Oct 25 (Island) The Govt has no problem with the implementation of the 13th Amendment to Constitution and if any allied parties are against it they could break away from cohabitation and continue to oppose it after leaving the govt, Puttalam District UPFA MP Arundika Fernando told Parliament yesterday. Participating in the debate on new regulations on the Insurance Industry, the MP said that there were some within the govt more..

Oct 25 (CT) 60% of the HIV infected persons in the country are found in Western Province, while the figure is 7% for the Southern Province, said Dr. G. Weerasinghe, specialist in sexually transmitted diseases. Addressing a workshop for media personnel in Galle, he said in recent times there has been a marked decrease of HIV cases among pregnant woman, which is now only 1% of the total reported cases. �By the year 2015, we will be in a position to totally eradicate syphilis from more..

Oct 25 (Island) Central Central Province High Court Judge Preethi Padman Surasena yesterday found the seven accused, in the Lalith Ambanwala acid throwing case, guilty and sentenced them to jail terms ranging from 10 to 70 years. They were also fined. The third and fourth accused were found guilty on four counts and sentenced to 70 years jail with hard labour each. The jail term for three of the counts was twenty years each more..

Oct 25 (CT) All 9,662 state schools in the country will be compelled to shutdown as a result of Trade Union action by teachers, if the demands of the Teachers and Principals are not met, General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Service Union (CTSU) Mahinda Jayasinghe said. Addressing the protest march held yesterday in front of the Ministry of Education, he voiced the concerns of the teachers over the lack of supplementary wages, more..

Oct 25 (ICP) The strange treatment of Sri Lanka at and by the UN was on display on Wednesday in New York. The UN's Special Rapporteur on IDPs Mr. Chaloka Beyani gave a press conference. He was immediately asked by a fellow selected to come four months to the UN if he'd praise the govt of Mahinda Rajapaksa for relocation of IDPs from the camps set up after the 2009 conflict -- called the "Bloodbath on the Beach" by another UN official -- to land in northern Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 25 (DM) The Bribery and Corruption Commission has received 2535 complaints against govt officers since 2011, showing that more people were coming forward to complain against the menace. Of the complaints received, 130 cases have been investigated out of which 69 have already been closed. A total of 32 cases were concluded at the High Court where 17 secured convictions were made. The commission more..

Oct 25 (Island) UNP MP Harin Fernando and UPFA MP Vasantha Senanayake left the country yesterday to attend talks with the members of the Tamil Diaspora in Europe. The MPs represent a group of young MPs and political party representatives who believe that they can bring about a change and help the country and the Diaspora to reconcile on various issues of contention. Harin Fernando said that this group had sent a delegation to London last year where they met the key representatives of more..

Oct 25 (Island) Heavy rains lashed the city from noon to well past late afternoon yesterday wreaking havoc, especially during the rush hour. Office workers were stranded while vehicular traffic was brought to a standstill due to a number of roads leading to the city being flooded. Some areas in Gampaha and Galle had also been on alert for floods due to increasing water levels of Gin Ganga and Aththanagalu Oya following incessant overnight rains, the DMC said. more..

Oct 25 (Island) A crucial meeting TNA constituent parties were scheduled to have on Tuesday evening with alliance leader R. Sampanthan was postponed as he was indisposed. The TULF, EPRLF, TELO and PLOTE are constituent parties of the TNA. Sampanthan had told Tamil media on Monday that he looked forward to an amicable settlement with the alliance partners while accommodating the wishes of many seniors more..

Oct 25 (KT) The UAE, the largest foreign direct investor in Sri Lanka among the GCC economies, is mulling over several large-scale investments in the country. �Sri Lanka�s security and stability is attractive for UAE private investors. We are keen to expand our investment profile in Sri Lanka beyond current levels,� revealed the newly appointed UAE ambassador to Sri Lanka, Abdul Hamid Abdul Fattah K. Al Mulla. The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $1.1 billion at end of 2011, more..

