Apr 1 (DN) The Gem and Jewellery Authority of Sri Lanka has introduced a hallmarking scheme for gold jewellery to maintain standards. Gem and Jewellery Authority�s Precious Metal Testing Unit Manager Siri Chandra Edirisinghe told Daily News that the authority is in the process of legalizing the system now. The standards for gold jewellery was announced in 2006 for the first time but it was not implemented in Sri Lanka properly due to lack of equipment and lab facilities. more..

Apr 1 (DN) The greatest opening pairs have been made of batsmen who complement each other. �Complement� is of course different from �compliment�, the latter is about mutual back-scratching. There are openers and those who compliment (as opposed to �complement�) one another tend to be third rate. Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu are of the former kind. Sanath was naturally gifted, unorthodox and impatient; Marvan the natural �anchor�, more..

Apr 1 (Island) �You, as Chairman, COPE, was a Respondent in the above 2 FR Applications, but failed and neglected to appear to support our Client�s Applications, to obtain such properties to the State. UPFA Ratnapura District Candidate at the upcoming parliamentary polls Vasudeva Nanayakkara have disputed a claim by UNF Colombo District Candidate Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, more..

Apr 1 (Island) As the military probes former Army Chief Gen. (retd) Sarath Fonseka�s entry into politics, it has now been revealed that the war veteran may have initiated a clandestine move, which paved the way for his candidature at the Jan. 26 presidential election. Fonseka lost his bid by a staggering 1.8 million votes at the January 26 election. more..

Apr 1 (Island) It is vital to have a strong government backed by a solid majority in parliament to carry forward Sri Lanka�s development process without any hindrance from within or outside, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said. The development projects already started and the projects yet to commence should not be obstructed by a weak parliament as more..

Apr 1 (Island) Politicians are among beneficiaries of the fertiliser subsidy given to farmers to enhance paddy production. Agriculture Minister Maithripala Sirisena and Wayamba Chief Minister Athula Wijesinghe yesterday acknowledged that they were among the recipients of fertiliser subsidy. Minister Sirisena said that he had received subsidised fertiliser as he was registered as a farmer. more..

Apr 1 (DM) Women candidates of the UNP said yesterday that they were ready to stand up to any kind of election violence from their male counterparts in the run-up to the general election. Ratnapura district UNP candidate Thalatha Athukorale told a news conference that, as a woman candidate, she had faced election violence from the UPFA in her electorate in the district. �Nivitigala is my electorate. At every election, I have faced violence. more..

Apr 1 (DM) The post-war boom in tourism appears to be bringing the much needed prosperity to Jaffna and quite a few companies have come forward to build hotels in the peninsula to cater to the growing demand. It was reported a foundation stone for an eighty room hotel has been laid a few days ago in Nallur and many more are slated to come up in the region. Besides Banks, finance companies and other private entities have started opening branches in more..

Apr 1 (DM) The Court of Appeal yesterday directed the respondents to maintain the status quo (the existing state of affairs) until May 3 in the writ application filed by retired General Sarath Fonseka challenging the purported Court Martial proceedings. The Bench comprising also reserved judgment for May 3 on the question of maintainability of the habeas corpus application and the writ application filed by Gen. Fonseka. more..

Apr 1 (DM) A case was filed in the Colombo District Court yesterday by UNP Moneragala district MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara and candidate J.M. Ananda Kumarasiri seeking the cancellation of the undated resignation letters given by them to the party. Judge Lafar Thahir fixed the inquiry for May 19 and issued notice of interim injunction on UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and General Secretary Tissa Attanayake. more..

Apr 1 (DM) Agriculture Minister Maithripala Sirisena said yesterday he would not refuse the Prime Minister�s post, like he did in 2004, if it was offered to him and President Mahinda Rajapaksa wanted him to be the next Prime Minister after the general election. Minister Sirisena who is also the General Secretary of the SLFP said he was ready to accept the premiership if the party hierarchy decided to offer the post to him. more..

Apr 1 (IL) Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday launched Polypto, the worlds first plant in which petrol is generated through polythene and plastic waste. The plant which is located in Yatiyantota is a joint venture by the Central Environment Authority (CEA), the inventor of the concept Ananda Withanage and the Chemical and Process Engineering Department of the Moratuwa University. more..

