Feb 8 (Island) Sri Lanka has now achieved niche status as regards garment manufacture. She is reputed for her high quality workmanship and is noted globally for her up-market products, Intertek Country Head for Sri Lanka Manish Kumar said. he said that as a frequent visitor to Sri Lanka over the years, he has seen this country increase its stature as a garment manufacturer. He predicted that SL�s garment production, more..

Feb 8 (Island) In the mid-Seventies the Sri Lanka Customs at Bandaranaike Airport were so strict that we crewmembers in Air Ceylon were subjected to untold hardship and harassment. They would even charge the crew for the cigarettes in their pockets! Although we brought Foreign Exchange� (VFE) into the country, in the form of allowances for use abroad, we couldn�t take money out. Therefore we were forced to use a barter system to satisfy our needs. more..

Feb 8 (KUNA) Exploratory visit by a group of elite Kuwaiti students reaped its aspired fruits, as the young Kuwaiti students enriched their cultural knowledge by examining landmark and historical sites across the Asian nation, said the mission architect. Objectives of the trip have been fully realized and "I have sensed this from the impressions manifested by the students," said Ahmad Al-Sarraf, supervisor of the exploratory journey, organized by KFAED, more..

Feb 8 (CI) Having arrived on the fifth day short of runs and confidence, Mominul Haque led Bangladesh to safety with a third Test hundred that showcased remarkable courage and a striking understanding of the dynamics of Test-match momentum, in only his 12th innings. Charged with simply surviving, Mominul chose to press Sri Lanka instead. After scoring a triple hundred and century earlier in this match, Kumar Sangakkara said positivity more..

Feb 8 (Island) Customs Bio-Diversity, Cultural and National Heritage Division officers at Bandaranaike International Airport, in the early hours of yesterday, detected small a consignment of small pieces of Wallapatta worth Rs. 10 mn a 31-year-old Sri Lankan male attempted to smuggle out to India. Customs spokesman Leslie Gamini said that the smuggler from Grandpass had hidden 16.2 kilos of Wallapatta in his hand bag and was about to board UL 173 flight to fly to Bangalore. more..

Feb 8 (Island) The National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB) revealed that an estimated 200,000 Sri Lankans were addicted to Cannabis while an estimated 45,000 were addicted to heroin. NDDCB Assistant Director Education and Training, Pradeep Kumara said that as cannabis could be cultivated locally people found it easily accessible rather than other types of dangerous drugs such as heroin, opium and hashish. Children who were in the age group that wanted to try out more..

Feb 8 (MoD) Gracing as a special envoy of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Secretary Defence and Urban Development Gotabaya Rajapaksa unveiled the newly constructed Dolos Mahe Pahana (eternal flame oil lamp) and the Gantara Kuluna (bell tower) at a historical religious ceremony held at peak of the mountain of Sri Pada (Adam's Peak) yesterday. On par with the religious function the President Rajapaksa and more..

Feb 8 (CI) The Pakistan Cricket Board and Sri Lanka Cricket, the only Full Members to abstain from voting in the ICC Board meeting on Saturday, said that they had done so due to changes in the "comprehensive resolution" that required the approval of their respective governing boards and stakeholders. Their decision to abstain from voting, however, did not stop the ICC Board from approving a large number of changes affecting the governance and structure of international cricket. more..

Feb 8 (Island) Two Lankans arriving from Shajah in the early hours of yesterday were arrested by Customs at the Bandaranaike International Airport, when they tried to smuggle in gold biscuits worth Rs. 15.5 million and gold jewellery worth 2.2 million to the country on the same flight. The former, 40-year-old from Slave Island, had tried to smuggle in 31 gold biscuits weighing 3,100 grammes worth Rs. 15.5 millions, while the latter, 52-year-old from Rajagiriya had concealed more..

