June 28 (DM) Former Presidential Adviser Hemakumara Nanayakkara said several govt members were talking to him about forming a new political party. “Several people including govt MPs and supporters will be a part of this alliance. Ardent SLFPers, UNPers and leftists are also set to join this new party,” he said. Mr. Nanayakkara who was a former minister recently resigned from his post of presidential adviser.zz03259844 more..

June 1 (CT) The recent attack led by Buddhist monks on the Khairya Jumma mosque located in the so-called “sacred zone” of the Dambulla rock temple in the central province is important even though it did not develop into a larger scale clash between the Buddhist and Muslim communities of Sri Lanka. The Dambulla Khairya Jummah mosque had been in existence for over 60 years and the mosque trustees have legal documents regarding its construction. On Friday the 20th of April 2012 more..

June 1 (CT) The TNA is in crisis. Not only are internal fissures threatening to tear the coalition of Tamil parties asunder, the question of what the TNA stands for in the post-conflict stage, with regard to questions of statehood and separatism are now back in the fore. The alliance’s main constituent the ITAK held its 14th Convention in Batticaloa last week, at which sentiments were expressed which have hindered rather than helped the cause of the Tamil community that more..

June 1 (CT) The veteran diplomat and former foreign secretary H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, chairing the late H.L.de Silva Memorial Events recently, has asked an important question pertaining to the current state of social development in Sri Lanka: Is it ‘Rule of Law’ or ‘Rule of Men’ that contributes to a society’s wellbeing? Drawing on the ideals of the late H.L.de Silva who had firmly believed that respecting the rule of law a must for more..

June 1 (GV) “When we think of it, we see at once what the confusion of thought was to which the Western poet [i.e. Rudyard Kipling], dwelling upon the difference between East and West, referred when he said, ‘Never the twain shall meet.’ It is true that they are not yet showing any real sign of meeting. But the reason is because the West has not sent out its humanity to meet the man in the East, but only its machine. Therefore the poet’s line has to be changed into something like this: more..

June 1 (GV) I must admit that reading Dr. Dayan Jayatilleke’s (DJ) recent piece, on Groundviews and elsewhere, on Mr. R. Sampathan’s (RS) speech at the ITAK convention, left me very disturbed. In his piece, DJ draws attention to one statement in the speech in particular, which he notes is central to revealing that the RS/ITAK are separatists in disguise. The statement in question reads thus: “To put it more strongly, the international community must realize more..

June 1 (SL) Gen. Fonseka was freed not because President Rajapaksa experienced a sudden democratic-epiphany or embraced the ‘quality of mercy’. The politico-electorally disabling nature of the pardon indicates that it was made grudgingly, and under duress. Already, moves are apace to re-tarnish Gen. Fonseka’s reputation. The morning after he was released, an anonymous and ubiquitous poster warned, ‘The ungrateful-serpent is free; be careful’ more..

June 1 (DM) Mr. Gayantha Karunathilleke the UNP’s Media Spokesman accuses the Govt of not having a programme to develop the country. True that the Govt has proved its failure beyond reasonable doubt that they are a band of blinds who are touching in the dark to hoodwink the people, with no mercy at all for the people who voted them in. They are only concerned with what they can make out of the investment. Statistics that speak of economic growth of 8% are very unrealistic more..

June 1 (DM) Prospects of peace has given the country an opportunity for new economic development, and created potential for the tourist industry, growth sectors like BPO, foreign direct investments. The massive drive for infrastructure development and agriculture gives the idea that the ruling government could have seized the opportunity to become more productive and more competitive in the global economy. more..

June 1 (DM) The eldest daughter of Sarath Fonseka, Apsara Fonseka spoke to the Daily Mirror about the ordeal her family has endured over the past two and a half years and how it had brought them closer together. She also explains her emotions towards those who put her family through a difficult time and her desire to stay far away from politics. Q: Initially you and your sister were not very happy with the fact that your father joined politics, looking back at more..

June 1 (SO) Certain countries in the West, which turned a blind eye when Sri Lanka was making its own battle against LTTE terrorism which killed thousands of innocent people, are now trying to advise on our military strategies. They now try to give us ‘expert military advice’ free leaving room for a possible another terrorist campaign that could once again put the lives of all Sri Lankans in danger. The UK has said that it hopes that the military presence in the more..

June 1 (Island) In Greek mythology, we come across a violent bandit called Procrustes notorious for stretching or lopping off the limbs of his victims to make them fit into the length of his bed. Figuratively speaking, the present-day Sri Lankan bandits, sorry politicians, have adopted Procrustes' method, better known as the 'Procrustean bed'; they whimsically come out with various schemes to enforce conformity and uniformity arbitrarily or even violently. Some months ago Minister Johnston Fernando conceived a brilliant idea more..

June 1 (Island) The Bank of Ceylon, the only bank which was assisting tea exports to Iran amidst the turmoil in relation to US led sanctions, has stopped advising exporters on Letters of Credit from end last week. The Bank of Ceylon has told the tea industry that the bank will exit from the advise on Letters of Credit for their exports. This has been the reason for the low prices seen at the Colombo tea auction this week for the first time, Tea Exporters more..

