Feb 4 (LG) Terrorists recently struck in Buttala targeting innocent rural villagers. They compounded their deadly act by shooting at the escaping and wounded people. Such was their cowardice and cruelty. Dozens died and scores were injured as a result. Despite these macabre events and a virtual war for more than two decades, the pathetic response by the Sri Lankan electronic media (and politicians) was demonstrated once again. more..

Feb 4 (LeN) 'Vanni United Tamil Association for Peace' launched a poster campaign this morning (13) in Vavuniya town against the LTTE's killing of innocent Sinhala civilians in South bringing blame to entire Tamil society locally and internationally. The posters appeal from the LTTE to avoid the killings of the likes of Dambulla bus bomb and to act to safeguard the security and the pride of the Tamil people. more..

Feb 4 (LD) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has granted an amnesty to over 2500 prisoners today (Feb. 04th) to mark the country�s 60th anniversary of Independence. The Director General of Prisons said that 355 prisoners from the Welikada Prison and 288 from the Bogambara Prison were released today. He added that the remaining number will be released from other prisons in the island.

Feb 4 (GDI) The Deyata Kirula Exhibition will be held from February 7-10, 2008 and will not begin tomorrow as scheduled earlier, the Director of Governmnet Information, Anusha Palpita said in a media release. The full text of the release is as follows: The LTTE, clearly in disarray and on the run in the face of military victories scored by the Armed Forces in the North and East have resorted to cowardly acts of terrorism targeting innocent civilians. more..

Feb 4 (GDI) Sri Lanka is ready to celebrate its 60th Independence Day with the grand celebration ceremony hosted at Galle Face Green under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa tomorrow (04). The Ceremony will be telecasted live via National Television, Rupavahini and several other channels starting at 8.35am tomorrow. Tight security measures have been put in place for this event. more..

Feb 4 (LNP) Eighty six per cent of participants in a Nielsen-Sunday Times opinion poll have expressed optimism that real peace can be achieved in Sri Lanka while 81 per cent believed that all ethnic groups would be able to live in harmony. The survey has been commissioned to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the country s independence. The survey, with a randomly selected sample size of 519 of both sexes across all age (15 years upwards) and ethnic groups, more..

Feb 4 (LNP) In the backdrop of allegations that Parliament has turned a blind eye to waste, corruption and irregularities, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption has asked Mrs. Priyanee Wijesekera, Secretary General of Parliament, to investigate a complaint received by the Commission regarding alleged fraud in the dry-cleaning department. The request, made by the commission last September, has come to light recently. more..

Feb 4 (LNP) Today, Sri Lanka celebrates her 60th anniversary of Independence. The past few weeks have seen elaborate arrangements being made for today s event. Predictably there will be ululations of the traditional conch shell, beating of magul bera, blowing of trumpets and colourful parades. In the run up to the grand event, we were treated ad nauseam to fustian oratory of highfalutin potentates on Independence. more..

Feb 4 (SAMN) The boom in the Indian economy has done wonders for its Sri Lankan counterparts. With many Indian migrant workers returning to their homeland to enjoy its current rising star, job opportunities are opening up for Sri Lankans, especially in the Middle East. Indians in the Middle East are showing a definite trend of heading home, giving Lankans better access to the overseas market. more..

Feb 4 (SAMN) The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Saturday decried government-mooted Independence Day celebrations on the grounds that �this is not a time for Sri Lanka to celebrate.� JHU Spokesman Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe said the JHU does not believe that it is appropriate to hold such grand functions in Sri Lanka at this time. �We do not believe that the government should be celebrating anything right now. This is not what the people are expecting of the government. more..

Feb 4 (SAMN) The Transport Ministry�s permission was sought by private bus owners to increase fares every six months despite Friday's revision. After discussions were held between the Ministry of Transport and private bus owners, a 4.6% increase on bus fares was agreed upon and came into affect on Friday pushing even the minimum distance ticket to Rs.6. Even though the annual bus fare revision is calculated in July, bus operators claim that more..

Feb 4 (KT) The Sri Lankan Ambassador to the UAE, Mohammed Nabavi Junaid, has hailed the Abu Dhabi Dialogue, saying it has opened a window of communication on labour-related issues between labour importing and exporting countries. Sri Lanka is celebrating its 60th National Day today. The envoy said Sri Lanka�s concerns over ill-treatment of its workers by employers, and low and irregular payment of salaries were addressed at the Abu Dhabi Dialogue held in the capital recently. more..

Feb 4 (PTI) Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardane today lauded the young Indian seamers for their stupendous success against Australia in the Test series but warned that Ishant Sharma and co might find the going tough once the batsmen get used to them. "I would be able to comment on the Indian side after four or five matches. Ishant Sharma, for example, looks interesting. But once the international batsmen know about you, how you move on that is important," more..