Feb 8 (ENS) A young journalist from Tamil Nadu, who was deported from Sri Lanka in December last year for alleged visa violation, has denied that he had used the British Parliament to accuse Sri Lanka of using chemical weapons against ethnic Tamils during the Eelam War IV. The 23-year-old journalist Maga Tamizh Prabhagaran, had on Jan 31 and Febr 1 screened a 47-minute documentary �This Land Belongs to the Army� more..

Feb 8 (Island) Minister Johnston Fernando told Parliament that the govt had only permitted to increase the prices of milk powder but did not increase taxes on them. Minister, responding to a series of questions raised by Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga, said that the govt�s intention was not to bring down the prices of powdered milk but to promote liquid milk. He said that it was the policy of the govt to protect and safeguard the interests of the indigenous dairy farmers. more..

Feb 8 (Island) The US is pushing two of Sri Lanka�s major investors, Japan and South Korea to throw their weight behind its third resolution against Sri Lanka at the forthcoming session of Geneva-based UNHRC. Authoritative diplomatic sources said that the US was keen to secure the support of two key members of Asia-Pacific regional grouping to further weaken Sri Lanka�s position at the 47-member UNHRC. Japan abstained at last year�s vote, while South Korea backed the US move. more..

Feb 8 (PTI) Having abstained at the crucial voting for the ICC revamp plan in Singapore today, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said it would seek a further domestic mandate to deal with the controversial proposals. "At the ICC Board meeting held today in Singapore, the revised resolution relating to the governance, competition and financial models of ICC were presented. The scope of the resolutions presently proposed were more..

Feb 8 (Island) The Vehicle Emission Testing (VET) Programme has brought down the permitted levels of Particulate Matter (PM 10) and Sulphur levels in most of parts of the country despite nearly 400,000 vehicles being added annually to the country�s roads, a senior official said. A study by National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) had revealed that ambient air quality level had not decreased despite thousands vehicles being added to the fleet. more..

Feb 8 (CG) Minister Wimal Weerawansa has supported calls to ban any group that speaks or publicly supports separatism which could lead to the country being divided. He said that the upcoming provincial elections should be used as a referendum to defeat such groups and launch the second stage of the war against Eelam. Recently the JHU, a political party affiliated with the Government, called for the NPC to the abolished on the basis that it is promoting separatism. more..

Feb 8 (Reuters) Pope Francis on Saturday told Sri Lankans living in Italy that he hoped to take up an invitation to visit their country, where the wounds of civil war still needed to heal. Pope met a group of Sri Lankan pilgrims, led by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, who proffered the invitation. He responded: "I thank Cardinal Ranjith for the invitation to visit Sri Lanka. I welcome this invitation and I think the Lord will grant us the grace." more..

Feb 9 (SO) Sri Lanka accomplished the near impossible almost five years ago, what even the most sophisticated armies in the world with superior fire power could not achieve - crushing the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world! When the US-led NATO forces failed in their attempt to crush the Al-Qaeda terror outfit in Iraq and Afghanistan, suffering heavy losses, Sri Lanka's valiant Security Forces proved that fire power and military strength alone could not combat terrorism. more..

Feb 9 (SL) Sri Lanka has been peaceful for quite a while but has been continuously trod on, prodded and humiliated by powerful nations despite no harm being done to them. It�s time for Sri Lanka to turn. A self-declared global policeman and custodian of international morality has taken upon itself to chastise Sri Lanka for the third time at the UNHRC which commences its sessions at the end of this month in Geneva and the stage is being prepared by them and their allies to more..

Feb 9 (SO) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said this time around the Govt will secure the highest number of votes ever won in the history of Provincial Council polls at the forthcoming Southern and Western PC elections. The number of UPFA members will also increase. He said the UPFA would also set yet another record by securing the highest number of members elected from Hambantota district in a PC Election. more..

