Nov 27 (Island) Minister Mervyn Silva said that he wouldn�t ban the sale of fish, chicken and mutton in the Kelaniya electorate without consulting those living in the area. He said that he would conduct a survey to find out the eating preferences of people before implementing an unprecedented ban on sale of any kind of meat. He banned the sale of beef in his electorate some time ago. Gampaha District MP Silva was responding to SLBC Chairman Hudson Samarasinghe during a live programme. more..

Nov 27 (Island) The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) is looking for an Australian National, who is facing over 250 child sex charges in Australia. The NCPA Police desk said that it had informed the CID as soon as it had received the tip off regarding the paedophile, who is now believed to be living on a tea plantation in the midlands. The NCPA has requested the CID to obtain details of Bernard McGrath, a former more..

Nov 27 (DN) The more than 100 year old Colombo District Secretariat building (Kachcheri) located at Dam Street was extensively damaged due to a fire which broke out yesterday. Despite efforts by fire fighters, the Police and the Security Forces to put out the fire, both floors of the building were extensively damaged. The fire which occurred around 7.00 pm lasted for more than three hours. At the time of going to the press, the Police had launched an investigation in to the matter. more..

Nov 27 (AD) An exquisite sapphire and diamond ring by Van Cleef & Arpels featuring a rectangular-cut sapphire weighing 43.16 carats set a new world record, selling for HK$12,084,000 on 23rd November at the sale of �Eight Exceptional Jewels from a Private Collection� at Bonhams in Hong Kong. Bidders competed fiercely for the striking ring, which at US$36,000 per carat, went well over its pre-sale estimate of HK$4,260,000 � 5,050,000 and broke the previous record for more..

Nov 27 (FT) Deviating from its main mission to maintain economic and price stability and financial system stability to support sustainable growth through policy stimulus, advice, commitment and excellence, the Central Bank has entered into a new line of business � purchasing property in foreign countries and giving it on rent. However, neither details of the respective property purchases nor the rental are included in the CBSL more..

Nov 27 (DM) Humanity yearns to want existence on a higher plane of life. A life where there is no sorrow, fear or despair. Unfortunately it seems to be unattainable, when in fact it is possible to attain it. What we are called to do is to live the truth. When we do so, we stay connected to a higher source or intelligent being and power that yearns to give of itself to us. Truth is about being true. It�s living a life of sincerity, honesty and telling the truth always. Sadly however, the world hates truth, more..

Nov 27 (DM) During the time of Sakyamuni Tathagata the township of �Vesali� or �Vishala Maha Nuwara� went through disastrous experience. The township which once remained prosperous was stricken with epidermy, famine, scarcity, sickness and sudden death. The people abandoned their residencies and the place became almost uninhabited while the unattended dead bodies all over polluted the entire environment. At last the King knelt at the feet of the Buddha and sought more..

Nov 27 (SL) The mother of Wijaya Rohana alias �Gundu� believes the death of her son in Welikada prison recently was not accidental. M. Siriyawathi says that her son called her from a mobile telephone at around 8 p.m. and told her about what was going on inside Colombo�s prison complex. �Gundu� had told her that there were many shootings going on but asked her not to worry. Siriyawathi said, �I advised my son to stay in more..

Nov 27 (Island) Around 50% of the country�s Buddhist priests seem to be on the verge of contracting diabetes due to consuming unhealthy food offered by the people at alms-giving ceremonies and various other religious functions. Following requests made by a few temples, Minister Maithripala Sirisena has instructed Consultant Nutritionist Dr. Ms. Renuka Jayatisa, of the MRI Nutrition Section, to prepare a healthy menu more..

Nov 27 (Island) TNA called upon the international community, especially the US and India, to terminate their assistance to Sri Lanka until the govt comes up with a political solution to the national problem. TNA MP Selvam Adaikkalanathan, participating in the third reading stage debate on budget 2013, urged the international community, led by India and the USA, to force President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his govt to accelerate more..

