Feb 23 (LBO) The resumption of ferry links between India and Sri Lanka after a war is not likely to affect air lines, especially budget carriers, at least initially, officials and analysts said. The ferry services are likely to cater to a different market than airlines unless or until voyages quicker than the proposed 10-12 hours or fares much cheaper than air fares are available, they said. more..

Feb 23 (ST) President Mahinda Rajapaksa today said that he would be satisfied if he would win over the support of at least 50 per cent of the Tamil diaspora who have been criticizing the government. �I know that everybody will not support us, but at least if half of them understand us and support us it would be sufficient�, the President told a meeting held with newspaper editors at Temple Trees. The president was responding to a question about his plans on more..

Feb 23 (Island) Most people find it difficult to come to terms with disability. But, we met a courageous man who had lost a limb when he was only seven years but faced challenges of life and achieved success. Milan Walter Fernando (43), a resident of Wewala, Ja-Ela, is a father of two lost one of his legs due to an infection when he was only a child. He did not give up. "Just because I lost one leg I didn�t want to be a burden to society, I went to school more..

Feb 23 (Reuters) Sri Lanka removed a ban on Tuesday on taking musical instruments into the island nation's World Cup venues, a day ahead of an expected low attendance match between Pakistan and Kenya. Sri Lankans, especially youths, love to watch cricket accompanied by music from within the ground and the initial ban threatened to take away much needed atmosphere, especially at sparsely attended games. more..

Feb 23 (Island) A Grade Eight girl of a school in the Eheliyagoda areas recently tried to telephone her boy friend using her father�s mobile phone but in the rush she dialed the number of OIC Eheliyagoda Police, Pradeep Weerasekera. Around 9.00 a.m. the OICs mobile phone rang and he heard the voice of a little girl at the other end. Without bothering to check who she was talking to, she straight away invited him to come to her place as her parents were away. more..

Feb 23 (Island) The Joint Council of Professions Supplementary to Medicine yesterday said they would defer their two-day strike, scheduled to commence at 8.00 a.m. today (23) till noon in view of their discussion with Health Minister Mithripala Sirisena. The PSM demanded the Ministry implement circular AMP/10/1379/415/061 approved by the Cabinet with regard to PSM special grade and class 1 promotions without delay. JCPSM president Ravi Kumudesh said, on more..

Feb 23 (ICP) Two months after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon claimed that his Panel on Sri Lanka could visit the country due to President Mahinda Rajapaksa's �flexibility,� on February 23 Ban is set to meet in New York with Sri Lankan Attorney General Mohan Peiris and Secretary for External Affairs C.R. Jayasinghe, Inner City Press learned late on February 22. Ban's Panel has not traveled to Sri Lanka, even as its extended deadline approaches. more..

Feb 23 (Island) A Magistrate Court and a Quazi Court have been opened in Samanthurai, under the Justice Ministries "East Coast Courts Development Programme." Justice Ministry Media Secretary, Dr.A.R.M Hafeez told �The Island� that the two new Courts were inaugurated by the Chief Justice Asoka de Silva in the presence of the Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem,judges, magistrates and officials on Sunday. more..

Feb 23 (DN) The body of a housemaid murdered in Saudi Arabiaby her sponsor was dispatched to Colombo on Tuesday, the Sri Lankan Embassy told the Daily News, Tuesday. The initial Post-mortem report of Sri Lankan maid Pospawalli Selladurai, 36, revealed last week that she was murdered. On suspicion, the police in Al-Jouf, 1,200 kms from the capital, arrested the woman sponsor and has kept her in their custody till the investigations are over. more..

Feb 23 (Island) The government was aware of the economic woes of the public and it was doing everything possible to give them relief, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The President said that increases in the prices of some commodities were due to various factors such as price hikes in the world market and a drop in the local supply because of heavy rains and natural disasters. He said his government was duty bound to protect the vulnerable sections of more..

Feb 23 (Island) Due to negligence on the part of successive governments, the British Ceylon Company Lanka Limited, a government-owned business undertaking, had never been subjected to scrutiny by the parliamentary watchdog committee-COPE, until summoned by the committee now headed by Senior Minister Dew Gunasekera. The present management of the loss making enterprise will appear before the COPE tomorrow. Sources said that the then President JR Jayewardene had more..

