Nov 12 (DBS) Oct 30th nocturnal attack on senior French tiger leader Parithy in Paris is a symptom of a malady currently afflicting Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora politics. Overseas structures of the LTTE are currently experiencing a power struggle between leading stalwarts of the movement. The Paris attack on Parithy was due to this factional fratricide. Parithy and two of his aides came out of the Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC) office in Paris more..

Nov 12 (TC) Norwegian peace efforts in Sri Lanka have been the subject of heated debate and controversy, ever since they became public in Dec 1999. This debate has spawned many different stories about Norway’s involvement in Sri Lanka, some of them very critical. The evaluation entitled “Pawns of Peace”, which is presented in Oslo today, attempts to provide a systematic and comprehensive overview of Norway’s role as a mediator, as well as a ceasefire more..

Nov 12 (Island) "You took away all the oceans and all the room. You gave me my shoe-size in earth with bars around it. Where did it get you? Nowhere. You left me my lips, and they shape words, even in silence. Osip Mandelstam (1891-1938) was one of Russia’s leading poets. In 1934, he was arrested and exiled for three years, first to a small town in the Urals, and then to the provincial town of Veronezh, where he wrote the above poem. In 1938, he was charged again and more..

Nov 12 (FT) Pelwatte Sugar Industries Plc said yesterday that it was awaiting instructions on the way forward from Secretary to the Treasury following the Parliament passing the Revival of Underperforming Enterprises and Underutilised Assets on Wednesday. “At this moment we are unable to comment on the implications on the ruling as we await instructions by the Secretary to the Treasury,” Pelwatte Sugar Industries Plc said more..

Nov 12 (FT) With reference to Daily FT’s story yesterday titled “BOI website removes reference to ‘No FDI nationalisation,’” a BOI spokesman clarified that the website change had nothing to do with the passing of the Revival Bill. The revamp of information on the BOI website had been under construction for six months and the content was updated and rewritten much earlier than the bill was discussed. The updated and rewritten information was uploaded on Poya Day. more..

Nov 12 (FT) The 17th SAARC summit ended on Friday with the adoption of a 20-point ‘Addu Declaration’ to forge effective cooperation among the member states in a host of areas including economy, connectivity, climate change and food security. The Addu Declaration was adopted at the concluding session in presence of all heads of government and states of the eight member countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 12 (GV) In the lead up to the release of the report by Sri Lanka’s LLRC, strong concerns have been publicly raised about the value of a process that aims to build a clear picture of the conflict, without fully including or representing those who were most directly affected. This has led to important questions regarding who has been heard, how their concerns have been addressed, and whether they will feature fully in a final report and more..

Nov 12 (Island) Challenging the present govt is a task UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe may not be equal to. Nor does he seem to make an effort to do so. But, he is quite adept at neutralising threats to his party leadership. An anglophile, he seems to have adopted the divide-and-rule policy of the British to tackle intraparty dissent. When he scented an emergent threat in Sajith Premadasa's rising popularity among the party's rank and file, he craftily brought more..

Nov 12 (DN) 332 persons belonging to 81 families in the Kotabakma Grama Niladari Division in the Haldummulla Divisional Secretariat Division, were evacuated to Miriyabedda Tamil Central College following a landslide threat on Thursday, Badulla District Disaster Management Coordinating Unit Assistant Director Udaya Kumara said. He said that the Badulla DMC in coordination with the District Secretariat and Grama Niladari officer is supplying cooked food to these families. more..

Nov 12 (Island) UNP MP Praba Ganeshan, who crossed over to the govt ranks after the April 2010 general election, has said that economic development and infrastructure projects alone would not satisfy the political aspirations of the Tamils in the North and Eastern Provinces as well as other Tamils of Indian origin and that the only way to tackle the issue was by devolving power to the provinces. Ganeshan made the comment at a discussion held on Wednesday (9) with more..

Nov 12 (DN) The Australian government yesterday announced a Rs 334 million grant to support a new partnership between the Education Ministry and UNICEF to provide Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities to over 250 remote schools. Schools that do not have access to water, latrines, wash basins and hygiene education will benefit through this project. "Over 65,000 children will benefit from this funding. It will help improve learning outcomes, and increase attendance more..

Nov 12 (Island) A fly was discovered yesterday in a phial of Cloxacillin in the Surgical Unit of the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital. The manufacturer’s name was not recognisable either. The Cloxacillin used by the Health Ministry was produced in India. The phial was sent to the National Drug Regulatory Authority. Health Ministry sources said a high level probe would be conducted and appropriate action taken against the supplier concerned. There have been several instances where drugs supplied by foreign companies were found contaminated.

Nov 12 (DM) Local universities are facing a brain drain and will not be able to achieve the govt’s goal of turning Sri Lanka into a South Asian knowledge hub as the academic staff has not received their wage increments promised by the govt, the Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA) said today. FUTA spokesman Mahin Mendis said only 25 per cent of the academic staff in local universities were doctoral degree holders and that if more..

