Jan 4 (SAMN) The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on NGOs has identified certain INGOs as ones that should be blacklisted with immediate effect. The Committee said these international NGOs have had close links with the LTTE, despite it being a terrorist outfit and therefore should not be allowed to function here. It has also found that some of these organisations were blacklisted in other countries and were working here without any legal restraints. more..

Jan 4 (SAMN) The Environment and Natural Resources Ministry is planning an evaluation of the air we breathe to establish whether dangerous substances or Persistent Organic Pollutants, commonly known as POPs, exist in the air, Ministry sources said Thursday. POPs not only seriously degrade the environment but also adversely affects Humans and wildlife. They also harm aquatic life. more..

Jan 4 (SAMN) Child Development and Women�s Empowerment Minister Sumedha G. Jayasena will shortly obtain Cabinet approval to make it compulsory for accurate certification of age for young couples seeking marriage. This will be done to prevent child marriages, a Ministry spokesman said. He said once Cabinet approval is received, it will be compulsory for marriage registrars to check the age of young couples before they enter wedlock by examining their birth certificates and the National Identity Cards. more..

Jan 4 (SAMN) Incidents of suicide decreased during the year 2007 as opposed to an increase in deaths due to road accidents. Both City Coroner Edward Ahangama and Additional City Coroner Ashroff Rumi agreed that cases of suicide had taken a dip. But a significant proportion of suicides in the age group of 40 and 50 were reported at the Coroner�s Court last year. The underlying causes for these age groups instances of suicides elude definition, more..

Jan 4 (DN) The Government's "Negenahira Navodaya" programme had brought results beyond expectations, Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister Karu Jayasuriya said at the final meeting organised to review the progress of the programme at his Ministry yesterday. "The great contribution and devotion of the officers involved under the relevant Ministries, Departments, and other statutary bodies were behind this success", said Jayasuriya. more..

Jan 4 (DN) Cabinet Spokesman Anura Priyadarshana Yapa yesterday declared that a suspect believed to be the assassin of UNP Parliamentarian T. Maheshwaran has already been arrested which was the first time that such an arrest was made. He said further investigations are being carried out by the Police. Minister Yapa said while fully condemning the assassination of the Colombo District UNP Parliamentarian, the Government will take all measures at their disposal and leave no stone unturned to bring the culprits to book. more..

Jan 4 (Island) The delay in Coal Power Projects and no accelerated coal power projects is the main cause of our very high cost of living, with no end in sight. The loss in 2007 alone was Rs. 54.0 billion. Why blame our president? We see in the news media head lines regarding protests by CEB Engineers regarding expensive clean power projects, but however, it is surprising why they are not protesting against any clean power project which has a unit price more than a unit price of coal. more..

Jan 4 (Island) The decision to increase the charge for certifying �export documents� by 5000 per cent has angered exporters who accused the government of being ignorant of the worsening ground conditions. The Foreign Ministry has increased the rate from Rs 100 to Rs 5,000 recently. The Exporters� Association of Sri Lanka, the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka and Adamjee Lukmanje and Sons Ltd. had vehemently protested against the decision. more..

Jan 4 (DM) The Central Committee of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which met last night, has decided to appoint a top level committee to inquire into the incident at Rupavahini Corporation involving Minister Mervyn Silva. �The Central Committee appointed a committee comprising Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, John Seneviratne and Governor Alavi Moulana to inquire into the incident,� a party spokesman said. more..

Jan 4 (DM) Strategic Enterprise Management Agency (SEMA) has drawn up a blue print for the SLTB to make it a profit making venture relieving the government from the burden of allocating huge grants for its survival and providing employees more facilities, Chairman Mr. Willy Gamage said. Refuting allegations made against the move by certain trade unions, Mr Gamage explained that SEMA had selected 25 depots out of 104 in the country to implement the new work plan as a pilot project. more..

Jan 4 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu police has stepped up vigil in the coastal areas of Ramanathapuram district near here following reports that some doctors may be taken to Sri Lanka to treat Tamil Tigers injured in the ongoing fight with the government forces there. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the 'Q-Branch' of Tamil Nadu police were closely monitoring the sea coast and a special patrolling drive had been initiated, official sources said here on Friday. more..

Jan 4 (PTI) India should strike a 'balance' between its efforts to secure rights of Tamils and protect its own security interests in Sri Lanka by preventing Pakistan and China from getting a 'foothold' in Colombo, a senior Tamil politician from the island nation said in Chennai. Pakistan and China wooed Mahinda Rajapakse government with defence cooperation offers to fight the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, requiring India to strike a balance, Tharmalingam Sitharthan, heading the Peoples Liberation of Tamil Eelam, more..

