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    <title>The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) News</title>
    <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk</link>
    <description>The Sunday Times is the largest selling independent English language weekly newspaper in Sri Lanka. It is widely respected for its fair, balanced and accurate reporting</description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <managingEditor>ramesh@sundaytimes.wnl.lk</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>ramesh@sundaytimes.wnl.lk</webMaster>
    <copyright>sundaytimes</copyright>
    <image>
      <title>The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) News</title>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk</link>
      <url>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/images/sundaylogo_new.jpg</url>
      <width>159</width>
      <height>80</height>
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<item>
      <title>IGP joins 100 cops to probe Matara attack.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 22, Aug 2010 01:45:08 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100822/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[In an unprecedented move, Police Chief Balasuriya himself was at the Matara Police Station briefing investigation teams and hearing feedbacks from those engaged in the probe. The 100 officers include detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Intelligence operatives and constables. The move followed government concerns that work at regional offices of the Department of Inland Revenue may slow down and create huge revenue losses.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>CEA stops work on Air Chief’s luxury residence.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 22, Aug 2010 01:45:08 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100822/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has ordered an immediate halt to construction work on an unauthorised luxury house being built by Air Force Commander Roshan Gunatillake in the Knuckles nature reserve. Estimated to be worth more than Rs 60 million, the eight-roomed granite-floored luxury residence has been built eight kilometres into the conservation area.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>2,800 liquor licences last year.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 22, Aug 2010 01:45:08 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100822/News/nws_04.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The highest number of 1,073 licences were issued for retail sales of foreign liquor, 579 to hotels, 508 to restaurants and another 380 as special licences, according to the Administrative report of the Commissioner General of Excise.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Be prepared to face extreme weather conditions.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 22, Aug 2010 01:45:08 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100822/News/nws_23.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, around 48 massive floods, around 85 tropical storms, typhoons, heavy rains and hurricanes and more than 30 wild fires have been reported so far this year. The affected areas and countries include Sri Lanka. Other countries on the list are Madagascar, Kazakhstan, North-South Dakota, Southern Queensland, Spain, the Madeira Islands, Peru, Tanzania, Brazil, Southern China, Azerbaijan, Kentucky, North-eastern United States, Pakistan, Mexico and China-North Korea border.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Harry J says SLIC selling stake, but official denies it.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 22, Aug 2010 01:45:08 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100822/News/nws_19.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Controversial businessmen Harry Jayawardena has claimed that state-owned Sri Lanka Insurance Corp (SLIC) is close to selling a stake to the public to repay Rs 6 billion owed to Distilleries Corp of Sri Lanka (DCSL) but a top SLIC source says, ‘There is no such decision.’]]></description>
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      <title>Executive Presidency to stay.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 15, Aug 2010 01:05:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100815/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Government is likely to continue with the existing Executive Presidential system instead of creating a new office of Executive Prime Minister. The change in thinking is the result of advice to President Mahinda Rajapaksa by Attorney General Mohan Peiris. He is of the opinion that a change from executive presidency to an executive prime minister would require a national referendum.]]></description>
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      <title>President ratifies stripping of Fonseka.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 15, Aug 2010 01:05:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100815/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, on Friday night signed a proclamation to cashier retired General Sarath Fonseka. The move means the withdrawal of the former Army Commander’s rank as General as well as his medals and decorations. He will also forfeit his pension and all Sri Lankan security installations will be out of bounds for him.]]></description>
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      <title>EU suspends GSP Plus; govt. won’t budge.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 15, Aug 2010 01:05:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100815/News/nws_03.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[As the GSP Plus tariff concessions by the European Union end today, the Government reiterated that its stance on the issue has not changed. External Affairs Ministry Secretary Romesh Jayasinghe told The Sunday Times that the 15 demands put forward by the EU could not be accepted by a sovereign nation even if it meant losing the tax concessions.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>With or without his 4 stars the people will support him.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 15, Aug 2010 01:05:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100815/News/nws_16.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[When former Army Commander General (retd.) Sarath Fonseka was informed by the military court on Friday that he had been found guilty of engaging in political work while in active service; his reaction was to reject the findings of the tribunal.]]></description>
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      <title>Lanka warns Canada: Tigers among refugees in ship.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 15, Aug 2010 01:05:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100815/News/nws_50.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lankan High Commissioner Chitranganie Wageswara has warned Canadian authorities against possible LTTE activists who may be hiding among the 490 people on board a refugee ship that is new docked in that country, a senior official said yesterday.]]></description>
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      <title>President’s UN visit in the balance.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 08, Aug 2010 03:16:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100808/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[President Mahinda Rajapaksa is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly on September 22 when more than 150 world leaders are expected to attend a summit meeting to take stock of the successes and failures of the UN's Millennium Development Goals.]]></description>
