Aug 26 (CG) TNA Chief Ministerial candidate for the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran says the 13th Amendment to the constitution has its shortcomings but yet it cannot be changed without consulting India. He said that the 13th Amendment came about as a solution to address issues faced by Tamils. �This is an international agreement. This came about following an agreement between India and Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 27 (NS) It opens with a well-researched survey of our history of regional administration but �DRO Man for All Seasons� does not appear to have been designed quite as a tribute to the Divisional Revenue Officers� (DROs�) service. It should have been possible to give the reader much more in the way of instances of deft administration, particularly by those among its members who in their time are known to have distinguished themselves in service to the public. Nevertheless this collection of essays more..

Aug 27 (NS) Negombo�s prime asset is undoubtedly its beach. Since time immemorial, the beautiful coast which is situated along Lewis Place, away from the busy town of Little Rome, has been a favorite place of recreation to both local and foreign tourists. Beneficiaries of the beach are not the marine fishermen alone. From tour guides to street food vendors, and lovers to families, people utilize the beach in different ways, as mean of fulfilling their diverse necessities. more..

Aug 27 (SO) Shortage of fresh drinking water will be a major issue in the world specially in developing countries. Contamination of underground water, mismanagement and wasting have worsened the situation. The Maldives spends a large amount of money to supply pure drinking water to the people. Climate change is one of the main problems in poor countries, because it affects their livelihood and the economy, more..

Aug 27 (CT) Marie Colvin, the well-known UK-based defence correspondent was crossing LTTE-controlled land to enter govt territory in April 2001. Unexpectedly, Colvin ended up as a victim of Sri Lanka's protracted war, losing her left eye in a grenade attack. Re-emphasizing the brutality of war and how it devours innocent civilian lives, Colvin was killed in Homs, a besieged Syrian city where even her temporary home was shelled. There are reasons to reignite Colvin's memory today. more..

Aug 27 (CT) Will the SLMC quit the govt as reported in the weekend newspapers? My answer is firm no. Frankly, I am of the view that the rumour was propagated by the SLMC itself, with the motive of compelling the govt to take the side of the Muslims in the Sinhala-Muslim clashes, without investigating the root cause. (In order to be fair by the SLMC, it should be mentioned that the SLMC politicians acted fairly and decently in the Grandpass incident after learning the blunders more..

Aug 27 (DBS) The current visit to Sri Lanka by UN Human Rights Commissioner Ms. Navanetham Pillay known as Navi Pillay has aroused much interest and anticipation in the country. There is hectic activity by many Human rights activists and NGO personnel to meet Ms. Pillay directly and air their grievances. It appears that meeting Navi Pillay in person is almost a status symbol for a certain category of persons. more..

Aug 27 (CT) I would like to sketch some points about Moors to help readers to understand the trend. Note that I am neither hired by external forces, as some alledged, to criticize Moors nor do I hate my own community so I criticize it. As I pointed on my facebook wall �We need to be critical of our own choices and paths. I know well about my own community, when we think that we are the perfect and others are always bad, we actually contribute to tensions. more..

Aug 27 (CT) Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, self-proclaimed Prime Minister of the Transnational (or is it transitional?) Govt of Tamil Eelam, commenting on the growing Sinhala-Muslim antipathy in Sri Lanka, comes up with some laughable remarks. Towards the latter part of the article, he outlines an interesting sketch to portray the peace and harmony that would prevail in his El Dorado Tamil Eelam, saying, �The independent Tamil Eelam that will emerge in the traditional homeland of Tamils more..

Aug 27 (CT) The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) has decided to contest the upcoming PC elections independently, shunning requests to contest on the ticket of the UPFA under the common 'betel leaf symbol'. The move signals an expanding rift between the SLMC and the ruling UPFA over issues concerning increasing violence directed at Muslim places of worship and anti-Muslim sentiments being vocalized by several groups. more..

Aug 27 (SL) Can the Rajapaksa political juggernaut roll over in the three scheduled provincial council elections as it has done in recent years or will it be different this time? Will the Rajapaksa juggernaut be trapped in the political quick sands of Jaffna � a challenge it has not faced before? No Southern based party has done it before and not even the most optimistic of UPFA astrologers will see the stars smiling on their side in the Jaffna hustings. In the North Western Provincial Council more..

Aug 27 (ST) President Rajapaksa�s announcement this week that �I am no dictator� (Daily Mirror) may gladden the hearts of his eager sycophants but will do little to placate fears of concerned Sri Lankans that the country�s democratic institutions are being gradually dismantled. Just two days after this announcement, we were privileged (as taken in its most ironic sense) to hear of a new Ministry of Law and Order to operate under the President and empowered to more..

Aug 27 (FT) More countries should become aware of the �new chapter� enjoyed by Sri Lanka since the end of the war to increase investment, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivaard Cabraal said yesterday, calling on embassies to spread the word. Making the keynote address to the largest-ever Israel business delegation to Sri Lanka, he spoke of the �new brand� being forged for Sri Lanka and its gradual spread to the rest of the world. more..

