Mar 5 (LP) Media reports say that a special police team of investigation has been appointed to probe the complaints received by the police headquarters regarding several organized unscrupulous groups that are engaged in frauds covering to the good names of the members of the ruling Rajapaksa family. According to reports, these groups have used the names of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, more..

Mar 5 (wsws) The campaign for the April 8 parliamentary election in Sri Lanka has thrown up an odd political marriage of convenience�between the JVP and the country�s former top general Sarath Fonseka, who is currently in military custody on the basis of vague allegations that he planned a coup to oust President Mahinda Rajapakse. The JVP, which is still falsely referred to by the media as �Marxist�, was formed in the 1960s as more..

Mar 5 (LNP) Sri Lanka and India have immense growth potential for collaborations in the telecommunication industry. UT Starcom s Managing Director for South Asia Vijay Yadav said Sri Lanka has a well adopted technology in telecommunications and geographically Lanka is well placed. Therefore with the dawn of peace the true potential of the industry will come to the forefront, he said speaking on the theme Telecom Revolution more..

Mar 5 (GDI) Governor, Northern Province prods youngsters to follow �Live and let Live� policy and encourages development of Team Spirit in them. The Inter Education Zonal under 19 Cricket and Football Matches for the Governor's Trophy have been organized by the Department of Sports, Northern Province from 04 March 2010 to 07 March 2010. The ceremonial inauguration of this tournament was held at the Jaffna Central College playground more..

Mar 5 (DN) This is old. Really, really old. And we all know that some old things are so old that people think they have never been talked about, never thought about. They are so old that some people even think they are fresh and brand new. That�s how old the idea of �neutrality� is. I write about neutrality today because it is old and it is new and some people (like this utterly confused and despondent dude who thinks he is a renaissance man writing to a more..

Mar 5 (MoD) The General Sir John Kotelawela Defence University (KDU), which is the only Defence University in the country, offers many degree programs to suit Science, Arts and Commerce students. Students who qualify for university admission at the GCE (A/L) examination in Biological Science stream can enter for Medical (MBBS) and Management and Technical Studies (MTS) Degrees. more..

Mar 5 (LP) �Meet Sri Lanka� is the campaign launched recently by Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, Sri Lankan Airlines and the MICE industry of Sri Lanka to project the uniqueness of Sri Lanka for MICE visitors through its easy accessibility, state-of-art infrastructure, visa-on-arrival facility for leisure travel and value driven tourism blended with Sri Lankan hospitality. The main objective is to be an active partner in more..

Mar 5 (PSM) The Mosques and Muslim Institutions Federation of Kaathankudy has appealed to the Government Agent of Batticaloa district to put an end to the illegal encroachment of land belonging to Masjidul Firdhous in Muslim Colony, Batticaloa. Few individuals in the area have put up buildings and are using the land unlawfully by using personal influence. The Mosques Federation in its letter addressed to the GA points out more..

Mar 5 (LP) SriLankan Airlines continued its long tradition of supporting education by awarding scholarships to children of the airline�s staff for the tenth consecutive year. The three best-performing students at the Year 5 Scholarship Examination among children of the National Carrier�s staff received scholarships that will support them throughout their school careers, and even their university education. more..

Mar 5 (MoD) "Due to the sacrifices of our war heroes- three forces and the police today we are able to reap dividends of peace in our motherland, ending a three decade prolonged scourge of terrorism", said Secretary Defence Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He made these views, addressing a large gathering as Chief Guest on the commencement of a war hero welfare project held at Boossa Army camp in Galle, more..

Mar 5 (LP) Plans are afoot to add 30 mega watts of electricity to the national grid obtained from wind power in the next six months, says the Ministry of Power and Energy. The Ministry noted that this addition was made possible thanks to the wind power stations that were built in the Mampur and Kalpitiya areas in addition to the initiative to generate power from natural sources. more..

Mar 5 (LP) Ministry of Cultural Affairs and national heritage has launched a programme to trace the island-wide archaeological sites. This long term project aims to inventorise all ancient sites and monuments in Sri Lanka. Currently sites and monuments in the North Western Province are being inventorised. 250,000 such sites have already been identified. Investigations are ongoing to identify further sites. more..