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      <title>Sakvithi scam: CID unveils more secrets.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 08, Aug 2010 03:16:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100808/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The alleged billion-rupee fraudster Chandana Weerakumara alias Sakvithi Ranasinghe, who is accused of cheating thousands of people of their life’s savings operated as a tuition master in Chilaw after slipping back into the country apparently some months ago, a detective said yesterday.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Snaring of Sakvithi.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 08, Aug 2010 03:16:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100808/News/nws_07.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[It was around 12.15 p.m. on Friday. Nawagamuwa Vigilance Committee chairman Ajith Welgama was driving his threewheeler to the Ambagaha junction threewheeler park when he saw a familiar-looking young woman in a red skirt walking towards a two-storey house nearby.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Muthurajawela waste under fire.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 08, Aug 2010 03:16:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100808/News/nws_08.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Smoke from factories in the Muthurajawela area is causing a serious pollution problem. Thick clouds of fog often descend on the residential areas. Residents complain of respiratory problems, and say they are forced to keep doors and windows shut tight to keep out the foul air.]]></description>
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      <title>IDPs call for concrete action.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 08, Aug 2010 03:16:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100808/News/nws_14.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Most of them are living in temporary homes, in makeshift camps or in government buildings in the Kilinochchchi district from where more than 162,000 people were displaced. Latest statistics compiled by the District Secretariat of Kilinochchi reveals that 94,644 have returned to their villages.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Crackdown on illegal religious radio stations.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 01, Aug 2010 01:45:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100801/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[TRC Chairman Anusha Pelpita told the Sunday Times that a campaign to track down illegal radio broadcasters was underway. However, he declined to comment on whether the measures were aimed at curbing the increasing number of clandestine religious broadcasts. He said the TRC had asked the police to conduct raids on clandestine radio stations and offered the TRC’s help.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Rs. 2,500 pay hike not in Mahinda Chintana: President.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 01, Aug 2010 01:45:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100801/News/nws_06.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[President Mahinda Rajapaksa has told trade union leaders that there was no promise of a salary hike of Rs. 2,500 for the public sector in the Mahinda Chintana policy and advised them not to expect the government to fulfil such a promise, a trade union leader said.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Academics will quit if salaries aren’t revised.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 01, Aug 2010 01:45:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100801/News/nws_29.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The university system is in a precarious position, and could well collapse, if the academic staff at the universities vacated their posts in protest at the government’s failure to give them a salary increase. Professor Sampath Ameratunge, president of the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA), told the Sunday Times that the academic community is dissatisfied with the current pay structure. The maximum salary for a senior academic is Rs. 59,755, and that of a probationary lecturer Rs. 20,750.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>More than 500 complaints of bribery and corruption waiting to be investigated.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 01, Aug 2010 01:45:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100801/News/nws_09.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A total of 530 complaints have been lodged with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption since the Commission’s term expired on March 29, according to the Commission’s director general, Lakshmi Jayawickrema. No fresh investigations, however, can be initiated until new appointments are made to the Commission.]]></description>
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      <title>Police brutality: Who will protect the people?.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 01, Aug 2010 01:45:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100801/News/nws_31.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The latest report of an incident of alleged police brutality relates to a charge of rape of a woman army deserter by officers of a police station in Buttala. This comes at a time when the Inter-University Students’ Federation has filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission regarding the recent death of a Ruhuna University student that they say was the result of a police assault.]]></description>
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      <title>Govt. withdraws bonus given to senior citizens.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 25, Jul 2010 14:32:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100725/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Hundreds of Sri Lanka’s senior citizens are in a quandary after they were encouraged by the Central Bank to place their monies in commercial banks with the promise of a 20 percent bonus on interest. Six months later, the Central Bank has now told the commercial banks that the bonus scheme is being suspended in view of the large sums of money involved.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Rajapaksa settles Palestine row.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 25, Jul 2010 14:32:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100725/News/nws_03.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[President Mahinda Rajapaksa has assured Palestine of Sri Lanka’s continued commitment to the Palestinian cause, following controversial remarks made by Sri Lanka’s new ambassador to Israel The assurance came in the wake of remarks attributed to Ambassador Donald Perera – former Air Force Commander and Chief of Defence Staff -- in an interview with Yediot Ahronoth, a leading Israeli newspaper. He was quoted as saying “Sri Lanka is a staunch supporter of Israel’s war against Palestinian terror.”]]></description>
