Nov 22 (ST) Most of us use, and talk a lot about, financial services daily. And often complain about their price, quality, and many other aspects. But we seldom talk about how a country’s population use financial services. This is because until recently little was known about this aspect of financial services. Neither central bankers nor academics paid attention to developing systematic indicators of the use of financial services. more..

Nov 22 (DBS) When we were conducting a Mobile Service in Modana, three Tamil women wanted to meet me to discuss problems relating to the Tamils in Italy. Two days earlier, I received an anonymous telephone call asking me to immediately stop my campaign against the LTTE and that they were following me and would destroy me, as it was a very minor matter as they were working with the Italian Mafia. I did not take this threat seriously, but when the ladies wanted to meet me the Police more..

Nov 22 (FT) Nestlé Lanka Plc yesterday said a new Managing Director will be appointed from 1 January 2013, with the incumbent Alois Hoftbauer taking up a new role in Asia. The new Managing Director will be Nestlé’s Head of Sales of South Asia region Ganesan Ampalavanar, a Malaysian. Hoftbauer, who assumed duties in Sri Lanka in 2010, will take up a new assignment as the Managing Director of Nestlé Malaysia and Head of the Malaysia/Singapore region for the global more..

Nov 22 (Island) An employee of the Biyagama Pradeshiya Sabha has found the sword used by the Nugawela Adikaram, which was among the artefacts stolen from the National Museum on March 17, 2012. He has also recovered two kasthana swords. All three were handed over to the CID yesterday. The main suspect in the theft, Priyantha Mendis, alias Kangetta, has revealed to police, during questioning, that he sold the more..

Nov 22 (DN) Two persons died and many low lying areas in the Hambantota, Matara and Nuwara Eliya districts were inundated due to inclement weather conditions that prevailed in the Southern and Central Provinces for the past two days. Mulatiyana, Koramburuwana, Makandura Didenipotha roads in the Southern Province were indundated at a number of places forcing motorists to use alternative roads. A person was buried alive after a mound of earth fell on his house in Kahawatte more..

Nov 22 (ST) The Ceylon Institute of Builders (CIOB), the premier professional body of building and construction industry professionals in Sri Lanka, has welcomed the budget, recognising it as development-oriented and fiscal strategy to consolidate the post-war economic development momentum in the country. “The CIOB is particularly happy to note that the construction industry has been recognized as a high-growth industry in the budget 2013 and a number of fiscal measures have been more..

Nov 22 (Island) Private bus owners threatened to launch a continuous strike, beginning at midnight on Nov. 27, if the govt did not immediately reduce three types of fees being charged from them. Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) President Gemunu Wijeratne and All Ceylon Private Bus Owners’ Federation (ACPBOF) Chief Organiser Gamage Sumanadasa said all private buses would pulled off the roads if more..

Nov 22 (TOI) In an attempt to promote cross country culture and cuisine, Sahara Star hosts 'Sri Lankan Food Festival' that started on Nov 15 at Earthplate. Three renowned chefs from Hotel Heritance, Ahungalla, Sri Lanka are down for the the food festival that will be on till Dec 5, to create the most authentic Sri Lankan cuisine for the patrons. Sri Lankan cuisine is one of the most complex cuisines of South Asia. Due to its proximity to South India, the cuisine of Sri Lanka shows more..

Nov 22 (LT) The claim the govt makes that all arrears had been paid is a blatant lie and such lies cannot stop the strike action scheduled to be held on 4th December says the General Secretary of the Lanka Teacher Services Union (LTSU) Mahinda Jayasinghe. Speaking at a media conference held by the Joint Trade Union Committee of Teachers and Principals today (21) he said the President, presenting the budget for 2013, said all teachers’ arrears had been paid while, Minister of more..

