SRI LANKA NEWS

Suresh Somasundarm

Minister Basil tells Japanese investor community ‘Reap benefits of fast growing Sri Lankan economy’
Hon. Basil Rajapaksa thanked Japan for the support given by the Japanese government and Japanese people continuously for the upliftment  of the countries economy and well being of its people. He said the Japan Sri Lanka business co – operation has done a very good service to promote economic cooperation committee between the two countries. ITOCHU Corporation has been in Sri Lanka for a long period of time. Some big companies left Sri Lanka during the crisis time. But ITOCHU Co-operation remained in Sri Lanka throughout the good and bad periods and he thanked the corporation for that. Minister said Japan helped Sri Lanka to build its economy by providing financial and technical assistance and Japan was the major aid provider from 1970s to present.

Acting on a tip off, police find over 6 tons of highly potent C4 explosives buried 6 meters deep in jungles near a bunker
They say 6,000kg (13,230lb) of explosives was discovered in a bunker used by the rebels in the north. The security forces regularly unearth weapons and ammunition from the north, where the last and bloodiest battles of the 26-year civil war were fought. Sri Lanka on Friday celebrates the third anniversary of end of the war. Police say that they discovered the haul after receiving a tip-off. The plastic-encased explosive, C4, were found near the town of Puthukudiyiruppu. One defence analyst said he was sceptical about the reported finding, asking how such a quantity could have remained undetected for so long. But another said he was sure it was genuine and believed the ammunition was found 6m (19.6ft) underground. Experts say the Tamil Tigers, whose leadership was wiped out in the final army offensive in 2009, favoured C4 over explosives like TNT because it was more powerful.

Saturday, May 19th, 2012
Peterite Awakening Nite 7.00PM

Ranaviru Commemoration Day - 03:00 PM

Sunday, May 20th, 2012
Ananda & Nalanda Family Day Out - 10:00 AM

Saturday, May 26th, 2012
Sydney Bens Gama Nite 7PM

Mai Mal cultural show - 06:30 PM

Sinuwara waruna (Book Launch) - 09:30 AM

Sunday, May 27th, 2012
Ceylon Society of Australia - 2nd GENERAL MEETING - 06:30 PM

Saturday, June 02nd, 2012
Doctors Ball 2012 07:00 PM

Saturday, June 09th, 2012
BSS Winter Dinner Dance 06:30 PM
Meditation with Bhante Sujato - 4PM

Monday, June 11th, 2012
Josephian Golf Day 11 June 2012 - 06:30 AM

Saturday, June 23rd, 2012Abhinandana 2012 - 06:30 PM

Saturday, June 30th, 2012
Blue Black & Blue Ball 2012 6.30PM

Saturday, July 07th, 2012
Sri Lanka Association NSW Winter Ball 2012 7.00PM

Saturday, July 14th, 2012
Sri Lankan Food Fair - 11:00 AM

Saturday, July 21st, 2012
Engineers Night 2012 06:30 PM

Saturday, July 28th, 2012
METH THARA - stage drama based on Buddhist concept of compassion

Saturday, August 04th, 2012
Maroon & Gold Gala Night 7.00PM

Saturday, August 18th, 2012
Lankarama Winter Food Fair 11AM

Saturday, August 25th, 2012
Dinner & Dance Affair With Fusive

Saturday, September 01st, 2012
Hatana Night 6.30PM

Royal College OBA - Family Night 6.30PM

Saturday, September 08th, 2012
Nalandians in Sydney - Dinner Dance 7PM

'COME SEPTEMBER' 7PM -

Saturday, September 15th, 2012
Sinhala School Concert 6.30PM

Saturday, September 29th, 2012
Sinuwara Prathibha 20126.30PM

Saturday, October 20th, 2012
TV Derana Anniversary Concert 7PM

Ozlanka only accept food catering notices from licensed caterers. Click here to read NSW Food & Catering related regulations

AUSTRALIAN AND WORLD NEWS

Victorian Court of Appeal finds that the Ex Dentist who claimed to be able to cure cancer with complementary medicine was misleading
Chief Justice Marilyn Warren and justices Geoffrey Nettle and Anthony Cavanough found the company's statements that treatments could cure, reverse, stop or slow the progress of cancer were misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive. It was also misleading or deceptive to represent that such treatments were evidence-based therapies, supported by published research findings or supported by generally accepted science, the court found. "It is fanciful to suppose that a one-time dentist with a sometime interest in alternative medicine is better able to diagnose a patient's cancer than a specialist oncologist," Justice Nettle said. Although he titles himself as Dr or Professor Campbell, the court heard he was found guilty by the Dental Practice Board of professional misconduct after providing grossly negligent dental treatment.

