/ to find out more about the program, including qualification requirements and detailed instructions on how to apply in Sinhala, Tamil, and English.  The only way to apply is online at www.dvlottery.state.gov.

The consequences of the American gunfire culture

In the wake of one of the worst massacres  in modern American history, our government's highest leaders will be silent about why things like this keep happening. "Warmest condolences" will be tweeted to families of those who lost their lives, minutes of mourning will pass and murmurs of mental health issues and lone-wolf actors will taper into silence. Taming homegrown terror and tightening gun control will be dismissed as inappropriate or unnecessary politicizing of a tragedy and quickly become secondary to more pressing issues on the administration's agenda. America has been here before.

In fact, America has been here 273 times in 2017 alone, according to the Gun violence Archive , which compiles deaths and injuries from shooting incidents and defines a mass shooting as any

incident where four or more people are wounded or killed. According to their tally, there have also been 11,698 deaths as a result of gun violence so far this year. Between 2001 and 2014, 440,095 deaths  by firearms occurred on US soil, while deaths by terrorism during those years numbered 3,412. Today, America faces approximately one mass shooting day  on average.

Mass shootings are a violent epidemic that have been met with fatal passivity for far too long. If mass shootings were perpetrated mostly by brown bodies, this would quickly be re framed and reformed as an immigration issue. If thousands died at the hands of black men, it would be used to excuse police brutality, minimize the Black Lives Matter movement and exacerbate the "raging black man" stereotype. If mass shooters identified as Muslim, it would quickly become terrorism and catalyze defense and security expenditures.

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) will open the SEA-ME-WE 5 undersea cable system’s full landing station in Matara.

Landing this international cable at Matara will be a key milestone as well as a landmark for the telecom industry of Sri Lanka as well as the whole country.

This is a globe joint venture which is costing US 35 million and involving 14 other countries. The investment from Sri Lanka Telecom towards this joint venture would be Rs. 7 billion. 

 several other regional countries wanted this landing station installed in their countries but due to professional approach by Sri Lanka Telecom and most importantly the location of Sri Lanka helped to secure this project for Sri Lanka.

The SEA-ME-WE 5 submarine cable system, spanning around 20,000 km, will offer a POP to POP solution from Singapore, all the way to Europe via France and Italy.

 In addition to getting foreign exchange by providing services the project when fully loaded, the system would be able to carry 24 terabits per second; the equivalent of transmitting around 4,800 high-definition movies every second.

“This global project will have a positive impact on the overall growth of the country’s economy as high speed broadband environment will encourage higher GDP, enhanced exports, increased productivity, inward migration and modernizing of other sectors.”

What do you know about Nobel prices?

  From 1901 till thisyear, Nobelprizes have beenawarded 579 times to 911 Laureates and organisations withthe youngest winnerbeing 2014 Peace Prize awardee Malala Yousafzaiof Pakistan at 17 years.

By winning the Peace Nobel at this tender age along with India’s Kailash Satyarthi, Ms. Yousafzai beat the previous record of Lawrence Bragg, who won the Physics Nobel in 1915 at the age of 25.

The word “Laureate” signifies the laurel wreath awarded to winners of athletic competitions and poetic meets in Ancient Greece. In Greek mythology, god Apollo is represented wearing on his head a laurel wreath, a circular crown made of branches and leaves of the bay laurel.

The statutes of the Nobel Foundation say, “If none of the works under consideration is found to be of the importance indicated in the first paragraph, the prize money shall be reserved until the following year.”

“If, even then, the prize cannot be awarded, the amount shall be added to the Foundation’s restricted funds.”

On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes in Physics,Chemistry ,Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace.

Special places to visit Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is a small island in the Indian Ocean.

In one era of history, this country was called Ceylon.

Tea, coconut, rubber related crops are the main source of income in this country. Today's tourism industry is a special place

Mainly Sinhalese live there.

In addition, a minority Tamil community also lives.

Muslims are living in the present because of the Arabs attending Sinhalese and Tamils in the Muslim religion.

It is a written history dating back to 2500 years built on the basis of the rich Buddhist nature of the eastern cultural heritage of the Indian Empire

In the recent 500 years, the Portuguese, Dutch and English invaders have western cultures and Catholicism.

Information and evidence of other human beings who lived before 28000 years ago have been found.

A tourist paradise,  Sri  Lankan, in a beautiful hollow area and beautiful seaside.

People who live here are well-educated and sociable.

The majority of people are able to handle the English language well.

The following are the 10 places you should visit by a traveler

     Benthota

Is a spectacular, beautiful coastal strip. Any traveler has the freedom to make the most of his freedom.

The world's largest uncut diamond sold for $ 53 million.

British jeweler Gaff said Tuesday it has purchased the world's largest uncut diamond -- roughly the size of a tennis ball -- for $53 million (44.5 million euros).

Canadian miner Lucara Diamond sold to Graft the 1,109-carat gem, the Lesedi La Rona, which was found in Botswana's Karowe mine in late 2015.

The Lesedi La Rona, the world's largest rough diamond, is 1,109 carats and was found in Botswana's Karowe mine in late 2015.

We are thrilled and honored to become the new custodians of this incredible diamond," said company chairman, Laurence Graft, in a statement.

"The stone will tell us its story, it will dictate how it wants to be cut, and we will take the utmost care to respect its exceptional properties."

Lucara confirmed the hefty price tag in a statement issued in Vancouver.

"The discovery of the Lesedi La Rona was a company defining event for Lucara," said William Lamb, president and chief executive of Lucara.

"It solidified the amazing potential and rareness of the diamonds recovered at the Karowe mine."

The rough diamond had previously failed to meet its reserve price of more than $70 million at a Southey's auction in 2016.

Graff is already the owner of a 373-carat diamond, which was bought earlier this year and formed part of the original stone.

Lesedi La Rona means "our light" in Botswana's Tswana language. It could be cut into smaller gems for jewelry or left whole in a private collection.

Diamond Quality Factors

One of the first things most people learn about diamonds is that not all diamonds are created equal. In fact, every diamond is unique. Diamonds come in many sizes, shapes, colors, and with various internal characteristics.

All polished diamonds are valuable. That value is based on a combination of factors. Rarity is one of those factors. Diamonds with certain qualities are more rare—and more valuable—than diamonds that lack them. 

         Jewelry professionals use a systematic way to evaluate and discuss these factors. Otherwise, there would be no way to compare one diamond to another. And there would be no way to evaluate and discuss the qualities of an individual diamond. Diamond professionals use the grading system developed by GIA in the 1950 s, which established the use of four important factors to describe and classify diamonds: Clarity, Color, Cut, and Carat Weight.

Russia: confirmed to be dead IS leader, Release a soundtrack.

Islamic State militants have released what appears to be an audio recording of their leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

A speaker who sounds like the IS leader seems to refer to recent North Korean threats against Japan and the US.

He also talks of battles for IS strongholds like Mosul, which was regained by Iraqi forces in July.

The last time he appeared was to preach at the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul after IS overran the city and a "caliphate" was proclaimed.

The 46-minute recording was posted by a website with links to the group and is the first such speech to appear since November.

As well as Mosul, the speaker refers to battles in Raqqa and Hama in Syria, and Sirte in Libya, saying the bloodshed would not be in vain. He also talks of Russian-brokered peace talks on Syria. Much of the tape consists of religious references.