Jan 20 (Island) Steps were being taken to bring in amendments to the existing laws to meet the requirements of the times and do away with the laws for the benefit of the people looking for justice, said CJ Mohan Peiris calling upon the Mahanayaka Theras of Malwatte and Asgiriya yesterday. CJ said SL was still following laws based on Roman, Dutch and British systems and the need had arisen for a legal system suitable for the country. more..

Jan 20 (NS) The case over the burglary of Matara district MP Mangala Samaraweera’s house on Dec 30, had taken a new twist as the information gathered so far does not tally with the first complaint by the MP’s caretaker. Following the complaints of the caretaker of the house and the MP, Panadura Police had arrested one suspect identified as Shewan Priyankara of Ratmalana with information of the stolen laptop and more..

Jan 20 (Island) Leader of the DPF Mano Ganeshan is of the opinion that the govt’s plan to send Northern Provincial Councillor Anandhi Sasitharan for rehabilitation alleging that she has separatist sentiments will send the wrong signals not only to the Tamil community but also the UNHRC which is to meet in Geneva, Switzerland in March. He said that if Mrs. Sasitharan was involved in activities against the state, more..

Jan 20 (CT) A survey conducted by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) has revealed that more than 2,900 children and young men who had been abducted from their homes by the LTTE, had perished in the war. A senior TID official said a counselling programme has been initiated by the Army to redress the parents whose children had been subjected to forced conscription and who had later died in the war. more..

Jan 20 (Island) Acting on a tip-off, Mawanella police on Saturday afternoon arrested two persons with 43 counterfeit notes of Rs. 1,000 denomination. The duo got a counterfeit note changed at a shop in Kadugannawa and moved to another shop where the owner felt suspicious and informed police. The police rushed to the scene and took the suspects into custody before they could getaway on a motorcycle. The police said that all counterfeit notes bore the same number SS/41747312. more..

Jan 20 (GN) Dilruwan Perera — a player who had waited many years for his Test debut — suffered a sad end to a gritty knock on Friday. The No 8 batsman was on the brink of becoming the first Sri Lankan to score a century on debut on foreign soil, but he fell five runs short against Pakistan at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. However, Perera had still helped Sri Lanka into a strong position at the end of day two of third Test and, answering a query from Gulf News about how disappointed he was more..

Jan 20 (CT) Speculation is rife as to who may be launched as the next presidential candidate by the Opposition to stand against President Rajapaksa, considered the strongest candidate. While Rajapaksa will seek a third term, many other names are also being mentioned by various interest groups, including the name of a former president, Chandrika Kumaratunga, Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera, former CJ, Shirani Bandaranayake and more..

Jan 20 (LBO) Sri Lanka stocks close up 0.42% Monday reversing last Friday’s losses with index heavy stocks gaining. All Share Price Index closed 25.63 points higher at 6,156.68, up 0.42%. The S&P SL20 closed 17.77 points higher at 3,425.71, up 0.52%. Turnover was 675.77 million rupees, down from 1.64 billion rupees last Friday, with stocks of 97 firms closing in the red against 85 gainers. Chevron Lubricants closed 60 cents higher at 280.60 rupees and topped the off market turnover list more..

Jan 20 (WA) It's dawn. Freezing rains are howling across the sub-alpine grasses; we struggle from being blown off the rough path. Suddenly, we burst through a wall of mist to a platform. A sign announces "World's End", warning of a sheer 800m drop. We are hiking the 10km Horton Plains circuit to Baker's Falls and World's End, in the 2000m-high central mountains of Sri Lanka. This is not a common image of tropical Sri Lanka, that Tasmania-sized teardrop island that seems to more..

Jan 20 (LBO) Sri Lanka Telecom said it had expanded broadband service coverage by deploying fourth generation wireless technology to areas that are not served by its wired network. From January data volumes on all broadband packages had been increased. SLT provides broadband services through ADSL, fibre to home and now through 4G LTE wireless technology. At Ruwanwella, the firm said it had more..

