Nov 13 (Island) EPDP leader Minister Douglas Devananda, yesterday said that he realized the need on the part of the govt to introduce constitutional reforms in the wake of the Divineguma Bill being declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. But that wouldnmean the 13th Amendment to the Constitution could be repealed to pave the way for the Divineguma Bill, Minister Devananda said. He was responding more..

Nov 13 (Island) Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said there was difference of opinion among doctors on food related non-communicable diseases. Some claimed that bread and rice were not healthy while others promote the consumption of rice, he added. The Minister said that he had been forced to come to an agreement with his ten-year-old granddaughter on Sunday when she showed him a book written by a doctor. "I reached an agreement with her to talk to several other doctors more..

Nov 13 (Island) Minister Dallas Allahapperuma, in Parliament yesterday, accused the Opposition of doing what he described as Gangam Style politics without doing the job of a proper Opposition. Addressing the second reading stage debate on Budget 2013, the Minister equalled the political activities of the Opposition to Gangam Style dancing. "In Gangam Style, the dancer once moves his leg, then the hand, thereafter the head, again the leg, and so on. more..

Nov 13 (Island) The UNP said that it was not agreeable to piece meal changes to the Constitution and any discussions on the subject should include all institutions required for the establishment of good governance and the rule of law. Amendments to the Constitution should necessarily involve the future of the executive presidency, the electoral system and re-establishment of the Independent Public, Police, Elections, more..

Nov 13 (DN) Medical tourism is becoming increasingly popular in the world and Sri Lanka could become one of the world�s top medical tourism destinations, Minister Basil Rajapaksa said. He was addressing the 14th annual general meeting of the Government Ayurvedic Medical Officers� Association in Colombo yesterday. Minister Rajapaksa said as there are only a few medical tourism destinations, Sri Lanka can easily become a top medical tourism destination. more..

Nov 13 (DM) The prison riots last week dominated news and drew increasing public attention to the situation. According to a report posted on the Daily Mirror website, the armed forces discovered 11 bodies of prisoners on Saturday raising the death toll in an overnight prison riot in the capital to 27. The news source was the Minister of of Prison Reforms, Chandrasiri Gajadeera. Many overwhelmed by the riot expressed the view that the current prison situation was more..

Nov 13 (Island) The TNA yesterday accused India of having double standards and being discretely silent when it came to the matters of Sri Lankan Tamils. TNA Jaffna district Parliamentarian E. Saravanabavan, speaking during the second reading debate on Budget 2013, said India should either support or stay away from the matters of Tamils, so that they could earn their (Tamils) rights, instead of playing double games. more..

Nov 13 (DM) With the impeachment crisis worsening, the Chief Justice through her lawyers has issued a statement strongly refuting the main charges made against her by the Government in the impeachment motion, which the Speaker placed in the order paper of parliament last Tuesday. Last Wednesday the media gave wide front-page headline publicity to the Govt�s 14 charges against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. With her reputation challenged, the Chief Justice more..

Nov 13 (Scoop) This petition is being handed over to you a thousand (1000) days after the disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda. To be disappeared against ones will is among the most heinous crimes that can be committed against a human being. We as families of the disappeared face immense suffering and hardship due to the uncertainty and lack of information about the fate or whereabouts of our loved ones. Our suffering is prolonged and even more challenging than more..

Nov 13 (SL) Parliament is to take up the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. Shorn of the acknowledged circumstances, the charges levelled against Ms. Bandaranayake would read prima facie serious for a person occupying the high office. Yet, all-round politicisation coupled with one-sized vilification has ensured that the govt side may have got back more than what it is capable to more..

Nov 13 (LB) Minister of Justice Rauff Hakeem told Parliament last week that there isn�t sufficient evidence or proof to file charges against former LTTE international wing leader Kumaran Padmanadan, alias KP. He said there was a lack of evidence to file charges against the former LTTE frontliner, responding to an adjournment motion brought by UNP Matara district MP Mangala Samaraweera. MP Samaraweera during his more..

Nov 13 (ST) Regulations and amendments to the National Transport Policy will soon come into effect following discussions between transport officials and private vehicle associations. Statistics from the National Transport Commission suggest that the increase in the number of road accidents and traffic offences could be attributed to the growing volume of vehicles on the roads. Minister of Private Transport Services more..

Nov 13 (Island) All Ceylon Health Services Union (ACHSU) General Secretary Gamini Kumarasinghe yesterday said that the sexual offences and harassment were rampant in the health Ministry due to lack of discipline. Female doctors and nurses seeking transfers were required to gratify the carnal desires of health ministry bigwigs, he alleged. Even the female officers in the executive grade were harassed by sex maniacs, more..

Nov 13 (Island) UPFA constituent, National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Minister Wimal Weerawansa would not move the Supreme Court against the 13th Amendment as he was a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to investigate allegations directed against Chief Justice, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake, NFF spokesman Anuruddha Bandara told The Island yesterday. more..

