Apr 4 (JS) Sri Lanka's apparel manufacturers see export demand holding up this year despite concerns about a slowing European economy, thanks to a focus on ethical manufacturing, factory investment, and the arrival of new international buyers. Dilshami Samaraweera spoke with firms showcasing their products at the recent Sri Lanka Expo 2012. Sri Lanka's top apparel manufacturers were among firms showcasing their products at Sri Lanka's biggest post-war trade event, more..

Apr 4 (SM) An OIC of the CID’s special investigation unit Meryl Ranjan Lamahewa has been issued notice to appear before the Colombo magistrate’s court on April 17. Additional magistrate Prasanna Alwis today issued the order as the police officer failed to be present at the hearing on the murders of presidential advisor Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra and three others at Mulleriyawa last October. At the previous hearing, the CID was ordered to inform the court as to whether more..

Apr 4 (GDI) The delegation of Sri Lankan MPs headed by minister Nimal Siripala de Silva who are in Kampala, Uganda to participate in the Inter-Parliamentarians Sessions which commenced on 1st April, called on Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the President of Uganda. The delegation comprising Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe and Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody, also participated at the bilateral discussions on Political and Socio-Economic development of more..

Apr 4 (TOI) This summer, a multi-designer fashion chain in the country is housing ethical creations by three top Sri Lankan designers. Designs from Sri Lanka, the haven of hand-dyed, handcrafted and jewel-hued textiles, will shine in Mumbai this summer. The country's top designers K T Brown, Gihan and Shobana Cooke are bringing Sri Lankan design to fashion store chain Ensemble, through their ethnically inspired couture and green values. more..

Apr 4 (OAL) In October 2011 Auto-Sleepers Motorhomes’ CEO Geoff Scott travelled to Sri Lanka to meet Arthur Senanayake, the Chairman of IWS Leisure, with the intention of creating a new Auto-Sleepers international dealer. During the trip, the Auto-Sleepers Gloucester motorhome was launched at a presentation evening in Colombo. IWS Leisure chairman Arthur Senanayake commented: “These new luxury motorhomes are the first of their kind in Sri Lanka and more..

Apr 4 (CT) “Pol Chief met family members of Tiran Alles on June. Alles’ parents are well-known and respected educators who have founded several schools in Sri Lanka, and who have educated many of Sri Lanka’s elite. Most recently, one of their schools had been providing free after-school tutoring to President Rajapaksa’s youngest son to help him pass his university entrance exams. This relationship had persisted until more..

Apr 4 (DM) The Lanka Private Bus Owners Association (LPBOA) hailed the recent tax increase on vehicle imports by the govt and urged the authorities to improve the public transport system in line with modern standards. The president of the association Gemunu Wijeratne said that, last year alone, thousands of motorbikes, trishaws and cars had been imported into the country without restrictions or tax increase. “In a country like Singapore, a person who wishes to buy a vehicle more..

Apr 4 (GDI) The Central Bank informed that the country’s reserves at present amounts to 6.1 billion U.S.Dollars with the infusion of 427 million U.S.Dollars from the International Monetary Fund. The Bank said that these disbursements as well as other inflows on account of workers’ remittances, inflows to the Govt to finance various infrastructure development projects and inflows to the private sector have helped raise the country’s foreign reserves to a comfortable level. more..

Apr 4 (CG) The Ministry of Power and Energy says 130 mega watts of power was saved in Sri Lanka on Saturday when the country joined the world in the ‘Earth Hour’ event. President Mahinda Rajapaksa also took part in the event which lasted for one hour from 8.30 to 9.30pm on Saturday. The Ministry said that Saturday’s saving showed that with commitment the public can save electricity. Earth Hour engages hundreds of millions of people from all corners of the globe to take positive actions more..

Apr 4 (LBO) A mobile phone ranking system is being developed to help Sri Lankan pineapple farmers identify suppliers of good quality planting material and avoid buying diseased plants that could destroy entire crops. The initiative is part of efforts to make more use of information and communication technology like mobile phones to improve livelihoods and incomes of farmers being studied by LIRNEasia, a thin tank. It looked at how smallholders could be better more..

Apr 4 (CT) Sri Lanka’s poor foreign policy has jeopardized the country’s sovereignty and humiliated the country in the international domain, UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa said today. He said according to the UN Charter the UNHRC cannot intervene in Sri Lanka’s internal matters. “The US resolution against Sri Lanka violates Articles 2.4 and 2.7 of the UN Charter which prohibits foreign intervention in internal matters of UN member nations more..

Apr 5 (NS) In interpreting and understanding the defeat suffered by Sri Lanka at the UNHRC any fool will be able to conclude that the US led West prefers a weak and unstable Sri Lanka in order to meet the objectives of their geo-political strategy in South Asia. India too needs a weak Sri Lanka embroiled in the internal divisive issues so that it can intervene, even using armed forces to preserve her hegemony in the Indian Ocean region, and to win the support of Tamil Nadu politicians more..

