Apr 10 (AHRC) What makes a nation a nation is above all the justice that prevails within that nation. It is justice that creates the bond between the people. Justice connects one with the other. Justice among the people is the one thing that is common to all in a nation if it exists. Justice binds one person or group or a particular nationality with different races and religions. more..

Apr 10 (AP) President Mahinda Rajapaksa, whose party cemented his political dominance by winning a majority in parliamentary elections, promised Saturday to bring peace and prosperity to a nation battered by decades of civil war. Rajapaksa said in a statement that his party's victory in Thursday's elections encourages the government's policies on "peace and reconciliation, reconstruction, greater infrastructure development." more..

Apr 10 (AFP) Sri Lanka's ruling party on Saturday celebrated its landslide victory in the country's first peacetime parliamentary polls since crushing separatist Tamil rebels, but the opposition cried foul. Government supporters carried national flags as they paraded through the streets and lit firecrackers, despite an official week-long ban on public celebrations. more..

Apr 11 (TN) A re-poll is to be held in Kumpuruppiddi polling station in the Trincomalee electorate on April 20 following the cancellation of polling held on April 8. Kumpuruppiddi is a Tamil village located north of Trincomalee town along Trincomalee-Pulmoaddai highway. The Commissioner of Elections has ordered the re-poll following reports that a gang had entered into the Kumpuruppiddi polling station and forcibly removed the ballot papers that led the suspension of counting process later. more..

Apr 11 (LG) Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe says that he is satiesfied with the counting process of the election. He expressed this view at a media brieifng held at the opposition leader's office this morning. Meanwhile journalists questioned about the resignation letter of Ranjith Madduma Bandara who was subjected to a disciplinary inquiry following a problematic situation that arose with the handling over of nominations. more..

Apr 11 (LT) The results of the general election indicate that the struggle carried out for democracy is still valid and it should be taken forward with more vigour says General Secretary of the DNA Vijithe Herath. He said in a situation where more than 50% of the voters had not cast their votes adopting new laws in the Parliament would be an issue. more..

Apr 11 (DM) UNP Puttalam District candidate and former MP Palitha Range Bandara, who contested at the 2010 General Elections, was assaulted in Chilaw this evening and has been admitted to hospital. Four people have been arrested over the incident. Four people have been arrested over the incident, Police spokesman S.P Jayakody told Daily Mirror online. more..

Apr 11 (SL) For the first time ever, there are no Muslim members of parliament elected from the UNP in the Colombo district. Many UNP members expressed shock at the extent of the erosion in the UNP�s popular vote in a key UNP dominated district. AJM Muzzamil a well-known political mechanic, who contested under the UNP ticket, went to the extent of publicly taking an oath affirming that in the event he was elected he would not resign. more..

Apr 11 (SL) I have many times considered writing this column and have, thanks to the insistence of those near and dear to me and those whose intellectual input into my thinking I respect, desisted. All of that advice has, in my opinion, been driven by intelligent and thoughtful consideration of my safety and wellbeing. Most recently, I received two phone calls from my Editor warning me not to continue an more..

Apr 11 (SL) With election results all but final it is now evident that the opposition UNP has been annihilated at the polls. Even by the ailing party�s low standards the UNP�s margin of defeat was extreme. At the time of going to press, the UNP had polled just 2,336,691 votes, which is 29.43% of the total votes. Which means the opposition will barely be represented in parliament. more..

Apr 11 (SL) With the results of the 2010 General Election now all but final, the outcome is clear. The country has entered a new or is that a blue era. The UPFA has emerged as arguably the most powerful political force in the country�s history. And the party now looks certain to command a two thirds majority of the seats in parliament. The scale of the UPFA�s victory historically at least is matched only by J.R. Jayewardene�s victory in the 1977 General Election. more..

Apr 11 (SL) The election is over. Goats are eating the posters along the Batticaloa walls. People sit around television screens, watching colored bars. It was an anointing as much as an election, the communal blessing of President Rajapaksa and his heirs. People vote for a symbol, then numbers. It is in many ways symbolic. The ritual renewal of the new feudalism. Feudalism is, loosely, rule by a king and his nobles. more..

Apr 11 (SL) Post-war, the Sri Lanka military is adapting for tourism. The Navy and Air Force have been especially active in re purposing ships, planes and helicopters for civilian use. Two specific civilian services are the Jetliner cruise ship berthed in the Colombo Harbour and the Helitours air transport service. These two services are now in almost daily operation. more..

