Nov 27 (DM) Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna’s three-day visit to Sri Lanka seems to have drawn plenty of media interest since the day the news on his visit was first published a month ago. It is interesting to note that his visit has been scheduled at a time the Sri Lankan leaders are preparing to welcome Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari who will also arrive in the Island today-- coinciding with Krishna’s visit-- on a four-day official visit. more..

Nov 27 (DBS) Sri Lankan defence authorities moved quickly last week to target the self-styled new leader of the LTTE who is operating in Europe under the nom de guerre Vinayakam. A team of Police and intelligence officials sought and obtained on November 24th, a warrant for the arrest of Sekarapillai Vinayakamoorthy alias Vinayakam from the Chief Magistrates Courts in Colombo. more..

Nov 27 (Island) The government boasts that it has not divested any public ventures under President Mahinda Rajapaksa's stewardship. It says it has taken over some of the institutions privatised under his immediate predecessor. It deserves praise for its patriotic policy. But, it should share the credit for this achievement with those who facilitated the reacquisition of the public enterprises that had gone for a song. The government would not have been in a position to reacquire the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation but more..

Nov 27 (DM) Medicine began as a sacred science of healing immortalized by stories like the parable of the Good Samaritan where a man put aside his self-interest or conveniences and took a major risk in going to the rescue of a dying enemy. Gradually this science of healing and healthcare turned into a profession with structures like medical colleges and institutes of post graduate medicine. Tragically today in most parts of the world and more..

Nov 27 (CI) Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, has said the plan was to bowl around the wicket to Chris Gayle and use the bouncer as a surprise delivery rather than allowing him to expect it. The ploy worked when the West Indies triple-century maker from the first test was dismissed for 30 on the third day of the second test on Thursday. "That short ball was an excellent delivery; great line and length. more..

Nov 27 (LG) "This is a place where freaks get together to say and discuss anything under the sun, the moon and the stars. The faint-hearted or who suffer from high temper and anxiety may not join. Other categories not encouraged are those whose sense of political correctness doesn't usually allow them to be at peace with themselves. At a time when authoritarian regimes have found national and international partners and have learnt to control the mind, more..

Nov 27 (LG) Yasmine Gooneratne wrote the poem ‘Yasodhara’ on a different theme. But the last stanza above perhaps reflects the mind and mood of many Yasodharas of our country at this time. Rizana Nafeek languishes in a death row in Saudi Arabia betrayed by life and hoping, like millions around the world, that she will be allowed to return home to her family and friends in the impoverished village of Mutur. And within our own country, there are thousands of women, more..

Nov 27 (LBO) India is giving Sri Lanka a 200 million US dollar soft loan to help its cash-strapped power utility proceed with a joint venture 500 MegaWatt power plant on island's east coast, a statement said. India is also offering financial support for the equity contribution of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to set up the joint venture with India's National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for the coal power plant at Sampur, more..

Nov 27 (DM) Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told Parliament yesterday that Parliamentarians from both sides of the divide should attempt to move away from the traditional attempts to criticize and hail the annual budget and try to make it a more meaningful exercise. “The budget should not be confined to a piece of paper which should be criticized on the one hand and hailed on the other, but should be converted into something beneficial for the people,” he said. more..

Nov 27 (TN) Jaffna peninsula is experiencing persisting rains since Wednesday and the most affected are the families from Vanni resettled in low-lying areas lodged in tin sheds and tarpaulin covered huts, sources in Jaffna said. The uprooted families who had lived in temporary makeshift structures in the camps suffer the same life even after being resettled. Jaffna Fort, Kurunakar, Pommaive’li and Kaakkaitheevu in Jaffna town are some of the places where more..

Nov 27 (AN) A Cabinet minister from Sri Lanka said he would visit Riyadh shortly to seek a pardon from the parents of the four-month old infant that Rizana Nafeek was found guilty of murdering by a Saudi court. Nafeek has been sentenced to death. “I am planning to come to the Kingdom to personally make an appeal to the father of deceased infant, Naif Jiziyan Khalaf Al-Otaibi, to pardon the convicted maid on humanitarian grounds,” more..

Nov 27 (Island) We need a new treaty to formalize our relations with India. It was President Kumaratunga who captured the essence of our relations when she made the following statement: "India is our immediate neighbour, with whom we have been inextricably by ties the origins of which have long been lost in the mist of time. We have with India the broadest and deepest interaction that we as a nation could have with another state. India therefore possesses the capacity, more..

Nov 27 (TC) National development is not merely about the economy but the economy is central. It entails economic, social, political, cultural and even moral aspects. The contribution of the North and the East during the last three decades or so was hampered in all these spheres by the separatist and the terrorist war. It is necessary to emphasize not only the terrorist character of the war but also the separatist aspect. One cannot be separated from the other. more..

