Nov 26 (TI) Sri Lanka’s Mithun Perera emerged winner of the 11th Tata Open Golf Tournament after firing a final round of one-under-70 on the concluding day on Sunday. Perera, who totalled 11-under-274 for the tournament, finished one stroke ahead of Delhi’s Vinod Kumar, bagging the prize money of Rs 8,08,250. Perera (65-72-67-70), the overnight leader, had a good start to the day as he birdied the second par-5 after landing more..

Nov 26 (Island) Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena has instructed the National Cosmetic Devices and Drug Regulatory Authority (NCDDCA) Director Dr. Senerath Beneragama to conduct an investigation into the recent shortage of TNT tablets in 180 pharmacies. The Minister had instructed the Medical Supplies Division (MSD) Director Dr. Kamal Jayasinghe to issue one month’s stock of TNT (trinitrate-gleceride), which is kept under the tongue by heart patients in an emergency, more..

Nov 26 (HT) Peacetime Sri Lanka is a favourite investment and export destination for Indian firms. Bilateral trade jumped from $3 billion in 2009-10 to $5.1 billion in 2011-12, according to Sri Lanka Customs. Trade is skewed in favour of India, with India exporting goods worth $4.3 billion to Sri Lanka in 2011-12, comprising more than 22% of the island nation’s imports. From $78 million in 2009, when Sri Lankan internal strife ended, Indian investment in Sri Lanka almost doubled in 2011, more..

Nov 26 (WT) WOULD-BE asylum seekers from Sri Lanka are being told there is no prospect of them working in Australia while their claims are assessed, and that they will be forced to survive on "minimal subsistence" from the government. A public relations blitz by Australian officials is trying to dissuade Sri Lankans, tempted by people smuggler's promises of visas and well-paid work in Australia, from boarding boats. more..

Nov 26 (Island) Minister Johnston Fernando says Sri Lanka could make arrangements to export essential commodities, including food items, to New Zealand, through Sathosa. He revealed this when he met New Zealand Minister of Fisheries, Small Industries and Agriculture David Carter at his Ministry on Friday. He said that Sri Lanka was importing milk products from New Zealand and that country, too, could assist Sri Lanka in the same manner by purchasing essential items from Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 26 (DN) The country’s infrastructure network has been developed and improved at over Rs 328 billion during the first eight months of this year, Finance and Planning Ministry Secretary Dr P B Jayasundera said. This is Rs 80 billion more than the Rs 248 billion spent for this last year, he said. Dr Jayasundera said the govt’s endeavour was to boost the economy by developing expressways highways, ports, telecommunication, power and energy and other infrastructure sectors. more..

Nov 26 (DM) Ahead of the next session of the UNHRC in Geneva, the United States had decided to hold talks with the TNA for a review of action taken by the govt of Sri Lanka in conformity with the resolution adopted early this year, officials said today. The US sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka was adopted at the UNHRC session in March this year. The resolution called for the implementation of constructive more..

Nov 26 (Island) The Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital (LRH), which has 1,300 beds, 500 doctors has been without a permanent Senior Medical Administrator for the past two years. Dr. Ratnasiri Hewage, who assumed duties from the then Hospital Director, Dr. Mahanama Rajamanthri, two years ago has been acting ever since. In addition, two Deputy Directors’ positions have remained vacant. In accordance with the rules and regulations of the Hospitals Act, to become a senior more..

Nov 26 (DN) Efforts towards the elimination of violence against women should not be left to a few brave people, but should be embraced by all, British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka John Rankin said. Issuing a statement to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women which fell yesterday, he said UK will continue to play its part in supporting the energy, the courage and the determination of both men and women working to tackle the continuing problem of more..

Nov 26 (Island) University teachers yesterday claimed that Vice Chancellors of universities countrywide, were refusing to accept and implement the conditions in the agreement between the govt and the FUTA. These conditions are spelt out in a joint statement issued after both parties came to an agreement which resulted in the suspension of the FUTA’s 100-day strike on Oct. 13. more..

Nov 26 (Island) The Galle and Matara police have launched a joint search operation to trace the whereabouts of an anaesthetist attached to the Matara hospital, who had gone missing since last Friday evening. Dr. Erandi Kulasinghe had left the hospital in her car saying that she was going to meet her husband in Hikkaduwa. Her husband, Dr. Janith Ruwan Dayananda, a medical officer in the Army, expressed shock over his wife’s sudden more..

Nov 26 (Island) Thunder showers are likely to continue during the next few days in many parts of the country and floods could be expected if rainfall exceeds 150 ml. Seven deaths had already been reported due to floods during the last one week, the Disaster Management Centre said yesterday. A Met department officer said that heavy rains, accompanied by thunder and lightning could be expected in the Northern, North-Central and Eastern Provinces. Heavy thundershowers could be more..

Nov 26 (AFP) Sri Lanka's chief justice says it is illegal for politicians to investigate her and vowed she will defend herself against impeachment charges of professional and financial misconduct. Shirani Bandaranayake, whose case has raised fears the govt is trying to control the courts, told a parliamentary select committee there was not an "iota" of truth in allegations against her. Bandaranayake, 54, the country's first female more..