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      <title>Ban adds muscle to UN panel.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 18, Jul 2010 13:02:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100718/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has raised his stakes with plans to set up an eight person secretariat, headed by a senior official at a director level (D-2), to facilitate the work of his advisory panel on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Weerawansa still a minister.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 18, Jul 2010 13:02:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100718/News/nws_04.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[National Freedom Front Leader Wimal Weerawansa, who tendered his resignation as Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities, will continue to remain as a cabinet minister and hold the same portfolio, a senior government spokesman said yesterday.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>President abandons bid for third term.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 11, Jul 2010 13:41:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100711/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[President Mahinda Rajapaksa will abandon moves to amend the Constitution to enable him to contest any number of times for this post. Instead, he has agreed ‘in principle’ to create the office of an Executive Prime Minister. The change in thinking was conveyed yesterday by President Rajapaksa to Opposition UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. The two held a one-on-one meeting last morning at the ‘Janadipathi Mandiraya’ (President’s House) to discuss the proposed constitutional amendments and other political issues.]]></description>
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      <title>Lanka dilutes draft to woo Non-Aligned countries.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 11, Jul 2010 13:41:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100711/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[After having failed in its last attempt to get the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to back Sri Lanka against Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the government is making a last ditch effort to convince the 118-member group to take sides in the growing political confrontation at the United Nations.]]></description>
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      <title>NAM considers move to challenge Ban.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 04, Jul 2010 13:48:02 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100704/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Non Aligned Movement (NAM) nations are preparing to challenge UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon over his appointment of a three-member panel to advise him on accountability issues during the final stages of the separatist war that led to the military defeat of Tiger guerrillas last year.]]></description>
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      <title>GSP Plus suspension will cost Lanka Rs. 570 billion a year.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 04, Jul 2010 13:48:02 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100704/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The European Union’s suspension of the GSP Plus preferential tariffs from August 15 this year will lead to a loss of US $ 500 million or Rs 570 billion a year, a top official in the apparel sector said yesterday. “This will mean a loss of 12 percent of the country’s apparel exports,” Joint Apparels Association Federation (JAAF) President A. Sukumaran told the Sunday Times yesterday.]]></description>
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      <title>EU gets tough; GSP Plus ends on Aug. 15.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 27, Jun 2010 13:34:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100627/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[“There will be no further extensions. Sri Lanka must meet its international obligations,” EU delegation chief Bernard Savage told the Sunday Times. He said the EU expected the Government to heed the 15 conditions placed before it.]]></description>
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      <title>Surrender would have saved thousands of lives: Solheim.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 27, Jun 2010 13:34:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100627/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Norway which has welcomed the appointment of a United Nations panel said yesterday it had failed to persuade both the Government and the Tiger guerrillas to stop the fighting last year after the two sides had rejected its overtures.]]></description>
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      <title>Sigiriya toilet plan flushed out.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 27, Jun 2010 13:34:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100627/News/nws_03.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Dr. Dissanayake said the decision was taken following protests from villagers in the area and activists. The protests came as construction went ahead in a discreet manner despite a previous assurance that it would be suspended. The toilets were to be constructed near the Sinhapaada (Lion’s Paws) after an ‘archaeological impact assessment’ was carried out, he said.]]></description>
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      <title>Lanka and UN Chief in open battle.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The move, a prelude to a possible UN investigation into alleged war crimes, both by troops and Tiger guerrillas, is to be announced in New York in the coming week. This is after Lyn Pascoe, UN Undersecretary General for Political Affairs, who was on a three-day visit to Sri Lanka, briefs the UN Secretary General tomorrow.]]></description>
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      <title>Govt. silent now, but Rambukwella hits out.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Government will give its response after an official statement is made on the UN Secretary General’s appointment of an experts panel to advise him on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, the External Affairs Ministry said yesterday – but a senior minister described the move as a plot with a hidden hand behind it.]]></description>
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      <title>IIFA row hits Batti in dramatic scene.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/News/nws_03.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[An unidentified group has called on theatre owners in Batticaloa to refrain from screening movies produced in Tamil Nadu in a move to hit back at Indian film stars who boycotted the recent IIFA awards ceremony in Colombo.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Price up for milk powder.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/News/nws_06.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A milk powder price hike, which was reportedly put on hold in view of the parliamentary elections in April, came into effect from midnight yesterday.]]></description>
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      <title>Trade boost as Lanka banks on Chinese investors.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/News/nws_10.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[BOI official Dilip S. Samarasinghe said deals announced through the board this year had made China the biggest investor in Sri Lanka. This year’s investments comprised $145 million from China and $40 million from Hong Kong.]]></description>
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      <title>Vehicle sales moving into top gear.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/News/nws_14.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sales of imported vehicles have gone up dramatically after the government’s overnight decision to slash the duty on vehicle imports. On June 1, the government cut duty on a number of imported items by 50 per cent. The idea is part of a plan to make Sri Lanka a shopping destination.]]></description>
