Mar 5 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa held a meeting with Chief Ministers yesterday (4) at Temple Trees, to discuss administrative and other problems encountered by the Provincial Councils. The President had assured the councils that they would be given the powers entitled under the 13th Amendment of the Constitution in order to function effectively. Certain issues that required prompt action such as filling of vacancies due to more..

Mar 5 (GDI) The Most Venerable Mahanayaka Theras have requested that all the political parties assist President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his efforts to defeat terrorism. Mahanayaka Theras of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters in an anusasana to the TULF Leader V Anandasangaree stated that the time had come for all political parties to unite and assist the programme launched by the President to liberate the country from terrorism. more..

Mar 5 (GDI) The Ministry of Education claimed that the 'sick note campaign' conducted by some teachers' unions yesterday (04) was a failure,adding that a majority of teachers and principals had reported to work. Yesterday some teachers' unions conducted a 'sick note campaign' aiming to gain political mileage from the long-standing grievances of teachers and principals. more..

Mar 5 (GDI) US$ 5 million grant has been made by the Japanese Government to implement a three year livelihood development plan in North Eastern Province. Accordingly the project will be implemented in Ampara, Batticaloa, Mannar, Vavuniya and Trincomalee districts. The traditional sectors of agriculture, livestock, fisheries and small industrial sectors in the North and East will benefit from this programme, ministry sources said. more..

Mar 5 (GDI) The Government of Japan has provided a grant of 104 million Japanese Yen (approximately Rs. 103 million) under its Grant Aid Programme for the preparation of detailed designs to improve the curative healthcare facilities of Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital. The Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital is the main hospital in the North Central region and the third largest hospital in Sri Lanka. more..

Mar 5 (LNP) There is nothing in this universe that politicians and their henchmen don t use to gain mileage. We even see them declare open public toilets, don t we? (A wag says that is where they belong!) They haven t spared a single wayside wall or lamppost their posters and cutouts are ubiquitous. When Sanath and Murali reach turning points in their cricketing careers, it is not their hearts that skip a beat but those of political leaders anxious to be seen with them and share the limelight. more..

Mar 5 (LNP) The Tiruchy unit of the Indian Q Branch CID arrested two men for alleged links with the LTTE. Police said M Premraj alias Raj alias Duraikutty (48) of Tiruchy was found to have links with Sea Tiger leader Soosai. The other suspect was identified as Diesel Kumar from a refugee camp in Rameswaram. Premraj had allegedly received Indian Rs 30 lakhs from Soosai and Raj alias Babu to contruct a boat for LTTE activities. Premraj had been given Indian Rs 20 lakhs as an advance, they said. more..

Mar 5 (SAMN) The LTTE suffered yet another setback Tuesday when troops attached to the 58 Division operating on the Mannar front further advanced towards Tiger held territory, overrunning their cross loading point in Uyilankulam and a key position in Palakkuli East, inflicting heavy damages to the outfit. A senior Military official said the heavily fortified LTTE cross loading point with six strongly built bunker lines and more..

Mar 5 (SAMN) The Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation will telecast live the Mahasivarathri religious proceedings on Thursday night from the historic Koneswarar Kovil in Trincomalee. SLRC Director General Sisira Kotalawala said that this was the first time that a live telecast of Mahasivarathri proceedings would telecast on Rupavahini. Prior to the decision taken to telecast the Mahasivarathri proceedings, a team of Rupavahini staff visited Trincomalee to assess the situation. more..

Mar 5 (SAMN) Eyebrows are being raised over India�s failure to detect a vessel in distress carrying illegal immigrants, before the SLN spotted it 150 nautical miles north-east of Mullaitivu early on Monday. Had the Chennai-based Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) detected the wooden hull vessel as it drifted in the region covered by it, several lives of youth from Myanmar and Bangladeshi could have been saved, an official said. more..

Mar 5 (SAMN) In a shocking revelation, a multi-million dollar gene smuggling racket that had been carried on for over a decade, by several local academics attached to the Institute of Fundamental Studies (IFS) was exposed by the Customs Biodiversity Unit, Tuesday. The racket was uncovered when a senior professor of the IFS had tried to leave for the USA on Monday night, with four samples of rare plant chromosomes endemic to Sri Lanka contained in a capsule. more..

Mar 5 (DN) The endearing beauty of Sri Lanka together with the friendship and simplicity of people is the charm of my country to which is added many other facets that we can be truly proud of. The China-Sri Lanka friendship year beginning in 2007 saw the fruition of many activities between the peoples of China and Sri Lanka marking the celebration of the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between our two nations, more..