Jan 4 (IANS) Sri Lanka said Friday that Norway will continue to be part of the peace process but its role will have to be 're-defined' following the abrogation of the ceasefire agreement (CFA) Oslo helped draft in 2002. 'The end of the CFA does not mean an end to Norwegian facilitation,' Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told reporters after the government unilaterally abrogated the agreement Wednesday. more..

Jan 4 (IANS) Sri Lanka said Friday that it was not expecting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit the country in February, to be the chief guest at the 6oth independence day celebrations. 'We are not looking at February or any other specific date for the Indian prime minister's visit. What we would like is a bilateral visit by the Indian prime minister in the course of 2008. No Indian prime minister has paid a bilateral visit to Sri Lanka in the last 20 years,' more..

Jan 4 (IANS) Sri Lanka will remain a unitary state according Buddhism a primary place but will go for greater devolution of powers to provinces in a bid to end the prolonged ethnic conflict, according to proposals that have been almost finalised. Ideas that have emerged over the months at meetings of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC), which will meet for the last time Monday and Tuesday, indicate that special steps are to be taken to ensure the growth of disadvantaged communities. more..

Jan 4 (DNA) Sri Lanka�s decision to call off the February 2002 ceasefire with the LTTE is at one level a logical move as the truce was only on paper. In the last two years and more both sides have used air power and artillery in what is virtually a full-fledged war between the two sides. Yet Wednesday�s move signals the growing confidence of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the defence establishment in Colombo that the military has gained the upper hand. The next step could be a ban on the LTTE. more..

Jan 4 (KUNA) European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner expressed Friday her "deep disappointment" over Sri Lankan government's decision to abrogate the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement. "This decision risks complicating the already difficult situation in the country. I firmly condemn LTTE's recent acts of terror and statements announcing further violence from their side," she said in a statement. more..

Jan 4 (IANS) The US said Thursday that it had stopped the supply of military equipment and services to Sri Lanka under the Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriation Act 2008. But an unfazed Colombo said that its critical needs could still be met under exemptions provided by the act. 'It is the policy of the US to deny applications for licenses and other approvals to export or otherwise transfer defense articles or services to Sri Lanka,' more..

Jan 4 (Reuters) Nordic ceasefire monitors began wrapping up their six-year mission to Sri Lanka on Friday after the government scrapped a truce with the Tamil Tigers, and their mandate, amid a chorus of international concern. President Mahinda Rajapaksa's administration formally notified mediator Norway late on Thursday it was giving a stipulated 14-day notice period to end the truce. more..

Jan 5 (BBC) Indian authorities have once again insisted that there can be no military solution to Sri Lanka's national question. In response to Sri Lankan government's decision to unilaterally withdraw from the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA), India says "what is required in Sri Lanka is a settlement of political, constitutional and other issues within the framework of united Sri Lanka". more..

Jan 5 (LR) Treasury secretary P.B Jayasundera complained on television recently that the media had ignored the 7.0% growth posted in the third quarter. But has there been an equivalent (i.e 7.0%) improvement in the quality of the services provided by the public sector? The question is pertinent because the public sector contributed 37% to the gross domestic product (GDP). Public sector expenditure, when factored into GDP calculation, shows economic growth. more..

Jan 5 (AA) Sri Lanka's long-dead ceasefire has been formally buried. The Lankan government announced its withdrawal from the 2002 ceasefire agreement on Wednesday, paving the way for a no-holds-barred fight between government forces and the LTTE. The announcement came hours after a powerful bomb targeting an army bus exploded in the heart of Colombo, killing four people including a soldier and injuring 24 others. more..

Jan 5 (UPI) The year 2008 began for Sri Lanka with the assassination of a Tamil opposition member of Parliament from the UNP, T. Maheshwaran. Just a few days earlier a government minister, Mervin Silva, forcibly entered the premises of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corp. with about 10 other people and allegedly assaulted a news manager, leading to retaliation by corporation employees who demonstrated their anger against the minister and his companions. more..

Jan 5 (LG) Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army yesterday overran a key LTTE bunker line at Palleikuli amidst heavy resistance by the tigers. Part of the LTTE forward defense line north of Mannar along with 7 fortified bunkers are now under the complete control of the army. According to military intelligence, six LTTE cadres have perished in battle and another 10 more have been wounded. 1 SLA soldier is reported to be killed and another 6 soldiers have been wounded. more..

Jan 5 (GT) A SECOND Sri Lankan construction industry trade mission will visit Qatar from February 8 to 14. The mission comprises professional service providers including firms of consulting engineers, chartered architects and quantity surveyors, MEP consultants, interior designers and landscape architects. The visit has been facilitated by the Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka (CCI), which will soon establish a liaison office in Doha for providing professional services and more..

