Sep 26 (DM) It is evident that a wave of superstition is engulfing Sri Lanka. Whether it is East or West, superstition has been a part of the lives of the people. While the westerners relied on crystal balls to foresee their future, we easterners paid homage to all kinds of deities to protect ourselves from evils. It is a popular joke among the Sri Lankans that when it comes to calculating the population of the country, we have to add 33 crore of gods to the 20 odd million! It is interesting to find out the reasons more..

Sep 26 (DM) The military defeat of the LTTE Terrorists in May 2009 did not bring in its wake a return to decency; a return of standards or good governance that we once stupidly took for granted. On the other hand, that defeat brought out the worst qualities of the powers that be; namely the politicians in the forefront of their parties that we could never have dreamt of seeing even in our worst nightmares. In general, both the incumbent President and those seeking his job more..

Sep 26 (ST) Unemployment is at 19% among youth between 18-30 years, said the Monitoring MP Mohan Lal Grero. He said that this is what the Govt has been focused on, as it indicates the country�s growth.�The reason for unemployability among youth is because we have failed to produce persons who are job ready. We have a large number of Arts graduates with only a very few able to secure jobs, because only a small number of more..

Sep 26 (DM) In the immediate aftermath of its unprecedented electoral victory, the 28 elected members of the TNA passed a unanimous resolution on Monday to be transmitted to Northern Governor G.A. Chandrasiri, that C.V. Wigneswaran who topped the preferential vote list was their choice for the Chief Ministerial post. TNA General Secretary Mavai Senathirajah conveyed the party�s decision to the Governor on Tuesday. more..

Sep 26 (SL) To the casual observer, Sri Lanka has everything going for it. Emerging from a 30-year civil war, concentrated largely in the Northern and North Eastern provinces, the country has shown remarkable progress. Govt spend has gone through the roof, and the private sector has not been left behind. The Colombo Stock Exchange has steadied and has provided rich harvests � especially for investors who made their move during more..

Sep 26 (DM) UNP parliamentarian Harin Fernando said today the party would undergo significant changes soon in the wake of the defeat at Saturday�s elections to the three provincial councils. �Senior party members including the party leader has sought our ideas as to the kind of changes that the party should be subjected to. We hope these changes will be introduced at the next working committee meeting to be held on October 7. more..

Sep 26 (DM) It is good that the govt�s propaganda has brought back democracy to the North, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said. He congratulated the govt for holding an election. �But holding an election alone will not bring back democracy, it is the first step in a democratic process,� he said. �Ever since 1956, the Tamil people of the country expected their democratic wish very clearly. They wanted to live within a more..

Sep 26 (Island) The Govt intends to appoint the state employees from North to work in South and vice versa to rid the communication gap and promote peaceful co-existence between Tamils and Sinhalese. An EPDP Spokesman quoted the Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister John Seneviratne as having said that since the learning of Tamil and Sinhala languages had been made compulsory for all state employees, more..

Sep 26 (PTI) In a rare admission of "systemic failure" of the UN, its chief has said the world body had failed during the final stages of Sri Lanka's ethnic war in 2009 that saw military defeat of the LTTE. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also blamed member countries for not providing the UN with support to meet the tasks set by themselves. Ban made the remarks while addressing the UN General Assembly's more..

Sep 26 (Island) Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa alleged that the US Embassy in Colombo was pursuing a political agenda extremely detrimental to Sri Lanka�s interests. Although the govt was doing everything in its power to restore democracy following three decades of war, the US embassy was all out ot undermine it, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said. He was responding to a US statment issued in more..

Sep 26 (FT) The IMF yesterday gave a mixed score card for Sri Lanka and its future prospects, following the completion of the Post-Program Monitoring Review. The visiting IMF team said Sri Lanka�s economic growth estimate has been revised upwards to 6.5%, from 6.3% previously. However, this is still below the Central Bank�s optimism of 7.5% growth likely in 2013. The team also had a longer list of recommendations which more..

Sep 26 (CG) The UNHRC was divided today on the oral report on Sri Lanka submitted to the Council by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. While most council members including the US and EU backed Pillay�s report and criticized the govt, some countries including Pakistan, Russia, China and Venezuela strongly backed the efforts of the govt following the war. India meanwhile encouraged the govt more..

Sep 26 (CT) While the just-concluded PC elections in the North has proved to be historic on many counts, what has gone under the radar is the fact that it is perhaps the first time since the Tamil kings of the 15th century that a set of Northern Tamil leaders, elected or otherwise, have won an opportunity to rule themselves, at least within the constraints of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. The resounding electoral victory of the TNA speaks for itself. more..

Sep 26 (CT) Dayasiri Jayasekara�s (DJ) victory against all odds has to be looked at from various angles. I am undecided as to go from the worst to the best or the other way around. Yet a comedy ending with �they happily lived ever after� could always be a good choice. Despite being disappointed election after election that the elected did not look back to do something for the people who elected them but looked for personal glory and amassing personal wealth, the masses more..

