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   http://www.lankanewspapers.com/Roshan2007 - Archive of Apr 2012




Sri Lankan police deny claims of rebel infiltration
Monday, 2 April 2012 - 9:26 PM SL Time

COLOMBO, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan police on Monday denied claims that Tamil Tiger rebels had infiltrated the island through southern India.

Local media reports quoting police intelligence said that 150 Tamil Tigers had infiltrated the north and east of the country after receiving training in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The rebels were said to have reached Sri Lanka in the guise of fishermen and were looking at destabilizing the country.

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Economy headed in right direction - IMF
Wednesday, 4 April 2012 - 6:17 PM SL Time

Sri Lankan economy is headed in the `right direction` and International Monetary Fund (IMF) was `encouraged` by the bold steps taken towards this, IMF Resident Representative for Sri Lanka and Maldives Koshy Mathai said.

The IMF is encouraged by the steps and policies taken by the Sri Lankan Government and the Central Bank, and is optimistic that the economy would grow substantially. The IMF is confident, with policies taken Sri Lanka would steer the economy in the right direction, he said, addressing a press conference in Colombo.

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145 hydropower projects worth Rs. 40 billion doomed
Thursday, 5 April 2012 - 11:38 AM SL Time

Clouds of controversy loom over the decision of the government to take over 145 hydropower projects developed by the private sector which have a collective investment of over Rs. 40 billion, raising a hornet`s nest among private sector developers.

This is indeed an absurd situation where they have taken over for no apparent reason and especially in contravention of government policy where the private sector had been allowed to develop projects under 10 MW, Immediate past President of the Small Hydro Power Developers Association Nishantha Nanayakkara charged at a news conference on Tuesday night.

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Prabha knew US agenda-Champika
Friday, 6 April 2012 - 10:02 AM SL Time

Slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in an interview given to an Indian newspaper had warned about United States attempt to perpetuate and escalate the war in order to establish a base in Trincomalee, Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said today.

Addressing a meeting in Piliyandala the JHU General Secretary read out the extracts from Prabhakaran`s interview to Cochin based weekly, `Week` published on March 23, 1986.

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BANDULANOMICS binduwai (00)
Saturday, 7 April 2012 - 8:34 AM SL Time

Sleeping in a government hospital and receiving saline will cost less than rupees 2500 a month, was the reply to Minister of Education Bandula Gunawardane, who made the masses laugh and also angry, when he made the nonsensical statement last week that a family of three can live on Rs7500 a month and that

`Rs 2500 is more than enough for one person.`

The minister had said this at a press conference adding that the Education Department runs student hostels in several schools where students have three square meals and two cups of tea a day, for Rs.2500 a month. This is a clear indication that a family of three needs only Rs.7500 for a month if they manage their expenses properly, he said.

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Govt. goes ahead with privileged car imports for politicians and public servants
Sunday, 8 April 2012 - 9:20 AM SL Time

In spite vowing to curb vehicle imports to save foreign exchange and tackle congestion on roads, the government was going ahead of issuing of vehicle permits on concessionary terms to politicians, public servants and professionals, informed sources told The Island.

Asked how many would benefit from the UPFA move, well informed sources said that the Treasury had received thousands of applications so far this year and was in the process of approving them. They were responding to our Thursday`s lead story captioned, ``Privileged imports` not affected by duty increases,` in the wake of the recent sharp increase of duties on the import of three wheelers, motor cycles and reconditioned vehicles.

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I am back - Mervin
Monday, 9 April 2012 - 3:55 PM SL Time

Many would have thought it was the end of the road for controversial Minister Mervyn de Silva following his recent public threat to break the legs of those who campaigned against Sri Lanka in Geneva and openly claiming he was the reason behind journalist Poddala Jayantha fleeing the country a few years back, but he was back at his best yesterday, addressing a new year festival at a Dhamma school at Kelaniya.

The Minister of Public Relations who took off to Japan for a holiday possibly to escape the heat created by his controversial comments two weeks` ago, addressing a cultural event yesterday morning declared that he was very loyal to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, but if he was not required by the party he would not remain in it even for a second.

