Mar 7 (SL) Women-headed households (WHH) are a more recent phenomenon due to the war and other factors. There are many such households in the country today and women have taken on the dual roles of being providers as well as caregivers. In spite of WHH being disproportionately concentrated among low-income groups, there are lots of issues in relation to single women and increasing poverty, which more..

Mar 7 (ST) Six months after Sri Lanka Customs’ detection of Asia’s largest heroin haul, police have yet to file action against the suspects in custody, as investigations have slowed down. The Customs claim their investigations have been concluded, and the Govt Analyst report on the 261 kg of heroin smuggled in from Pakistan has been filed. The detection led to controversy following revelations that the Prime Minister’s more..

Mar 7 (FT) A top regional official of US giant General Electric yesterday rated Sri Lanka attractive for many companies. “Although we note there are challenges as well, on a relative scale on the matrix we have seen, we feel it is a reasonable place to invest and do business. Sri Lanka is attractive for many companies,” General Electric (GE) India Vice President Business Development, Growth and Strategy for Asia more..

Mar 7 (ST) More and more Sri Lankans, are eating less vegetables due to its high cost which could trigger many health problems, according to recent research by a veteran agriculture entrepreneur. In some cases the price difference between the farmers selling price and that in Colombo markets is as high as 500-600%. This consumption pattern is contrary to trends in other parts of the world, particularly Asia, where vegetables are more..

Mar 7 (Island) UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday told Parliament that if the govt failed to submit documents pertaining to the Colombo City Development Project to Parliament, people would believe that there had been a huge fraud connected to the project. Making use of an opportunity granted by the Chair to deliver a Personal Statement, the Leader of the Opposition said that he had been accused of leveling more..

Mar 7 (CG) New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW), says the statement on SL from Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a wake-up call to UN member states. HRW Asia Director Brad Adams said that the time for UN action on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC is now. “This statement from Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Sri Lankan activists, and concerned citizens from more than a dozen other countries more..

Mar 7 (Island) Considering the country’s energy mixture, the govt will not entertain the construction of any more coal fired power plants. Going by past experience where numerous difficulties were faced due to the oil mafia domination and now the trend was for coal interests to dominate decision making. Therefore, already two coal power project proposals have been stopped on the instructions of a senior minister. more..

Mar 7 (SB) After listening to a prosecutor paint a bleak picture of Deepal Wannakuwatte’s chances of beating charges of orchestrating a $150 million fraud, a federal magistrate judge on Thursday ordered the Sacramento businessman back to jail without bail as a flight risk. Wannakuwatte was arrested Feb. 20 on a criminal complaint charging conspiracy and fraud in connection with recruitment of investors more..

Mar 7 (FT) Representatives from a 10-member business-delegation visited Colombo on 4 and 5 March. This business delegation comprised of French companies in the field of urban infrastructure, especially transport. French companies present in India and Singapore were also represented during this mission. Participating French companies included Alstom Transport, Bouygues Batiment International, Dassault Systemes, more..

Mar 7 (CT) Military victory over the LTTE was achieved in May 2009 with direct and indirect military and political support from many countries and the military victory was celebrated led by President Rajapaksa, without any remorse for many thousands innocent people killed in the conflict, which has become the point of contention in the international arena. After the end of military a golden opportunity was lost and President Rajapaksa miserably failed to usher peace between more..

Mar 7 (CT) It looks like Sri Lanka is once again assuming its traditional role as an 'under-developed' nation in terms of nutrient-intake and resultant retarded growth of the younger generation. According to statistics released by the Director General of Health, as revealed in yesterday's issue of this paper, more than half of the present day school children are suffering from the deficiency of one of the primary nutrients a child needs at growing up time – iron, which plays more..

Mar 7 (LBO) Excessively large numbers of people are dying in Sri Lanka from electrocution partly due to illegal power tapping, unsafe practices and carelessness, a regulatory official said. “We are not an electrically safe country,” Nilantha Sapumanage, Director Inspectorate of Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka told a forum in Colombo organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. more..

Mar 7 (LBO) Stocks close 0.07% higher Friday with index heavy John Keells Holdings extending gains amid thin foreign activity. All Share Price Index closed 4.13 points higher at 5,966.06 up 0.07%. The S&P SL20 closed 10.94 points higher at 3,244.99, up 0.34%. Turnover was 233.28 million rupees, down from 716.06 million rupees a day earlier with 82 stocks close positive against 89 negative. Foreign investors bought 42.84 million rupees worth shares while selling 26.58 million rupees more..

Mar 7 (Island) The Gampaha police yesterday took into custody three students of the Gampaha Bandaranayake Maha Vidyalana for disturbances at their school on Monday morning. They are GCE A/L students. One of the students has told the police that they were misled by an individual whom he could identify if he saw him again. They regretted their behaviour, he told the police. CCTV cameras and a school building were damaged during protests. Some past students of the school were more..

