Nov 22 (CT) Successive diplomatic victories and the humiliation of both Rajapakse and elements of his military establishment in the West now ensure a steady flow of funds into organistaions, which are at the vanguard of confronting both. Furthermore, the diaspora have steadily built a formidable political infrastructure that the regime’s missions have failed to counter. Of particular note are posts in Washington DC and London whose senior cadre have been purged of capable more..

Nov 22 (CT) ‘Lost Revolution’ was the title of Rohan Gunaratne’s part-fiction, part-fact account of the second JVP insurrection, i.e. the one which ended with over 60,000 people being killed between 1987 and 1989. Puritanical Marxists, ex-JVPers included, would balk at the use of the word ‘revolution’ to describe that particular adventure. The strange arrangement of words, ‘lost’ with ‘revolution’, hints at ‘possibility’ and squandering of the same. In other words, that there was something that more..

Nov 22 (DH) The Karnataka High Court on Thursday cleared the hurdles for an Army Major, who wants to marry a foreign national, after directing the Army to relieve him from his duty and imposing a cost of Rs 75,000 on it. A bench passed the orders while rejecting the appeal of the Army, challenging the order of a single-judge bench which had directed the Army to take an appropriate order while considering the application of more..

Nov 22 (CT) Head of Maleesha Hajj group Ismail Abdul 'Maalu' Latheef who had fled the country after collecting money from several individuals promising them Hajj pilgrimage has been arrested in Sri Lanka. Maldives Police Service has not yet confirmed of his arrest. Haveeru has found out that he was arrested from Mount Lavinia Hotel. Police had revealed that it obtained a court order to arrest the head of Maleesha Hajj group. Meanwhile Interpol has issued red notice for his arrest. more..

Nov 22 (DM) The airport customs arrested three Indian nationals who attempted to smuggle foreign currency worth around 15 million to Singapore this morning. Custom officials found 88,000 Euros in 500 notes and 50000 Swiss Franc in 1000 notes which was hidden inside their rectums. Two suspects were found with 18000 Euros and 38000 Euros while the other one was carrying 30000 Euros and 50000 Swiss Franc. Customs revealed the suspects were apparel business men and they more..

Nov 22 (DM) Deputy Minister A.R.M. Abdul Cader had lodged a complaint with the Kollupitiya police stating that he received death threats via phone by an anonymous caller on Tuesday night. In his complaint to the police, he alleged that an anonymous caller gave him death threats via phone calls using abusive language while he was staying at his residence. He complained that the anonymous caller threatened to kill him alone with his more..

Nov 22 (GDI) Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said that measures will be taken to pass the Divi Neguma Development Draft Bill in parliament by a two third majority. He said a date has been requested to conduct a vote to approve the Draft Bill within the period of the budget debate. The Deputy Minister said the poverty rate which was at 36% in the year 2005, by now has been reduced to 8%. He said the Divi Neguma Bill is a national requirement to streamline more..

Nov 22 (LBO) Japanese-style management techniques applied in hospitals in Sri Lanka had helped improve healthcare in a number of African countries, the Japan International Co-operation Agency said. JICA said the 5-S organizational method (seiri or sort), seiton or set), seiso ro shine), seiketsu or standardize) and shitsuke or sustain) and kaizen (continuous quality improvement) were used in 15 Africa countries backed by Sri Lanka and Japan. JICA, in collaboration with Sri Lanka, more..

Nov 22 (DM) The chairman of Bank of Ceylon Dr. Gamini Wickremasinghe has reportedly tendered his resignation, official sources said. Dr. Wickramasinghe’s request to resign from his post as the BoC Chairman has been accepted by the President. However, he is to continue his duties until end of this year. A new Chairman is due to be appointed once the President returns from his official visit to Kazakhstan.

Nov 22 (CT) For the first time in history, a teeny-weeny step that could end up being one of the building blocks for the reconciliation process was taken by the Army when it enlisted 109 Tamil women to the women corps of the Sri Lanka Army, in Kilinochchi on Saturday. The event was both colourful and traditional. The women enlisted were in the age groups 18 to 20 and had known no peace and had been witness to some of the worst violence between the Security Forces and the LTTE, more..