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Sri Lanka to see $1.2-bln balance of payments surplus in 2012
Tuesday, 10 April 2012 - 10:55 AM SL Time

(Reuters) - Sri Lanka will see a surplus of $1.2 billion in its balance of payments by the end of this year, the central bank said on Monday, reversing the last year`s deficit of $1 billion.

`Sri Lanka would see a balance-of-payments surplus of $1.2 billion this year if the measures we have taken work,` Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said while releasing the bank`s annual report for 2011.

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President placed economy on strong footing
Wednesday, 11 April 2012 - 3:55 PM SL Time

For the first time in the country`s history President Mahinda Rajapaksa has placed the country`s economy on a strong foundation as never before, said Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa commenting on the 2011 Central Bank Report which was released recently.

The Minister who was addressing a progress review meeting held at his Ministry on Monday added that the country`s growth rate which was eight percent in 2010, a year after the ending of the war, had reached 8.3 per cent last year which was the highest growth rate recorded for the last 62 years since the Central Bank started computing its report. It was also the first time the country recorded a growth rate of eight percent or more for two years consecutively.

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Journalists react to news websites clampdown
Thursday, 12 April 2012 - 8:53 AM SL Time

Journalists in Sri Lanka are up in arms over a government announcement, made last November, which stated that any website which covers Sri Lankan affairs would need to seek registration. This snap decision came days after it barred a number of sites which had been openly critical of its policies and the president.

Media ministry secretary W B Ganegala said last week that of 100 applications received since then, only 50 have been approved.

However, he dismissed the journalists` claims that the rejections were politically motivated and insisted they were made for administrative reasons. The applications did not contain important information that the ministry needs, he said.

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Kudankulam nuclear plant of Tamil Nadu - Sri Lanka Power and Energy Ministry conducts survey to determine baseline radiation levels
Thursday, 12 April 2012 - 3:46 PM SL Time

Apr 12, Colombo: Sri Lanka`s Power and Energy Ministry is currently conducting a survey in the Mannar coastal area to determine the baseline radiation levels in the area.

Power and Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka told ColomboPage that the baseline survey is carried out in the coastal belt between Mannar and the Jaffna peninsula.

He said that this area has been identified as the most prone to be affected by a possible disaster in any one of South India`s nuclear plants.

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Miracle baby survives after spending 10 hours in a morgue refrigerator
Friday, 13 April 2012 - 8:44 AM SL Time

A premature baby - who was declared dead shortly after birth - was later discovered to be alive after spending 10 hours in a morgue refrigerator. How did this happen?

Doctors at the Perrando Hospital in northeast Argentina can`t explain how several doctors pronounced the child dead or how the premature infant born three months early survived for so many hours inside a chilly coffin.

A similar case occurred in Israel in 2008. A baby was found alive in a morgue refrigerator after having been declared dead for five hours, according to the Jerusalem Post. An Israeli doctor suggested the premature infant`s irregular heartbeat could`ve eluded doctors and that placing the child in the cooler kept her in `suspended animation.` The baby later died.

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Sri Lanka-India resolution row goes nuclear
Saturday, 14 April 2012 - 10:02 AM SL Time

Sri Lanka-India resolution row goes nuclear
By Sudha Ramachandran

BANGALORE - Sri Lanka`s Minister of Power and Energy Patali Champika Ranawaka`s recent announcement that Colombo was considering raising the issue of the safety of India`s nuclear power plants with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been widely interpreted in the Indian media as retaliation for India`s vote supporting an anti-Sri Lanka resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) recently.

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Reducing car tariff rates in 2010 was a mistake Economist
Sunday, 15 April 2012 - 9:09 AM SL Time

The government`s move to reduce the tariffs on car imports in 2010 was a miscalculation and now increasing these duties will not restrain the trade deficit as it was done way after the problem occurred, Dr Nimal Sanderatne, eminent economist and the Sunday Times economic correspondent says.

