|
‘LTTE had no interest in terminating conflict’:
Norway’s dual role led to CFA breakdown – LLRC
The Lessons Learnt and Reconcilliation Commission
(LLRC) in its final report to the President which was tabled in
Parliament last Friday criticised the role of Norway, that their
actions contributed significantly to breakdown of the CFA. It
observed that the Nordic peace makers’ dual role as the facilitator
and the monitor of the peace process did not synchronise well and
this decision to play two opposing roles led to a conflict of
interest and failed strong action by the Sri Lanka Monitoring
Mission (SLMM) in instances of grave violations of the CFA,
 Full Story
Driver error, most common cause of accidents
Six persons die every day on Sri Lanka’s
highways as a result of motor accidents which adversely affect the
country’s economy as well, said Additional Secretary of the Ministry
of Health Dr. P. Mahipala addressing a media conference in Colombo.
He said when analysing the cause of accidents,
Full Story
‘Plastic crates - not a hasty decision’
Co-operatives and Internal Trade Minister
Johnston Fernando told Parliament yesterday that the decision to
introduce plastic crates was not a hurried decision and the
subsequent gazette notification which was issued in January this
year. Winding up the committee stage debate on his ministry,
Minister Fernando said though the gazette was issued in January, the
President had given a one year grace period to implement it, in
response to a request made by farmers and traders.
Full Story
Unparliamentary behaviour to be kept under check
Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa has appointed a
seven-member committee to make recommendations to improve discipline
and ensure security within the Parliamentary Chamber in the wake of
unruly scenes that broke out when President Mahinda Rajapaksa
presented the Budget on November 21.
Full Story
Most bus owners’ unions favour Govt efforts
All bus owners’ unions except one support the
Government’s efforts to uplift the private bus service, said Private
Transport Services Minister C.B. Ratnayaka. He said the Government
has provided many facilities and benefits to private bus owners.
Referring to the threat made by Lanka Private Bus Owners’
Association President Gemunu Wijeratne to launch a country-wide
private bus strike,
Full Story
|
The visiting foreign Minister of Seychelles Jean Paul Adams and Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris held bi-lateral discussions at the Foreign Ministry this evening.
Sri Lanka registered a superb 35 (five goals) points to 10 (one goal and one penalty) victory over Singapore in their Asian Five Nations Rugby Division 1 tournament match played at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, Philippines today.
Two Thai women who were pretending pregnant mothers, were apprehended while attempting to smuggle 162 cocaine tablets. 
The Government decision to increase the import tax on motor vehicles was aimed at controlling the number of vehicles added annually to the vehicle fleet of the country as excessive number of vehicles have been imported to the country during the past three years, Acting Media Minister and Cabinet Spokesman Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said today. “We had no other intention behind this move other than controlling the number of vehicles added annually to the road network”, the Minister said.
The Catholic Church today appealed to the President to halt any amendments leading to relax existing Abortion Law of the country, cautioning that such measures would aggravate the social issue and deprive children of their right to life. 
Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported Wednesday night that the new head of the government’s Socialist Left party (SV) has ousted veteran SV politician and former party leader Erik Solheim as the government minister in charge of both environmental and foreign aid issues.
The Department of Wildlife and Conservation (DWLC) has launched an investigation why the army shot two wild elephants in Bundala yesterday. According to environmentalists one jumbo was shot in the head and the other sustain similar gun shot injuries.
The Sri Lankan delegation, who left the country Wednesday to attend the 19th session of the United Nations Human Right Council in Geneva, Switzerland, says they have a well-organized plan to counteract the arguments against Sri Lanka.
Eight Indian fishermen from Keechankuppam fishing hamlet in Nagapattinam district sustained injuries in an alleged mid-sea attack by Lankan fishermen at midnight on Tuesday.
The UK still believes that a process led in Sri Lanka is better than one led internationally, said the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Alistair Burt, participating in a debate on the situation in Sri Lanka in the House of Commons yesterday (22).
In a new boost to Sri Lanka’s geo-textile industry and Sri Lanka’s standing as world’s largest exporter of coir fibre, a top US government agency has cleared the way for Sri Lankan made geo-textiles for two projects. 