Nov 27 (Island) Though the Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) chief has urged the public not to panic over India�s Kudankulam nuclear power plant (KKNPP), Deputy Director of AEA�s Radiation Protection and Regulations Division Anuruddha Jayalath says the dangerous radioactive zones could be created in the country according to the weather patterns in case of a nuclear accident in the KKNPP. Kudankulam is situated in the more..

Nov 27 (Xinhua) A Chinese sailor was arrested near the Colombo port by the navy and handed over to the police after used bullets from an M-16 rifle were found in his boat. The Chinese man who is the captain of a Taiwanese fishing boat with Oman flag was arrested after spent bullet caps were found in the boat when it entered Sri Lankan waters. The navy from the Rangala base near the Colombo port searched the boat when more..

Nov 27 (ST) At least 85% of arrivals at BIA are duty free shopping but the traffic has dropped this year, a new store with a range of duty free products in operation for one year said recently. Launching their new logo and strapline by identifying themselves as �The Duty Free People,� Flemingo has entered Colombo and started out targeting at least 50% of the traffic that was at around 30% in 2011 but which has slowed to 18% this year, more..

Nov 27 (DN) Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) is conducting a range of tests aimed at applying nuclear techniques for agriculture with the intention of developing the country�s agriculture sector. The AEA presently conducts programmes to introduce nuclear technology such as mutation techniques, food irradiation techniques, isotopic and nuclear techniques, sterile insect techniques, etc. for more..

Nov 27 (AD) UNP MP Dilip Wedaarachchi and two others have been hospitalized following an accident early this morning in the Wadigala area in Hungama. It has been reported that the vehicle in which the Hambantota District MP was traveling had collided with bus. The injured persons were admitted to the Tangalle District Hospital and later transferred to the Matara Hospital. Police said 39-year-old pedestrian was killed more..

Nov 27 (Island) Although the UGC and the Higher Education Ministry vowed to admit over 5,000 additional students to universities, following a Supreme Court order, faculty boards of universities are crying foul due to a shortage of facilities to accommodate them. Undergraduates claimed that some faculty boards decided to stop some academic courses and they had informed their decision to the UGC recently. Convener of the IUSF more..

Nov 27 (AFP) Sri Lankan lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to declare parliament's impeachment of the chief justice illegal, a legal spokesman said Tuesday, a move that could trigger a constitutional crisis. The influential Bar Association representing the country's 11,000 lawyers has petitioned the Supreme Court to rule against the impeachment by a parliamentary panel, the spokesman for the association said. more..

Nov 27 (Island) The decomposing bodies of a family of three were found in a bedroom on the second floor of a three-storey building at Armour Street yesterday evening. The bodies were those of a man (32), his wife (30) and their 4-year-old son. Police suspect that the woman had killed her son and husband last Friday before she committed suicide by hanging inside their house. According to neighbours and the Kotahena police, the decomposing bodies were recovered after more..

Nov 27 (CT) Dear Professor Kumar David, I read my name amongst two, three others in one of your writings. No doubt you have your own skewed conclusions about the UPFA govt. But when you had in your article refered to me as one who will not leave the UPFA govt until the last of the goblet is empty and you further go to explain that the perks and pleasures of office are too much for me to exit from the govt, I could not resist but respond. If this statement is to be taken as yours and more..

Nov 27 (CT) �Since the early August arrest of LTTE leader and financer Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP), the Sri Lankan military has interrogated KP about the LTTE�s financing network and overseas assets. Secretary of Defense Rajapaksa (the President�s brother) publically claimed that KP�s interrogation has revealed $1 billion in overseas assets and he called for foreign assistance to recover these monies. The Sri Lankan FIU more..

Nov 27 (DBS) The Govt�s brushing aside of the Supreme Court�s entirely appropriate order this week requesting Parliament to desist from continuing with the impeachment of the Chief Justice until a final determination was handed down in petitions being heard filed before it, was arrogant but unsurprising. The Bench spoke to the comity that must exist between the judiciary and the legislature for the greater good of the country. It cautioned that this would be prudent as well as more..

