Jun 9 (AT) What about Sri Lanka�s sovereignty? This is what really concerns us. A thug has no sense of shame because he is a thug. However much you insult him citing his past and present global criminal records he does cares not a hoot. "What I do in any part of the world is my business. But when it comes to you, I am the arbiter. You have no right to challenge me. This is the message that Western governments and their bootlicking Asians have been conveying to us mostly through the UN since the last days of the LTTE." more..

Jun 9 (USE) After successful completion of a three - week training program, thirty English teachers from the districts of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Jaffna and Batticaloa received their certificates on May 29, 2009. This pilot program on English teacher training is a component of the Government of Sri Lanka�s Cities of Excellence Initiative. The Ministry of Education with the assistance of the Presidential Task Force on English and IT implemented the project. more..

Jun 9 (Hindu) The Union government should cancel the visas of Sri Lankan citizens who are campaigning against their government on Indian soil, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy said here on Monday. �Most of them are pro-LTTE propagandists,� he said. Sri Lankan citizens had no right to campaign against that country using Indian soil. �If Indians campaign against the Indian government among foreigners abroad, we Indians will not tolerate it and, more..

Jun 9 (CI) Sri Lanka dumped Australia out of the ICC World Twenty20 with a six-wicket victory at Trent Bridge. Kumar Sangakkara played a captain's innings to lead them across the line, with an over to spare, as they chased 160 after Tillakaratne Dilshan sparked the pursuit with an innovative 53 off 32 balls. Australia were set back by a magnificent display from Ajantha Mendis who bamboozled with his variations and more..

Jun 9 (Hindu) The Congress on Monday demanded that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa fulfil his promise of devolution of power to minority Tamils to bring lasting peace in the island nation. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President�s address, Jayanthi Natarajan (Congress) said it was absolutely vital for the Sri Lankan government to ensure immediate relief to Tamils displaced due to the war with the LTTE. more..

Jun 9 (CHTN) He made the remark in a meeting with the deputy head of Iran+s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization for investment and planning, Hossein Fazeli. Fazeli said investment opportunities in Iran are not comparable with other countries, adding that the government has facilitated investments for building access routes and providing water, electricity and gas to tourism projects, CHTN reported. more..

Jun 9 (CI) It started with a third-ball duck and ended in a leg-side wide. Those were the events that bookended Australia's lamentable three-day ICC World Twenty20 campaign, and symbolised the struggles encountered by Ricky Ponting's men in comprehensive defeats to West Indies and Sri Lanka. Australia on Monday suffered the ignominy of becoming the third team after Scotland and Bangladesh to be dumped from the pool stages of the tournament, while the likes of the Netherlands and Ireland remain. more..

Jun 9 (LBO) Sri Lanka's stock exchange is one of the most expensive bourses to do business and reducing the influence of broker members by de-mutualization may be one way to take the bourse forward, chairman Nihal Fonseka has said. Fonseka said the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) was "dogged by structural and macro issues that inhibit its development," including high broker risk, lack of traded products, high transactions costs and poor liquidity. more..

Jun 9 (TOI) Francis Boyle, an American expert on international law, on Monday asked India not to oppose the statehood claim of Tamils in Sri Lanka by citing the excuse that Tamils in India would also be inspired to secede if 'Tamil Eelam' was established. "Since 1948, the government of Sri Lanka has discriminated against and persecuted Tamils, and this behaviour culminated in acts of genocide. more..

Jun 9 (LG) �A one eyed turtle, whose life span is immeasurable, lives at the bottom of the sea. Once every 100 years, it rises to the surface. There is only one sandalwood log floating in the sea with a hollow in it suitable to the turtle's eye size. Since the turtle is one eyed and the log is tossed about by the wind and waves, the likelihood of the turtle finding the log is extremely remote� more..

Jun 9 (CI) Sri Lanka began their World Twenty20 campaign by ending Australia's stay in the competition. Their captain Kumar Sangakkara, leading the side for the first time, remained unbeaten and secured victory but reserved special mention for Ajantha Mendis, who revelled in his first outing against Australia in any format. Ricky Ponting concurred, calling Mendis a "unique bowler" whom they had studied but more..

Jun 9 (LG) I used to call Balasingham Nadesan, the late political commissar of the LTTE, Mahendran mama. He was a soft spoken and a very gentle man. Mahendran mama used to come to our flat on Park Road often to talk politics with my father over a couple of drinks. I and my brother used to sit on his lap and listen to politics. Balasingham Nadesan was then a constable of the Sri Lanka Police and a member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party. more..