Apr 1 (LT) The government that brought down Daya Master, a tiger terrorist leader, by air to Colombo to provide medical assistance during the war has imprisoned Gen. Sarath Fonseka who gave leadership to security forces to end the 30 year old brutal war and now is attempting to let him die a natural death by confining him to a cell that does not have proper ventilation more..

Apr 1 (Island) The UNP has vehemently opposed a government move to shift Parliament to the Gampaha District, The Island learns. The Opposition would go all out to prevent the relocation of Parliament according to the whims and fancies of a powerful UPFA politician contesting the upcoming general election from Gampaha, a senior UNP MP said yesterday vowing to take to the streets unless more..

Apr 1 (Island) A recently launched book tiled Aththai Saththai on the political life of SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena has revealed a JVP move to have him appointed as the Prime Minister of the UPFA government after the last parliamentary election in April 2004. The JVP had said that Sisisena was acceptable to it if an agreement could not be reached on the appointment of either Lakshman Kadirgamar or Anura Bandaranaike as the Prime Minister. more..

Apr 1 (DM) The government says investigations into Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP are still continuing and he will be produced in court at an appropriate time, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said. He said that KP was being detained under the laws of the country in order to protect the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. "Investigations against KP are on and he is being detained under the laws of the country. more..

Apr 1 (UNP) Addressing a media conference at the UNP media unit yesterday, UNP Gamapaha District candidate Upeksha Swarnamali asked, what contribution the President has done to the country�s progress or people�s happiness? Of what purpose is his long political experience he boasts of when he has been able to achieve nothing for the people or country�s benefit? she pointed out. more..

Apr 1 (GDI) The Government has planned to hold the 'Aluth Sahal Mangalyaya' on a grand scale this year. Agrarian Services Commissioner Ravindra Hewavitharana said that the festival is scheduled to be held near the Anuradhapura Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi today and tomorrow. The Commissioner said that the festival will be held with the participation of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. more..

Apr 1 (CT) A clash between two groups left eight undergraduates injured at the University of Moratuwa yesterday (Mar. 31). First and second year students of the National Diploma in Technology faculty were involved in the fighting. As a result, their faculty has been closed indefinitely. According to police, the clash had erupted following student differences over ragging. more..

Apr 1 (SLNN) Sri Lanka has submitted its bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the southern coastal city of Hambantota. The Indian Ocean island�s bid, if successful, will mark the first time the games are held in the country. In a statement, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) President Mike Fennel confirmed receipt of Sri Lanka�s bid by the March 31 deadline. more..

Apr 1 (AFP) Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse reached out on Thursday to the country's ethnic minority Tamils as he made his first visit to their cultural heartland since his re-election. Rajapakse, on a trip to battle-scarred Jaffna, the former stronghold of separatist Tamil rebels in the island's north, promised to work for national unity and reconciliation. more..

Apr 2 (Reuters) Shares recovered on Thursday from its one-week low in thing low volumes as investors picked up shares in Commercial Bank COMB.CM after it announced a share split, traders said. The rupee currency LKR= ended firmer on exporter dollar conversions ahead of the Sri Lankan New Year holiday season. The All-Share Price Index .CSE of the Colombo Stock Exchange closed 0.59 percent or 21.91 points firmer at 3,746.50. more..

Apr 2 (PTI) India will help Sri Lanka in construction of a 500 MW coal-based power plant in Trincomalee and an agreement in this regard is expected to be signed next month. The agreement is being signed pursuant to a request from Sri Lanka for financial support for the power project in the eastern part of that country. Officials from both the countries held a meeting here last month to discuss modalities for the proposed project and agreed to sign the pact next month, more..

Apr 2 (LBO) Sri Lanka's police have raided a company suspected to be using pirated and unlicensed software, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) which represents software firms said. The company is suspected to be infringing the intellectual property rights of BSA members, Adobe, Autodesk and Microsoft. The involved the seizure and examination of over seventy computers installed with an estimated 120 copies of pirated software valued at about 10 million rupees. more..

Apr 2 (AN) A delegation from the Interfaith Coalition for the prevention of electoral conflicts in Sri Lanka has asked all candidates involved in the elections of 8 April and citizens for a conduct respectful of the rights and standards to ensure the right to each to choose and vote freely and without interference. Representatives of different faiths made the call at a midday press conference more..

