Jan 11 (SL) Political interference has threatened the Mihintale Sacred City in Anuradhapura, where Buddhism was first introduced to the country 2,320 years ago by Arahath Mihindu Thero. Over the years, the number of boutiques and shops along the sides of the steps leading up to the udamaluwa and in the medamaluwa has increased due to alleged political interference. According to the Chief Incumbent of the Mihintala more..

Jan 11 (ST) Mounds of pumpkin lay on the floor of the Dedicated Economic Centre (DEC) in Dambulla. Gunny sacks full of imported onions and potatoes were piled up high. But with downpours continuing in most of the country’s crop-growing areas last week, other vegetables were in shorter supply than usual. This drop has now pushed up wholesale and retail prices. Traders predict that price levels will remain more..

Jan 11 (ST) A small-scale tornado ripped through a small southern village shocking and confounding residents, who in its aftermath are struggling to rebuild as the govt failed to provide monetary support. Lanumodara, Habaraduwa is a village about 10 kilometres from Galle town. Paddy fields and pet dogs are abundant in this area where most of its 370 families survive on farming, small businesses and as hired labour. more..

Jan 11 (OU) A situation has risen in the north, of not able to advance political activities freely. Meetings cannot be held by gathering public. Continuous obstructions are placed for the freedom of expression to the northern Tamil people. People are scared to reveal their opinions freely. Jaffna Archbishop Thomas Soundaranayam brought this to the attention of French Ambassador who had visited Jaffna yesterday. more..

Jan 11 (Island) The Public Health Department, of the Colombo Municipal Council, said yesterday that they had destroyed over 48,000kgs of imported potatoes, within the last two weeks. Chief of the Public Health Department Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam said that it included the Court order to destroy 34,000 kgs of potatoes. He said that 1,500 kgs of grapes and 12,000 kgs of oranges had also been among the items that were more..

Jan 11 (DN) Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa has launched a five-day programme (January 15-20) to brief community leaders and government officers from top level to rural level on the government's national policy to eradicate poverty in the country. The programme will cover 324 Divisional secretariats, island-wide. The Bill, which was debated in Parliament, and previously challenged in the Supreme Court, more..

Jan 11 (Island) Nearly two hours of the time allocated for the parliamentary debate on the impeachment motion against CJ Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake were spent on a verbal tug-of-war between govt and opposition members on technicalities. After Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa announced that it was time for the debate, in accordance with yesterday’s order paper, Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga got up more..

Jan 11 (SM) The SLFP last evening has asked minister Mervyn Silva to tender his resignation, temporarily as organizer for Kelaniya. The SLFP has decided to remove Mervyn silva for activities as Organiser for Kelaniya, until the investigations in to the assassination of PS member Hasitha Madawela have been completed. The SLFP has decided to appoint Basil Rajapaksa as Interim Organiser for Kelaniya. more..

Jan 11 (OU) Sri Lanka Teachers Federation had forwarded a letter urging Northern Province Governor and Northern Province education ministry Secretary and Sri Lanka teacher’s federation to immediately halt military to teach education in schools. Federation General Secretary Joseph Stanlin said, such activities of military should be impeded and this acts are strongly condemned by his association. He said, according to more..

Jan 11 (AFP) Sri Lankan lawyers on Friday urged judges to refuse to accept the appointment of a new CJ ahead of a vote that is expected to see the incumbent impeached by lawmakers. The Lawyers’ Collective in letters to judges said a move by parliament to go ahead with a vote later Friday to remove CJ Shirani Bandaranayake was illegal as two superior courts had already declared the process null and void. more..

Jan 11 (CT) A Supreme Court that has, in Judge Weeramantry’s estimation, been “a great pride to the country and has been highly esteemed both Domestically and Internationally” is faced with the threatened ignominy of sudden extinction. The character of “Braveheart” who dared to retrieve the irretrievable, if not fatal damage caused to the esteem of the Supreme Court, has been effectively assassinated and the assassins duly rewarded with “plum patronage appointments”. more..

Jan 11 (CT) With the quashing of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) ‘Report, findings and decisions’ by the Court of Appeal, the highest judicial authority in the country on this matter, the impeachment procedure so far conducted by the ruling Rajapaksa regime has come to a dead end. If they try to bypass or jump over this ruling and conduct the impeachment debate based on the quashed PSC report it would be highly controversial, morally repugnant and contrary to more..

Jan 11 (CG) The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay today condemned the execution of Sri Lankan housemaid Rizana Nafeek in Saudi Arabia. Rizana Nafeek, who arrived in Saudi Arabia from Sri Lanka to work as a housemaid in 2005, was charged with the murder of her employers’ baby a week after her arrival. Despite a birth certificate that allegedly showed she was a minor at the time of the baby’s death more..

Jan 11 (CT) For parents of Rizana Nafeek, the long wait is finally over; unfortunately, not with her release, but with her much-dreaded execution. For more than seven years, Rizana’s family waited for Sri Lankan authorities to intervene and secure the release of their daughter, incarcerated in a prison for a crime she claimed she never committed, waiting for her execution every minute of every day. She was sent to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2005 as a housemaid, to earn a pittance more..