Apr 11 (LB) �Three people have committed suicide in a house at Colambage Ara.� This information was received by the police in Udawalawa around 2.30 pm on 5 April via the special emergency line 119. When a police crew led by OIC, Inspector of Police Karunasena Gamage rushed to investigate the scene the house was surrounded by thousands of villagers. Meanwhile, Inspector of Police P.K.C. Pinwatta, OIC crimes, Udawalawa police was in Embilipitiya courts to more..

Apr 11 (LB) Mervyn Silva being third on the Gampaha preferential list after being rejected by voters in 2004 is symptomatic of a �dumbing� down of the electorate. Mervyn didn�t transform in six years. The voters have. �Political observer. So, I�ve got this new and noble ambition that will forthwith replace all other hopes and aspirations to become my ultimate, ultimate goal. Who needs this writing crap? more..

Apr 11 (LB) The people have spoken albeit with one finger on the mute button, considering the abysmally low polling in this country, hitherto known for unabashed election enthusiasm. At the time of writing the national percentage polled is unknown, but it is from all accounts close to 60 per cent which is unprecedented for a national poll to elect the country�s legislature. more..

Apr 11 (LB) JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva speaks to LakbimaNews on election results and how the government misused state power to win. Q: What do you think about the election result? It seems that while the opposition parties have shrunk the UPFA government will get close to a two thirds of the vote? A: Well you can claim that only if the general election was free and fair. But this election was neither free nor fair. more..

Apr 11 (LB) UPFA Ratnapura District MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara is confident that the government is on course to form a new administration with a two-thirds majority in the parliament by enlisting the support of the main opposition United National Front. Q: Do you think the UPFA will be able to get a two-thirds majority given the current tally which stands at 117 for the government and 46 to the UNF? more..

Apr 11 (LB) Former UNP MP Gamini Jayawickrema Perera, who retained his seat having contested the April 8 general election noted that a person of the calibre of Nishantha Muthuhettigama who was lodged in the political dustbin by the UPFA being able to top the preference vote in the Galle district shows the erosion of public trust on the conduct of free and fair polls in this country. more..

Apr 11 (LB) The lessons from the past have hardly been heeded by the Sri Lankan voters when they exercised their franchise on Thursday. This time around the ruling coalition campaigned to win a two third majority in parliament in order to effect changes to the constitution. And they romped home, though a few seats short of 2/3 majority. Sri Lankans voted en masse for a government which has suspended the 17th amendment to the constitution and more..

Apr 11 (LB) UNP rebels are regrouping again once more after facing the worst defeat in UNP history and were planning on how to reorganize the UNP in a way that they would be able to win the hearts and minds of the people. They are planning to meet after the April new year celebrations and take concrete measures on how to carry out radical reform. Meanwhile, UNP MPs it is said were hanging onto telephones discussing more..

Apr 11 (SO) Intellectuals the business community and the Chambers hailed the historic victory of the UPFA and pronounced that this mandate is a clear indication that the people have endorsed Mahinda Chintana. Former President and Chairman Hotel Developers, the owning company of Colombo Hilton said that the verdict of the people is one way of showing their gratitude to the government which had eradicated terrorism and more..

Apr 11 (SO) The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) will secure a minimum of 143 seats said the SLFP Secretary Susil Premjayanth. Speaking to Sunday Observer he said that repolling of the Nawalapitiya and Trincomalee electorates is likely to be held on April 20 and with those results and the National list slots the government would secure a minimum of 143 slots. more..

Apr 11 (SO) A young outspoken politician from the Southern capital Galle, Nishantha Muthuhettigama has created a political storm by securing the highest number of preferential votes at the general election. Muthu as he is fondly known in the District polled 124,368 votes becoming number one from the Galle District. An old boy of Royal College, Colombo, his popularity forced the more..

Apr 11 (SO) Land Development, Human Settlement and Ranaviru Welfare Minister Johnston Fernando has secured 136,943 preferential votes in the Kurunegala district, becoming the top UPFA candidate with the highest number of preferential votes from the district. The Minister says at this General Election, the people have given a resounding mandate to the Government to take the country forward. more..

Apr 11 (SO) Patali Champika Ranawaka, Environment Minister says the UNP must change its dictatorial leadership and neo-liberal economic principles to win future elections. He said the TNA's inefficiency and past track record of non-delivery has been rejected by the Tamil people. Ranawaka who contested the elections from Colombo district was re-elected to Parliament with over 120,000 votes. more..

