Mar 10 (TC) Yesterday, after consultation with partners including those who will join us as co-sponsors, we tabled a draft resolution on Sri Lanka for consideration by the Human Rights Council (HRC) at its 19th Session. We have taken this step upon careful reflection and after extensive dialogue and bilateral engagement at the highest levels of the U.S. govt. Three years since the end of the conflict, it is our belief that the govt of Sri Lanka must more..

Mar 10 (Island) This part is a reproduction of the sections of the LLRC Report of December 2011 titled the Language Policy, Education and Peace Education. This is a much more recent than the Audit from which part II is extracted. Moreover, it is based on the testimony of individuals who volunteered to appear before the LLRC rather than on surveys of Govt institutions and is therefore fundamentally different in several respects. Part II and Part III are both unavoidably more..

Mar 10 (Island) Secretary Clinton has noted that "What we are learning around the world is that if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. And when families flourish, communities and nations will flourish." These words have particular relevance as we celebrate International Women’s Day more..

Mar 10 (ST) Plans to channel vehicle imports through Hambantota have been deferred by two months to May, Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Dr. Priyath Wickrama said. He noted that they would not be commencing operations from March as stated previously. This was mainly because the letters of credit (LCs) were already opened by some importers for Colombo, he said. In this regard, they would be provided sufficient time to address these issues more..

Mar 10 (Island) In the aftermath of the last phase of the war that ended in the military defeat of the LTTE, govt leaders considered the "Sri Lankan Model" of overcoming terrorism to be one that the world could emulate. An international conference was held in Colombo that was attended by military strategists from around the world. The prestigious Wall Street Journal published in the United States went to the extent of arguing that there was a two-word response to more..

Mar 10 (Island) It was May 18 in the year 2009. Sri Lankans as a nation did not even dream that a day of such great significance in the annals of the country’s modern history would ever dawn. But, the unexpected happened. Nobody imagined this day would be a reality in a country caught in the vicious grip of brutal terrorism for 30 long years. The world was jolted by the news which spread fast. It travelled far and wide and reached all corners of the globe. more..

Mar 10 (Island) Large scale poultry farmers are in the process of negotiating with the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) to jack up the price of chicken from Rs. 350 a kilo (with skin) to Rs. 420 or Rs. 430 citing the fuel and electricity price hikes. Small scale poultry farmers told The Island that if the CAA permitted a price increase as requested by the large scale industrialists it would be an injustice to them as well as consumers were already burdened with more..

Mar 10 (DN) "A trilingual knowledge would have a positive impact on mutual understanding, peace and co-existence involving different communities in this country" Minister D.E.W. Gunasekara said. He was addressing a special seminar on 'Novel National and International Political Trends and our Responsibilities' in Matara recently. "President and his administration is making painstaking endeavours to bring a lasting solution to the ethnic issue in the country. more..

Mar 10 (Island) Ududumbura Police have arrested the vice principal of Kalugal Oya Vidyalaya on charges of showing pornography films on his computer to a group of students of the school. The principal (53) is also alleged to have sexually abused two students of the same school, police said,adding that the students were 13 and 15 years old and the alleged abuse had taken place some three months before. The arrest had been made following complaints from parents, more..

Mar 10 (SO) A defining feature of Prof. Kolitha Bhanu Dissanayake is the delicate fusion of academic, performer and a musician. A significant feature of these diverse roles is that each one is complimented and rather enriched by the other. His creations are outstanding not only from research and academic perspectives but also from creative perspectives. His voice is unique among the few male voices in the more..

Mar 10 (Island) Since the new Solar powered water sprinklers which conserve valuable water resources were introduced, there had been a positive change in the mind set of the dry zone farmers of the northern Province, observed Governor of the Northern Province (RETD) Major Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri. Gen. Chandrasiri said "Today, I have seen how the farmers have applied the new technology for dual purpose, to conserve water as well as increase their yields greatly." more..

Mar 10 (Island) The resolution put forward by the United States of America (USA) was to ensure that Sri Lanka would implement the recommendations of its Presidential Commission, the LLRC, said TNA Parliamentarian and Attorney-at-Law M. A. Sumanthiran. "So it is not a resolution against Sri Lanka," the MP said. Sumanthiran claimed that the resolution was thus necessary as it requested the Sri Lankan government to implement what it had been unwilling to implement. more..

Mar 10 (DBS) The TNA regarded as the premier political representative organization of the Sri Lankan Tamils has been in the eye of a political storm for the past few weeks. The TNA which contested the 2010 Parliamentary polls under the House symbol of the ITAK has been mired in controversy over its recent decision of not going to Geneva in Switzerland where the 19th session of the UNHRC has been in progress since February 27th. more..

Mar 10 (Hindu) It takes only a few people to give a whole State and country a bad name. Tamil chauvinist outfits working on the fringes of the political mainstream in Tamil Nadu have been organising protests and carrying out attacks against visiting Sri Lankan officials and academics in the guise of drawing attention to the Sri Lankan govt's failure to ensure the rights of its Tamil citizens. Often, ordinary Sri Lankans on private visits have been the target of these groups more..