Oct 25 (Island) A personal dispute had led to Tuesday�s clash between two groups of students from Royal and Thurstan Colleges, Thurstan College Principal, Y.A.N.D. Yapa said yesterday. Yapa, who was earlier the Chief Commissioner of Teacher Education suspects that twin brothers studying in year 13 at Thurstan would have been having a dispute with two Royalists over a personal matter and that had turned into a full blown clash in the end involving senior students of both schools. more..

Oct 25 (CT) The CID launched an investigation into allegations of tampering of data, pertaining to Value Added Tax (VAT), stored in computers at the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). Data tampering is suspected to have led to a Rs 180 million VAT fraud. A senior police officer said a team of sleuths comprising specialists on Information Technology and officers attached to the CID Financial Crimes Division, had been sent to the Department, to investigate the incident. more..

Oct 25 (DM) Though dead may be the most vindictive Tiger high-heads, they have left their ghosts lingering in the Tamil Nadu shores which occasionally speak through the mouths of the Pro-LTTE politicians whose only bait for vote is the Northern citizenry of the post war Sri Lanka. Their generosity is quite overwhelming, and to say the least comes with a price tag. The actions of Karunanidhi could hardly be different when more..

Oct 25 (DN) The Education Ministry intervened and solved the majority of problems pertaining to teachers which had been neglected over the past years, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said. He said there is no need for anybody to come to streets with slogans, when the ministry is committed to its best to resolve matters within the education sector. With reference to the protest march by a Teachers' Union yesterday, the minister said most demands of protesters have more..

Oct 25 (SL) Objections have been raised by environmentalists and authorities including the Irrigation Department and the Central Environment Authority (CEA) against the proposed hotel and golf course project in the Soragune forest reserve in Badulla. The Center for Environmental Justice has filed a case before the Court of Appeal against the project. Case number CA.AP.No. 671/2011 is to be taken up for hearing on more..

Oct 25 (SL) Construction industry representatives say that the recent cement price increase would have a devastating effect on their projects. �The current situation is a blow to the entire construction industry, as the recent price increase is the second for this year�, Sri Lanka institute of Architects Registration Board Chairman Architect Jayantha Perera said. He said not only contractors, but labourers in the industry, such as bricklayers and helpers, as well as subcontractors who are more..

Oct 25 (LB) President of the Deshaya Surakeeme Jathika Viyaparaya (DSJV) Ven. Elle Gunawansa Thera urges the government to abolish the 13th Amendment as it has created so many problems in Sri Lanka. He says that he had vehemently opposed the introduction of the controversial 13th Amendment to the Constitution when it was done by the rulers and to date he has not changed his view or stance. more..

Oct 25 (Island) The Govt Medical Officers� Association (GMOA), with a membership of around 16,000 doctors country-wide, will launch a token strike from 8.00 a.m. to-day in protest against the government�s failure to revise their salary ratio from the current 1:4 to 1:12. Arrangements have however been made to attend to all emergency cases during the strike. Doctors attached to around 1,500 hospitals will keep away from the OPD, more..

Oct 25 (E24|7) Sri Lankan cricket selectors have shown they lack foresight by appointing Lasith Malinga as deputy to Angelo Mathews who was named as the team's Twenty20 captain. Mathews was an automatic choice having served as deputy to Mahela Jayawardene who stepped down after the World Twenty20 final. "It�s a good time to bring in a new captain who can ease into the job and quietly take control of the team," more..

Oct 25 (Island) The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) yesterday urged the Sri Lankan govt not to engage in futile propaganda exercises to deceive the international community ahead of the forthcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UNHRC in Geneva. UK based GTF spokesman Suren Surendiran said that there was absolutely no basis for recent GoSL claim that it was in touch with Tamil Diaspora organizations and a meeting more..