Nov 12 (BBC) Two circus owners have been charged with causing unnecessary suffering to an elephant. Action was originally brought by Animal Defenders International (ADI) which investigated the elephant's welfare at Bobby Roberts' circus in Peterborough. The Crown Prosecution Service said it had now taken over the prosecution of husband and wife Bobby and Moira Roberts, who run the circus. The elephant, Anne, was later moved to Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire. more..

Nov 12 (Island) The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) alleges that the Ministry of Health does not have a data bank, though a request was made by the GMOA way back in 2007. Assistant Secretary of the GMOA Dr. Upul Gunasekera said that they had requested computerisation of data. For that purpose, 16 doctors specialising in bio-informatics related to Medical services had been released to the ministry for a short period and they were to return to more..

Nov 12 (Island) US Defence Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Southeast Asia Robert Scher is due in Colombo over the weekend to participate at the Galle Dialogue 2011, a two-day maritime conference to discuss ways and means of enhancing cooperation among the global community. The confab, ‘Challenges and Strategic Cooperation for Indian Ocean Maritime Concerns’ will commence at the Light House Hotel, Galle on Monday (Nov. 14). more..

Nov 12 (DM) The Prisons Department said women could also apply for the two hangman vacancies existing in the department. A prison’s official said that women were allowed to apply for the position as it was a statuary right. “The main criteria for the positions are mental and physical fitness while other requirements are secondary,” the official said. Those who held the positions earlier had often studied only up to Grade 8 and were paid a minimum of Rs.13,000, the official said. more..

Nov 12 (DH) Bankers’ Institute of Rural Development (BIRD) Mangalore, a Training Establishment of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has organised exposure visits for the Senior Executives of various Banks on Micro Finance activities in Sri Lanka in collaboration with SANASA Development Bank, Colombo from November 13 to 19. A press release said that SANASA Development Bank had in the past sent teams of its officers to BIRD, Mangalore, for exposure to more..

Nov 12 (Reuters) Sri Lanka urged the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to look into ways of bringing the event to emerging nations after Hambantota lost out to Australia's Gold Coast in the bidding for the 2018 Games. The CGF opted for Gold Coast by a 43-27 margin over the Sri Lankan city, its only rival, in a vote held in St Kitts and Nevis on Friday. Sri Lanka's bid, which focused on a theme of rebuilding the country after more than 25 years of civil war, more..

Nov 12 (Island) Five undergraduates of the Kelaniya University were produced before Colombo Additional Magistrate yesterday, over Thursday’s clash between two factions of a Science Faculty. They were remanded till Nov 17. The Magistrate allowed an application to allow the suspects to sit for their exam to be held on Monday and ordered any requests in this regard to be directed to the Commissioner of Prisons. The suspects in this case are Tivanka Somachandra, Dilruk Prasanna, more..

Nov 12 (AT) The new Sri Lanka’s Ambassador for Sweden Oshadhi Alahapperuma has extended an invitation to King of Sweden to make an official visit to Sri Lanka as the country has already returned to normalcy. “When the King mentioned that he still remembers his visit to Sri Lanka in 1966 as a Cadet Officer, I made a request to His Majesty the King to visit Sri Lanka once again as the country has returned to normalcy, stated Oshadhi Alahapperuma, more..

Nov 12 (DM) Amidst speculation over the alleged involvement of certain politicians in drug trafficking, the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board revealed that Sri Lanka is being used as a hub by drug traffickers to smuggle drugs to Europe from India and Pakistan. The Board, in its annual report, said drug traffickers used Colombo and Male as transit points in this case. According to them, heroin seized during the past five years, a heroin variety called more..

Nov 12 (Island) Retired senior DIG Merril Gunaratne yesterday said that the deterioration of the once proud police service began in 1977 with the change of administration. Gunaratne, a former Director General of Intelligence asserted that it wouldn’t be fair to blame those at the helm in the service today for the pathetic showing of officers and men without pointing out the failure on the part of former top cops to face up to political pressure. more..

Nov 12 (Island) One of the chief suspects in the killing of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra and four others, - Wewe Priyantha or Thappara Katta, has been abducted by a gang of unidentified persons while he was in hiding at Diyabeduma, Minneriya. The suspect, who is also known by the name of Galabada, has been involved in a series of cases in relation to murders, thefts and extortions. He has been abducted along with another unidentified person who was also in his company. more..

Nov 12 (Island) United Media Forum (UMF) has condemned the government of Sri Lanka for banning and blocking seven web sites, restricting the freedom of expression and public’s right to information. The blocked web sites without forewarning include Sri Lanka Mirror, Gossip 9, Paparazzi, Lanka Guardian and Lankawenews. The sites were blocked by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission on the directives of the Ministry of Mass Media and Information. more..

