Dec 2 (LBO) Stocks closed lower with telco and diversified stocks losing ground amid foreign selling. All Share Price Index closed 0.99 points lower at 5,774.10, down 0.02%. The S&P SL20 closed 8.75 points lower at 3,165.88, down 0.28%. Turnover was 835.08 million rupees, up from 254.12 million rupees a day earlier, with stocks of 91 firms closing in the red against 64 gainers. JKH closed 1.00 rupee lower at 209.90 rupees with market transactions of 204.12 million rupees contributing more..

Dec 2 (DM) The Mun­nak­kar­aya Co­op­er­a­tive So­ci­ety in Ne­gom­bo has been se­lec­ted to re­ceive this year’s Help for Self-Help glob­al award, be­com­ing the first Sri Lan­kan or­gan­i­sa­tion to win such rec­og­ni­tion. The award is giv­en ev­ery year by the Strømme Foun­da­tion of Nor­way to in­di­vid­u­als or or­gan­i­sa­tions that show­case a proj­ect that suc­ceeds in fight­ing pov­er­ty. It was pre­sen­ted in an awards cer­e­mo­ny in the town of Kris­tian­sand, Nor­way, on 28 No­vem­ber 2013. more..

Dec 2 (Island) The way things were progressing, Cameron’s ultimatum should be taken seriously by the Govt of Sri Lanka, Tamil political activist Rajasingham Jayadevan said in London. British PM David Cameron has warned the Sri Lankan govt that if a credible, independent investigation is not held by March 2014 into possible war crimes allegedly committed during the 26-year-long war in Sri Lanka he will use his position on the UNHRC and call for an independent international inquiry. more..

Dec 2 (AD) A Russian national has been arrested for riding a motorcycle on the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway this morning, police said. The motorcyclist had illegally entered the expressway through the 18th Mile Post Interchange before he was arrested by police officers near the 6th Km Post. The Police Spokesman’s Office in a release stated that unauthorized vehicles are not permitted to enter the expressway and that legal action will be taken against those who violate this law. more..

Dec 2 (IL) The Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tea Board, for the 3rd consecutive year organized the "Sri Lankan Pavilion" at the Ottawa Tea Festival held on 23rd November 2013 at the Ottawa Convention Centre. The High Commission's participation at the festival was another item in the continuous campaign to promote Ceylon Tea in the Canadian Market. more..

Dec 2 (Hindu) The Customs officials at Madurai airport seized seven red sanders from three smugglers bound for Colombo on a Mihin Lanka flight at 4.20 pm on Sunday. According to A.S. Meenalochani, Joint Commissioner of Customs, the logs weighing 77.6 kg and worth Rs. 8 lakh in the international market were hidden under cricket pads inside three kit bags. Investigations revealed that the consignment originated from Chennai and was bound for Hong Kong through Colombo. more..

Dec 2 (Island) The two UNP rebel MPs Palitha Range Bandara and Ashok Abeysinghe, who were taken back to the party fold, claimed that they had not been reinstated in their previous positions in the party. MP Palitha Range Bandara said that he had not yet been appointed the party organiser for the Chilaw Electorate. He said he had asked for Chilaw, which he had been nursing at the time of his suspension. He said that he had met the party Leadership Council (LC) on Friday and more..

Dec 2 (PTI) Sri Lanka must not allow PM Manmohan Singh to visit the country’s former war zone in the Tamil-dominated north, since he declined to attend the CHOGM summit in Sri Lanka, the UNP said on Monday. Speaking in parliament, UNP senior leader John Amaratunga expressed vehement opposition to Dr. Singh visiting the island’s war-torn north. He said Dr. Singh’s visit to Jaffna was unacceptable as he had earlier more..

Dec 2 (Island) At least 200 Sri Lankans are electrocuted annually due to handling electricity without using safety methods. Among the victims were power pirates, said Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Central Province Deputy General Manager (DGM) N. B. Ranatunge. He was addressing the inauguration of a seminar on "Occupational Safety", sponsored by Marlo Trading Company. The venue was the Plant Genetic Resource Centre, Gannoruwa, Peradeniya. more..