Nov 27 (MoD) A joint Army, Navy and Air Force exercise code-named 'Cormorant Strike' is being carried out in Silawatura, Mannar at present. Around 2,500 Security Forces personnel are taking part in the exercise. In addition 40 naval and aircraft including the Shakthi naval vessel, Kfir aircraft, MI 24 helicopters, Y12 and MI 17 participated in the Cormorant Strike. Security forces personnel from the commando regiment and Special Forces directly are involved in ground battle. more..

Nov 27 (Island) The government has planned to hold a five -day exhibition in schools of the Eastern province next year, The Eastern Provincial Council said. Chairman of the EPC H.M.M. Faiz said that the exhibition named ‘Towards Unity of the Nation’ will be held from February 28 to March 04 in four schools, Kinniya Central College, Al-Aqsa College, Al-Hijra Girls’ MV and Abdul Majeed Vidyalaya. "The end of the war last year was a golden opportunity to develop the province and more..

Nov 27 (Island) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has asked for a daily report on the attendance of government Ministers and MPs during the budget debate. The President has called for this report following information he had received that there was lack of presence of MPs to participate in the budget debates, parliamentary sources said. The President has ordered that all Ministers should be present in the House while the debate on the budget is progress. more..

Nov 27 (Island) The UNP yesterday alleged that the government was making an unprecedented move to deny Provincial Councils its revenue sources in contravention of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. The PCs could collapse if the government went ahead with its plan to restrict their funding sources to motor vehicle licence fees, the UNP said. UNP WPC A. J. M. Muzammil on Thursday told The Island that budget proposals had revealed a proposal, more..

Nov 27 (DN) Construction, Engineering Services Housing and Common Amenities Minister Wimal Weerawansa said yesterday that the extent of land in the Colombo district occupied by unauthorized houses is 2,165 acres. The Minister in a document tabled in response to a question raised by UPFA Parliamentarian Thilanga Sumathipala noted that there were 83,237 unauthorized and low facility houses in the Colombo district. more..

Nov 27 (DM) Peoples Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) yesterday called on the people to get on the voters list which was due to be finalized next week. PAFFREL Director, Rohana Hettiarachchi said that according to the Elections Department voter registration has been completed to a great extent in most parts of the country. However he said that the registration process has been extended till the first week of December for those still being resettled. more..

Nov 27 (GDN) Relatives of a Bahrain-based author on trial in Colombo for blasphemy are praying that she will finally be released today. Sarah Malanie Perera has been in custody for eight months after being arrested in Sri Lanka for the publication of a book, which described her conversion from Buddhism to Islam. The 38-year-old's trial is set to resume at the Colombo Magistrate Court. "I am hoping she will be released as she is not a criminal and more..

Nov 27 (Hindu) Bilateral defence and economic cooperation is expected to figure prominently during the talks between Sri Lankan leaders and the Pakistan President, Mr Asif Ali Zardari, who is set to arrive here on his maiden visit to the country. Mr Zardari, who will pay a four-day visit to the island nation beginning on Saturday, will become the first head of state to call on the Sri Lankan President, Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa, after he assumed duties for his second six-year term. more..

Nov 27 (DM) A 106-year-old unopened safe has been found in an old building at the Colombo National Hospital (CNH) premises during a cleaning up operation. The safe was found when Minister Maithripala Sirisena was at the CNH to commission the Lithotripter machine that is used to crush stones formed in kidneys. “Minister Sirisena was monitoring the clearing operations and the shifting of the dermatology section to a new building from the 106-year-old building more..

Nov 27 (DN) Foreign currency traded by non banking companies in 2009 showed a US $ 208.8 million increase compared to 2008, Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said in Parliament yesterday. Foreign currency worth US$ 397 million was traded in 2009, where as this amount was US$ 188.8 million in 2008. The Minister said that benefits such as expansion of formal and legal channels to remit earnings of Sri Lankan employees into the country, more..

Nov 27 (DM) Officials of four foreign financial institutions are reported to have left the country after having duped Sri Lankan depositors of Rs.1.9 billion, the UNP said. UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake raised this matter in parliament during question time and urged the government to investigate this massive fraud. He said these financial institutions which were only authorized to carry out currency exchange operations had accepted deposits from several people who were expecting quick returns more..

Nov 27 (SLN) Sri Lanka Navy Ship Samudura rescued a critically injured crew member of a multi-day fishing trawler in the Northern deep seas 212 nautical miles off Point Pedro on 25th November 2010. The multi-day fishing trawler named “Gihan Putha 01” had left Trincomalee fishing harbour on 28th October 2010 with 06 crew members onboard for deep sea fishing. One of the fishing crew had got himself injured seriously on 21nd November while in Northern deep seas. more..

