Nov 26 (PTI) The DMK on Saturday opposed the Coast Guard�s proposal to declare a portion in the Indo-Sri Lanka Maritime border as a no fishing zone. DMK Parliamentary party leader T R Baalu, in a statement here, termed the proposal as �anti-fishermen� and said it would seriously affect their livelihood. He said DMK MPs would call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Nov 28 to discuss it, besides raising the issue in the Parliament. The Coast Guard, which had filed its more..

Nov 26 (DM) A group of members of the opposition created a commotion and attempted to disrupt the budget reading in parliament on Monday were aimed to impress certain diplomats of the West, Minister Wimal Weerawansa said. He said opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe�s intention in Parliament on budget day was to show his skills to diplomats of the Western countries. President Rajapaksa has presented a �People�s Budget� the opposition tried to more..

Nov 26 (AD) The Minister of Land and Land Development, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon today (25) said that 4.0469 hectares of land has been sold to Shangri-La Hotels Limited from 2005 to this year. In response to a question by UNP MP Dayasirir Jayasekara at Parliament today, the Minister revealed that as the first phase 2 .4361 hectares was sold for a sum of US$75 million, as Rs.8,593,750 per perch with the local value reaching Rs.8,250 million. more..

Nov 26 (SM) IGP N.K. Illangakoon has said that there are no indications that a children�s home at Rawathawatte in Moratuwa had conceal a child farm. He has told Neth FM Radio that no evidence has found so far to determine the place had sold small children as claimed. However, chairperson of National Child Protection Authority Anoma Dissanayake has said that the caretakers of the children�s home had sold children to foreigners, at 10,000 dollars per child. more..

Nov 26 (SM) Police are to send a senior CID official to Singapore, where injured MP Duminda Silva is receiving treatment, to report to court regarding his condition, �Divaina� reports. The MP, hurt in the October 08 Mulleriyawa political gunfight, has been admitted to a hospital in Singapore. A secretary of MP Silva has handed over a letter, requesting six months� leave for him to receive overseas treatment, including brain surgery. more..

Nov 26 (DM) Government Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara told Parliament yesterday that he was against the devaluation of the rupee despite being an ally of the ruling UPFA. �Both my party and I are against the government decision to devalue the rupee,� the National Languages and Social Integration Minister said speaking during the debate on the second reading of the budget. He said prices of some goods would go up as a result of this proposal in this year�s budget. more..

Nov 26 (ANI) Former South African captain Kepler Wessels reckons that the Proteas' upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka is an ideal time for coach Gary Kirsten to experiment. "If ever there was a time to make changes, now is the time. The selectors have some serious things to think about. We are playing Sri Lanka ... have you seen Sri Lanka play recently? They have two batsmen, Mahela (Jayawardene) and Kumar (Sangakkara)," Sport24 quoted Wessels, as saying. more..

Nov 26 (MoD) The President Mahinda Rajapaksa has directed state officials to assess the situation in the areas hit by heavy rains and winds yesterday and provide urgent relief to the people affected by the disaster immediately. The President has met with relevant authorities this morning at the Temple Trees to discuss the immediate measures need to be taken to provide relief to the people affected by the heavy rains and winds in southern coastal areas. more..

Nov 27 (SO) The 2012 Budget presented in Parliament on Monday by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also the Minister of Finance, has been hailed by all quarters as a rich blend of Sri Lanka's home-grown solutions to face future economic challenges as well as the latest trends in global money markets, with the focus mainly on development and nation-building with the ultimate aim of becoming the Wonder of Asia. Many top economists and business leaders said the 2012 Budget would spur more..

Nov 27 (SL) Last week the UNP tried to re-enact Tahrir in Parliament with the govet side playing the Egyptian military. It was a pathetic display. Firstly, the main opposition party behaved like street protesters rather than, say, Members of Parliament who could have actually changed the budget. Worst, the govt side behaved like schoolyard rowdies and thugs. It is all the more tragic because billions of taxpayer rupees were allocated that day, while our politicians were more..

