Nov 3 (GV) Before the war, we were all together. Now, we are widows with no security, and no one sees what we have to live through. But we go on, try to find some money to get us through the day…we have to eat, no? The cooking and cleaning needs to be done, the children have to go to school…that’s how life goes. What must have seemed to 36-year old Rina like nothing more than a statement of unavoidable realities is laden with meaning for social scientists studying representations more..

Nov 3 (DM) The Planters Association of Ceylon (PA) said that the cost of production in Sri Lanka’s historic tea industry has sky rocketed with labour costs accounting for the largest component in the production process. The PA noted that the cost of production of a kilo of tea has increased from Rs.124.06 in 2002 to Rs.350 by 2011 and is now outpacing tea sales revenues. The PA warned that if this trend is continued more..

Nov 3 (Island) The National Food Vendors’ Committee, comprising leading private sector food outlet owners and officials of the Health Ministry’s Food and Drug Control Unit have decided to open Health Food Corners at leading fast food centres in the country. The Food and Drug Control Unit has requested the National Food Vendors’ Committee to make local and natural food available to the public, as junk food causes many health problems especially among students, according to more..

Nov 3 (DM) Sri Lanka, after loosing to India on the third day had to content with the runners up position in the Men's Team Championship at 6th World Carrom Championships which is now in progress at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo. The team comprising of Nishantha Fernando, M. Sherifdeen and Chamil Cooray lost to India's Yogesh Paradeshi, K. Sirinivas and Prakash Gaekwad. Chamil Cooray was the only Sri Lankan slicer to win a set against an Indian, when he won the first set against more..

Nov 3 (PTI) After weeks of protests and deliberations, Sri Lanka Cricket and its premier clubs have structured a new formula for its domestic first-class games, SLC said on Saturday. The new premier tournament involving three-day games will be the only first-class event in the island. There will be a four-day final between the top teams of respective tiers. The new format was struck after clubs protested vehemently against a move more..

Nov 3 (ST) The Japanese Govt has conferred on Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, founder of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement with one of its distinguished honors "The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold rays with Pink Ribbons", for his contributions in enhancing relationship by people to people exchange between Japan and Sri Lanka. "One of the largest contributions of Dr. Ariyaratne is his immense efforts to establish and develop activities of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) more..

Nov 3 (ST) The Navy today welcomed a decision by a court in Chennai South India that prevented local fishermen from carrying firearms while operating in waters of the Palk Straits. A group of fishermen in Tamil Nadu had sought the court’s permission for a firearm license to counter the alleged threat by the Sri Lankan navy that constantly monitors the Palk Straits. "We are not a threat to the Tamil Nadu fishermen but they must remain on their side of the boundary while engaged in fishing more..

Nov 3 (DM) Malwatte Chapter Mahanayake Most. Ven. Thibbatuwave Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera said that so much of work needed to be given priority instead of bringing an impeachment motion. Mahanayake Thera reiterated that the executive presidency should be abolished forthwith as otherwise it would create further problems in the country in future. He made these remarks when Minister Dinesh more..

Nov 3 (ST) Sri Lanka got over the disappointment of failing to qualify for the World Cup Rugby Sevens by clinching the Plate championship of an Asian Rugby Sevens Series for the third time beating China 26-5 in the final played in Singapore on Saturday. They scored from four tries and three conversions against a solitary unconverted try. This is the third straight occasion when Sri Lanka won a Plate title from four Asian Sevens Series outings this year. In the final, Nigel Ratwatte gave an early lead for Saliya more..

Nov 3 (Island) Is there a public opinion in this country? Does the opinion of the public matter? Or, is the opinion of the government the only opinion? Any opinion, whether it is about war or peace, devolution or no devolution. federal unitary, united or indivisible state, does not matter. What matters is what Mahinda Rajapaksa thinks about it. The govt band wagon echoes his thoughts and the opposition rambles and mumbles some opinion. Ranil Wickremasinghe adds spice to it and the more..

Nov 3 (DM) The sword used by the Nugawela Adikaram which was among the archeological items stolen from the National Museum had allegedly been sold for Rs 30,000 to a businessman in Galgamuwa, the main suspect in the theft Lansage Priyantha Mendis alias Kangetta had revealed to police during questioning. Following this revelation, the CID has launched investigations to arrest the businessman who allegedly more..

Nov 3 (Island) Sri Lankans have seen the rise of the "Permit Raj" during 60s and 70s. From the late 70s, there has been a steady removal of permits, licenses and other bureaucratic approvals. This has made Sri Lanka one of the most liberal regimes in the region, though there has been some reversal in recent years. At the present, the country is striving hard to become one of the easiest places for doing business in the world. However, there are a few areas where permits and licenses have more..

Nov 3 (Island) Sri Lanka’s best prospect in the world culinary stage, Dimuthu Kumarasinghe at a felicitation ceremony held to honour the winners at the World Culinary Olympics vowed that Sri Lanka would emerge the winner at the next Culinary Olympics in 2016 and said that the country hopes to compete with a contingent of around 60-70 chefs. He said that Team Sri Lanka won the second place at this years competition winning 15 golds. Kumarasinghe has the distinction of more..