Dec 2 (CG) The TNA is to seek a meeting with India on the Tamil issue, TNA leader R. Sampanthan said. He told the Jaffna based Uthayan newspaper that the TNA had noted comments made by the Indian govt recently on Sri Lanka. Some of the comments included India’s stand on the 13th Amendment to the constitution and investigations into human rights abuses committed during the final stages of the war. India’s Union finance minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said PM Manmohan Singh will more..

Dec 2 (AD) UNP today charged that the CHOGM 2013 hosted by Sri Lanka has gone down in history as the Commonwealth summit attended by the least number of heads of govts. Even the Wikipedia website states that the CHOGM held in Colombo was the summit attended by the least number of heads of state in the history of the Commonwealth, UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera said. He stated that the govt spent at least more..

Dec 2 (AN) Two gunmen threatened to kill Fr SS Johnpillai, priest of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the diocese of Trincomalee. The attack took place on 26 Nov, but local authorities did everything they could to keep the affair under wrap. Claiming to be Special Forces officers, two men accused the priest of celebrating a Mass that morning in honour of V Prabhakaran, leader of the LTTE. That same day, the SL govt had declared illegal any commemoration of the rebels. more..

Dec 2 (SM) All Ceylon Farmers Federation has decided to hold an agitation to oppose the failure of the govt to fulfill the demands from the budget they forwarded to the Minister of Finance before the budget was presented and against not giving any relief to farmers. The agitation is expected to be held opposite Fort Railway Station today at 4.00 p.m. by farmers adorned in their customary garb they wear in the field, the loincloth stated a spokesman for the Federation. more..

Dec 2 (CG) The European Investment Bank has signed a EUR 90 million loan agreement with the Govt of Sri Lanka. The loan aims at supporting both private and public industries and the services sector in projects across the country that contribute to climate change mitigation and support development of the local private sector through finance to small and medium enterprises. The project aims to improve small and more..

Dec 2 (LT) Speaking to a weekend newspaper the Secretary to the Treasury P.B. Jayasundara says if MP Namal Rajapaksa wanted to remove him he could have done so by directly talking to President Rajapaksa. President would have listened to MP Namal Rajapaksa says Mr. Jayasundara. He further states, “Does MP Namal Rajapaksa want to join Minister Wimal Weerawansa? He adds that if Mr. Namal Rajapaksa had told the President directly that keeping him would jeopardize the govt, more..

Dec 2 (CT) Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) claimed that Minister, Bandula Gunawardena’s revelation that, a professor had died due to heart failure, caused by stresses he had to undergo over the Z-Score crisis, was false, as the late professor’s medical report stated he had died of a lung disease. Minister recently told Parliament that Prof. K.R.M.T. Karunaratne had suffered a heart attack and had passed away after the Court verdict on the controversial Z-Scores was issued. more..

Dec 2 (CG) Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage today slammed comments made by National Olympic Committee (NOC) chairman Hemasiri Fernando to the media on the sports law. Speaking in parliament, he said that Fernando, after writing to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) alleging that the local sports law was having a negative impact on the independence of local sports associations, he had gone on more..

Dec 2 (CG) The TNA, seen by some in the govt as LTTE proxies, today condemned the atrocities committed by the LTTE during the 30 year war. TNA MP M.A Sumanthiran said that the attacks on civilians and assassinations of Sinhala and Tamil politicians, including the murder of Tamil politician Neelan Tiruchelvam, are acts which need to be condemned. However at the same time, he said that the govt must now implement its post war responsibilities including the assurances more..

Dec 2 (TD) Just over two months ago, the Tamils went to the polls for Sri Lanka’s NPC elections with defiance, yet with a cautious sense of festivity. Military harassment of voters and party candidates had been thorough and brutally innovative throughout the campaigning; in addition to the typical battering of election monitors, cash-for-votes and widespread intimidation, govt supporters had even printed a fake newspaper. The night of Election Day, one retired man from Jaffna more..