Nov 27 (SO) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the Budget was a development Budget, plus a Budget which has fulfilled the aspirations of the people, specially the working class, public servants and down trodden masses. The Minister in an interview said normally the IMF and economic experts say that the Govt should curtail subsidies given to the people. However, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has not accepted that as a path for development. more..

Nov 27 (NS) Mahinda Rajapaksa, when he was sworn in as the fifth President with executive powers in November 2005, made a stirring speech at Galle Face. He spoke of friends and friendship. He said �I believe my friends are those who offer just criticism and not those who sing hosannas in my praise�. While we don�t know whether the President has assessed friendship-worth of hosanna singers. It is very clear that in the six years that have passed since that more..

Nov 27 (LB) Sri Lanka�s lords of drugs sales - - of the pharmaceutical, not the narcotic variety � have thrown a giant sized tantrum bordering on hysteria over the govt�s recent budget related proposals to introduce price regulation over pharmaceutical sales in the country. Industry czars have held press conferences and lobbied the powerful and the useful in parliament in an attempt to stave off legislation, which these worthies describe as being detrimental to more..

Nov 27 (NS) A UNP National List Parliamentarian says the government, through the budget is looking to build bridges than the people. He said the government had failed to increase the salaries of professionals and therefore is at the risk of losing the managerial class. Eran Wickramaratne, MP speaks to The Nation about the UNP stance on the budget, the assault on the UNP MPs during the budget speech and more. Following are excerpts: more..

Nov 27 (Island) The budget week has exposed massive bumbling and bungling in the upper echelons of the govt and its bureaucracy. If the domestic sugar industry was the target of the so-called Expropriation Act, a Stock Exchange filing by Pelwatte Sugar Industries PLC last week exposed the ham handed way in which the whole exercise had been attempted. In essence, the law fast tracked into the statute was applicable to under-utilized land granted to an undertaking more..

Nov 27 (ST) The Govt has taken a step back, rather wisely if one may say so, even at this late stage saying it would, after all, investigate any credible evidence there may be in the allegations that International Humanitarian Law violations occurred during the last stages of the military offensive against the LTTE in 2009. After the initial chest-thumping, and sometimes theatrical reactions to often duplicitous demands by the Western countries for accountability during more..

Nov 27 (NS) Though there were several criticisms on the 2012 budget proposals, most of them were only playing on words but the opposition too agrees that the budget was a plus exercise with proposals catalyst for growth and development, Minister Basil Rajapaksa said in an interview. Q: The budget 2012 in Parliament is severely criticised by the UNP and other opposition parties. Is there a truth in saying it was only sugar coated but bitter pill? more..

Nov 27 (NS) The Budget presented in parliament by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity of Finance Minister dominated the headlines this week. It was essentially a budget of no surprises with the highlight being a wage increase for public servants. Unruly behaviour of the ruling party MPs who charged UNP parliamentarians holding placards for protesting overshadowed budget presentation. Apart from these two events, perhaps the most significant happening of the week was more..

Nov 27 (NS) Cameras flashed and whirred as President Mahinda Rajapaksa was making brisk steps towards the Parliament entrance last Monday. Greeting the TV and Print media cameramen with an enigmatic smile, the President told them, �There is nothing interesting here. There will be action inside shortly.� The President had been informed in advance of the protest the UNP had planned to stage to disrupt his Budget speech in Parliament by a UNP stalwart. more..

Nov 27 (LB) UNP MP Buddhika Pathirana says that the charge sheet handed over to party general secretary Tissa Attanayake by UNP Southern Provincial Councillor Maithree Guneratne on behalf of the rebel group alleging, amongst other charges, that the UNP leader had attempted to force the Matara district MP into having illicit homosexual relations with him was accurate. Pathirana, who is at present temporarily suspended from membership of more..