Jan 20 (Island) The Health Ministry with the assistance of Public Health Inspectors (PHIs), Army, Navy and Police personnel launched a massive dengue eradication programme in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia municipal area yesterday. The police arrested about 30 house owners whose premises had potential dengue breeding grounds. They would be prosecuted, the Health Ministry said. On the instruction of Minister Maithripala Sirisena a dengue eradication operation had commenced more..

Jan 20 (Island) Minister Maithripala Sirisena has appointed a Technical Committee to settle the on-going dispute between nurses and midwives over labour room duty. GMOA President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya said that on behalf of the GMOA he had met Minister Maithripala Sirisena last week and explained to him that nursing and midwifery were two different disciplines. He said that Sri Lanka had been able to maintain sound infant and maternal mortality rates for many decades due more..

Jan 20 (AD) UNP today accused the govt of following in the footsteps of Nazi German dictator Adolf Hitler, by amending laws in the country to cover up its defeats and to suppress the people’s right to protest. Recently the govt has secretly approved amendments to the Local Govt Act, UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said. He stated that the reason the govt is suddenly amending all local govt bills is due to the recent more..

Jan 20 (DM) Army said that it would launch a Court of Inquiry on the arrest of an Army soldier with 43 counterfeit Rs 1000 notes in his possession while he was on a motorcycle with another at Pahala Kadugannawa area on Saturday. The Army Headquarters said that Mawanella Police arrested the suspect, Private Sameera Sampath (23) of Kohobankulama, Wanni Kudawewa, Galgamuwa with another youth (26) on Saturday when he was on the motorcycle at Pahala Kadugannawa more..

Jan 20 (Island) The Israeli and Sri Lankan govts last week signed an agreement in Tel Aviv to swap each other’s prisoners for them to complete their sentences in their own countries. Minister Rishad Bathiudeen and Commissioner General of Prisons Chandraratne Pallegama signed the agreement on behalf of Sri Lanka. They returned to the country on Saturday. Eight Sri Lankan prisoners serving sentences in Israel would soon be exchanged with 12 Israelis held in Lankan prisons. more..

Jan 20 (DM) JHU today sent a letter of demand to PM D.M. Jayaratne through their Lawyer Tudor Perera, claiming Rs. 1 billion over the remarks he had made regarding JHU Leader Ven. Omalpe Sobitha thera. JHU spokesperson Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe said, since PM Jayaratne did not apologise to the Buddhist monks including Ven. Sobitha Thera nor withdraw his statement within the allocated 14 days, more..

Jan 20 (Island) Consultant ENT Surgeon Dr. Mrs. Chandra Jayasuriya said that the nervous deafness could be properly treated if the patient sought timely medical attention within 24 hours. She pointed out that sudden deafness of the ears could be caused by various factors. Victims were mostly persons suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol. It could happen while trying to clean ears using various instruments and stagnation of ear wax could also lead to sudden deafness. more..

Jan 20 (Reuters) The rupee ended a tad weaker on Monday due to importer dollar demand, while dealers said a govt decision to keep a $1 billion inflow from a recent sovereign bond sale with the central bank's reserves could hurt the currency. The spot rupee closed at 130.75/77 per dollar, tad weaker from Friday's close of 130.73/75. Swarna Gunaratne, the head of central bank's Economic Research Department said the govt has kept the inflows in the central bank's reserves more..

Jan 20 (CI) Pakistan turned a Test that had been an abysmal advertisement for cricket for four days and one session on its head, with an incredible batting performance after lunch on the final day, when they scored 302 runs in 57.3 overs to sucker-punch Sri Lanka and level the series. Their run-rate of 5.25 was the highest in a successful chase of a 300-plus target, and the heroes of this heist - Azhar Ali, more..