Apr 11 (SO) In this festival filled little isle of ours, the Sinhala and Hindu New Year celebrations take precedence over all other events. Almost everyone has a stake in them. For many, the New Year festival is an integral part of their traditional way of life. For others, it is a long State-decreed Public Holiday. While we are engrossed with the celebrations, we are quite likely to overlook the more..

Apr 11 (SO) The mere sight of a venomous or even non-venomous snake slithering towards you would make you instantly freeze in your tracks. Your initial response would be to attack it or scream and run for safety. In short, most of us have the tendency to kill any creature that has a long and limbless body and threatens our survival instinct. A few snakes are really life-threatening. However, most are harmless snakes. more..

Apr 11 (Hindu) The victory of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's party in the Sri Lankan parliamentary elections is a good development for Indian national interest, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy said on Saturday. In a press statement, Dr. Swamy said it was a mandate necessary to enable the President to take �bold steps� to amend the Constitution and provide devolution of powers to Tamil areas of the north and the east. more..

Apr 11 (MoD) One of the important characteristics of Sri Lanka today is the fact that there are over two million expatriate Sri Lankans living overseas. A large segment of this expatriate community consists of ethnic Tamils, many of whom hailed from Jaffna peninsula and other towns and villages in the Northern Province. Hence the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka took a strategic decision to open a branch office in Jaffna at the Housing Secretariat Building, Kandy Road Jaffna. more..

Apr 11 (AP) The crash of an aging Russian airliner ravaged the top levels of Poland's military, political and church elite Saturday, killing the Polish president and dozens of other dignitaries as they traveled to a ceremony commemorating a slaughter that has divided the two nations for seven decades. Poles wept before their televisions, lowered flags to half-staff and taped black ribbons in their windows after more..

Apr 11 (TN) Unidentified persons Saturday night set fire to an illegal pavement shop set up buy Sinhalese traders from South in Naachchimaar Koayiladi in Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. Friday night a local shop in this area had been burnt down. Conflicts and disputes between local traders and the Southern Sinhalese and Muslim traders who continue to pour into Jaffna after the opening of A9 road are on the increase with each day and more..

Apr 11 (TN) The body of a woman from Switzerland was found hung with electric wire Sunday behind Thiru Ma�rai Kalaa Mantram located behind the Periya Church in Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. Police are investigating into whether she had committed suicide or had been hung after being killed by someone else. The victim had accompanied her husband, a native Kurunakar in Jaffna, living in Switzerland, in a visit to Jaffna some days ago. more..

Apr 11 (LG) A decent enough interval has not lapsed between Dr Nihal Jayawickrama�s first expression of views on sovereignty in the Sunday Island a fortnight ago, and his more reasoned and most recent expression, for the reader to have forgotten his original stand. In his April 4th reply to me Dr Jayawickrama states I have �rushed to challenge� his assertion that : �the doctrine of state sovereignty, in so far as more..

Apr 11 (MoD) President Mahinda Rajapaksa sent a condolence message on the tragic demise of His Excellency Lech Kaczynski, President of the Republic of Poland, First Lady Maria Kaczynska and several others, including members of Parliament, members of the clergy and senior civilian and military officials in a plane crash. His Excellency Bronislaw Komorowski, Acting President of the Republic of Poland more..

Apr 11 (MoD) Amidst the divisive strains that have prevailed in the political life of most of our people, the Sinhala and Tamil New Year reminds us of a forgotten message. In fact, this new year emphasises the underlying oneness of our society. It reflects the homogeneity of thought and tradition that binds those born on this soil, whether they live in the North or the South. The common, mood of festivity, goodwill and generosity between the two communities, more..

Apr 11 (GDI) �TH TV� is a new Channel which is being launched to raise awareness on the local culture among the youth. The �Tharunayata Hetak� organization has introduced the new TV Channel. The purpose is to release conceptual images of the organization through the media. The launching of the TV Channel took place in Colombo under the patronage of the Vice President of the Organisation Yoshitha Rajapaksa. more..

Apr 11 (GV) A news item on Lakbima News titled News websites caught red-handed doctoring video to make president look racist has this to say of Groundviews. �Websites such as Groundviews exacerbated the situation by saying there was confusing reportage, not highlighting the obvious doctoring which was apparent to anybody listening to the video soundtrack and the clip. more..

Apr 11 (MoD) It is 'Avurudu' again, resembling new life, a new beginning. And most importantly to a special group of Sri Lankans who now re-organising their lives in the rebuilding North of Sri Lanka. For them this is the first ever new year which they are entirely free to enjoy. For them peace is restored in their lives never to be taken away and prosperity is reaching them slowly but steadily. This Sinhala - Tamil New Year truly means something for their lives. more..