Nov 12 (Island) The two rival factions of the JVP were trying to bring in family members of the party’s founder leader Rohana Wijeweera for his 22nd commemoration programme scheduled to be held at two places in Colombo tomorrow (13). Wijeweera’s family members live in the Gemunu Naval camp in Welisara under the protection of the Navy. Wijeweera had six children – four daughters and two sons. The eldest daughter who is 30 years old is married and now living in India. more..

Nov 12 (TC) Report evaluating Norwegian peace efforts in Sri Lanka, 1997-2009, commissioned by Norad (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation) and Carried out by: Chr. Michelsen Institute/School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London: This evaluation assesses Norway’s peace efforts in Sri Lanka from 1997 to 2009. It tells the story of Norway’s engagement, assesses the effects and identifies broader implications and lessons. more..

Nov 12 (DM) Sri Lanka’s newest golf course that is to be constructed in Soragune in the Uva Province has caused a major controversy because of claims that the golf course has been planned to be built on a reserved forest land belonging to the Soragune Devale. Badulla District United National Party (UNP) MP Harin Fernando told a news conference yesterday that the 623 acre land had been sold to a hotel owner in Bali in violation of the Buddhist Temporalities Act. more..

Nov 12 (Island) Principal of the Kodikamam Karanakuri College in Jaffna, Subramanium Dayabaran (45) has been hacked to death inside his house in Jaffna. The body of the slain principal has been found by the Jaffna Police only on Wednesday night. The assassination had taken place on the upper floor of a two storey house the principal owned near Kandamadu railway station in Jaffna. Investigations have revealed that his wife had been living in a house in Kodikamam area and more..

Nov 12 (AP) Australia’s Gold Coast will host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, winning the vote Friday as delegates opted for its ready-made facilities ahead of the ambitious development plans of the Sri Lankan city of Hambantota. The 70 members of the Commonwealth Games Federation meeting in this Caribbean nation voted 43-27 to award the 21st edition of the games to Australia for the fifth time, denying Sri Lanka’s hopes of hosting its first. more..

Nov 12 (Island) The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) had received more than 7,000 complaints of child abuse since it established a telephone hotline, NCPA Deputy Chairman Nanda Indrawansa said. Indrawansa said anyone could use the hotline number to report incidents of child abuse. Most of the complaints had been received on the hotline. The system was set up to screen cases, he said. Most of the complaints related to children being sexually abused or more..

Nov 12 (Island) The cash strapped Mahinda Rajapaksa regime bulldozed the Revival of Underperforming Enterprises and Underutilised Assests Bill through parliament, because it was desperately searching for an initial sum of Rs.400 million required for basic infrastructure development in Hambantota, if it were to stand any chance of hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games, UNP MP Harin Fernando said. He said that profitable private enterprises were being grabbed through more..

Nov 12 (PRIU) The human smuggling operation poses a significant threat, because it allows trained terrorist cadres to enter other nations while disguised as civilians or refugees and it is vitally important that all maritime nations realize the threats they face from the sea, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said. "Transnational crimes, whether human smuggling, piracy, drug trafficking, terrorism or the smuggling of more..

Nov 12 (Island) Trade unions at the Postal Ministry demanding the removal of the Post Master General through protests but the Sri Lanka Administrative Service Association says it will resort to trade union action in case of the PMG’s removal. Postmaster General M. K. B. Dissayanake yesterday said that anyone could accuse anybody but the charges had to be proved. "To date, nobody has come out with charges against me," more..

Nov 12 (TOI) Two persons were arrested late on Thursday night when they attempted to smuggle about 20kg of gold from Sri Lanka. In another incident, a 45-year-old woman was taken into custody by the Trichy customs officials on Friday while trying to smuggle 1.2kg of gold bars, also from Sri Lanka. The two cases of attempted gold smuggling from Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu have prompted the customs officials to review security along the coastline in more..

Nov 12 (IL) The 17th SAARC Heads of State Summit concluded on a high note this evening on 11 November in the Addu city in Maldives after four agreements were signed to further strengthen and improve the cooperation of the SAARC region. The newly appointed Chairman of SAARC, President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed welcomed the heads of state and presided over the final ceremony of the summit. more..

Nov 12 (AP) Sri Lankans are dealing with the disappointment of losing the vote to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, amid concerns it is a lost chance to develop sport in the island nation. The southern city of Hambantota was defeated by Australia's Gold Coast in Friday's polling, with members of the Commonwealth Games Federation on Friday voting 43-27 in Australia's favour. more..

Nov 12 (DM) Police could not record a statement from UPFA MP Duminda Silva, who was injured in the October 8 Mulleriyawa shooting incident, because he was lying unconscious in hospital,” the government told parliament yesterday. House Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva said Mr. Silva was rushed to the intensive care unit of the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital and was warded there till November 1. more..

Nov 12 (DM) The govt yesterday sought Rs. 28 million from parliament as additional expenses for senior ministers. Supplementary estimates of Rs. 16 million and Rs. 12 million were presented to parliament separately by Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardene for the office of senior ministers for salaries and allowances, vehicle maintenance and foreign travel. more..