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   http://www.lankanewspapers.com/elephanthouse - Archive of Nov 2011




Real-Life `Slumdog Millionaire` First to Win Big
Tuesday, 1 November 2011 - 1:44 PM SL Time

Sushil Kumar, 26, grew up in one of the poorest states in India. His family was so impoverished that they couldn`t even afford a television set. But today he is a millionaire and television superstar, the first contestant to win $1 million on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

With the roar of audience applause in the background, tears streamed down Kumar`s face as Indian superstar and host of Kaun Banega Crorepati, Amitabh Bachchan, handed him and his wife of five months a check Saturday for 50 million rupees, the equivalent of a little more than $1 million, after he answered all the show`s questions correctly. The moments after his win were captured by Indian news-station NDTV.

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Europe crisis plans at risk after Greek vote call
Tuesday, 1 November 2011 - 7:26 PM SL Time

By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS and PAN PYLAS - Associated Press | AP 9 mins ago

ATHENS, Greece (AP) Europe`s days-old plan to solve its crippling debt crisis has been thrown into turmoil by the Greek Prime Minister`s shock decision to call a referendum on the country`s latest rescue package.

Stock markets plunged around the world Tuesday, particularly in Europe, with the Athens exchange losing 5.5 percent, on worries the Greek government could lose the referendum vote. If that were to happen, Europe could face a potentially devastating disorderly debt default and Greece`s exit from the common currency.

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Martin Suter -The Cook
Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 7:20 AM SL Time

A business and political thriller, a love story and very special delicacies are the ingredients of
Martin Suter`s latest novel.

Maravan, 33, a Tamil asylum seeker, is working as a kitchen hand in a top hotel in Zurich, at a level far below his abilities. For Maravan is a gifted and passionate cook. In Sri Lanka his great aunt had introduced him to the art of cooking, and not least into the secrets of aphrodisiac cuisine.When he is fired, his colleague Andrea encourages him into a deal of a very special kind: a catering service for love menus.

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Planning on buying a new laptop, tablet or pc for X mas / New Year?
Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 6:38 PM SL Time

Make sure to buy it now before prices are going up due to the floods in Bangkok / Thailand.
See what happens to Asus, the favorite of the gamers:

Asus only has hard-drive inventory for November
by Cyril Kowaliski 5:38 PM on November 1, 2011
The flooding in Thailand hasn`t just caused hard drive prices to go up. According to Reuters, it`s also putting the squeeze on PC makers like Asus. The news agency reports that Asus only has enough mechanical hard drives in its inventory to last through this month:

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Charlie Hebdo and its place in French journalism
Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 9:59 PM SL Time

2 November 2011 Last updated at 13:34 GMT
By Hugh Schofield
BBC News, Paris Charlie Hebdo`s staff say there is nothing unusually provocative about the Charia Hebdo issue
Continue reading the main story Related Stories`Muhammad` to edit French weeklyFrench cartoons editor acquittedSarkozy defends Muhammad cartoons
Charlie Hebdo is part of a venerable tradition in French journalism going back to the scandal sheets that denounced Marie-Antoinette in the run-up to the French Revolution.

The tradition combines left-wing radicalism with a provocative scurrility that often borders on the obscene.

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Death threats against newspaper editor
Thursday, 3 November 2011 - 4:58 AM SL Time



Open letter to president

Death threats against newspaper editor

2 November 2011

Reporters Without Borders has written an open letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa urging him to take whatever measures are necessary to protect Frederica Jansz, the editor of The Sunday Leader, and to ensure that those responsible for last week`s death threats against her are arrested.

The threatening letter Jansz received on 27 October was prompted by her 2009 interview with Gen. Sarath Fonseka, a former army commander and presidential candidate in 2010, in which Fonseka accused defence minister Gotabhaya Rajapaksa of ordering soldiers to kill Tamil Tiger rebels who wanted to surrender. This is not the first time Jansz has been threatened.

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Duminda discharged from hospital
Thursday, 3 November 2011 - 2:00 PM SL Time

Eyewitnesses say MP Duminda Silva was discharged from the Sri Jayewardenepura hospital at around 9.30pm tonight under tight security.

Mr. Silva was seen driven away in a convoy of ambulances and security vehicles. He is expected to be taken overseas for further medical treatment.

Silva to be flown overseas?

UPFA Colombo District parliamentarian Duminda Silva who sustained severe injuries to his head during the Mulleriyawa shooting incident on the 8th is likely to be discharged from the Sri Jayawardene Hospital to be taken overseas for further medical treatment.

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Euro Chaos Marginalizes Obama`s Role in Cannes
Thursday, 3 November 2011 - 5:45 PM SL Time

In the Shadow of the G-20 Stars

Euro Chaos Marginalizes Obama`s Role in Cannes

By Gregor Peter Schmitz in Washington, DC

A new experience awaits US President Obama at the G-20 summit in Cannes this week. Thanks to the euro crisis, he`s likely to remain only a peripheral figure in the meetings. Still, with the presidential campaign in full swing back home, he will be unable to deny himself the right to give at least a little bit of sage advice.

In his first trip abroad since spring, United States President Barack Obama will arrive in Cannes, France on Thursday morning for the G-20 summit. One thing is already clear: The most powerful man in the world will not be the center of attention here.

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Bad News for the World Economy
Friday, 4 November 2011 - 5:32 AM SL Time

PARIS (IDN) - The prospects for the world economy look rather gloomy in the coming two years, says a respectable international economic organisation of 34 countries. The situation can, however, be redeemed if leading industrial and emerging countries take `bold decisions` to get the global economy back on track, it adds.

The warning and comforting message comes from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). `Without decisive action the outlook is gloomy,` said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria on October 31, in run-up to the summit of the Group of 20 (G20) developed and emerging economies on November 3-4, 2011 in Cannes, France.

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The no-kids-allowed movement is spreading
Friday, 4 November 2011 - 4:44 PM SL Time

What`s the matter with kids today and why doesn`t anyone want them around? In June, Malaysia Airlines banned babies from many of their first class cabins, prompting other major airlines to consider similar policies.

Lately, complaints about screaming kids are being taken seriously, not only by airlines, but by hotels, movie theaters, restaurants, and even grocery stores.

Read more about restaurants around the country banning kids.

Earlier this month, McDain`s, a Pittsburgh area restaurant that banned kids under 6 became a mascot for the no-kids-zone movement.