Mar 5 (DN) The country is losing more than four per cent of its Gross National Product (GNP) due to trade union action, Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister Karu Jayasuriya said. Speaking at the launching for the proposed National policy for settling worker problems of the State services at the Ceylon Continental Hotel, Jayasuriya said the proposed National Policy was clearly identified by the Government and trade unions. more..

Mar 5 (Island) The Director General of Health Services has called for a complete report from the Ragama Hospital authorities on the death of a 6-year-old girl, a victim of snake bite, on Sunday. The child, Medina, who was admitted to the hospital at 3.45 p.m. died at 8.30 p.m. without proper care because there was no bed for her in the Intensive Care Unit, Hospital sources said. more..

Mar 5 (Island) Police investigations have revealed that Inspector Adjumain, who was arrested by the STF last week in Ampara on information provided by an LTTE intelligence operative arrested in Modera, had been providing information to the LTTE on the movements of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and that there was a plan to assassinate the President based on his information. more..

Mar 5 (DM) The Federation of Wildlife Conservation has taken an initiative to launch a programme to conserve 30 tanks and 75 waterfalls in and around the country. According to the Executive Director of the Federation of Wildlife Conservation Nishantha Jayathilake, there are around 383 waterfalls and around 10,000 water tanks in the island and out of it 3500 are considered as important wetlands. more..

Mar 5 (DM) The Colombo District Court yesterday issued an enjoining order restraining the directive issued by the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) Ariyaratne Athugala suspending the services of an international award winning programmes producer. District Judge Sisira Ratnayake made this order following a plaint filed by Ravindra Munasinghe, a renowned producer who had been serving in the national television for well over twenty years. more..

Mar 5 (AFP) Four Sri Lankan civilians have been killed in a roadside bomb attack allegedly carried out by government security forces, the Tamil Tiger rebels said Wednesday. The LTTE said the civilians were ambushed late Tuesday in Mannar district, where heavy fighting has been raging for weeks. "Four displaced civilians from Mannar who were travelling in a tractor-trailer to their homes in Thadchanamaruthamadhu came under a claymore attack by the Sri Lanka army," the Tigers said. more..

Mar 5 (SP) The government is planning for the post-LTTE world, when what's left of the LTTE is expected to continue a terrorism campaign. Another 5,000 police are being recruited, and counter-terrorism forces will be extended to the grassroots level, to involve civilians as much as possible. The LTTE still has members in the east, who went underground when the rebels lost control of the area last year. These fellows are setting off bombs and murdering people. more..

Mar 5 (AP) Sri Lanka's military pounded rebel positions with helicopter gunships and fought a series of ground battles with Tamil separatists in fighting that killed 14 guerrillas and two soldiers, the military said Wednesday. Meanwhile, a roadside bomb exploded near the town of Vavuniya inside government-held territory, injuring two police officers, the military said. more..

Mar 5 (BL) �Those who profited from the corruption ridden transaction between the government and Shell, will burn in hell,� Chief Justice (CJ) Sarath N. Silva commented. �People are now suffering because the Chandrika Bandaranaike government gave up their monopoly on gas,� he said yesterday at the inauguration of a court to deal with consumer affairs related offences (Court No. 5). more..

Mar 5 (IANS) Sri Lanka exported $1.3 billion worth of tea in 2007, the highest in the 141-year history of the crop in the island country. This has brought cheer to Sri Lankans, but tea industry experts see it as a flash in the pan. Sri Lanka produces 304 million kg per year and is the fourth largest tea producer in the world, after China, India and Kenya. But the large estates, which are in the corporate sector, are on the decline, with no prospect of an early recovery, more..

Mar 5 (IANS) Sri Lanka Army chief Lt. Gen. Sanath Fonseka Tuesday obliquely urged India to supply arms to enable Colombo to effectively counter the Tamil Tigers. But it could be a while before this happens. 'The relations between both countries are good at the political level but need to be increased at the military level. I am here to further strengthen the military ties,' more..

Mar 6 (Gulf) Residents are complaining that the cost of employing a housemaid has become a burden on their monthly budget as several Asian nations have increased the minimum wage of housemaids from their countries. Most housemaids in the UAE are from Asian countries such as India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. A.N., an Emirati in Abu Dhabi said his monthly expenses had gone up as he has to pay more for his two housemaids who are from the Philippines and India. more..

Mar 6 (LBO) Sri Lankan civil society groups Wednesday warned that the government's contempt for the rule of law and the constitution was bringing the country into disrepute and could cause economic harm. The Organisation of Professional Associations said way President Mahinda Rajapakse and the government was ignoring established norms of good governance and interfering with anti-corruption institutions augured ill for the future. more..