Jan 11 (CT) The Voluble Mr. Wimal Weerawansa, a Minister of this govt and also a member of the PSC which investigated the allegations against the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, is a man never at a loss for a pithy argument. Only the other day, referring to the then pending hearing in the Court of Appeal of the writ application by the Chief Justice, Minister Weerawansa compared it to a situation where a victim of a theft was seeking oracular guidance from the mother of a thief; more..

Jan 11 (CI) B-team, hey? An Australian outfit led by George Bailey in his 14th ODI and featuring three debutants did what sides captained by Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Shane Watson have not managed to do in the past three one-day international encounters against Sri Lanka at the MCG: win. One of those first-gamers, Phillip Hughes, became the first Australian to score a century on ODI debut and Bailey fell just more..

Jan 11 (SM) UPFA MP Arundika Fernando has alleged an international conspiracy to send the country into lawlessness by using chief justice Shirani Bandaranayke as a puppet. He was speaking in parliament today (10) during the debate on the PSC report into the impeachment. According to him, parliament, as enforcer of the people’s supremacy, has been empowered by the constitution to remove the CJ for her wrongdoing. Leader of the House Nimal Siripala de Silva more..

Jan 11 (CI) Three Australians made their ODI debuts in this game: Phillip Hughes, Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja. The last time Australia had so many first-gamers in a one-day international, none of Hughes, Finch and Khawaja had been born. It was January 1986, when Steve Waugh, Dave Gilbert, Bruce Reid and Simon Davis all debuted together against New Zealand, also at the MCG. This time there was the added novelty of the three debutants batting in the top three spots, and more..

Jan 11 (CG) Attorney General Palitha Fernando says the people of this country look to the Attorney General’s Department to ensure the perpetrators of crime are held to account. He said this at the launch of UNDP’s Equal Access to Justice Project, implemented by the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration, aimed at strengthening the Rule of Law by enhancing the efficacy of the criminal justice system. more..

Jan 11 (CG) Britain is in talks with the Sri Lankan authorities to use a floating armory, the Guardian newspaper reported. Avant Garde Maritime Services (AGMS), a Sri Lankan company that works in partnership with the country’s government, is one of the major operators of floating armouries. The company’s chairman, Nissanka Senadhipathi, said there were “thousands of weapons” on his company’s ships. AGMS charges US$25 a day to store the weapons and ammunition, with more..

Jan 11 (LBO) Healing Journey, a leisure sector start-up is offering medical tourism services as Sri Lanka attracts more foreign visitors after the end of a 30-year civil war. Healing Journey has tied up with Sri Lanka's Durdans Hospital and Ceylon Tours to provide the service to international clients. "Medical tourism is the choice a patient makes to travel outside ones are of resident to obtain medical treatment and healthcare," Sanjaya Padmaperuma chief executive of Healing Journey said. more..

Jan 11 (CI) Sri Lanka may be forced to field their fourth wicketkeeper of the tour in the second ODI in Adelaide on Sunday, after Dinesh Chandimal hurt his hamstring during the loss to Australia in Melbourne. The uncapped gloveman Kushal Perera is part of the one-day squad and could make his debut on Sunday, depending on how Chandimal recovers during the short break between games. Chandimal top-scored for Sri Lanka with 73 in their more..

Jan 11 (GDI) The Sri Lankan Consulate in Dubai has made all arrangements to issue out-passes for Sri Lankan nationals who are illegally working the United Arab Emirates and prefer to go back to Sri Lanka making use of the Amnesty being granted by U.A.E for illegal immigrants to leave the country. The amnesty deadline ends in the first week of February in 27 days time. Out-passes to leave the country is required as almost all the illegal workers do not posses their passports, particularly the more..

Jan 11 (DN) Senior lawyer Upali Senaratna commenting on the request made by the BASL Secretary through SMS requesting him to refrain from working for two days said, "as a senior attorney at law, I cannot accede to the request." He said he received the request made by SMS by the BASL Secretary requesting that he refrain from working on two days. "In terms of the provisions of the Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Standing Orders of Parliament, the Report of the PSC has to more..

Jan 11 (DM) Senior lawyer J.C. Weliamuna said that the ‘lawyers collective’ is concerned about the safety of the Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake and urged the govt to act with restraint. “After yesterday’s incidents it was clear that the govt is willing to resort to extra judicial acts and therefore we fear for the life and property of the Chief Justice,” he told said. Earlier, the lawyers collective in a letter signed by more..

Jan 11 (IRIN) Recent extreme weather in Sri Lanka is likely to intensify the vulnerability of the poorest living in the country’s hardest hit northern and eastern regions, experts warn. The Northern, North Central, Eastern and Uva (in the southeast) provinces experienced weeks of heavy rains starting on 16 December. Flooding, at its height, stranded more than 447,000 people and displaced close to 50,000, according to the govt’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC). more..