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The Economist online`s Politics this week - Oct. 29 Nov. 04, 2011
Friday, 4 November 2011 - 10:33 PM SL Time

A euro referendum: Greece`s woes
France and Islam: Fighting freedom with fire
Wages in Germany: Merkel and the minimum
Russia and world trade: In at last?
WikiLeaks: Out of time and money
Lexington: Sex and pizzas
The St Paul`s protests: Bells and yells
Brazil`s former president: A new battle for Lula


Greece was thrown into political turmoil, after the prime minister, George Papandreou, looked on the verge of defeat. Having said he wanted a referendum on the latest euro-zone rescue package, he rapidly lost the support of his cabinet and his party. With so much effort put into securing the deal, Mr Papandreou`s announcement stunned European leaders, who threatened to suspend further payments from the bail-out fund and told Greece that it must decide whether or not it wants to remain in the euro zone. See article

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A nation of vidiots
Saturday, 5 November 2011 - 7:36 AM SL Time

Americans are the greatest TV watchers in the world. (File photo)

By Jeffrey D. Sachs
for Reuters

The past half-century has been the age of electronic mass media. Television has reshaped society in every corner of the world. Now an explosion of new media devices is joining the TV set: DVDs, computers, game boxes, smart phones, and more. A growing body of evidence suggests that this media proliferation has countless ill effects.

The United States led the world into the television age, and the implications can be seen most directly in America`s long love affair with what Harlan Ellison memorably called the glass teat. In 1950, fewer than 8 percent of American households owned a TV by 1960, 90 percent had one. That level of penetration took decades longer to achieve elsewhere, and the poorest countries are still not there.

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ICG s Continued Harassment of Sri Lanka
Saturday, 5 November 2011 - 3:43 PM SL Time

Sat, 2011-11-05 06:07 editor
News
By Dilup Nanayakkara, New York

It may comes as no surprise that the convenience and anonymity of the internet allows the left-wing supporters, fashionable rebels and terrorists to continue the battle which was lost on the beaches of Puthukudiyrippu, in the international arena.

Citing unsubstantiated reports from various NGOs such as the International Crisis Group, these frustrated LTTE braves and keyboard warriors attempt to sow discord amongst people and disrupt the reconciliation process of a country emerging from three decades of conflict.

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SRI LANKA: Absence of justice hurts even more than murder
Saturday, 5 November 2011 - 8:52 PM SL Time

Saturday, 5 November 2011, 10:55 am
Press Release: Asian Human Rights Commission

We have received a rather strange comment on our previous statement Duminda Silva is above the law by a Mr. Rohan Salgadoe which we quote below:

Please note. This picture might hurt and make the family members of Mr. Lakshman Premachandta aggrieved further which should not be the policy of AHRC. The family had suffered enough and why should you add to it.

This rather hypocritical comment may not deserve a reply. However, perhaps unintentionally the commentator has pointed out something relating to the hurt that is caused by the knowledge that, not only the murderers, but also the country`s justice system has betrayed the survivors of the families of the victims. In this particular instance the family happens to be that of the late Baratha Lakshman Premanchandra, who was assassinated, allegedly by a group of persons lead by Duminda Silva. Now the family that is suffering from this murder is also learning that justice has been systematically denied to them. There are literally tens of thousands of others in Sri Lanka who are also undergoing this same suffering.

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Should Sri Lanka revisit its support for Australia on its bid for the Security Council?
Sunday, 6 November 2011 - 3:56 AM SL Time


By Edwin Koonz - Boston

The Australian attempt to secure a seat in the United Nations Security Council for the 2013-2014 terms is coming up for question. Why you may ask? The double or multiple standards they practice when dealing with terrorists and others, is undoubtedly a major cause for concern for many countries.

On the one front, Australia chose to stay on the good side of the remaining super power by joining the coalition of the willing on the war against terror and was part of the jolly ravaging of Iraq, whilst showing surprising leniency to LTTE terrorists using Australian territory.

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Sri Lanka presses ahead with controversial nationalisation plan
Sunday, 6 November 2011 - 1:33 PM SL Time

Sri Lanka`s president has vowed to turn his war-battered nation into the `miracle of Asia,` but a controversial new nationalisation law is seen as a major blow to hopes of wooing foreign capital.

The government says the move will boost investor confidence in the south Asian country, hungry for foreign investment as it recovers from decades of ethnic bloodshed that came to an end in 2009.

But the plan has provoked comparisons to Robert Mugabe`s seizure of white-owned land in Zimbabwe, which heralded the collapse of that country`s economy.

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Two different worlds meet in the middle of the Indian Ocean
Sunday, 6 November 2011 - 5:01 PM SL Time

As you might know, the Swiss Turanor Planet Solar vessel is due to arrive in Hambantota port tomorrow. Here the article in yesterday`s Colombo Page:

Quote
Swiss solar ship on a world-wide mission to reach Sri Lanka Hambanthota harbor
Sat, Nov 5, 2011, 11:03 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 05, Colombo: The world`s first and largest solar-powered vessel which is on a world-wide mission aimed at promoting the use of sustainable energy is to reach Sri Lanka`s Magampura Harbour in Hambantota on Monday (07).

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Sri Lanka: Call to ban anti-government and pornographic sites turns out to be more pronounced
Monday, 7 November 2011 - 7:02 PM SL Time


Mon, 2011-11-07 04:22 editor
By K.T.Rajasingham


Colombo, 07 November, (Asiantribune.com):

Call to ban websites which promotes pornography as well as anti-government materials is resonating louder and louder. Those websites without a clear `contact details` are suspected of slanderous activities against the state.

In the meantime, it has been urged that Sri Lanka should bring in a resolution at the forthcoming 17 SAARC Summit conference to be held at Addu Atoll, Maldives from 10 to 11 November, and to adopt a common stance on regulating internet and censuring anti-government and pornographic websites in the 8-nation organization.

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The Truth At Nandikadal and Wider Justice Process
Tuesday, 8 November 2011 - 1:08 PM SL Time


Tuesday, 8 November 2011, 3:09 pm
Press Release: Asian Human Rights Commission


An Article from the Asian Human Rights Commission
Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena

November 7, 2011

Central to any discussion on accountability in Sri Lanka is recognition of the fact that what happened in Nandikadal in May 2009 during the last stages of the fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and government troops needs to be part of a wider and more inclusive process of justice in Sri Lanka based on the Rule of Law.

