July 11 (NS) I discussed last week in Part I about the possible role that two sides of the conflicted parties in a post conflict situation and what path they might adopt towards a sustainable reconciliation process. Evidence shows that groups or countries that have been through conflict indicate areas of unresolved social, political and ethnic rifts. Al-Qaeda�s deposit of hatred towards the West was reciprocally responded with the old rhetoric of Crusades of the high Middle ages to more..

July 11 (NS) It is my great honor and privilege to address this august international ministerial forum on the subject of �Nuclear Power in the 21st Century�, representing the Govt of Sri Lanka in this historic and vibrant City of St Petersburg. Let me begin by placing on record our sincere appreciation of the efforts of the Government and the People of Russian Federation in hosting of this important event. We also appreciate the important role played by the OECD with its continual cooperation more..

July 11 (SO) The roads network of a city is necessarily reflect the reputation of that city as it is one factor affecting the people visiting the city whether they are locals or foreigners. If the city road network is in good conditions that will positively be a factor to encourage the people to walk around the city and stay there for longer period than they expected to stay. Even for a city dweller or an office worker using vehicles to travel more..

July 11 (CT) International Footballs� Confederation Cup, a lead-up to the World Cup, is being played out in Brazil. You would expect that the �Beautiful Game� would be the total focus among football crazy Brazilians. But more than a million people in over 100 cities have erupted in anti-Govt protests. Things became so intolerable for the Brazilian Football elite that the icon of Brazilian Football, the renowned Pele, appealed to his countrymen to �forget the protests and concentrate on football�. more..

July 11 (DBS) A series of nine explosions rocked the Maha Bodhi temple complex in Bodh Gaya, the holiest of all Buddhist sites, in the early hours of Sunday. Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has confirmed that in all 13 explosive devices were planted in and around the temple complex out of which ten had exploded and the other three were defused. Undoubtedly, this was a terrorist attack carried out by an organized body of terrorists. According to the police improvised explosive more..

July 11 (NS) When I was quite young I started collecting stamps. It was with great zeal that I went about trading stamps amongst my fellow collectors. Once I had amassed a substantial collection of stamps I somehow lost interest in stamp collecting. As a result over the course of years I�ve lost most of the collection, yet looking back at what remains it appears to me that by studying stamps one could map the history of socio- more..

July 11 (DBS) The Birth Centenary celebrations of Fr. Xavier Stanislaus Thani Nayagam have been held at the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America convention (FeTNA) venue from July 5-6th at the Sony Centre in Toronto. An exhibition of publications, photographs and mementos of Rev. Thani Nayagam was held open both days and a panel discussion on various aspects of Rev. Thani Nayagam�s vocation, scholarship, and commitment to language rights were held on July 6th. more..

July 11 (CT) Sri Lanka�s military is on the move again, even in these times of relative peace. In the crosshairs are not the Tamil Tigers, however, but a decidedly less martial task than subduing the separatist rebel army that was trounced in a bloody finale in May 2009, ending a nearly 30-year-long ethnic conflict. An on-going mission for the men in khaki is to lend their muscle for cosmetic purposes � to give the South Asian nation�s capital a facelift. Benefitting from this show of force are more..

July 11 (CT) Q: Moves by certain UPFA factions to repeal the 13A appear to be garnering strength with reports indicating the official position of the SLFP is in favour of diluting the Amendment. Given your pro-devolution stance, what is your response to this development? A: I am unhappy because the only thing I have not sacrificed to find a political solution to the ethnic issue is my life. It's not that the 13A is the supreme solution for more..

July 11 (CT) At many of the Divisional Secretariat Reconciliation meetings I have attended in the last few months, there has been harsh criticism of what are termed District and Division Development Committee meetings. Often I am told that problems are raised at these meetings, but nothing is done. Promises are made, but they are never kept. More recently, since I have again been in the East, having concentrated for the first five months of this year on the North, there have been more..