Nov 3 (CT) “Rajapaksa emphasized to Blake his personal commitment to developing relations with the United States, pointing to the strong personal connections between the United States and his country’s leadership. (Rajapaksa himself is a U.S. citizen) Blake said the U.S. shares this desire, but we need to see progress on the issues discussed. Evidence of freedom of movement, for example, would go a long way toward that more..

Nov 3 (CT) The Minister of Agriculture, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, said farmers should be encouraged to produce organic seeds to ensure a better harvest at a low cost. The minister said this while on a recent visit to Welimada to discuss the farmers’ problems. He said that in 2005 when countries worldwide were affected by a food crisis, some countries fell economically, yet Sri Lanka managed to stay firm. The govt supported farmers by providing them with the required seeds more..

Nov 3 (CG) The police busted an ATM scam in Dehiwala today and arrested two Romanian nationals, the police media unit said. Both foreigners were arrested near the William Grinding Mills junction this morning. The police found 58 forged ATM cards and Rs. 2,351,000 in cash in the possession of the two suspects. Investigations had revealed that the two suspects had withdrawn cash from ATM machines in Dehiwala, Mount Lavinia and Bambalapitiya using the forged ATM cards. more..

Nov 4 (NS) It is now official. The Executive-Judicial clash is heading towards denouement and one that is not hard to call. We’ll get to that later. Chief Justice Neville Samarakoon escaped the ignominy of impeachment by resigning. Chief Justice Sarath N Silva was spared by the Parliament being prorogued first and then dissolved. In the case of the former, the Executive had sway over the necessary numbers in Parliament. In the case of the latter, the mover, Ranil Wickremesinghe more..

Nov 4 (SL) The motion to impeach the Chief Justice was handed to the Speaker of Parliament on Thursday. The decision to impeach Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake by the govt that appointed her would have raised many questions among the citizens because the reasons had not been clearly spelt out till the weekend approached. Relations between the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary has hit a sad low although they did seem to be quite cordial till very recent times. more..

Nov 4 (SO) Born and bred in the backwoods of Sabaragamuwa, today Telecommunication and Information Technology Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya represents his people in the national legislature. Apart from politics, he has his interest in art, literature and journalism. He is a regular non-political columnist to a number of Sinhala newspapers. He has also authored several books where one comes more..

Nov 4 (LB) Democracy in Sri Lanka is facing one of its defining moments in the post independent history as the govt, perhaps at the behest of the executive is planning to impeach the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. On Thursday, a group of ruling party MPs handed over a resolution signed by 117 members of Parliament to the Speaker, Chamal Rajapaksa calling on him to bring an impeachment motion against the chief justice under Section 2 of the paragraph 107 of the Constitution. more..

Nov 4 (SO) Sri Lanka spends a colossal sum of money annually on free health services at all Govt hospitals and dispensaries in the country. Not many countries offer such health services, ranging from a paracetamol tablet to a complicated coronary bypass or brain surgeries, free. Even most of the so-called developed countries do not offer such a wide range of free health services. People in those countries are obliged to seek medical insurance to cover expenses on health services. more..

Nov 4 (LB) General Secretary of the UNP, Tissa Attanayake says that any annual convention of a political party would differ considerably from any meeting held regularly. He added that it has been specifically stated as to what sort of procedures should be adopted before participating in such conventions and as to who should be able to attend it and how many could participate. He explained that a group vested with the more..

Nov 4 (Island) Nobody with an ounce of common sense in his head could be happy about the ongoing conflict between the Executive and the Judiciary which has led to a motion of impeachment against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, signed by over half the total number of Members of the 225-seat Parliament presented on Thursday to Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa. We will know later this week how govt intends to proceed on this matter. If past precedent is any guide, then a Parliamentary more..

Nov 4 (NS) It is now almost official: the ruling UPFA is about to impeach Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. Signatures for the impeachment motion were collected from ruling party MPs this week, reports said. This is the culmination of a long drawn out cold war between the Executive and the Judiciary. Unsavory though it may be, it is a tussle that is interesting because it will illustrate the extent to which the govt will act to retain its dominance over all spheres of activity in the country. more..

Nov 4 (SL) In her first interview with the media since assuming duties as the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Michele Sison says the United States, along with its partners in the international community, continue to urge Sri Lanka to address outstanding issues related to the Rule of Law, governance, accountability and reconciliation. “The United States remains concerned by the consolidation of executive power, the fact that more..

Nov 4 (SL) Imports have declined by 40% in rupee terms, further compounded by banks’ credit squeeze on temporary overdrafts (TODs), a shipper who didn’t want to be named told this newspaper. Imports have deceased due to various strictures imposed by Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) in order to avoid a balance of payments (BoP) crisis in the economy. Complementing those curbs, CBSL has also imposed an 18% credit growth ceiling on banks for this year which however may be more..