Apr 2 (CI) Aravinda de Silva, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were unanimous choices for Sri Lanka's all-time XI, picked by a ten-member Cricinfo jury of ex-players and journalists. Notable omissions included Tillakaratne Dilshan and Thilan Samaraweera. Over half the side consists of current players and those recently retired: Chaminda Vaas, Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu, who got nine votes apiece, also made the XI. more..

Apr 2 (GDI) Transport Minister Dallas Alahapperuma said that the UPFA is carrying out its election propaganda campaign in the most excellent manner. He said the forthcoming general election is the last one to be conducted under the discriminatory preferential system. the Minister said the President will preside over the final rally to be held in Middeniya on the 5th of this month. more..

Apr 2 (Xinhua) A group of foreign observers are to arrive in Colombo Thursday to observe the next week parliamentary election, local monitoring groups said. Some sixteen observers representing Japan, Bangladeshan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Afghanistan and Thailand have been invited by the local monitoring group, PAFFREL. "They will be deployed from Friday until April 10 to cover pre and post election periods", more..

Apr 2 (Guardian) "A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague," declared Roman statesman and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero over 2,000 years ago. Accusations of treachery still sting. But in Sri Lanka in recent decades, the term "traitor" has been flung about with wild abandon, raising questions about what loyalty people might owe to a nation and what this might mean in practice. more..

Apr 2 (BBC) The Supreme Court in Sri Lanka has directed the Election Commissioner to prepare a set of working guidelines for state media during elections. The directive by the Supreme Court requires election commissioner to prepare these guidelines that will force state media to act in a free and fair manner during the general election. Supreme Court hearing a fundamental rights petition filed by the UNP also directed the election commissioner to have a dialogue with more..

Apr 2 (LT) The JHU which said it would �Halt intoxication� under �Mahinda Chinthanaya� and boasted they were the main campaigners for the �Mathata Thitha� programme of the government has now drawn its attention to provide tipplers with a moderate drink that does not need any �shandy.� UPFA candidate for Gampaha District Ven. Thuraliye Rathana Thero said his party would put forward a proposal to reduce the volume of alcohol to 20%. more..

Apr 2 (HS) Police seized dramatic footage and images of gun-wielding Melbourne-based terrorist cell supporters who allegedly took money from Victorians under the guise of raising cash for humanitarian aid. Victorian Tamil Tiger terrorist cell supporter Aruran Vinayagamoorthy is pictured proudly wearing a Tamil Tiger uniform and brandishing an automatic military assault rifle. more..

Apr 2 (LG) �The war situation is over, but the emergency regulations remain,� said Bradman Weerakoon, senior civil servant and former secretary to the Prime Minister recently. Mr. Weerakoon was expressing his views at the discussion on the Governance Report 2009 compiled by Transparency International Sri Lanka held in Colombo. The event was held with the participation of intellectuals and officials attached to Transparency International. more..

Apr 2 (GV) �What is the definition of a traitor? A traitor is usually defined as someone who betrays his or her country. But this definition leaves out the question of what, exactly, constitutes betrayal. Recently, the term has been used of journalists and human rights defenders who talk or write about human rights violations and war crimes in Sri Lanka, especially if they are accused of making these allegations to the international community. more..

Apr 2 (CSM) Last May, after more than a quarter century of civil war between government forces and Tamil separatists, a fragile peace came to Sri Lanka. Now, observers hope that parliamentary elections scheduled for April 8 can help unify the island nation. But if the government pursues the same discriminatory tactics it used for the presidential election in January, it will further alienate the island�s Tamil community and more..

Apr 2 (Reuters) Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday promised voters in the minority Tamil city of Jaffna a role in solving their own problems in his second visit since the end of a three-decade civil war in May. Voters in Jaffna and other Tamil areas roundly rejected Rajapaksa, who led Sri Lanka's victory over the LTTE and their 25-year-separatist war, at a presidential poll in January at which he secured a second six-year term. more..

Apr 2 (LT) The Colombo Fort Magistrate Ms. Lanka Jayaratne severely reprimanded the police today for granting police bail on 16 suspects connected with the MTV attack without giving a date to appear in court. The Magistrate said the police has the authority to grant bail to suspects but the law states the bailed suspects should be notified of the date they should appear in Court. She pointed out that the police had neglected its duty regarding this matter. more..