Feb 4 (VNS) Sri Lanka is a free, independent and sovereign nation. Legislative power is exercised by a Parliament elected by the people on a proportionally representative basis. The executive power of the people, including defence, is exercised by the President, who is also elected by the people. The people of Sri Lanka are of diverse ethnicities and faiths. The country is an ancient centre of Buddhist religion and culture. more..

Feb 4 (DN) Ending the dispute between the nursing staff and doctors of the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital, over a room of its main operation theatre, the doctors decided to handover the room to the nursing staff on Saturday. With the settlement, the nursing staff reported for duty from yesterday and the hospital�s daily activities returned to normality, Hospital Director, Dr. Chandra Goonatilleke said. more..

Feb 4 (DN) Sri Lanka which had been an independent country for a long period claiming a proud history had been under the rule of Portuguese, Dutch and English for a period of 443 years since 1505 AD. We have fought for freedom in our motherland as a nation during this period. We had to overcome a number of challenges on this occasion of completing 60 years after we achieved independence from the British domination on February 4, 1948 as a result of concerted effort made by more..

Feb 4 (Island) The Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi yesterday said that there was absolutely no purpose in contesting the forthcoming local government elections in the Batticaloa district, mainly due to the TMVP (Karuna faction), contesting the poll both in alliance with the ruling UPFA and also independently. Mavai S. Senathirajah, General Secretary of the party said that the March 10 poll wouldn�t be free and fair, and that the result of the election would be a perversion of democracy. more..

Feb 4 (Island) The Board of Investment (BOI) management is said to have taken an arbitrary decision to cease two important departments such as promotion and monitoring units involved in promoting both foreign and local investments and monitoring the overall activities of local and foreign companies registered in the BOI,Organisation for the Protection of BOI (OPBOI) sources revealed. more..

Feb 4 (DM) UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has requested �university dons� to play a key role in the endevour to reactivate the Constitutional Council (CC), and uphold human rights, democracy and good governance. A group of around 50 university lecturers of the Peradeniya University called on Mr. Wickremesinghe over the weekend to discuss the present situation in the country. more..

Feb 4 (DM) With the growing concern over the LTTE frequently using Indian waters to infiltrate the southern part of the country, reports now indicate the wife of the LTTE chief � Velupillai Prabhakaran -- has been spotted in Kerala, The Indian TV network Times Now reported. Times Now has accessed reports that Mathivathani Erambu might have landed in the Malappuram district in Kerala. more..

Feb 4 (CI) There is nothing much to separate India and Sri Lanka as they prepare to meet in their first league encounter in the CB series at the Gabba on Tuesday. Sri Lanka are the World Cup runners-up while India are the world Twenty20 champions. Sri Lanka lost their last ODI series 3-2 to England at home while India beat Pakistan by the same margin. One factor tilting the balance in Sri Lanka's favour is its experienced stars, compared to the mostly youthful Indian team. more..

Feb 4 (CI) Australia is a very good place to play one-day cricket in. The wickets are very fair, and more often than not, the bat dominates. The grounds are great and so are the facilities. Having played there enriches your cricketing experience. It can be said that sometimes the subcontinental teams struggle in Australia because of the big grounds. But it's not always the case that they don't adapt their game to the bigger grounds: more..

Feb 4 (CI) A Tasmanian car containing a batch of egg throwers was fortunate to escape after pelting a small group of Sri Lankans in Hobart last week. Muttiah Muralitharan would have been in hot pursuit of the drive-by yolkers if he and his fellow tourists were not so shocked by the flying object, which hit a selector in the back, but they laughed it off as a random act. While the Sri Lankans reported the incident on Friday, Mahela Jayawardene, their captain, said a green light saved the car's passengers, more..

Feb 4 (CS) As violence returned to their country with savage fury, Sri Lankan expatriates in Calgary yesterday celebrated their home land's independence with a message of peace. Although not officially until today, hundreds of Sri Lankans gathered at McDougall United Church, 8516 Athabasca St. S.E., to observe the 60th anniversary of their native country's independence from British colonial rule yesterday. more..

Feb 4 (PTI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa today asserted that the LTTE was facing "unprecedented defeat" at the hands of the security forces as the island nation marked its 60th anniversary of independence today. "Terrorism is receiving an unprecedented defeat," Rajapaksa said in an address to the nation from Colombo's Galle Face road. "The move to eradicate terrorism from the North is still under way with good expectations for success. more..

Feb 4 (IANS) The Sri Lanka government Monday closed all the schools in the Colombo zone for a week, in view of the recent terrorist bombings in the country's capital. The government had already postponed a much-awaited mega exhibition here to mark the 60th anniversary of the independence of Sri Lanka. The 'Deyata Kirula' exhibition was to open on Independence Day Monday. It would now be held between Feb 7 and 10. more..