Apr 5 (SL) This column dedicated to the notion of making Sri Lanka the Wonder of Asia turns its spotlight on self styled patriots criticising other Sri Lankans as traitors and hypocrites thereby causing disunity which if not curbed early would result in a disastrous fate for our nation. The recent debacle Sri Lanka faced at the UNHRC sessions in Geneva has caused much controversy among Sri Lankans who view the passing of the US sponsored resolution as an more..

Apr 4 (ST) Success or failure at Sri Lanka’s national exams, but are we gearing the next generation to face the school of life and overcome the challenges and pressures which are invariably a part of it? This is the question on the minds of concerned educationists, parents and even doctors as reports filtered in that soon after the O/L results were released on Monday, some children were not equipped to face the downs which come with an exam. more..

Apr 5 (TC) President Mahinda Rajapaksa‘s reiteration of the Govt’s commitment to “walk an extra mile to establish permanent peace through reconciliation” should be a welcome reaction to the Geneva vote. For reconciliation to be permanent, there is an urgent need for contextualising ‘ethnicity’ to contemporary Sri Lanka and revisit the ‘ethnic issue’ as needs to be acted upon. In turn, the Govt and the Sinhala polity need to accept that the TNA’S demands are no more those more..

Apr 5 (TC) Newly initiated development projects in the Northern and Eastern Provinces in post-war Sri Lanka are expected to open new avenues towards ethnic reconciliation, as proclaimed not only by govt media but also by the mainstream development scholarship. However, this popular perception about opening up new avenues for reconciliation through development seems to foreclose certain barriers and obstructions existing within the so-called development more..

Apr 5 (NS) Being a residential university, interesting after dinner debates were many at the Peradeniya University. Father Pinto and Professor Ray were popular draws, and usually found themselves on opposite sides. Each of them made the other the butt of their jokes to the amusement of the students. Both were historians, Fr. Pinto in European History and Prof. Ray in Indian History. Prof. Ray had a humour peppered with sarcasm, which was more..

Apr 5 (GV) I have always loved international travel, but I have always hated the “immigration” process, except for the part where I get my passport stamped. I realize what I have just written is not entirely rational since it’s hard to have foreign travel without “immigration,” but people are not always rational. Even when doing nothing wrong, a profound sense of anxiety and apprehension wash over me as I hand my passport to an immigration official. more..

Apr 5 (DBS) Through history, few countries in the world have had to endure a terrorist movement as protracted, vicious and intense as the LTTE campaigns, which lasted over thirty three years and killed, on some estimates, up to 80,000 people, in a tiny country with a present population of under 21 million. Few countries in the world have secured as clear and demonstrable victory over terrorism as has Sri Lanka, even where extraordinary and indiscriminate violence more..

Apr 5 (TC) Q: What efforts were carried out by the Mission to lobby support against the US sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka? A: The Mission to the United Nations, along with other Sri Lanka Missions elsewhere, including in Geneva, worked hard to lobby support against the US sponsored resolution at the Human Rights Council (HRC). As you are aware, ministerial delegations visited capitals in the month leading up to the resolution. more..

Apr 5 (DM) He said that fossil fuels are 'natural capital' and unfortunately people are treating them as income items. If we treated them as capital items, he said, we should be concerned with conservation. Schumacher clearly pointed out that modern economics does not distinguish between renewable and non-renewable materials, as its very method is to equalize and quantify everything by means of a financial tag. He also seriously questioned the idea of unlimited and uncontrolled economic growth until everybody is saturated with wealth, more..

Apr 5 (AHRC) A new chapter of politics is emerging in Sri Lanka after the UN resolution adopted at the 19th session of the UNHRC in Geneva. As this writer pointed out last week, it was a new dawn for the Island Nation to move forward in terms of real reconciliation, if the government would genuinely facilitate the restoration of the rule of law in the country. However, it seems the mindset of the ruling party is preventing any serious recognition and action of the basis of the UN Resolution. The Govt may dismiss the opportunities presented by more..

Apr 5 (SL) The music is loud, the colours are vibrant, and the girls who have just stepped off the stage are in a fit of giggles outside the main hall. Inside, a ceremony is taking place, and the announcer is informing the audience of the next event on the agenda: a fashion show. Watching the chattering girls outside, one can guess at what they may be laughing over: who forgot their dance moves on stage, who accidentally bumped into whom, and more..

Apr 5 (Island) In the midst of a heated argument in Parliament some years ago, a pugnacious, fiery orator silenced one of his cantankerous critics from the other side in style by describing him as a man with an ‘Oxford’ torso and a ‘Montessori’ pate. Today, we are not short of politicians who fit that description. They are busy debating whether a person could live on a measly monthly income of Rs. 2,500. Why should they waste their time and energy on a ‘Montessori’ statement by a minister? more..

Apr 5 (FT) Small hydro power developers, who contribute 6% of the national electricity demand, amounting to 650 million units annually with 201MW, are facing difficult times with the Govt – in particular the Ceylon Electricity Board – which do not provide the necessary assistance for the industry to survive. At a tariff rate of Rs. 13.04 per unit quoted by the CEB for the industry at the highest level of a three-tiered tariff structure, stakeholders are facing troubled times more..