Nov 22 (CT) The Sri Lankan Govt has no worries about the upcoming Kundankulam nuclear plant, despite a series of protests and campaigns being organized by environment organizations and the Catholic Church in Tamil Nadu, on the safety measures of the plant, a senior official said. Local experts yesterday assured there was no need to be overly concerned about the plant, claiming that they know the science behind the plant and more..

Nov 22 (DM) A large LTTE flag is reported to have been hoisted today by an unidentified pro LTTE group at Velvettithurai in Jaffna, the hometown of slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, police said. The Valvettithurai police said the flag that had been hoisted at the Valvettithurai main junction was removed later and a group of suspects were taken into custody. They said investigations were being carried out to arrest those behind the incident. LTTE heroes’ week used to be celebrated from more..

Nov 22 (DN) There is a ‘legal coup’ or constitutional coup attempt brewing in Hulftsdorp among certain sections of the legal fraternity backed by powerful vested interests, informed sources tell this newspaper. These sources say that for a long time now, there have been subtly engineered attempts to subvert the elected government of the people, by attempting to legitimize the transfer of supremacy springing from the sovereignty of the people via the elected legislature, to the appointed judiciary. more..

Nov 22 (Island) Iran will continue with the Uma Oya multipurpose reservoir hydro power project, though one of the original sub contractors was no longer involved in it. Iran intends to fulfil its obligations in line with the agreement between the two countries finalised in April 2008. Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Nabi Hassani Pour reiterated Iran’s commitment at a meeting with Treasury Secretary, Dr. P.B. Jayasundera more..

Nov 22 (IC) Sri Lanka's selectors have picked five fast bowlers in their 16-man Test squad for their tour to Australia next month, fearing that many of them may not last through the full tour. Although Sri Lanka picked a combination of five seamers and two spinner on their last Test tour to Australia in 2007, chief selector Ashantha de Mel said that his selection panel was concerned by the inability of the current crop of fast bowlers to remain injury free, which has forced them to include more..

Nov 22 (DN) Minister Douglas Devananda said the resolution of the present conflict through dialogue entirely wrests on the TNA’s participation in the Parliamentary Select Committee. Speaking during the Budget 2013 Committee Stage debate in Parliament yesterday, Devananda said the budget before the House was designed to take the country forward to make Sri Lanka the Emerging Wonder of Asia. “Inflation has now been reduced and the country has achieved several millennium more..

Nov 22 (DM) All arrangements are set for the Colombo Night Races scheduled for Dec 15. According to the organizers seven Car events and four Motor Cycle events are scheduled to be run on this day. The Colombo Night Races organized by Carlton Motor Sports Club and conducted by Asian Motor Racing Club (AMRC) and Sri Lanka Motor Cycle Club (SLMCC) will be of great interest to Motor racing fans in Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 22 (Island) There has been an alarming increase in Thyroid goiters and cancer among women, in some provinces, as salt in the market does not contain prescribed amounts of iodine. Consultant Nutritionist Dr. Ms. Renuka Jayatissa cautioned that the common iodised salt available in the market was sub-standard. Some packets contained less iodine and some a high percentage of iodine. Dr. Ms. Jayatissa pointed out that the Health Ministry had not issued any guidelines more..

Nov 22 (Island) Former Tertiary Education Minister, UNP MP Kabir Hashim, yesterday charged that the UGC was poking its finger into everything in the higher education sector but was failing to perform the duties entrusted to them. Speaking during the committee stage of the budget debate on the Ministry of Higher Education, Hashim lamented that the funds allocated from the budget for the higher education sector were not sufficient to ensure the smooth functioning of the universities. more..

Nov 22 (AD) Representatives of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) met Speaker of Parliament Chamal Rajapaksa to handover the resolution adopted at the association’s general meeting, regarding the impeachment motion against Chief Justice. The Bar Association, at the discussion held this evening, requested the Speaker to reconsider the impeachment motion, which contains 14 charges of misconduct and financial more..