July 11 (CT) When it comes to public goods like the common defence and market efficiency, every State has a choice. According to the infamous analogy, in the zero-sum game of budget allocation, every State can decide whether to prioritize guns or butter. Guns represent the State�s ability to protect her stored capital and Butter represents her ability to generate capital. According to this simple analogy, a certain balance is clearly required as one without the other is bankrupt. Post-War societies present more..

July 11 (CI) Much of the cricketing world's attention might be drawn towards the blue-riband Test series which kicked off in England on Wednesday, but a soon-to-be-forgotten tri-series in the Caribbean isn't done with yet. India and Sri Lanka have played each other so often in recent years that even jokes about how often they play each other have become stale. Still, when the two sides face off for the 42nd ODI in five years, more..

July 11 (Island) It looks as if the implementation of the 13th Amendment to Sri Lanka�s Constitution had become India�s biggest problem. Indian National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, who was recently here for two days, meeting President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other leaders, has told the Colombo-based Indian journalists, that Sri Lanka should go beyond the 13th Amendment. We reported the other day that President Rajapaksa�s special envoy, Minister Basil Rajapaksa had more..

July 11 (Island) Last week, I discussed a report on civilian deaths in the final phase of the war called 'The Numbers Game'. As I said, it shows how the most popular method of estimating the body count - calculating the discrepancy between the population figures given by local officials at various times from October 2008 and the number of IDPs registered in June 2009 - falls apart when one compares the population figures. They simply can't all be accurate or even vaguely close to the mark. more..

July 11 (FT) Finance Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera sounded emphatic and confident over the Govt�s resoluteness to pursue a downward path with regard to fiscal deficit given the success of measures put in place already and those planned in the short to medium term. �The Govt remains committed to the deficit reduction path seen in the post conflict period is continued to reach further progress in 2014 and 2015 to bring the deficit more..

July 11 (Island) The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka announced the opening of the Ayurveda Expo 2013 International Indigenous Healthcare Exhibition on 12 July at 1000 h at the BMICH. The exhibition will be continued up to 14 July. The Chief Guest for the opening ceremony will be Prime Mininster D M Jayaratne, and Guests of Honour will be Salinda Dissanayake- Minister of Indigenous Medicine, Pandu Bandaranayake- Deputy Minister of Indigenous Medicine more..

July 11 (FT) The number of cases investigated by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption has increased by 166 last year, from 1,217 investigations conducted in 2011 to 1,383 investigations in 2012. �The length of time taken up by each investigation varies according to the nature of the complaints received by the commission, but indictments were served to 26 cases in 2011 and 55 cases in 2012 having completed the inquiry,� confirmed Minister Dinesh Gunawardena more..

July 11 (Island) Sri Lanka must put its house in order� so it can generate higher sustainable economic growth by developing its exports sector with inappropriate domestic policy continuing to drive down exports growth, a top economist told the Sri Lanka Economic Summit. "There is a rapid decline in export growth in Sri Lanka," Prof. Premachandra Athukorala, Department of Economics, Australian National University, said. more..

July 11 (FT) The Govt�s efforts in improving urban development have resulted in the generation of $ 2.5 billion worth of investment projects by the private sector, according to Finance Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera. �The transformation of the urban landscape here in Colombo as well as in many major townships is a success story in itself and in improving investment climate. Relocation of Government establishments has released land for large scale flagship investments while more..

July 11 (Island) The 9th July, marked a special day for a group of Australian female cricketers as they got the rare opportunity to play against the Sri Lankan National women�s cricket team in Colombo thanks to the Young Cricketers Development Programme. Organising their inaugural female cricket tour, the Young Cricketers team comprised players from right round Australia including Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and the ACT. Playing in only their third game together as a more..

