June 8 (GDI) The Police Special Task Force, during a search and clear operation conducted during the last few days, were able to capture two LTTE camps with medical centres, existing in the extreme north of the Kanjikudichcharu jungles in Ampara � in the eastern part of the island. The elite forces recovered two medical treatment centres of LTTE with a stock of medicine, including more..

June 8 (GDI) A new policy concerning Grade one School Admissions is to be introduced along with a new structure for school categories. The National Education Commission is presently amending the draft of the policy. According to the Ministry of Education, the policy will be presented for Cabinet approval and it will be submitted to President Mahinda Rajapaksa once the Supreme Court passes its ruling upon its content. more..

June 8 (GDI) In Sri Lanka�s most decisive stage of �Combating Terrorism�, President Mahinda Rajapaka paid the nation�s highest tribute to the foremost donors of its mechanism- �War Heroes� yesterday (07). A vibrant ceremony dedicated to commemorate and salute these heroes was organized by the �Ranaviru Seva Authority� at Mailapitiya- Kandy more..

June 8 (GDI) With the vision of preparing the Sri Lankan student community for a highly competitive globalize market the Old Nalandians have organized an Education Mega Exhibition which inaugurated at BMICH today (08). The exhibition will provide a platform for Sri Lankan students to explore their full potential in future education and utilize the latest incoming technologies in all fields in building up their carrier. more..

June 8 (Reuters) President Mahinda Rajapaksa lights an oil lamp as he pays his respect to fallen soldiers during a commemoration ceremony for soldiers killed in the civil war with Tamil Tigers, at the Mailapitiya national war memorial in Kandy June 7, 2007. more..

June 8 (LNP) Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, yesterday, compared the plight of the Tamils under the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration, to that of the Jews in Germany during World War 2 and of Black Africans, during the apartheid era in South Africa. Speaking in Parliament on the government led eviction of Tamils in Colombo, Mr. Wickremesinghe said that Jews and Black Africans had faced similar persecution in the past, at the hands of Germans and Whites respectively. more..

June 8 (LNP) The Buddha was a source of boundless compassion, but there were evil humans bent on destroying him. Angulimala did his utmost to harm him and cut a finger but in vain. Devadatta, consumed with hatred and jealousy, went all out to destroy the Enlightened One, only to give up in the end. Chinchimanavika heaped abuse on the Compassionate One and left no stone unturned in her efforts to vilify him but only to have her evil intentions exposed. more..

June 8 (SAMN) The JVP Thursday slammed the government for promoting division and mistrust between Tamils and Sinhalese through its �high handed� and �foolish� actions of evicting Tamils from lodges in Colombo. JVP MP, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, speaking in Parliament on the issue, said power hungry leaders had committed such injustices against Tamils in the past, such as the �83 riots, leading to the current crisis. more..

June 8 (SAMN) The 'Nandimithra' Brigade, comprising Home guards, who were earlier confined to providing security to villages, has taken a giant leap forward by deciding to assist the Wild Life Department in conserving forests from illicit felling of trees and poaching. The first batch consisting of 156 has been deployed in their new role. The members of the Nandimithra Brigade undergo training at the Civil Security Training Headquarters at Galkiriyagama. more..

June 8 (SAMN) The government said Thursday it was time for the public to have a �serious debate� on the Electoral Reforms. �It is time for people to have discussions on the matter and it is the responsibility of the media to highlight those views regarding the issue,� Cabinet Spokesman Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa told the media. He said that any kind of reforms should be beneficial to the public. more..

June 8 (SAMN) The Ministry of Tourism together with the Sri Lanka Tourist Board is to embark on a short-term plan to make Sri Lanka a draw for both foreign and local tourists. The plan is to be implemented with immediate effect. Additional Secretary of the Ministry K.A.D. George Michael said that four proposals have been discussed at length to improve the tourism industry. more..

June 8 (DN) Discussions held between Cultural Affairs Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and Chinese Cultural Affairs Minister Sun Jiazheng recently during Minister Abeywardena�s visit to China were very fruitful and strengthens the cordial relationship between the two countries, Cultural Affairs Ministry sources said. more..

June 8 (DN) The annual celebration of the �Nena Guna Weduma� programme initiated by the Presidential Social Development Unit would take place at 3.00 p.m. today at the Maharagama Youth Service Council auditorium. �Nena Guna Weduma�-a vision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa with the intention to uplift education-social status in the conflicted affected areas, saw its inception in the aftermath of the Kebithigollewa bus bomb blast, where more..