Mar 5 (LP) The attention of many is directed towards the post of Prime Minister in the coming UPFA government. Name of present Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka is included in the National List. So is the name of D M Jayaratna, Minister of Plantation industries. Lankapuvath contacted Minister Jayaratna of his intentions, as his name is linked to the issue but more..

Mar 5 (LT) A person at the highest level of the government has given instructions to two politicians of two political parties that are supporting the UPFA to take actions secretly to sabotage the election campaigns of a group of senior SLFPers and UNP stalwarts who joined the government say reports. Among the politicians who are to be axed are five from Colombo District and two from Kandy and Ratnapura Districts say these reports. more..

Mar 5 (LT) All candidates contesting the general election from the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) under 'Trophy' symbol took their pledge before the leaders of the Alliance. The pledge was taken at a special ceremony held at Jayawardene Centre in Colombo yesterday under the leadership of the leaders of all political parties representing the DNA including JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe, more..

Mar 5 (LP) The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been drawn to media reports on the hijacking of a Saudi Arabian ship along with its crew members by Somali pirates. The reports have indicated that there are Sri Lankan nationals among the crew of the hijacked ship. Following these media reports, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama immediately called for a report from the Sri Lanka Embassy in Riyadh and more..

Mar 5 (LNW) The late SLFP (M) Wing Deputy Leader Sripathi Sooriyarachchi�s wife, Dilrukshi Sooriyarachchi has created a world record by becoming a member of three political parties within 48 hours. Dilrukshi resigned from the SLFP (M) Wing on the 2nd blaming party leader Mangala Samaraweera for destroying her husband�s political career. She joined the UNP and decided to contest the election as one of the party�s coordinators for the Gampaha District. more..

Mar 5 (LT) The present government which calls itself the proud father of the children of the Nation has stooped down to the level of taking revenge even from expecting mothers says former Parliament of the JVP Sunil Handunneththi. He said this at an event held at Maharagama Pradeshiya Sabha to distribute a 'bag of nutrition' for pregnant mothers. more..

Mar 5 (GDI) "We have requested the UN to grant us the right to expand Sri Lanka's maritime boundaries by 20-fold with much hope", said President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday at the launch of the Coast Guard Force at the Galle Harbour. He said that protecting the coastal belt around the country will ensure Sri Lanka�s sovereignty and independence. more..

Mar 5 (UNP) Minister Champika Ranawake has suddenly woken to the importance of protecting the environment and country�s natural resources just ahead of the General elections. He says, about 300 trees have to be destroyed to put up the gigantic cutouts of each of the candidates seeking to gratify his greed for power. To produce a ton of paper to print about 100,000 poster, 30 large trees have to be axed, he added. more..

Mar 5 (LNP) While contestants in the parliamentary race are ruining the environment with wild abandon, a few politicians have dared to be different. They have launched clean propaganda campaigns devoid of posters, polythene etc. Among them are Environment Minister Champika Ranawaka, Justice Minister Milinda Moragoda and Deputy Leader of the UNP Karu Jayasuriya. They are to be lauded profusely for their courage and concern for the environment. more..

Mar 5 (DN) The present low vegetable prices is set to further decline with the ample stocks of fruits and vegetables arriving from Jaffna to the Dedicated Economic Center in Dambulla. A DEC Spokesman for in Dambulla told the Daily News that the prices of several vegetable items have already dropped in the market as a result of over 100 metric tonnes of vegetables and fruits continuously arriving from Jaffna. more..

Mar 5 (DN) The decisions taken by the people from time to time, makes it abundantly clear that they don't like to see slow pace in development. The Government will accelerate the development mechanism following the April 8 election. A sustainable development in the country is in the offing, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka said. more..

Mar 5 (MoD) During their unrelenting and risky operations, specifically designed to rid all kinds of buried LTTE mines and unexploded devices (UXOs) from the Wilpattu National Park, now open for visitors, professionally trained de-miners of 5 Field Engineer Regiment of Corps of Engineers have unearthed two Anti Tank Mines, three claymore mines and ninety-two P4-MK1-type anti personnel mines, in addition to many other UXOs. more..