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Boxing: `Smoking Joe` lost his last fight against cancer
Tuesday, 8 November 2011 - 9:43 PM SL Time

Joe Frazier said beating `The Greatest` was best thing that ever happened to him

Published: Tuesday, November 08, 2011, 9:21 AM Updated: Tuesday, November 08, 2011, 9:35 AM

By The Associated Press



In this March 8, 1971, file photo, Muhammad Ali takes a left from Joe Frazier during the 15th round of their heavyweight title boxing bout in New York. Frazier won a unanimous decision. Frazier, the former heavyweight champion who handed Ali his first defeat yet had to live forever in his shadow, died Monday Nov. 7, 2011, after a brief fight with liver cancer. He was 67. (AP Photo/File)

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Durban 2011 faces a twin-challenge
Wednesday, 9 November 2011 - 4:22 AM SL Time

By Tetteh Hormeku*
IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

The global climate change conference in Durban, the sunny city of South Africa, from November 28 to December 9 will bring together representatives of the world`s governments, international organizations and civil society. The UN hopes that discussions will advance, in a balanced fashion, the implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the Bali Action Plan, agreed at COP 13 in 2007, and the Cancun Agreements, reached at COP 16 in December 2010. At stake is whether the world can agree to a global deal that will tackle climate change taking into account the principle of equity and justice.

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Talk, Talk, Talk
Wednesday, 9 November 2011 - 12:57 PM SL Time

This song must be inspired by our good friend Selebris!
He also uses the words `talk, talk, talk` all the time!

Darren Stanley Hayes (born 8 May 1972) is a UK-based Australian singer-songwriter. Hayes was the front man and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden, whose 1997 album Savage Garden peaked at No. 1 in Australia, No. 2 in United Kingdom and No. 3 in United States. It spawned the singles `I Want You`, `To the Moon and Back`, and Australian and US No. 1 `Truly Madly Deeply`. The duo followed the success of their debut album with Affirmation (1999), which provided additional hits such as US No. 1 `I Knew I Loved You`, and Australian No. 3 `The Animal Song`. Savage Garden sold more than 23 million albums worldwide before parting ways in 2001.[1]

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Turanor Planet Solar Logbook
Wednesday, 9 November 2011 - 7:20 PM SL Time

Picture: Turanor Planet Solar welcome in Hong Kong

Hahaha, here what the logbook says about their arrival in Hambantota:

Day 405 7.11.2011

Weather conditions: A nice but very hot day, stormy in the afternoon.
Distance covered during the last 24 hours (from 20 o`clock till 20 o`clock): 65 miles (120 km)

Another beautiful day. It is always a beautiful moment when I start my shift, look through the cockpit and, still half asleep, see the blue sky that surrounds us. We were in front of the coast of Sri Lanka just a few miles away from our destination Hambantota. I let our kites take pictures of our arrival.

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Priorities for SAARC-China Partnerships
Wednesday, 9 November 2011 - 11:09 PM SL Time

COLOMBO (IDN) `Building Bridges` is the over-arching theme of the 17th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit in the Maldives on November 10 and 11. This positive and inclusive approach provides the basis for increased two-way traffic, or closer cooperation, within the association itself, as well as with other nations including, for instance, regional neighbour China.

SAARC was established only in 1985, unlike neighbouring ASEAN, which began functioning in 1967. The delayed start-up was caused by territorial disputes and unsettled border issues, many of them the lingering legacies of the colonial period, as well as by perceptions of power disparities among South Asia`s states.

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The Globalization of Protest
Thursday, 10 November 2011 - 3:52 AM SL Time


NEW YORK The protest movement that began in Tunisia in January, subsequently spreading to Egypt, and then to Spain, has now become global, with the protests engulfing Wall Street and cities across America. Globalization and modern technology now enables social movements to transcend borders as rapidly as ideas can. And social protest has found fertile ground everywhere: a sense that the system has failed, and the conviction that even in a democracy, the electoral process will not set things right at least not without strong pressure from the street.

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From Berlusconi to Draghi
Thursday, 10 November 2011 - 6:38 PM SL Time

Paolo Messa

2011-11-09

From Berlusconi to Draghi


ROME Greece may be the fuse, but is Italy the bomb that will blow up the euro and perhaps the entire European Union? In the weeks since Standard & Poor`s and Moody`s downgraded Italian sovereign debt, and gave it a negative outlook, the country has been targeted repeatedly by financial speculators. But the country`s economic and financial fundamentals aren`t so bad it is the country`s political disarray that is spooking investors and roiling markets.

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Lessons for the Arab Spring from a Tiny Island Nation
Friday, 11 November 2011 - 12:32 AM SL Time

Picture:
A Maldivian family wades in a lagoon as they catch fish in Addu, in Maldives, November 7, 2011. The heads of eight South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries are meeting in this Indian Ocean archipelago on Nov. 10 and 11.

With Tunisian elections just completed, Egypt`s parliamentary elections coming up and Libya veering into a dark new period, observers of the Arab Spring are wondering what will become of these revolutions once the euphoria subsides and the struggle over democracy grows apace.

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Sri Lanka President had bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister
Friday, 11 November 2011 - 4:27 AM SL Time

Addu Island, Maldives, 11 November

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he met Indian Prime Minister on the sidelines of the 17th SAARC Summit at Addu Islands, Maldives, he pointed out that 43,700 fishing boats from Southern India have engaged in poaching during the past 10 months and drew the Indian Prime Minister`s special attention to problems faced by fishermen in the northern region.

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Over pricing will ruin Sri Lanka`s tourism industry
Friday, 11 November 2011 - 12:40 PM SL Time

Harischandra Gunaratna
The Island
Publication Date : 11-11-2011
Sri Lankan born Ravi Dias Jayasinha, a business tycoon in Italy and President of Gateway, a leading tour operator in Milan serving the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean countries, said it was a good sign that Sri Lanka was building more rooms and upgrading its tourism product, but at the same time the country`s tourism authorities should not over-price it.