June 8 (DM) The SLMC -- a coalition partner of the government -- condemned the eviction of �overstaying Tamils� in Colombo yesterday, describing it as a situation far worse than the 1983 riots. Speaking in Parliament during the debate on the crisis, SLMC Leader and Minister Rauff Hakeem said that what made the situation worse than 1983 was the fact that, this time, it was the State which was responsible for the act, while unruly mobs had initiated the 1983 riots. more..

June 8 (DM) A young Tamil woman who was looking forward to getting married to her childhood sweetheart next Wednesday in Colombo, was among those evicted to the North yesterday. Twenty-three-year old Dharshani Selvam had already booked the reception hall and was living with her aged mother Saraswathie awaiting the bridegroom�s arrival in Colombo on Sunday. The bridegroom was to return to the country from London where he works. more..

June 8 (AT) Braving a scorching sun, more than 300 people took part in a mass picket at the Lipton Circus, Colombo today against the forceful Tamil evictions of June 7. The noon rally consisted mostly of political and civil society activists and the general public appeared to stay away out of fear. The rally saw Lankan politicians such as Wickremebahu Karunarathne, Mano Ganeshan MP and Mavai Senadhiraja MP and activists such as Kumar Rupesinghe, Sunanda Deshapriya, Sunila Abeysekera and Ms. Nimalka Fernando engaging in protest. more..

June 8 (RW) IOM and the Saudi Charity Campaign (SCC) have signed a US$10 million joint cooperation agreement to build a model housing development in Akkaraipattu in Ampara district on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. The project, funded by the SCC, will consist of 500 housing units and necessary infrastructure including water, electricity, sanitation and access roads, along with other facilities such as a school, a hospital, a market, a bus stand, a multi-purpose hall and a mini stadium. more..

June 8 (AP) Sri Lankan ethnic Tamils look on at their temporary boarding at a hostel in Colombo, Friday. Sri Lanka's highest court ordered police on Friday to stop expelling Tamils from the capital, a lawyer said, after a rights group warned the recent removal of hundreds of Tamils could further fuel a 24-year separatist ethnic conflict. more..

June 8 (IANS) Any government in any country can err. But some errors can turn out to be political blunders. Sri Lanka's startling move to throw out Tamils from numerous lodges in the capital Colombo falls in that category. For too long it has been claimed by Sri Lanka's ruling elite that there cannot be a concept of 'Tamil homeland' because more Tamils now live outside of the war zone that is the northeastern province, which was once overwhelmingly Tamil. more..

June 8 (HT) The New Delhi-based Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) has urged India to shed its "do-nothing" policy on Sri Lanka, and adopt a proactive one under which the LTTE is denied bases in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka is given economic support, in exchange for devolution of power to the Sri Lankan Tamil moderates. more..

June 8 (Reuters) Sri Lankan police defused a big roadside bomb in Colombo on Friday as local and international rights groups slammed the government for rounding up minority ethnic Tamils and deporting them to the war-ravaged north. The military said a 7-kg Claymore mine was found planted by a main road near a police barracks in a residential quarter of the capital, a day after police swept boarding houses in Colombo and evicted 376 Tamils citing security concerns. more..

June 8 (BN) Sri Lanka's government is seeking private investment for about $10 billion of power projects in the next 10 years to meet rising electricity demand in the South Asian island. Sri Lanka needs to increase generation capacity to meet demand that's forecast to grow to 4,250 megawatts from 1,900 megawatts by 2017, said Tissa Herath, additional secretary at the Ministry of Power & Energy. more..

June 8 (AFP) Sri Lanka's Supreme Court on Friday ordered a halt to the eviction of minority ethnic Tamils from the capital, as rights activists attacked the use of "collective punishment" to fight Tamil rebels. The Supreme Court intervention followed a complaint by a political lobby group that Thursday's police swoop, in which hundreds of Tamils were dragged out of hostels and bused out of Colombo, was a violation of basic rights. more..

June 8 (AP) Sri Lanka's highest court ordered police on Friday to stop expelling Tamils from the capital, a lawyer said, after a rights group warned the recent removal of hundreds of Tamils could further fuel a 24-year separatist ethnic conflict. The Defense Ministry said 376 people were rounded up in Colombo and sent to Sri Lanka's north and east as a security precaution amid the rising violence that has claimed more than 5,000 lives in 19 months. more..

June 8 (HT) A three-man bench of the Sri Lankan Supreme Court on Friday stayed the expulsion of Tamils belonging to the Northern and Eastern provinces from Colombo, and the bar on their entry into the capital city. Admitting a Fundamental Rights petition filed by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Justices NE.Dissayanake, NG.Amaratunga and Andrew Somawansa, passed an interim order directing the government not to take any steps to evacuate Tamils from Colombo or more..