Jan 20 (DN) City Coroner Ashroff Rumy on Thursday issued notice returnable on January 31 on an expatriate resident manager of a resort who initially refused to admit a guest to the hospital after he suffered a haemorrhage tragically on his honeymoon night. “This is a clear violation of human rights,” said the Coroner at the inquest held on the death of Wickremaratnage Suresh Nishantha Priyadharshana, a chef by profession and a resident of Korathota, Kaduwella. more..

Jan 20 (Island) SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem issuing a condolence message on the demise of the spiritual leader of Dawoodi Bohra community said: "It is with sadness that I learnt the demise of Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin the spiritual leader of Dawoodi Bohra community. Under his able stewardship spanning nearly five decades the Bohra community has achieved remarkable social, economic and educational success across the world. He is also well known worldwide for his more..

Jan 20 (DM) The charred body of a woman employed at a nightclub was discovered by the Piliyandala Police near the well of a rented room in Kudamaduwa, Piliyandala today. The dead woman was identified as Kanchana Gayani Abeyratne – a mother of three children, who had been working at a nightclub. A police constable suspected to have fled the seen when the woman was burning had also surrendered to Police. more..

Jan 20 (Island) Govt Medical Officers’ Forum (GMOF) informed Minister Maithripala Sirisena that their members would volunteer to lead an effective awareness campaign against milk powder products. Around 25% of the Sri Lanka, population was diabetic at present and by 2040 it would increase to 50% if people’s lifestyles were not changed. GMOF said the consumption of powdered milk was injurious to people’s health. In advanced countries fresh milk was consumed, but Sri Lankans were more..

Jan 20 (DC) Mobile theatre might not be a wonder for Keralites, as they are familiar with art forms like koothu. However, the moving theatre of Janakarliya from Sri Lanka is bound to be a crowd puller at the sixth edition of the International Theatre Festival (ITFoK) to be held here from 27th of January. Janakaraliya is a theatre group in Sri Lanka that promotes grassroots level peace and reconciliation between communities divided along ethnic, social and religious lines. more..

Jan 20 (CG) Wife of former LTTE Trincomalee district political head S. Elilan met the Presidential Commission on disappearances today and lodged a complaint about her missing husband. Anandi Sasitharan said that she shared details about her husband with the Commission and insisted that he was last seen with the army. Sasitharan met the Commission in Kilinochchi where it has been recording statements since more..

Jan 20 (DM) India’s Consulate General in Jaffna V. Mahalingam said that, his country was looking forward to starting direct air links between India and Jaffna along with the ferry service between Talaimannar and Rameswaram at an early date. India has helped in rehabilitating Kankesanthurai Port by removing wrecks/sunken ships and also dredging under Indian grant assistance Additionally, he said that by April 2014, the railway line would eventually reach Jaffna. more..

Jan 20 (DM) Several MPs in the UNP including Ranjan Ramanayake have volunteered to contest as Chief Ministerial candidates at the next PC elections. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake told journalists that a number of party seniors had expressed their willingness to contest the elections. He said the party was grateful to those MPs including Mr. Ramanayake who had come forward in a bold manner. “We have decided to field some popular figures as candidates,” he added. more..

Jan 20 (DM) China will ‘unswervingly’ speak for Sri Lanka during the session of the UNHRC in Geneva to uphold justice, Chinese Ambassador Wu Jianghao said. He said China recognised the progress achieved by the SL govt and its people in economic and social development after the ‘internal conflict’ ended. Reiterating that China and Sri Lanka are true friends, he said a friend in need is a friend indeed. more..

Jan 21 (NS) Now it is official: the Western and Southern provincial councils have been dissolved and elections to these two councils will be held in the coming weeks signaling what many believe will be a busy year for the Department of Elections. This has been a tried and tested strategy for the ruling UPFA and President Rajapaksa. The objective is to defeat the Opposition, mostly the major opposition party the UNP, and then carry that momentum into national elections. more..

