June 5 (Island) No problem can be solved without identifying it. If the problem is not identified or identified wrongly or even imperfectly the solutions proposed and sometimes implemented would not only not solve the problem but very often would aggregate it. In this column two problems would be mentioned, the first a problem involving an individual and the second the Tamil problem that has been there since the eighteenth century. However, there is nothing absolute as all knowledge is more..

June 5 (CT) The range and variety of contradictions that have opened up in the last two months is startling; they began to coming into the open in August 2012 when the economy started its nosedive, but there has been a marked acceleration in dissensions and stage managed dissent since March 2013. Some are shows; “Mali you play bad cop, I will play good cop, and together we will hoodwink the naive International Community and the rabble-rousers at home”. However, more..

June 5 (SL) The US population is 72% White, 16% Hispanic, 13% African American, and 5.6% Asian (2010 figures). Asians are 13.1% of American engineers. Asians garner 16% of the prestigious Ivy League university admissions. According to the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) 24.1% of engineering professors are Asian. But all is not well. It is strongly suspected that Ivy League admission is based on secret discriminatory quotas. Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade more..

June 5 (Island) Top corporate personality Rohantha Athukorala, who is a board director in many public and private sector organizations, questioned the country’s 5.1% unemployment rate, with many Samurdhi recipients available to fill vacancies in industrial sector. "Given that the country has almost 1.5 million recipient families who come under the Samurdhi Scheme and who may actually fall into the ‘employed’ category running micro businesses, the 5.1% unemployment rate could be doubtful," more..

June 5 (CI) West Indies withstood a late surge from Sri Lanka's tailenders to triumph by 17 runs, in the warm-up encounter in Birmingham. Fifties by Johnson Charles, Darren Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan, propelled West Indies to 297 for 6. Sri Lanka were unable to exert sustained control over the run chase as they lost wickets regularly. A 73-run ninth-wicket stand between Dilhara Lokuhettige and Nuwan Kulasekara more..

June 5 (FT) President Mahinda Rajapaksa hosted a lunch for Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni when he stopped over in Sri Lanka yesterday (4) en route from a trip to East Asia. The two nations share warm relations, with their leaders having visited each other’s countries more than once. President Rajapaksa made his second official visit to Uganda last month. He first went in 2007 for the CHOGM. President Museveni made his first visit to Sri Lanka last year in November. more..

June 5 (FT) Ajith Mannapperuma took oaths yesterday before Speaker as a new MP for Gampaha representing the UNP, filling the seat left vacant by the late Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena. MP Mannapperuma, who contested the 2010 Elections on the UNP ticket from the Gampaha, obtained 44,812 preferential votes and topped the list of unsuccessful candidates. Mannapperuma, born in 1963, is a civil engineer who graduated from the University of Moratuwa. more..

June 5 (CT) The Ceylon Teachers' Union (CTU) and parents are up in arms against the latest directive of the Ministry of Education to ban students from applying to different schools to pursue their A/L exams. Parents of the students who completed their O/L exams and the CTU yesterday announced they would hold a protest in front of the ministry at 10:00 a.m. today against the ministry directive. The 2013/14 circular issued by the more..

June 5 (CT) This year promises to be a decisive one for Lankan Tamils. Events that take place this year will considerably determine the future trajectory of Tamil politics. It is only a beginning where the end of the LTTE’s totalitarianism gives the Tamils opportunity to evaluate their nationalist politics that has brought only tragedy so far. Failure to do this would have tragic consequences. The concluded UNHRC sessions and the proposed CHOGM make up the list of key international fixtures. more..

June 5 (FT) The Colombo based International Water Management Institute (IWMI), together with partner organisation Lanka Jalani, launched a poster for schools to mark world environment day and 2013 UN Year of Water Cooperation. Depicting the water cycle in Sri Lanka, the poster (23.5 cm x 30 cm) is a colourful illustration of the way in which water moves through the environment. Water is always in motion and the temperature of its environment influences its changes from liquid to vapour to ice. more..

June 5 (Island) China emerged as the biggest lender to the govt with loans amounting to US$ 1,056.05 million in 2012 with additional grants amounting to US$ 0.16 million and India became the country’s biggest benefactor with grants amounting to US$ 257.28 million and the third biggest lender with loans amounting to US$ 443.06 million. Japan was the second biggest lender to Sri Lanka in 2012 with US$ 508.74 million and grants more..

June 5 (DN) The management of a garment factory in Niyagama, Talgaswala, Galle was ordered to pay Rs 26.6 million as compensation to a group of 418 garment employees whose employment had been terminated in 2009, by Southern Provincial High Court Judge K.B.K. Hiruburegama. The High Court Judge also ordered the appellant company to pay an appeal case fee of Rs 1,000 for each employee of a group of 224 applicant respondents who were at the final phase of the case. more..