Feb 4 (AFP) A powerful roadside bomb killed at least one soldier and wounded three others in a town in southern Sri Lanka Monday as the country marked 60 years of independence, police said. The Claymore mine exploded in Buttala as soldiers transported lunch for their colleagues, a police official in the area said by telephone. more..

Feb 4 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa, addressing the nation on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Independence, stressed that defeat of terrorism, the development of the country and consolidating trust among all people's are the main challenges before the country. Underscoring his campaign pledge to safeguard the unitary character of the state, the President said that independence was not for a single community, pointing out that Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers and Malays all participated in the freedom struggle. more..

Feb 4 (M&G) Tamil rebels set off a powerful claymore mine against a civilian passenger bus in north-eastern Sri Lanka on Monday, killing 12 civilians, as the country marked the 60th anniversary of independence from Britain. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the bus was caught in the attack at Ethawetunuwewa, 280 kilometres north-east of the capital, and at least 17 were injured in addition to the 12 fatalities. more..

Feb 4 (AFP) Sri Lanka's president insisted Monday his government was winning the war against Tamil Tiger rebels as the island marked its 60th anniversary of independence after a bloody weekend of violence. Kicking off a display of military hardware along Colombo's sea front promenade ringed by stiff security, President Mahinda Rajapakse also brushed off threats of foreign aid cuts due to the worsening ethnic conflict and human rights situation. more..

Feb 5 (BBC) Tamil community in Sri Lanka has nothing to celebrate as the island celebrates 60 years of independence from Great Britain, the Tamil Tigers say. LTTE political wing leader, B Nadesan, said that the Tamils would not be celebrating the anniversary: "This is not a day of independence or this is not a day of celebration for our people. The Sri Lankan government still they are continuing its ethnic cleansing and mass killings among the Tamil people," he told the BBC. more..

Feb 5 (LR) In February 4th 1948, the British emperors officially handed over the administrative powers to the Sri Lankans. Since then we celebrate this day as our independence day. At the same time, some sections of the people absurdly question that what sort of development we have gained since this so called independence. In fact, indirectly they try to promote an impression that the good old white government would have been far better than the governments in post independence era. more..

Feb 5 (HS) SRI Lanka will use inside intelligence from Australia's top players in a bid to trump the world champions in the tri-series campaign. As Sri Lanka prepares for its opening one-day clash against India in a rain-swept Brisbane today, skipper Mahela Jayawardene revealed a secret meeting with Australian stars after the Test series late last year had inspired his players. "We had a chat to the Australians because we wanted to learn from them," Jayawardene said. more..

Feb 5 (LD) Bigwigs of the judiciary are offended as the Chief Justice, Sarath N. Silva wasn�t given the usual prominence at the national Independence Day celebrations today (Feb. 04th), reports say. Disregarding the fact that the CJ holds the country�s highest post next to that of the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker, he was reserved a seat away from the main pavilion. Instead, the CJ was seated near a minister who is not in good terms with him for some time. more..

Feb 5 (ITTF) Motivated by the ITTF Development Programme, a major step forward in the promotion of table tennis in Sri Lanka was made by the national association on 21st and 22nd January 2008, when several coaching courses were held in Trincomalee, a port city in the north east of Sri Lanka. Trincomalee is renowned for its high level of security and in recent years the playing of table tennis in the area has dwindled; one of the main reasons being that there was not a qualified officer of person available to promote the sport in the city. more..

Feb 5 (TOI) British Tamils marked the 60th anniversary of Sri Lankan independence on Monday with a several-hundred strong Downing Street demonstration demanding "real freedom" and "real rights" for the community. The protestors were branded members of the LTTE, which is banned in the UK. The demonstration was called by the Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO), which is spread across eight European countries and Canada and the US. more..

Feb 5 (BBC) Sri Lanka has marked the 60th anniversary of independence by a bombastic display of military hardware amid high security in the capital, Colombo. The parade comes one day after a suicide attack killed 11 in Colombo's main railway station. Security has tightened in the capital in recent months. Security checks have made rush hour traffic inch along even more slowly. It is at such times that people most dread an attack by the Tamil Tigers. more..

Feb 5 (IANS) Faced with a labour and skills shortage in India, some Indian companies have started recruiting from Sri Lanka. 'I have recently received three enquiries from south India for engineers and unskilled workers,' said Anwar Ulumudeen, proprietor of a leading Colombo-based recruiting agency, Hamad International Pvt Ltd. 'A construction company in Bangalore has asked for engineers, and a garment factory in Tirupur (Tamil Nadu) has asked for unskilled workers,' Ulumudeen told IANS. more..