Jan 5 (AA) Taking a hands-off approach to developments in Sri Lanka, India on Friday said that a reduction in levels of violence should go hand in hand with a political settlement of the decades-old ethnic conflict in the island nation. "For India, any step that leads to a reduction in levels of violence and human suffering in Sri Lanka is welcome. Unfortunately, what we have seen recently has been an increase in violence, tension and conflict in Sri Lanka," the ministry of external affairs said. more..

Jan 5 (AN) The new Saudi ambassador-designate to Sri Lanka said he hopes to shift the present Saudi mission to a new location in Colombo to provide enhanced services to visitors. Abdul Aziz Al-Jammaz, who has been appointed to succeed Mohammed Mahmud Al-Ali as Saudi ambassador in Colombo, told Arab News that the mission in Colombo needs a bigger space in view of the extended services offered to the increasing number of people who come for consular and other services. more..

Jan 5 (LBO) Sri Lanka and India have reached agreement on improving access for the island's exports like tea to the Indian market but have yet to conclude a deal on trade in services, trade officials said. The latest round of talks between the two neighbours on a new trade deal ended in Colombo Friday with both sides agreeing on the draft text of the agreement which will now be sent for legal vetting. more..

Jan 5 (LeN) The majority of the Central Committee of the SLFP is worried over the decision taken on Minister Mervin Silva whose unruly behavior at the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation was viewed by the entire nation. Several Central Committee members said to 'LeN' that the party decision was an insult to the pioneers of the party. Condemning Minister Mervin Silva' participation in the Central Committee meeting held to take action against him, they said that it was very unethical. more..

Jan 5 (BBC) Election officials in Sri Lanka have called for nominations for the elections for local bodies in Batticaloa district. The nominations will be accepted for nine local bodies in the district from 18 to 25 January, Deputy Election Commissioner (Batticaloa) T Kirshnanthalingam announced on Friday. Elections for three local bodies, in predominant Muslim areas, were held in May 2006. This is the first time elections for local bodies to be held since 1994. more..

Jan 5 (GDI) The All Party Representative Committee is to meet today in a special session in order to discuss developments following the decision announced by the Government to formally withdraw from the Ceasefire Agreement. The Committee would discuss the impact of this decision on the overall deliberation process, according to Chairman, APRC and Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Tissa Vitharana. The finalised APRC proposals are to be realease early this year.

Jan 5 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday that the Government's objective was to enhance overall computer literacy among the population from the current 25% to 60%. Addressing the gathering at the launching ceremony of the 500th Nenasela Centre at Samanthurai in the Amparai District via satellite yesterday, the President recollecting the inauguration of the first ever Nenasela Centre at the Kataragama Kiriwehera Viharayastanaya in the aftermath of the tsunami in January 2005, more..

Jan 5 (LT) If the government, against the mandate it received, puts forward a set of federal proposals before the 4th of February, it would have to go home said Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa, General Secretary of Patriotic National Movement. Mr. Weerawansa said the step to abrogate CFA, though taken belatedly, should be acknowledged. However, measures such as banning the LTTE should be taken immediately. more..

Jan 5 (Hindu) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will not participate in the 60th Independence Day celebrations of Sri Lanka on February 4, the island nation�s Foreign Minister, Rohitha Bogollagama, said here on Friday. Mr. Bogollagama clarified that though Sri Lanka had extended an invitation to Dr. Singh, the dates of his visit are yet to be worked out. The disclosure that the dates of Dr. Singh�s visit to the island nation have not yet been finalised was made a day after more..

Jan 5 (LNP) Although the government decided to abrogate the Ceasefire Agreement entered into with the Tigers in February 2002, it has not taken a decision on banning the outfit, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said yesterday. `Dealing militarily with the LTTE does not in any way mean that the Government had abandoned a search for a political solution`, he said. He said abrogation of the ceasefire agreement gives the government a broader space to pursue the goal to search for a political solution involving all political parties. more..

Jan 5 (LNP) Chairman of the three-member committee, Nimal Siripala de Silva, appointed by the SLFP to probe into the recent activities of Minister Mervyn Silva, said that a thorough investigation would be conducted and it would take some time since many people had to be questioned and the statements made by some to the Police had to be studied. Minister Mervyn Silva recently forced himself into the premises of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Cooperation with some underworld thugs and more..

Jan 5 (LNP) The SLFP is reported to have appointed a committee headed by Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva to probe the asinine conduct of Labour Minister Mervyn Silva at the Rupavahini Corporation the other day. Appointment of committees is a ruse that any government in trouble adopts by way of a dilatory tactic. Committees, as it is said, function the way a person eases himself: They sit, deliberate for a while and then drop the matter with a thundering report. more..

Jan 5 (SAMN) Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama Friday insisted that Britain had failed to produce the allegedly forged passport used by Karuna Amman to slip into London prior to his capture and subsequent detention pending investigations. Bogollagama told a news conference he would be very concerned if the former TMVP head had entered Britain using a forged passport obtained with the assistance of a Foreign Ministry official. more..