Aug 27 (ST) CIC Holdings is reconsidering plans of expanding overseas on the back of a delay in fertilizer subsidy payments which has impacted its finance cost, sources close to the company said. The company whose agriculture and livestock arm contributes nearly 63% of the group�s revenue was finalising parties in African locations to forge partnerships for agricultural farming by next year. �The company was planning to go to Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda with horticulture and more..

Aug 27 (ST) Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the national telecommunication service provider, was recently awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification for its Quality Management System by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution. This certification covers all the local and international services provided by SLT and the operations of its branch offices located island wide. In a media statement, SLT said it provides services across a broad spectrum from residential customers to blue-chip companies. more..

Aug 27 (Island) Economic policy think tank, the Pathfinder Foundation says there is scope for further monetary policy easing, which should be a gradual process accompanied by exchange rate flexibility. "The combination of a loss in growth momentum and fiscal tightening places a high premium on fiscal/monetary policy coordination. In the current context of slower growth, lower inflation, some improvement in the current more..

Aug 27 (Island) Wildlife training should be given to the armed forces working in national parks countrywide, Senior Environmental Lawyer Jagath Gunawardane said. Addressing the media, at the Kanneliya Forest Reserve, he said that though the military personnel already had some crucial training, they should be given a further training including physical and legal training to work with the wildlife. With regard to the recent incident of firing of an assault rifle in the Yala National Park, more..

Aug 27 (Island) Saturday�s break-in at The Sunday Leader Associate Editor Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema�s house in Colombo has been rightly condemned by one and all. Five robbers armed with knives and a grenade held her and her family members incommunicado and robbed money and jewellery. The Police Spokesman lost no time in insisting that it was a burglary, but Abeywickrema has said that the armed men told her that they had been contracted to do what they did. more..

Aug 27 (FT) Amidst claims by the Colombo Telegraph web administrators that the website has been blocked by Sri Lankan ISPs since Saturday, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission denied it had ordered the blockade. TRCSL Director General Anusha Pelpita said that the Commission had to order ISPs to block offensive websites. �I don�t recall ordering a block on any websites recently,� more..

Aug 27 (CT) For the first time in Sri Lankan history, a wedding ceremony for dogs was held at Asgiriya, Kandy. The event had been organized by Sri Lanka Police Official Kennel Division (Headquarters). The main aim of the wedding is to breed police (official) dogs and save foreign exchange, as about Rs 20 million is spent on importing dogs of high pedigree. The breeding process will be done under the supervision of the veterinary experts in the universities, with the assistance more..

Aug 27 (Island) EFutures, a leadingprovider of enterprise, mobile, cloud and infrastructure based solutions and products, has opened a Sales Office in Vancouver, Canada. Employing over 150 Software Engineers, EFuturesis an off-shore development company that caters toFortune500 companies, Wall Street financial institutions and Silicon Valley startups.While experiencing steady growth in foreign markets, EFutures also maintains a solid presence in Sri Lanka, providing more..

Aug 27 (IL) President Rajapaksa arrived in Belarus, on a three-day official visit, graced the cultural and traditional dancing show, �Sri Lankan Night� at the Bolshoi Opera Theater in Minsk, capital city of Belarus last night (25). Sri Lankan cultural show was organised by the Sri Lankan Embassy in Russia accredited to Belarus as a part of the ongoing awareness campaign launched prior to the President�s visit to promote Sri Lanka tourism more..

Aug 27 (DN) Indian fishermen have not yet stopped poaching in Sri Lankan seas and all that Sri Lankan authorities can do is to conduct raids continuously, Minister Rajitha Senaratne said. The Sri Lanka Navy yesterday detained another 35 Indian fishermen along with four trawlers in the seas off Kalpitiya. These arrests of 35 Indian fishermen and seizing of four Indian fishing trawlers while poaching in Sri Lankan waters brings the total number of arrested fishermen to 327, and seized fishing trawlers to 60 more..

Aug 27 (CG) The police today apologized to monks of the Sihala Ravaya over a police function held in Kandy to marry dogs. Convener of the Sihala Ravaya, the venerable Magalakande Sudatha thero, said that the police expressed regret after the dogs were placed on a Sinhalese traditional �Poruwa� to perform the wedding ceremony. The Sihala Ravaya accused the police of not only bringing disrepute to the police service but also disrespecting Sinhalese people by marrying dogs in more..

Aug 27 (FT) Investigations by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) have revealed that certain MPs and candidates of the ruling party are using helicopters, VIP security personnel and even Defender vehicles belonging to the VIP Security Division for election campaign work. Twenty vehicles without number plates were seen being used for election propaganda work in the North Western and Central Provinces. more..

Aug 27 (DM) Veddah Chief Uruvarigelage Vanniyale Ettho said one must be cautious of his dietary habits and be a nature lover to live a healthy life. He said a recent survey conducted by the western and indigenous medical specialists had found that no-one in the Veddah community suffered from renal diseases or diabetes although many others in the Redeemaliyedda division were victims of such ailments. He said people of Dambana, Henagigala, Ratugala, Pollabedda Veddah communities more..