Nov 27 (Island) Even though the budget for 2012 coincided with the handing over of the LLRC report to the president, both the UNP and the JVP showed no interest at all in the latter. Neither party discussed anything at all about the LLRC report or matters arising from it, last week. The national budget was their primary concern. Not surprising perhaps in view of the fact that it is the budget that will have an impact on the local electorate and not the LLRC report. more..

Nov 27 (SL) The first few days of the parliamentary proceedings last week were mainly focused on the UNP�s protest in the Chamber holding placards with the words �shame� during the budget speech. The UNP lawmakers and the governing party lawmakers were engaged in friendly banter in the parliament lobby, discussing the incidents during the budget speech. Several young UNP lawmakers have said the UNP made a strong point by protesting during the budget. more..

Nov 27 (ST) The devaluation announcement in the budget by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, which caught everyone by surprise, has turned into a cold war between the Treasury and the Central Bank (CB). While the Treasury is responsible for the country�s fiscal policy, the CB is entrusted with monetary policy which involves the maintenance of an effective foreign exchange mechanism. Traditionally the CB provides guidelines on exchange rates and dictates this policy, more..

Nov 27 (BL) Research Analysts attached to different stockbroking houses were full of praise in describing the Budget 2012 presented to Parliament last week in their post-Budget research reports. Whilst Bartleet Religare Securities (BRS) said that the Government of Sri Lanka had formulated a welfare-oriented budget, TKS Securities Pvt Ltd described it as 'a development thrust', and John Keells Stockbrokers Ltd said it was a SME and agriculture friendly budget more..

Nov 27 (ST) My Dear Mahinda Maama, I thought I should write to you to wish you for your sixty-sixth birthday and I am sure you wouldn�t realise that my wishes come late because everyone is falling over each other in trying to congratulate you on your birthday and get in to your good books. I did notice that this year, the celebrations were not on a grand scale. Was it because your birthday fell on the same day they were announcing the verdict in the �white flag� case where more..

Nov 27 (LB) Trade unions charge that the EPF has incurred a loss of Rs1000 million investing in the stock market, and through two transactions that took place recently. Inter Company Employees Union Secretary, Janaka Adikara said that the EPF has a fund amounting to Rs one trillion at present and has seen increased investing in the stock market, from five per cent of this sum (Rs50 billion) last year, to seven per cent (Rs75 billion) in 2011. more..

Nov 27 (ST) Not many people noticed when some time back, glass tumblers used to serve water to Members of Parliament inside the Chamber, were replaced with small plastic bottles of water. The reason was the growing number of Legislators choosing to resort to physical confrontation over verbal confrontation during debates in the House. And going by the unruly scenes that took place last Monday, when President Mahinda Rajapaksa was on his feet presenting more..

Nov 27 (LB) Budget week was promising to be eventful last week even before it got under way, as the president had apparently been made aware that the UNP was planning placard protests in the well of the House. It is not known on whose order, but the bringing into Parliament of any written material was forbidden, and documents of MPs were confiscated by Law Enforcement at the entrance to parliament. This is why govt members were doubly enraged when opposition MPs held placards more..

Nov 27 (ST) Deepali Wijesundara, President of the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar that convicted former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka to three years imprisonment in the �white flag� case spoke on the threats she faced during the trial, after the judgment and other matters. Excerpts: Q: You have spoken of threats to your life due to the �white flag� case? Please elaborate. When the case was going on I received threats and I informed the police more..

Nov 27 (SL) President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister D.M Jayaratne will be able to travel for free along the southern expressway after it opens to the public from today. When The Sunday Leader queried from the Road Development Authority (RDA) southern expressway project Director D.M Chandrasiri, he said that all VIPs including govt ministers and parliamentarians must pay to use the expressway. However he said the President and Prime Minister will be exempted. more..

Nov 27 (LB) President Mahinda Rajapaksa presented his government�s budget proposal for 2012 in parliament Monday to much uproar. Padmini Matarage spoke to some trade union chiefs to find out what they made of it all. President of the NTUC K.D. Lal Kantha charged that the UPFA government led by president Mahinda Rajapaksa had deceived the country�s working population by granting a mere 10 percent allowance instead of the promised 10,000 rupee salary hike for govt servants. more..

