Nov 17 (Island) In recent months, the govt of Mahinda Rajapaksa has been lurching from one crisis to another. Each of these has been brought about by self-inflicted wounds. The unprecedented trade union action by the university teachers could have been avoided had those responsible for higher education shown a willingness to listen and displayed less arrogance. But lessons have not been learnt. It required intervention more..

Nov 17 (DM) The picture of a lamenting father holding the bloodied, lifeless body of his young son was circulated worldwide by the Sri Lankan government during the conflict period, to depict the atrocities of the LTTE against the masses of Sri Lanka. The image was one among many, following the Kebithigollewa explosion in 2006. The grief-stricken father, D. K. Dasanayake had held up the inert body of his young son and said, "Mekada Mahinda Chinthanaya kiyanney? more..

Nov 17 (NS) Minister Sarath Amunugama has recently said that both Foreign Investment and the Private Sector have not contributed as expected to our development due to inherent factors. Foreign Investment depends on the activities of foreign investors whose main idea is to invest and take way profits. If they find that other countries offer more attractive terms they are likely to take flight, as did happen in Malaysia and Thailand during the 1998 East Asian Financial Crisis. more..

Nov 17 (DN) The completion of the Divineguma Industrial Exhibition will enable the setting up 15,000 domestic industries islandwide, Minister Douglas Devananda said. He was speaking as the Chief Guest at a ceremony at John Kotelawala Vidyalaya in Kurunegala to mark the opening of the Divineguma Industrial Exhibition. He said Divineguma Industrial Exhibitions were held islandwide to extend assistance, by way of providing training, technology, bank loans and more..

Nov 17 (Island) The govt has suddenly become very concerned about public funds, believe it or not. Chief Government Whip Minister Dinesh Gunawardena lamented in Parliament on Thursday that answers to questions raised by the Opposition in the House cost the public a whopping sum of money. Would the govt care to tell us how much each answer costs? Governing party politicians' aversion to questions raised in Parliament is only too well known. For, they are duty bound to answer them. more..

Nov 17 (DBS) Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias “KP” who donned the leadership mantle of the LTTE after the demise of tiger supremo Prabhakaran is very much in the news these days. Much interest in KP was generated after the story of his relocation to Kilinochchi from Colombo under protective custody was reported by this writer. KP’s new residence is located in the Thiruvaiaaru area of Kilinochchi south and is about a kilometre more..

Nov 17 (CT) Whatever reason the Regime and its officials may spin, the killing of 27 prisoners at Welikada constitutes a massacre, and the perpetrators and their commanding officers should be prosecuted for this gross and abominable crime against the people. The known facts of the case are that the STF, later backed by the SF, had entered the prison claiming that they were there to conduct a search, and that an armed conflict had broken out between them and some prisoners, more..

Nov 17 (FT) The Biennial Convention of the International Mosquito Spiral Manufacturers Association (IMSMA) will be held at the Club Palm Bay Hotel, Marawila starting from 19 Nov 2012. Multinational active ingredient manufacturers for anti mosquito coils, Sumitomo and Bayer have enrolled to attend the convention while a delegate from Sumitomo Chemical Singapore Ltd., will also address the convention on the performance of the active ingredients offered by Sumitomo and more..

Nov 17 (CI) The rains have relented slightly since the end of the ODI series, but during the monsoon that only means that the showers have been restricted to the afternoons in Galle. The teams will already feel they have seen more covers than the Bob Dylan back catalogue on this tour, but as November is still far from over, the weather is likely to remain a major factor during the first Test. Sri Lanka will want nothing less than a 2-0 more..

Nov 17 (Island) Three days after British journalist Ed Hawkins in his book claimed the first Test between Sri Lanka and England in Cardiff last year was fixed, the Sri Lankan cricket team squashed those claims. Hawkins, in his new book had claimed that he had information that the Sri Lankans had ‘fixed’ the first Test where they were shot out for 82 runs in the second innings in little over a session. "No point in responding to speculation," captain Mahela Jayawardene said yesterday. more..

Nov 17 (DN) Southern Provincial Director of Education Kithsiri Liyanagamage on instructions from Southern Provincial Education Minister Chandima Rasaputra requested the Southern Province Deputy Inspector of Police to initiate immediate investigations into an alleged incident of the unlawful release of the 2012 third term Maths question papers of Grades 9 and 10 to a number of private tuition class masters in Matara and Galle districts prior to the test. more..

Nov 17 (CI) Mahela Jayawardene has defended SLC decisions to remove five Tests from Sri Lanka's schedule in 2013, citing the board's financial strife as an understandable motive for favouring limited-overs cricket. SLC agreed to replace a two Test series against West Indies, originally scheduled for May and June, with an ODI tri-series involving India, and have also postponed three home Tests against South Africa more..

