June 29 (DN) The Government focused special emphasis on the Eastern Province by implementing over 70 percent of foreign funded projects during the last three years, said Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa. Minister Rajapaksa said the all other provinces in the country implemented 30 percent of all foreign funded projects. He said that the local government authorities should ensure that more..

June 29 (LB) We�ve said this before but what the heck let�s churn it up again: Sri Lanka is a nation of such appalling paradoxes that it puts all paradoxes everywhere in the world to dire shame. Now take this Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP). That sweet Tiger doyen-chief arms procurer, ambassador, overseer, manager and successor to Velupillai Prabhakaran-is now, bless his soul, the government�s very bestest, bestest friend. Getting top security and people to carry his bag, it seems. more..

June 29 (LBO) Sri Lanka has a complex tax structure which is discouraging savings and the government is expecting a comprehensive tax reform plan in August, deputy finance minister Sarath Amunugama said. An interim report from a presidential tax commission has recommended a simplified tax structure which is more equitable and is being planned for the medium term, Amunugama said. more..

June 29 (BBC) Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has denied reports that the government is forming an "alliance" with the "rump" of the Tamil Tigers. The rebels, known as the LTTE, were defeated by the army last year after more than two decades of war. Mr Rajapaksa told the BBC that he had recently met a group of "pro-LTTE" diaspora Tamils in Sri Lanka. more..

June 29 (LBO) Sri Lanka presented a broad policy budget outlining a commitment to cut deficits over the medium term, bring down interest rates and inflation and also held a state salary hike until next year. Deputy finance minister Sarath Amunugama presenting a budget in parliament said a state salary hike would come in 2011. The 2010 budget was delayed till June due to two elections in January and April. more..

June 30 (CT) Parliament sittings for the budget debate has been postponed until tomorrow (June 30) after opposition MPs staged a protest as acting finance minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama finished presenting the document to the House. A shouting match ensured as members of the UNP even held up placards, saying budget 2010 gave no relief for the people, while government benchers shouted counter slogans at them. more..

June 30 (BBC) The Sri Lanka government says it seeks US$2 billion to redevelop the north and eastern provinces badly destroyed by the recently concluded conflict. Announcing an emergency budget, Acting Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama also announced special incentives for the apparel industry soon to be affected by the EU decision to rduce tax concessions. The European Union recently announced the withdrawal of GSP+ trade concession after Sri Lanka failed to more..

June 30 (LBO) Sri Lanka�s latest budget should ensure the island maintains macro-economic stability that would help accelerate economic growth, the IMF representative in the island said. �The key element is in ensuring macro-economic conditions remain stable,� said Koshy Mathai. �Inflation, interest rates and the exchange rate must remain stable to create the environment for growth, investment and creation of employment.� more..

June 30 (BW) Sri Lanka has retained much of its heavy defense budget this year more than a year after ending the country's civil war, the government said Tuesday. Deputy finance minister Sarath Amunugama said in his budget speech to Parliament that the defense spending for 2010 has been estimated to be $1.64 billion, down only slightly from the previous year's $1.65 billion. A budget for year 2010 was not presented when it was due in November last year because of more..

June 30 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka is to enter bilateral agreements with Ukraine to strengthen their military ties during President Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit to the former Soviet Union country, presidential officials said on Tuesday. Rajapaksa, who left Tuesday for his four-day visit, would be the first Sri Lankan president to visit Ukraine. Sri Lanka will sign several agreements with Ukraine in the areas of more..

June 30 (DPA) A former presidential security chief was jailed Tuesday for four years on a conviction of threatening a fellow police officer during an election campaign rally nine years earlier, a court official said. Nihal Karunaratne, a former police deputy inspector general, was an influential figure during the 1994-2004 presidency of Chandrika Kumaratunga. more..

June 30 (CT) The Court of Appeal today (June 29) rejected an appeal filed by Gen. Sarath Fonseka against the second military tribunal trying him on military procurement charges. CA chairman Satya Hettige noted that the request for the suspension of the tribunal was based on inadequate reasons. The three-member bench unanimously agreed that the writ application by Gen. Fonseka be dismissed without examination. more..

June 30 (Gulf) History is past politics and politics is present history. Judging by the recent sequence of events the past may, by all accounts, come back to haunt Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse. The LTTE have been militarily wiped out, but the Tamil question reverberates from Jaffna to Kilinochchi and beyond that to the Tamil inhabited areas in India, Toronto, London and Australia. more..

June 30 (LBO) Sri Lanka is planning a budget with a deficit of 8.0 of gross domestic product or 438.3 billion rupees in 2010 compared with 9.9 percent or 476.3 billion rupees in 2009 while there would be a revenue deficit of 2.0 percent or 110.5 billion rupees. Deputy finance minister Sarath Amunugama told parliament that the government would keep up public investments. Public investments of 361 billion rupees or 6.6 percent of GDP were planned. more..