Mar 5 (DN) The semi-luxury bus service operators who overcharge passengers will be apprehended and prosecuted, Transport Ministry Secretary Sumith Weerasingha told the Daily News. He said this bus mafia charging inflated rates provides less facilities than expected from the semi-luxury service. "They will be fined if anybody complains about overcharging and for providing normal bus service facilities. more..

Mar 5 (Island) JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe yesterday said defeated presidential candidate Gen. (Rtd.) Sarath Fonseka would be released when the JVP formed a government. He said, together with the former army commander other �political prisoners� too would be able to walk to freedom. He was speaking at the J. R. Jayewardene Centre, where all candidates from the Democratic National Alliance, contesting more..

Mar 5 (Island) Fourteen members, including two ministers of the 44-member Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council are in the fray at the forthcoming parliamentary election. They are vying for 19 slots in the province-10 in Ratnapura and 9 in Kegalle. Among the other candidates are 18 members, who had represented the Sabaragamuwa PC earlier. The Province comprises Ratnapura and Kegalle electoral districts, two of the UPFA strongholds. more..

Mar 5 (Island) The UNP�s General Secretary Tissa Attanayaka denied any split in the Opposition. The parties that jointly supported the Presidential candidature of General (Retd.) Sarath Fonseka are now enjoying independence to contest the General Election, Attanayaka told media personnel in Kandy yesterday (04). The parties that contest independently will re-unite in parliament after the election, Attanayake said. more..

Mar 5 (Island) The government has strongly objected to a fresh UN move to launch an independent investigation into alleged war crimes during Sri Lanka�s successful war against the LTTE. The fresh call for a war crimes probe is consequent to pressure that pro-LTTE INGOs and the British have brought to bear on the UN. Well informed sources told The Island that some friendly countries had raised the issue with the world body, more..

Mar 5 (DM) Elections Chief had decided to limit the number of election coordination offices set up by the political parties for the up coming general election in April this year. Accordingly a candidate would be allowed to set up only one Central Office for each District and one for each electorate, sources said while the office could be used only till mid night of the Election Day. more..

Mar 5 (DM) The main opposition UNP said yesterday its Moneragala District leader Ranjith Maddumabandara would be punished for his alleged involvement in omitting the name of Tissa Kuttiarachchi from the UNP nomination list. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake told a public meeting the party had taken steps to punish those who worked against the interests of the party irrespective of their position. more..

Mar 5 (DM) Colombo is the city with the highest number of alcohol outlets and highest number of reported road accidents, which is higher than all the other cities in the country. This was revealed by Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam at a meeting of the Urban Heart stakeholders in Colombo. Urban Heart is a fact finding project jointly implemented by the CMC and the World Health Organization. more..

Mar 5 (DM) A body of a grade nine student, who went missing nearly two months ago, was recovered yesterday evening in a forest close to the Technical College in the Puttalam-Kurunegala main road. The victim, Mahima Sandakelum Silva, was identified by his parents, the Kurunegala police said, though the body was in a highly decomposed state. The residents in the area informed the police immediately, when they found the body. more..

Mar 5 (DM) One of the fall outs of the government move to file charges against General Fonseka post his arrest rather than before is the hassle that half of the Sri Lankan population has to go through having been perceived as Fonseka supporters. Daily dozens of people are questioned some even detained, houses and buildings are searched making sure that there are at least three headlines on Fonseka every day more..

Mar 5 (DM) Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said yesterday that about 300 trees had to be destroyed to produce the number of posters being put up by each of the candidates to sustain their greed for power. �We need about 30 large trees to produce a tonne of paper to print about 100,000 posters. At this rate each of the main offenders will be responsible for the cutting down of more than 300 trees to produce more..

Mar 5 (Island) The Army is expected to finalise the summary of evidence shortly and press specific charges against defeated presidential candidate, Gen. (retd) Sarath Fonseka without the former Army Chief availing himself the privilege of making a statement before investigators preparing a summary of evidence. Well informed sources told The Island that Fonseka would not cross-examine witnesses or call his own witnesses. more..

