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   http://www.lankanewspapers.com/impartial - Archive of Feb 2011




Sri Lanka eyes tourism boom but challenges lie ahead
Tuesday, 1 February 2011 - 5:55 PM SL Time

The Sri Lankan government says it hopes its hard-won peace will give a much-needed boost to the tourism sector in the Indian Ocean island nation.

Sri Lanka expects a big influx of tourists in the next few years, after the three-decade long war against the Tamil Tigers ended with the defeat of the separatist rebels in May 2009.

Last month, Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT) celebrated the arrival of the country`s 600,000th foreign tourist. The SLT expects 700,000 tourists in 2011 and arrivals are projected to hit 2.5 million a year by 2016.

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Mona Lisa model was male, researchers say
Thursday, 3 February 2011 - 3:43 PM SL Time

Italian researchers who specialise in resolving art mysteries believe they have discovered the disputed identity of the model for Leonardo da Vinci`s Mona Lisa - and claim he was a man.

Silvano Vinceti, chairman of the Italian national committee for cultural heritage, said the Florence-born Renaissance artist`s male apprentice and possible lover Salai was the main inspiration for the picture.

However his claim was immediately disputed by experts at the Louvre, where the painting is on display.


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Sri Lanka tea export earnings exceed Kenya`s
Friday, 4 February 2011 - 3:44 AM SL Time

Sri Lanka earned a record 1.37 billion US dollars in tea exports in 2010, exceeding that of Kenya, which exported more, owing to higher prices and more valued added shipments, brokers said.
The island`s tea export earnings from exporting 314 million kilos were 16 percent more than in 2009.

Brokers Asia Siyaka Commodities said exports in 2010 were eight percent higher than in 2009 when drought reduced the crop.

The highest volume ever exported by Sri Lanka was 327 million kilos in 2006.

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Each step taken for development a step towards freedom - President
Friday, 4 February 2011 - 2:23 PM SL Time

All Sri Lankans now have the opportunity to celebrate the 63rd Anniversary of Independence with much glory. The unlimited sacrifices for the freedom and independence of Sri Lanka make today`s Independence Day celebrations one of great honour.

The aspiration of the nation is to make more meaningful the freedom won with much sacrifice.The first Prime Minister of Independent Sri Lanka, Rt. Hon. D. S. Senanayake taking over the nation said that freedom has been obtained to relieve the pain and increase contentment of the people regardless of ethnic, party or religious differences. This is the worthy aim of any nation that seeks freedom. It is of paramount importance to accelerate the work on nation building to fulfill this aim. The march towards making Sri Lanka the Wonder of Asia should speed up as each step taken for development is a step towards freedom.

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Entire Ampara paddy harvest lost
Saturday, 5 February 2011 - 8:03 AM SL Time

Thousands of acres of paddy land in the Ampara district were flooded due to continuous rains and this has caused immense loss to farmers.

The paddy that was destroyed was about to be reaped. All the paddy fields in Ampara were flooded.

In the meantime, a large number of people in Addalaichenai, Akkaraipattu, Kalmunai and Ninthavur sought refugee in schools and government buildings due to the deluge.

Following the opening of the spill gates of the Senanayake Samudra the flooding in Ampara villages increased.

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Post-conflict, Brighter Economic Prospects for Sri Lanka
Saturday, 5 February 2011 - 4:31 PM SL Time

Sri Lanka, after emerging from a decades-long civil conflict, is seeing strong economic growth of 7.5 percent. The country now stands at a crossroads and needs to build on current reforms if it is to take full advantage of the favorable economic environment, says the IMF.

Three decades of war distorted Sri Lanka`s economy, hindered development, and reduced the country`s potential growth. But since the end of the conflict in 2009 and with the help of an IMF loan program, the country`s economic fundamentals have improved markedly.

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Lanka- The place to be
Saturday, 5 February 2011 - 7:43 PM SL Time

:)
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Over 40,000 druggies in country
Sunday, 6 February 2011 - 6:39 AM SL Time

There were over 40,000 drug addicts in the country, an official from the National Dangerous Drug Control Board (NDDCB) told The Island.


`Most of them are males,` Director General of the NDDCB, K. Gamage said.


The NDDCB has set up five rehabilitation centres for those addicted to narcotics, mostly heroine and cannabis.


`The rehabilitation centres have been set up in Kandy, Galle,


Piliyandala, Urapola and Thalangama to rehabilitate and educate the addicts on the ill effects of drugs,` he said.

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Germany indicts Sri Lanka Tamil spokesman on terrorism charges -(Genocide ++)
Tuesday, 8 February 2011 - 3:49 AM SL Time

Karlsruhe, Germany - A spokesman in Germany for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been indicted on terrorism charges, federal justice authorities said Monday in Karlsruhe.