July 11 (GDI) The Maldives has requested Sri Lanka for assistance in several agricultural areas towards achieving food security in the island nation. This was expressed by the visiting Maldivian Minister of Defense and National Security Col. (ret) Mohamed Nazim when he called on President Rajapaksa at Temple Trees yesterday (9) afternoon. Col. Nazim described to the President some of the hardships experienced by the Maldivian more..

July 11 (Island) Former North-Central Province Ayurveda Commissioner Dr. Kumara Alwis, who was the victim of an acid attack a few months ago, which cost him his eyesight, has shown signs of regaining sight in his right eye following surgery. He had been undergoing specialist treatment during the last five months. Alwis underwent a cornea transplant, performed by eminent eye surgeon Dr. Charith Fonseka recently, on his right eye. "My vision has gradually improved and now I could more..

July 11 (CT) The final report of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) for 2012, will be presented in Parliament on 23 July 2013, by its Chairman, Senior Minister D.E.W. Gunasekara. The report, which contains details of 247 public institutions investigated by the Committee, is said to be the most comprehensive report to be submitted in Parliament thus far. Senior Minister Gunasekara said the report is expected to be taken for debate within a month. more..

July 11 (AN) Sri Lankan women seeking foreign employment as housemaids will not be allowed to go abroad after July 15 unless they can maintain stable homes in their absence from the island, a govt minister said. This is among new measures that also ensure the protection of these workers abroad, including a minimum wage, adequate rest time and a minimum age limit of 25. Minister for Foreign Employment Promotion more..

July 11 (LBO) Colombo Stock Exchange said it is partnering with Amba Research Lanka, to provide equities research on companies included in its second stock index. "As a part of CSE�s efforts in developing the local capital market, we embarked on this new initiative to release CSE-sponsored research reports for both local and foreign individuals and institutional investors," CEO Surekha Sellahewa said in a statement. "We believe these research reports would help to reduce more..

July 11 (TOI) When Sri Lanka take on India in the Tri-series final on Thursday, all eyes will be on Mahela Jayawardene. The 36-year old batsman will be playing his 400th ODI on Thursday, becoming the second cricketer from Sri Lanka (after Sanath Jayasuriya) to reach the milestone. And, talking about World cricket, he would be the third cricketer to reach the 400 club right after Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar. This would certainly be a big moment for the Island. more..

July 11 (Island) Senior Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama slammed the current Sri Lankan education and health services as not deserving enhanced funding without reforms to ensure that the country got its money�s worth from the two Ministries. Despite the IMF Director for Asia and Pacific, Anoop Singh�s claim that Sri Lanka needed to invest more in education and health, Minister Amunugama, addressing the 14th Economic Summit, more..

July 11 (CT) Former Attorney General and President's Counsel, C.R. de Silva, yesterday apologized to Fort Magistrate, Thilina Gamage, for filing an erroneous bail application for Ali Asghar Shabbir Gulamhusein, who is currently in remand custody for an alleged assault on a 21-year-old youth at Kama nightclub in Colombo. When the bail motion was submitted to him, the Magistrate had noted the motion had given the impression that it had been filed by the Magistrate himself. more..

July 11 (DM) UNP MP Ranjan Ramanayake and Govt MP A.H.M. Azwer were engaged in a heated argument in Parliament over a comment made by Ramanayake who said the Sharia law practiced in Saudia Arabia was a barbaric one where Sri Lankan expatriates were killed mercilessly. Mr. Ramanayake urged Foreign Employment Promotion Minister Dilan Perera to bring laws to ban Sri Lankan women from going for employment to the Middle East as housemaids. Mr. Ramanayake was referring more..

July 11 (CT) The largest teachers' trade union in the country fired a salvo at the ruling UPFA, over its purported plan to grant nominations to the disgraced former North-Western Provincial Councillor, Ananda Sarath Kumara. The Ceylon Teachers' Union (CTU) warned it would boycott election duties, if the disgraced politico, who is currently out on bail for allegedly forcing a school teacher on her knees before him, more..