Nov 22 (Island) The National Teacher’s Council (NTC) has urged the government to scrap the Provincial Councils’ Ministries of Education and take the entire education administration under the Central Government’s Ministry of Education. President of the National Teachers’ Council (NTC), former MP Nimal Premawansa, told a media conference in Kandy on Wednesday that the education management of the country had been messed up by the dual administration. more..

Nov 22 (GDI) Participants of the Kazakh-Sri Lanka Business Forum have discussed areas of common interests between the two countries including travel, transport, and logistics to increase the current trade between Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan. President Nursultan Nazarbayev has expressed interest in cooperation in agriculture, transport and energy and especially, in textile industry as Sri Lanka exports all kinds of more..

Nov 22 (PTI) Anura Rohana of Sri Lanka grabbed the opening round lead, firing a phenomenal nine-under-62 at the 11th TATA Open here today. Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka, Sandeep Syal of Chennai and Bangalore's Abhishek Jha are in joint second place at six-under-65. One half of the field played its 18 holes at the par-72 Beldih Golf Course while the golfers in the other half completed their rounds at the par-71 Golmuri Golf Course. The Golmuri course has recently been expanded more..

Nov 22 (DM) Police today arrested a suspect in the marine drive killing, police spokesman Prishantha Jayakody said. SSP Jayakody said the suspect was taken into custody together with the knife allegedly used in the crime. The suspect is said to be a 44 year old male named Abdul Cader residing in the Pamankada area and the Police said he had personally known the victim Vijitha de Costa. The Bambalapitya police who made the arrest are carrying on further investigations into the incident.

Nov 22 (TA) Illegal immigrants from Sri Lanka who are not claiming to be refugees but are overwhelming the detention system are being targeted for forced returns, some within 48 hours of arrival. The Gillard govt's new focus includes regular forced returns of Sri Lankans to their home country, Australian Federal Police working in Sri Lanka to target people-smugglers, quickly classifying illegal arrivals as economic migrants, refusing more..

Nov 22 (Island) The Austrian govt has pledged to provide Sri Lanka with cobalt technology to control mosquitoes. The spokesman for the Health Ministry said that the Austrian Govt had deployed an entomologist to assess local laboratory facilities and their suitability for adapting the method which is already being practised by them. Testing would commence next month. Several countries in the world, including the USA, Austria and South Africa use cobalt radiation to more..

Nov 22 (DM) Sustenance of the insurance industry remains dubious, following the intense price competition that is prevalent in an overcrowded market, which is found eroding the underwritten profits of insurers, a veteran insurer in the country said. “The tendency to lower premium rates to remain competitive is uneconomical. It’s currently a serious problem that needs resolving. In India, you get about 55 insurance companies for a billion people. In Sri Lanka, you get 21 companies more..

Nov 22 (DM) The picked national selector is currently accompanying the national team for the series against New Zealand and is paid a handsome per-diem of US $ 100 a day, in addition to same five-star hotel accommodation as the Sri Lanka team. This is the first time in history that a selector is accompanying the team during an in-bound tour. Sources said that a per-diem of US $ 50 had been initially suggested for in-bound more..

Nov 22 (ST) The navy today denied media reports that it had attacked attacked a group of Indian fishermen close to the Kachchativu Island adding that the incident may have been carried out by local fishermen. Indian media reports said that at least four fishermen were injured and the fishing vessel and other equipment damaged after they were attacked by a Sri Lankan naval patrol. "There is absolutely no truth in these allegations which are apparently politically motivated by more..

Nov 22 (TA) OVER the years, Australia has given sanctuary to thousands of Sri Lankans fleeing a vicious civil war, but most arriving in the past six months have openly admitted to immigration officials that they come seeking work. Of more than 12,000 asylum-seekers who have come to Australia by boat in the past six months, about 4000 have come from Sri Lanka. Most of them are young men and appear to have accepted people-smugglers' assurances that they will find work in Australia. more..

