Dec 6 (Island) On the basis of unsubstantiated war crimes allegations, propagated by the UK media outfit, Channel 4 News, Australia has refused to allow Major General Jagath Dias join an ICRC project in Australia this month. The Australian High Commission had informed the Gajaba Regiment veteran of its decision. Asked whether the Australian HC had given any specific reasons for rejecting the officer’s visa, more..

Dec 6 (Island) National Leader of the UNP Ranil Wickremesinghe accused the govt of pressuring religious dignitaries not to attend a public meeting held in Colombo against the proposed establishment of Casino zones in every province. The auditorium was filled with representatives of all religions, many political parties and members of the public in spite of govt threats, Wickremesinghe told the meeting by a group of monks more..

Dec 6 (Island) The BoI has recently signed an agreement with Queensbury owned by the local gaming tycoon Dhamika Perera to build the third US$ 350 million integrated resort which possibly would include an in-house casino. Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said the BoI had reached an agreement with Queensbury to develop 2.5 acres at D.R. Wijeywardene Mawatha, Colombo. So far only the initial documents more..

Dec 6 (DM) UNP MP Harin Fernando said today 52% of the budget was allocated to three Ministers of the same family while the balance 48% was allocated to the rest. “52% of the budget has been allocated to three ministers while the other 105 ministers have been allocated only 48% in the 2014 budget allocation. This clearly shows that everything is done according to the consent of a certain group in the govt. more..

Dec 6 (DN) LMD announced yesterday that its 2013 Sri Lankan Of The Year is business leader and John Keells Holdings (JKH) Chairman Susantha Ratnayake. He follows in the footsteps of business icon Deshamanya Ken Balendra, who won the coveted award in 1998. Ratnayake is only the fifth business leader to be named 'Sri Lankan Of The Year' by LMD, in the 18 years since its inception in 1995- that was when Kadirgamar more..

Dec 6 (LBO) Sri Lanka's drive towards trade restrictions and import substitution may hurt the country, as autarky has consistently failed elsewhere, IMF warned. "It is not a matter of opinion. It is not a matter of IMF doctrine," IMF resident Koshy Mathai told reporters. "It is simply a matter of fact. So I think we have to be very careful when it comes to import tariffs meant to protect a whole number of different industries." more..

Dec 6 (CT) Southern Provincial Councillor and Attorney-at-Law, Maithri Gunaratne, stressed that if a common candidate is to be fielded by the aligned opposition, with the intention of sealing victory at the upcoming presidential poll, it should be none other than UNP MP, Sajith Premadasa. Gunratne's statement came in response to an assertion made by Chairman of the UNP Leadership Council, Karu Jayasuriya, who had said to more..

Dec 6 (CG) The TNA briefed a visiting US delegation on the situation in the North following the recent Northern Provincial Council (NPC) elections, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said. The TNA, including Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran, met the US delegation from Congress at the US Ambassador’s residence. At the meeting, the UNHRC session scheduled to be held in Geneva next year was also discussed. more..

Dec 6 (PTI) Cairn India Ltd has bid for one oil and gas exploration block in Sri Lanka while ONGC Videsh did not bid for any of the 13 blocks on offer in that country mainly due to poor prospectivity. Bids for 13 offshore exploration blocks offered in the Sri Lankan Licensing Round, only the second in its history, closed on Nov 29. Sri Lanka received just three bids at the close with Cairn being the only major explorer bidding, more..

Dec 6 (FT) An upbeat BOI is planning to start a record eight export processing and industrial zones scattered around the country, earmarked to begin operations in 2014. A report released by the BOI states that the new zones will aim to attract local and foreign investment, resulting in more employment. One of the largest zones will be the Mirijjawila Export Processing Zone that will cover 229 hectares of land. more..

Dec 6 (DM) Zambia is the only developing country which, seriously or not, had a programme to send people to outer space back in the 1960s. My heart goes out to the schoolteacher who, almost single-handedly, masterminded the Zambian Mars project. A manned Mars mission would be ambitious even today, assuming the combined resources of Soviet and US space programmes. Mars is some 225 million km away (on average), and a space rocket would require anything from 150 to 250 days more..

Dec 6 (DM) Education is a word that would give any other word a good run for money in the matter of word-prostitution. It has been and probably will be lip-serviced so much that if there was a metaphorical lip balm, supply will never be able to meet the demand of chaffed lips. Education is talked of as a basic human right. We are told that no child should be left behind. We are told that education has to match the demands of the overall economic system where those who enter the job market have skills more..

Dec 6 (CT) Venerable Mahanayakes of the three nikayas have urged President Rajapaksa in writing to take all measures possible to stop casinos, gambling and gaming from being further promoted or halt such businesses completely. They have pointed out that this is the wish of the religious leaders as well as several hundreds of thousands of righteous people in the country, who are opposed to the proposed casino ventures, and more..