June 5 (DN) Legal action will be taken against those found contributing to dengue mosquito breeding by not following the laid down rules and guidelines issued by the authorities. It seems certain state institutions had not followed the circular issued by Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga ordering the heads of these institutions to set up Dengue Control Committees in their respective institutions, a Health Ministry spokesman said. The spokesman said Health Ministry Secretary more..

June 5 (Island) Parliamentary sittings were limited to two hours and ten minutes yesterday as it had to be adjourned over a technical matter pertaining to the Order Paper, over which the govt and Opposition could not come to an agreement. Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa said that the motion for the debate had been brought up contrary to the agreements reached at the Party leaders’ meeting. Speaker adjourned the House around more..

June 5 (TOI) After the Kreshna starrer Kazhugu, director Sathyasiva is ready with his next. Titled Sivappu, the film stars Rajkiran, Naveen Chandra and Rupa Manjari in the lead. "The final schedule is on in Puducherry now, and we have just about five days of work left," he says, "The film deals with a bunch of people who come down from Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu as refugees. They want to lead a free life, and try to escape to Australia. But, they get a raw deal from the mediator and more..

June 5 (LT) Chandra Chothirathna (49) and her daughter Wathsala Sandanayake (21) who have been assaulted and injured by a group of thugs headed by Karu Weeraratna, the Chairman of UPFA ruled Ridimaliyadda Pradeshiya Sabha, have been admitted to Mahiyangana Hospital. The assault had taken place on the 1st at about 7.30 p.m. The suspect Chairman has not been arrested yet and police have told relatives of the injured that he cannot be arrested as he is to have a more..

June 5 (FT) The Govt refuted speculation that the recent visit of a major Australian casino kingpin James Packer to Sri Lanka was part of a controversial plan to construct a controversial casino district in the heart of Colombo. Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena told Parliament that the Govt had not identified casinos as a strategic investment opportunity. “Approval is granted only to construct a star class hotel complex with more..

June 5 (DN) A baby tusker was gifted to the Bellanwila Rajamahavihara by the Myanmar govt. External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris was present at the handing over ceremony at the temple on Tuesday. Venerable Dr. Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera, presiding over the ceremony, explained the importance of the tusker for conducting the annual perahera and for other formal events of the historic temple. He described the efforts to find a tusker after the death of the temple tusker. more..

June 5 (Island) Hundreds of students who had passed their A/Ls and faced the interview for admission to National Colleges of Education (NCoE), found that they had been disqualified as they had already registered with universities. These students, who were qualified for admission to the Arts, Commerce and Science faculties of the universities, said that their first choice was to enter the NCoE to train as professionally qualified teachers, but they faced a dilemma as the more..

June 5 (BBC) In November representatives of 54 countries will descend on Colombo for the next CHOGM but the meeting is proving very controversial. It is four years since Sri Lanka's war against Tamil Tiger rebels came to an end but its human rights record remains in the spotlight. Many campaigners say unless there is a full war crimes investigation Sri Lanka should not host the meeting. Frances Harrison, author and more..

June 5 (FT) UNP MP Dr. Harsha de Silva came down hard on the Govt, alleging that the regime was hoodwinking the masses on the casino deal with Australian gaming tycoon billionaire James Packer. In response to Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena’s revelation in Parliament that the project by Packer and his partner Ravi Wijeratne was not a casino but an integrated resort/mixed development and that it didn’t come under the Strategic Development Act, UNP MP de Silva more..

June 5 (DN) The largest canned fish factory in Thailand, Thai Union Manufacturing Company Ltd has agreed to invest in Sri Lanka, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne said. Thai Union Manufacturing Company, a world famous canned fish factory, is to invest to establish a large scale canned fish factory in Sri Lanka. Representatives from Thai Union Manufacturing are to come here by the end of June for a feasibility study, he said. more..

June 5 (CT) The govt party leaders who met last evening at a special meeting chaired by President Rajapaksa to discuss changes to the 13th Amendment have decided to present the proposed amendments in the form of a Special Cabinet Paper to the Cabinet meeting to be held tomorrow. Two amendments are expected to be presented to the Cabinet tomorrow. Accordingly, the constitutional clause that requires the more..

June 5 (DN) The amended National Blood Transfusion Act will be presented in Parliament within the next three months. The new Act will be sent to the Attorney General soon. The main objective of this Act is to further improve the National Blood Transfusion Service which has already won International recognition for its efficiency and safety. The Act was amended after obtaining the views presented by MPs when the Act was presented before Parliament for the first time. more..

June 5 (Island) Swarna Hansa Foundation Head Gallage Punyawardana yesterday accused the government of being in league with the tobacco lobby. The partnership between the authorities and the tobacco industry was a major obstacle to effective tobacco control in Sri Lanka, he said. Punyawardana pointed out that the Chairman of the National Authority on Alcohol and Tobacco (NATA) had said that the basic approach to the problem of preventing harm from tobacco and alcohol more..