Sep 26 (IL) President Rajapaksa met Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in New York City on the margins of the UN General Assembly on Sept 25. This is the first occasion both leaders met each other since Pakistani new leader Nawaz Sharif was elected for the third time as the PM at the General Election which was held in last June. The discussion between President Rajapaksa and PM Sharif centered on the different ways more..

Sep 26 (Island) Prisons Chief Chandraratne Pallegama yesterday told The Island that the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) had been directed to probe the escape of a hardcore LTTE prisoner, while he was working in the Matara Vesak Zone last May. The prisoner is believed to have fled the country about a month ago. A senior official said that the TID was in the process of investigating the circumstances under which the prisoner fled the country, while the Colombo Crime Division more..

Sep 26 (DM) IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, launched a trade supplier finance facility with leading apparel exporting company Brandix. The first such facility in South Asia, the IFC Global Trade Supplier Finance programme will help Brandix boost international trade opportunities. IFC, through the facility, will provide a supplier finance credit line to Brandix Lanka. Brandix will receive funding from IFC against receivables of selected international buyers. This provides working capital directly to more..

Sep 26 (AFP) Sri Lankan customs control confiscated 2 kilograms of gold and detained two men who had concealed the precious metal inside their bodies in order to avoid customs duties. The men were caught as they went through an X-ray check before boarding a Mumbai-bound flight on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Sri Lanka Customs, said. "Each man had 10 gold biscuits weighing 100 grams inside his rectum," more..

Sep 26 (GDI) Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, along with the officials of SLPA, welcomed the vessel �Dawn Princes� today, at a brief ceremony held in the Colombo harbour. This luxury carrier, owned by the USA company Princes Cruises , had more than 1800 tourists on board from Australia, New Zealand and US. The local excursion tour operator Ceylon Roots was engaged in taking tourists on board to pre-arranged destinations; Kandy, Pinnawala, Galle and Colombo. more..

Sep 26 (DM) A warrant was issued and thereafter recalled after Nirosha Wimalaratne alias �Cobra Girl� filed a motion today at the Colombo Fort Magistrate�s Court. The Magistrate thereafter, delivering his judgment on the case filed by the Colpetty Police said charge sheets could be filed against the defendant. Earlier, a warrant was issued against Wimalaratne for failing to appear in court today, after which her lawyers filed a motion citing reasons for her absence. more..

Sep 26 (CG) The Supreme Court has ruled that under the constitution, land powers cannot be in the hands of the PCs. In the ruling issued today the Court said that the right to land powers is in the hands of the central govt and not the provincial councils. Lawyer Gomin Dayasiri said that the three judge bench had determined in the ruling that under the 13th Amendment to the constitution the central govt has the rights over land powers. more..

Sep 26 (LBO) Stocks were flat Thursday with interest in diversified companies and some speculative trading, brokers said, while the rupee was steady in forex markets. The All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed 2.54 points higher at 5,786.16, up 0.04%, provisional data showed. The S&P SL20 closed 13.61 points higher at 3,219.09, up 0.42%. Turnover was 920.23 million rupees, up from 582.78 million rupees a day earlier with 115 stocks losing ground and 55 firms making gains. more..

Sep 26 (LT) Amaranath Jyatilleke, the renowned movie maker and recipient of many awards, passed away yesterday while being treated in Colombo National Hospital. His last rights were to take place today at Kanaththa at 10.30 a.m. as had been requested by him. He was 77 years old. Among the films he directed were Adarawanthayo, Thileke and Thilaka, Siripala and Ranmenika, Nivena ginna, Ek Davasaka Raa, Arunata Pera, Adara Geethaya and Yuwathipathi. He won the President�s award more..

Sep 26 (CI) A belligerent rearguard hundred from Doug Bracewell was not enough to prevent a Sri Lanka A victory on the final day in Dambulla, as the hosts' spinners secured the series with a 168-run win. Chasing 440 for victory, NZ A could not manage a meaningful partnership until the last pair were at the crease, and were eventually bowled out for 271 inside 57 overs. The first four-day match of the two-game series had been drawn. more..

Sep 26 (Island) The implementation of the 2012 annual transfers for grade medical officers has severely affected the functioning of the Colombo South Teaching Hospital (CSTH) spokesman said. A spokesman for the hospital said it was faced with an acute shortage of trained medical officers in the anaesthesia department following their release early this month in accordance with a directive by the Health Secretary in May to ensure that annual transfers were implemented. more..

Sep 26 (Island) The IGP was powerless and the security of politicians who faced threats, was determined by the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, newly elected Central Provincial Councillor, Azath Salley said. He said that his request for protection from the IGP during the recently concluded PC Election had been turned down with the reply, "Ask the Defence Secretary". Salley said that he had wanted security from the IGP, due to the recent baseless allegations more..

Sep 26 (CG) The JHU claims the Tamils in the North did not vote out of their own free will at the PC elections. JHU MP Champika Ranawaka said that the perception the Tamils did not get misled and voted democratically is misleading. He claims the Tamils in the North who were once directed by the gun of LTTE leader V Prabakaran had now been led by telephone calls they received from LTTE supporters overseas. more..