Nov 22 (AFP) Sri Lanka's supreme court asked parliament on Thursday to suspend a hearing against the country's top judge for alleged financial wrongdoing until the legality of the impeachment process is decided. A three-judge bench declined to issue a formal injunction against an 11-member parliamentary select committee (PSC) due to open the impeachment hearing on Friday, but it asked the committee to put more..

Nov 22 (CT) When Tennyson Rodrigo came to Australia from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to study chemical engineering in 1952, he was so 'exotic' that the Herald ran a front page picture of him attending a ball, and he was invited on to ABC Radio to introduce Australian audiences to the sitar. Mr Rodrigo was one of the University of NSW's first international students and an early recruit of the Colombo Plan, a govt 'soft power' scholarship program that sought to develop more..

Nov 22 (DM) Frustrated by the declining standards and continued defeats in Football at international level despite the financial might possessed by the Football Federation, Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has personally devised a progressive new structure for the game in the country that is aimed at unearthing the hidden rural talent and fast tracking them into the national team. “Sri Lanka had a glorious past in football. We held a respectable position internationally and even the more..

Nov 22 (PTI) The Sunday Leader newspaper was today asked by a court to shell out 250 million rupees as damages to the country's powerful defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in a defamation case. Gotabhaya had claimed damages from the newspaper over an article linking him to the purchase of MiG aircraft for the airforce which he complained was defamatory. more..

Nov 23 (SL) Nodath and Sududath alumni of the Forward School for Backward Boys were discussing the budget which most of the nation seems to have forgotten. Nodath: Hell of a problem no machang. Mrs. Nodath is in a fury. Wattakka, Bandakka, Gotukola, Vatakolu, Vambatu all gone up. Bread, flour. Cutliss, pattis all went up before the budget. Other things will also go up. But she says no one of talking about all that. They are worried about an impeachment and 13th Amendment. more..

Nov 23 (CT) Vietnam War and the Elam War had many similarities and many differences. However, both represent the horrors of war trauma in the 20th Century. Vietnam War was America’s longest war, spanning the twelve-year period from 1963 to 1975. Of the estimated 2.5 million individuals who served in Vietnam, some 58,000 Americans lost their lives. Another 300,000 were wounded. Vietnam War ended with the defeat of the American forces in Vietnam and the Eelam War was won by the more..

Nov 23 (SO) Another tusker bids adieu with a tragic end to its tusks. The 50-year-old partially blind tusker which roamed the Kebithigollewa, Horowpothana area is no more; leaving a vacuum in the elephant colony. On Nov 12, Wildlife officials received a tip off from a villager about a dead tusker lying on the ground in Kudavewa. Poachers had removed nearly three and a half feet of its tusks. The tusks were 4.5 feet in length. The tusker was more..

Nov 23 (SL) There has been in the so-called ‘First World,’ for a not inconsiderable time the concept of the urban legend which Wikipedia defines as “a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true. As with all folklore and mythology, the designation suggests nothing about the story’s veracity, but merely that it is in circulation, exhibits variation over time, and carries some significance that motivates the community in more..

Nov 23 (GV) Groundviews interviewed via email Benjamin Dix, who along with Lindsay Pollock are producing The Vanni, a multimedia graphic novel based on the hellish denouement of Sri Lanka’s 27 year old war in the first half of 2009. A preview can be viewed here. Since the live web version requires a modern browser with very good broadband, we’ve embedded just part of the preview as a video below. Benjamin Dix and Lindsay Pollock have launched a campaign on KickStarter to more..

Nov 23 (DBS) Last week I felt like I had been transported back in time. We were back in those awful first six months of 2009, when I was by turns horrified at the plight of the people caught up in the fighting in the Vanni and disgusted with the way in which the international community was responding. Of course, we all wanted to stop the war. I hate violence. But as I argued then and continue to believe, at that point, the only way the war more..