Nov 26 (DM) The public never had much faith in the govt or its economic policy-makers; for the policies brought about by them often lacked sustainability and feasibility. Deliberately or otherwise, they only catered to the privileged few who only knew how to spend the public money most lavishly. Hence, it is not a reason to rejoice when a politician or any other highly connected person for that matter, who has been the personification of extravagance, going on record to say, every comfort that surrounds more..

Nov 26 (CT) There is a huge list of United Nations resolutions that concern Israel; and the Human Rights Council has adopted more resolutions condemning Israel than it has all other states combined. However Israel has not cooperated in many of these but there was no real intervention made by the UN on this issue. From 1967 to 1989 the UN Security Council adopted 131 resolutions directly addressing the Arab–Israeli conflict. In early Security Council practice, resolutions did not more..

Nov 26 (ST) When you keep running in the wilderness, there is a time when you stop and realise that at one point you had taken the wrong turn. The moment I learned that Haroon Lorgat – the former ICC chief – was coming to Colombo to rake through the cricket dirt and formulate a fresh plan, I was sceptical.No rogue would go to the police station and unfold his bundle of loot. Yet, the SLC has been bold enough to ask Lorgat to see more..

Nov 26 (AT) Sri Lankan Students Association of the University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA organized an awareness event on Sri Lanka’s conflict and on post-conflict developments on November 15, 2012. During the event the student group screened “Freedom Speaks” an independent investigative documentary about Sri Lanka’s conflict to an audience of university students, lecturers, Sri Lanka community members and media. more..

Nov 26 (CT) Deputy Minister Sarath Amunugama said there is no option other than printing money or taking loans to bridge the budget deficit. Amunugama said this when he declared open a People's Bank Service Centre in the premises of District Secretariat, Kandy, recently. The Minister further said though Sri Lanka needs Rs 1,700 billion as annual overhaul expenditure, income is only Rs 1,200 billion. more..

Nov 26 (SL) A disastrous piece of strategy ostensibly designed to save Lanka Coal and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) from a potential loss running into several millions of dollars, has now boomeranged causing the Lanka Coal Company and the CEB to resort to completely unheard of practices. At an emergency meeting of Lanka Coal and its partners, Ceylon Shipping, CEB and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority held more..

Nov 26 (Island) Minister Mervyn Silva yesterday said that he would not permit the sale of meat in the Kelaniya electorate from Jan. 1, 2013. Addressing a public meet in Kiribathgoda, he said that Kelaniya was a sacred area and hence the sale of any kind of meat would not be allowed in future. Minister Silva claimed that there had been unprecedented development in Kelaniya since he was appointed organizer for the electorate, more..

Nov 26 (Island) Although an oil slick still remains in the sea off Galle, the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) has released the vessel allegedly responsible for the leak. The vessel was taken into custody by the Sri Lanka Navy on suspicion that it had released furnace oil into the sea off Unawatuna two days ago. Fishermen complained to the MEPA that furnace oil was being released into the sea. more..

Nov 26 (AD) The female anesthetist from the Matara Hospital who reported missing since last Friday has been found in Anuradhapura this morning, police said. Police Spokesman SSP Prishantha Jayakody said it has been reported that she had visited Anuradhapura for religious purposes. Her husband had lodged a complaint with police on Friday claiming that his wife had gone missing on her way home from work. more..

Nov 26 (LB) More and more incriminating evidence of summary executions of inmates in the Welikada Prison by the STF and a special police unit (SPU) that took place after the army commandos took full control of the prison on the night of Nov 9 have now been revealed, despite an officially sanctioned cover up of the massacre. Our lead story last week reported that both prison officers and jailors had said how inmates more..

Nov 26 (LBO) By the end of 2012 94 percent of Sri Lanka's population will have access to electricity including improvements to the grid in war-torn areas in the island's north, the power ministry said. In 2012, 227,913 new customers had been connected. Off-grid power was provided to 40,000 households. The distribution network in the northern Jaffna peninsular which was isolated from the national grid was connected through an more..

Nov 26 (DM) The total govt debt as at end of August 2012 stood Rs.6249 billion against Rs.5059.1 billion reported in the same period of 2011, amidst rising domestic and foreign debt, the latest data showed. The total domestic debt which consists of treasury bills, bond and rupee loans stood at Rs.3253.2 billion at the end of August 2012, against Rs.2801.7 billion recorded in the same period of the previous year while total foreign more..

Nov 26 (CT) The mess created by the Z-score fiasco, the resulting long drawn out legal battles and the order to admit an additional 5,000 students to the universities to avoid injustice being caused to them is stuff that the public of this country are well aware of. But there is no sight of the mess created by the authorities in the education sector clearing any time soon, because a new crisis appears to be looming in the horizon due to their arrogance or foolish utterances. more..

Nov 26 (Island) The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) will carry out a survey to find out the quantities of paddy and rice available in State and private sector establishments today. A report on the evaluation will be submitted by the Chairman of the CAA Rumy Marzook to the Minister Johnston Fernando shortly. This is consequent to Minister Fernando receiving confidential information that rice millers were preparing to jack up the price of a kilo of rice by Rs. 5. Ministry sources revealed that more..