Jan 21 (NS) It is reported that the Leadership Council of the UNP has appointed a 12-member nomination board to select candidates for the upcoming PC elections. Among the persons appointed are Sajith Premadasa and Thalatha Athukorala. Here’s the rub. Now they can accept the posts or reject them. If they reject, then those loyal to them seeking nomination will get sidelined. If they accept, they will also be acknowledging the legitimacy of the Leadership Council. more..

Jan 21 (SO) The legal profession was considered to be a gateway to the political arena in the good old days and almost all top class politicians of both camps were eminent lawyers when parliamentary democracy was introduced in the country. However, with the passage of time, the trend was slackened and people from different professions and different strata of society started taking to politics. Some of them ended their political career more..

Jan 21 (CT) “Prime Minister, resign! Go home!” This is the slogan that the man in the street has been hearing above the din of other political cries for the last few weeks in the country. It is not the political opposition that is asking for the political head of Prime Minister, D.M. Jayaratne, widely called ‘Dimu,’ the acronym formed from the Sinhala initials of his surname. It is the JHU, a constituent of the ruling UPFA coalition that is raising a hue and cry that PM Jayaratne resign over the scandal more..

Jan 21 (ST) The Buddha was the first missionary; and the first to set the Wheel of the Dhamma in motion to reach the ends of the earth for the welfare of all beings. By his precept and deed he emphasised the right of every man to propound without bar the tenets of his religious beliefs provided the gospel beating did not trample upon the religious sensitivities of people who held a different creed. During 45 years of missionary work, the Buddha sent his monks far and wide to more..

Jan 21 (ST) “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” A simple white cross and a woman, soaking-wet, upraised face and palms together, mouthing words of remorse and anguish as streaks of lightning render the landscape ghostly. A searing scene in the gloaming before the shadows of night overcome the dusk. The gloomy and overcast skies have begun, it seems as if, to shed copious tears along with the streaks of lightning and growls of thunder. more..

Jan 21 (ST) Despite Sri Lanka’s most disgraceful history with a plethora of demonstrably useless Commissions and Committees established by successive Presidents, it is a matter for considerable astonishment that the Rajapaksa Presidency’s near desperate proposal of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission at the turn of this year, appears to have found support in some quarters of our society. One is uncertain whether such support derives from sheer naivete or whether this originates more..

Jan 21 (CT) It is election time again. While the writer would not dare predict which Party would win or the percentage points, a certain evaluation could be made if the theories of political calculus hold right. That evaluation would undoubtedly be of some help to arrive at a fair and balanced forecast that could be put across for the exclusive use of political junkies whose pastime is ‘talking politics’ when they get together in the elite social clubs, cocktail parties and on the golf courses. more..

Jan 21 (SL) The Western and the Southern PCs were dissolved last week following the written requests by the Chief Ministers of the two provinces to the relevant Governors. Political parties are already preparing for the election even though the date for the provincial council election is yet to be decided. While some parties have found new faces to attract the public, the others are working on their propaganda campaigns finding faults more..

Jan 21 (Island) The govt has come under pressure from the people of Moneragala to legalise ganja or cannabis, Minister Sumedha Jayasena has said, according to our lead news item yesterday. Ethical and moral principles governing people’s actions tend to desert those troubled by hunger pangs and threats to their survival. Today, we carry a report that US President Barack Obama has set the cat among the pigeons by claiming that smoking cannabis is safer than drinking alcohol. more..

Jan 21 (Island) Shortly after the end of the war in 2009, President Rajapaksa declared that in Sri Lanka there would no longer be an ethnic majority or ethnic minorities but only a majority who loved the nation and a minority who were traitors. Apart from the warning inherent in this statement to those who were political dissenters, there was also the implication that a political solution based on the notion of ethnicities and majorities and minorities based upon them would be more..

Jan 21 (Island) Sri Lanka would be holding a symposium of the scientific and technological community of the country, independent of political interference, in the near future in Colombo to formulate a policy and strategy on science, technology and innovation for the country, Minister Champika Ranawaka said. Addressing the Presidential Award for Best Scientific Publication ceremony organized by the NRC more..