Mar 7 (LBO) SriLankan Airlines said it is on track to join OneWorld, a global alliance of carriers on May 1, following the successful completion of a review by its sponsor, Cathay Pacific Airways. From that 400,000 members of SriLankan's FlySmiles loyalty program will have access to other airlines in the grouping. These include Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Qantas in Asia; airberlin, British Airways, Finnair, more..

Mar 7 (Reuters) The Sri Lankan rupee ended unchanged in light volume on Friday as importers mopped up dollars from inward remittances and bank sales, but dealers still expect the local currency to edge lower due to seasonal demand for imports. The spot rupee ended little changed at 130.55/57 per dollar from Thursday's close of 130.55/58. The currency has risen 0.37% in the last seven sessions through Friday. One of the two state banks that the central bank generally uses to more..

Mar 7 (Bernama) Two Sri Lankan men were charged in the Sessions Court here today with 72 counts of possession of fake international bank cards. Kabilthev Naguleswaran, 33, and Shanmugaraja Shabesan, 26, claimed trial to all the charges read to them in Tamil by an interpreter. Two accused were allegedly in possession of the ATM, debit and credit cards with international bank account numbers, at W-25-08, Axis Sohu in Jalan Cempaka, Taman Cempaka, Ampang Jaya near here around more..

Mar 7 (Island) Attorney-at-law, Major (retd.) Ajith Prasanna, who appears for a group of police commandos and an ordinary policeman arrested for their alleged involvement in the killing of five Tamil students in Trincomalee on January 2, 2006, said that those who had been pushing the govt on the issue weren’t facilitating Sri Lanka’s efforts to get down two eyewitnesses to give evidence at the Trincomalee Magistrate Court. more..

Mar 7 (DN) Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Nobuhitho Hobo has emphasized that those who are making various accusations against Sri Lanka should visit the North and ascertain for themselves the peace dividend enjoyed by the Northern civilians at the end of the conflict. He lauded the peace the civilians enjoy after the end of the 30-year conflict and the services mooted by the Sri Lankan Government to rebuild the North. Japan's Ambassador to Sri Lanka Nobuhitho Hobo more..

Mar 7 (Island) President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the leader of the SLFP the main constituent party of the UPFA would address several campaign rallies from next weekend in support of UPFA candidates contesting the March 29th PC elections to the Southern and Western Provinces. They said that it would be in addition to campaign rallies addressed by Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne, SLFP National Organiser Minister Basil Rajapaksa, SLFP General Secretary Minister Maithripala Sirisena, more..

Mar 7 (CG) The Govt, today castigated the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay calling her a “liar” who is bent on being aggressive with Sri Lanka. Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, speaking at a rally today, said that the Govt will not succumb to pressure from some countries or the UN Human Rights Chief to betray the soldiers who fought the war against LTTE. more..

Mar 7 (CT) Seven Rainforest Officers attached to the Kalawana Division were assaulted by the villagers of Imbulkanda yesterday evening as they attempted to arrest suspects who were involved in illegal gem mining inside the Sinharaja Forest. Two officers had been injured in this assault. The Rainforest Officers, who carried out the raid had arrested a suspect and taken equipment used in gem mining into custody. The assault has happened when the officers were returning from more..

Mar 7 (Island) Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa has appointed a subcommittee to the Public Petitions Committee, comprising five female MPs to look into the petitions forwarded to Parliament by women. The new subcommittee is headed by UPFA MP Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, the Speaker announced in Parliament. Other members of the subcommittee are Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Deputy Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa, UNP MP Thalatha Atukorale and UNP MP Rosy Senanayake. more..

Mar 7 (AD) Britain today strongly encouraged the Sri Lankan govt to sign the UN Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict and join the international campaign, which is making encouraging progress worldwide. Release issued by British High Commission in Colombo; The promotion and protection of human rights is at the very heart of UK foreign policy and women’s rights and equality – in particular, the prevention more..

Mar 7 (GDI) Appointment letters were presented to 3802 new Grama Seva Officers by President Rajapaksa at a ceremony held yesterday at the Sugathadasa Stadium Colombo. They will be appointed to GM divisions where vacancies exist. PM D.M.Jayarathne, Ministers W.D.J.Senavirathna, Rizard Baududee, Deputy ministers Vijaya Dahanayake, Laxman Perera and Secretary of the Minitry of Publi Administration and Home Affairs P.B.Abeykoon were also present more..

Mar 7 (Island) Wildlife officers were under pressure to turn a blind eye to the presence of 30,000 or more cattle belonging to Southern farmers inside the Maduru Oya Forest Reserve though they caused the elephants to raid surrounding human habitats in search of fodder in the Eastern Province, sources said. In the first two months of this year five elephants have succumbed to their injuries sustained at the hands of humans in the Batticaloa District. One of them was found dead near more..

Mar 7 (NDTV) Rampaging Shahid Afridi and prolific Kumar Sangakkara have set the stage for a rousing contest when Pakistan face Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup one-day final in Dhaka on Saturday. Angelo Mathews' Sri Lanka have been the dominant team in the five-nation event with four straight victories in the league, including a 12-run win over Pakistan in the tournament opener on Feb 25. The charge was led by Sangakkara, more..