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India wanted LTTE `put in place`: Norway report
Friday, 11 November 2011 - 7:37 PM SL Time


Oslo: Even as it publicly advocated peace when the Sri Lankan conflict was raging, India quietly informed Norway that the LTTE must be `put in its place`, reveals a Norwegian government sponsored study on why the peace process failed in the island nation. The exhaustive document, released here on Friday, shows that New Delhi`s sympathy lay with Colombo vis-a-vis the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as the peace process began to slowly unravel from 2003-04.

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People-to-People contact works well
Saturday, 12 November 2011 - 7:19 AM SL Time

By Nihal Rodrigo*
InDepth NewsAnalysis Part 2 of 2

COLOMBO (IDN) - At the inauguration of the 16th SAARC summit in Bhutan last year, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya stated that, in a spirit of equality and mutual benefit , China is willing to conduct dialogue and exchanges to expand practical cooperation with SAARC. He particularly mentioned human resources training, poverty alleviation, disaster relief action, economic affairs and media exchanges.

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Main suspect of Sri Lanka presidential aid`s assassination abducted
Saturday, 12 November 2011 - 1:17 PM SL Time

Sat, Nov 12, 2011, 10:05 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.


Nov 12, Colombo: A main suspect wanted for the killing of former ruling party parliamentarian and presidential aid Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra has been abducted by an unknown group yesterday.

The suspect is believed to be one of the three men fired at Premachandra. He was identified as Wewe Priyanatha alias Galabada or Thappara Katta.

The suspect who was a resident of Diyabeduma, Minneriya in Polonnaruwa district was abducted as he was hiding in his village called Nehinna.

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These are Highlights from The Economist online`s Politics this week
Saturday, 12 November 2011 - 3:49 PM SL Time


Italy and the euro zone: That`s all folks
Greece`s dysfunctional politics: Tomorrow and tomorrow
France`s public finances: The belt-tightener-in-chief
Security in Colombia: Top dog down
Presidential elections in Nicaragua and Guatemala: Change and continuity
Conflict in the Middle East: Nuclear Iran, anxious Israel
Syria`s uprising: No closer to a solution
Mississippi`s election: A welcome surprise

Silvio Berlusconi said he would resign as Italy`s prime minister, once the country`s parliament passes a series of austerity measures demanded by the European Union. Mr Berlusconi called for fresh elections, but it looked likely that a new government would be formed, perhaps led by Mario Monti, a former European commissioner. The political uncertainty saw yields on Italian bonds spiral yet higher, leading to concern that the country may struggle to refinance its huge debt pile. See article

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Is Pornography Driving Men Crazy?
Saturday, 12 November 2011 - 8:08 PM SL Time


NEW YORK It is hard to ignore how many highly visible men in recent years (indeed, months) have behaved in sexually self-destructive ways. Some powerful men have long been sexually voracious unlike today, though, they were far more discreet and generally used much better judgment in order to cover their tracks.

Of course, the heightened technological ability nowadays to expose private behavior is part of the reason for this change. But that is precisely the point: so many of the men caught up in sex-tinged scandals of late have exposed themselves sometimes literally through their own willing embrace of text messages, Twitter, and other indiscreet media.

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Niger grants asylum to Saadi Qaddafi denies finding any surface-to-air missiles
Sunday, 13 November 2011 - 4:03 AM SL Time

Last Updated: Sat Nov 12, 2011 17:38 pm (KSA) 14:38 pm (GMT)

By Al Arabiya with Agencies
DUBAI

Niger has decided to grant Muammar Qaddafi`s son Saadi asylum for humanitarian reasons, President Mahamadou Issoufou said Friday, adding that his brother Saif al-Islam is not in the country. He also denied that his country had seized the dangerous surface-to-air missiles left behind by Qaddafi`s retreating army.

We have agreed on agreed on granting asylum on Saadi Qaddafi for humanitarian reasons, Issoufou told a news conference at the end of a two-day visit to South Africa.

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Yes Minister
Sunday, 13 November 2011 - 4:36 PM SL Time

The good old days, when the Cold War was still in and Internet still out!

Thanks to our good friend from Zululand, alias Baka, I remembered my favorite comic series. A pity it no longer exists.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and have a good week.

Your ComicElephant

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India, LTTE met `secretly` before Sri Lanka truce: Eric Solheim
Sunday, 13 November 2011 - 10:46 PM SL Time

Oslo, Nov 13 (IANS) Indian officials met in `secret` with the LTTE ahead of Sri Lanka`s 2002 truce although New Delhi considered the Tamil Tigers a terrorist group, Norwegian cabinet minister Erik Solheim has revealed.

The former envoy to Sri Lanka also said - confirming for the first time ever an IANS report of 2008 - that India played a covert role in events that led to the Tamil Tigers and Colombo signing a ceasefire agreement (CFA) nine years ago.

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Should We Ban Cigarettes?
Monday, 14 November 2011 - 4:29 AM SL Time


PRINCETON US President Barack Obama`s doctor confirmed last month that the president no longer smokes. At the urging of his wife, Michelle Obama, the president first resolved to stop smoking in 2006, and has used nicotine replacement therapy to help him. If it took Obama, a man strong-willed enough to aspire to and achieve the US presidency, five years to kick the habit, it is not surprising that hundreds of millions of smokers find themselves unable to quit.

Although smoking has fallen sharply in the US, from about 40% of the population in 1970 to only 20% today, the proportion of smokers stopped dropping around 2004. There are still 46 million American adult smokers, and smoking kills about 443,000 Americans each year. Worldwide, the number of cigarettes sold six trillion a year, enough to reach the sun and back is at an all-time high. Six million people die each year from smoking more than from AIDS, malaria, and traffic accidents combined. Of the 1.3 billion Chinese, more than one in ten will die from smoking.

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Sri Lanka cuts tourist visa fees
Monday, 14 November 2011 - 4:03 PM SL Time

Colombo, Nov. 14 (Bernama)

Tourism operator in Sri Lanka heaved a sigh of relief after the government reduced a usdol.50 visa fee to usdol.20, an official said here on Monday.

The scheme, scheduled to be in effect from January 2012, will now charge usdol.10 from South Asian travelers and usdol.20 from others, reports Xinhua news agency.

The move comes after Sri Lanka`s neighbor India protested about the usdol.50 fee as being too excessive and warned that it would severely impact tourism, which has hit an all-time high of nearly 670000 arrivals.