June 1 (FT) Minister for the Environment Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, speaking yesterday at a seminar entitled, ‘Emerging Issues on Trade, Climate Change and Food Security: Way Forward for South Asia’ held at the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) Auditorium reiterated the impact climate change is having in South Asia. The Minister addressing the gathering comprised of academics, private sector, representatives of Civil Society Organisations and more..

June 1 (FT) The Central Bank yesterday denied the Reuters report which said the target of the rupee had been shifted to Rs. 132 levels from the previous Rs. 125. Despite Central Bank denial, Reuters didn’t re-file a corrected story which it usually does if the news agency had made a mistake. This means Reuters is standing by its original story. However yesterday it filed a fresh report headlined “CB says rupee outlook unchanged from 125.” more..

June 1 (Island) Responding to a recent Treasury statement listing out a series of issues which had impeded foreign direct investment as well as private sector investments, industry sources alleged that this was nothing but the failure on the part of Treasury officials. Sources said that the list was more of a "Mea Culpa Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa" from the Treasury. "Isn’t this a magnificent confession by the Treasury mandarins of their own failure to facilitate FDI and more..

June 1 (CI) Till recently, Pakistan's full tour of Sri Lanka for a series of two Twenty20s, five ODIs and three Tests existed only in the ICC's Future Tours Programme. The schedule was formally approved by the PCB a month ago and whatever build-up that existed was lost in the frenzy of the IPL. Despite its perfect positioning - the IPL is over, those from the two sides in question are free of other commitments and Sri Lanka is the venue for the World Twenty20 more..

June 1 (CI) The Twenty20 series at the start of the tour is a good opportunity for the teams to try out players they'd have in their plans for the World Twenty20 later in the year, but just two games are unlikely to produce definitive answers. There are more elaborate preparations being made elsewhere for the competition; Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and South Africa will soon take part in an unofficial triangular Twenty20 series, Bangladesh have also more..

June 1 (FT) This publication contains a wide range of economic and social indicators of Sri Lanka covering areas such as climate, population and labour force, national accounts, agriculture, industry, prices and wages, external trade and finance, money and capital markets, government finance, banking and financial institutions, transportation, socio- economic services and selected information on economic and social indicators of other countries. more..

June 1 (Island) Public sector trade unions yesterday hit out at the govt over the selection procedure it had adopted in picking trade union representatives to attend the International Labour Organisation’s annual conference in Geneva from May 30 to June 15. General Secretary of the Public Services Trade Union Confederation Saman Rathnapriya told The Island that this time too the govt had selected only six trade union representatives attached to political parties. more..

June 1 (CT) All ten senior ministers of the govt have requested President Mahinda Rajapaksa to re-include them in the Cabinet with necessary powers and authority. The senior ministers have made this request from the president ahead of a possible cabinet change which is likely to take place in August, govt sources said. They have also informed the President that the ‘Senior Minister system’ has left them without proper responsibilities or tasks. more..

June 1 (Island) The Public Health Inspectors’ Union resumed their temporarily suspended trade union action by staging a protest, opposite the Health Ministry last afternoon, demanding an increase in their office and fuel allowances. PHIU Secretary Senarath Bandara said yesterday that the Treasury had only complied with one of their demands – an increase in the uniform allowance. PHIs island-wide also staged a sick note campaign simultaneously, he said. Bandara said the Treasury was willing to pay only ten thousand rupees as more..

June 1 (Island) Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena has instructed the Director of the Cosmetic Devices and Drug Control Authority, Dr. Hemantha Beneragama, to cancel the licence of any pharmacy which sells State owned drugs or pharmaceuticals. He had also given instructions that licences not be issued to convicted pharmacy owners’ relatives. Large stocks of surgical gloves, belonging to the Health Ministry, were taken into the custody by the Investigation more..

June 1 (Island) UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake is of the opinion that President Mahinda Rajapaksa should reduce his entourage to a bare minimum and make sure that only the persons who are really necessary are taken on such visits. President Rajapaksa left for Thailand on Tuesday on a four-day state visit for bilateral talks with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her govt. Karunanayake said the govt must not waste public funds and such expenses more..

June 1 (LBO) The Finance Company Plc, which is under regulatory restructure lost 212 million rupees in the March 2012 quarter, sharply lower than the 2.0 billion it lost a year earlier. The firm reported losses of 1.33 rupees per share for the quarter. In the full year to March 2012 the firm lost 1.23 rupees per share on total losses of 196 million rupees. Interest income for the March quarter was flat at 499.7 million rupees from 500 million rupees a year earlier, more..

June 1 (AA) The Maoists are now using their women cadres to 'trap' security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region — a strategy earlier employed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. Citing several instances encountered by security personnel recently, a senior officer said the latest strategy adopted by the Reds was aimed at 'weakening' the forces psychologically. The same tactics were employed by the LTTE against the Sri Lankan forces during insurgency. more..