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      <title>My role changed after war ended.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/News/nws_30.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Forty years ago, I had a dream. I was sitting the Senior School Certificate (SSC) examination from Gurukula Maha Vidyalaya, Kelaniya. My dream was to excel in the examination and become a doctor. It was an impossible dream because I used to get dreadful marks for physics — and only barely managed to pass chemistry. So, I never became a doctor.]]></description>    </item>
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      <title>Panchayat-style Jana Sabhas for village development.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Government will establish Jana Sabhas countrywide to function as grassroots level organisations to carry out development activity. These bodies, modelled on the lines of the Panchayat system in India, will replace the existing Pradeshiya Sabhas, the Sunday Times learns.]]></description>
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      <title>Pre-dawn tremor shakes Lanka.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/News/nws_02.5.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A tsunami warning was issued early this morning, and residents in coastal areas were alerted as several parts of Sri Lanka experienced a tremor around 1.00 am today following an earthquake near the Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean.]]></description>
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      <title>EU on collision course; backs war crimes probe.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[European Union members have called for an investigation on war crimes in Sri Lanka and expressed their support for the appointment of an expert panel to advise the United Nations Secretary General on the issue.]]></description>
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      <title>Major exams to be re-examined.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/News/nws_06.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Changes to the Ordinary Level, Advanced Level and Year Five scholarship examinations will be presented to Parliament within two weeks following widespread complaints that the current examination process is flawed or not suitable, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said.]]></description>
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      <title>Refuge seeking Sri Lankan Tamils to return.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/News/nws_07.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Fifteen Sri Lankan Tamils who had reached Bangkok in the hope of seeking refuge in the West have decided to return to Sri Lanka following the return of peace to the country. Some of them have already left for Colombo.]]></description>
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      <title>China reaffirms commitment to Sri Lanka’s development.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/News/nws_15.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang, who is on a visit to the country, met President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday. During their meeting, the Chinese dignitary said China would be honoured to be associated with the country’s major economic, infrastructural and socio-cultural development projects.]]></description>
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      <title>Indo Lanka relations – a game of Chinese checkers?</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/News/nws_19.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[There seems to be concern of late regarding the direction in which Indo-Sri Lanka relations are drifting. First there was the badly mismanaged Indian Film Awards ceremony (IIFA), which was organised ostensibly to boost tourism and foster closer relationsbetween the two countries.]]></description>
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      <title>Defence gets lion’s share in Appropriation Bill.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/News/nws_21.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A mammoth Rs. 202.2* billion will be allocated for the Ministry of Defence this year, according to the Appropriation Bill for 2010. Compared to last year’s allocation of Rs. 176.1 billion, this year’s will see an increase of Rs. 26.1 billion for the ministry. As has been the case over the last few years, this year too the Ministry of Defence is set to get a major portion of the Government’s budget allocations.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Jailbreaks jeopardise society.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/News/nws_24.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[According to the Department of Prisons, between 1999 and 2009 a total of 2,453 suspects and convicts escaped from the custody of Sri Lanka prisons, and of this number, 1,563 were re-arrested. In 2004, as many as 541 persons escaped from prison. The majority – 447 – are still evading arrest. Most prison escapees go back to a life of crime.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Nobody’s pool now breeding ground for mosquitoes.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/News/nws_25.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The project was started in 2008 by MP Namal Rajapaksa and the authorities promised to complete it within a year, but the project now appears to have gone into the doldrums, Mr. Ongaranpillai said.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>No show by President at IIFA.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday kept away from the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards’ gala night at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium along with almost all of Sri Lanka’s cinema personalities.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>President in high stakes visit to India.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[President Mahinda Rajapaksa is scheduled to go to India on Tuesday on a three-day state visit amidst warnings from both Government and Opposition leaders yesterday that he should not sign the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Chinese Vice PM here with big loans.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/News/nws_03.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A top level 30-member Chinese delegation headed by Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang is scheduled to arrive here on Thursday for a three-day official visit. Officials said the Chinese Vice Premier and the delegation would inspect the progress of Chinese-aided projects and meet government leaders.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Sunday, Poya tuition ban from July 1.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/News/nws_06.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[North Central Province Chief Minister Berty Premalal Dissanayake, spokesman for the convention, said they hoped the ban on tuition would encourage children to attend daham pasal and Sunday religious schools and take part in religious activities on these days.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Economist withheld: Customs keep mum.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/News/nws_20.