Jan 11 (AP) With a bloody civil war over and a cautious peace at hand, a group of hardline Buddhist monks is rallying Sri Lankans against what they say is a pernicious threat: Muslims. In just over a year, the saffron-swathed monks of Bodu Bala Sena — or Buddhist Power Force — have amassed a huge following, drawing thousands of fist-pumping followers who rail against the country's Muslim minority. more..

Jan 12 (SO) The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has conducted a series of raids to apprehend errant importers and wholesale traders who reintroduce expired food items to the market. The CAA has conducted a number of raids and seized outdated consumer items where wholesale dealers have used fresh labels with bogus expiry dates. The CAA on Tuesday seized 21,000 kg of expired Basmathi rice from a warehouse in Mabola, Wattala while the stock was being repacked for distribution. more..

Jan 12 (NS) The British monarchy is not what it was. Elizabeth is not Victoria. On the other hand, she has outlasted more than a dozen prime ministers, most of whose names few would remember today. She has, when considered fit, snubbed the high and might who rule in the name of the people. Royalty still has currency in that island. It is for this reason and no other that it is ‘news’ when her grandson William decides to hop into a train to go to school. William doesn’t need publicity. more..

Jan 12 (SO) Minister Navin Dissanayake said the West has always gone ahead with its vicious campaign against Sri Lanka. They may bring a fresh resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC sessions in March. We will successfully face it. Minister in an interview said, “If there are any issues, anybody can discuss it with the Govt. But we are not going to bow to their demands. No sovereign country will do that”. more..

Jan 12 (SO) Thai Pongal will be celebrated on Tuesday with sanctity and gusto particularly by the workers of ‘recent’ Indian origin in the plantations. Sri Lanka’s commitment to a multi racial, multi religious community is evident from the fact that most days of significance to different religions and communities were declared public or mercantile holidays from the commencement of Independence. This is a fact overlooked by our monitors of racial and religious proprieties who find more..

Jan 12 (Island) Our regular columnist Nan who writes every week for this newspaper makes no secret of her admiration of the Galle Literary Festival which she has regularly attended and featured in her columns. Writing about the Geoffrey Dobbs flap for this week’s issue, we think she has placed her finger right on the spot by commenting that the Governor of the Southern Province, Kumari Balasuriya, the immigration authorities (no doubt with directions from up above) and Dobbs himself have been more..

Jan 12 (SL) While some believe that the Govt is heading towards the UNHRC session in Geneva on a relatively rugged path, Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said the Govt is confident about successfully countering the Geneva challenge that would emerge in March. “The Govt has taken measures to follow up the resolutions that have already been passed at the UNHRC and is working towards improving our conditions. more..

Jan 12 (NS) All of a sudden the words no confidence motion is now heard. The govt MPs were considering last month to bring about a no confidence motion against the TNA MP S. Sritharan for violating the Constitution in an attempt to pay tribute to V Prabhakaran in Parliament during the budget debate. The Opposition expects the JHU to bring about a no-confidence motion against PM DM Jayaratne for aiding the importation of heroin and then disrespecting Buddhist monks. more..

Jan 12 (NS) There have been numerous reports based on unsubstantiated claims made by parties whose neutrality is at best questionable about what really happened during the last days of the war. It was not, as claimed, ‘a war without witnesses’. If that were the case, then there is no case against Sri Lanka for reasons of information-poverty. But it was not a war without witnesses. The relevant facts can be obtained because there were entities that operated in the conflict zone or more..

Jan 12 (SL) UNP MP and former Deputy Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella is a strong opinion maker in terms of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy and the diplomatic service. He predicts Sri Lanka will face a serious crisis at the next UNHRC session in Geneva due to the lack of international support. “Over the past few years the govt has failed miserably to fulfill the promises it made to the international community and that is why they more..