Too late

`Reducing tariffs on motor vehicles by as much as they did was a mistake. Slapping high duties on them now is like closing the stable door after the horses have bolted,` he told the Business Times. He also cautioned that this measure isn`t likely to contain the trade deficit much. The pent up demand for motor vehicles has already been satisfied and there are huge stocks of imported cars already in the country. The IMF says selective tax measures such as the recent hike in car tariffs is not an appropriate policy move even though they agree that the liberalisation of car imports was one factor that increased import expenditure, he explained.

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SL donot oppose nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu - Minister Ranawaka
Monday, 16 April 2012 - 10:12 AM SL Time

Denying widespread speculations on Sri Lanka`s displeasure over a proposed Indian nuclear power plant, Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday said Sri Lanka is not opposed to India`s progress on nuclear energy.

We have no opposition to India using nuclear energy for power generation, and we respect India`s right to do so, Ranawaka told Ceylon Today.

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U.S., Philippines start drills amid territorial spat with China
Monday, 16 April 2012 - 6:04 PM SL Time

(Reuters) - American and Filipino troops launched two weeks of annual naval drills on Monday amid a territorial stand-off between China and the Philippines as the United States seeks to reinforce its influence across the Asia-Pacific.

The most recent dispute between China and the Philippines entered its second week, with a Philippine coast guard ship and two Chinese maritime surveillance vessels faced off near the Scarborough shoal, west of a former U.S. navy base at Subic Bay, once the biggest outside the United States.

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Pundits can t cross an Eh- danda
Tuesday, 17 April 2012 - 3:46 PM SL Time

There is a pithy Sinhala saying about pundits: Pundits can`t cross an `Eh- danda`. To those not acquainted with rural life or the Sinhala language `Eh danda` is a tree or log placed across a stream which has no railing or a form of support for those who walk on it to cross the stream.

.
.GL as Pundit

Our thoughts went out in this direction when we considered the plight of one of the most outstanding pundits of our time Prof. G. L.Peiris, the External Affairs Minister (Foreign Minister). Deservedly he should hold this portfolio. But he is under severe attacks from many quarters for no valid reason. The Foreign Minister as any other minister has to carry out the policies and directions by our omnipotent, omniscient president, Mahinda Rajapaksa.

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Learn that failure is good
Friday, 20 April 2012 - 10:37 AM SL Time

`For most of us in the working world, failure is a normal part of everyday life. Developing the skills to cope with failure is the key to personal success throughout life. But teachers at schools make pupils feel equally talented, because this makes them popular with the parents and pupils.

`Schools avoid regular testing and rote learning. Some don`t spilt up year groups according to academic ability and give prizes to every child at sports day. Pupils therefore leave school vulnerable with a false sense of achievement, and they are frustrated and angry when they do not immediately succeed in the real working world.

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WikiLeaks: Justice Minister Hakeem Knows Who The Abductors Are
Friday, 20 April 2012 - 2:29 PM SL Time

In recent weeks the Embassy has received several anonymous letters from Muslim groups alleging that they are being targeted for abduction for ransom. One such letter from the `Muslim Community in Sri Lanka,` with no return address, states that `within a short period they have kidnapped and collected huge sums from Muslim businessmen.` Several Muslim leaders have alleged that Muslim businessmen are being targeted for abduction now that most prominent Tamil businessmen have either paid off paramilitary groups or fled the country. the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.

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Ranathunga blames `political interference` for malaise
Saturday, 21 April 2012 - 7:07 AM SL Time

World Cup winning Sri Lanka cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga fears the sport in the island nation is heading for disaster because of unprecedented political interference and corrupt administrators.

I`m sure the way we are going, we`ll end up being 7 or 8 in the Test and one-day rankings. Luckily for us we are a talented nation because of that we survive, said Ranatunga who was saddened at the plight of cricket in Sri Lanka.

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Philippines Volcanoes Beat Sri Lanka to Enter HSBC Asian 5 Nations Top 5
Sunday, 22 April 2012 - 7:51 AM SL Time

MANILA, Philippines The Philippine Volcanoes made rugby history on Saturday by surviving Sri Lanka`s furious rally late in the game to grab the Division 1 crown of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations.