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Two recent issues of the widely ready international magazine The Economist (UK) have been detained by the Customs authorities. No reasons have been given, according to a leading books and magazines distributor and dealer.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>India ups stakes; wants greater presence here.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[India has sought clearance from Sri Lanka to open two Deputy High Commission offices, one in Jaffna and another in Hambantota, in a sudden decision to upgrade its previous request for only the opening of a consulate in Jaffna.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Higher value, but MPs have to pay some duty.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/News/nws_03.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Health officials warned yesterday of an outbreak of infectious and water-borne diseases in the coming days as water levels started receding in the Gampaha, Colombo and Kalutara districts. The warning came as the death toll in floods was placed at 20 while the number of people affected was around 600,000.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Toilets, tin-roofs trigger archaeological row.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/News/nws_04.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[What has been protected for centuries and needs to be protected for centuries to come in the glorious field of archaeology has led to a debate, protests and conflicts of interest over the use or misuse of modern facilities to achieve this noble objective.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Mystery ants in Matara.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/News/nws_06.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The large reddish or brown ants have stung several people causing pain and swelling. Matara General Hospital Director Dr. Savindi Samarakoon said a number of victims had been given tetanus injections and pain killers after being stung by these ants. Some victims are also reported to be taking ayurvedic treatment.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Be prepared for worse disasters.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/News/nws_23.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka’s chief meteorologist is advising authorities to be prepared to face more natural disasters which are worse than the recent floods. Meteorology Department Director General G. B. Samarasinghe in an interview with the Sunday Times says tropical countries are becoming more and more vulnerable to weather-related natural disasters because of the climate change.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Reconciliation Com. sittings in camera.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The new commission appointed to investigate events related to one of the most widely reported South Asian insurgencies will hold its proceedings in camera in the coming months, its chairman and former Attorney General C. R. de Silva said yesterday.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>As flood waters recede, threat of diseases looms.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Health officials warned yesterday of an outbreak of infectious and water-borne diseases in the coming days as water levels started receding in the Gampaha, Colombo and Kalutara districts. The warning came as the death toll in floods was placed at 20 while the number of people affected was around 600,000.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Lanka invites EU for mega development projects.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/News/nws_03.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka, which is urging the European Union not to ban preferential tariffs for exports after August this year, has also invited it to be partners in an ambitious three year development plan costing three billion US dollars.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Wrong methods used to control toxic fumes.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/News/nws_11.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Government Analyst Department revealed the Colombo City fire fighters who were rushed to contain the fire in a chemical-laden container at the Colombo harbour on Tuesday night aggravated the situation by using the wrong method to control the toxic fumes.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Deluge in the city: Urban wetlands not doing their bit.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/News/nws_13.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Rains wreaked havoc in Colombo in the past few weeks, especially last week, flooding homes and roads, with water-levels knee-high or even chest-high. Not only torrential rains but even a small shower leaves some parts of Colombo and other urban areas under water. What has gone wrong?]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>One year after: Fonseka jailed but not jolted.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/News/nws_16.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[He spends much of his days, after his dramatic arrest on February 8 this year, in near solitary confinement, facing two courts martial inquiries for alleged malpractice while in the army and conspiring against the government. He also faces cases in civil courts. Since being elected a Member of Parliament (MP) from the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) in the April 8 general elections, respite from his restricted lifestyle comes in the form of attending parliamentary sittings.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>After the floods: Deluge of promises for long-term solutions.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/News/nws_18.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The torrential rains that flooded many areas in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara with water levels rising above six feet, have hopefully reminded officials of the urgent need for long-term solutions that go beyond temporary measures such as distributing relief to those affected.]]></description>
    </item>		
	<item>
      <title>President to sit in Parliament.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[This will be one of a string of amendments from the first phase of the UPFA Government's constitutional reforms. Others include the deletion of a provision that restricts the term of a President to two terms. There will be no more restrictions.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Tiger carcass in Caracas.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/News/nws_05.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Urban Development Authority (UDA), which is now under the Defence Ministry, yesterday, with assistance of Police and the Army, demolished what it called unauthorised constr uctions down Mews Street in Kompa nnaveediya.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>TUDA files missing: CID called.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/News/nws_04.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Files relating to approvals granted by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) for the construction of high-rise buildings have gone missing. Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detectives probing how officials violated rules and regulations made the discovery.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Speeding drivers, watch out!.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/News/nws_17.