Agilan W, who now holds German citizenship, was arrested in November and indicted on January 24.

Prosecutors said he was spokesman in Germany for the Tamil Coordination Commitee, a front for the LTTE, from 2004 to the end of 2009 and oversaw its public relations. Three other leaders of an alleged LTTE front were earlier arrested and indicted.

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Murali to coach Aussie spinners?
Tuesday, 8 February 2011 - 9:18 AM SL Time

Muttiah Muralitharan, the greatest wicket-taker in the history of cricket, will throw his support behind the next generation of Australian spin bowlers this June, Australian media reports.



In a move that is seen as a huge boost to Australia`s dwindling spin stocks, the Sri Lankan legend will spend several weeks at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane with our finest young prospects.

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Prabhakaran s mom ignored by kin
Tuesday, 8 February 2011 - 11:31 AM SL Time

COLOMBO: Dr Mayilerum Perumal, the head of the Valvettithurai government hospital, says that the psychological state of Parvathy Ammal, the paralysed mothers_day.jsp' class=black>mother of slain LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, is getting worse because she is deeply perturbed by the fact that no family member has bothered to visit her in the year and two months she has been in the hospital.

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Sri Lanka tourism product needs facelift to justify price hikes
Tuesday, 8 February 2011 - 11:55 PM SL Time

Sri Lanka needs to improve the quality of its tourism product and infrastructure to further increase room rates after a post-war rise in rates made the island look expensive, an equities research report said.
The country also needs to improve entertainment and shopping in order to break the seasonality of the industry and lure visitors during the `off-season` to fill hotel rooms year-round, the report by NDB Stockbrokers said.

The report cited as a concern the rise in room rates after the end of the island`s 30-year ethnic war in 2009 which led to a boom in tourist arrivals.

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Police arrest `polite armed robber`
Wednesday, 9 February 2011 - 8:57 AM SL Time

Police in Washington have arrested `the world`s most polite armed robber`, after he allegedly stole $300 from a Seattle convenience store.

The robbery in itself would not be particularly noteworthy if not for the polite manner in which the man goes about demanding a day`s takings from the store owner.

Surveillance footage shows the man politely requesting the store owner to hand over his cash, `Could you do me a favour? Could you empty the till here please?`

What do you mean? the bemused store owner responds, before the robber explains himself.

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Mahaaweli Sinhala farmers to be settled in Vavuniyaa, Polonnaruwa
Friday, 11 February 2011 - 7:06 AM SL Time

100,000 families under the Mahaaweli scheme don`t have enough land. Steps will be taken to provide them with land in the Vavuniyaa and Polonnaruwa districts, said D. M. C. Dissanayake of Sri Lanka`s Director General of the Mahaweli Authority, according to The Island, Tuesday. The north has become a dumping ground of Sinhalese unwanted in the south so that the double purpose of getting rid of them as well as terrorising and subjugating or chasing away the Tamils from their country could be achieved, says resettlement officials in the north.

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Thank God, he lost
Saturday, 12 February 2011 - 2:06 PM SL Time

We once said in these columns that the then Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, while returning through the BIA, was likely to meet himself rushing out of the country, given the speed at which he was moving in and out. Parliament has been told that he travelled overseas 36 times during his 39-month tenure!
In reply to a question in parliament on Wednesday, the government revealed that Bogollagama`s foreign travel had cost the country over Rs. 27 mn. A foreign minister has to travel overseas but globe-trotting must not be his reason d` tre. Most of all, the country must gain something in return for the expenses incurred on a minister`s foreign trips.

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Go for it lads, you got the wings
Sunday, 13 February 2011 - 9:08 AM SL Time

The Lankan outfit is being very modest. In their last exchange of views with mainly the local media, they very stubbornly tore away their tag `favourites`. They termed it as a tag pinned on them by some ex-cricketers who were trying to make an impression on their TV chats and the media which always want to stick something on some one.


Six days hence they will be on to the real one and are flexing their muscles at present, yet, they want to go as any other team in the fray but not as `favourites`. Veteran Muttiah Muralitharan who has seen it all more than the others said he would be very comfortable if the Lankans were tagged as underdogs. He said the favourite tag was put on them only in Sri Lanka but overseas it was India, Australia or South Africa that the pundits had been talking about.

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World Cup: Sri Lanka aiming for a golden encore
Monday, 14 February 2011 - 5:20 AM SL Time

MUMBAI: Holding the distinction of being the only co-host team to have won the World Cup, Sri Lanka would be keen to take inspiration from that unforgettable title triumph in 1996 into the megaevent starting on February 19.

Fifteen years ago Lanka were the co-hosts of cricket`s flagship event along with India and Pakistan while in the current edition the island nation is sharing that job with India and Bangladesh.