June 5 (CG) The Obama administration will extend six-month sanctions exemptions to Sri Lanka and several other countries for significantly reducing oil imports from Iran. The waivers will be announced Wednesday, according to officials, who demanded anonymity. Banks in China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Taiwan will be exempted from any U.S. penalties. more..

June 5 (CT) Exams to be held at the Faculties of Law and Management at the University of Colombo (UoC) have been postponed until 7 June, following the discovery of hundreds of thousands of dengue mosquito larvae on the top floor of the Law Faculty. All lectures and exams at the Arts Faculty of the UoC have been postponed until 10 June. The site was identified by Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) of the CMC, after they were prompted into an investigation due to several complaints more..

June 5 (CG) An investigation has been launched into a Japanese beer advertisement which uses Sigiriya as the backdrop. Minister Jagath Balasuriya said that approval had initially been sought to film Sigiriya for an energy drink. He said that while approval had been granted to use the Sigiriya backdrop for the energy drink, the company which had obtained the approval used the footage for a beer brand. The Japanese company had taken footage from the air using a hired helicopter, more..

June 5 (Island) The govt has decided to take over six acres of valuable commercial land, in the heart of Colombo city by gradually moving out convicted and un-convicted prisoners in batches from the Welikade Prison, the Colombo Remand Prison and the Magazine Prison. However, when contacted prison official said that he was not aware of any such decision to translocate the prisons but the Prisons Department had taken a policy more..

June 5 (DM) In the West and other democratic countries like India, we regularly hear of reports as we do in Sri Lanka of political corruption, hypocrisy, frauds, cover-ups and the plunder of public funds. But the difference in those countries is that there are checks and balances and specially a free media through which most of these political crimes are exposed and the rogues, racketeers or hypocrites are given enough rope to hang themselves. This is the root of the crises in Sri Lanka. more..

June 5 (DM) Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stated that electing a Northern Provincial Council (NPC) under the 13th Amendment would pose a threat to the security of the entire country. He has opposed the holding of an election as the TNA is most likely to win the election and this would most definitely pose a security threat to the country, considering the fact that the TNA was the political face or agent of the LTTE. They never ever condemned any actions of the LTTE - more..

June 5 (SL) Media can err. For example a correction could be made stating the crocodile was not in the Kelani River but in the Gin Ganga. That would be the end of that mistake. However, the erroneous reflection created in the reader’s mind due to a ‘planted’ wrong news item is extremely harmful. Such well-planned moves are not rare in present day local media. Despite appearing very harmless, they are really political exercises more..

June 5 (DM) Sri Lanka’s rank on the World Bank’s well respected Ease of Doing Business Index (covering 185 economies) improved considerably over the last year. Vaulting from 96th in the world to 81st, an improvement of 15 places, is no mean feat. A back of the envelope calculation based on the World Bank’s ‘Does doing business matter for foreign direct investment?’ report indicates that these reforms should have led to more..

June 5 (DM) The production process, related to a topmost secret experiment was underway in Los Alamos, United States of America. It was all about producing the world’s first Atomic bomb! At the height of these activities, Jewish scientists, including Einstein were mighty worried that Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy would beat them and develop the Atomic bomb before them. Finally, with a sigh of relief, the project director, more..

June 5 (ST) Angry consumers have found that sharp reductions in electricity usage have not helped them with last month’s power bills, with one person’s bill having doubled under the new tariff and another’s usage drop of 40% bringing no benefit at all. Sujeewa Lakmini, 39, a mother of three from the Maligawatte Flats, said the precautions she had taken to reduce power consumption had failed because her electricity charge had increased more..

June 5 (ENS) A Sri Lankan Tamil refugee lodged in a special camp at Chengelpet has been on hunger strike for the past four days demanding the release of 42 camp inmates. Sasikaran, 21, also attempted suicide a month ago. “Whenever my family meet me, I feel like going along with them. Everyone in the camp feels the same. I am firm on continuing my protest till our release,” Sasikaran, who went ahead with more..

June 5 (Island) Mystery surrounds the seizure of weapons and ammunition in an abandoned well in a farm at an interior village on the outskirts of Trichy, though the villagers insist that they might have been hidden by LTTE activists who were active in the area more than 15 years ago. Police investigating that angle are however probing the role of presentday anti-social elements too, according to a news report posted on June 3. more..

June 5 (CNN) Amid the jungle and sandy beaches of northeast Sri Lanka’s Vanni region lie tragic truths the govt has desperately sought to suppress in the four years since its civil war with the LTTE came to a sudden and gory halt. On the Mullivaikal peninsula, between the Nanthikadal Lagoon and the sea just north of the town of Mullaithivu, the govt declared a safe zone, where hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians more..

June 5 (ENS) A Sri Lankan former police official was detained at the International Airport on Tuesday while trying to board a flight to Sri Lanka using a forged passport. The person was identified as Jamal, 51, son of Sainulabdeen of Colombo. Valiathura police, who recorded his arrest after being handed over by the Airport authorities, said that he had fled to India four years ago and was detained after he was identified. more..