Nov 27 (Island) The Bacillus Thuringlensis Israelensis (BTI) bacteria, which had been imported from the United States of America, by Kayak Surgi Pharma (Pvt) Ltd., seemed to be highly effective in destroying dengue mosquito larvae. Kayak Surgi Phama Managing Director Ishantha de Silva told the media, at hotel Cey-nor recently, that the special feature of the mosquito dunks was that the BTI bacteria had received the USA patent certificate and the US Environmental Authority Certificate more..

Nov 27 (CI) Sri Lanka were still a long way off from matching New Zealand's score at the end of the third day, but gained a psychological boost by edging past the follow-on target of 213, thanks to a dogged stand between Thilan Samaraweera and Suraj Randiv. New Zealand would have fancied their chances of bundling out the hosts before that target and possibly making them bat again, but were held up by the pair and more..

Nov 27 (Island) Automotive service centres in the Western Province are responsible for a significant volume of pollution and are completely unregulated, according to the Central Environmental Authority (CEA). "When a car is washed, a sizeable amount of oil and grease gets mixed with water, leaving such water unfit for discharge into the environment," CEA, Environmental Pollution Control Unit, Director, Dr. R.M.S.K. Ratnayake said. Water, oil, battery acid and paint were some of the major effluents more..

Nov 27 (DN) Sri Lanka has taken great strides towards national reconciliation since the end to its war, Japanese Embassy First Secretary Cultural Information Kyohiko Hamada said yesterday. This has led to improved relations between Sinhala and Tamil people in particular, said Hamada during an interview with the Daily News. �I can say without any doubts that Sri Lanka�s post war reconciliation efforts have reaped positive results over the past three years,�he added. more..

Nov 27 (CTK) The Sri Lankan authorities are reluctant to make good their promises that they will grant lucrative contracts to Czech businesspeople after the Czech Republic criticised the country over its violation of human rights in the United Nations. Last year, Sri Lanka offered contracts worth billions of crowns as a reward for special relations with Czechs. The contracts are to help renew the country, devastated by more..

Nov 27 (Island) The University of Adelaide, one of Australia�s leading research-intensive universities and ranked among the top one percent worldwide, is for the first time offering a scholarship for a Sri Lankan student to study for a bachelor�s degree. Prof. Pascale Quester, Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic), Adelaide University, addressing a ceremony to announce the Lindsay McWha Accomodation Scholarship, valued at AUD 6,250, to a Sri Lankan student, more..

Nov 27 (Island) 2,500 kilos of Keeri Samba, unfit for human consumption, were taken into custody yesterday by the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) from a trading establishment in Dam Street, Pettah. The raiding party from the CAA found that the large stock of Keeri Samba was being sorted to retrieve what could be sold in the open market in view of the forthcoming festive season. The special unit of the CAA for the main purpose of raiding such establishments was set up only this month more..

Nov 27 (Reuters) Sri Lanka launched its first communications satellite on Tuesday in partnership with a Chinese state-owned space technology firm, the Sri Lanka partner said, adding to unease in neighboring India about Beijing's growing ties with the island nation. The Sri Lankan govt has emphasized the launch was a private effort, carried out by SupremeSAT and the China Great Wall Industry Corp. But President Rajapaksa's more..

Nov 27 (DM) The UNP today said the govt should reveal the mystery behind the launch of satellite �SupremeSat12�. Even though the govt has been bragging about launching the first Sri Lankan satellite, a lot of suspicion has arisen about this claim, said UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayke. Head of the TRC Anusha Palpita had said the Sri Lankan govt had no connection with this satellite and this was only a transaction between two companies. But Minister Tissa Witarana more..