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Mobility Monitor
Tuesday, 15 February 2011 - 4:09 AM SL Time

Car imports into Sri Lanka shot up by 300 percent to 23,072 in 2010 after the government slashed import duty and also because of rising demand after the end of a war, a government statement said.

It said the number of cars registered with the motor traffic department in 2009 had been only 5,762.

A total of 359,243 vehicles of different types were registered with the department in 2010 up by 155,168 or 76 percent from 204,075 in 2009, the statement said, quoting motor traffic department statistics.

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London Stock Exchange powered by Lankan software
Tuesday, 15 February 2011 - 5:24 AM SL Time

The London Stock Exchange`s UK cash markets today migrated to a new ultra low-latency trading platform - Millennium Exchange, developed by London Stock Exchange Group`s leading trading technology business Sri Lankan based MillenniumIT.





Millennium Exchange is a highly scalable, multi-asset class trading platform, offering the Exchange`s clients superior technical performance, ultra low-latency and enhanced functionality.




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Coca-Cola`s `secret ingredient revealed`
Wednesday, 16 February 2011 - 5:05 AM SL Time

Often duplicated but never replicated, the Coca-Cola recipe has been a well-kept secret for years.

Created by medicinal pharmacist John Pemberton in 1886, the exact measures of each ingredient that make up the world-famous soft drink have been closely guarded - until now.

American public radio show Thisamericanlife.org claims to have uncovered a list of ingredients and their exact quantities to mix the perfect Coca-Cola drink.

A photo from the 8th February 1979 editorion of American daily newspaper, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, shows a person holding open a book with a recipe, which is allegedly an exact copy of Pemberton`s.

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Sri Lanka plans first census of elephants-(This Must be UNP Elephants?)
Thursday, 17 February 2011 - 10:44 AM SL Time

Sri Lanka is planning its first ever census of elephants as the animals increasingly come into conflict with villagers, a top official said.



Government wildlife director Chandrawansa Pathiraja said a head count would start in August to aid better planning of conservation and minimise clashes between elephants and humans.



We will carry out the census within a 48-hour period, Pathiraja told AFP. We expect dry weather at this time.

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Sri Lanka, India to sign MoU
Friday, 18 February 2011 - 4:38 AM SL Time

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed between the Fisheries Ministry and Indian authorities soon to address issues faced by fishermen of both the countries, Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne said yesterday. He said he had handed over to the Indian High Commission in Colombo, several aerial pictures of Indian fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters.

The minister said pictures of damaged coral reefs were also handed over.

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Stay off Lankan waters, Krishna to TN fishermen
Saturday, 19 February 2011 - 3:09 PM SL Time

NEW DELHI: Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna on Friday urged Tamil Nadu fishermen to keep off Sri Lankan waters.

Soon after the news of the release of 136 Tamil Nadu fishermen broke, Krishna expressed relief. But he also had a word of advice for fishermen who cross the maritime boundary causing such `aberrations.`

We are happy,`` he told reporters on the margins of a conference. At the same time I have a special appeal to make to the fishermen of TN and other regions that they should confine themselves to the Indian waters instead of straying into the Lankan waters.

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Don t fall into govt. trap, JVP warns UNP
Monday, 21 February 2011 - 8:24 AM SL Time

The JVP would take legal action in the Supreme Court if rejected UPFA and UNP nomination lists for local government election were accepted in Akmemana, Akuressa, Moneragala, JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake said. The party also called on the main opposition UNP to withdraw the cases it had filed against the rejection of its nominations as a responsible opposition party without falling into government`s trap.

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Oral sex linked to cancer risk
Monday, 21 February 2011 - 4:15 PM SL Time

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US scientists have said there is strong evidence linking oral sex to cancer, and urged more study of how human papillomaviruses may be to blame for a rise in oral cancer among white men.

In the United States, oral cancer due to HPV infection is now more common than oral cancer from tobacco use, which remains the leading cause of such cancers in the rest of the world.

Researchers have found a 225-percent increase in oral cancer cases in the United States from 1974 to 2007, mainly among white men, said Maura Gillison of Ohio State University.

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Fishermen worry about poor catch after Lanka deal
Tuesday, 22 February 2011 - 11:29 AM SL Time


The fishermen of Nagapattinam have decided not to cross the international maritime boundary line (IMBL) and ban those breaching the boundary for a month.

The decision, taken during a meeting on Sunday, has drawn mixed response from fellow fishermen and boat owners. While few feel that there was high possibility of their boats being dragged by ocean current or wind into Sri Lankan waters, others say that it was practically impossible to restrict fishing within Indian waters where marine resources are abysmally low.

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EU re-lists LTTE as a terrorist group
Wednesday, 23 February 2011 - 6:07 PM SL Time

The European Union (EU) has re-listed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) following a comprehensive review of listed terrorist groups. The announcement was made through Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 83/2011 of 31 January 2011, published in the Official Journal of the European Union.