Jan 12 (ST) My Dear Stephen Rapp, I thought I must write to you when I heard that you were visiting our Paradise Isle, as Uncle Sam’s ‘ambassador-at-large’ trying to find whether war crimes were committed when our war against terrorism ended almost five years ago.I am not sure whether you are aware, Stephen, but you are the latest in a long list of visitors who are boosting our tourist arrival statistics by visiting us for the same reason. With chaps like you, it is no wonder that more..

Jan 12 (ST) When a power plant has to be shut down 26 times between its commissioning less than three years ago and today, questions will be asked. As we print this edition it has broken down again yesterday. Now how about some answers? On Wednesday, Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant was reconnected to the grid after a four-day interruption. It was the second breakdown in five weeks. The first one lasted 17 days, from December 13 to 30, 2013. But this was no surprise. more..

Jan 12 (CI) As gloom came to rest above the Dubai stadium in the morning, Misbah-ul-Haq began his long, dreary filibuster. For 37 balls the match stalled on his unambitious blade and Sri Lanka's bowlers could do little more than settle into their channels. Though unsuccessful for long stretches, and lacking a team-mate to provide respite with a back-spell of bowling, the attack did not stray until stumps were drawn. more..

Jan 12 (CI) Sarfraz Ahmed, whose unbeaten 70 took the second Test into a fifth day, said Pakistan's lower order could put Sri Lanka under pressure if they survived the first hour. "If we survive that then definitely we will score," he said. "If we survive two hours we will be around 200 ahead. They [Sri Lanka] will also be under pressure, but we are a bit ahead of them. If we score another 100 runs it will give us a good chance to come back into the match." Sarfraz said the team management's backing more..

Jan 12 (Island) The revelation made by JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake that the Director of the National Accounts Division of the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) had been prevailed upon by his superiors to ‘massage’ the GDP growth figure for the first quarter of 2013 and bump it up from 5.5% to 6% has exploded upon Sri Lanka like a dirty bomb. One newspaper editor told the present writer that he had uploaded the video clip of Dissanayake’s speech in parliament to more..

Jan 12 (Island) Since reaching the finals of ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2000, when Sri Lanka hosted the event, county’s junior cricketers have struggled to impress in the under-19 World Cups. Malintha Gajanayaka was the captain when Sri Lanka lost the finals to a strong Indian outfit that comprised Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif 14 years ago. Since then, Sri Lanka have not even reached the semi-finals of the Under-19 more..

Jan 12 (SL) Halal has to be stopped by hook or crook. Sometimes we will have to resort to very hard decisions. But we will stop this menace. The so called company is no different from ‘Jamiyatul Ulamas’. The members of the Jamiyatul Ulama have beards. Those who are in the new company do not have beards, but they have similar objectives. What is Halal for them is Haram for us. The much debated Halal controversy took a new turn this week with the All Ceylon Jamiyatul Ulama (ACJU) more..

Jan 12 (ST) Chairmen of three commercial banks are due to retire this year at a time when the country’s financial landscape will change with Central Bank (CB)-ruled mergers and acquisitions. Stepping down are Dinesh Weerakkody (Commercial Bank), Rajan Brito (DFCC) and Arjuna Gunaratne (Nation’s Trust). This is in line with CB’s ruling that requires those who have served 9 consecutive years on commercial bank boards as well as those over 70 years of age to more..

Jan 12 (ST) Prices of common ingredients to prepare the common ‘Kiri Hodi” curry and other essential food items are rising based on the special commodity levy imposed by the Govt in the Nov 2013 budget presentation The cess on imports of many basic food items was also revised but no indicative prices were given until this week when the Business Times obtained the latest Sri Lanka Customs tariff notice. more..

Jan 12 (NS) Five students from the Ocean University of Sri Lanka were among eight persons arrested while allegedly engaged in treasure hunting inside the Ambanganga forest reserve in Rajammana. Police said the group was taken into custody by a team of officers from the Mahawela police in the early hours of last morning while they were digging for treasure inside the forest reserve. Police also recovered digging equipment, a water motor and items needed for a pooja more..