Oct 25 (Island) UNP MP Dr Jayalath Jayawardena yesterday wrote to IGP N. K. Illangakoon requesting him to provide Interpol with information on former LTTE arms procurer and fund raiser Kumaran Pathmanathan aka KP, for whose arrest, he says, a Chennai Court has issued an open warrant. The letter states: "As you an aware, the LTTE destroyed several hundreds of innocent civilians in Sri Lanka and was involved in more..

Oct 25 (Island) In the aftermath of a protest march and a two-hour walkout yesterday, the Professions Supplementary to Medicine (PSM) warned they would give the govt only a week to grant their demands, which include increased overtime and on-call allowances. PSM General Secretary Saman Jayasekara warned that they would launch an indefinite strike and a final decision on it would be taken during a more..

Oct 25 (LBO) Sri Lanka's exports fell 13.1 percent to 828.9 million US dollars in August 2012 from a year earlier led by tea, while imports fell 4.7% to 1,750 million US dollars, official data showed. Tea exports fell 32.7% to 95.7 million US dollars and apparel exports fell 3.9% to 358.8 million US dollars. Sri Lanka's central bank said the fall in apparel exports was partly due to lower cotton prices. Imports of textiles fell 15.1% to 167.9 million US dollars in August with petroleum imports more..

Oct 25 (GDI) The 13th Amendment is part of the Constitution and the MPs are obliged to protect the Constitution. If there are obstacles to impediment public service such obstacles could be removed. The Constitutions are not rigid and inflexible documents and it could be amended from time to time to suit the needs of the country and the people. India being the largest democracy in the world has amended its Constitution more than 200 times. This was stated by the Minister of more..

Oct 25 (Island) Environmentalists yesterday joined the fight against an alleged government move to tax well water. They accused the government of having a hidden agenda to privatise all water use. They alleged that the new well water tax suggestion was a new face of the Water Resource Management Policy for Commodification and Privatisation of Drinking Water which was approved by the then UNP Cabinet in March 2000 and the draft policy was released more..

Oct 25 (LBO) Stocks closed up 0.60% Thursday helped by blue chips and retail counters, brokers said. The Colombo All Share Index closed at 5,576.72 up 33.47 points and the S & P SL 20 Index closed 1.19 points higher at 3009.59 up 0.04%. Turnover was 271 million rupees. Top contributors to turnover were Chevron Lubricants with 31.6 million rupees, Distilleries with 22.5 million rupees and People�s Leasing with 20.9 million rupees. Most active counters for the day were more..

Oct 25 (CT) �Gothabaya downplayed his involvement in media intimidation, claiming that recent reports of his threatening the Daily Mirror Editor were inaccurate. He admitted that he did call her, but �only as a friend, and only out of concern for her safety� after she wrote an article critical of Karuna. His intent, he said, was to warn her that if she continued to write negative things about Karuna, she would make an enemy of him. more..

Oct 25 (GDI) Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) said that there will be no fuel shortage in the country as there are sufficient stocks of refined fuel in the local market, and refuted newspaper reports saying that there will be a fuel shortage in the country soon. The Managing Director of the CPC Susantha Silva said that certain groups and media are spreading rumours about a fuel shortage in the coming weeks but the public need not fear since there there are ample stocks, and due to the economic sanctions imposed on Iran by more..

Oct 25 (LT) Senior Minister DEW Guanasekera has made a special statement regarding the end of the war in the North. The Minister has told the media that armed movements in the North laid down their arms and entered democratic political process due to the 13th amendment to the Constitution. Forgetting this fact by many who call for abolishing the 13th amendment is regrettable he has said. He has also said that abolishing the 13th amendment would be an invitation to separatism and terrorism and Tamil Diaspora would be more..

Oct 25 (DM) Two officers of the Inland Revenue Department were arrested by the CID over a number of frauds allegedly committed by erasing data stored in several computers of the department. The complaint was lodged by the Deputy Director after it was found that a considerable amount of data had gone missing. The amount of loss caused to the department was yet to be calculated. The CID arrested the tax officer more..