Jun 9 (LG) The battle in which an ambitious and aggrieved young Sinhala Prince �Dutu� Gemunu defeated the ageing Tamil King Ellalan (Elara-in Sinhalese) to become King in ancient Sri Lanka, has underscored Sri Lankan ethnic politics in the past sixty years. The anguished cry of a restless �Dutu� Gemunu that he was unable to sleep because of being hemmed in by the Tamils on one side and the deep ocean on the other resonates in most Sinhala hearts to this day. more..

Jun 9 (LG) I received this morning a very good piece of writing by Harsha Aturupana with the title The Pearl of Great Price: Achieving Equitable Access to Primary and Secondary Education and Enhancing Learning in Sri Lanka. It is the expanded version of a lecture delivered by Aturupana in November 2008 at the Institute of Education in London. It contains a very useful summary of data on the process in Sri Lanka over the last 60 years and a clear write up of the data. more..

Jun 9 (LG) The British Government, the specialists in Sri Lankan internal affairs is in complete disarray. While I am writing this the BBC says that a leading Labour Party minister has rung the warning bells saying that the more Prime Minister Brown attempts to carry on regardless the less will be the chances for them to get re-elected! As if a curse has befallen on them, the British ruling party is on the verge of being dumped into a bottomless pit more..

Jun 9 (GDI) Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) expects to call on the 1.6 million strong Sri Lankan migrant community for assistance in supporting the development drive in the North. �Migrant workers are one of our strongest economic strengths, they would certainly make a significant contribution to boost economic survival in the North,� SLBFE Chairman Kingsly Ranawaka said today. (09) more..

Jun 9 (GDI) UPFA's Nandimitra Ekanaya and Chandima Weerakody representing the Matale and Galle districts of the ruling UPFA were sworn is as Members of Parliament before Speaker WJM Lokubandara in Parliament this morning. They filled the vacancies created by the deaths of Justice Minister Amarasiri Dodangoda and UNP senior parliamentarian, Alick Aluvihare. Ekanayake contested the last general election on the UNP ticket and was placed next in the list. more..

Jun 9 (GDI) The Sri Jayewardenepura University Senate has decided to confer honorary degrees on President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary, Security Forces Chiefs, the IGP and the Civil Security Service Director General, the Registrar of the university Mr. J. Muththettuwegedara said. These honorary degrees will be conferred in appreciation of the leadership given and more..

Jun 9 (GDI) Lt. Gen. Ma Xiaoping, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the People's Liberation Army, the People's Republic of China, expressed his satisfaction with the military defeat of the LTTE. He said that he is well informed of the latest developments in Sri Lanka. "We have been considering Sri Lanka and its development goals on the margins of 8th Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore last week," Lt. Gen Ma said. more..

Jun 9 (GDI) The Ministry of Transport has taken measures to streamline the northern transportation service while adding another 125 passenger transport buses to the existing fleet. The Ministry is also expecting contributions from the private passenger transportation for the A9 and A32 routes. Sri Lanka Transport Board will immediately commence the Jaffna-Colombo -A9 passenger transportation service when the route permission is granted for passenger transportation. more..

Jun 9 (GDI) The government is taking steps to set up court complexes in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts shortly, the Secretary to the Judicail Services Commission Chandra Jayatilleke told www.news.lka short while ago. He noted that there was a need of a judiciary system parallel to the new development plans to consolidate security and to resettle people in the areas. more..

Jun 9 (GDI) National Transport Commission (NTC) has taken several urgent measures to strengthen the existing public transportation services named �Nisi-Saeriya�, introduced as a remedial measure to the scarcity of passenger buses during the night time. These services are implemented with the collaboration of Sri Lanka Transport Board, and it is operated by individual bus depots. more..

Jun 9 (LT) 80,000 employees in the private sector in Sri Lanka have lost their jobs within the last five months and the National Centre for Disemployed (NCD) was founded to fight for their rights said its convener Wasanthe Samarasinghe, President of Inter Companies Employees Union. He said, �During the past five months 80, 000 have lost direct jobs in the private sector. More than 300,000 people have lost indirect jobs as a result of this. more..

Jun 9 (LT) During the debate on emergency regulations the ministers present in the Parliament had raised their hands in answer to a question posed by the JVP Member Bimal Rathnayake during his address. Participating in the debate on emergency regulations Mr. Rathnayake has stated the country had been liberated from terrorism as efficient commanders including the commanders of the three services had served the country with dedication. more..

Jun 9 (CP) The government has decided to use the electoral register of 1983 for the resettlement of displaced civilians in the north, said lands minister Jeevan Kumaratunga. The minister has told the media that this measure would prevent any injustice being done to original Tamil, Sinhala and Muslim settlers of villages in the province. more..