The EU terrorist listings made in terms of article 2(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2580/2001 of 27 December 2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism, proscribes organizations listed operating in EU member countries and freezes their assets.

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Ban meets AG, Shavendra
Thursday, 24 February 2011 - 11:16 AM SL Time

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his chief of staff Vijay Nambiar on Wednesday met Sri Lankan Attorney General Mohan Peiris and its Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Maj. Gen. Shavendra Silva, Inner City Press reports.



Despite reports that the Govt. of Sri Lanka had denied the initial announcement that the UN chief will meet the Attorney General, inner city press claims that the meeting in fact did take place.

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Sri Lanka Tamil Tiger chief mother`s grave `desecrated`
Friday, 25 February 2011 - 4:16 AM SL Time

The cremation site of the mothers_day.jsp' class=black>mother of Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran has been desecrated, relatives say.

They say that the bodies of three shot dogs were left at the site on Tuesday night - a gesture which correspondents say is a major insult to the dead.

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Quake survivor marries her hero
Friday, 25 February 2011 - 12:15 PM SL Time


Grieving families whose loved ones lie among the debris caused by the Christchurch earthquake gather in a hall on one side of the road.

On the other side, quake survivor Emma Howard was walking down the aisle to marry the man who came to save her life.

The only evidence of her six-hour ordeal in the carnage: a bruise on her left arm.

Ms Howard was trapped in the foetal position for six-and-a-half hours after she was thrown from her chair at the Pyne Gould Corporation building when the 6.3-magnitude quake struck at lunchtime on Tuesday.

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No let-up by Charlie Sheen despite show shutdown
Saturday, 26 February 2011 - 5:04 AM SL Time

LOS ANGELES, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Undeterred by the shut down of his `Two and A Half Men` TV comedy, actor Charlie Sheen unleashed a new torrent of messages on Friday as Hollywood backed away from the increasingly erratic star.

Sheen, on vacation in the Bahamas after a month of `rehab` at his Los Angeles home for alcohol and drug addiction, told TV show `Good Morning America` in a text message he would turn up for work next week despite the fact that on Thursday producers pulled the plug on his top-rated CBS comedy for the remainder of the season.

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Runaway millionaire` arrested in NZ: police
Saturday, 26 February 2011 - 2:08 PM SL Time


A woman who allegedly fled New Zealand with her Chinese partner after a bank mistakenly deposited millions of dollars into his account was arrested on Friday, police said.
Kara Hurring and Hui (Leo) Gao left for China shortly after Westpac bank accidentally placed NZ$10 million (US$7.5 million) into Gao`s account in April 2009. Gao had requested a NZ$100,000 dollar overdraft.

The error was discovered within days but by then some NZ$6.78 million had allegedly been transferred into other accounts and the pair had left the country.

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Strict new criteria for dual citizenship
Sunday, 27 February 2011 - 11:37 AM SL Time

Foreign nationals now holding dual citizenship in Sri Lanka are to have their status reviewed. For this purpose they will be required to face an interview where their eligibility under new criteria will be examined.

These are some of the new aspects now under consideration, Immigration and Emigration Controller Chulananda Perera told the Sunday Times. He said the new procedures for granting dual citizenship would be discussed by him and his officials with President Mahinda Rajapaksa shortly.

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MP denied entry for not following procedure: Immigration Chief
Monday, 28 February 2011 - 11:14 AM SL Time

The Indian lawmaker who was refused entry to the country on Wednesday this week was denied a visa simply because he did not follow protocol procedures, Immigration and Emigration Controller Chulalanda Perera said yesterday.

He said Thol Thirumawalan - a member of the Lok Sabha - who had arrived with two others was turned away since he failed to convince the duty officer at the Immigration desk of his true intention in visiting the country.

Apart from that the MP had entered the country in a private capacity and not as an Indian politician. Therefore the Immigration Officer was well within his rights to deny an entry visa. If he had intended to visit the country in a VIP capacity then he should have first informed the Indian Embassy in Colombo which in turn would have got in touch with the External Affairs Ministry and then the Immigration and Emigration Department would have been informed. But this was not the case, Mr. Perera said.

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Murali in backflip on spin coaching
Tuesday, 1 March 2011 - 6:32 AM SL Time

MUTTIAH Muralidaran - Test cricket`s greatest wicket-taker - has dealt Cricket Australia`s blueprint for spin reform a savage blow after backflipping on plans to mentor the country`s next generation of tweakers.
As the Sri Lankan wizard prepares to torment Australia in their ICC World Cup clash on Saturday, it can be revealed Muralidaran has turned his back at the 11th hour on a coaching cameo at the Brisbane-based Centre of Excellence.

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