Nov 22 (FT) A Czech Republican parliamentary delegation met the Minister of Justice and SLMC Leader, Rauff Hakeem, at the Ministry of Justice. A discussion was held with the visiting Czech delegation on strengthening the bilateral relations of both states, with special emphasis on the justice and legal sector network, cooperation and development. The Czech delegation was led by Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Member of Parliament David Vorazka, accompanied by more..

Nov 22 (NF) Several areas in Wellawaaya experienced red coloured rain Tuesday. Residents in Wellawaaya, Handapanaagala and Oubuduwewa said that the rain lasted for about two hours. A senior officer confirmed that red coloured rain had been experienced in the area. Meanwhile, the MRI says that the uni-cellular micro organism that was found in the red coloured rain that was experienced in the Sevanagala and Manampitiya areas recently is not harmful to the human body. more..

Nov 22 (CT) Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake will on Friday appear before the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), appointed to probe charges against her. The 11-member PSC, which met Wednesday (14) for the first time, decided that she should be present in person to answer charges of improper conduct or conduct unbecoming of a person holding the office of the Chief Justice, involving in matters that more..

Nov 22 (Island) Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake told Parliament yesterday that enrolling new batches of students, who qualified from the GCE A/L exam 2011, would commence by March 15, next year. Participating in the third reading stage debate on budget 2013, under the higher education ministry heading, the minister said an additional 5,800 candidates would be enrolled for the university courses in accordance with the Supreme Court determination on The ‘Z-score’ crisis. more..

Nov 22 (DN) The two teams of specialist doctors who conducted a special investigation into the allergy symptoms witnessed in a large number of schoolchildren in several schools in certain areas, confirmed that it was only a 'quick response' to stress and fear they experienced after seeing and hearing about a minor incident. This type of 'response' is common among peer groups, a Health Ministry spokesman said. Doctors had stressed that responding to an incident or two connected to more..

Nov 22 (LBO) Sri Lanka's Supreme SAT is launching its first Satellite on a Chinese rocket which can be used for direct to home broadcasts and communications, the state investment promotion agency said. Sri Lanka's BoI said the firm was operating in co-operation with China Great Wall Industry Corporation. Supreme SAT is a joint project between Supreme group, a Sri Lankan firm and China Satellite Communications Company, more..

Nov 22 (NF) The UNP questioned the government as to how it could obtain loans on interest from various countries and then provide the same funds as a grant to other countries. UNP General Secretary MP Tissa Attanayake raised this question at a media briefing Tuesday. "Like very wealthy people we are spending five hundred million rupees to build roads in Maldives. How has this donation been made? It has been made by taking loans on interest from various countries." more..

Nov 22 (Island) In the wake of the ongoing investigations into the March 17 Colombo Museum robbery, National Museum Director Dr. Nanda Wickremesinghe has been moved out. She has been appointed Secretary to the Cultural Affairs Ministry. Dr. Wickremesinghe yesterday told The Island that she was happy to assume the new appointment. Director of National Archives Saroja Wettasinghe has been named the acting chief of the Colombo Museum. more..

Nov 22 (Island) The UGC yesterday declared that Circular 890 of 7th June, 2007, which stipulates that workers are not entitled to salaries during their strikes couldn’t be rescinded under any circumstances. A senior UGC official was responding to the FUTA demand that circular in question be repealed in keeping with the agreement university teachers had entered into with Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa. more..

Nov 22 (DM) Despite the overwhelming general dislike, the emerald isle is marching back to its bloody days. Even after the end of the war, the land has not been devoid of showering live bullets, dead bodies found in secluded houses and blood-stained hands that have not yet been chained. The week started with the news that a body was found in a car in Marine Drive in broad daylight. On the same day it was reported that the OIC of the In-Service Police Training College Sabaragamuwa, more..