Dec 6 (CT) EPDP Jaffna District organizer and NPC Opposition Leader, Kandaswamy Kamalendran, who is the main suspect in the murder of Delft Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) Chairman, Daniel Rexian, has been suspended from the Party until the completion of the Court hearing into the murder trial. EPDP Media Spokesperson, C. Thavarasa, said that the EPDP Leader has taken the decision yesterday to suspend Kamalendran for his alleged involvement in the murder of the Delft PS Chairman. more..

Dec 6 (DM) Women in Sri Lanka do not like to travel in ‘women only’ buses and therefore moves to introduce such buses for their convenience had been shelved, Minister Kumara Welgama told Parliament. The implementation of women only busses had been pushed to the backseat because of this reason. He said some women had personally informed that they did not want to travel in women only buses. Welgama said his idea to provide special carriages for women in trains more..

Dec 6 (Island) India is planning to host Sri Lanka’s NPC Chief Minister Justice C.V. Wigneswaran next month. Minister Salman Khurshid had extended an invitation to Wigneswaran when he met him in Jaffna in Oct. In his Oct 28 letter to PM Dr. Manmohan Singh, Wigneswaran wrote: "We had the fortune of meeting your Minister for External Affairs recently in Jaffna, where he extended a kind invitation to me to visit your great country. more..

Dec 6 (CT) The Inventors' Commission has taken an initiative to support the inventors who incurred losses due to the fire that erupted at the CHOGM media centre, destroying all items on display. Chairman of Sri Lanka Inventors' Commission, Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, said that he is holding discussions with Minister Champika Ranawaka, in this regard. "The discussions are underway and very soon we will come to a conclusion. However, the idea we have in mind is to have the inventors more..

Dec 6 (DM) Two Sri Lankan journalists who were on an assignment to India had to undergo harassment by an Indian Immigration officer at the Mumbai International Airport when they were briefly detained and questioned despite possessing a valid visa and other documents. Daily Mirror journalist Lakmal Sooriyagoda and Daily News journalist Sara Pathirana arrived at the Mumbai International Airport on Dec 1 on a Jet Airways Flight No. 9W 255 and proceeded to the Immigration Counter. more..

Dec 6 (DM) Sri Lanka will become a member of the elite ‘Satellite Club of Nations’ when it launches its first satellite in two years under its ambitious ‘Small Satellite Mission’ programme, Minister Champika Ranawaka said. This is a direct result of selecting Sri Lanka as the pilot country by the UNESCAP for the five year plan carried out to measure the sustainability of utilizing space technology for sustainable development on more..

Dec 6 (IC) Sri Lankan batting legend and former skipper Mahela Jayawardena's wife Christina gave birth to their first child on Tuesday. Jayawardena, who will not be flying with the Sri Lankan squad on Friday to the UAE, will miss the initial part of Sri Lanka's series against Pakistan, as he opted to stay back to witness the birth of his daughter. The 36-year-old took to Twitter and Facebook to make his announcement, and stated that he was "thrilled" at becoming a father. more..

Dec 6 (EO) A generous Pershore club have raised more than £3,000 to fund camps to help those in the remote villages of Sri Lanka. Pershore Rotary Club and their counterparts from the Indian Ocean island, Kandy Rotary Club, have been operating together to create eye camps for villagers. The original target was to hold two camps, with each screening 300 to 400 people's eyes, but the staggering £3,434 raised is double what had first been envisaged. Spectacles and cataract operations, which are more..

Dec 6 (DN) Discussions are taking place to develop new relationships in health, education and fisheries sectors between Sri Lanka and Seychelles, said Governor, Central Bank, Ajith Nivard Cabraal speaking at the 35th Anniversary Celebrations of the Central Bank of Seychelles on "Buttressing Seychelles' Financial System - Embracing Globalisation while preserving our Specificity. Central Bank of Seychelles and more..

Dec 6 (FT) President Rajapaksa will launch the country’s National Nutrition Action Plan today at Moneragala, the National Nutrition Council has announced. National Coordinator of the NNC Dr. Lalith Chandradasa said the action plan had been compiled under the guidance of the President in line with the National Nutrition Policy declared by the Ministry of Health. The Govt has observed that the country has entered a rapid phase of growth and development and therefore, adequate more..

Dec 6 (Island) The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has requested the government not to extend the validity of gazette notification 1817/331, whereby the armed forces may be called out to maintain public order in all parts of the country. "The said Gazette appears unnecessary, disproportionate and imprudent and could lead to great abuse as was evident from the serious incidents that transpired at Rathupaswala, Weliweriya in August this year", it said. The BASL said that it noted with more..