Jan 12 (Hindu) The UAE and Sri Lanka will soon open consulates in Thiruvananthapuram. The consulate of the UAE, second in the country after Mumbai, will function within three months in the State capital, Ambassador of the UAE to India Mohamed Owais said here on Saturday. The announcement was made in the presence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Minister for Non-Resident Keralite Affairs (NoRKA) K.C. Joseph, Union Minister of State for more..

Jan 12 (Hindu) NPC is attempting to carry out a comprehensive and professional needs assessment, C.V. Wigneswaran, Chief Minister of Northern Province said on Friday. Speaking at a conference titled ‘Democratising the North: A Dialogue on Governance, Development and Vulnerability’, the former Supreme Court judge said the post-war context in Sri Lanka’s north demanded a different approach to governance. more..

Jan 12 (CT) The staff of Southern Provincial Councillor, Maithri Gunaratne’s hotel in Kathaluwa, believe that someone had dumped a crocodile into the hotel pool last Friday. Hotel sources said they called the Wildlife authorities around 7 a.m. but they didn’t even bother to respond. Around 4.30 p.m., the Wildlife authorities, had called the hotel to inform that they were experiencing a breakdown and were unable to come. However, with the greatest difficulty, hotel staff had finally chased more..

Jan 12 (Island) The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) last week launched a new website and logo as part of its ongoing effort to enhance the quality and availability of information to existing and potential investors, local as well as regulators of other jurisdictions, listed companies, academics and students etc. The website and logo were launched by Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama, and in the presence of Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, Chairman, SEC and Mr. Dhammika Perera, more..

Jan 12 (ST) Next week’s high level talks between Sri Lanka and India in New Delhi on poaching in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters will also focus on a prisoner swap of fishermen. While Sri Lanka is holding TN fishermen in local jails, Indian authorities have detained Lankan fishermen in a number of jails there. Minister Rajitha Senaratne who heads the Govt’s delegation said they would be conveying to the Indian delegation that more..

Jan 12 (SL) UNP said it did not have faith in a ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)’, which has been proposed for Sri Lanka. UNP MP Lakshman Kiriella said there was no point in forming a TRC when the “hard recommendations” of the LLRC are yet to be implemented. Denying the claims that a TRC comes as part of implementing the LLRC recommendations he said that nowhere in the world has one commission been appointed to implement the recommendations of another commission. more..

Jan 12 (Hindu) In the run-up to the January 20 meeting here between fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, 275 Tamil fishermen lodged in various prisons in Sri Lanka would be released starting January 13, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced on Saturday. Tamil Nadu will in turn release 179 Sri Lankan fishermen as requested by the Centre to facilitate the talks. Reacting to DMK president M. Karunanidhi’s allegation that the meeting between the more..

Jan 12 (PTI) Seeking to create a favourable atmosphere for the proposed meeting of fishermen associations of India and Sri Lanka, TN Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa directed the release of Lankan fishermen lodged in prison in the state and sought that their Indian counterparts jailed in that country also be freed by Jan 13. State govt had already sought the Centre to press SL to release TN fishermen languishing in jails more..

Jan 12 (GDI) President Rajapaksa as a past pupil of Colombo Thurstan College, Saturday morning participated in the function organized by its Past Pupils Association to mark the 64th Anniversary of the school's journey. The President declared open the Basketball Court of the College during the ceremony. Thurstan College commenced in the year 1950. Thurstan College has successfully groomed many great personalities including President Rajapaksa who is discharging more..

Jan 12 (NS) Problems plaguing the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai continued last week with authorities being forced to shut down operations on Friday night. The move came after engineers had again commenced operations after the plant had been shut down due to a technical fault earlier in the week. The plant, which has broken down over two dozen times since it was commissioned in March, 2011, may not be back online until later this week, according to Media Secretary to more..