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Chinese executioner says job not `complicated`
Monday, 14 November 2011 - 8:45 PM SL Time

By Chris Buckley | Reuters 2 hrs 19 mins ago

BEIJING (Reuters) - Hu Xiao says his job as one of China`s executioners is usually not very complicated, except for the time when a prisoner he was about to kill stood up and ran toward his loaded rifle.

The rare glimpse into the ranks of China`s executioners appeared in the Beijing Evening News newspaper on Monday.

Hu, a veteran judicial police officer, described the routine of shooting dead prisoners convicted of murder and other capital crimes in China, which rights groups say carries out more judicial killings each year than anywhere else in the world.

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The Next War in Sri Lanka: Law, Order, Justice and Law Enforcement
Tuesday, 15 November 2011 - 6:32 AM SL Time

Tue, 2011-11-15 02:37 editor

News Analysis
By Sanjeewa Karunaratne

Law, order, justice and law enforcement are pillars of a strong society. If they break, the fabric of the society shatters, resulting immense sufferings to its members. Recently, two incidents took place in two different countries across the globe one is trying to be a developed nation one is already a developed nation. These two incidents showcase how this basic norm of the society operates in these two countries.

In 2002, Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant in Penn State, USA, saw its assistant coach for 30 years, Jerry Sandusky sodomizing a 11-year-old boy in a shower in a campus locker room. He immediately reported the incident to Penn State`s legendary coach, Joe Paterno who reported it to its athletic director. The matter ultimately reached Penn State`s vice president and president who decided to put it to rest.

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Learning from Japan to build a culture of peace in Sri Lanka
Tuesday, 15 November 2011 - 3:43 PM SL Time

Jehan Perera
The Island
Publication Date : 15-11-2011




When the war ended in May 2009, it was the worst that was over, but the ethnic conflict that spans more than five decades is not yet over. The ethnic polarization in the first years after Independence was on account of citizenship and language. Impatient and angry at the failure of the Tamil democratic leaders to obtain reform from the Sri Lankan State, young Tamil militants took to arms in the mid 1970s. The ethnic conflict took the fateful path of violence and increased polarization. This was seen most markedly in the last battles between the Sri Lankan military and the LTTE. There was a near total polarization in the ethnic compositions of the two fighting forces. This polarization is to be seen today as well in the divergent opinions being expressed by members of the different ethnic communities about the end of the war.

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TURANOR PLANET SOLAR
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 - 5:33 AM SL Time

This nice toy full of high-technology can now be seen at Colombo Harbour.
After that it will be our Indian friends in Mumbai to welcome it.

Captain Ali
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Sri Lanka may bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games - official
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 - 2:08 PM SL Time

Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 11:19 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.


Nov 16, Colombo: The Governor of Central Bank of Sri Lanka Ajith Nivard Cabraal said yesterday that Sri Lanka may bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games following the loss of bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Hambanthota. However, he insisted that nothing has been finalized yet.

Cabraal pointed out that the main reason for wanting the event was the investment that would pour funds into the economy and projections indicated that by 2018 public investment will exceed US$ 21 billion. He said that this means that the 2022 Games would be `unnecessary` for the economy.

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Sri Lanka orders banks to bring in cheap foreign money
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 - 10:36 PM SL Time

3:36pm IST
* Interest rates under pressure amid low liquidity

* Foreign cash to ease pressure on interest, fx rates-cbank

* Balance of payments surplus to shrink-cbank

By Shihar Aneez

COLOMBO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka will see `substantial` dollar inflows from a central bank directive to commercial banks to raise cheap foreign capital to offset a liquidity squeeze amid strong credit demand, the central bank said on Wednesday.

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To the Jobless Economy
Thursday, 17 November 2011 - 4:56 AM SL Time


SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA Nearly all economic forecasts agree that high unemployment in much of the developed world will most likely persist for years to come. But could even this dire projection underestimate future unemployment rates?

As improvements in computers, robotic technologies, and other forms of job automation continue to accelerate, more workers are certain to be displaced, and job creation will become even more challenging. Most economists dismiss concern that this might lead to long-term structural unemployment. Indeed, the idea often elicits outright derision. The conservative media in the United States recently mocked President Barack Obama for suggesting that automation might hurt employment growth. But Obama was right to raise the question.

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Yep, Microsoft s Building a Secret Social Network, Called Socl
Thursday, 17 November 2011 - 12:29 PM SL Time

Microsoft`s secret social network may be tested publicly and looks a lot like Facebook and Google+
By Jared Newman | @OneJaredNewman | November 16, 2011

Microsoft`s leaked social search plans over the summer were no fluke the company is working on its own social network called Socl that will be tested publicly, according to The Verge.

At a glance, Socl looks a lot like Facebook and Google+. A stream of status updates runs down the middle of the page, flanked by categories on the left and invitation options on the right. A strip across the top of the screen contains a search bar and notifications. There`s also a Party feature that lets users chat and watch YouTube videos together, just like Hangouts in Google+.

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The Road to Reconciliation
Thursday, 17 November 2011 - 5:17 PM SL Time

Just by chance I came across this interesting report and interview that Aljazeera uploaded on YouTube a few days ago.

I particularly liked the report on an Association called Sri Lanka Unites (Youth Movement for Hope and Reconciliation) and the girl coming to the conclusion that They are people like us too!

It`s true. We should not forget that they are the future of our country.

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Kate s Sapphire Gives Royal Boost to Sri Lanka as Exports Jump
Friday, 18 November 2011 - 5:22 AM SL Time

By Anusha Ondaatjie


Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- It`s a good thing for Sri Lanka that Kate Middleton didn`t get cold feet.

Prince William`s choice of a Ceylon blue-sapphire engagement ring for Middleton, publicized ahead of their April royal U.K. wedding, became the centerpiece of a Sri Lankan marketing campaign that saw gem exports jump 37 percent in the year through October. The National Gem and Jewellery Authority says the value totals $77 million so far this year, boosted by Middle East demand for blue sapphires.

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A Reassessment of President Mahinda Rajapaksa
Friday, 18 November 2011 - 12:48 PM SL Time


Dr Laksiri Fernando


Colombo, 18 November, (Asiantribune.com):


President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka will be celebrating his 66 birth day today (18 November 2011) and will be taking oath for the second term of Presidency tomorrow. Both of these occasions are important for him as a political leader, and for the country that he leads. He was born in 1945.