Nov 27 (DM) UNP MP Ruwan Wijewardene yesterday asked whether the SLFP-led alliance had moved away from its traditional left-of-centre policies. Mr. Wijewardene told parliament during the budget debate the ruling UPFA, comprising the SLFP, the MEP and leftist parties, was known to have socialist ideas. However he said it was evident from the 2011 budget that this left-of-centre parties had catered to the needs of the Colombo based business community and more..

Nov 27 (DN) The Kalyaniwansa Chapter of the Amarapura Maha Sangha Sabha yesterday honoured President Mahinda Rajapaksa with the Sri Lanka Dharaneeshwara Kalyani title in recognition of his exceptional service in steering the country towards victory over terrorism. The presentation of the honorary title was held at the 200th year celebration of the Sri Kalyaniwansa chapter at Temple Trees yesterday. Over 1,000 erudite monks led by the Mahanayake of more..

Nov 27 (Island) Retired Chief Inspector Dale Gunaratne says Sri Lanka Law College (SLLC) has declined to enroll him as a law student, though he had passed the law entrance examination 2011. The 45-year-old Gunaratne says he was rejected on the basis of being overage and told to move the judiciary against the SLLC if he wanted to. The ex-CI said that the SLLC had acted arbitrarily by denying a successful candidate an opportunity to join the college. more..

Nov 27 (Hindu) President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday met representatives of various Tamil parties, barring the TNA, to discuss aspects of a “post-conflict reconciliation”. The President's Secretariat described it as a landmark meeting with members of the Tamil Parties' Forum (TPF), an umbrella organisation of Tamil parties outside the TNA. “The meeting was significant in that those present comprised Tamil politicians who had strongly opposite views in dealing with more..

Nov 27 (IANS) Sri Lanka is not doing enough to win the hearts and minds of Tamils and achieve genuine ethnic harmony following the end of the war, says an Indian activist after visiting the island nation. 'It is an uphill journey. But the authorities are refusing to make even a beginning,' Sarvjeet Singh of the New Delhi Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) told IANS after returning from an October-November inter-faith conference in Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 27 (DM) The list of nominees to the seven Independent Commissions has been finalized and sent to the Parliamentary Council for its observations. The Presidential Secretariat has finalized the nominations to the Independent Commissions and the list will be sent to the Parliamentary Council for its observations as required by the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. This will pave the way for the Independent Commissions to be activated by mid December, more..

Nov 27 (DM) Article 35 of the Constitution provides for the impunity of President from suit and the impunity is a shield for the ruler not for his/her acts, Counsel Romesh de Silva PC appearing for the former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka in his Writ applicationchallenging the 2nd Court Martial yesterday contended before the Court of Appeal. The Writ application of former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka challenging his conviction more..

Nov 27 (DM) Sri Lanka’s New Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith will be given a grand welcome when he arrives at the Bandaranaike International Airport at 8.15 am today a week after Pope Benedict elevated him to the rank of a Prince of the Church. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith will be welcomed at the airport by bishops, high-ranking priests of the Colombo Archdiocese, rectors of colleges and seminaries, politicians and members of his immediate family before more..

Nov 27 (Island) Visiting Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said here today that the cessation of hostilities in Sri Lanka in May last year provided "a historic opportunity" to address all outstanding issues related to the rehabilitation of the IDPs as well as "a political settlement in a spirit of understanding and accommodation." Krishna expressed the hope that "a structured dialogue mechanism" to work towards this end will be launched soon. more..

Nov 27 (DN) The Colombo city will be developed according to a systematic plan. The city beautification process will be carried out simultaneously, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said. "Colombo will be a slum free city," he said at a panel discussion. "Colombo has the major administration facility. The strategy to develop Colombo is important. We have identified certain areas for this purpose where rapid development will take place," more..

Nov 27 (DN) India will actively support Sri Lanka in the 2600th Sambuddha Jayanthi celebrations to be held in 2011, Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said when he called on Prime Minister D M Jayaratne at the Prime Minister's office yesterday. India will provide facilities for the exposition of Kapilawastu Relics in Sri Lanka. A Buddha Statue in commemoration of the 2600 anniversary will be constructed at Saranath by the Indian Government, he said. more..

Nov 27 (CI) Sri Lanka mopped up the remaining five West Indies wickets in less than two hours on the final afternoon at the Premadasa Stadium, but not before a composed half-century from Carlton Baugh took the visitors well past the follow-on target, thereby removing any chance of a result in the rain-ridden second Test. West Indies resumed their first innings on 165 for 5 after rain washed out five consecutive sessions of play more..