Jan 12 (ST) Some 90% of the respondents in a Business Times poll say they don’t believe the Govt’s economic data. Asked, “Are inflation, cost of living and growth provided by the Govt/Central Bank accurate”, 90.5% of the respondents said “No” while 5.6% said they were “Undecided”. The poll, which drew responses from economists, businessmen, professionals and students among others, came on the back of more..

Jan 12 (SL) Sihala Ravaya says it has decided to be the unofficial police of the State and crackdown on corrupt officials. National Organiser of Sinhala Ravaya, Ven. Akmeemana Dayarathana Thero said that they will hold a march from the Temple of the Tooth Relic to Colombo to protest against the corruption among ministers and MPs. “Ministers and MPs in the govt are engaged in various kinds of rackets. According to the COPE report 60% of state institutions run at a loss and more..

Jan 12 (SL) SLMC has demanded a Presidential Commission to be formed to investigate the atrocities committed against the Muslims in the North. SLMC General Secretary Hassan Ali said that the party has sent a letter to President Rajapaksa demanding the appointment of the Commission. He said that while the Muslim community was not directly affected during the final stages of the war, there has not been any investigation into the murder of some 20,000 Muslims and eviction of more..

Jan 12 (CT) Central Bank Deputy Governor, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, defended the official data regime currently under criticism, saying Sri Lanka has adopted standards set by the IMF, while the IMF says otherwise. At a forum earlier this week, the Central Bank Deputy Governor challenged the skeptics who were doubtful of the official Inflation figures and other economic data. He pointed out that Sri Lanka currently more..

Jan 12 (ST) Applicants for new passports will be fingerprinted from this year on, Immigration Controller Chulananda Perera said. The programme to collect biometric (fingerprints) data would begin by April, he said. “The plan for the project is being finalised. The tender process will be concluded soon and we hope to begin the project within the next three months,” he said. The information would be saved in a designated secure computer system and introduced in the new passport more..

Jan 12 (NS) The tweet posted by the United States Embassy alleging that the Sri Lanka Army shelling killed hundreds of civilians in Puthumathalan makes it plain that the US has already pre-judged Sri Lanka, Minister Wimal Weerawansa charged. Addressing a function held at the Construction Equipment Training Centre in Battaramulla to distribute high speed sewing machines worth around Rs.3 million to women from low income families, the minister claimed the US was really more..

Jan 12 (ST) Sri Lanka’s largest drug bust is causing uncertainties over the future of PM D.M. Jayaratne, and in a sense, the Govt of President Rajapaksa. The latest call for his resignation has come from hardline members of the Buddhist clergy Sihala Ravaya. On Thursday, they laid a five-hour siege on Premier Jayaratne’s Office. They demanded that he resign from the post of Minister for Buddha Sasana. more..

Jan 12 (CT) The year 2014 is already beginning to look dismally inauspicious for the Sri Lankan leaders, with the United States making known its intentions to seek an international probe into alleged rights abuses by the security forces in the final months of the war, through a third resolution at the UNHRC in Geneva in March this year. US Ambassador-at-Large at the Office of Global Criminal Justice, Stephen J. Rapp, was reported to have communicated this to the TNA, more..

Jan 12 (Island) It was not quite the revolt in the temple of old but sacred temple tenants were out on Flower Road last Wednesday, storming the Prime Minister’s Office and mixing it up with cops and guards who were standing in the way. The monks wanted the PM’s head not over the heroin pickle that the PM has got into but for going on the counter-attack and publicly calling a member of the Maha Sangha "Cheewaradariya". The Prime Minister, known for his outspokenness, more..

Jan 12 (ST) EPDP member and Northern Provincial Council Opposition Leader Kandasamy Kamalendran has rejected a request by his party boss Minister Douglas Devananda to resign from his office as a councillor and as NPC opposition leader. Mr. Kamalendran, now in remand custody, has said he wants to remain in office and asked his leader to arrange for him to be escorted to attend meetings of the council. more..