Nov 13 (AD) It has now been revealed that five prisoners escaped the Welikada prison during the violent clash seen on Friday. It is said that four of the escapees were convicts while the other was a suspect. However, Prison officials had earlier reported that only around three prisoners had escaped and only one convict was on the run. The investigations committee looking into the incident began its work yesterday while the more..

Nov 13 (DM) A 25-year-old Sri Lankan had been rescued after allegedly being held against her will by her sponsor for almost 18 months. Velusundaram Manjula arrived in the country in 2009 to work as a housemaid for a Bahraini family. Activists say she was promised a salary of BD85 a month, but got only BD60 when she arrived. She was also forced to work around 21 hours a day in two separate households. more..

Nov 13 (CT) Teachers and Principals have decided to launch strike action and shut down schools island-wide, from 4 December, as their demands regarding salary increments, transfers and promotions have not been met by the Education Ministry. Addressing a joint convention at the Public Library today the unionists pointed out that only Rs. 30 million has been allocated for education in 2013�s budget proposal, whereas the Defence more..

Nov 13 (BBC) The United Nations failed in its mandate to protect civilians in the last months of Sri Lanka's bloody civil war, a leaked draft of a highly critical internal UN report says. "Events in Sri Lanka mark a grave failure of the UN," it concludes. The govt and Tamil rebels are accused of war crimes in the brutal conflict which ended in May 2009. The UN does not comment on leaked reports and says it will publish the final more..

Nov 13 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's state-run oil firm Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) said on Tuesday that a $60 million arbitration award to Deutsche Bank early this month was against the island nation's government and not against the firm. "It is against the govt and not against us," Susantha Silva, CPC's managing director said. On Nov. 2, officials said the state-run oil company had lost a $60 million hedging case against Deutsche Bank after more..

Nov 14 (DBS) In Italy, like in other Western countries, the LTTE had established a very powerful network of agents and was carrying out a massive campaign of misinformation which helped them to collect funds. Their headquarters in Italy was situated on the island State of Sicily, in the southernmost part of Italy. The capital of that State was Palermo. It was estimated that there was a Tamil population of more than 15,000 in Sicily. The LTTE worked hand in glove with the Sicilian more..

Nov 14 (GV) Rather than quoting empirical data, and authors or complex theories, today I will speak to you through my experiences. As far as I remember, like the majority of my Sri Lankan friends born during the eighties, I have always known my parents� country as a country in war. And even if the conflict is over since a few years now, I frequently get reminded that there was a war. Especially when I meet someone new, and they ask me where I come from I naturally respond to them � Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 14 (SO) �The Divineguma Bill is a historic Bill like the Free Education Bill which Minister C.W.W. Kannangara presented, the Paddy Lands Act which Minister Philip Gunawardena presented on behalf of farmers when he was a member of the S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike Govt of 1956, the Employees Provident Fund Bill which Minister T.B. Illangaratne presented and the Land Reform Bill which Minister Kobbekaduwa more..

Nov 14 (GV) First of all, I would like to define sustainable development. According to the Brundtland report it is �a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.� But it is important to go further in the definition: �Sustainable development has 2 concepts: the first one is the needs, particularly the needs of the poor, to whom priority should be given. The second is the idea that the actual state of more..

Nov 14 (DBS) I am sorry about the current attempt to impeach the Chief Justice, since it seems to me rather like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. What makes it worse is that those responsible for the impeachment motion seem to be going after the wrong nut. Over the last year, in trying to expedite implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan, I noted many problems arising from the failure of the judiciary to establish norms with regard to the processes entrusted to them. more..

Nov 14 (DBS) Before the term witch-trial entered public discourse as synonymous with injustice and persecution, women who were accused of being witches by their enemies were tried by their accusers, found guilty by their accusers and burnt at the stake by their accusers. Shirani Bandaranaike, Sri Lanka�s first female chief justice, has been charged by her enemies. She too will be tried by her accusers and condemned by more..

Nov 14 (Island) Minister Maithripala Sirisena should be commended for his bold statement that his ministry is full of sex maniacs. Any other politician would have tried to suppress the truth and paint a rosy picture of the state of affairs at his or her ministry. His revelation must have shocked one and all. The Health Ministry, no doubt, has decent men and women at all levels but they, we believe, are the silent majority; all it takes to ruin their reputation as well as the image of their institution is more..

Nov 14 (CT) With deep sadness and grief I write on the assassination carried out by the Sri Lankan military intelligence on a Tamil activist, a French citizen in Paris, France - Nadarajah Mathinthiran alias Parithi, nom de guerre Regan. There is no doubt that this assassination was carried out by the Sri Lankan military intelligence which is directly under the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Defence Secretary. Last Thursday, 8 November 2012, more..