Mar 6 (SLW) During my school days when I was still not a teenager, I remember cycling to the neighbouring village one Saturday morning. It was about three miles away on the other side of the fields where most of our village folks cultivated food crops and watched over their goats and cattle. It was a beautiful countryside to cycle with vast open lands on both sides and friendly people along the path warmly greeting me. more..

Mar 6 (LBO) A librarian working for a Sri Lanka state television station where a junior minister was held hostage after he stormed its newsroom had been knifed while travelling on a bus, an official said. Convenor of the Sri Lanka's Free Media Movement (FMM) Sunanda Deshapriya said Ranjini Aluthge is being treated at a Colombo hospital for slash injuries. "The assailant man slashed her across the back twice with a razor knife and glared at her face before leaving the bus," Deshapriya said. more..

Mar 6 (TMG) But when you see leeches rearing up to sniff the air before racing towards your legs like worms on speed, it seems they might even have psychopathic tendencies. In space, no one can hear you scream. In the rainforest, leeches hear you squeal and they love it. The little critters almost ruined my first experience of a Sri Lankan rainforest. When the guide was pointing to a rare plant, I was frantically flicking leeches off my socks. more..

Mar 6 (AN) Children are easy and innocent victims for all kinds of violent abuse, and must be treated as if they were one's own children. This has been restated by Viji Jegarasasingam, secretary of the ministry for social services and assistance, who has invited all of the governmental and non-governmental organisations, public and private, to work for the protection of minors. "We must work together to help children, this is a responsibility for both the government and the private sector", more..

Mar 6 (BBC) Ministry of Defence is controlling a number of armed groups in the east says the leader of the opposition Ranil Wickremasinghe. Opposition leader Wickremasinghe told this at a media briefing on Wednesday summoned to outline a proposed National Consultation by the Jathika Sabha which comprises of the UNP and SLFP (M). Wickremasinghe further said that Tamil Tigers are still in the east while break away Pilliayan group, EPDP, and a Muslim group mobilised by the government are in operation. more..

Mar 6 (AFP) Sri Lanka said Wednesday that 100 of its soldiers were killed and a further 800 wounded fighting the Tamil Tigers last month, showing the escalating conflict is bloodier than previously announced. The casualty figures were given in a statement to the national parliament by Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, and were sharply higher than those released by the island's hawkish defence ministry. more..

Mar 6 (FI) Mr. Rasalingam�s assumption that age has blessed him with a superior understanding of Sri Lankan politics should make him an appropriate candidate for a Sinhalese knighthood. He ignores the fact that Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan fought the British to secure the release of Sinhalese leaders who were incarcerated for allegedly generating the riots of that time. It was the same Sir Ponnambalam who urged the Sinhalese to develop fluency in their own language, as did my own grandfather, the leading surgeon Dr. S.C.Paul. more..

Mar 6 (FI) Dr Nihal Jayawickrama, the well known Political Scientist has once again reiterated that the minorities need space. In his talk �The Philosophy and Legitimacy of Sri Lanka�s Republican Constitution� at a workshop which was part of the programme organized by the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Dr Colvin R de Silva, he repeated a statement he had made ten years ago. more..

Mar 6 (BNL) There was concern Wednesday, March 5, about the apparent escalation of violence against Christians in Sri Lanka amid fresh reports of attacks against churches and other Christian institutions. Britain-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a major rights group, told BosNewsLife there this month saw a "dramatic" increase in attacks against Christians in the country, including Monday, March 3 when the Zion Mount Prayer House in Sri Lanka's Mulaitivu District was set on fire. more..

Mar 6 (LR) The LTTE terrorist activities are now confined into Wanni jungle and they have hardly any access to military supply from the sea. Sri Lankan navy has destroyed all the tiger terrorist vessels that have been operated in Indian Ocean. The Sri Lanka Air Force MIG fighter jets frequently pound on sea tiger hide outs in the shore. The sea tigers that were once proud and elite unit of LTTE is now struggling even to launch a small boat in the water. Their last coward attempt to attack the navy was by shielding into Indian fishermen. more..

Mar 6 (AT) Prabakaran was seriously injured after the air attack on his hide out on 26 November. After this attack Prabhakaran has never appeared in public. Even when Charles, one of his top leaders was killed Prabhakaran did not attend his funeral. What it is believes is that Prabhakaran is seriously injured and the person who used to move about freely is now in hiding nursing his injuries. more..

Mar 6 (AT) The issue of land and its distribution to the Tamils, Muslims and the Sinhalese has to be settled amicably to create a peaceful and harmonious environment in the Batticaloa district located in the East of Sri Lanka. This would create a conducive climate for the Tamils, Muslims and the Sinhalese in the Batticaloa district to live with peace and harmony. more..