Feb 5 (GDI) The LTTE having suffered defeat after defeat in the face of the relentless advance of the security forces and facing imminent annihilation have resorted to targeting unarmed, helpless and innocent civilians. The LTTE, thereby, has proved once again that they are terrorists and therefore to identify them in any other terms would not only be erroneous but ethically reprehensible. The Government, while condemning in the strongest possible terms these cowardly attacks over the past few days, emphasizes the fact that the people, Government and the nation cannot and will not be intimidated by terrorism. more..

Feb 5 (UCAN) Sri Lankan Christians gathered to reflect and pray as a united Church while the country's civil war appeared to be worsening. Christian Unity Week began in Colombo with a shared faith experience and hope for closer relations among Churches and denominations. Participants spent three hours on their knees at the open-air theater in Vihara Mahadevi Park, central Colombo, on Jan. 19. Outside the park, a busy Saturday morning proceeded as usual. more..

Feb 5 (CP) Political parties are one of the core institutions of democracy. To preserve and protect individual rights and freedoms, people must work together to shape the government of their choosing. The principal way of doing that is through political parties. Democratic political parties should have faith in the principles of democracy so that they recognize and respect the authority of the elected government even when their party is not in power. more..

Feb 5 (CP) The outspoken Gampaha District Parliamentarian from UNP Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena told THE COLOMBO POST that the government has become the main recruiting agent for the LTTE. He added that with the signing of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) in February 2002, the Tamil youth started coming to Colombo. The youth coming to Colombo through the A9 route saw how our youth were making love at Galle Face. They saw Majestic City, Liberty Plaza, computers, mobile telephones and televisions. So they saw life. more..

Feb 5 (CP) Sri Lanka celebrated her 60th independence from British rule yesterday. As the dust settles after the parades and side shows dedicated for the day, we are left with more questions than answers could be provided for. In our last issue as well as this, most articles raise the question as to what we have gained during these past 60 years. Questions. Yes, questions and more questions keep cropping when we are at a loss to provide an answer to the initial questions. more..

Feb 5 (CP) Sri Lanka, as an independent nation of the modern age reached three score years on 4th February. In comparison to the expected human lifespan of three score and ten- a ripe old age, Sri Lanka is yet a youth. A youth should be brimming with dreams, promise, confidence, exuberance, vigour, hope, health and appetite. Unfortunately, we are stuck in perpetual adolescence - neither a child nor an adult, confused, burdened with grievances, rebellious and confused. more..

Feb 5 (Hindu) The 60th anniversary of Sri Lanka�s Independence was celebrated in Chennai on Monday. �It is also appropriate at this momentous moment to remember and record our appreciation and gratitude to the contributions and sacrifices made by our forefathers and many of our leaders during the pre-Independence era, who have made possible what we enjoy today,� said P. M. Amza, Deputy High Commissioner for Sri Lanka. more..

Feb 5 (Hindu) �He has survived more things than a rotten egg,� said a supportive captain Mahela Jayawardene here on Monday. Talking about the incident where Muttiah Muralitharan was hit by a rotten egg while going to dinner with his friends in Hobart, Lankan skipper Jayawardene said, �Murali was the only recognisable face in the group. Murali is the kind of guy who would have chased down the throwers in the car. Had there been a stone nearby he would have hurled it at them.� more..

Feb 5 (Hindu) Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Monday asserted that the State Government was firm in preventing Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam activities in the State. Refuting the charge that the LTTE was given a �free run in the State,� the Chief Minister quoting figures said in the last 20 months12 cases had been registered, 11 LTTE volunteers and 92 supporters arrested. Of them, 40 had been booked under the National Security Act. more..

Feb 5 (AT) Dr. Peter Leitner, is the President Higgins Counter Terrorism Research Center, and former Professor with the National Center for Bio Defense of the George Mason University US. He is also a Senior Fellow and Professor with the Center for Advanced Defense Studies responsible for Terrorism, Intelligence, and Cyber War issues. Dr.Leitner has over 30 years of Federal service in a variety of national security positions including 21 years in the Department of Defense. more..

Feb 5 (AT) Sri Lanka became independent from Britain 60 years ago through a transition of power from British colonials to elected locals. �We Ceylonese were lucky� said the Sri Lankan leaders of the time, �that we could attain independence in a bloodless transformation when India had to wage a bloody struggle, for years, to win independence�. But soon such thinking proved to be sanguine devoid of ground realities in the wake of blood letting that commenced just 23rd years (1971) after that ceremony. more..

Feb 5 (AT) Bus travelers faced numerous hardships yesterday due to road blocks and vehicle search operations conducted by the Police and its Civil Vigilant Committees. Most of the roadblocks were manned by members of the Civil Vigilant Committee, the passengers said. �Some members of the Vigilant Committees couldn�t understand even very simple sentences said in English, said an elderly lady who faced an inspection carried out by the Civil Vigilant Committee members. more..