June 1 (GDN) A woman who died in mysterious circumstances with burn injuries on her body actually suffocated, it has emerged. Achala Aracchchige's body was repatriated to Sri Lanka last night, three months after she died in the kitchen of her apartment. The circumstances surrounding her death have still not been explained, but a death certificate issued by Bahraini authorities states she died from asphyxia, according to Sri Lankan honorary consul general P B Higgoda. more..

June 1 (DN) People die in road accidents more than from diseases or other natural disasters, National Transport Commission chairman Roshan Gunawardene said. Addressing the first workshop to educate private bus owners, drivers and conductors on road safety in the Nuwara Eliya district, Gunawardene said people have discarded the public transport service due to increasing incidence of road traffic crashes involving passenger transport buses and increased more..

June 1 (DN) The first phase of the post office networking project was launched on Wednesday at the Piliyandala Post Office and Communication Locale by Minister Jeewan Kumaratunga. Under this post office networking project 12 post offices were linked to a network and another 200 post offices will be linked to the network during the period of next three month. At the final stage all main post offices and all sub post offices are scheduled to be networked by the Postal Services Ministry more..

June 1 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa attended the inaugural ceremony of the Sambuddhatva Jayanthi celebrations in Thailand held under the sponsorship of the govt of Thailand as the Guest of Honour yesterday. President also presented a special memento to Ven Prof Dhammakosjan Thera, Chancellor of the Mahachulalornkonraj University to mark the occasion. The 2,600th Sri Sambuddhatva Jayanthi celebrations sponsored by the Thai govt more..

June 1 (Island) Leader of the Opposition in the Kandy Municipal Council Neranjan Wijeyeratne (UNP) and SLMC Council member M.C.M.A. Marikar, on Wednesday afternoon moved that former army commander Sarath Fonseka should be granted full freedom including a restoration of his civic rights. Deputy Mayor Sena Dissanayake chaired the meeting. Wijeyaratne said that Sarath Fonseka, who contributed largely towards winning the war against terrorism and restoring peace more..

June 1 (Island) The Lanka Indian Oil Company yesterday increased its diesel price by Rs. 2 per litre. The company claimed the hike was a measure to mitigate part of the soaring losses it had been incurring over a period of time. "We have merely increased the price of diesel from the earlier Rs. 115 per litre to the present Rs. 117, as it was inevitable in terms of the mounting losses, of nearly Rs. 13 per litre, new Managing Director/CEO of LIOC in Colombo Subodh Dakwale told The Island last night. more..

June 1 (C4) About 40 failed asylum-seekers - most of whom are thought to be Tamils - were granted dramatic last-minute stays. Immigration lawyers ascribe the judges' apparent change of heart to serious concerns over Sri Lanka's dismal human rights record and the risk that those forcibly returned face arbitrary arrest and torture. The judgements affected around half of the estimated 70 to 80 Tamils due to have been sent back more..

June 1 (Island) Tension gripped Kotakethana Warapitiya, Kahawatte yesterday following the discovery of charred bodies of two women in a partially burnt house. The victims were identified as two sisters, Sethunge Thilakawathie (52) and Sethunge Dayawathie (62). Dayawathie, after the death of her husband, had been living with her sister. The police said that investigators would try to establish whether it was an accident or someone or a group of persons had set fire to the house more..

June 1 (Island) UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake paid a glowing tribute to Mrs. Indrani Sugathadasa, wife of Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the President, for quitting as Chairperson of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) to register her protest against what was going on there. In a letter to DEW Gunasekera, Chairman of the COPE, the UNPer said that Mrs. Sugathadasa and those at the helm of the CSE should be summoned by the parliamentary watchdog committee. more..

June 1 (Island) UNP MP and President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe is making an unprecedented move to constitutionally deny political parties an opportunity to field priests, of any religion at parliamentary elections. It could be the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, Rajapakshe said, after handing over a private member’s Bill to that effect to Parliament yesterday, with the consent of UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. more..

June 1 (Island) A hotel project launched by the Navy, at Mirissa on the Southern coast, has led to accusations that Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was using SLN personnel and resources to build a hotel for himself. Sources said that some of those operating hotels on the Southern coast and other interested parties had accused the Navy of carrying out private jobs. In the wake of protests, The Island raised the issue with SLN more..

June 1 (Island) The dearth of doctors at the Sri Jayewardenapura General Hospital (SJGH) has proved to be a big problem. SJGH sources said yesterday that currently there was a shortage of over ten medical officers. The hospital was forced to temporarily shut down certain sections, of some of the units, including the Cardiology and recently inaugurated Nephrology Unit. The Health Ministry, when requested, promised to appoint several post interns. more..

June 1 (SL) The Additional Secretary at Sri Lanka’s Transport Ministry has made a blatant attempt to favour an unqualified bidder to be awarded a contract to transport 13 Diesel Engines from China for Sri Lanka Railways. Mrs Malkanthi Jayawardena prepared two Cabinet memorandums to be signed by the Minister of Transport Kumara Welgama to be placed for approval by the Cabinet of Ministers. more..