The generation from 1945 to 1964 internationally is called the `vibrant generation` whereas the previous generation from 1925 to 1944 was called the `silent generation.` A generation is generally identified with a period of twenty years. The silent generation was born more or less during the great depression and the Second World War and was passive and not so effective in nature with some exceptions. They hardly excelled in politics leaving a gap between the previous and the latter generation.

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Should World Soccer Chief Sepp Blatter Quit Over His Racism `Denial`?
Friday, 18 November 2011 - 5:15 PM SL Time

Updated: Fri. Nov. 18, 4.45a.m. ET

The irony was inescapable. FIFA President Sepp Blatter, a man who can`t seem to avoid controversy and spends much of his waking life shaking hands, has found himself at the center of a new imbroglio by suggesting that pressing the flesh was a suitable remedy for racial abuse. Specifically, he advocated that players being racially abused by a rival in the course of a game should shake hands at the final whistle and move on. It`s hardly the first time the 75-year-old Swiss head of the world`s soccer federation has made bizarre public statements, but his comments during interviews on Wednesday (given to TIME`s partner CNN and al-Jazeera) that the game doesn`t have a problem with racism may bring him down for good. Here in the U.K., Blatter has sparked a fury as passionate as anything you`re likely to see in the English Premier League this weekend with his statement, `I would deny it. There is no racism.` He continued, `There is maybe one of the players towards another he has a word or a gesture which is not the correct one. But the one who is affected by that, he should say that this is a game. We are in a game, and at the end of the game, we shake hands, and this can happen, because we have worked so hard against racism and discrimination.`

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Hirunika returns home
Friday, 18 November 2011 - 9:22 PM SL Time

Friday, 18 November 2011 10:40
Katunayake (Srilankamirror) - The daughter of slain presidential advisor Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra returned home last night (Nov. 17).

Hirunika Premachandra had left the country a few weeks ago due to pressure following the killing of her father.

She arrived at the Katunayake airport on a flight at around 11.00pm, reportedly from Japan.

Hirunika said at the airport that the court order for the arrest of MP Duminda Silva in connection with her father`s murder has restored her faith in the judiciary.

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We need a third way, now
Saturday, 19 November 2011 - 12:12 PM SL Time



Economic crisis: fighting back

We need a third way, now

Globalisation has brought economic disaster, but anti-globalisation isn`t the answer. There is an alternative

by Jean-Marie Harribey

The financial sector has brought society almost to breaking point. The economic edifice is tottering, and the ideological veil that hid its true face has been torn away. The high priests of globalisation have ceased their hymn of praise to the efficiency of the markets, and a debate has arisen over its opposite: deglobalisation. This debate is unusual: it does not set believers in the current orthodoxy against non-believers, but divides the economists and politicians who objected to the tyranny of the financial markets, especially during the campaign against the ratification of the European constitutional treaty.

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JVP dissidents in Sri Lanka: a new political trap
Sunday, 20 November 2011 - 2:28 AM SL Time

By K. Ratnayake
19 November 2011

The emergence of a dissident faction within the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in Sri Lanka in recent months is a further sign of the party`s deep political crisis. The party split in 2008 over whether to join the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse and now confronts another debilitating breakaway that would include much of its youth wing.

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Winner of this year s Dancing with the Stars competition.
Sunday, 20 November 2011 - 5:02 AM SL Time

The 2011 final of the French version of Dancing with the Stars ended on TF1 with a clear winner.
It`s the young singer Shy`m that is slowly moving up to the top of the charts in all French speaking countries.

Here her most successful song so far. Hope you enjoy it.

Your MusicElephant

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Sri Lanka war probe calls for new inquiry: report
Sunday, 20 November 2011 - 1:41 PM SL Time

AFP 39 mins ago
A Sri Lankan government probe into the civil war against Tamil rebels has called for further investigations of alleged war crimes committed in the final stages of fighting in 2009, according to a report.

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), which has been widely criticised as biased by international rights groups, concluded that some evidence warranted a new inquiry, the local Sunday Times said.

The commission was due to hand over its report to President Mahinda Rajapakse later Sunday, but it is not clear when it will be published.

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MR gets the LLRC report
Monday, 21 November 2011 - 3:19 AM SL Time

FLASH: The Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission handed over a much anticipated report to President Mahinda Rajapaksa this evening.

The document was handed over by the head of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission.

The 400 page document includes testimonials of victims and families of victims affected by the war between the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE.

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The anatomy of global economic uncertainty
Monday, 21 November 2011 - 1:51 PM SL Time

Economic chaos is ravaging Western countries, few of which are well-equipped to deal with major structural changes.

Newport Beach, California - The sense of uncertainty prevailing in the West is palpable, and rightly so. People are worried about their futures, with a record number now fearing that their children may end up worse off than them. Unfortunately, things will become even more unsettling in the months ahead.

The United States is having difficulties returning its economy to the path of high growth and vigorous job creation. Thousands of people have taken to the streets of US cities, and thousands of others in Europe, to demand a fairer system. In the eurozone, financial crises have forced out two governments, replacing elected representatives with appointed technocrats charged with restoring order. Concern about the institutional integrity of the eurozone - key to the architecture of modern Europe - continues to mount.

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Sri Lanka Old Parliament Building Mapping
Monday, 21 November 2011 - 10:01 PM SL Time

This video was only posted on YouTube a few hours ago. Amazing what can be done with light and colour.
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A hearing in hell
Tuesday, 22 November 2011 - 12:24 PM SL Time

by Thrishantha Nanayakkara

November 22, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) King of hell (KoH): Welcome to hell madam. I gather that you have been a judge, and you have given judgements with clear conflicts of interest. Do you agree?

Accused (Acc): No my Lord, I reject those allegations.

KoH: To be more specific, did you invite a commander in chief who bears direct connections to a case you were hearing to your birthday party?

Acc: I think you have misunderstood the event.

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Freedom of Expression on the Internet in Sri Lanka
Tuesday, 22 November 2011 - 3:48 PM SL Time

by Centre for Policy Alternatives on Nov 22, 2011 2:45 am No Comments

22nd November 2011, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives is pleased to release a new report examining the freedom of expression on the Internet in Sri Lanka. Since 2007, the freedom of expression on the Internet has faced considerable restrictions on account of the arbitrary blocking of websites and pronouncements by the government for greater regulation and monitoring of online content. There have also been concerns about the transfer of technology from countries such as China that may strengthen a surveillance regime and lead to further restrictions on web content. These issues along with a repressive legal framework have a chilling effect on freedom of expression on the Internet.