Dec 2 (Xinhua) The Sri Lankan govt on Monday said it would not succumb to any outside pressure to address alleged human rights issues. Minister G.L Peiris told Parliament that the international community must be fair in its assessment of the situation in Sri Lanka instead of being directed by pressure coming from within their own countries for their own survival. He praised a clarification made by the Chinese govt on more..

Dec 2 (CG) UN Special Rapporteur Chaloka Beyani commenced a five-day official visit to Sri Lanka to examine the overall situation of IDPs in the country. “I will gather first-hand information from all parties, including displaced persons and affected communities themselves,” Beyani said. During his visit he will have meetings in Colombo, Jaffna and Mullaitivu. “I will also look at the challenges and opportunities for durable solutions for IDPs, while I discuss the progress made with regard to more..

Dec 2 (SM) The protest demonstration scheduled to be held on Dec 5 by the broad anti-casino Front could face a standstill due to internal conflicts, reports say. The protest urging to scrap the Casino (Amended) Act was initially scheduled to be held on Nov 27 but was postponed to Dec 5 over an internal conflict. Though it was initially agreed to build the organisation under the headship of Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera and Ven, Dambara Amila Thera, only the name of more..

Dec 2 (ENS) Photographs showing detained Indian fishermen being chained and handcuffed in Sri Lanka, which surfaced here on Sunday, have caused outrage among fishing community leaders and human rights activists. As many as 32 fishermen belonging to Karaikal in Puducherry were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in October for allegedly entering into the Sri Lanka’s territorial waters. more..

Dec 2 (CG) The Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) which was formed to disseminate news to the media during the final stages of the war, has been dissolved, the President’s spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said. The decision was taken by the Ministry of Defence but could not provide any details as to why the decision was taken. The Ministry of Defence falls under President Rajapaksa who is the Defence Minister and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who is the Secretary of Defence. more..

Dec 2 (CT) Chairman of the All Ceylon Hindu Congress (ACHC), Kandiah Neelakandan, alleged that Hindu kovils had been destroyed in the High Security Zone of Palaly-Kankesanthurai on 26 and 27 Nov. However, the Military Spokesman, Brig. Ruwan Wanigasuriya, denied the allegation. Neelakandan said the public had informed the Chief Minister of the NPC, C.V. Wigneswaran, who had subsequently been on his way to visit the area, had also been denied access, he said. more..

Dec 2 (HCI) The project to set up nine language laboratories in the nine Provinces was officially launched at Gampaha by Minister Basil Rajapaksa and High Commissioner of India, Y.K. Sinha at a function held at Kimbulgoda Maha Vidyalaya in Gampaha today. Chief Minister of Western Province, Prasanna Ranatunga, Dy. Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Secretary, Education Department S.T. Kodikara, and more..

Dec 3 (NS) As the dust is settles on the CHOGM, even Sri Lanka’s critics would concede that the summit was a success despite its distractions. The Eelam lobby - including British PM David Cameron - had their say but SL had its way. Most parties who took sides over staging CHOGM in Colombo can claim victory: the govt for a smoothly conducted meeting, the Eelamists for gaining valuable mileage in the world media and even Cameron who will say that he succeeded in ‘shining the light’ on SL. more..

Dec 3 (NS) Principal of Law College (currently on leave) Dr. WD Rodrigo has written to The Nation, claiming that the story titled ‘Law College rocked by scandal’ published on Nov 10, was ‘untrue, malicious and defamatory’. The Nation publishes his letter in full in the spirit of honoring the right to reply. The Nation however cannot, as demanded by Dr Rodrigo, tender apology or correction. Please see ‘Editor’s Note’ below, which is a full response to Dr. Rodrigo’s missive. more..

Dec 3 (NS) Wildlife experts say that driving elephants into parks is futile because, as the drive from Hambantota to Lunugamwera would exemplify, the animals will die eventually due to starvation and stress. Two adult female elephants, a baby elephant two years old and a six-year-old elephant were killed recently in Handilla, Hambantota when an encroacher fortified his illegally occupied two acre plot by tapping more..

