Jan 18 (GDI) The distribution of polling cards for the upcoming presidential election wll end today. The Postal Department has distributed these cards in a streamlined manner to avoid errors, Department sources said. The Department also allocated special days for distribution to ensure a smooth operation. The distribution commenced on December 8 and ninety per cent of the cards have already reached the voters. more..

Jan 18 (LP) The Japanese Government will assist the women engaged in the production of dried fish. Under the Japanese assistance women engaged in the dry fish production will receive advanced technological equipment to ease their burdens in the scorching sun. Initially the project -"Economic Empowerment of Women through increased Dry Fish Production"- has received Rs.4.7 million and more..

Jan 18 (GDI) Minister of Transport, Dulles Alahapperuma today claimed the election campaign of President Mahinda Rajapaksa gained momentum day by day transforming the victory into a resounding victory and added that there was no fear of the victory. He noted that local and international surveys conducted have indicated that the President would gain a resounding victory on January 26. more..

Jan 18 (LP) The Ports and Aviation Ministry took over a Spectroscopic Portal Monitor of the Megaport Surveillance System on behalf of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) in the Port of Colombo recently. This ultra modern Portal Monitor was installed under the Megaports initiative in the Colombo Port by the US Energy Department. After signing of the MOU with the Government of the USA for the implementation of the Megaports initiative in 2004, more..

Jan 18 (SLN) 913 sailors belonging to the 182nd, 183rd, and 184th Regular Naval Intakes passed out on the evening of 16th January 2010 at a colourful passing out parade held at SLNS Shiksha in Poonewa. Director General Electrical and Electronic Engineering Rear Admiral JC Hettigama graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. The event was attended by many high ranking Naval officers and family members of the sailors passing out. more..

Jan 18 (MoD) The ceremonial passing out parade of 229 Officer Cadets of regular intake 66 B, short commission intake 17, volunteer intake 47, volunteer lady intake 8, direct enlisted intake DE/2009 and regular intake 66 at the pivotal Sri Lanka Military Academy (SLMA) at Diyatalawa occurred Sunday attended by Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya as Chief Guest. more..

Jan 18 (DN) Moneragala is the second largest district in the island surrounded by Ampara district from the North and East, Hambantota district from the South, Badulla district from West and North,and Ratnapura district from the South East. The district which has inherited a civilization of one hundred thousand paddy fields is also renowned as �Wellassa�. It is in this district at the place called Maligawila that one can find the world famous Avalokitheswara Buddha Statue which more..

Jan 18 (wsws) The January 26 presidential election in Sri Lanka has been marked by a large number of violent incidents, most of which have been linked to supporters of the incumbent�President Mahinda Rajapakse. The first death occurred on January 12 at Hungama in the district of Hambantota�Rajapakse�s home area. A gunman opened fire on a bus carrying people to a rally for the main opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka. more..

Jan 18 (DN) With the end of the 30-year armed conflict, new opportunities have dawned to develop and re-build Sri Lanka. Reconstruction of infrastructure and rehabilitation of lives and livelihoods need to go hand-in-hand to achieve the optimum results of rebuilding the nation, which is the most pressing challenge in the post-war scenario. more..

Jan 18 (LG) The intimidation and the pressure that Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake has reportedly been subjected to at the hands of certain elements in the government ranks is a downright disgrace. This is probably the very first time that an Elections Commissioner has had to undergo this manner of open intimidation. In one sense, such pressure tactics are not a surprise and merely reflect the downward trend of governance more..

Jan 18 (MoD) A Naval Intelligence Team attached to SLNS Gajaba in the North-western Naval Command, acting on information received recovered 1004 kilograms of LTTE C 4 explosives in the Mollikulum General Area on 16 January 2010 around 1400 hrs. The lethal explosives numbering 71 blocks were found by the Naval troops while buried in the above location securely packed in a 1000 liter-capacity plastic barrel. more..

Jan 18 (LG) Just days before the January 26 presidential election, campaigns by the two main candidates are fast turning out to be a comedy of errors plus a lot of hype. A few others on the campaign trail should also be lumped into this category. For example, Ven Battaramulla Seelarathana Thera announced that he was withdrawing from the contest and would support the President. more..