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Sex to become electronic in 2030
Wednesday, 23 November 2011 - 8:55 AM SL Time

British futurologist Ian Pearson believes that people will not need to have sex already in 2030. To experience orgasm and other pleasant sensations that occur during sex people would only have to apply microchips on their skin. The chips will record the signals from the central nervous system received during sex and then simply play them again any moment, when needed.

The scientist is certain that such sensors will become available for all in the near future. The sensors will be sophisticated enough to detect and map the collection of stimuli that create certain sensory experiences - be it someone shaking your hand, hugging you, or having sex with you. Afterwards, the sensors will stimulate your nervous system to create illusions of warmth, pressure and movement.

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New Delhi, Now More Polluted Than Beijing
Wednesday, 23 November 2011 - 4:26 PM SL Time

The India Gate monument in New Delhi on Monday morning.

India has recently pulled far ahead of China on one dubious development marker air pollution in the country`s capital.

The air quality in New Delhi on Monday afternoon was significantly worse than the air quality in Beijing, according to real-time air monitors run by the Indian and U.S. governments in both cities.

New Delhi, a landlocked, fast-growing metropolis of more than 16 million people, is regularly shrouded by haze and smog (sometimes euphemistically referred to as fog) in winter months, as barometric pressure and cooler air mix with construction dust, smoke from cow dung fires and car exhaust, which then hover over the city for days.

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Evaluating the Norwegian evaluation
Wednesday, 23 November 2011 - 10:14 PM SL Time

by Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka
(November 23, Paris, Sri Lanka Guardian) Taken as a whole, the Norwegian study is a valuable and welcome addition to the growing literature on the war and our times. It is however, wrong or empty at its very core. Wrong not only in what it sees and says, but perhaps even more so, in what it does not in what it fails to or chooses not to see and/or express. The NORAD study is characterised by an absent analytical core. Though I am critical of its post mortem of the armed conflict and efforts at peace-making, the Norwegian study of the failed peace efforts in Sri Lanka does contain important and valuable observations concerning the international aspect (Ch 7: `The International Dimensions of the Peace Process`) and domestic political dynamics and trajectories (Ch 11: `The Primacy of Domestic Politics`) .

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Companies, People, Ideas
Thursday, 24 November 2011 - 9:41 AM SL Time

Brandix Adapts to Sri Lanka`s Post-Civil War World

In the apparel trade, where buyers scour the globe for cost savings, nothing succeeds quite like duty-free market access. For Sri Lanka, an island nation that punches above its weight in clothing, the big prize was Europe, which bought $1.7 billion of its garments in 2009. That year Sri Lanka`s 26-year civil war ended, raising hopes of a postwar takeoff in trade and investment. Yet the apparel industry was in for a rude shock. In August 2010 the European Union suspended duty-free privileges in protest of the government`s human rights record.

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Sri Lanka today is one of the most secure and stable countries in the entire world-Secretary Defence
Thursday, 24 November 2011 - 5:17 PM SL Time

Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa today (24 Nov), delivering the key note speech at the Inaugural National Conference on Reconciliation: `The Way Forward for Post Conflict Sri Lanka` said `Sri Lanka today is not only one of the most secure and stable countries in Asia but in the entire world.`

The Secretary briefly explained how the LTTE unleashed its terror on the citizens of this country, starting from the assignation of Mr. Alfred Duraiappa, the Mayor of Jaffna, in 1975 to the end of Humanitarian Operation concluded in May 2009.

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Sri Lanka sees record tourist arrivals in 2011
Thursday, 24 November 2011 - 11:25 PM SL Time

COLOMBO, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka on Thursday reached a record in tourist arrivals to the country, the government information department said.

The government said that the 750,000th tourist arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday evening which was more than the anticipated target for the year.

The Sri Lankan tourist board had initially targeted 750,000 tourist arrivals for 2011 but with that target already being reached on Thursday the tourist board has now revised the target to 800,000 visitors by the year-end.

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Robots to guard South Korean convicts
Friday, 25 November 2011 - 12:19 PM SL Time

By North Asia correspondent Mark Willacy

Posted November 25, 2011 06:35:40























































Donn es cartographiques - Conditions d`utilisation
















Plan









Map: Korea, Republic Of

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AG to advise on SF treatment at private hospital
Friday, 25 November 2011 - 2:44 PM SL Time


Colombo (Srilankamirror) - The attorney general will advise today (Nov. 25) or tomorrow whether imprisoned former Army chief Sarath Fonseka should be taken to a private hospital for treatment.

Prisons chief P.W. Kodippili said Mr. Fonseka was previously taken to a private hospital as he was a remand prisoner, adding that prisoners serving terms should be treated at state hospitals.

If the AG decides otherwise, the necessary action will be taken, he said.

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Australia begins releasing asylum seekers to community
Friday, 25 November 2011 - 7:41 PM SL Time

25 November 2011 Last updated at 09:13 GMT

Australia has begun releasing asylum-seekers from detention into communities, following the collapse of its `Malaysia swap` plan.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said 27 men had been given bridging visas to allow them to live and work while their claims were assessed.

He said as many as 100 people could be given these visas each month.

The move follows a High Court ruling that ended a controversial plan to send some refugees to Malaysia.

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The Economist online`s Politics this week
Saturday, 26 November 2011 - 5:57 AM SL Time

Egypt`s turmoil: The generals must go
Bahrain`s human-rights report: The king`s risky move
South Africa and secrecy: Don`t blow the whistle
The supercommittee fails: A downgrade for Congress
The Republican nomination: Live-blogging the Republican debate
Banyan: Tried and found wanting
Free trade in South Korea: Don`t shed a tear
Pakistan`s `memogate`: As you were
Movement in Myanmar: Eye-rubbing
Spain`s election: Big mandate, tight spot

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Welcome to Sri Lanka - CHOGM 2013
Saturday, 26 November 2011 - 4:53 PM SL Time

While preparing a first visit to Sri Lanka for some Swiss tourists, I came across this video by chance.

Hope you like it too.
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The judgment of Casanova
Sunday, 27 November 2011 - 3:14 AM SL Time

I`m sure you all know the story of Casanova, the ancestor of the playboy!