June 9 (Reuters) The International Cricket Council (ICC) should go slowly in promoting the Twenty20 version of the sport because it threatens to "thrash" bowlers, Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene said on Friday. Twenty20, which reduces cricket matches to 20 overs from the standard 50-over format, demanding more aggressive batting, will be showcased at the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in September. more..

June 9 (LBO) Sri Lanka's garments industry has increased sourcing of fabric from the region and making accessories at home under its backward integration plan to strengthen its base, an industry official said. More fabric mills are also being set up in the island and existing ones expanded to support the apparel exporters and shorten lead times, A. Sukumaran, chief executive of Star Garments Group said. more..

June 9 (LBO) A top World Bank official Thursday warned of the dangers of governments accepting unsolicited proposals in public-private partnership projects, saying it could lead to controversy and corruption allegations. Governments accepting unsolicited proposals in public-private partnership (PPP) projects should introduce some form of competitive bidding, World Bank Country Director Naoko Ishii said. more..

June 9 (LBO) Dialog Telekom signed up with Board of Investment to invest 33 billion rupees (300 million dollars) to expand existing services and set up broadband fibre optic and microwave transmission networks across the island. The investment to be made over the next two years includes expanding Dialog's digital satellite TV services and deployment of terrestrial digital video broadcasting infrastructure. more..

June 9 (Reuters) The India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh cricket boards will discuss the possibility of reducing the duration of the 2011 World Cup. Officials from the four South Asian test playing nations, who will co-host the next World Cup, will meet in Pakistan on June 18, a senior Pakistan Cricket Board official said. more..

June 9 (LeN) Head of the UNP media unit parliamentarian Lakshman Kiriella says the decision taken by the government to forcibly evacuate Tamil lodges from Colombo is a disgrace to the country, culture, race and the religion. He said the UNP requests India to provide them at least temporary shelter if the government does not permit them to be in Colombo. more..

June 9 (BBC) Rights activists have accused of President Mahinda Rajapaksa of working on an agenda to divide Sri Lanka between ethnic lines. Protesting the eviction of hundreds of Tamils from the lodges in Colombo, they said Sri Lankan citizens should have the right to live where they like irrespective of their ethnicity. Siritunga Jayasuriya, chairman of Civil Monitoring Committee (CMC), told BBC Sandeshaya that Sri Lanka authorities are trying to alienate Tamils community in Sri Lanka. more..

June 9 (LeN) The attorneys of Chairman of Standard News papers limited Tiran Alles has issued letters off demand to the Chairman of the Lake house stating that, an article published in the Dinamina newspaper on the 7th of June 2007 under the headline "Tiran Alles has assisted the Tigers to buy Vehicles", an article published in the Daily News on the same day under the heading "CID probing massive fund transfer of funds, vehicles to LTTE" more..

June 9 (Reuters) Sri Lankan shares ended a slightly firmer on Friday, but fresh fighting between the military and the Tamil Tiger rebels sapped investor confidence and trading volume, traders said The Colombo All Share index closed 0.23 percent firmer at 2,555.51 points, a rise of 5.77 points. The index has fallen nearly 15 percent since March amid escalating renewed civil war and high interest rates, which have encouraged some investors to turn to fixed deposits and bonds. more..

June 9 (AFP) Sri Lankan activist Nimalka Fernando leads a demonstration in Colombo. Sri Lanka's Supreme Court ordered a halt to the eviction of ethnic Tamils from the capital, as the United States and the European Union condemned Colombo's treatment of the minority community. more..

June 9 (AP) The remains of nine bodies were found dumped in northwestern Sri Lanka on Friday, the military said. The bodies were found by police near Wennapuwa town some 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the capital, Colombo, according to Lt. Col. Upali Rajapakse, a Defense Ministry official. "When nine bodies are found together its obvious that they have been murdered, but we are still awaiting details," he said. more..

June 9 (AFP) Sri Lanka's president Friday promised an investigation into police action that forced hundreds of ethnic Tamils from the capital at gunpoint in early morning raids condemned around the World. President Mahinda Rajapakse invited evicted people back to Colombo and ordered a disciplinary probe against the police chief responsible. more..

June 9 (AT) The 34th Tamil Literary Conference is to be held from today and tomorrow in Berlin. The main theme of the conference will be "Political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka." It is also considered to bring in the second generation of Tamil Diaspora into this activity. A special program is being organised for the young people at this conference. more..

