Giving a new twist to the recent political events, Digital Infrastructure Minister Harin Fernando said that a conspiracy could be underway to topple the national government of good governance.

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Speaking to BBC, Fernando said that some politicians have started to blame all alleged wrongdoings of the government to the UNP, while taking the credit for all good things done by the government.

Referring to a recent comment by Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, Fernando said that people like de Silva received ministerial portfolios due to the formation of a national government. Fernando asked as to how de Silva could remain in a government he was steadfastly criticizing.

De Silva had recently said that there was no 'good governance' in government and certain politicians were deceiving people in the name of good governance.

Meanwhile, Fernando added that there could be a systematic attempt to discredit the government using the Avant Garde controversy.

Despite everything, he still has faith in President Maithripala Sirisena, Fernando said.

National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa today said that he would contest the forthcoming Local Government Elections together with former JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe.

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Addressing a media briefing in Colombo, Weerawansa also said that they were planning to contest for LG elections along with the 10 parties of the United People's Freedom alliance (UPFA).

This would mean that Amarasinghe is now a member of the 'united opposition' which supports former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Weerawansa broke away from the JVP in 2008, when Amarasinghe was its leader. He held the post of Propaganda Secretary of the party for more than a decade. He later found the National Freedom Front.

Amarasinghe became the leader of JVP after its second insurrection collapsed in 1989. He resigned from JVP on April 16 this year, claiming that the party was intentionally delaying the process of building socialism in the country. He later established a new party named Janatha Sewaka Party.

However, Amarasinghe was known as a severe critic of Weerawansa from 2008. He continued to criticize Weerawansa even after breaking away from the JVP.

Interestingly, Amarasinghe recently said that he would even join Weerawansa to fight against the UNHRC Resolution on Sri Lanka which was recently passed at the UNHRC in Geneva.

The investigative mechanism proposed by UNHRC resolution is a 'national challenge' and it should be defeated at any cost, he asserted, giving the possibility of an alliance with Weerawansa.

A mysterious chunk of space debris will hit Earth off the coast of Sri Lanka on November 13, Russian TV Channel RT said. The report also said that the scientists have no clear idea what it is, other than that it is likely artificial in origin. It has been dubbed as the object WT1190F.

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“It’s a lost piece of space history that’s come back to haunt us,” Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told Nature.

Detected by the Catalina Sky Survey, an observation lab at the University of Tucson, the alleged piece of space debris initially puzzled observers. But astronomers then went back through the lab’s past images from telescopes, and noticed that it had been present at least since 2012.

From then on they calculated the orbit of the object, which has been circling the Earth at a longer orbit than the Moon, and deduced that the piece of cosmic refuse was likely placed there by man.

“To fit the solar radiation pressure effects on its orbit you need to assume a high area-to-mass ratio – implying the thing is hollow, like an empty rocket stage would be,” McDowell told Popular Mechanics.

“So it has the right size and properties, and it is in an orbit which would be surprising for a natural object (whizzing around the Earth-Moon system) but where we know there are a bunch of pieces of space junk.”

Astrophysicists believe that the object could even be a memento of the Apollo missions that took US astronauts to the moon. But scientists may never discover for sure: WT1190F’s re-entry into the atmosphere would likely burn up most of the debris, before dumping it in an extremely remote spot, RT said in its report.

“It's coming in fast and will get very hot – it’s possible a few dense parts of say a rocket engine will survive to impact the ocean,” said McDowell of its potential disintegration, before warning that he “would not necessarily want to be going fishing directly underneath it.”

But scientists are also using the arrival of WT1190F to simulate a different situation – that of an asteroid or a large projectile hurtling towards Earth. Alerts will be raised, and multiple labs will track the debris in real-time, though there will be no need to warn the military, or send Bruce Willis into space.

“What we planned to do seems to work. But it’s still three weeks to go,” Gerhard Drolshagen, who manages the European Space Agency’s near-Earth objects office, told Nature.

Although this is the first instance of a piece of space debris being tracked as it returns to Earth, WT1190F is not a one-off. Among all recognized space junk, there are 86 unknown objects crossing the lunar orbit, mostly lunar probes, or parts of rockets.

There are also dozens of others floating uncontrollably in outer space, of which McDowell says about 20 are being observed from Earth. These will likely outlast most objects on Earth, and would possibly be the first harbinger of our civilization to be witnessed by any other species in our universe.

(RT)

Speaking at the Parliament a short while ago, Deputy Minister Ajith P. Perera claimed that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa supports the government on the UNHRC Resolution, generating surprised applause from the government side of the House.

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Perera recalled that the former President, who is a UPFA MP from Kurunegala District, had requested for a 15 minute speech in Parliament today.

However, MP Dallas Alahapperuma said in Parliament that Rajapaksa will not take part in the debate, Perera pointed out.

Rajapaksa avoided committing himself in the debate, since he supports the government in the UNHRC Resolution issue, Perera claimed.

If it was not the case, Rajapaksa still has around three hours to attend the Parliamentary debate and speak against the resolution, Perera also said.

There is a huge scope for collaboration between India and Sri Lanka in the area of real estate, town planning and infrastructure development, Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka said on the sidelines of a formal interaction with the business community after assuming office for the second time.