Mar 10 (GT) The annual mini-marathon of Lanka Lions Club Doha, a forum of Sri Lankan expatriates, was held at the Sumaya Independent Primary School grounds yesterday with the participation of a large number of people. The event was held in connection with Sri Lanka’s 64th Independence Day which was celebrated on Feb 4. The chief guest was R S Khan Azad, minister and deputy chief of mission, the Sri Lankan embassy. more..

Mar 10 (DM) The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the Kataragama hospital has been transferred to the Middeniya Rural Hospital with immediate effect, after her husband had allegedly threatened popular Sinhala actress Sanoja Bibile. The incident took place in Katharagama a few weeks ago. The Husband of the CMO had allegedly threatened the actress with a sword after a heated argument had erupted between the two. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has initiated a formal inquiry into more..

Mar 10 (Island) The National Zoological Gardens in Dehiwela will today display the new tenants, a pair of Red Giant Kangaroos and a female Californian Sea Lion along with some males who are already here. Zoo Director General Bhashwara Senanka Gunaratne said that the animals were obtained under an animal exchange programme with the Nagoya Higasima Zoo in Japan. In return, the Zoo would be sending a pair of civet cats, one male Otter and a male Fishing Cat by the end of this month to Japan, more..

Mar 10 (DN) The Health Ministry yesterday deployed a special medical team to probe the death of a woman after being administered a birth control injection at the Rambukwila Health Centre. The ministry also took action to temporarily ban Depo Medroxy Progesterone Acetate. The Family Planning Bureau had earlier informed the Drugs Regulatory Authority about the woman's death. Drugs Regulatory Authority director Dr Hemanth Beneragama has instructed to submit more..

Mar 10 (TS) Prof Rajiva Wijesinha is a Sri Lankan member of parliament, and former secretary-general of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) in that country. He has served as secretary to the Lankan ministry of disaster management and human rights and has been appointed as adviser on reconciliation to the President of Sri Lanka. In an interview to SIMRAN SODHI, Prof Wijesinha spoke about Colombo’s fears of Western pressure coming to bear on more..

Mar 10 (VS) Watching and wondering for months, I was thrilled when the doors to the new Cafe Lanka finally opened last weekend. Could it be Sri Lankan food? Yes, it is, but with an American twist. Sri Lanka has always held a strange fascination for me. Everyone I’ve ever met from there has been preternaturally happy and disarmingly good-looking. I imagine it as an exotic place with interesting food. An island nation at the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka is host to a cuisine more..

Mar 10 (DN) Granting a legal abortion to any 16-year-old impregnated by rape, after a medical examination, is a timely need. According to the current law in Sri Lanka, an abortion is only legal if the pregnancy holds a threat to the mother’s life, said Attorney General Eva Wanasundara. The Child Development and Women’s Affairs Ministry has initiated a wide ranging dialogue with members of academia about the amendment to more..

Mar 10 (DN) Foreign delegates now visit Sri Lanka to study the anti-tobacco and alcohol programmes, which have won international recognition. "President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Mathata Thitha work programme (full stop to tobacco and alcohol) and all other programmes implemented under same have won wide international recognition, and many foreign delegations now visit Sri Lanka to study the schemes with the intention of implementing them in their own countries" more..

Mar 10 (SMH) Australia will resettle another 23 Tamil refugees from the group involved in a six-month stand-off on a cargo boat diverted to Indonesia in 2009 at the request of the then prime minister Kevin Rudd. A total of 38 refugees from the boat, which carried 254 asylum seekers on the way to Australia when it was diverted to the port of Merak, will be resettled here, an Immigration Department spokesman confirmed. The refugee advocate Ian Rintoul said there are still 100 of more..

Mar 10 (Island) The CID yesterday questioned L.M. Dharmasiri, Godakawela Pradeshiya Sabha member and coordinating secretary to Minister John Seneviratne, who had been arrested and later released in connection with the killing of a mother and her teenage daughter in the Kahawatte police area. CID officials visited the PS member at his son’s house in Kaduwela and questioned him for over three hours more..

Mar 10 (DN) The balance stock of the 2,600 mt of petrol out of the controversial stock imported by the CPC was re-sold and sent back to the supplier on March 7. This is in compliance with the recommendations made by the special committee appointed to probe the import of the controversial stock. The balance stock was sold to the supplier according to the normal tender procedure and the CPC was able to obtain a price much higher than the imported price enabling the CPC to recover the loss incurred due to the leftover stock. more..

Mar 10 (Island) Deputy Minister Sarana Gunawardena dismissed the Rs 25 million extortion allegation levelled against him by a businessman from Minuwangoda. "It is a private land dispute and it is not an extortion attempt, but I cannot talk now as I am at a function attended by the President; I will explain everything tomorrow morning," he said before cutting off. Chinthaka Mohan Perera, managing director of a company, has informed the President that deputy minister telephoned him and threatened to kill him unless more..