Apr 5 (Island) The govt has been successful in containing its expenditure within budgeted estimates in 2011, but revenue estimates proved to be overestimated with the actual revenue deficit expanding a marginal 2.77 percent from the original estimate. The Treasury announced that the total actual govt expenditure for 2011 amounted to Rs. 1,961,053 million in 2011, well within the original estimate of Rs. 1,968,031 million. more..

Apr 5 (Island) With the IMF preferring to see monetary policy adjustments to contain credit growth, currency dealers are expecting a policy rate hike today after Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera made a public statement that another 50 basis points increase to key rates could stabilise the economy, but some believe rates would be left unchanged by the Central Bank. Some dealers are expecting policy interest rates to increase by as much as 100 basis points more..

Apr 5 (FT) The move by the Minister of Finance to appoint an Acting Director General at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has raised many an eyebrow. The SEC announced yesterday that Dr. D.B.P. Hareendra Dissabandara has been appointed as the Acting Director General of the SEC with effect from 2 April 2012. In support of the appointment SEC said he is the Professor of Finance at the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Sri J'pura, and has been released to the SEC. more..

Apr 5 (DN) The Sri Lanka Army has intervened to save the life of a 20 year old girl in Jaffna who was in the throes of death due to an acute heart ailment recently. Kajindanee, of Achchuveli, Jaffna had fallen ill several times and doctors had diagnosed a heart ailment for which she had obtained treatment without much success. Her father who joined the LTTE as an armed cadre had died during a confrontation with the Security Forces and her mother who had to fend for her family more..

Apr 5 (CT) Out of the star class hotels and eateries in the city of Colombo only 100 hotels have obtained food licences. The municipality issues a food licence only after testing its cleanliness and other aspects. Out of the 550 odd hotels and eateries operating within the Colombo city limits only 100 have been issued with the municipal licences. The main reason for this is that the CMC observes stringent standards before a licence is issued to a hotel or restaurant, more..

Apr 5 (Island) The revelation of an attempt by a Norwegian far-right extremist to target Oslo City Hall, while US President Barack Obama was there to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2009 couldn’t have come at a worse time for those working overtime to sanitize the murderous LTTE, NFF leader, Wimal Weerawansa said. He said that those investigating the alleged bomb plot shouldn’t ignore an explosive manifesto issued by 33-year-old suspect, more..

Apr 5 (Island) The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has invited the public to notify them about buildings and places owned by the State or the private sector, constructed after April 27, 2011 which have not provided facilities to enable all to access and use all parts of the building with safety, dignity and ease in daily life, regardless of the degree of their abilities. A press release issued by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka stated that it had more..

Apr 5 (Island) The govt is very much mistaken if it thinks it could get away with human rights violation charges levelled against, it by the international community, by bringing up sovereignty rights as a shield, UNP MP Lakshman Kiriella said on Tuesday. Seconding an adjournment motion moved by the JVP on the recent anti-Sri Lankan Geneva resolution, MP Kiriella said the govt had mismanaged its affairs and that had cost country’s international policies heavily. "What is Sri Lanka’s foreign policy today? India is against us, the US is against us. more..

Apr 5 (Island) Clouds of controversy loom over the decision of the govt to take over 145 hydropower projects developed by the private sector which have a collective investment of over Rs. 40 billion, raising a hornet’s nest among private sector developers. This is indeed an absurd situation where they have taken over for no apparent reason and especially in contravention of govt policy where the private sector had been allowed to develop projects more..

Apr 5 (DN) Sri Lanka was able to supply 500 metric tons of locally produced rice to the World Food Organization since the country has attained self-sufficiency in its rice requirements. Minister Basil Rajapaksa disclosed this when he met US Assistant Trade Representative for South Asia Michael J. Dillency who called on him at the Kotte Parliamentary Complex on Tuesday. Minister Rajapaksa who explained the current situation in the country to the US Assistant Trade more..

Apr 5 (TS) I am sending this response as the editorial includes some sweeping statements that are factually incorrect. The reference to a “credible and independent probe” is incorrect, as the reference in the Resolution at the Human Rights Council is on the implementation of the recommendations of the LLRC. There is no reference to a probe by outside parties. The LLRC was established by the president of Sri Lanka and is a domestic mechanism, to ensure that there is no recurrence of more..

Apr 5 (DM) ‘Reconditioned vehicle’ importers yesterday lamented that they will have no option but to close down their business making one million employees redundant unless the govt change its decision to impose taxes and other restrictions on motor vehicles. Their main grievance was not the increase of taxes on vehicles but the reduction of the life span of vehicles permitted to import from two year old vehicles to one year for motor cars and to three and half years from more..

Apr 5 (EAR) “Backstabbing” was one of the countless reactions that emerged from Sri Lanka after India voted in support of the United States (US) – initiated resolution at the UNHRC. The 22 March 2012 resolution called for accountability on part of the Sri Lankan govt to the widespread human rights violations during the final phases of the war against the LTTE in 2009. Since then, Sri Lankan media have reported a rise in anti-India feelings in the island nation, some even advocating more..