Feb 9 (NS) A hitherto unknown outfit (at least in Sri Lanka) that calls itself �Public Interest Advocacy Centre� has made a very serious claim: �Mass graves may have been systematically destroyed by Sri Lankan security forces at the end of the island�s separatist conflict to hide evidence of large-scale civilian deaths�. The key word here is �may�. That�s conjecture through and through. Media queries regarding sources of information, reliability of sources, substantiation of claims, more..

Feb 9 (Island) The Commissioner of Motor Traffic has recently gone on record saying that from next month vehicle owners will have to do two emission tests a year against one at present. Despite an emission free (or tolerably clean) certificate now being required prior to the issue of the annual revenue licence, all road users are familiar with the sight of a large number of buses, lorries, cars, vans and even three-wheelers belching exhaust smoke on our roads. more..

Feb 9 (SO) Concluded Northern Province elections was ample testimony that democracy is vibrant in the country. A party which has a policy different to that of the govt captured power in the NPC. The inflow of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) has showed the political stability of the country. When there is political stability, there will be increased foreign investments. Restoration of peace in the country and the inflow of direct more..

Feb 9 (ST) And so, we are going to see the spectacle of two more PC elections next month. Campaigning has begun in earnest and in Galle, a ruling party cavalcade has run over innocent road users. Provincial fiefdoms that have been created by the PC system, even if Police powers remain with the Centre, allow ruling party members to run amok. What difference does it make anyway to have these powers in the Centre if they are vested with the political authority of the ruling party? more..

Feb 9 (ST) My dear Somey sahodaraya and Anura sahodaraya, I thought of writing to you after hearing the shocking news that there has been a leadership change in the Red party. I must say I was shocked not because of the leadership change but because of the way it had happened. Just think about it: When we woke up on Sunday all was well with the world and the only news we heard was that your Red party was having its convention. When that day ended, however, we were told that more..

Feb 9 (SL) Sri Lanka�s Northern Provincial Council (NPC) passed a resolution recently calling for an international probe into the war crimes allegedly committed during the country�s ethnic conflict. The resolution comes less than two months before UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay is due to submit a written report to the UNHRC in Geneva on the progress made by Sri Lanka in fixing accountability for alleged war crimes. more..

Feb 9 (NS) The UNP missed the bus again on Friday. Last week�s parliamentary sittings were limited to two days � Wednesday and Friday. Friday had been allocated for a full day adjournment debate on the Norochcholai power plant and UNP stalwart MP Ravi Karunanayake was to move the motion for the debate. After the question time was over Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody gave time to Chief Opposition Whip MP John Amaratunga to make a special statement that more..

Feb 9 (Island) UNP MP Eran Wickramaratne and former CEO of the NDB in a parliamentary speech said that the intended merger between the NDB and DFCC will reduce competition on long-term lending and make the industrialist and borrower poorer by reducing competition. "The merger will only increase govt intervention in well run institutions," he said. "A merger should create synergy. One plus one must add to three." Wickramaratne urged that it would be logical for merger partners to more..

Feb 9 (ST) Sri Lankans in a new BT-RCB poll this week are urging the Govt to bring in stiffer penalties and stronger safeguards against the use of pesticides in local and imported fruits which have long term ramifications on the health of individuals. Pesticides in fruits are reflected in the increasing number of cancer cases, gastric problems and throat infections, one respondent said. �The Govt should regularly check the quality of fruits and more..

Feb 9 (Island) Now that we know for certain that the USA will be bringing another resolution against Sri Lanka in March, we know that the govt will have no choice but to ignore it � we don�t even know what the content of the resolution will be � but we can safely say that the govt. will have no option but to throw it into the dustbin. Never in the 31-year history of UNHRC or HRC resolutions against Sri Lanka have the Western powers who have sponsored all those resolutions, ever said anything that more..

Feb 9 (SL) One of the ugliest incidents in the history of the United National Party was reported last week when MP Palitha Thewarapperuma allegedly attempted to assault party leader Ranil Wickremasinghe at the UNP Parliamentary group meeting last week. Thewarapperuma was furious over the fact that his son did not receive nomination from the party to contest the WPC from Kalutara District � Thewarapperuma�s stronghold. When he entered the room where the more..