Jan 11 (DM) The CID informed the Kaduwela magistrate’s court yesterday that they suspect more than 2,000 copies of the scanned science question paper of the GCE (O/L) exam had been distributed among tuition going students of Colombo, Gampaha and surrounding areas. The CID also told court that they were in the process of obtaining statements from several students. The CID revealed these facts yesterday when the complaint regarding the leakage of the GCE(O/L) question paper was more..

Jan 11 (DM) Following the beheading of housemaid Rizana Nafeek, the JHU yesterday called on the govt to reconsider its policy of sending women to Saudi Arabia for employment. JHU Leader, Ven. Omalpe Sobitha thera, in a press release, said that the govt should consider sending only trained male employers abroad from Sri Lanka and that too after considering the age of the individual. more..

Jan 11 (LT) The JVP while condemning the execution of Rizana Nafeek by Saudi authorities states the govt of Mahinda Rajapaksa failed to take necessary and urgent steps that were needed to save Rizana’s life and condemn the conduct of the govt of Sri Lanka of not taking the necessary measures for her release but carried out a campaign of lies deceiving Rizana’s family and the masses stating that Saudi regime would release her. The press release of the Political Bureau of more..

Jan 11 (GDI) Bolzano is to build a a hotel school in Hambantota, and has inspected three potential sites for the project. This has been disclosed by the President of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano of Italy Dr. Luis Durnwalder when he met President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees yesterday. Bolzano currently funds two projects in Sri Lanka, a tsunami housing scheme in Panadura and a development project at Meegaswewa in Medirigiriya. A delegation from the Bolzano, headed by more..

Jan 11 (DM) Being the first dissenting voice from a govt member against the impeachment motion Minister D.E.W. Gunasekara told Parliament that a constitutional crisis had emerged today due to a legal lacuna in the country. In a prepared speech on the second day of the debate on the impeachment motion, the senior minister who is also the Communist Party General Secretary held the Legislature, the Executive and the more..

Jan 11 (CG) A Sri Lankan seaman who was on the vessel “MV Orana” owned by an Ajman based shipping company, Kassab Inter Shipping LLC, which was hijacked by Somali pirates on 2nd December 2010 with twenty crew members on board, has been freed, the External Affairs Ministry said today. The Ministry of External Affairs, through the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Dubai and the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Nairobi, was in constant contact with the owner of the vessel more..

Jan 11 (DM) UNP MP Lakshman Kiriella and TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said that the resolution passed in parliament a short while ago was flawed and thus invalid. Speaking to the Daily Mirror after the conclusion of the vote MP Lakshman Kiriella said “it was a sad day for the country.” He went on to point out that the resolution presented was the same resolution that was tabled on November 6. “The speaker didn’t give a proper reason as to why our objections were not accepted,” he said. more..

Jan 11 (LBO) Parliament has voted to oust CJ Shirani Bandaranayake in a deeply partisan vote with courts and the opposition parties saying the move was illegal. The parliament voted 155 for 49 against with 20 abstentious, reporters said. The vote was delayed at the last minute when the main opposition objected saying a resolution to call for President Rajapaksa to make a speech formally was not before house. more..

Jan 12 (NS) The 1978 Constitution is not made for dictators, contrary to an oft-articulated view. It is rather made to make dictators in that it confers on the executive near dictatorial power. The objections, however, have focused more on incumbent than position or constitutional provision. The constitutional document is, of course, referred to but mostly to acquire the ‘objective’ tag or as make-up to disguise political preference. In the main it has been about likes and dislikes. more..

Jan 12 (CT) The year 2013 started with lots of very bad news and with a gloomy picture. The floods, landslides and rain played havoc displacing thousands of civilians and as reports indicate over 40 people lost their lives. Then the” Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra “type of a murder took place in Kelaniya sending Hasitha Madawala to rest in peace. A four year old girl was raped and murdered in Jaffna. Google survey released a report saying that the Sri Lankans are the more..

Jan 12 (SO) Shanties and slums scattered by the side of the southern railway line and the adjoining beach maybe a 'paradise' for many who live in these areas to enjoy their freedom. The behaviour of these people from shattered families, inherent poverty, their types of livelihood, addiction to drugs and various other factors have led them to be cornered as a separate communit, apart from mainstream society. But, should teir lifestyle more..

Jan 12 (GV) Learning lessons is a humbling experience. It takes place with the admission that one has made mistakes. Having made them, one feels the adverse consequences; having felt them, one realizes the importance of learning from those mistakes, learning not to repeat them, learning the required lessons. In the realm of politics, then, this process, this matter of learning lessons, is an extremely humbling and bold exercise. Viewed from this perspective, the establishment of more..

Jan 12 (DBS) Mano Ganesan, the Leader of the DPF said that ‘the lamentable death of Kaathai Muththusamy, a 68 year-old female of the Adawaththa Estate, Lunugala in Badulla, who died yesterday after a long illness while in prison is proof enough for the arrogance and ignorance of the govt on the Tamil political prisoners issue. It is also due to the indolence and impotence of the plantation leadership, which is in the lap of the ruling party. Muththusamy was arrested in 1994 for more..