Jun 9 (CP) There are 3,100 unmarried expectant mothers in welfare camps in the North, 'Dinamina' reports. A news article written by Ramani Premathillake Bogoda says the 60 percent of them are between 16 and 17 years of age. On the directions of presidential advisor and chairman of the Presidential Task Force, Basil Rajapaksa, Health Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva has taken steps to provide them with health facilities. more..

Jun 9 (CP) President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited the historic Kataragama Devale on June 06 to fulfill a vow he had made prior to the war to defeat the LTTE. Accompanied by defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, commanders of the three armed forces and the IGP, president Rajapaksa offered golden jewelry to the Devale. They also paid floral tributes to the statue of King Mahasen and offered pooja at other places of religious worship there. more..

Jun 9 (CP) The Urban Development Authority yesterday (June 08) returned a land owned by the Russian Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka that had illegally been occupied by a group led by a powerful political figure. All unauthorized constructions in the more than four-acre prime plot at Bauddhaloka Mawatha have now been dismantled. The embassy had recently asked the government to return the land where it expects to build an office complex. more..

Jun 9 (Vijayvaani) Little lion-hearted Lanka leads by example once again. It was the first nation in the post-Second World War era to elect a woman prime minister; then it became the first nation to spurn ineffective external intermediaries in a fratricidal war and launch a concerted armed effort to end violent secessionism once and for all. Now, the island�s Buddhist religious leadership has risen to redeem the Indic tradition by more..

Jun 9 (PSM) The Ministry of Disaster Relief Services and Resettlement has taken steps to commence the third phase of resettling the displaced in north of Mannar which was postponed last month on account of the final face of the humaniitarian operation in Mullaithivu. However, the LTTE expelled Mulsims from the Mannar disitrict in 1990 had made an appeal to commence the resettlement of the Muslims as well together with the Tamils. more..

Jun 9 (AT) During my recent visit to Sri Lanka I had the occasion to meet with many government officials in many ministries. I also met with several distinguished members of the business community in Colombo. At all of my meetings I asked the question, �Have any of you ever heard of Bruce Fein?� The answer I always received, along with blank expressions, was "No." I couldn�t believe it. more..

Jun 9 (AT) Dr. Kumar Rupasinghe an anti-war expert and a rights activist and Chairman of the Foundation for Co-Existence claimed that the LTTE made a big mistake when it tried to use civilians as a human shield to pressure the international community to intervene in Sri Lanka. However the government was able to defeat their objectives. he said at present the government has a vital responsibility to resettle the IDPs within its 180 days programme. more..

Jun 9 (LNP) Prabhakaran is dead and an LTTE rump is limping along overseas. It is sure to suffer some splits before long. There may be internecine clashes among the surviving senior Tigers staking claims for leadership. Prabhakaran died intestate, so to speak, and the LTTE`s unaccounted for wealth in many hands may cause the aspiring leaders to fall out and break ranks. So, the LTTE s revival as a military outfit in this country is out of the question. more..

Jun 9 (DN) Never before in its history has the SLAF been tested to its limits of performance, and strengths and never before has it performed with so much vigour and commitment and achieved this amount of success. The journey from Mavil Aru to Pudumathalan for the SLAF was long and arduous but fulfilling, and the team kept the ensign flying at dizzying heights. At the commencement of the humanitarian operations, more..

Jun 9 (DN) Who wants to be the authority on culture and heritage in our land? For those interested, Hema Nalin Karunaratne is set to floor the gas pedal with his Heritage TV channel on Dialog TV - available free of charge 24/7. Following his trails along the hallways of Rupavahini and Swarnavahini for quarter of a century, Nalin now heads a satellite channel, a meeting place for culture and nature. Heritage TV has been broadcast on Sri TV since September, 2008 two hours a day. more..

Jun 9 (DN) The Arts Society of the Science Faculty, University of Colombo held a photographic exhibition recently and it was called �Prathibha 2009�. With an aim of bringing out the artistic talents of their students, the message of Art is prevalent with the first photographic exhibition held at the university recently. �We wanted to show people that the Science faculty were not studious bookworms but they have talents too�. more..

Jun 9 (DN) A two acre extent of land called " Pothuvil Kumbura" in Kolonnawa received from the Urban Development Authority is now being temporarily used by the CMC to dump garbage collected from Colombo City, Municipality Solid Waste Management Director P. Thangamyle said. Thangamyle added that this land is the only alternative found by the CMC to dispose garbage after objections raised against the Grandpass dumping site. more..