Sep 26 (DM) The Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) urgently needed a special washroom equipped to help Customs investigations, Custom Director Sarath Nonis said. �The increasing trend in smuggling items such as gold and heroin hidden in the internal parts of human body such as rectum and stomach have necessitated the installation of the new washroom system within the airport premises,� he said. �The value of the gold seized which weighs 50 kilos at the airport in the recent past more..

Sep 26 (CG) The Commonwealth is working with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) to determine a roadmap for the Commission�s role in national reconciliation efforts. The Commonwealth Secretariat will facilitate a roundtable from 26 to 27 September in Vavuniya to discuss this, the Commonwealth Secretariat said. The roundtable will bring together the Chairperson, commissioners and senior staff of the Commission, civil society organisations from the North more..

Sep 26 (AD) The future political actions of Sri Lanka�s main opposition, the United National Party has become the main topic of many a discussions within the party, following the recent provincial elections. It is said that the thumping victory achieved by Dayasiri Jayasekara, the former UNP MP who crossed over to the UPFA to contest for the North Western Provincial Council, has shifted the UNP top brass� attention more towards provincial polls. more..

Sep 26 (HT) Over the years Sri Lanka has been at the forefront of advancing women's issues through the United Nations. Sri Lanka became an early party to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (in 1981) and its Protocol (in 2002). It has been a vocal supporter of the initiatives launched by the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, to mainstream women's issues. Today there are more senior women in the Organization than ever before. more..

Sep 26 (ENS) Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president BS Gnanadesikan has asked political parties in Tamil Nadu to tone down their pro-Eelam rhetoric in the wake of the landslide victory of the TNA in the recently-held polls to NPC. He said the TNA victory on the poll plank of achieving political rights for Tamils within a united Sri Lanka was a proof that the stance of the Congress party had been right all along. �Our stance is in favour of a political solution in a united SL. more..

Sep 26 (CG) The Chair of the EU Parliament�s South Asia Delegation today hailed the win by the TNA at the Northern polls saying it creates an opportunity to build trust between the national govt and the leading provincial party in order to move the political reconciliation process forward. Chair of Parliament�s South Asia Delegation Jean Lambert said that being the first election held for decades in a part of the country which has more..

Sep 26 (ENS) The Mannar court on Wednesday ordered the release the 41 fishermen of Rameswaram and Mandapam, who were arrested and taken away by the Sri Lankan navy in July and August. Ten mechanised boats of the fishermen were also taken away by the island nation navy. Subsequently, all the arrested fishermen were lodged in Vavunya prison. The 41 fishermen were produced on Wednesday before the Mannar court which ordered their release. more..

Sep 26 (Reuters) Oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and France's Total have shown interest in bidding for blocks offered in Sri Lanka's current licensing round, the island nation's upstream regulator said on Thursday. Sri Lanka has tried to reinvigorate oil and gas exploration efforts since the end of a three-decade war with Tamil separatists in May 2009. The country does not currently produce oil and spent $5 billion on imports in 2012. more..

Sep 26 (Island) Minister G.L. Peiris has reiterated Sri Lanka�s commitment to stop illegal migration to Australia. The assurance was given when Minister Peiris met his Australian counterpart, Julie Bishop on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly sessions in New York. The following is the text of a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry on the meeting: "Australian Foreign Minister Bishop expressed her more..

Sep 27 (GV) As with every war the silencing of the guns or the signing of a treaty are often only a small step in a long journey of reconciliation. The true progress in rebuilding a society or country fractured through years of conflict can only happen when the people of that country are able to heal within themselves. In Sri Lanka on September 21 the Northern Province, home to the minority Tamils of Sri Lanka, held its first ever Provincial Council election since the start of more..

Sep 27 (NS) Sri Lanka defies its small size in most things, not least in politics. No sense of bewilderment then, that when it comes around to election time or thereabouts, the nation becomes afflicted with polls madness. Over the last few decades, perpetual political drama seems to dog this nation, without exception and without letup. As was being evidenced even last week, it all untangled like a bloody action thriller with sufficient violence to get those political hearts pounding and more..

Sep 27 (CT) Winnie Hettigoda�s most discernible character trait is his honesty. This sincerity is marked by a compassion for his countrymen and a vision that benefits a community. Some may see his socialist views as radical and wearisome, but Hettigoda�s works, specializing in political satire, portray a genuine concern for the suffering of the average Sri Lankan. The famous cartoonist�s contribution to the platform of independent more..

Sep 27 (CT) Three provinces went to polls on Saturday and irrespective of the general interest in the Central and North Western Provinces, it was the North that naturally caused more anticipation and excitement, holding a provincial poll after a quarter century. As the region that is less traversed but was extremely volatile until four years ago, a hotbed of violence and a place of political dissent linked to identity, the North, for too long, had been delinked from the South, in so many ways. more..