Jan 18 (LG) A number of writers who identify themselves as "Tamils", as well as demented fellow travelers of the LTTE, like Kumar David have come up with arcane arguments telling Tamils how to vote in the coming presidential election in Sri Lanka. Here in Toronto, I hear interminable discussions of the topic, and cannot escape from the advise of the wise . What is most painful to an old man like me is the feeling of "deja vu" and "deja entendu", in all this chatter. more..

Jan 18 (LT) A group of thugs of UPFA presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse attacked the JVP main office of Kalawewa in Thambuththegama maintained at the residence of Mr. Wasanthe Samarasinghe, former MP of the JVP a few hours ago. The thugs inflicted heavy damage to the office and the house. The group of thugs who had come armed with clubs and firearms has attacked the office and more..

Jan 18 (PSM) Around 61 Muslims from Jaffna gathered at the Chavakachcheri Mohideen Jummah mosque after a lapse of 20 years to perform the Jammah (Friday) prayer on 15th. Mowlavi Nilafdeen conducted the Kuthubah presentation (Friday sermon) and led the prayer inside the roofless Muhideen Jummah Masjid. Following the Jummah prayer the mowlavi also conducted more..

Jan 18 (LNP) While condemning the killing of an UPFA supporter in Madurankuliya by a group of gunmen on Saturday, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said he will not allow thuggery to take root in the country under any circumstances. The President was addressing over 100,000 people who flocked to the Maligapitiya grounds in Kurunegala in support of his victory at the upcoming election. more..

Jan 18 (LT) The JVP office at Thambuththegama was attacked yesterday evening by goons of Mahinda Rajapakse with the support of the Police and STF says our correspondent at Anuradhapura. He said the goons who had come for the attack were still being protected by the police and the STF. A meeting of the artistes in the area who support apolitical Common Candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka had been organized at more..

Jan 18 (LT) Lanka News Web reports that the President�s election website mahinda2010.lk, contains false information concerning the presidential children. The Sinhala version identifies Namal Rajapakse as a lawyer while the English one says he is studying law in the UK. However, reports to the contrary indicates that Namal Rajapakse sat for the Sri Lanka Law College law entrance exams under privileged circumstances and is now a first year student at The Sri Lanka Law College. more..

Jan 18 (LT) Somaratne Dissanayke, who calls himself a renowned film director, has got a song created to sling mud at the apolitical Common Candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka and is taking steps to telecast it with visuals over the �Rupavahini� channel. He has taken the song to �Rupavahin� claiming he created it and is making arrangements to get Rohana Baddege and Bandula Wijeweera to sing it. more..

Jan 18 (LT) The masses in the country are prepared to end the corrupt administration of Rajapakse family to bring about a change in the country and he would dedicate himself to achieve this aspiration of the masses says apolitical Common Candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka. Speaking at a mammoth rally held at Mahiyangana yesterday Gen. Fonseka said, �The country and the people need a believable change. more..

Jan 18 (LNW) The Defence Secretary and the Army Commander have launched a special operation to prevent the Tamil people from exercising their franchise in the North and commanding officers who have not earned their confidence have been transferred as a first step. Jaffna Commander, Major General L.B.R. Mark and Commander of the 56 Wanni Thudukai Brigade Major General Janaka Walgama has been sent on an overseas tour with immediate effect more..

Jan 18 (AT) The TNA should not be entertained in India as it is engaged in a despicable campaign to drag India into internal politics of Sri Lanka by falsely asserting that India supports Gen. Sarath Fonseka in the forthcoming Sri Lankan Presidential election, says Dr. R. Anbarasu, former MP and secretary, Congress Parliamentary Party. He says that a four-member delegation consisting of more..

Jan 18 (LT) For the first time in this country the head of the Army intelligence division has come before the public introducing himself as the head of the intelligence division. Maj. Kapila Hewavitharana participating in a press conference said the allegations aimed at the government regarding accounts and ships that belong to the LTTE are false. more..

Jan 18 (LNP) Treasury Secretary Dr P.B. Jayasundara said the clothing industry has consolidated with the economy. Sri Lanka`s total exports amounts to US$ 7.2bn out of which clothing accounts for US$ 3.3 bn which is about 46 percent of the total exports, Dr Jayasundera told a seminar. The seminar on `Insight to efficiency optimization to elevate the Sri Lankan garment industry to meet the global competition was held at the Galadari hotel recently. more..