Feb 9 (SL) US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal�s visit to Sri Lanka created ripples when she stated at the end of her visit that the US will most certainly sponsor a resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC next month. The Govt, in the meantime, did not take her message lightly and the External Affairs Ministry issued a strongly worded response to Biswal�s parting comments. more..

Feb 9 (Island) You don�t often see Kumar Sangakkara remaining quiet for an extended period of time. Sri Lanka�s number three batsman had an average series against Pakistan where he had a top score of 55 in six innings. Sanga arrived for the series against Bangladesh firmly focused and it was Bangladesh�s bowlers who were at the receiving end in the second Test between the countries in Chittagong as the former Sri Lanka captain became only the second man after Graham Gooch more..

Feb 9 (ST) With two Provincial Council elections scheduled for late March, the UNP began to turn on the heat on the Government in Parliament, staging a poster-carrying protest on Friday, targeting the administration on corruption, waste and the rising cost of living. The protest caught the few Govt members present in the Chamber off guard, and Deputy Speaker Chaminda Weerakkody who was chairing the day�s sittings, hurriedly adjourned the House for mid-February. more..

Feb 9 (Island) Mobitel, the fully-owned cellular subsidiary of govt controlled Sri Lanka Telecommunications, has finalized an arrangement to buy Hutchison Telecommunication Lanka which has been in business here for several years for an undisclosed price. Deal will be completed "very soon". Analysts expected the tab to top USD 100 million. The transaction has been finalized following more..

Feb 9 (ST) Sri Lanka�s apparel industry is looking towards China this year aimed at finding new brands and increasing chances of promoting garment exports via a new gateway with trade concessions for its existing buyers to the East Asian partner. But reasons for the shift in market focus would also be due to the fact that industries need to align themselves with wherever the free trade agreements (FTA) are entered into by the govt, Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association Chairman more..

Feb 9 (NS) JVP new leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake says that politics is a subject for the person who can see and understand aspirations of the people and not for those who limit themselves to photo opportunities. He said that most known figures who left the JVP were not genuine and some of them were �hired traitors�. He invited the Tamil community to see the JVP through their own eyes and not by the manner in which Ministers Weerawansa, Ranawake, Hakeem, more..

Feb 9 (NS) TRC of Sri Lanka has temporarily scrapped an earlier proposal to implement Mobile Number Portability, a facility which allows a mobile subscriber to change the operator without changing his/her number. According to TRC, Director-General Anusha Palpita, the proposal has been halted as the island did not proportionately have a positive balance in the number of post-paid mobile subscribers in comparison to the more..

Feb 9 (SL) Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya has issued a February 28th deadline for all candidates contesting the upcoming PC elections to declare their assets. Deshapriya said that he had formally communicated the deadline to the candidates and he expects them to comply. However, he said if the candidates fail to declare their assets it would be up to the Bribery and Corruption Commission to launch an investigation. Meanwhile the Bribery and Corruption more..

Feb 9 (SL) The proposed amendments to the Human Rights Act have been submitted to the Cabinet, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) said. Commissioner at HRCSL, Dr Prathiba Mahanamahewa said that he has been told that the proposed amendments, which were initially handed over to President Rajapaksa by the HRCSL, is now before the Cabinet. HRCSL had sought greater powers including the right to hold National Inquiries in the proposed amendments that more..

Feb 9 (ST) The long-delayed Krrish project in Fort has passed yet another deadline � the final 15% payment of US$ 449 million which was due on Jan 31 � to start construction. Furthermore fresh issues are surfacing. UDA is insisting that Delhi-based Krrish must additionally pay 15% as a land lease tax, that didn�t figure in the payment schedule last year. This means Krrish has to pay a total of 30% in lease rental fees, more..