Dec 3 (CT) The main focus of the 2014 Budget has been to maintain the growth momentum and stability. It is justified by the majority of the public. In spirit, the budget aims at challenging structural inequalities in the country. Let our optimism take the lead. Those who drafted the budget may have been genuine in what they aspired to achieve – the reduction of poverty and increasing the per capita income of all Sri Lankans have been the ultimate goals the budget has aimed at more..

Dec 3 (ST) In retrospect, it appears that the 2013 CHOGM Summit hosted by the SL govt at huge economic cost represented nothing but a slanging match between unruly schoolboys boasting an unfortunate penchant for alpha male posturing. The stand-off between President Rajapaksa and UK PM David Cameron with a clearly nonplussed Commonwealth head Kamalesh Sharma caught in-between, much like a rabbit frozen in the hunter’s crosshairs, dominated international media. more..

Dec 3 (SO) Despite numerous measures taken by the authorities to curb the illegal transportation of jewellery mostly gold out of the country during the past several months, there has not been a visible reduction in the number of attempts being made by the perpetrators engaged in the racket. Many unorthodox manoeuvres were adopted by those who seriously into the illicit trade of smuggling gold out of the country under more..

Dec 3 (IPS) For years, it was the power chamber at the headquarters of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva – the Director General’s Conference Room, more popularly known as the Green Room, where a handful of delegates would gather for important discussions and meetings. The traditional power quad – the U.S., EU, Japan and Canada – would gather in the Green Room to “decide on global trade deals,” according to Masahiro Kawai, the head of Tokyo-based more..

Dec 3 (CT) I do not tend these days to accept invitations to speak in the fields of Education and English Language Teaching, but I was pleased to accept this one, largely because of the theme of your Conference. I feel in a sense out of touch with the subject, but this has been deliberate, because I must admit to some sadness at the manner in which the Ministry of Education failed to build on the foundation we had laid there for better English Teaching, and for better syllabuses for more..

Dec 3 (ST) The cost of living, from an economic perspective, is what confronts most people in Sri Lanka, a survey by the Social Indicator-Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has said. The ‘Survey on democracy in post-war Sri Lanka’ released this month says that a reduction in the cost of living is what most Sri Lankans would like to see as a result of the current development process. “They also think that it is (a) crucial area more..

Dec 3 (CT) I was told ‘we have been so many years in Ceylon. No one has studied Buddhism. Would you be able to do it?’ I said well, I will try” recalled Father Vito Perniola, one-hundred-year old Italian Jesuit priest who came to Ceylon in 1936. Fr. Perniola went onto teach Pali to Buddhist monks and nuns, and also published the standard textbook on Pali grammar in English. On the other side of Sri Lanka, Byron Ummani the Veddah elder from Batticaloa, reflected on the development more..

Dec 3 (Island) We thought the Z-score affected only GCE A/L students some of whom have even taken their lives, unable to secure higher rankings. But, Minister Bandula Gunawardena tells us that the death of a famous university don has occurred due to an issue related to that scaling method! Minister Gunawardena has recently told Parliament that Prof. K.R.M.T. Karunaratne, who headed an expert panel which prepared the 2011 GCE A/L Z-score formula, died due to a broken heart resulting from more..

Dec 3 (Island) Sri Lanka Anti-Doping Authorities had been turned away by the organisers when they arrived to conduct random drug tests on athletes at last week’s 50th Sri Lanka Army Athletics Championships at the Sugathadasa Stadium. The officials had arrived at the Sugathadasa Stadium on the third day of the competition, but were restrained from carrying out their duties by the organisers, highly placed sources told The Island. more..

Dec 3 (Island) Prior to the Commonwealth Summit there were several positive signals from both the govt and TNA. It was the govt that led the way by boldly deciding to conduct the NPC election, campaigning at the polls with enthusiasm and accepting its verdict with an appearance of good grace. However, after CHOGM there has been a decline in good news in relation to post-war reconciliation. The news is dominated by bitterness, be it the issue of the international community more..