Nov 26 (PTI) The Sri Lanka govt has said it has prioritised its economic policies to achieve a lower deficit and moderate inflation. "High inflation is a tax on the poor. We must try and reduce inflation. My personal opinion is that it is far better to reduce inflation that raising wages," Deputy Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama said. He said the govt was able to bring down inflation from 20% to 7% in the recent period. more..

Nov 26 (EAR) How many wonder as to the practicality of ONLY soldiers going through all the rules and regulations in an intense battleground situation when the terrorist enemy are not signatory to any international humanitarian laws and possesses the means to retaliate with brutality? When the enemy thrives and survives on its ability to kill and care less what these laws are except to use them to protect themselves while they mercilessly gun down Govt troops and civilians more..

Nov 26 (LBO) Stocks closed 0.4% lower Monday while turnover dipped to 115 million rupees, levels not seen for three years, amid weak demand, brokers said. Colombo All Share Price Index closed at 5,384.8, down 22.2 points and the S&P SL20 Index closed at 2,960.01 down 7.3 points of 0.25%. Turnover was 115.9 million rupees. Turnover was at these levels in the first half of 2009, when the country was in the middle of a balance of payments crisis and in the last stages of a 30-year war. more..

Nov 26 (E24|7) A Sri Lankan couple allegedly offered Dh10,000 in bribe to an immigration officer at the Dubai International Airport to allow the woman to depart the country in spite of an entry and exit ban issued against her by the authorities. The woman FMT, 39, saleswoman, confessed that in 1996 she had entered the country on a maid visa and then ran away from her employer. She was deported in 2000 after serving 2 months' more..

Nov 26 (BNN) I have learned so much by trying to develop my own invention, says Chandula Padmasiri, a 19-year-old student at Colombos Ananda College. Not just about electronics or mechanical things, but about researching information, how to design something, and even my presentation skills have improved. In 2009, Padmasiri created a microscope that operates from a mobile phone, which he showcased at the exhibition. It basically converts an average more..

Nov 26 (AD) Several bone fragments - believed to be human – have been found during an excavation at the Matale Hospital premises today. Hospital authorities had informed the police of the discovery, made during digging carried out by a private firm using a backhoe. Officers of the Matale Police Station have been dispatched to the locations while they have sealed off the area and provided security. A decision would be made regarding conducting further excavation after more..

Nov 26 (CI) After grinding out 412 in the better part of two days, New Zealand tightened their control of the second Test with an incisive spell by their seamers to nip out three wickets - the fulcrum of the top order - before stumps on the second day. A combination of poor shots and a probing line by Tim Southee and Trent Boult left Sri Lanka at 12 for 3 by the sixth over. New Zealand were just as penetrative in Galle, but more..

Nov 26 (Island) The country’s largest corporate debt issue, state banking giant Bank of Ceylon’s Rs. 6 billion debenture issue was oversubscribed last Friday closing thirteen days ahead of schedule, the bank said in a statement. "This is the biggest ever debenture issue made by any financial institution in Sri Lanka. Large corporates as well as small investors representing a cross section of the society have subscribed for these debentures. This debenture issue was initially made for more..

Nov 26 (GDI) The first ever expressway souther expressway is to be extended upto Matara under its second stage next year. And there are two more expressways to be opened in the year 2013. Officials said that the (Airport) Katunayaka- Colombo expressway and the Outer circular road from Kottawa to Katunayaka via Kaduwela which connects the southern highway with Katunayaka expressway will also opened next year. The first expressway of Sri Lanka the Southern more..

Nov 26 (CI) Graham Ford knows his players won't have enough preparation time on the tour of Australia, but he is confident of the talent and determination they will bring to the field. Q: You came on board after a period of tumult for the team. What was the mood like in the dressing room when you came in? A: We went off to Australia [for the 2012 CB Series] as soon as I got started, and possibly there was a bit of uncertainty more..

Nov 26 (LT) The ‘Voice of Youth’ for a better tomorrow held its Hambantota District Convention at Tangalle Cooperative Hall with the participation of a large number of youths states the media unit of the organization. The election of office bearers for Hamabntota District Committee also took place. Mr. Mahesh Ambepitiya was elected the President while Miss. Ashoka Rajani was elected the Secretary of the organization. The co-convener of the National Preparatory Committee of ‘Voice of Youth’ more..

Nov 26 (LT) Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Joint Trade Union Alliance warns that trade union action would be taken soon against the failure of the authorities to fulfill promises made to solve issues of salary anomalies, stop taking revenge from employees and several other issues. The Member of the Action Committee of the CEB Joint Trade Union Alliance Ranjan Jayalal speaking at a media conference held recently said as a first step employees will agitate after more..

Nov 26 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka's maiden satellite launch done by SupremeSAT, a private company with collaboration from China's state owned China Great Wall Industry Corporation, is expected to take place on Tuesday, an official said. The launch was initially expected to take place on 22 November but was postponed due to bad weather, Space Systems Engineer Rohitha Rajapaksa said. The new date has been set for 27 Nov more..