Jan 18 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa will win the forthcoming Presidential poll with an absolute majority as it is clearly seen that all sections of people in the country are rallying round him, SLFP General Secretary, Maithreepala Sirisena said yesterday. He said the President had clearly made the people understand his leadership in winning the humanitarian operations against the LTTE terrorists and more..

Jan 18 (LP) The first ocean going passenger vessel of the 250 passenger built by the Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDP) for Union Territories of Lakshadweep, Government of India was handed over at the flagging off ceremony. This was the first time and was a historic occasion in the maritime industry of Sri Lanka where a mega project of this magnitude has been awarded by India to the Colombo Dockyard. more..

Jan 18 (DN) The Government is ready to provide new technological vistas to the people in the Estate sector who were destined to pluck tea leaves and prepare rotti, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa, addressing an election rally organized by Minister Arumugam Thondaman at the Kotagala PS grounds yesterday. The President said the children in the Estate sector are being equipped with IT knowledge to stand on par with the students in foreign countries. more..

Jan 18 (DN) The unholy alliance of in support of the Opposition candidate is a bunch of acute and unresolvable contradictions, said Constitutional Affairs and National Integration Minister and Communist Party (CPSL) General Secretary D.E.W. Gunasekera. The TNA which is for separation has joined hands with the JVP which opposes even the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, he added. more..

Jan 18 (UNP) The name Sarath Fonseka is a household word in SL. I don�t need to introduce him any further. But, as my husband I know him better than all. When he carried on his war operations he never allowed that to mix with the household activities. Like he was loving to his uniform and profession, he was also a loving father Anoma Fonseka , the wife of Gen. Fonseka more..

Jan 18 (UNP) UNP M.P Ravi Karunanayake addressing a meeting at the UNP media unit today (18), said the NFF M.P. Muzammil who made the allegation that Sarath Fonseka faction supporters offered him a bribe of Rs.30 million to �buy� him over to the their side is now regretting his own actions along with his leader Wimal Weerawansa for orchestrating this absurd episode. more..

Jan 18 (CP) TNA parliamentarian Chandrakanthan Chandranehru has been slighted wounded in a misfiring of his official pistol. The incident took place in Ampara yesterday, according to reports. He has been admitted to hospital with an injured thigh. On a previous occasion too, the MP had misfired the weapon.

Jan 18 (Island) NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa, MP, yesterday said that he had both photographic and audio evidence to implicate UNP National List and Muslim presidential candidate, MP Myown Mustapha, and presidential advisor Nazeer Ahmed in an attempt to bribe NFF member, M. Musammil, MP. Mustapha quit the presidential race last Friday to throw his weight behind the Opposition presidential candidate more..

Jan 18 (Island) That most politicians are ready to compromise anything, even the national interest, if the correct price is quoted, is only too well known. There have been rumours of political crossovers induced by bribes. But, it is for the first time that damning evidence of a shameless move to lure a politician with a bribe into defecting has surfaced. Last year, while the Indian parliament was debating an Indo-American nuclear deal, more..

Jan 18 (Island) A Citigroup Global Markets report says Sri Lanka�s economy is expected to grow by 6 percent this year led by growth in the manufacturing, construction and tourism sector while public finances remains the biggest concern. Economic growth has averaged more than 6 percent since 2005 but due to the global financial crisis and the heightened war effort during the early part of the year, Citigroup estimates economic growth to be 3.2 percent for 2009 and more..

Jan 18 (Island) A senior LTTE cadre in government custody says that they had planned to carry out a massive suicide attack using 300 cadres on the Vanni front early this year. Acting on information provided by him, the Vavuniya police had recovered over 2,000 kgs of high explosives and different types of suicide kits buried in the Vellamullivaikkal area, east of A9. A senior police official told The Island that had the LTTE plan materialised, more..