Nov 27 (Island) The govt has taken over the funding of operations of Pelwatte Sugar Industries PLC taken over under provisions of the Revival of Underperforming Enterprises and Underutilized Assets Act and is pumping its own money to keep the company running. There has been no response up to now to the letter written last week to the Secretary to the Treasury pointing out that the land held by the company under lease arrangements with the govt more..

Nov 27 (NS) Democratic People�s Front (DPF) has demanded the UNP to honour its promises to the party at Parliamentary elections if it is to support the main opposition. UNP has promised a national list seat to the DPF at the last Parliamentary elections but has failed to uphold the promise, DPF Leader Mano Ganeshan alleged. DPF Leader, Mano Ganesan recently resigned from Colombo Municipal Council raising suspicion that he has been given a national list seat in parliament by UNP. more..

Nov 27 (NS) Former MP, Irrigation and Power Minister, Deputy Defence Minister General Anuruddha Ratwatte�s remains will be cremated today at the family burial grounds Nittawela, Kandy with full military honours. He was 73 years at the time of his death. General Ratwatte who entered politics as SLFP organiser of Senkadagala electorate of Kandy comes from the distinguished Ratwatte clan of Kandy. He was born, son of Lewke Harris Ratwatte, a cousin of the late Premier Sirimavo Bandaranaike. more..

Nov 27 (DBS) Today Nov 26th is the birthday of LTTE Leader Thiruvengadam Veluppillai Prabhakaran. Had he been living Prabhakaran would have celebrated his 57th birthday today. Incidently today is also the birthday of former minister Lalith Athulathmudali. He would have been 75 if he were living. Prabhakaran was killed in battle on May 18th 2009 and body discovered on May 19th. I have written extensively about Prabhakaran in the past. more..

Nov 27 (Island) In a dramatic development, the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Chartered Accountants (CCA) has sought to pull out of the protracted Golden Key (GK) repayment process with immediate effect saying "it is not in a position to carry on the tasks entrusted to it following the withdrawal of the Central Bank, which acted as the facilitator". The CCA submitted its 48-paged official report on GK�s status quo to the AG�s Department last week to more..

Nov 27 (Island) The Opposition United National Party (UNP) yesterday announced plans to launch a series of mass protests against the continued incarceration of Gen. Sarath Fonseka, the breakdown in law and order, the acquisition of private business institutions and the denial of relief to the common man in the last budget.The first mass protest in the planned campaign will be held at 2 pm at Lipton�s Circus on Tuesday (29) followed by a public rally at Hyde Park. more..

Nov 27 (Island) The SLFP-led coalition believes that the US is trying to cause a rift in the govt over the imprisonment of defeated presidential candidate, former Army Chief, Gen. Sarath Fonseka. The party was responding to US Ambassador Patricia Butenis taking up the issue with SLFP General Secretary, Minister Maithripala Sirisena in the wake of the conclusion of the �White Flag� case. Govt sources said that a diplomat handling political affairs had more..

Nov 27 (ST) �Many sectors especially the export, tourism and motor trade have benefited from the 2012 Budget. The reduction of import tax on tourist transport buses and allocation of lands for tourist projects on long term leases come as positive moves especially when the country is recording high tourist arrivals this year,� Hotels Association President Anura Lokuhetti said. Motor Traders Association President Thilak Gunasekare said the Budget was positive for the motor industry more..

Nov 27 (ST) A motion was filed in the Mt. Lavinia Magistrate�s Court by businessman Ramasamy Prabhakaran, stating that, despite a previous Court order acquitting him of all charges brought against him by the CID, his business premises are still sealed and guarded by the Bambalapitiya Police. Mr. Ramasamy was accused of being an LTTE supporter, because he knew Colonel Ranjith Perera who was accused of being an LTTE supporter. In his defence, he claimed that he knew the Colonel more..