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The number of road traffic accidents – an alarming proportion of which result in fatalities, grievous injury and permanent maiming – has stayed at an unacceptably high level over the past few years, with a 10 per cent increase in the incidence of accidents observed since 2006.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Drugs crisis: Symptoms dealt with but permanent cure delayed.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/News/nws_20.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Health Ministry is to launch a probe to find out the causes that led to a severe drug shortage in public hospitals even as 40,000 bottles of saline were airlifted from India and orders were placed to bring down drugs to the tune of Rs. 450 million as an emergency measure.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Constitutional changes soon.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[President Mahinda Rajapaksa has initiated the process of formulating draft constitutional amendments to cover several aspects. Main among them, the Sunday Times learns, is the creation of a second chamber or a Senate. Details of how this body will be constituted are still not immediately clear.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Outrage in Mews St. as UDA demolishes houses.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/News/nws_04.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Urban Development Authority (UDA), which is now under the Defence Ministry, yesterday, with assistance of Police and the Army, demolished what it called unauthorised constr uctions down Mews Street in Kompa nnaveediya.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>SMS panic: Hunt on for miscreants.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/News/nws_03.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Telecom mun ications Regulatory Commission was yesterday trying to track down the miscreants who caused panic among thousands of people by warning them through SMS that taking certain mobile phone calls or text messages might cause brain damage.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Essential drugs shortage puts patients and hospitals in a spot.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/News/nws_07.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Hospitals around the country are facing a serious shortage of drugs, many of them essential drugs, and this is causing deep concern among patients and health workers. Many attribute the shortages to last year’s budgetary cuts in allocations to the Ministry of Health.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Sea mining in Jaffna without permits.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/News/nws_18.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Sri Lanka Air Force, with the state’s authorisation, are carrying out mining and quarrying operations at a site within the High Security Zone (HSZ) in Keerimalai, in Jaffna.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Ministries and subjects: Who’s responsible for what?.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/News/nws_20.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Significant changes have taken place with the creation of the new Cabinet, with Ministries assuming new functions and ministry subjects coming under different ministries. The following is a list of the main government institutions and departments and the ministries they come under.]]></description>
    </item>	
	<item>
      <title>Bribery, corruption complaints pile up.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[More than 500 complaints of bribery and corruption have piled up by last Thursday since the term of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption ended in March -- and the commission still remains deactivated.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>May Day shock: Death a day for Lankan workers.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/News/nws_04.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka joined the world in celebrating May Day or International Workers Day yesterday amidst a shocking revelation that a Lankan expatriate worker is killed or dies every day in West Asia and elsewhere.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Stage set for Bollywood blitz despite siege on Bachchan.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/News/nws_03.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Protests against Indian film icon Amitabh Bachchan's recent visit to Sri Lanka have not deterred either Indian or Sri Lankan organisers from preparing for this year's International Indian Film Academy (IFFA) awards ceremony in Colombo next month.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>General fights new battle for land.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/News/nws_06.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The land gifted by the government to General (retd.) Sarath Fonseka a year ago in recognition of his contribution to safeguarding the territorial integrity of the country is the centre of a new controversy with the wife of the ex-Army chief alleging that police are putting up a hut and preventing her from visiting the site.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Total revision of education system.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/News/nws_07.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[One of the first steps would be a proposal from Minister Gunawardene for the appointment of a parliamentary select committee to formulate a National Education Policy. The committee will comprise representatives from the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and all opposition parties. Contributions from educationists, academics, trade unions, former students and parents would be considered in formulating the policy.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Fonseka claims he has deeds.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/News/nws_11.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Retired General Fonseka, now a parliamentarian from the Colombo District, told the Sunday Times in a telephone interview that the land at Kirimandala Mawatha in Colombo's Narahenpita area lawfully belonged to him and he had a copy of the deed that was given to him when he was gifted the land.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Birds force Airbus to delay landing.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/News/nws_18.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Passengers on a recent flight from Bangalore that was about to touch down at Bandaranaike International Airport were suddenly told that there would be a slight delay – on account of birds. The reverberations that accompany the lowering of the wheels on the aircraft underbelly were already being felt by the passengers when they heard the announcement.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>‘Human sharks’ dive deep for profits from sunken ships.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/News/nws_19.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[In the wake of a recent expose in the Sunday Times about unscrupulous businessmen, making use of loopholes in the law, making millions out of parts from sunken ships, details are emerging that a private company is delving deep into the eastern seas and allegedly making huge profits from the sale of items and scraps recovered from sunken ships.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>‘SAARC- a symbolic forum with little regional relevance.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/News/nws_23.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Dominated by media attention on bilateral politics between India and Pakistan which “technically” was a sideline issue, the 16th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) concluded in Thimphu last week, managing somehow to emerge with only one potentially important policy focus for the region – a document on environment.]]></description>