Australian Trade Unions propose a tax on the Super Rich based on the lines of the Buffett Rule in the USA
"The income tax system is absurdly inequitable when it comes to taxing the mega-rich," said ACTU assistant secretary Tim Lyons. "Because most of their income comes from investment, billionaires... pay a much lower proportional rate than the average Australian family." Mr Lyons said the ACTU policy would be similar to top-end tax changes debated recently in the United States requiring those earning more than US$1 million per year to pay at least 30 percent in taxes. The "Buffett Rule", which failed in the US Senate last month, was proposed by Obama's Democrats in a bid to improve tax code fairness as working-class Americans struggle with economic hardships. It was named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who has publicly spoken out against being taxed at a lower rate than his secretary due to tax loopholes imposed by former president George W. Bush.

BUSINESS, FINANCE and TECHNOLOGY

Want to win a free trip to E3 Expo? Apply immediately. Microsoft's looking for an 'Xbox Insider.'
The winner will be expected to provide reports from E3 in video, photo and text form. In addition to flights, accommodation, and behind-the-scenes access to the Expo, the prize also includes a Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone and a year's supply (720 cans) of V. Entrants must submit a written game review and a video of themselves. The initial round of judging will be performed by Microsoft, and then Xbox Live users will be invited to vote for their favourite among the shortlisted five. If you're interested, don't hang about - entries close at 11pm AEST on May 17 (this Thursday). You must be an Australian resident, over 18 with a valid passport that expires no earlier than December 31, 2012 plus a valid credit card, and be available to travel between June 4 and 9.

Migrant workers face hardships in Maldives with a detention centre on the island of Hulhumale where the airport is based
Most Maldivian authorities, including the police, have no definitive list of the numbers of migrant workers- only a list of cases filed against them. Overall, it is clear that while Sri Lankans living in the Maldives are better off, there are also some gaps- particularly in terms of statistics, and also in terms of inter- governmental cooperation. This is expected to change, with representatives from Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lankan Human Rights Commissions, several NGOs (including the Sri Lankan Centre For Human Rights Development) pledging to work together collaboratively and solve the issue. Hopefully once this is completed, there will be fewer people slipping through the cracks. It was an eye-opening insight into how important education and awareness was. Since Sri Lankans took jobs at the semi-professional level, much fewer of them were exploited compared to the Bangladeshis.

SPORTS

Dav Whatmore, Pakistan's head coach, has said that his team will be sternly tested during their tour of Sri Lanka which begins on June 1.
With temperatures in Lahore touching 40C, Whatmore said he hoped his players would find it easy to acclimatise themselves to similar conditions in Sri Lanka. "It's pretty warm out here as well but it will be easy for us to acclimatise (to Sri Lankan conditions)," Whatmore said. "We're lucky to do a bit of work in the heat in the morning and a little bit in the afternoon. "Some of the bowlers and batsmen have been working out in the heat to ensure we are prepared. I think we have to prepare properly for a series against a strong opposition." He also backed the inexperienced players selected for the tour. "There are one or two changes in the squad and that's a good thing as by keeping exactly the same squad we would be marching on the same spot, but we must move forward all the time." Whatmore, who has had two stints as Sri Lanka's coach in the past, said he was expecting batting-friendly pitches in Sri Lanka. "We are not expecting anything different. The limited-overs pitches [in Sri Lanka are good for batting."