Nov 17 (CT) As one editor said, we get budgets once every year, but an impeachment (especially one that goes the whole hog) will be seen only once in a lifetime. Throughout the past week, the media has been on a feeding frenzy over the impeachment motion against the chief justice. The budget has been all but forgotten in the excitement. What enhances the heat and controversy is the fact that the same individual may be in two minds about the judiciary and its decisions. more..

Nov 17 (Island) Star fast bowler Chaminda Vaas has been working with the Kiwi pacemen in the lead up to the Test series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand captain Ross Taylor said the second highest wicket taker for Sri Lanka in Tests and ODIs has been giving his side plenty of feedback. Vaas, the most successful Sri Lankan paceman and one of the loyal servants of Sri Lankan cricket, retired from Test cricket in 2009, but still plays county cricket in England. He represented Northamptonshire more..

Nov 17 (Island) Having received a spate of complaints from the Tamil community, National Languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara has called for a detailed report, from Secretary to the Rehabilitation and Prisons Reforms Ministry, on LTTE cadres still in detention as well as those serving prison terms. Minister has requested the Secretary to obtain information pertaining to them from the AG’s Department. more..

Nov 17 (Island) Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) has given train carriages to two companies, without calling for tenders, to be developed as luxury carriages. This was revealed in Parliament when Deputy Minister Rohana Kumara Dissanayake replied to an oral question. He said that a sum of Rs. 360 was charged from the two companies for each ticket issued. One company charges Rs 1,300 for a ticket from the passengers while the other company charges Rs 950. more..

Nov 17 (Island) Sri Lanka urgently needed a re-look at its foreign policy, as 110 nations in the world had made 210 allegations against it at the UNHRC, the UNP warned in Parliament. Addressing the second reading of the debate, UNP MP Lakshman Kiriella warned that Sri Lanka should be watchful as the country might end up by getting isolated if the trend continued. He said a political solution was urgently needed while it was also essential to restore the rule of law in the country. more..

Nov 17 (DN) MRI Director Dr Anil Samaranayaka said they suspect the mysterious allergic reaction on schoolchildren in Central Province as having originated from an insect. Dr Samaranayaka said he sent MRI entomology teams to affected schools in Gampola and Kandy as part of investigations to determine the cause of allergic attacks. MRI entomologist R Ranasinghe will lead the investigations. more..

Nov 17 (DN) Some Trade Unions allied to the opposition are engaged in a conspiracy to sabotage the country's petroleum industry, Petroleum Industries Ministry sources said. "These trade unions are unhappy as they were unable to fulfill their wishes as the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) took immediate steps to restart the oil refinery process at the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery," the sources said. "Some opposition trade unions tried to create an artificial fuel shortage in more..

Nov 17 (DN) Prof Chandana Jayaratne of the Colombo University's Department of Physics said there have been several queries on the red rain (some times called blood rain due to its colour) observed on November 15 in the Sevenagala and Monaragala areas and a possible connection of an alien attack as published in some news reports. He said there is no such extra terrestrial connection to this rain and there were no possible meteor showers too involved with it. more..

Nov 17 (DM) Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka said the conditions he stipulated to Tiran Alles for his release from prison had not been met. “Tiran Alles told me there were avenues open to negotiate my release with Mahinda Rajapaksa and he asked me if he should go ahead. I laid down some conditions. I said you can talk to him provided the following conditions are met,” Mr. Fonseka said adding that the conditions more..

Nov 17 (Hindu) The internal report of the United Nations on its role in Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about its strategies and actions during critical stages of the conflict in the island nation. It unmasks yet another failure of the world body in preventing mass civilian casualties despite overwhelming evidence that a catastrophe was imminent. Its failure was ensured by a determined govt that assembled a formidable diplomatic and strategic barrier around its military objectives. more..

Nov 17 (AT) Fifteen students from Shanghai Girl’s High School, High School affiliated to Jiao Tong University and Shanghai Normal University visited the Consulate General in Shanghai. The visit was a result of a proposal put forward by the Consul General of Sri Lanka to the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission in October 2011 to include an interactive session with diplomatic missions in their school curriculum. The senior staff from the International Exchange Division of more..

Nov 17 (FT) Visiting World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati called on President Mahinda Rajapsksa yesterday at President’s House. She is in the country till Monday to find out how the development institution can do more to support Sri Lanka’s progress. Having arrived on Thursday, Indrawati’s program included meetings with the private sector, civil society representatives, a team from the Opposition, more..

Nov 17 (CT) The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) charged the Ministry of Education of violating the National Transfers Policy yesterday. General Secretary of the CTU, Joseph Stalin, alleged that although the Ministry of Education has issued a circular specifying the procedure of teacher transfers, the Secretary to the Ministry is violating the said circular by showing preference to people with political clout. “There are more than 9,500 schools in the country. more..

Nov 17 (CT) Minister of Education, Bandula Gunawardena, said results of the 2012 GCE A/L examination will be released before 30 January 2013. Addressing the media he said there was a three-month delay in commencing the paper marking process due to the strike launched by the university lecturers. “We know very well the students are eagerly waiting for their results. The Department of Examinations is trying its best to release the results without any further delay,” more..