June 9 (AT) Amidst rising tensions the Dr Kim Howells, British Foreign Office Minister, is due to visit Sri Lanka on 11 June. He will meet President Mahinda Rajapakse to discuss recent developments in Sri Lanka. Dr Howells will also meet government representatives, opposition leaders and civil society representatives, says a press release issued by the British High commission in Colombo. more..

June 9 (GVO) The Sri Lankan Blogosphere is reacting strongly to the recent move by the authorities to evacuate some Tamil people in Colombo. A lot of blogs have expressed anger and rage at the government�s actions, while others have attempted to understand the reasons for this move. Another debate appears to if this is a form of ethnic cleansing or sheer ineptness on part of the government. more..

June 9 (LBO) Sri Lanka would soon be sounding out operators on making mobile telephone numbers portable, telecom minister Rauf Hakeem said. "We need to be pro-active in reform, opening up a multitude of opportunities, issues which have been overlooked," Hakeem told an economic forum organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. "Mobile number portability would help smaller and newer players." more..

June 9 (ISL) No Sri Lankan government since independence has administered the country with the reality that the people of Sri Lanka are Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Malays and Burghers. Old D S Senanayake began laying the seeds of Sinhala-Buddhist racist jingoism firstly with the colonization of traditional Tamil homelands overriding the interests and sentiments of the local communities, and later the disfranchisement of the tea and rubber plantation workers, the most recent migrants to Sri Lanka. more..

June 9 (ISL) The Jaffna University Board is to meet on 21.06.2007 to select a Vice Chancellor [VC]. This decision was taken in a recent board meeting. If only three applications were received for the Vice Chancellor post the university board will recommend these three names to the University Grant Commission. If there will be more three applications three will be selected by election and recommend to the University Grant Commission. more..

June 9 (ISL) Kinniya Faizal Nagar Murugan temple manager and his relative were abducted yesterday at 2.30 a.m. Christopher Srimangalarajah, 33 years and his relative Balendran 40 years were the victims. His wife has lodged an entry with the Kinniya police that an armed gang of 5 persons has abducted them. Meanwhile Katpiddy Police has arrested a teenager for providing sensitive information about key locations of Katpiddy area to the LTTE. more..

June 9 (ISL) The Sri Lankan government�s expulsion of Tamils from Colombo due to �security considerations� is blatantly discriminatory and will further fuel the conflict, Human Rights Watch said today. On June 1, 2007 Colombo Police Inspector-General Victor Perera told reporters, �Those who are loitering in Colombo will be sent home. We will give them transport.� more..

June 9 (AFP) Sri Lanka's cricket administration Friday made a fresh attempt to dump chief selector Asantha de Mel in a row over the controversial Abu Dhabi one-day series. Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge said he had received a list of 10 names of which four are to be picked for the selection panel, but de Mel was not among them. "I did receive a list sent by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), but Asantha de Mel's name is not in the list," Lokuge told AFP. more..

June 9 (GDI) Anantha Kumar Jasotha a pregnant mother and a resident of Ananthai, Point Pedro gave birth to a baby while she was on board in a Sri Lanka Navy passenger ship heading towards Jaffnain. This dramatic event took place in the passenger ship, MV Green Ocean at on 07th June. The ship, chartered by the Commissioner General of Essential Services, was transporting one hundred and ninety three (193) persons, mostly ethnic Tamil civilians living in the northern peninsula. more..

June 9 (GDI) With the view of explaining the hidden agenda of the LTTE and to strongly protest at some British MPs who recently formed a group called "The All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT)" a large number of Sri Lankans living in London gathered in front of the British Houses of Parliament in Westminster on Friday the 8th June. "Action Group On Sri Lanka- UK"- a UK based Sri Lankan society organized this massive demonstration. more..

June 9 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa instructed the Inspector General of Police Victor Perera to submit an immediate report on the manner in which the exercise to transport Tamil persons living in lodges in Colombo and its suburbs to their places of permanent residence in the North and East was carried out on Thursday and about reports regarding hardships and inconvenience caused to the persons concerned. more..

June 9 (GDI) Japanese Special Envoy Yasushi Akashi who is in the island with the expectation of a positive response from the Government and LTTE to sit back in the negotiation table highly appreciated Government�s effort to resettle the internally displaced in the Batticaloa district. Akashi who was after an extensive tour of the Batticaloa district to witness the on going resettlement of IDPs on Thursday, met Government Chief negotiator and Leader of the House Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva more..