Health Unions warn that drug shortages will worsen and all other health sector facilities will be curtailed this year, since the health budget has been pruned by Rs.5.5 billion.
Last year the budgetary allocation for the health ministry was Rs.58.6 billion and it has been brought down to Rs.53 billion this year, in the 2010 budget presented in parliament last week.
“Only Rs.4 billion has been allocated in the budget for the health sector. More >>

Around 20 flats situated in the heart of Colombo city are alleged to be owned by a businessman with links to the LTTE and domiciled in Canada, intelligence units say. According to such intelligence units these details have emerged during investigations conducted regarding owners of the 20 buildings, and it is strongly believed that this businessman has provided financial support to the armed struggle of the now-defeated LTTE, during the height of the Eelam war. More >>

Yes, it is true that the president has deferred his plan for constitutional change, effecting extension of presidential term-limits to three terms, and establishing an unelected second chamber. The reason is pure pragmatic crunching of numbers which showed that with 5 left party votes absent, he would not have the necessary two thirds to carry through the contemplated amendments. His ruling UPFA is already six seats short of a parliamentary majority of two thirds. In this rather unexpected situation, it is not unusual that there have been some real attempts at political horse trading. More >>

A powerful international federation of trade unions has in a petition to be considered by the US government delivered a scathing account of labour practices in Sri Lanka, alleging that worker rights in the country have deteriorated in recent years.
The American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations (AFL-CIO) filed the petition before the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in 2008 asking to remove Sri Lanka from the list of countries deemed eligible under America’s General System of Preferences. More >>

Kandy SC came unstuck to CR & FC 16-14, but thanks to a bonus point retained the Caltex Cup for a record-breaking 10th successive season in their hard-fought inter-club league rugby decider at Longden Place yesterday. CR trailing 9-14 in the dying embers of the game saw their talented left-wing Vishwamithra Jayasinghe latching onto an-intercept pass before covering the length of the field for a match-clinching try and with the conversion from full back Reza Mubarak managed to post a thrilling 16-14 win. More >>

Sri Lanka Cricket is in a desperate attempt to bring the Tour Organizing Committee (TOC) sacked by the sports minister back to office in view of the forthcoming tours of India and New Zealand to Sri Lanka. In a sudden move last week Minister CB Ratnayake sacked the TOC and appointed a fresh committee without consulting the SLC hierarchy who were attending the ICC Board meeting in Singapore.
The decision may have deepened the rift between the new minister and the SLC hierarchy, which started when the minister replaced the selection committee following the T20 debacle in the West Indies and then publicly ranking the board as the third most corrupt institution in the country. More >>

Maldives records 600,000 tourists per year. Sri Lanka, in a good year, has 50,000. True, Sri Lanka is coming out of a war that was bad for tourism. Even so, there is an abysmal disparity in these figures, considering that Sri Lanka has game reserves, archeological sites, and panoramic hill country views among other attractions including cultural attractions on offer. Maldives had beaches only. More >>

Some cities have meandering cows, other Sri Lankan fortified towns wild goats and giant monitor lizards roam in search of fresh water, but nothing competes with seeing hundreds of wild deer, which have turned Trincomalee beach town into their natural wildlife reserve. Whether it’s shopping at the market or sunbathing on one of the many pretty beaches in Trincomalee don’t be surprised to find a deer standing right behind you or even trying on the same beach wear. More >>

Authorities have tightened security around religious places across the country, a day after two suicide bombers struck a famous Muslim Sufi shrine in the eastern city of Lahore, killing 42 people and wounding over 180 others.
Pakistani police say an investigation into the deadly attack at Lahore’s Data Durbar shrine is under way and experts are using body parts of the two suspected suicide bombers they found from the scene to identify the attackers. More >>

An Iranian woman faces death by stoning after being convicted of adultery. Amnesty International yesterday called on the Iranian authorities to halt the imminent execution of mother-of-two Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and the hanging of another woman said to be a political activist. Ashtiani was convicted of having an ‘illicit relationship’ with two men in May 2006 and received 99 lashes as her sentence.Despite this, she has also been convicted of adultery and sentenced to death by stoning. More >>

“We know that we are on the right track. Nevertheless, it is always good to have an international agency like the IMF confirming independently that Sri Lanka’s economy is robust and in good shape,” Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said, commenting on IMF’s release of the two tranches under Sri Lanka Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) facility.
“Such pronouncements are useful particularly because there are still a few mischievous local elements whose only function seems to be to mislead everyone that Sri Lanka’s economy is not in good shape. More >>

The Sri Lankan government is invited for further dialogue by the United States on reviewing trade concessions granted under its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) that affects approximately 116 million US dollars of goods exported by the island, a senior official of the US embassy in Sri Lanka said.
This move comes in the aftermath of American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFLCIO) petitioning against the concessions in 2008, demanding a review of worker rights in Sri Lanka.
In the petition filed by AFLCIO, it states that “The Sri Lankan government still fails to adhere to the internationally recognized worker rights. More >>

In the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles away from the nearest population centre, lies Easter Island, a strange and mysterious place famous for what happened there many years before and what kind of evidence has been left behind.
The name
The island, called Rapa Nui in the local language, got its English-language name from Holland’s Captain Jacob Roggeveen, who landed there on Easter Sunday in 1722. More >>

Matara is located 160km from Colombo. Matara is the central spot in the southern province of Sri Lanka. From Matara one can visit places like Weligama and Mulgirigala Rock Temple.
Matara Fort
The Dutch fortified a Portuguese garrison around 1640, now known as the Matara Fort. The Fort consists of several structures of colonial times, oldest of which is the Dutch Church. The Matara Fort was built to support the main fort across the stream... More >>