    </item>	
	<item>
      <title>Stop probe: Lanka tells UN chief again.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka has made another bid to persuade United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to re-consider his decision to appoint a panel to advise him on accountability issues during the final phase of the military offensive against Tiger guerrillas.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Talks end Kelaniya liquor ban.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/News/nws_04.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The ban on liquor sales in the Kelaniya electorate was lifted on Friday, following a meeting with the owners and the newly appointed Deputy Media Minister Meryvn Silva, who is the MP for the area.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Fs fill OL results sheets.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The future is bleak for nearly 130,000 students who sat the 2009 Ordinary Level examination through school as they are forced to go home with a disastrous "certificate", an analysis shows.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>TMVP run councils under scrutiny.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/News/nws_05.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Local Councils headed by eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan’s Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) are being probed for alleged financial irregularities, misuse of state vehicles and illegal appointments following a fallout with the government.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Cabinet: Colombo gets lion’s share.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/News/nws_10.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Eight of the ten members of the UPFA elected to Parliament from the Colombo district were among those appointed to the new Cabinet of Ministers named by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Lightning strikes Mihinthale stupa.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/News/nws_12.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A section of the Mihinthale Stupa was damaged by a powerful lightning strike on Friday evening with a large portion of the base rings of the stupa cracking and collapsing, Chief Incumbent of Mihinthale Raja Maha Vihara Ven. Walahangunawewe Dhammarathana Thera said.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Police probing series of crimes in Jaffna.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/News/nws_13.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A series of kidnappings, murder and rape in Jaffna have sparked fears among residents that an organized group could be behind these incidents.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>DPF declares war on UNP.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/News/nws_16.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Central Committee of the Democratic People’s Front (DPF) led by ex-parliamentarian Mano Ganeshan last night severed its links with the United National Party and decided to act independently in parliament.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Cash-strapped visitors wait for.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/News/nws_17.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Negombo hotels are filling fast with stranded tourists waiting for the first Europe-bound flight out of Katunayake, but most of them have exhausted their holiday budgets and have no money to pay for hotel rooms and meals. Hotels are being forced to accommodate them at discount rates and under special offers.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>OL exam needs to be re-examined.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/News/nws_19.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[An item analysis carried out by the Department of Examinations indicates 15% could not get a simple subtraction right in the first question of the mathematics paper at the GCE O/L examination last year. Even the number of students who got nine straight As has dropped to 2,038 (0.75%) in 2009 when compared to 2008 which had 2,075, explained Commissioner-General Edirisinghe.]]></description>
    </item>	
	<item>
      <title>Fonseka faces fresh crisis.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The approval of the Ministry of Defence will be required to enable retired General Sarath Fonseka to take his oaths in Parliament as an MP, the military spokesman said yesterday.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Front row for General.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka will be among those who will be allocated front row seats on the opposition benches when Parliament meets on April 22 for its inaugural session.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Mervyn orders liquor ban in Kelaniya.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/News/nws_03.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Liquor shops and restaurants selling liquor in the Kelaniya electorate were closed down indefinitely yesterday on an unofficial order by area strongman Mervyn Silva, who was elected to parliament with more than 150,000 preference votes at the April 8 general elections.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Private insurers shut out from covering Govt. bodies.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/News/nws_10.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka’s insurance industry is up in arms over a recent Treasury circular directing all State institutions, corporations and companies to secure insurance cover only through the State insurance companies – Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) and National Insurance Trust Fund (NITF). Earlier the State sector sought insurance with all insurance companies.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Dutch priest fired over Lankan child abuse.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/News/nws_15.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A Catholic priest in the Netherlands has come under investigation over allegations of child abuse and embezzlement in Sri Lanka, Church officials and the police said Friday.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Tight security to reassure voters in Nawalapitiya.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/News/nws_19.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Nawalapitiya is under tight security as residents get ready to go to the polls – once again – on Tuesday. More than 1,000 security personnel have been brought in to help the local police maintain law and order in the area, where violence broke out during the recent general election.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Poised for Parliament.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/News/nws_21.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[More than 45 Provincial Council seats fall vacant next week when Provincial Councillors leave their respective PCs to enter Parliament. The majority of the PC members are from the Western and Southern Provinces, while the others are from the Sabaragamuwa, Uva, Eastern, North-Western and North Central provinces.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Manape robbery.