Nov 23 (CT) The birth of a child is still heralded with pleasure in Sri Lanka, and a girl child is usually no exception. In recent times, a close member of my extended family gave birth to a beautiful girl. Visiting them at the maternity ward, I found her to be adorable, albeit odd-looking as babies usually are, with rather out of shape face, slightly flattened brow, and half-closed eyes too large for the face. Gazing at the baby, I could see my cousin in the corner of my eye, waiting for a chance to comment more..

Nov 23 (GV) The photos of prisoners, like thugs, holding a few machine guns on the roof of Welikada Prison, challenging a government which is capable of terrorizing an entire country, what do they tell us? The news of the mass murder which was a response to that challenge, what does that tell us? The photos and the news are two sides of the same coin. And the coin reflects the reality of Sri Lanka. It shows that intimidation, violence and murder have replaced humanity. Sri Lanka’s prisons are lawless. more..

Nov 23 (CT) Friday, 23 Nov marks a watershed in Sri Lankan judicial history. For only the second time ever, the country’s top judge has been ordered appear before a parliamentary panel convened to probe charges of misconduct against her in a process that has been roundly criticized as unconstitutional and going against all principles of natural justice. How Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake answers her accusers more..

Nov 23 (Island) Parliamentarians including the mild-mannered ones averse to confrontation have become rather aggressive and even gone into attack mode of late. We wonder whether their black moods and foul temper have anything to do with the non-availability of kohila––which has anti-haemorrhoids properties––in the parliament canteen due to a food poisoning scare. Opposition and UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who crossed swords with some MPs in the House the other day, more..

Nov 23 (Island) The Finance Company PLC (TFC) losses have mounted, according unaudited interim financial results submitted to the CSE. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012 TFC reported a net loss amounting to Rs. 751.7 million after reporting a Rs. 33.3 million net profit a year earlier. During the September quarter, TFC saw a Rs. 6.9 million net profit a year ago turn into a huge Rs. 357.7 million loss. TFC’s net interest expense during the nine month period grew by more..

Nov 23 (CT) On Nov 22nd, 2012, Radhika Coomaraswamy, former Under Secretary General of the United Nations/Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, was awarded the Special Jury Prize 2012 by the Fondation Chirac for her actions in favor of the protection of children during armed conflict in the presence of Bernadette Chirac, wife of the former French president Jacques Chirac. Presenting the Special Jury Prize, more..

Nov 23 (FT) Money market liquidity on an overnight basis increased considerably to Rs. 12.99 billion yesterday, a figure last witnessed three months back, Wealth Trust Securities said. This development was as the Central Bank mopped up Rs. 9.71 billion by way of a repo auction conducted by its Open Market Operations (OMO) department at a weighted average of 9.33% and a further Rs. 3.28 billion at its window rate of 7.75%. Interestingly, the increase in liquidity comes a day ahead of more..

Nov 23 (BMI) Cathay Pacific Cargo’s choice of Sri Lanka for its latest air freight expansion highlights not only the company’s continued focus on new markets in Asia, but the potential for Sri Lanka to increase its air freight role. BMI has previously highlighted our positive view of Sri Lanka in the shipping sector, with the country well placed to develop as a global transshipment hub for the container shipping sector, and we believe that similar growth opportunities are more..

Nov 23 (MoD) A Parliamentary delegation from the Czech Republic on a visit to the Jaffna peninsula arrived in Palaly on 21 Nov. During the visit the delegation met the Commander of Security forces Jaffna Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe and other senior military officers. A the meeting the delegation was appraised of the present situation of the region and army's involvement in the post war development more..

Nov 23 (NIP) As a post-conflict society Sri Lanka has to engage in peace building and state reconstruction after years of war with the Tamil minority, who are now represented by the TNA. For years the LTTE engaged in a civil war for Tamil rights creating parallel structures to those of the state and supporting the cause of secession. In doing this, the LTTE also held its own people hostage, assassinating even those within the community who wanted to opt for peaceful more..