July 11 (CT) Religious leaders in Sri Lanka yesterday alerted the country to extremist and terrorist groups going to great lengths to cause religious disharmony, communal unrest and social division in South Asian countries, backed by some powerful organizations in the West with vested interests to destabilize regional peace between nations. At a press conference, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic and Christian leaders, the Co-chairs of Inter Religious Alliance for National Unity (IRANU), more..

July 11 (Island) A 53-year-old man who set himself ablaze in front of his paramour�s house in Mt. Lavinia on Tiesday night was in a critical condition at the Kalubowila hospital yesterday. The man was a garment factory driver and resident of Serupita, Boralesgamuwa. He attempted self immolation at Welipara down Sumangala Road, in the Mt. Lavinia police area. He was rushed to hospital by the villagers and his paramour. Mount Lavinia police said that the paramour was a widow and more..

July 11 (DM) While claiming that the govt would not allow the private bus strike scheduled for tonight to be a success, Minister C.B. Rathnayaka said he was ready to face the strike. �We have informed them to stop their strike. Only one association is to join the strike. However, 17 bus companies and 14 unions are with us. We have instructed all provincial councils to take the necessary steps to ensure that commuters more..

July 11 (CT) While the Lanka Private Bus Owners' Association (LPBOA) was scheduled to go ahead with the nationwide bus strike, midnight yesterday, Inter-provincial Bus Owners' Association (IBOA) and All Island Private Bus Owners' Federation (AIPBOF) announced they would stay away from the strike. General Secretary of the AIPBOF, Anjana Priyanjith, told Ceylon Today they decided not to support the bus strike, alleging the LPBOA has always deceived bus owners. more..

July 11 (Island) A high level team comprising officials of the Power and Energy Ministry and the CEB will hold crucial talks today with the fisher folk on the controversial Puttalam lagoon stretch. The fishing community is opposing the CEB�s move to construct towers in the area for the new 220 KV line necessary for transmitting electricity from Norochcholai to Veyangoda via Anuradhapura after the commissioning of the second coal power plant later this year. more..

July 11 (WO) A protester who invaded the pitch during a cricket match between Sri Lanka and India in Cardiff claimed yesterday that his dad had been murdered by the Sri Lankan govt. Manimaran Sadasaramoorthy, 42, of Mitcham in Surrey, travelled to Wales on June 20 this year to take part in a legal protest at the city�s Swalec Stadium against the presence of the Sri Lankan cricket team on British soil. more..

July 11 (DM) A number of things have been said about the Sri Lankan economy in a number of recent reports by think tanks, research firms, international banks and rating agencies. While some argue that the tapering of stimulus by the US Federal Reserve will have negative effects on Sri Lanka and other emerging economies, others dispute the projected ramifications, asserting that pessimism is overdone. Currently the world�s leading central banks - the Federal Reserve, the European Central more..

July 11 (DM) Reconciliation in its diverse forms is a necessary condition for social peace and political stability. Reconciliation is necessary when two or more parties have been or are in conflict with each other. Trade unions were established in capitalist societies to facilitate negotiation with the capital to win higher wages and better working conditions. The existence of legitimate organisations of professionals, businesses, students, teachers, consumers, citizens, journalists, etc. more..

July 11 (DM) Q: The international community has been pressing Sri Lanka for a political solution to the ethnic issue and the 13th Amendment has been seen as one of the key facets to such a solution. Therefore what impact will the govt�s attempt to curtail the powers of the Provincial Councils have on Sri Lanka�s relationship with the international community? Especially with regard to the CHOGM that is scheduled to be held at more..

July 11 (IPS) It has been four years since the guns fell silent in Sri Lanka�s northern Vanni region, after almost three decades of ethnic violence. Unfortunately peace does not mean the end of hardship for the most vulnerable people here: the women. In general, life has improved for the Northern Province�s 1.2 million inhabitants. Of these, 467,000 are newly returned war displaced, most of whom fled the last bouts of fighting between more..