Dec 6 (AAP) Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis is the latest signing for the Sydney Thunder, providing a dangerous spin threat in the T20 Big Bash League starting this month. Mendis, 28, has played 17 Tests since his 2008 debut, taking 64 wickets at 34.20, but it is in Twenty20 that he has really excelled. He has an overall economy rate of 6.56 over 85 career T20 matches, including figures of 6 for 8 against Zimbabwe in 2012. more..

Dec 6 (AN) For a group of Catholic priests and Tamil activists, President Rajapaksa's decision to conduct a survey of the number of people injured, disabled, and missing since 1983 up to May 2009 is a "reaction to pressure from the international community" that "will not [however] give true answers to the victims of Sri Lanka's civil war". Launched on 28 Nov, the investigation is set to last six months. Some 16,000 officials are expected to fan out across the island more..

Dec 6 (ST) While there was wide support for the Government’s proposal to reduce the number of finance companies operating as subsidiaries of larger companies, a Business Times poll shows respondents were mixed on whether the risk element would be reduced. Here are comments received in the poll: Consolidated financial strength through these mergers will enhance solvency and sustainability. However the fundamental issues of operational risks, financial risks integrity, more..

Dec 6 (FT) UNP MP Dr. Harsha de Silva criticised the proposed long-term electricity generation plan as not being suitable for Sri Lanka since it increases environmentally-degrading coal production to 77% by 2020 and sidelines renewable energy sources. The use of renewable energy will be given less priority and pro-Govt entities will promote coal power plants at high cost, forcing the electricity unit price to move up. more..

Dec 6 (GDI) SriLankan Cargo, the cargo arm of SriLankan Airlines offers an amazing 50% off on freight rate for goods sent to selected destinations. Going by the concept “100 kg to over 100 cities,” SriLankan Cargo also provides door-to-door delivery for the goods sent to the UK, making it ever so easy to share the holiday spirit with the loved ones abroad. SriLankan Cargo’s “Bag It” is a value added service that gives the opportunity for its customers to send personal belongings, books, gift items more..

Dec 6 (CT) Additional Magistrate, Manjula Karunaratne, said that Chairman of the Maharaja Organization, Raja Mahendran's presence in Court is not necessary, although he has been notified to be present in the Matara Magistrate's Court on 11 Dec. Mahendran was issued notice to be present in Court following an affidavit filed by UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera on 25 Nov, alleging that 'Sirasa' channel televised news and visual images that breached law and order of the country. more..

Dec 6 (FT) Cinnamon Air, SL’s domestic airline, will add a 6th inland destination to its network when it commences operations from the BIA to Sigiriya today. Cinnamon Air will operate the latest addition to its fleet, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft in a luxurious Executive configuration that will carry up to eight passengers in absolute comfort on the BIA /Sigiriya route, on a flight that will last under 30 minutes. more..

Dec 6 (CT) A purported media adviser of a private television channel has embarked on a campaign with the aid of two daily newspapers and one weekend newspaper to cultivate the image of Karu Jayasuriya and to engage in a slander campaign against politicians and media institutions that are critical of Jayasuriya. This self-styled media adviser had attempted to portray Jayasuriya as playing an important role from behind the curtains since his return to the UNP. more..

Dec 6 (ST) Spot fines will soon be imposed on motorists violating seat belt regulations through amendments to the Motor Traffic Act, Minister Kumar Welgama said. “Implementation of these fines is now being carried out by the courts and the public has been inconvenienced,” he said stressing the need to amend the law to impose spot fines. He said that many motorists appear before courts for contravening these regulations and pay a fine at present, some of them coming to more..

Dec 6 (CT) UNP MP, Sujeewa Senasinghe, says President Rajapaksa does not allow the UNP reforms to take effect as he rules the UNP too. Excerpts: Q: When will the UNP come back to power? A: As soon as the change the people yearn for is made within the Party. Q: Are you sure? A: Yes. Within six months of the change, we will come to power. Q: Can a UNP Govt survive without increasing the taxes? more..

Dec 6 (Island) CINEC Maritime Campus which is the largest maritime training institute in South Asia signed an agreement on Nov 17 with the Govt of Fiji and the Fiji National University, to manage the Maritime School of the Fiji National University (FNU) in Suva. Minister of Public Enterprises and Attorney General, Hon. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum signed the agreement on behalf of the Govt of Fiji. Capt. Ajith Pieris President of CINEC Maritime Campus and Vice Chancellor Prof. Ganesh Chand of more..

Dec 6 (FT) The construction of the Matara-Beliatta section of the Matara-Kataragama Railway Extension project commenced on 28 Oct with the laying of the foundation stone by Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa at Beliatta. The Matara-Beliatta section is the first phase of the Matara-Kataragama railway extension project, a 26.75 km long single line rail track, and is expected to be complete by 2016. The line will have four railway stations at Kekanadura, Bambarenda, Wewurukannala and Beliatta, more..