Mar 5 (Hindu) On the invitation of the Government of Sri Lanka, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is scheduled to undertake a three day visit to the island nation beginning on March 6 for interaction with her interlocutors here on a wide range of issues of mutual interest to both the counties. �Smt. Rao who has served earlier as the High Commissioner for India in Colombo from 2004-2006, more..

Mar 5 (UNP) Addressing the Gampaha District UNP convention, UNF leader Ranil Wickremesinghe stated, the salary increase of Rs. 2500/- promised to the Govt. servants at the last Presidential election has still not been fulfilled by the Govt., but the Govt. increased the salaries of the Ministers from Rs. 70,000 to 170,000/- per month in 2009 without any demur. more..

Mar 5 (IPS) Tensions between Sri Lanka and Britain may have calmed down somewhat after the civil conflict ended in this South Asian country last year, but are rising again after the government accused London of aiding the defeated Tamil Tigers to regroup internationally. The latest tensions were sparked by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband�s attendance at the Global Tamil Forum (GTF), more..

Mar 5 (DN) Masses should bring to politics people really committed to rebuild the nation in the future, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He was speaking at the opening of the maritime archaeological museum established at the Dutch warehouse in the Galle Fort Premises under the Galle Fort Conservation project which was funded by the Netherlands Government. President added that politicians should have an in depth knowledge of the history of their area and more..

Mar 5 (DPA) German police have arrested six leading Tamil separatists, the federal prosecution agency said Friday. The men - three German and three Sri Lankan nationals - are suspected of belonging to an organisation which extorts money from ethnic Tamils living in Germany, to fund Sri Lanka's rebel Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) group. more..

Mar 6 (USE) The USAID announced the expansion of its scholarship program to bring youth to study at the Sri Lanka College of Journalism. U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Valerie Fowler made the announcement at the Sri Lanka Press Institute Diploma Program graduation ceremony. USAID, the development agency of the U.S. government, is providing scholarships for 26 students to more..

Mar 6 (BBC) With just over a month to go before parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka, the election commission there has given orders that all posters and cardboard cut-outs of candidates be removed in keeping with electoral regulations. It said such rules were widely flouted in the January presidential poll, in which President Mahinda Rajapaksa won re-election. The governing coalition is bullish about its chances of winning a big majority in the 225-seat parliament. more..

Mar 6 (BBC) The Sri Lanka government is directly responsible for the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda, his wife has claimed. Sandhya Ekneligoda told BBC's Outlook programme that she could not think of anybody else, "especially because what happened before and after his disappearance". Mr. Eknaligoda, a journalist, cartoonist and a film maker, who last worked for Lankaenews website is missing since 24 th January. more..

Mar 6 (BBC) The election commission has ordered that all posters and cardboard cut-outs of candidates be removed in keeping with electoral regulations. It said such rules were widely flouted in January's presidential poll, in which President Mahinda Rajapaksa won re-election. The ruling comes one month before parliamentary polls. The governing coalition is bullish about its chances of winning a big majority in the 225-seat parliament. more..

Mar 6 (LBO) Two British travel writers have published a guide book on tourist attractions in Sri Lanka's former war zone in the north and east, now accessible to the visitors after 30 years of conflict. Juliet Coombe, a photojournalist for the BBC Lonely Planet guide book, and her co-writer Daisy Perry spent six months roaming through areas which were once strongholds of Tamil Tiger separatist rebels. more..

Mar 6 (RNN) The New Zealand tennis team leads Sri Lanka 2-nil in their Davis Cup tie in Colombo after Rubin Statham and Dan King-Turner won their first up clashes. The first singles rubber of the Asia/Oceania Group II Tie went down to the wire with New Zealand number two Rubin Statham and Harshana Godamanna doing battle for nearly five hours. In 33 degree heat in Colombo, Statham won the first set 6-3, more..

Mar 6 (LBO) Sri Lanka's foreign commercial debt has risen dramatically in 2009 as lender confidence increased after a deal with the International Monetary Fund and the fiscal deficit expanded, official data shows. Sri Lanka's total commercial debt, including defence loans accrued during a war with Tamil Tigers which ended in May 2009, rose to the equivalent of 410.6 billion rupees from 164.0 billion rupees in 2008 more..