Nov 22 (Island) The cash deficit of the Treasury reached Rs. 103.4 billion as at end August 2012, well below target with cash outflows for recurrent expenditure falling short of the estimated target and borrowings surging. The Ministry of Finance and Planning said total cash inflow from revenue and other receipts reached Rs. 621.1 billion as at end August 2012, down from Rs. 767.8 billion originally estimated for the period. The cash outflow for capital expenditure rose to Rs. 340.5 billion from more..

Nov 22 (CG) The TNA has condemned what it calls as the forced recruitment of Tamils to the army in Jaffna. TNA MP Suresh Premachandran was quoted by the Uthayan newspaper as saying the army is carrying out a house to house campaign urging Tamils in Jafna to join the army. He said the accepted way of recruiting people to the army is by issuing a press notice and not through a house to house campaign. more..

Nov 22 (SL) India and Sri Lanka have always enjoyed a special relationship not only due to their close geographical proximity but because of their cultural, religious and ethnic affinities and shared history. Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa has aptly described India-Sri Lanka relations as “family”. Of course even such a sibling relationship has had its ups and downs. There are three national and “national” concerns that more..

Nov 22 (ST) UNP MP Jayalath Jayawardena, recuperating at the Sri J'pura hospital after a heart ailment had an in important visitor: President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who turns 67 today. Newspapers showed pictures of Rajapaksa at Jayawardena’s bedside, clasping his hands and wishing him a speedy recovery. It is not certain whether UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe visited Jayawardena in hospital. more..

Nov 22 (GDI) Sri Lanka's state-owned budget carrier Mihin Lanka added another plane to its fleet with the delivery of an Airbus 320-200 aircraft on a lease basis from the Airbus Company of France. The plane arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake yesterday. It was flown from Clark International Airport in Philippines by Mihin Lanka chief pilot and the technical staff who went to inspect the plane. more..

Nov 22 (IRIN) Every evening when the setting sun creates long shadows against walls and pillars of bombed-out buildings, half a dozen flatbed trucks line up in the northern Sri Lankan town of Mullaittivu. They have become a permanent early evening fixture in this shell of a town, where some of the worst battles during the final phase of the island’s civil war were fought in early 2009. As darkness spreads, men, women and even more..

Nov 22 (LB) The launch of Sri Lanka’s first ever communication satellite, Supreme SAT, is delayed by 5 days, Vijith Peiris, CEO Supreme Group of Sri Lanka said. The satellite, a joint venture by the Supreme Group of Sri Lanka and China Satellite Communications Company, was scheduled to be launched from ‘Xi Chang’ launch centre in China today. The delay is due to weather conditions and technical issues.

Nov 22 (LBO) Sri Lanka has upped Treasury guarantees in 2012 and has announced plans to increase such spending in the future, helping the state deficit spend without expanding the officially defined budget gap and the debt ratio. Up to the third quarter of 2012 the Treasury has also issued guarantees of 289 billion rupees or about 3.8 percent of GDP estimated for 2012, to various state agencies and some private firms. more..

Nov 22 (PTI) Four fishermen were injured on Thursday when they were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel when they were fishing near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits, officials said. Sticks, bottles and stones were allegedly hurled by the Lankan navalmen at the fishermen and their boats also suffered damage in the attack, officials said. The attackers also snapped the fishing nets and seized global positioning more..

Nov 22 (Island) UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said that while Budget 2013 had given the super rich tax free sports cars, the govt had silenced the media by gifting them laptop computers. Addressing new IT recruits at Sirikotha, Wickremesinghe said that the gifting of laptops to journalists and cartoonists, which coincided with the budget was no mere coincidence. It had been calculated to prevent the media from more..

Nov 22 (DM) The Government yesterday distanced itself from the first communications satellite to be launched today, despite it being endorsed by Senior Minister Tissa Vitarana and backed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s youngest son Rohitha. Sri Lanka’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRCSL) Director Anusha Palpita told Daily Mirror yesterday that the govt was in no way involved in the satellite launch. more..