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/News/nws_22.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The manner in which preference votes to elect candidates to Parliament are counted has given rise to allegations that all is not transparent when it comes to counting manapes. The process is susceptible to corruption and manipulation, say candidates who were present at counting centres.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Let me mediate to solve the Fonseka crisis -- An Open Letter to president Mahinda Rajapaksa From the brother of GEN. (Retd) Sarath FONSEKA.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/News/nws_28.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[TI have always followed the news about Sri Lanka, particularly the news about the war because of my brother’s involvement as an Army officer. It was with great pleasure and pride that I watched his bright military career, towards which I too have contributed by helping him as his brother whenever he needed me. In fact I was one of the two guarantors to his bond when he joined the Army as an officer cadet, which thereby paved the way for him to commence his illustrious career.]]></description>
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      <title>No Cabinet till April 21.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:41:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[President Mahinda Rajapaksa will swear in a new Cabinet of Ministers on April 21, a day ahead of the first session of new Parliament.]]></description>
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      <title>Manape jilmaat: Ministers in recounts at counting centre.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:41:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Police squads were deployed to ensure that peace was maintained as final preference votes were being counted. The tussle was among ex-ministers Rohitha Bogollagama, Susil Premjayantha, A.H.M. Fowzie, Gamini Lokuge after they found that their names were at the low end of the preference vote list.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Nine ministers lose seats.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:41:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/News/nws_03.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Fifty seven members of the last parliament - including some senior ministers and top opposition MPs -- lost their seats in Thursday's general elections.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>The General will speak out in parliament: Anoma.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:41:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/News/nws_08.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka who is now in military detention will be able to speak in public since he is now covered by parliamentary privilege after winning at Thursday's General elections, his wife said.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Low turnout shows that people have lost faith in the system – Ranil.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:41:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/News/nws_13.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[At least 10 million out of 14 million voters turned up to cast their vote at previous elections, said Mr. Wickremesinghe, addressing a press conference yesterday. “This time the voter turnout was 56.9 per cent. At previous elections we saw a voter turnout of 75.9 per cent, and even in 1989, we saw a turnout of 69 percent.”]]></description>
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      <title>Just 10 women in Parliament – a disappointing showing.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:41:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/News/nws_17.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Ten women have been elected to the seventh Parliament, a disappointing showing considering that there were 12 women members in the previous Parliament.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Polls violence on the rise; tighter security.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/News/nws_01.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Police yesterday moved to strengthen security in seven districts where intra-party violence is on the rise. The districts are Anuradhapura, Matara, Badulla, Nuwara Eliya, Gampaha, Kandy and Puttalam.]]></description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Opposition candidate Fonseka before 2 GCMs on Tuesday.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
     <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/News/nws_02.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Retired General Sarath Fonseka was yesterday summoned to appear before a second General Court Martial (GCM) on Tuesday to face charges of fraudulent activity, 48 hours before he stands as an opposition candidate at parliamentary general elections.]]></description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Sudden reminder to declare assets has journalists wondering.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/News/nws_07.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The letter, dated March 23 and signed by W. B. Ganegala, Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media and Information, said the information was required under the provisions of the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities (Amendment) Act No. 74 of 1988. The deadline given was April 30.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>I have no problem working with the TNA, DNA or even the UPFA -- Interview with Ranil Wickramasinghe.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/News/nws_13.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[It was different then as the economy had taken a bad turn and people were suffering from power cuts. The harbour and airport had been affected. We had to put the economy in order and look into the benefits for the people. Now, the people cannot survive any more.]]></description>
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      <title>Diplomat refuses to change his tune over piano allegation.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
       <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/News/nws_15.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Sri Lankan diplomat who returned from Japan allegedly with his landlord’s piano, among other items, has ignored for the third time a Foreign Ministry order to face an investigation. Tilak Attanayake, the ex-Minister Consular for the Sri Lanka Embassy in Tokyo, was ordered by the Foreign Ministry’s Overseas Administration Division to forward a written explanation of his conduct in Japan.]]></description>
    </item>
	 <item>
      <title>Can the trophy save the General?</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
       <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/News/nws_18.html</link>
      <category>News</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The arrest of Gen. Sarath Fonseka soon after the Presidential Elections saw a level of activity unprecedented in recent Sri Lankan history. The Government cleverly chose a date when Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was out of the island to arrest Sarath Fonseka who was in the middle of a discussion with the other Party leaders - a veiled warning to them as well. Ranil Wickremesinghe rushed back and all opposition parties carried out a campaign against the arrest or abduction as they termed it.]]></description>
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