June 30 (DM) Tamil political prisoners detained for months under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) have written to the Pope and the Catholic Bishops in Sri Lanka seeking their intervention for a Presidential pardon or to be released on bail. In the letter addressed to Pope Benedict XVI and Catholic Bishops in Sri Lanka, the Tamil political prisoners said that despite it being one year since the war was over the authorities have failed to address their concerns. more..

June 30 (BBC) The detained former military commander in Sri Lanka says he is prepared to meet the special panel appointed to advice the UN chief on alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka. Gen Sarath Fonseka told BBC Sandeshaya that even President Mahinda Rajapaksa has agreed with the UN to investigate alleged human rights violations during the last phase of the war. more..

June 30 (UCAN) Sri Lankan priests have been honored for more than a century�s work in preserving the Tamil language. The high-profile World Classical Tamil Conference in Coimbatore last week was opened by President Pratibha Patil and attended by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala. The conference offered an opportunity to recall the priests� unique work in preserving and formalizing the Tamil language, more..

June 30 (UCAN) The Sri Lankan government has sponsored a nationwide series of speech, singing, catechism and essay writing competitions for Catholic students, to aid their education and strengthen their faith and sense of values. Conducted in Tamil, Sinhala and English, the final round of the speech competition was fought between 15 finalists at Bonjean Hall at St. Joseph�s College in Colombo, on June 27. Contestants were awarded points for sound, pronunciation, emotion and enthusiasm. more..

June 30 (IL) The Sri Lankan American community in Los Angeles recently gathered for the premier screening of a movie based on a novel by award-winning Sri Lankan novelist Bhadraji Jayatilaka, titled �Vehi Dawasak� (Rainy Day). The movie, sponsored by the Bodhi Foundation of Los Angeles, was screened at the legendary Laemle theater in Fallbrook, Los Angeles, California. more..

June 30 (LB) The Colombo Municipal Council will continue to function under a special commissioner and the government does not have any immediate plans to hold fresh elections any time soon, government sources said. The chief minister of the Western Province took steps to dissolve the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) from midnight June 22. This was the first time in the history of the CMC that it has been dissolved. more..

June 30 (LB) Q: The department of examinations says that 18,997 students got 8 �F�s at the G.C.E O/Ls last year. What are the reasons behind this? A: It is caused by the flaws in the education system where all students are treated equally. There are both clever and weak students in a class. Though sepcial focus must be placed on weak students, that does not happen. Many students who got 8 �F�s come from rural areas. They lack the cooperation of their parents in their education. more..

June 30 (LT) Struggles should be carried out in Parliament as well as outside it to defeat the attempt of the government to bring in constitutional amendments to increase the number of times a person could be elected as the executive president says JVP MP Anura Dissanayake. He was delivering the key note address of a seminar held at the auditorium of more..

June 30 (NS) As fears mount over reports of an outbreak of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD), Health Ministry officials quickly intervened to squash rumours and allay the fears of the public. �We have had no reports from hospitals so far of any outbreak of HFMD and there is no need to panic, especially as this is a common viral illness which is not fatal. HFMD is often confused with Hoof and Mouth disease or Foot and Mouth disease, more..

June 30 (LG) For many decades now, international journalists have interpreted every story that has emerged from Sri Lanka to be some kind of war story. Some journalists have proposed that Sri Lanka�s use of overwhelming force was able to eradicate terrorism in the country, and that other countries such as the United States, should follow suit. The pathetic failure of international journalism is demonstrated by these endeavours. more..

June 30 (NPC) The international pressures on Sri Lanka have been suddenly ratcheted up with the almost simultaneous announcement of the appointment of a UN panel of experts to advise the UN�s Secretary General on possible alleged violations of humanitarian laws in the last days of the war and the EU setting out a list of 15 conditions for Sri Lanka to retain its GSP Plus concessions. more..

June 30 (DM) The international forces considered to be inimical to our country�s well-being do not seem to abandon their damnable efforts. And this continued hostility does not bode well for the country�s future. Threats, warnings, pleadings and entreaties of Sri Lanka notwithstanding, the UN has proceeded with its task of appointing a three-member panel of experts to advise UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. more..

June 30 (LP) Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa is to leave for an official tour in Ukraine today. The official visit is scheduled from June 29 to July 2, 2010, This is the first time a Sri Lankan President and a state head of the South Asian region pays an official visit to Ukraine, local media reported. The Sri Lanka President is to hold bilateral talks with the Ukraine President, Prime Minister and senior state officials. more..