Watch this video and let me know if you agree with the Italian judge. Unlike his Sri Lankan colleague, he didn`t have to run for his life!

Note the music is from Rondo Veneziano.

Your CultureElephant

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Sri Lanka has potential for International arbitration hub
Sunday, 27 November 2011 - 11:21 AM SL Time

By Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

Sri Lanka has huge potential to be an international hub for arbitration which is a multi-million dollar industry, arbitration experts, said.

Arbitration

They said that the potential of the industry has not been fully tapped due to lack of awareness of its benefits to the legal profession and the economy of the country.

Sri Lanka National Arbitration Centre (SLNAC) CEO, Hiran de Alwis said that developing Sri Lanka as a regional and international hub would benefit all professions and will be a boost to export professional services and enhance Colombo as a financial hub.

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Prospects of Local Government in Development and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka
Sunday, 27 November 2011 - 6:34 PM SL Time

Sun, 2011-11-27 15:39 editor

By Dr Laksiri Fernando


The local government system was on the spotlight in Sri Lanka this year having completed three rounds of election in March, July and October under difficult circumstances in some areas. This was after a long spell of time when proper elections could not be held, or democracy could not function properly, due to the long standing separatist war in the country before 2009.

A major black mark that it earned nevertheless was at the last stages of the election when two groups of the same ruling coalition were shooting each other and in the process a senior politician with credible political reputation unfortunately lost his life with some others.

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A positive attitude brings you a long way
Sunday, 27 November 2011 - 8:43 PM SL Time

While waiting for the Final of the Masters in London, Federer against Tsonga, and to end this sunny weekend in a good mood, here a good cartoon on Obama and the KKK. As you can see, even people of very different horizons can become good friends.

Have a very good week.

Your ComicElephant

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Federer`s strength has records tumbling
Monday, 28 November 2011 - 8:17 AM SL Time

Another year, another title, another set of records. Roger Federer seems to pass milestones as routinely as he passes opponents at the net and the 30-year-old Swiss ended his 13th full season on the tour here yesterday in the way that he knows best.

In beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 in a thrilling climax to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Federer became the first man to win the season-ending championship six times, having previously shared the record with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras. He is the oldest man to win the title, supplanting Ilie Nastase, who was 29 when he won in 1975.

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Fake Charity From Tigress Author
Monday, 28 November 2011 - 9:42 PM SL Time

St. John`s College has never heard of Niromi de Soyza

By Raisa Wickrematunge


Niromi de Soyza and A fake tale and a scam?

Last week, `Tamil Tigress` authoress Niromi de Soyza was featured in these pages. De Soyza claimed that she was one of the first female LTTE cadres in her book, which was released earlier this year.

Soyza claimed at a literary event that proceeds from her book were going to the SJC87 Initiative a charity that provided scholarships to war-affected children in the North and East. Her Facebook page also noted that 15% of Tamil Tigress sale proceeds were going to the charity, which is run by the St` John`s College batch of 1987.

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Why do Lankan males harass women in buses?
Tuesday, 29 November 2011 - 12:17 PM SL Time

by Pearl Thevanayagam
(November 29, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Recent statistics show that 75 percent of women between 15 and 45 years of age are sexually harassed in public transport. This is a diabolical misrepresentation of statistics. All women in Sri Lanka are harassed sexually in public transport. |It was the former Transport Minister A.H.M.Fowzie who suggested separate buses for men and women in the nineties. What a sorry set of males Sri Lanka has.

Sri Lanka cannot enter the 21st century without shedding its hypocracy that Sri Lankans are a pious lot. Far from it. You only need to look into the abuses of the Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim clergy reported regularly in the media that we are falling behind in protecting our children and youngsters. ( File Photo)

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Impoverished women without ID turn to prostitution in Sri Lanka
Wednesday, 30 November 2011 - 6:37 AM SL Time

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA - Marry, a Sri Lankan woman who guesses she is in her 40s, is a prostitute in Colombo, Sri Lanka`s capital.

Marry knows little about herself. She does not have a birth certificate or a National Identity Card, a compulsory document for all adults here that must be carried at all times. So she says she made up her own name and guesses she is around 40.

`I do not know from where I am, who my parents are, even my name,` she says.


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Even more dangerous than having the LNP Account hacked
Wednesday, 30 November 2011 - 2:43 PM SL Time

Strange Security: Hackers Could Set Your Printer on Fire from a Distance

It takes a creative mind to turn an otherwise innocent gadget into a looming security threat, but what`s a hacker if not exactly that? You might not be particularly concerned that your printer could spell your demise, but a research team at Columbia University has demonstrated that not only can vulnerable printers be hacked remotely to snag personal information like credit card and Social Security numbers - they could even be made to self destruct...literally.

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The most popular animal on LNP
Wednesday, 30 November 2011 - 9:45 PM SL Time

A zoological safari down Diyawanna Oya

by A. N. Suranimala


(November 30, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) A human animal connection has many ramifications, from the zenith of the intellectual discourse on evolutionary biology which the venerable Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace initiated, to theoretical zoology, philosophy, anthropology, and then down to the nadir, or the pits as it is more crudely, but descriptively and accurately called - Sri Lankan politics. I`m not referring to the man-pet animal connection where a dog is man`s best friend, but to a more philosophical consideration of Man`s place among the animals. It is essentially a theoretical discussion that might find a place in A-level text-books on zoology, but with no practical applications what-so-ever, except for instance, in stimulating the boss of the Dehiwela Zoo to collect this new sub-species to cage it in the zoo where it properly belongs.

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Movements for change, ethics of resistance I
Thursday, 1 December 2011 - 4:54 AM SL Time

by Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka

[World Philosophy Day is a UNESCO initiative to make philosophical reflection and spaces for the stimulation of critical thinking and debate, accessible to all. As part of a series of events organized throughout the day at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on November 17, 2011, the Democracy and Philosophy section of UNESCO, invited Dr Dayan Jayatilleka, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Sri Lanka to moderate a discussion at an event designated Caf Philo (philosophical caf ) on the topic of `Political Movements for Change: What Ethics?` and introduce his book `Fidel`s Ethics of Violence` in support of his presentation. Msgr. Francesco Follo, Professor of the History of Philosophy and Permanent Observer of the Vatican to UNESCO, presented a critical response as co-moderator.]

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