Jun 9 (Island) The Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA) has decided to contest the Polls to Jaffna MC and Vavuniya UC, political sources said yesterday. Ex- Vanni Dist MP and Leader of the Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam, Dharmalingham Siddharthan, told The Island that only after reading media reports yesterday that he found to his amusement that there was an alliance between the DTNA and the TNA and more..

Jun 9 (CT) The APRC chaired by minister Prof. Tissa Vitarana has reached consensus on key issues of a political solution, 'Divaina' reports. The June 09 issue of the newspaper says there is a proposal for the establishment of two governing units as a central government and provincial councils. The central government would retain ports, airports, other key installations and natural resources while more..

Jun 9 (Island) The driver of a businessman�s car was shot dead by gunmen who made their escape with Rs 1.6 million at the entrance to a private bank in Rawathawatte yesterday. Samson Fernando, a petrol shed owner had gone to the bank to deposit his money when two gunmen attacked him killing the driver, Govinda Saman Kuruppu (41). Samson Fernando told police that the two armed men with their faces covered had arrived on a motor bike and more..

Jun 9 (Island) Politicians would have continued to turn a blind eye to the illegal privatization of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation if the fundamental rights application against the deal had not been filed, Nihal Sri Ameresekere and Vasudeva Nanayakkara told journalists yesterday at a special media conference to discuss the recent Supreme Court judgment. The landmark Supreme Court judgment that more..

Jun 9 (Island) Now that Dengue has reached unprecedented epidemic levels, one naturally has to ask the question, what happened to that Govt. decision to use Bacillus thurengiensis popularly known as Bt to control Dengue menace a few years ago. Bacillus thurengiensis is an insecticidal bacterium marketed world wide for control of many important plant pests mainly caterpillars of butterflies and moths. more..

Jun 9 (DM) The Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRC) urged the Police Chief to carry out an impartial investigation into an incident where a group of men had disrupted an event to organize the key handing over ceremony to house holders in Ratmalana. The letter to the Police Chief Jayantha Wickremaratne states: �In response to the Governments Tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation programme the SLRC embarked on a programme to build l5,000 houses for the tsunami effected people. more..

Jun 9 (DM) The dead body of Violet Mallika Yatawara, the mother of two children, and one of the wealthiest women in Kurunegala, was found on Sunday in her house on Sumangala Mawatha, Police sources said. Mrs. Yatawara was the proprietress of Red Rose Textiles and several other enterprises. She was 50 years of age. Police believe she had been killed, in broad daylight, on the same day. more..

Jun 9 (DM) Senior Daily Mirror journalist Senaka de Silva who earned a name for himself as a crime reporter passed away yesterday after a brief illness. Senaka was known for compiling the �Police Log� which was exclusively published in Daily Mirror for more than ten years. His colleagues came to know Senaka as a committed and dedicated journalist with a great sense of duty and a similar sense of humour. more..

Jun 9 (DM) Labour Minister Mervin Silva has offered to resign from parliament to enable Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to be appointed as an MP. Minister Silva told the Daily Mirror he had written to President Mahinda Rajapaksa expressing his desire to resign from parliament but said he was yet to receive a response from the UPFA leadership. more..

Jun 9 (LBO) Tourist arrivals in to Sri Lanka slumped 20.6 percent in May 2009 to 24,739 from a year ago as a global travel slowdown and fierce fighting that ended the Tamil Tiger insurgency deterred visitors. According to figures put out by Sri Lanka's tourism office, arrivals from south Asia, the main source of visitors in May, fell 31 percent to 8,576. This was mainly because of a sharp downturn in Indian visitors, who come both for tourism as well as business. more..

Jun 9 (ANN) The Tourism Ministry has come up with nine new tourist promotional projects for the North. The projects are specially aimed at attracting the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, presidential secretariat sources told The Island yesterday. These projects, scheduled to be completed within 180 days, would be launched under the Uthuru Vasanthaya programme. An 18-member Presidential task force would implement the projects aimed to attract tourists, more..

Jun 9 (ANN) Post-war, Sri Lanka is a country of symbols. Cheering crowds and lion flags, mammoth cut-outs of President Rajapakse (often hailing him as Maha Raju) and pictures of servicemen dominate the landscape, embodying the hope of a future better than the past. There are other symbols too, less visible, though no less relevant � camps in which masses of civilians are held, a plan to expand the military to three hundred thousand, a journalist abducted and beaten up. more..

Jun 9 (LBO) A left-oriented politician who has successfully returned a large insurer back into state hands through court action says there about 40 other privatizations that need to be re-examined. "There is a list of 40 transactions where there are corrupt reasons (dooshiter hethu)," Vasudeva Nanayakkara, a left-oriented politician who filed the main plaint that resulted in Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation being taken back to the state, said. more..