June 30 (DM) Felix Dias Bandaranaike died 25 years ago, on June 26. He was not yet 55 at the time, which seems astonishing since he had loomed large on the political stage for as long as I could remember. I first saw him in action in 1965, and it is difficult to think now that the enormously impressive figure was yet 35 at the time. The occasion was my avid attendance at the debate on the first Throne Speech presented by more..

June 30 (DM) The JHU has apologized to the Jaffna citizens for the arson attack on the Jaffna Public Library that took place on May 31, 1981 on the eve of the election for the newly formed Jaffna District Development Council (DDC) allegedly by thugs taken from Colombo by the UNP. JHU General Secretary and Power and Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka made this apology when the JHU leaders visited the Jaffna Public Library to handover books worth more than more..

June 30 (LB) The calm after the storm. Now the war is over tourists are flooding back into Jaffna and discovering its myriad of hidden delights. Guide book writer Juliet Coombe sets sail for Sacred Nainativu, one of Jaffna�s seven out islands and found herself surrounded by miniature dolls. My classic Morris Minor hired in Jaffna old town glistens in the sun, which rises above dark ominous clouds, passing old men throwing fishing nets into more..

June 30 (TOI) An Indian national from Chennai, Thennarala Selvaraja (24), who went to Colombo earlier this month to work as a chef, was murdered over the weekend and his body thrown into the sea. Acting on a tip-off, the Colombo police arrested Chandana Pushpalal Silva, chief inspector of CID, and Mariyanayagam Leslie Rajkumar, manager of the Big Banana restaurant in Wellawatte, in connection with the murder. more..

June 30 (TC) During President Rajapaksa�s visit to New Delhi, the problems and prospects of India-Sri Lanka relations came under close scrutiny. The joint statement spelt out the directions in which bilateral relations are likely to proceed ahead. Understandably there was a lot of euphoria in Sri Lanka, but discerning Indian observers did not share this sense of optimism. New Delhi is not happy with Colombo�s lukewarm response on more..

June 30 (GV) It�s February 14th, Valentines day and I am browsing the net, going from one link to the other, without a particular destination, enjoying tidbits from the cyber world. I happen to come across an interesting TED talk http://on.ted.com/88Xq. Its about a school in India (Riverside School) that starts a program called I Can, where children aged 8 � 14, in small groups are empowered and inspired to become change agents. more..

June 30 (SL) The post mortem of a disabled man found near the Mount Lavinia police station, is scheduled to be held tomorrow, according to police spokesman Prashantha Jayakody. The body was discovered today by Mount Lavinia police. The victim, thought to have been a sweep ticket seller, had sustained severe head injury. It is suspected that the murderers made off with the victim�s cash earnings. more..

June 30 (GV) In the article �The bowl-or-ball dilemma of rubbishing English standards�, Dilshan Boange adds his voice to the growing clamour of protest at the idea of speaking English �our way�. He recounts the anecdote of a friend who called an Indian hotel and �had to face a lingual jumble of a marginally intelligible dialogue from the hotel staffer�, concluding that the problem was that the Indian was talking English �their way�. more..

June 30 (BL) The bilateral trade between India and Sri Lanka is estimated to grow at over eight per cent in 2010. The trade between the two countries stood at $3,267 million in 2008 and has been growing at five-to-six per cent over the last few years, according to Mr Prasad Kariyawasam, Sri Lankan High Commissioner. "Trade between the two countries was growing at a healthy rate till last year when we witnessed a slowdown due to the global financial crisis. more..

June 30 (Gulf) The military checkpoint here is sponsored by the Colonial Group, pipe and steel manufacturers based in Colombo. It's a well-built structure allowing soldiers to stand guard behind sandbags, neatly felled palm tree trunks and some steel railings. A soldier with a whistle stops traffic on the A9 allowing visitors to cross the road. Elephant Pass, 2.5 metres above sea level, as the sign on the A9 says, is now a tourist attraction. more..

June 30 (TC) Sri Lanka�s once shattered and broken territory � the boundary of the state � has been fused, but the nation remains fissured. How is it to be unified? This is all the more urgent because the visible absence of an ongoing post-war political process of ethnic reconciliation is either partial motivation or excuse for much of the current external intrusion. A manifestation of this new intrusiveness is the UNSG�s appointment of an advisory troika on Sri Lanka. more..

June 30 (LG) In Sri Lankan politics, things oftentimes turn topsy-turvy. When people ask for lower prices for basic food items, government lowers prices of luxury cars with the ludicrous argument that the latter would in turn benefit people! The same thing is being done in the sphere of constitutional reforms as well. At the last Parliamentary Election, one of the key appeals that the UPFA made was that it be given a two-thirds majority in more..