Nov 4 (Island) Thursday November 1, 2012, was an eventful day if ever there was one. While Sri Lanka was defending itself in Geneva at the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council, an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was handed over to the Speaker of Parliament in Colombo. Many people thought that the government would be diffident about impeaching the chief justice with the UPR session on Sri Lanka being held these days, and the theory was that even if more..

Nov 4 (Island) The Health Ministry has ordered the immediate withdrawal of 80 batches of vital life saving drugs, 80% of which are antibiotics and the anti-diabetic Metformin, worth billions of rupees from government hospitals island-wide after the National Drugs Quality Assurances Laboratory discovered they failed quality standards, and hence were ineffective, senior medical officials said last week. Amongst the medicines withdrawn more..

Nov 4 (NS) The Universal Periodic Review on Sri Lanka in Geneva was overshadowed in the media by the ongoing tug-o-war between the executive and the judiciary, especially with the decisive move to impeach the Chief Justice. The third impeachment motion against a Chief Justice in Sri Lanka was handed to the Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa last Thursday signed by 117 Members of Parliament, 42 signatures more than required. Accordingly, Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, the first more..

Nov 4 (SL) Borrowings are needed to fund infrastructure development works due to limited internal capacity, ADB’s Country Director for Sri Lanka Ms. Rita O’ Sullivan said. O’Sullivan speaking at an international trade facilitation seminar for the Asia-Pacific (AP) region that opened in Colombo on Tuesday said that ADB support for trade facilitation has had helped local banks to build linkages with international banks. Senior Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama who was the chief guest more..

Nov 4 (Hindu) India should prevail upon the United Nations to have a referendum under its supervision to enable Tamils residing in Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka to determine their future, DMK president M. Karunanidhi said. Elaborating on the memorandum submitted by the DMK to the United Nations, based on the resolution adopted recently in the Tamil Eelam Supporters’ Organisation (TESO) conference, more..

Nov 4 (NS) The Deputy Secretary to the Treasury at the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Dr. B.M.S. Batagoda last week said that the govt is finding it difficult to implement some of the proposals put forward by the private sector towards the development of the country’s equity market as there have been disagreements on some issues within the sector itself. Addressing a panel discussion on the topic of ‘Capital Markets, Integrity and Development’ organized by the more..

Nov 4 (LB) The Ministry of Health is yet to carry out proper checks to ascertain whether qualified pharmacists are working in pharmacies around the country. Anyone who wants to become a druggist or pharmacist must possess a valid licence before engaging in the trade, a ministry official said. As most are not willing to go through specified courses of study before becoming a druggist or pharmacist what they tend to do is pay for such licences to become one. Due to this reason, more..

Nov 4 (CI) There's a saying in Sri Lanka that if you want rain, play a cricket match. But from mid-October to December, this rule does not apply. It is going to rain nonetheless, whether there is cricket scheduled or not. In 2010, West Indies found that out on their tour which began early in November. On that occasion, the rains became progressively worse through the Test series, and the third Test barely saw 100 overs of play more..

Nov 4 (SO) This is not the first time that an impeachment motion will be moved in Parliament. Earlier too, there had been three impeachment motions against judges during the UNP regime. Over 57 UNP Members of Parliament had signed the impeachment motion against former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva and Karu Jayasuriya was the first to sign it. The others who had signed the impeachment motion were Tissa Attanayake, Ravi Karunanayake, Joseph Michael Perera, more..

Nov 4 (SL) The tri-forces and the police have been put on alert to assist anyone during a disaster situation following the heavy rains experienced in the country last week, the Disaster Management Ministry said. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that he had met President Mahinda Rajapaksa last week and was given the green-light to utilize the tri-forces and police to assist affected families if the need arises. He said that following the heavy rains experienced last week several reservoirs more..

Nov 4 (SO) K.N. Choksy PC said the impeachment mechanism is the only accountability mechanism for the Higher Judiciary. As far as Judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal are concerned, it is the only method by which they are made answerable for their conduct in office. Where the minor Judiciary is concerned, the Judicial Service Commission, which is headed by the Chief Justice, has its own accountability and more..

Nov 4 (ST) In the coming week, two of the world’s largest nation-powers, China and the United States of America (US), pick their leaders; China for the next decade, and the US for the next four years.China’s ruling Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee will confirm within the new ‘forbidden city’ in Beijing, and behind closed doors, its next President and Prime Minister. Away from the prying eyes of the multitude, the 1.35 billion citizens it claims to represent, more..

Nov 4 (SL) The investment of Rs. 86.579 million by the Samurdhi Authority in four institutions during the period 2000 to 2004, had not received any dividends up to June 2012, according to the interim report of the COPE. However, the Samurdhi Authority claims that they have not invested Rs. 86.579 million in shares in four institutions but only Rs.65.635 million between the years 2000 to 2002. In its interim report presented ahead of the 2013 budget, COPE has identified six major issues more..