Jan 5 (SAMN) The Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCI) charged with investigating into 16 cases of Serious Violations of Human Rights will begin its first Public Hearings at 09.30 a.m. today. The inquiry will be into the killing of the youths in Trincomalee in January 2006. The Commission chaired by Justice Nissanka Udalagama and comprising Dr. Devanesan Nesiah, Mrs Manouri Muttetuwegama, Mrs. Jezima Ismail. S. S. Wijeratne, Javid Yusuf,. more..

Jan 5 (SAMN) Around 730,000 dog bites and an average 50 death from hydrophobia are recorded every year even though the Health Ministry annually spends about Rs. 500 million for treatment of dog-bite victims Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva said Friday. Addressing the health advisory committee on the prevention of hydrophobia the minister said the greatest challenge faced by the ministry was to immunize 2.5 million dogs in the country to curb the spread of rabies. more..

Jan 5 (SAMN) Sri Lanka�s very popular open-air art gallery cum art fair, �Kala Pola�, comes alive this year on January 20 at the lush Exhibition Grounds of the Viharamahadevi Park. This had been conceived and organized by the George Keyt Foundation (GKF). Kala Pola enjoys the unbroken patronage of the John Keells Group (JKH) for the 15th consecutive year. This year�s Kala Pola will feature over 300 artists and sculptors who will display their creativity to an increasingly appreciative Sri Lankan and expatriate clientele, more..

Jan 5 (LNP) The Government led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa is fully capable of presenting a set of political proposals that satisfy and receive the consent of all. The Government will present this set of political proposals shortly, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said. Addressing the media at his office in Colombo yesterday, Minister Bogollagama said the main objective of the Government is achieving sustainable stability and peace. more..

Jan 5 (DN) The Indian model of governance is an ideal solution to the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka, as it will meet the aspirations of the Tamils. Furthermore, �it can be easily sold to our people,� TULF president V. Anandasangaree said on Thursday in Chennai. Speaking on �India and the Sri Lanka Peace Process� at a meeting organised by the Observer Research Foundation, he appealed to leaders in Tamil Nadu to persuade the LTTE to liberate the people it had detained. more..

Jan 5 (DN) Pakistan is planning to promote economic relations with Sri Lanka by diversifying the existing trade patterns and introducing a range of quality Pakistani products to the Sri Lankan market for the first time, Pakistani High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Shahzad A. Chaudhry said. He said the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 2005 was a milestone. more..

Jan 5 (Island) The gunman who killed UNP MP T. Maheswaran had LTTE connections, the police charged yesterday. SSP Anura Senanayake told Thursday�s Cabinet press briefing in Colombo that preliminary investigations conducted by the CCD had revealed the suspect�s "LTTE connections." "We will question the suspect further no sooner he recovers from the injuries sustained. He is presently being treated at the National Hospital." more..

Jan 5 (Island) Trade unions have their rights, but they must act with a sense of national responsibility and rally to Sri Lanka's assistance in her hour of need, JHU spokesman Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe said yesterday. The JHU is lobbying for a national consensus between the Government and the unions for a period of one year - a year sans union agitations, protests, strikes and demonstrations and a pledge from the Government to ensure corruption free administration minimizing wastage of public funds. more..

Jan 5 (DM) All workers of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) are scheduled to go on strike today and tomorrow in protest against the reduction of overtime payment which was introduced in the recent budget of the council. The Joint Trade Union Federation CMC Branch Convenor Jayanta Jayalat told the Daily Mirror yesterday that the workers had decided to stage the strike on their own and that the union had nothing to do with it. more..

Jan 5 (DM) The army hopes to recruit 15,000 troops this year, following what it claimed was successful recruitment drives conducted last year even as the north east conflict escalated, Defence sources said. "The army will launch its latest recruitment drive as soon as logistics were complete," a Defence official confirmed to the Daily Mirror and expressed optimism that future recruitment drives would be as successful as the ones last year. more..

Jan 5 (KUNA) France has officially warned Sri Lanka about the impact of its decision to break-off an almost six-year old cease fire on the island and also urged Colombo to improve its human rights performance, government sources said here. French Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights, Rama Yade, late on Friday received Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Sri Lankan Minister for Human Rights and Natural Disasters for talks and told him of France's dissatisfaction with Sri Lanka in the above areas. more..

Jan 5 (TN) The passenger ship service between Trincomalee and Jaffna is to be suspended from January 7 due to repairs to be carried out in the vessel "Green Ocean." The last service from Trincomalee Harbour to Jaffna will take place on January 5 Saturday and from Jaffna to Trincomalee on January 6 Sunday, Trincomalee divisional secretariat sources said. The ship which arrives in Trincomalee on Monday would sail to Colombo for repairs. more..