Aug 27 (DN) The newly built Chunnakam Sub Station built to supply power to Jaffna and linking the North with the National Electricity Grid after two decades will be vested in the people in September, Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said. Fulfilling the electricity requirement in the Jaffna peninsula is the main objective of the sub station, she added. The Chunnakam Sub Station was constructed at a cost of Rs. 1,800 million. It will generate 63 megawatts to provide electricity to over 120,000 households and more..

Aug 27 (Island) President Rajapaksa is scheduled to meet visiting UN Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay on Friday following her return from Trincomalee on Wednesday evening, a senior govt official said. He was responding to allegations that President Rajapaksa had left the country for Belarus on Sunday, in the wake of Pillay�s arrival, as he didn�t want to meet her. The official said that Pillay was visiting more..

Aug 27 (GDI) A two day Japanese Cultural Exhibition will be held at the Harold Peiris Gallery, Lionel Wendt, Colombo 7 from August 31 to September 1. The exhibition is organized by the Embassy of Japan and the Japanese Language Teachers' Association of Sri Lanka with the aim of promoting Japan�s culture and lifestyle and thereby enhancing the friendly relations between the people of Japan and Sri Lanka. The exhibition will feature Ikebana floral arrangements, bonsai plants, more..

Aug 27 (TS) VETERAN tour guide lecturer Joe Livera, who is also the incumbent president of the Sri Lanka Institute of National Tour Guide Lecturers (SLINGL), discusses the many facets of the tour guide industry and issues faced by tour guide lecturers. Some of the issues are not only detrimental to the guide lecturers alone, but the industry at large. They have to be resolved as soon as possible as the country is heading for a new era in tourism with more demands. more..

Aug 27 (CT) UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, yesterday expressed her concerns to Minister of Justice, Rauff Hakeem, about the police force coming under the purview of the newly-established Ministry of Law and Order. The Rights Chief was of the view the Police Department should come under the Ministry of Justice instead. However, Hakeem had explained that it was a policy decision made by the govt. more..

Aug 27 (TD) UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay will be visiting Sri Lanka from August 25 to 31. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is still focused on Sri Lanka�as mandated by a UN Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution passed on Sri Lanka last March, the second in a twelve-month space. Among other things, that resolution called for the Sri Lankan govt to implement the LLRC recommendations. It also encouraged it to more..

Aug 27 (OT) ONE weekend in July, the beach along the Galle Face Green promenade facing the Indian Ocean in Colombo, the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka, was crowded with local people. Families and couples were enjoying the water at the beach, where strong winds from the ocean ruffled the surface of the water. Arthur C. Clarke, the giant of British science fiction, fell in love with this sea. He moved to Sri Lanka and made Colombo his last home. more..

Aug 27 (CT) Minister Vasudewa Nanayakkara, today assured United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Navi Pillay, that the Select Committee appointed by the govt to look into the revision of the 13th Amendment, will not water down the steps taken by his Ministry to uphold the trilingual policy. The minister said that he had told the HR Commissioner that after the NPC elections in September, more..

Aug 27 (CG) The UN has termed the protest held outside the UN office in Sri Lanka yesterday as being �peaceful�. The protest was staged by a group of monks against the Sri Lanka visit of UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay. During the daily press briefing, journalists questioned the UN about the protest. Farhan Haq, Associate Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said that �Ms. Pillay was not in the vicinity of the peaceful protest at the UN compound in Colombo�. more..

Aug 27 (Island) The Public Health Department of the Colombo Municipal Council (PHD CMC) yesterday warns that there has been a 25 per cent increase in the number of school children affected by dengue in the city, compared to last year�s figures. Chief Medical Officer of the PHD Pradeep Kariyawasam said that the total number of dengue patients recorded in the city during the first eight months of this year was 2,300 while over 1,000 of them were below 20 years of age. more..

Aug 27 (IL) Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko gave his Sri Lankan counterpart, President Mahinda Rajapaksa a ceremonial welcome before reviewing a Guard of Honour at the Republic Palace in Minsk today on 26 August. The President of Sri Lanka began his three-day state visit amid a spectacle of pomp and pageantry. As the President's party arrived at the Belarus President�s official residence, the President more..

Aug 27 (DM) While the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Navaneetham Pillay makes a first-hand probe of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, a civic action group has sought a meeting with her to highlight other major though largely unseen areas of human rights violations. The Swarna Hansa Foundation headed by Gallage Punyawardana has alleged that these wide-scale and deadly human rights violations are being commited mainly in Third-World countries more..

Aug 27 (DM) Popular protests over diverse local issues frequently figure in the media today. These protests are often spontaneous and attract many local people who are directly affected by the issues concerned. When one or more television stations show live pictures of people protesting, public officials and politicians often cannot ignore them. While the police officers intervene to prevent the disruption of public order, local political leaders often come forward to offer some solution to more..

Aug 27 (SL) While many Acts introduced to Sri Lanka have been revised to suit the country, there are still several of these Acts that have not yet been revised. The Vagrants Ordinance and the Cemeteries and Burial Grounds Ordinance are among them. However the incident that took place on 17th August violates all these Acts and is against the law of the country. The incident was the setting on fire to thousands of files containing more..