Sanath launches “Kreedawata Arunella” to uplift sports in Matara
Addressing the gathering Jayasuriya said he had to undergo many difficulties during his sports career to emerge as a world renowned cricketer. He pointed out that his grit and determination was a good example for students who wished to come up in the field of sports. He said he hoped to extend this programme to cover all schools in the Matara district lacking in sports facilities. Sanath, a product of St. Servatius College, Matara and well known as Jayasuriya among the cricket fans overseas was an all-rounder, who had an illustrious international cricket career that spread over two decades.  He was also the Captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team from 1999 to 2003. He is the only player to score more than 13,000 runs and capture more than 300 wickets in One Day Internationals and is regarded as one of the best all rounders in the history of limited overs cricket.

RELIGION, COMMENTARY, ENTERTAINMENT, ART & HISTORY,

Internationally renowned democracy expert, Prof. John Keane, to join Sydney Writers' Festival panel discussion
The Occupy Wall Street protest started as a sit-in at Zucotti Park near the financial district of New York City on 17 September, 2011, and galvanised thousands of people across the globe, from London to Sydney's Martin Place. But many questions remain: what does this movement represent, what kind of changes does it want implemented and will it last? And how effective will it be in its mission to change the world? Professor Keane will be joined on the panel by the Italian writer and Occupy supporter, Loretta Napoleoni, who wrote Maonomics: Rogue Economics and 10 Years That Shook the World. Also on the panel will be American writer Chad Harbach, author of the novel The Art of Fielding, and one of hundreds of writers to join Occupy Writers, a group of 3277 writers who support the Occupy Movement. Professor Keane is also a participant in the University's What Matters community engagement campaign which brings together people from across the University's spectrum to talk about how their work has made a difference in the world. See Professor Keane's What Matters contribution now. 

Saving our Koalas - Roughly 600 koalas a year are seen at the hospital, and most present with other primary conditions.
The koalas themselves, cute cuddly creatures, with a sleepy demeanour, renowned as a representation of Australia have recently been in the news for being endangered and for a curious case of koala chlamydia. Koalas are in serious decline, suffering from many of the effects the veterinarians at the Australian Wildlife Hospital see on a daily basis — as well as habitat destruction, domestic dog attacks, bushfires and disease. The Australian Koala Foundation estimates that there are less than 80,000 koalas left in the wild, possibly as few as 43,000. Over the past few years researchers have been distilling and putting together a case to add another reason for koala decline to the list. Roughly 600 koalas per year are seen to at the hospital, and most present with other primary conditions. A number of koalas, however, have presented at the hospital with serious illness associated with regenerative anaemia and now trypanosome infections.

EVENTS, HEALTH, OPINION, COMMUNITY and TRAVEL

Sri Lanka cracks down on illegal workers after Indian's steel worker dies after being electrocuted at work
The modus operandi of bringing in a worker from India runs thus: get agents to recruit people from impoverished places, get a tourist visa for the worker, make him sign a contract in English – a language he doesn’t understand – and herd him into a vehicle once he reaches Colombo. How an impoverished worker gets past the radar of immigration with a tourist visa is a question that authorities in India will have to answer. The rest of the procedure seems to have been incredibly easy: convert the visa into an employment visa with help from the Sri Lankan authorities, house him in a camp next to the work place, and pay him a fraction of what was promised. The condition of housing, too, is pathetic, and doesn’t meet any standards under labour laws of either country.

Telling the story of nine of Australia's biggest and most bizarre criminal cases between 1913 and 1930.
One of Mr Piggott's most important cases detailed in the book involved a woman who, in 1916, had been found dead on her front veranda with a gunshot wound to the head. Mr Piggott took photographs, marked where the blood had sprayed, and testified before the coroner on how he believed the woman had likely been hit with two shots, based on the blood spatter trajectory. It was the first time in Australia where a police officer had tried to explain a suspicious death with such forensic science - now a standard procedure. "For that case alone, these scrapbooks are extraordinarily valuable," Mr Morgan said, pointing to how the only copies ever found of these photographs are in Mr Piggott's private collection. But the detective, known for wearing a white rose on his suit jacket, didn't always get it right. Mr Morgan said the book is therefore a cautionary tale on how police mistakes made decades ago can still occur.