Nov 27 (BBC) Around the world, Sri Lanka's diaspora Tamils are meeting to mark Maveerar Naal (Heroes' Day) and remember those who died during the failed insurgency. But back in the Indian Ocean island nation, many Tamils are either too scared of official retribution, or too apathetic to mark the second 27 November commemoration since the rebels' defeat last year. The Sri Lankan government has meanwhile been busy destroying the war graves and more..

Nov 27 (Island) Sri Lanka has obtained a total sum of Rs. 4,347,500 million as loans from local and foreign sources during the first seven months of this year, a document tabled by Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said. From January to July this year the government had obtained loans amounting to Rs. 2,544,200 million from local sources and a sum of Rs. 1,803,300 million from the foreign sources, the document tabled in response to more..

Nov 27 (Hindu) External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka, said on Friday India hoped for the creation of a ‘structured dialogue mechanism' to work out a political solution to the ethnic conflict in the island nation. He said the end of the armed conflict in May last provided a historic opportunity for addressing all outstanding issues and moving towards a political settlement in the spirit of understanding and mutual accommodation. more..

Nov 28 (LG) Knife crime among the Tamil youth in the West where they were given refugee status is the end product of relegating a whole generation of children and youth to take up arms in the face of rising discontent over the marginalisation and polarization of Tamils. This entire generation grew up with no proper education due to being uprooted umpteen times fleeing for their dear lives. This may be trivia but they also never tasted ice-cream like other children did more..

Nov 28 (LG) Piyadasa resides in Mithurugama Rd, Malaboda, Dodangoda. He is a 57 years old businessman. He is married with seven children. On 15.10.2010 around 5.30 a.m. in the morning two policemen attached to the Matugama police station came to his house and asked him to accompany them. They told him to get into the trishaw in which they came. He got into the trishaw, because he was afraid of the police. There were four people in the trishaw including the driver of it. more..

Nov 28 (TC) The late Mr. Lalith Athulathmudali was best known in the public domain as a great politician, a skillful orator and a pragmatic leader. One thing known only to those who had close interactions with him is the unique ability he had in dealing with people. The skill and competence he had to work with people, is what is now called ‘emotional intelligence’ by the human resource experts. more..

Nov 28 (TC) If the Address to the Nation by President Mahinda Rajapaksa last Friday gave a strong message on the need for national unity, and common cause across ethnic divides in the tasks of development, what preceded his swearing in was a clear demonstration of this commitment to unity through the most moving symbol of language. It was seen in the proclamations and announcements read out in Sinhala, Tamil and English by the Secretary to the President more..

Nov 28 (TC) Marx once said that "in all ideology"... "men and their circumstances appear upside down as in a camera obscura". Professor Charles P. Sarvan thinks that the Sinhalese are fascists or pro-fascist. Writing in a Colombo paper last Sunday (‘The Sinhalese: Blasé!’ Nov 21st, 2010), and earlier in a British publication called Confluence last May, Sarvan explicitly attempts to portray the Sinhala people as similar to the Germans who supported Nazism. more..

Nov 28 (Cimic) Commander Security Forces-Jaffna Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe was awarded the prestigious Gusi International Peace Award 2010 in a majestic ceremony held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Manila on 24th Nov 2010. Eighteen others from various countries who were selected out of thousands of nominees also received the Gusi International Peace Award during the same ceremony attended by a galaxy of more..

Nov 28 (SO) Colombo is fast turning out to be an eco-friendly city, compared to most other cities in the region. A few years ago, people even in their wildest dreams would never have visualised that Colombo would soon turn out to be such a clean and green city. In the recent past, no emphasis whatsoever was given to town planning. Consequently, there was heavy traffic congestion, air pollution and mountains of garbage in Colombo and the suburbs. more..

Nov 28 (LB) Sometimes it is easy to forget that there was an almost three decade-long protracted war in this country. It is particularly easy to forget this at a time of some obviously great promise in the department of economy and nation-building for instance. Some may not agree that the economy is showing unprecedented potential, but they too would have to consider what happened — quite hilariously - when a German government Ministerial delegation met some of the front and centre mandarins of the UNP for instance. more..

Nov 28 (TC) Your Excellency, We wish to thank Your Excellency for the opportunity afforded to us to meet with you despite your tight schedule. We, the Tamil political parties have come to an understanding and constituted a common forum to strive for a permanent political solution to the ethnic problem and also to work towards solving the immediate issues faced by the Tamil people. more..

Nov 28 (NS) If one were to summarise the first budget of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second administration, an appropriate title would be ‘great expectations and hard times’. This Budget, hot on the heels of the President’s swearing for a second term, unveiled a series of economic measures designed to kick-start the economy, to propel it onto a development trajectory. If the general public anticipated the President who is also the Minister of Finance to play Santa Claus and more..