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The island nation already has Indian companies like Ansal Housing, SMS property developer who have invested in housing and civil construction projects.

“There is demand for construction services, especially town planning. Sri Lanka will be building housing units (65,000) in five districts and India can capitalise on this,” Krishnamoorthy also said.

The 65,000 housing units will be built in the districts of Jaffna, Killinochchi, Mannar, Mullaithivu and Vavuniya in the Northern Province and in the districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara in the Eastern province.

“These houses are built to resettle the families who were displaced, due to internal conflict,” Mr. Vadivel said.

Apart from real estate, India and Sri Lanka would be inking a deal on the IT front.

More details on this would be revealed post the budget session in Sri Lanka.

Vadivel Krishnamoorthy said that there are talks between both countries in the IT space but refused to divulge further details.

The Deputy High Commissioner said promoting trade between the two countries would be his priority during his second innings here.

“Although the two countries have encountered certain impediments or irritants in regard to the maintenance of smooth commercial engagements, we should not let these impediments become major issues, which may hamper the concerted efforts towards the more consolidation of commercial and economic relations.  Both countries should not lose their sight of the overall and the mutual benefits that will accrue to our countries, simply because these peripheral irritants,” he added.

(The Hindu)

Former Minister Rosy Senanayake filed an Election Petition with the Supreme Court, requesting the court to order a recount of Colombo District Preferential Votes at the August 17 General Election.

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Senanayake has named several respondents including the Elections Commissioner in her petition.

Senanayake came 12th in the UNP preferential list in Colombo District. Only 11 UNP candidates entered the Parliament.

The case was fixed to be resumed on November 30.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe discussed bilateral cooperation with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe when they met on the sidelines of the Science and Technological Forum in Kyoto, Japan.

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The Japanese PM also met with several other leaders who are taking part in the event.

Wickremesinghe also addressed the Forum.

He will later leave for Tokyo where he will be meeting with Japanese government officials and also address the Japan Parliament.

Wickremesinghe is also expected to meet the Japanese Emperor during his visit.

Deputy Minister Ajith P. Perera stated that no foreign judges will taking decisions on cases related to accountability under the mechanism to investigate alleged war crimes, proposed by the US-backed resolution tabled at the UNHRC.

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Taking part in the political talk show 'Rathu Ira' on Swarnavahini last night, Perera said that foreign experts will support the mechanism but will not hear the cases.

Perera argued that Sri Lanka will set up a Truth Commission different from the Commission is South Africa. Certain serious matters will not be heard in the Truth Commission, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Parliament is still to pass key legislation on hearing such accountability matters, Perera said.

Meanwhile, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila argued that foreign judges could be appointed to the Tribunals as there was no constitutional provision against it. Sri Lankans have also served in the judiciaries of foreign countries, he pointed out.

Pope Francis has strongly condemned the craving for material gains and power, telling world leaders gathered at the United Nations that greed is destroying the Earth's resources and aggravating poverty.

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"A selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged," he said in a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday. 

The leader of the world's more than one billion Roman Catholics also appealed for world peace, while issuing his latest plea for the protection of both Muslims and Christians persecuted by armed groups in Syria and Iraq.

The 78-year-old South American pontiff also condemned global drug trafficking, which he said also leads to money laundering and human trafficking.

Francis was welcomed on Friday to the UN headquarters on New York's East River by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and dozens of waving children.

Prior to his speech, the pope held a brief meeting with the UN chief and addressed an estimated 350 staff of the world body. He also paid tribute to UN workers who died in the line of duty.

Francis was the fifth pope to visit the global body.

Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from the United Nations, said that while the pope did not offer specific policy statements, his stand on poverty and inequality mirrored the issues the world body wanted to solve. 

Francis, who has built a wide global following for his reform-minded views, is on a visit to the United States and earlier enjoyed a rousing reception in the capital Washington DC.

His agenda on Friday reflects both his global stature and his "of-the-people" approach, while taking him from the solemnity of ground zero to the struggles of East Harlem.

It also includes a meeting with schoolchildren and immigrants, and a mass for thousands at the Madison Square Garden arena.

In his speech in Washington DC on Thursday, Francis had earlier exhorted wealthy countries to "open doors" to migrants and refugees seeking better lives.

Also on Thursday, following his arrival in New York, Francis also offered prayers to the more than 700 Muslim pilgrims who died during the Hajj in Saudi Arabia.   

Francis wraps up his US visit this weekend in Philadelphia, where he speaks in front of Independence Hall and celebrates Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to close out a big Catholic families rally.

(Al Jazeera)

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that Sri Lanka extects to set up a domestic mechanism to investigate the alleged war crimes during the country's civil war by January next year.

Speaking at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry, Samaraweera said that the government was confident of obtaining international support for a domestic inquiry. He also hoped that the process could be completed in 18 months.

Samaraweera said that international experts could play a role in technical and advisory capacities in this domestic mechanism.

The Foreign Minister blamed the previous government of Mahinda Rajapaksa for tarnishing the credibility of the judiciary.

The Office of the High Commission of Human Rights Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) report, which was released yesterday in Geneva, recommended a hybrid mechanism, involving domestic and international participation.

However, the United States, which had pushed for the March 2014 resolution at the UNHRC against Sri Lanka, recently said that it was supportive of a domestic mechanism.