Oct 25 (Island) The Police Department, which was under the Defence Ministry during the war, should now be brought under another Ministry, since the roles of the Police and the armed forces were vastly different, the UNP said yesterday. The police and armed forces were poles apart and as such with the end of a long drawn out armed conflict they should be under the purview of different ministries, UNP MP Eran Wickremeratne told a news conference more..

Oct 25 (CG) The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights of IDPs, Chaloka Beyani, says significant progress had been made since the end of the war in Sri Lanka but there was some uncertainty about the durability of the solutions that had been applied in the north of the country. Speaking to reporters at the UN yesterday Beyani recalled that his predecessor, Walter K�lin, had recommended that the country close camps and resettle people in the North. more..

Oct 25 (GDI) On 3rd November a function will be held at the Temple Trees under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to handover letters relating to offering interest free car loans and for the distribution of Laptop computers to the media personnel and artistes. The function will be held as a symbolic gesture of launching this scheme, which President Mahinda Rajapaksa more..

Oct 25 (LT) A valuable vehicle permit is entitled for anyone elected to parliament and every MP elected to parliament sells this permit to pay the loans obtained to spend for their election campaigns says the Minister of Transport Kumara Welgama. Speaking further he has said, �Anyone who wants to enter parliament, until this election system exists, should spend at least Rs.50 million. Going to the Parliament is only a dream if any person cannot spend that much for the campaign. more..

Oct 25 (CG) The U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Michele Sison has had talks with the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC) during her ongoing visit to the Eastern province. She also met other Muslim politicians as well as the Batticaloa Mayor and visited several sites in the district. Meanwhile the U.S Embassy said that the U.S. Ambassador opened the Kalumunthanveli General Tamil Mixed School in Porathivu Pattu DS division and Munaikadu Vivekananda in Paddipalai more..

Oct 25 (Island) In view of the claim that a bolt of lightning struck a wall close to one of the lion�s paws, at Sigiriya, a lightning expert warned that many other invaluable national heritage sites were also in danger of being struck by lightning. Prof. Chandima Gomes, Head of the Centre for Electromagnetic and Lightning Protection Research, Malaysia, said that a number of places such as the Gal Viharaya in Polonnaruwa, Isurumuniya, more..

Oct 25 (F2F) The Sri Lankan National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) has recognized Bureau Veritas as an outstanding Service Provider to Exporters and its contribution to the success of the country's textile manufacturers. Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services Sri Lanka. provides a full range of specialist services to textile manufacturers in Sri Lanka. These include textile, garment and accessories testing; both physical and analytical. more..

Oct 25 (PTI) Sri Lankan Naval personnel attacked a group of fishermen from Tamil Nadu with stones when they were fishing near Katchatheevu today, officials said. Around 4,000 fishermen from this island had sailed in 614 boats last night and were fishing near International Maritime Boundary Line off Katchatheevu, an islet ceded to Sri Lanka by India in the 1970s, when a section of them came under attack, they said. Accusing the fishermen of having entered their territory, more..

Oct 25 (Xinhua) An anti-corruption organization in Sri Lanka on Thursday filed charges against a top government official, accusing him of being part of the first defaulting transaction in the Colombo Stock Exchange. In May this year, the State-run National Savings Bank (NSB), which is one of the largest banks in the country, bought a 13% stake of the Finance Company at prices much higher than the market value. more..

Oct 25 (Island) Sri Lanka will hold its first annual Tax Week from November 1 to 8 with the Inland Revenue Department organising a series of programmes across the country in a bid to alley fears and clear doubts harboured by the public, expose the new-look department and its services and build bridges with the public by creating awareness of the virtues of paying the �right tax at the right time� top officials said yesterday. "No one should fear the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and no one should doubt us. more..