Nov 14 (ST) The four years and four months that K.H.J. Wijayadasa served as Secretary to President R. Premadasa were a turbulent period in the history of the country. As President, Premadasa inherited a country beleaguered by civil strife in both the north and south; he was hounded by his political opponents almost from the time he took office and his end came, suddenly and tragically, when he was assassinated by a more..

Nov 14 (CT) There has been a significant development in the Communist Party of Sri Lanka. A conference at the end of October, in a critical review of the recent past, determined that supporting the Eighteenth Amendment (18A) was a blunder. This has implications because the CP will now have to review its stand on a range of issues; most important abolishing Executive Presidency (EP). It has been the CP�s position from 1978 that EP was a monstrosity foisted on the country by JR; more..

Nov 14 (Island) There have been many articles in the press questioning the legality of the impeachment motion against the CJ Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake. On the other hand there have been many who question the very appointment of Dr. Bandaranayake to the Supreme Court. However, it is clear that they were silent when she was appointed as a Supreme Court judge and Chief Justice by Presidents Chandrika Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa respectively. Also those more..

Nov 14 (Island) The govt proposes not to go for any foreign commercial borrowings next year, according to the 2013 budget, but domestic non bank borrowings will surge in order to finance a growing fiscal deficit leaving little room for monetary policy easing next year as the country continues to grapple with a trust deficit, experts warned. According to 2013 budget proposals the govt will not seek foreign commercial loans more..

Nov 14 (ST) Hoteliers and travel agents are bracing for a major showdown when efforts to implement dollar transactions becomes effective from December 1. The Hoteliers Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) in a letter to the travel agents has stated that in future the latter would be compelled to transact with hotels using only US dollars and not in rupees from the beginning of next month. Travel industry sources said that this would prove detrimental to them as most of the more..

Nov 14 (Scoop) Mr. Sarath N. Silva has taken three different positions in regard to the impeachment of the Chief Justice within a quite a short time. Initially, he said that, under the provisions of the 1978 constitution, even a Chief Justice who gives justice to others has no way to get justice. Then, while attending a funeral he met his old friend and master, the President. Soon he declared that the charges against Chief Justice were very serious and that she should think of resigning. more..

Nov 14 (Island) "This year we are struggling to keep fiscal policy on track," Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Planning Dr. B.M.S. Batagoda told a group of leading economists and other professionals earlier this week, but vowed, "We have already taken steps to increase tax revenue and cut down on expenditure because we want to meet the budget deficit target for this year". He made more..

Nov 14 (DN) Panama is considering employing Lankan seamen on board Korean vessels carrying the Panama flag, Panama's ambassador to Sri Lanka and South Korea Aram Cisneros said. The Panama govt opened a Liaison Office for Maritime Consular Affairs in Colombo to have interaction with Korean ship owners to deploy efficient Lankan seamen on their ships. Panama has a 22 percent market share in the world's maritime industry and has 9,000 vessels carrying the Panama flag. more..

Nov 14 (DN) The public can receive medical advice online. The website, www.edoctor.lk, was launched last month with the objective of providing medical advice and health information to the public online. Dr. Harsha Jayakody, the founder of edoctor says "with busy day to day life, the people seem to neglect their health and end up with serious conditions." The web based service provides them an opportunity to obtain medical advice at their convenience at the initial stage of more..

Nov 14 (DN) The Water Supply and Drainage Ministry will initiate a pipe borne water scheme that will benefit 51,160 people in the Northern Province. This will be carried out under the nine major water supply projects underway in the North. The projects under the theme 'Drinking water for all' (Semata Paaniya Jalaya) will ensure purified drinking water to those badly affected by the scarcity of water in the Northern province. more..

Nov 14 (Island) Abdul Baiz, Chairman of Puttalam Urban Council of Sri Lanka has conveyed compliments to President KCCI to promote Pak-Sri Lanka bilateral trade during his visit to Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He informed that delegation was visiting on the invitation from Administrator of Karachi Metropolitan Corporations for deliberation on proposed Karachi-Puttalam Sister City Arrangements. He said that Sri Lankan delegation was planned to be led by more..

Nov 14 (Island) Arrangements are underway to issue water from the Mahaweli reservoirs for Maha cultivation in the dry zone within two weeks, the Irrigation and Water Resources Management Ministry said yesterday. The water levels in the Mahaweli reservoirs have increased due to heavy rains experienced in those areas. The water storage in the Kotmale reservoir has risen to 84%, Victoria 48%, Randenigala 24 percent, Kala Wewa 73%, Ulhitiya 75% and Udawalawa 40%. more..

Nov 14 (DM) UNP MP Karu Jayasuriya said that he was surprised to hear the Commissioner of Prisons saying that the prisons should be brought under the Defence Ministry. He said he wondered whether it was a statement made at the request of someone else or whether he did it of his own accord. �In democratic countries prisons never come under the Defence administration. This kind of thing happens only in dictatorships. more..