Mar 6 (LG) Maha Sivarathri which falls on March 6, 2008 will be observed in every temple particularly in Shivan temples and also in Hindu homes. The whole day and night will be profitably spent in temples. The night which is devoted to Lord Shiva as the term Sivarathari indicates is more important than the observances during the day. At a temple the night is divided into four quarters from sunset to sunrise, in each of which, more..

Mar 6 (LG) Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara yesterday said that the latest ruse adopted by the LTTE was to make their women cadres, who have been recalled after marriage, bring their children and family members to the frontline bunkers. "Their motive is to tarnish the image of the troops in case those children or family members perish in our attacks on bunkers," he said during yesterday�s defence briefing. more..

Mar 6 (LG) We Sri Lankan women, like men are emotional when an horrenduous event violating women and girls takes place with the passage of time. Society soon forgets the atrocities and goes back to complacency and stores it the limbo of the past. March 8 tomorrow is International Women�s Day which is celebrated with pomp and pageantry, colourful posters, banners, speeches and rampaging rhetoric. Then everything is consigned to oblivion, till a year later when it comes to another Women�s Day. more..

Mar 6 (LG) The canonical Buddhist text of the 2nd century BCE, �The Questions of Milinda�, is a lucid exposition of the Buddha Dhamma given by Bikkhu Nagasena to the Greek king Milinda (Menandros). Impressed by Bikkhu Nagasena�s dhamma exposition we read that King Milinda became a lay disciple. In the course of this dhamma exposition Bikkhu Nagasena clarified the distinct roles of bikkhus and rulers in the Buddhist dispensation as laid down by the Buddha in the following words: more..

Mar 6 (LG) The constitutional council, as has been pointed by some others as well, is not an independent body.(In my view there are no independent bodies at all but it is a different question altogether.) It is a political party body where the interests of the political parties would be represented. In practice it would be a body representing the main government party (when it is a coalition), the main opposition party, the second largest opposition party, the Tamil and Muslim racist parties. more..

Mar 6 (LG) As the run up to the General Elections takes the center stage the spotlight will be on the key players around whom will revolve the eventual result. In the nature of things under the PR system and the voting pattern of the country in the last few occasions, anything between 35-40% of the entrenched votes will generally go in favour of the two major Sinhala groupings. more..

Mar 6 (SLW) Minister Bandula better known for his clownish and acrobatic talents and a total failure in his Ministerial tasks is continuing to provide idle expensive amusement to the acutely suffering masses. Bandula who somersaulted from the UNP to the Govt. camp for a self serving portfolio proved that he is an acrobat. Then, he demonstrated his lying and chameleon talents uttering all the falsehoods while ruthlessly burdening the consumers by price hikes by the hour. more..

Mar 6 (MNT) The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has chosen the National Diabetes Centre of Sri Lanka (NDC) as one of the 11 first funding recipients of its translational research grant programme, BRIDGES, from over 108 global applications. The National Diabetes Centre project was awarded $399,670 USD by the BRIDGES programme to complete research over the next three years. more..

Mar 6 (AN) A Sri Lankan maid, who was going home on completion of her contract, died at the King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh on Tuesday, consular officials reported yesterday. Mudiyansalage Wijemenike, 47, collapsed at the airport as she was boarding a Colombo-bound flight. Her sponsor, Ghazi Fahd Al-Ghazi, was present at the airport with his family to see off his maid who was going on final exit. more..

Mar 6 (wsws) The euphoria in the Sri Lankan government and military over the prospects of a quick victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is beginning to fade. While the security forces regularly report the killing of LTTE members, little progress appears to have been made in seizing the LTTE�s major northern strongholds in the Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu districts. more..

Mar 6 (LG) Buddha is a universally revered noble philosopher who loved humanity and according to Buddhist literature he had sacrificed his life, limbs and personal pleasures for the cause of finding a way to free mankind from fear and sorrow which is a common feature inherent to all life on earth. It was Buddha who centuries ago vividly explained on many occasions that the human race is one, and all the nominal racial, religious, caste, political and all other divisional identities adopted are conceptual by nature. more..

Mar 6 (LG) Not long before the French Revolution, we learnt in school, the members of the royal family of King Louis XIV of France practiced a very strange hobby for their exclusive pleasure. This blue-blooded tribe reared a multitude of pigeons and these flocks of birds frequently descended upon the crops of the poor farmers and ate up the grains, the only source of food that satisfied their hunger. more..

Mar 6 (LG) According to media reports, the Parliamentary Committee probing NGOs/INGOs was told hat the reversal of the decision of the International Center for Ethnic Studies to dismiss Dr. Rama Mani, its executive director, was influenced by written warning by the Canadian High Commission and the Ford Foundation. It was transpired that an expatriate UNDP official was also signed a petition demanding the reinstatement of Dr. Mani. more..