The victory earned the Philippine team a chance to compete in the 2013 HSBC Asian 5 Nations Championship, the first for the country.

Oliver Saunders spearheaded the Volcanoes` first half surge en route to a 28-18 victory over the top seed Sri Lanka.

Saunders tallied three penalty kicks to go along with his two conversions.

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Sri Lankan Airlines loses Rs19.1bn in 2011
Monday, 23 April 2012 - 11:30 AM SL Time

Apr 22 (LBO) State-run SriLankan Airlines has made an operating loss of 19.1 billion rupees in 2011, up from a group net loss of 6.03 billion rupees in 2010, a budget carrier has lost 455 million rupees, official data shows.

SriLankan Airlines` revenues had grown 16.3 percent to 78.9 billion rupees in 2011, but operating expenses had risen 32.2 percent to 98 billion rupees, the Central Bank`s annual report said.

Sri Lankan Airlines has made large losses ever since a management contract with Dubai-based Emirates Airlines ended over a dispute triggered involving offloading paying passengers to accommodate an official delegation in 2008.

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NO ONE CAN GO ABOVE MERVYN IN KELANIYA
Monday, 23 April 2012 - 7:47 PM SL Time

Every Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) activity in the Kelaniya electorate should be conducted through the electoral organizer, Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa said. This includes all activities including development projects, he said.

Only the President has authority to remove or take disciplinary action against an electoral organizer, Minister Rajapaksa said today (23) declaring open the Kelaniya Electoral Coordination Office of Kelaniya SLFP Organizer and Minister Mervyn Silva.

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Systematic destruction of Madhu forest reserve continues
Tuesday, 24 April 2012 - 8:01 PM SL Time

Heavy excavating machinery rumbles relentlessly inside the Madu forest sanctuary -- digging into the earth and felling trees -- while truckloads of tipper lorries driven by drivers halfway drunk by 11am, packed to the brim with soil dug up, race through the road which runs through the sanctuary. Both the road and the excavation sites are new additions to this landscape which was declared an environmentally protected area in 1968.

Like many of the protected, environmentally sensitive areas in the north, the 21,000 hectare Madu forest sanctuary is also facing an onslaught by government sponsored unplanned development activities. During a visit to the sanctuary a few weeks back, the writer saw massive scale excavation of soil from inside the sanctuary to build roads which ironically run through other forests -- and a massive timber racket as well.

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UK slides back into recession again. First double dip since 1970s
Thursday, 26 April 2012 - 5:17 PM SL Time

LONDON: Britain`s economy slid into its second recession since the financial crisis after official data unexpectedly showed a fall in output in the first three months of 2012, piling pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron`s embattled coalition government.

The Office for National Statistics said Britain`s gross domestic product fell 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2012 after contracting by 0.3 per cent at the end of 2011, confoundi ng forecasts for 0.1 per cent growth.

Most economists had expected Britain`s $2.4 trillion economy to eke out modest growth in the early 2012, but these forecasts were upset by the biggest fall in construction output in t hree years coupled with anaemic service sector growth and a fall in industrial output.

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Minister accused of trying to create anarchy in his electorate
Saturday, 28 April 2012 - 9:27 AM SL Time

Apr 26, Colombo: Sri Lanka`s ruling United People`s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) members of the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha say their lives are at stake due to actions of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Kelaniya organizer and Minister Mervyn Silva.

Chairman of the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha, Prasanna Ranaweera accused Silva of trying to destabilize the Kelaniya area and create anarchy in the area.

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The uphill task: Sustaining economic growth
Sunday, 29 April 2012 - 2:16 PM SL Time

The sustainability of economic growth is a serious challenge. The high growth of 8 per cent achieved in the past two years is unachievable this year. Unless appropriate policy measures and a growth strategy that ensures a lower trade deficit are in place, balance of payments constraints could jeopardise long-term economic growth. Equally important are reforms that ensure a climate conducive for private investment, both foreign and domestic reduction of the fiscal deficit containment of the public debt, especially its foreign debt component and prioritisation of investment.

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