Mar 7 (Island) UNP Colombo district candidate for the upcoming WPC elections on March 29 and a former Colombo Municipal Councillor Dharshana de Silva speaking at election rallies in Colombo North where he is concentrating said that corruption, Nepotism, lawlessness in the country were rampant under the UPFA govt and to add to the misery of the masses the cost of living (CoL) was becoming unbearable and would be worse in the future. The outspoken de Silva who brought out more..

Mar 7 (CG) President Rajapaksa voiced regret that despite Sri Lanka’s unparalleled, significant and expeditious progress in its post-conflict period, a section of the international community is adamant in penalizing Sri Lanka for eradicating terrorism and bringing about peace in the country. President’s office quoted him as saying that an unprecedented and biased campaign is being orchestrated against Sri Lanka on alleged human rights abuses and emphasized that the people of Sri Lanka more..

Mar 7 (SM) SLCERT has investigated complaints against around 3,000 Facebook accounts and took steps to block them, said its senior IT engineer Roshan Chandragupta. Most of these complaints had been made by schoolchildren and personalities in the arts field, he said. They have claimed fake Facebook accounts had been created to their name by downloading their pictures from the web. more..

Mar 7 (PTI) Sri Lanka is ready to face any challenge to preserve its independence and sovereignty, a senior minister said today, days after a US-backed resolution was tabled at the UNHRC over its alleged rights abuses during the last phase of the war against the LTTE. "Achieving a stable peace has made it possible for the govt to secure Sri Lanka's sovereignty, independence and food security thus strengthening its resolve to face any challenge," Minister Basil Rajapaksa told a gathering more..

Mar 7 (AD) A father and son were found dead in their home in the Agarapathana area after allegedly committing suicide by hanging themselves. The victims were 39-year-old Thuladasan and his 9-year-old son Divoj. It was reported that the father and son were alone in their home last night while their bodies were found this morning. Residents claim that the father had attempted to kill himself by consuming poison twice in the past owing to a family problem. It is still unclear whether the 9-year-old more..

Mar 7 (CG) French Govt today said that SL govt must shed light on the heinous murders of the 17 workers of Action Contre La Faim (Action Against Hunger) in Muttur in 2006. In a statement to UNHRC today, French Govt said that in SL the fight against impunity is indispensable to national reconciliation. “The fight against impunity is essential everywhere. In Sri Lanka the fight against impunity is indispensable to national reconciliation. more..

Mar 7 (DM) The Customs Revenue Task Force (RTF) yesterday arrested two shipping agents and a wharf manager in connection with the detection of 36 kilos of heroin worth Rs.360 million with a street value of between Rs.6.5 million and Rs.8.5 million. They are being questioned how the heroin came to be concealed in the 40-foot container carrying hardware items. The container was checked on Thursday evening by RTF officers after they received a tip off that more..

Mar 7 (Island) Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa yesterday told parliament that the matter of some MPs using honorary titles in front of their names should be probed to find who or which organisations had conferred them and how those MPs came to be entitled to use such titles. Speaker said this in response to a proposal made by UNP MP Ajith P Perera, who said that honorary titles such as ‘Dr’ are used by some MPs in their letter heads and proposed that those MPs should be more..

Mar 7 (CG) India had today officially received the text of the US draft resolution on Sri Lanka which has been circulated among members at the UNHRC, Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said. He said that Indian officials are now examining the matter and will take into account all aspects of the matter before they take a view on it. “But as you are aware, this is an evolving situation more..

Mar 8 (CT) Although the JVP did not realise it, the turning point in its fortunes came when it began to hound and kill its detractors from the Left. It was a tendency it shared with the LTTE in an effort to become the sole spokesman of the people. In turn the hunted who were placed in desperate straits were driven to form alliances, particularly with the State, and whence were attacked with renewed vigour as ‘traitors’. The society then paid a heavy price amidst confusion, mixed feelings more..

Mar 8 (NS) A group photo which shows seven Kandyan Chiefs has been identified in some sources as the photograph of the local chiefs who signed the Kandyan Convention in 1815. This photo is seen in many online sources as well. However, when I came across this picture for the first time about a year ago, I felt something was amiss. The first thing that occurred to me was the discrepancy in the numbers. As it is known, 11 Native Chiefs had signed the Kandyan Convention. more..

Mar 8 (SO) Shan Wijayalal de Silva, a one-time student activist and govt servant, entered politics after contesting the crucial SPC election in 1993 under the People's Alliance. He earned his political reputation after serving the people through his own initiatives and climbed the ladder of politics through his commitment and dedication to serve his party and the people. As a Provincial Councillor he climbed to the top more..

Mar 8 (CT) Roger Senaviratne and Royce Fernando (coincidentally R & R) are two political aspirants who claim that they want to serve people through politics, in other words by holding political office. Let’s see how sincere this claim is and how suitable they are to hold public office. Roger Senaviratne is an actor cum politician. His clandestine relationship with Mihira Wickramarachchi’s (a businessman) wife culminated in them starting a life together leaving their respective families. more..