Jan 18 (TC) As of 14th January 2010, CMEV has confirmed a cumulative total of 609 incidents of election related violence of which 271 incidents have been categorized as Major. Of these, 2 incidents of Murder, 5 incidents of Attempted Murders, 73 incidents are of Assault, 77 are of Threat and Intimidation, 27 of Grievous Hurt, 30 incidents of Hurt, 35 cases of the Misuse of State Resources and 11 incidents of Robbery and Arson respectively. more..

Jan 18 (DM) The joint opposition called on the Commissioner of Elections to deploy the army to provide security to polling stations. The Joint opposition made the plea based on the theory that there was a plan to prevent people from casting their votes at the coming presidential election JVP Parliamentary Group Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake told a media conference more..

Jan 18 (DM) The members of Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) are planning to move a no confidence motion against their President and Secretary for the alleged statements they were said to have made supporting the presidential candidate, President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the upcoming election. A petition with 50 signatures of attorneys is to be handed over to BASL president W. Dayaratne this morning asking more..

Jan 18 (DM) The National Freedom Front (NFF) yesterday produced a CD claiming to be the recorded conversations NFF MP Mohammed Muzamil had with UNF members said that they would be initiating legal action based on it without going before the bribery commission. �We have video and audio tapes, we will initiate legal action against this very soon�, said MP Wimal Weerawansa, leader of the NFF. more..

Jan 18 (GDI) Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa today claimed that election violence was perpetrated by opposition sections while Gen Sarath Fonseka and other leaders of the opposition used the election platform to address the people with vengeance. Addressing newsmen, the minister lamented that such a derogatory behavior on election platforms were never witnessed in the past. more..

Jan 18 (CaFFE) While the Presidential Election propaganda campaigns reached the final week, the election observers expressed serious concern about the sharp escalation of election related violence including two deaths, the open violation of the election law and unprecedented malpractices at postal voting. There had been 19 serious postal voting related complaints by yesterday afternoon from many parts of the country. more..

Jan 18 (CaFFE) Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) said yesterday that the recently concluded postal voting for the Presidential Election were not free and fair. CaFFE director and media spokesman Keerthi Tennakoon said there were several incidents including ballots exercised by other people, disturbing the polling agents and unlawful campaigning in and around the polling centers reported during the two days of postal voting. more..

Jan 18 (AD) Supreme Court Lawyer Namal Rajapaksa speaking outside the Bribery and Corruption Commission today said that he had lodged a complaint against M. Muzzamil adding that receiving a bribe is also an offence under the law. According to Namal, the alleged bribery video tapes that are being circulated in the media should be handed over to the commission for further investigations. more..

The UPFA yesterday warned General Sarath Fonseka camp not to unleash violence on its supporters and there would be serious consequences if they continued to attack supporters of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Minister Maithripala Sirisena told a news briefing that sensing the imminent defeat the SF camp has turned to violence and already attacked and fired upon UPFA supporters, party offices and vehicles killing one and seriously wounding many. more..

Jan 18 (DM) The Mahnayake theras of all Nikayas have advised all political parties and their supporters to conduct themselves in a dignified and peaceful manner during the Presidential Election desisting from violence, mudslinging and insulting in public which are rampant in the present Presidential Election campaigns. The joint statement signed by the Mahanayakas of Malwatta chapter more..

Jan 18 (AFP) Sri Lanka's upcoming election is raising hopes in the United States for better relations after a chilly spell if the island turns the page on a bloody war that brought international opprobrium. The January 26 election comes months after troops killed the top leadership of the Tamil Tigers, ending their ruthless decades-long separatist campaign but also triggering accusations of human rights abuses. more..

Jan 18 (BBC) A supporter of opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka has been killed in a clash ahead of next week's presidential election, police say. Opposition activists were attacked in Wariyapola town in the north-west of the country while they were putting up election posters, police said. The man was killed in a clash with ruling party activists, they said. The 26 January presidential elections are taking place amid heightened political tension. more..

Jan 19 (ESPN) Chatura Peiris starred with a five wicket haul as Sri Lanka roasted Canada in a clinical 134 run victory at Lincoln. Canada had elected to field, hoping to exploit the early morning conditions against the Islanders but lay flat on their face as one Sri Lankan batsman after another came in and scored at a brisk rate. Openers Udara Jayasundera and Andri Berenger took the Lankans off to a flyer, who raced past the 50 run mark inside the first 10 overs. more..