Nov 17 (DN) Foreign countries have begun to acknowledge that Sri Lanka is safe to live and have begun sending back people who illegally migrated to these countries, Minister Prof G L Peiris told Parliament. “Countries like Britain and Switzerland are happy and convinced that the country is safe,” he said. Being convinced that there is peace and political stability here, many countries have begun sending back Sri Lankans who more..

Nov 17 (Island) The price of a bag of fertiliser would increase by Rs.150 as a result of the budget proposals. That would result in farmers, who were already struggling to sell their produce, being forced to incur additional expenses to cultivate their lands, the main Opposition UNP said yesterday. The UNP MP Gayantha Karunathillake said that the Rajapaksa regime was not only refusing to bring down the cost of living, but had also heaped more burdens on the masses. more..

Nov 17 (DN) The Sri Lanka and Burkina Faso governments, with the aim of strengthening and developing mutually beneficial relations between the two countries, established formal diplomatic relations yesterday in terms of the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961, the Sri Lanka High Commission in New Delhi said in a release yesterday. The release added: "Formal diplomatic relations between the two countries were established with the signing of more..

Nov 17 (Island) Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa yesterday warned all MPs to be mindful of Parliamentary Privileges and Standing Orders when divulging matters discussed at the party leaders’ meetings and matters pertaining to the proceedings of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake. Speaker Rajapaksa issued the warning when Chief Govt Whip, more..

Nov 17 (DM) If the private health sector in Sri Lanka has decayed to a large extent from a centre of healing to big business, one of the root causes of this cancer is the absence of a clear-cut national health policy where the rightful place is given to all forms of medicine – allopathy, ayurveda, homoeopathy, acupuncture and others. Over the past few decades western medicine has become one of the biggest profit-making business ventures all over the world and especially more..

Nov 17 (CT) The impeachment of the Chief Justice of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is by every mean seems to be a judicial function. In this context it is vital and interesting to see how the Select Committee appointed by the Speaker of the Parliament acquired its jurisdiction. Article 4(c) of the 1978 Constitution stipulates on judicial power of the people as follows: Article (4)c-the judicial power of the People shall be exercised by Parliament through courts, tribunals, and institutions created more..

Nov 17 (SL) Despite the Health Ministry’s assurances to supply drugs and medical equipments to all govt hospitals uninterruptedly, the Cancer Institute in Maharagama – the premier cancer institute in the country is facing an acute shortage of life-saving drugs. In addition to drug shortages, the Oncologists are concerned over the inflow of substandard chemotherapy drugs that do not have any quality assurance. more..

Nov 17 (CI) Seven years to the day before Dinesh Chandimal's Test debut, he was watching Sri Lanka's first ODI of their tour of New Zealand when his mother came into the room and told him there was a boat coming quickly towards their house near the beach. Chandimal took one look at the colossal wave, called out to his family, and they ran. "My family and I lost everything that day," he says, "including my cricket bag." more..

Nov 17 (NF) The National Badminton Selection Committee has submitted a letter of resignation to the Minister of Sports, Mahindananda Aluthgamage. Minister confirmed that the letter was handed over to him and also said that the committee had resigned owing to the corrupt activities carried out by the Sri Lanka Badminton association. The National Badminton Selection Committee handed over the letter of resignation at a meeting with the more..

Nov 17 (Island) Sri Lanka’s war-time Foreign Minister, Rohitha Bogollagama yesterday said that many lives could have been saved had the UN acted swiftly and decisively when the LTTE exposed its plan to take refugee among civilians. "The LTTE’s intentions were clear as early as February 2007. The LTTE went to the extent of warning the UN not to interfere with its plans," Bogollagama said. The first indication of the LTTE’s move came more..

Nov 17 (Island) DNA MP Jayantha Ketagoda, who is the sole representative of General Sarath Fonseka’s party in Parliament, described the Budget 2013 as one big show which would not ease the economic hardships and burdens of common people. "This is a ‘natapu netumakuth ne, bere paluwakuth ne’ (there has been no dance but half of the drum is torn) type budget," Ketagoda said, participating in the Second Reading debate more..

Nov 17 (LBO) Sri Lanka's media should refrain from using the word 'mafia' in relation to the stocks market, because no such organized movement exists, SEC chairman Nalaka Godahewa said. Godahewa told reporters during a media conference this week, that rather than the stock market players, the 'mafia' was involved in 'negative' media reports aimed at bringing the market down. Godahewa was appointed to the position by more..

Nov 17 (SLA) Displaying its full compliance with the national tree planting campaign, ‘Deyata Sevana’, the Army on Friday undertook another mega cultivation project at Settikulam Manik Farm in Vavuniya after planting more than 1000 fruit saplings of hybrid nature. A 10-acre extent of less fertile land in the former ‘Relief Village’ area taken over by the Army is to be thus transformed to be an orchard, filled with fruit species, like more..