Nov 27 (Xinhua) Five people were arrested in Sri Lanka's former war zone on Tuesday as police remained vigilant on what was previously the Tamil Tiger rebels famous "Heroes Day". Five suspects were arrested for distributing pro-LTTE posters in the Eastern town of Akkaraipattuwa, Police Spokesman Prishantha Jayakody said. Local media also reported that pro-LTTE posters pasted near the Trincomalee town also in the Eastern Province were removed by security forces on Monday. more..

Nov 27 (CT) Film star and UPFA MP, Malini Fonseka, has been ordered to appear before the Colombo Magistrate on 28 Jan 2013, on charges of neglecting to pay an accumulated sum of Rs 600,000 as rents, electricity bills, rates and service bills. Malini, a resident of Ocean Tower building in Bambalapitiya, was expected to pay the dues by 3 June 2012. Colombo Additional Magistrate ordered Malini to appear in Court following a lawsuit more..

Nov 27 (CT) Prison is a place used for the confinement of convicted criminals. Aside from the death penalty, a sentence to prison is the harshest punishment imposed on criminals. Its principal dwellers are the inmates themselves. Murderers, rapists, killers of minors and smugglers of the most deadly drugs and other contraband, convicted paedophiles and of course the so-called �white collar-criminals� make up this �society� away from society that occupies the space confined within the more..

Nov 27 (E24|7) Multiple Sri Lankan champion Dinesh Deheragoda faces a stern test this weekend when he makes his maiden appearance alongside the Middle East�s top drivers, hoping his excursion into the Dubai International Rally will be the first of many. On home territory, Deheragoda has notched up an impressive haul of 22 national and club championships since entering the motor racing scene in 1996, proving his versatility with wins on tarmac and gravel racetracks, in hill climbs more..

Nov 27 (CT) Former Army Chief, Sarath Fonseka hit out at the negotiators of his release today, saying that he was yet to see a single document pertaining to his release, six months after he was freed from Welikada Prison. �I still don�t know the details of my release. All I was told was to bring my bag of belongings and come outside. They didn�t tell me anything else. I think that in some ways I am still a prisoner in more..

Nov 27 (CT) Tharanga Paranavitana showcased a skill more befitting a rugby back than a Test batsman to earn himself four bonus runs in the second over of the day, as he completed a quick single after dropping the ball into the off side. Jeetan Patel at cover swooped in and felt he had a chance of running Paranavitana out, but his throw to the bowler's end was wild, and threatened the running batsman instead of the stumps. Paranavitana reached behind him and fended the ball more..

Nov 27 (AD) Considerable amounts of marijuana, illegal firearms and ammunition were discovered inside the vehicle in which UNP MP Dilip Wedaarachchi was traveling, police said today. A pedestrian was killed while the MP and two others were injured and hospitalized after their jeep collided head-on with a SLTB bus this morning. The accident had occurred at around 3.25am near the 207km Post in Wadiyagala, Hungama. The SLTB bus was traveling towards Colombo from Kataragama more..

Nov 27 (DM) The effects of the drought experienced in the country before the current rainy season has started to be felt in the economy with the paddy stocks in the country being depleted sharply, heralding an imminent rice shortage in the next few weeks, the Daily Mirror learns. The Chairman of the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) K.B. Jayasingha admitted that only 129,000 metric tons of paddy was stocked at PMB stores while more..

Nov 27 (CT) The journalists were still waiting in the waiting area of the room opposite to Committee Room 1 when Minister Jagath Pushpakumara walked into the room. It was the lobby of the Public Accounts Committee Room and because the minister started talking and joking with journalists, they too were not bothered to find as to why he came. The minister who thought of joking to journalists pretended to making calls to his office and started ordering king coconut and more..

Nov 27 (CT) TNA MP, Selvam Adaikalanathan, yesterday threatened he would launch a fast-unto-death campaign, if the govt failed to provide a solution for the ethnic problem, next year. Speaking during the Committee Stage debate of Budget 2013, which incidentally was also the birthday of slain LTTE Leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, Adaikalanathan said even though people voted for him, he could not do anything in return for them and is thus willing to sacrifice his own life more..