Mar 10 (Island) A demoted Corporal on Thursday night shot dead two of his colleagues near the Sri Murugan kovil, Chavakachcheri and shot himself dead. Security Forces headquarters, Jaffna, identified the suspect as Kapukotuwa, attached to the seventh battalion of the Vijayaba Infantry Regiment. The victims were identified as Lance Corporal Ratnayake and Private Fernando. more..

Mar 10 (Island) Assistant Superintendent of Police Nihal Ranjith Mendis of the Nugegoda Division was arrested last evening (9) near the Wijerama Temple, Nugegoda by sleuths of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) while he was allegedly accepting one million rupees from a businessman to help him get ownership of a building near the Cancer Hospital, Maharagama. The building was housing the Welfare Office of the Cancer Hospital and more..

Mar 10 (DN) The sugar cane harvesting ceremony of the Pelwatta sugar factory, which was taken over by the government, was held recently under the patronage of Productivity Promotion Minister Lakshman Seneviratne at the sugar cane estate in the factory premises. The company was taken over by the government in terms of the Revival of Underperforming Enterprises and Underutilized Assets Act. A special religious programme was conducted at the Pelwatta sugar factory to commence harvesting. more..

Mar 10 (Island) The govt had maintained a stable price for paddy for the past five years and it was a triumph despite the market changes, Minister Johnston Fernando told Parliament. In response to a speech made in the adjournment motion debate brought up by the Opposition demanding the govt to provide solutions for the problems faced by the paddy farmers in selling their harvest, the minister accused the more..

Mar 10 (Island) About 150,000 Sri Lankans are totally blind, 57,000 others suffer from cataract and about 18,000 are affected by increased intra-ocular pressure which leads to glaucoma. Glaucoma is an eye disease causing damage to the optic nerve resulting in gradual vision loss and blindness. Due to glaucoma 4.5 million persons have become blind world-wide and many millions are having low vision. As the elderly population is beginning to increase, effective intervention programmes are needed, more..

Mar 10 (CT) An emergency general committee meeting is to be held by all branches of govt doctors tomorrow to discuss necessary trade union actions. The Govt Medical Officers Association (GMOA) decided to hold the emergency meeting to decide on trade union actions they would be taking since the govt has failed to provide doctors with the required extra duty allowance. More than 100 branches of GMOA offices countrywide are to take part more..

Mar 10 (Guardian) Andy Flower has warned his England players to expect another exacting trial by spin in Sri Lanka despite the poor recent Test Match form of their opponents. Mahela Jayawardene's team have not won a series since August 2009, and have lost their last four against South Africa, Pakistan, at home to Australia, and in England at the start of last summer. But England have struggled on recent visits to Sri Lanka, with eight members of more..

Mar 10 (Island) The UNP would have done more for Sri Lankan women, if the govt it formed in 2001 was not defeated prematurely, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Thursday. Addressing a ceremony to mark Women’s International Day at "Siri Kotha", he said that it was the UNP which had introduced the Proportional Representation System, which resulted in a large number of females especially from rural areas, entering the legislatures at more..

Mar 10 (DN) Taking a page from its past, the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) will go before a United Nations panel in Switzerland next week to argue that new voting laws approved by some US states violate civil and human rights by suppressing the votes of minorities and others. A delegation from the venerable civil rights organization will present its case in Geneva on Wednesday more..

Mar 10 (PTI) Sri Lankan batting trio of Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Dinesh Chandimal would be aiming to carry their recent good form in Australia into the Asia Cup. Sangakkara has jumped five places to fourth position after finishing as the fourth leading run-getter with 420 runs, Dilshan has moved up four places to 10th place after ending as the leading scorer with 513 runs, while Chandimal has broken into the top 20 more..

Mar 10 (FE) The fourth round of Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting ended in Dhaka Thursday with a call to further expanding cooperation between the two nations. Both the sides agreed that there was much scope to enhance bilateral relations in various fields. Finance Minister AMA Muhith led the home team while Sri Lanka's Minister for Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiyutheen led his team. more..

Mar 10 (GDI) Travel trade fair ITB Berlin kicked off on Wednesday in the German capital with another record participation of some 10,644 exhibitors from 187 countries. Some 170,000 delegates and visitors are expected to attend the 5-day event. The, International Tourism Exchange which is also known as the ITB, is considered to be the largest global event of the Travel Industry. It promotes domestic; inter regional and International travel and more..

Mar 10 (CT) Sri Lanka will hold an informal meeting with ‘like-minded groups’ today in Geneva to brief them on the country’s reconciliation processes, govt sources said. Colombo’s delegation in Geneva is also expected to circulate a policy briefing document at the UNHRC, in response to the United States-backed resolution. Meanwhile, US and rights watchdog bodies have upped their courting of delegates for a resolution calling for accountability in Sri Lanka, more..