Feb 23 (DM) The Supreme Court listed to be mentioned on May 2 the fundamental rights petitions seeking the Court to direct the Health Minister to present the Draft Bill for a National Medicinal Drugs Policy (NMDP) to provide quality drugs for all at affordable prices. The Bench comprised Justices K. Sripavan and Chandra Ekanayake. Senior State Counsel Viveka Siriwardane had on November 3 informed Court that the draft legislation would be introduced within three months. more..

Feb 23 (Island) President of the Lanka Private Bus Owners� Association Gemunu Wijeratne yesterday accused Western Province Transport Minister Upali Kodikara and WP Road Passenger Transport Authority Chairman Piyasena Dissanayaka of using public resources and property for election purposes. Speaking to the media at the Women�s Centre in Narahenpita, he said he would lodge an official complaint with the Elections Commissioner seeking appropriate action. more..

Feb 23 (LT) The JVP drew the attention of the Commissioner of Elections regarding the threats confronted by candidates of the opposition parties in the North and the rights of the displaced in the North said the General Secretary of the JVP Tilvin Silva. He said the JVP pointed out to the Commissioner that the candidates in the North representing opposition parties have been threatened during the past weeks and individuals who come in Army uniform more..

Feb 23 (DM) The European Union (EU) has re-listed the LTTE following a comprehensive review of listed terrorist groups, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. The announcement was made through the Council Implementing Regulation on the 31st of January this year and published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The EU terrorist listings made in terms of article 2(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2580/2001 of more..

Feb 23 (Island) Leader of the House, Nimal Siripala de Silva yesterday admitted that there had been a delay on their part in constituting seven independent commissions in spite of having introduced the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. Minister de Silva urged the media to be patient, while assuring that the commissions would be activated after LG polls. more..

Feb 23 (DM) Restrictions have been removed regarding the putting up of posters, banners and cut-outs, by political parties and independent groups, in connection with the planned local government elections, said Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake yesterday. He told the representatives of political parties and monitoring groups, during a meeting with them, that candidates could now use posters in their campaigns without fear. more..

Feb 23 (DM) A group of TNA MPs today filed a fundamental rights violation petition seeking to stop what they called �forced registration� of residents of Jaffna and Kilinochchi districts allegedly by the Security Forces. Jaffna district MPs Mavai Senathirajah, Suresh Premachandran, Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy and Eswarapatham Saravanapavan as well as the Kilinochchi district MP Sivagnanam Shritharan more..

Feb 23 (IANS) The India-Sri Lanka joint working group on fisheries will meet next month to resolve issues relating to the Sri Lankan Navy's attacks on Indian fishermen, External Affairs minister SM Krishna told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Incidents in the last two months had caused �much consternation and concern� in India and the �welfare, safety and security� of Indian fishermen would always the receive the highest priority, Krishna said more..

Feb 23 (Island) The UNP yesterday alleged that the Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake had been influenced by the govt to postpone 60 of the 301 local council elections scheduled for March 17. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake told a news conference in Colombo that the Rajapaksa regime, knowing very well that it was heading for a big defeat, wants to hold elections on a staggered basis and Dissanayake was aiding and abetting. more..

Feb 23 (DM) The Sri Lanka Air Force has developed its own unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) which is being tested at the moment, CDS and Air Force Commander Roshan Gunathilake said. He said this local UAV would be demonstrated after testing a new engine for it. �In the 80�s we developed an indigenous aircraft, a small one and we tested it and flew it. Now it�s in the Ratmalana Air Force Museum. We soon plan to build a medium range aircraft by using our own resources as well�, more..

Feb 23 (AFP) A World Cup song which carries threats against defending champions Australia as well as earthquake-hit New Zealand has been banned on orders of the Sri Lankan president. The song warns that Ricky Ponting's Australians will end up as bird food while New Zealanders, still reeling from the Christchurch quake, could have their jaws broken. President Mahinda Rajapakse heard the Sinhalese and Tamil mixed song and more..

Feb 24 (AFP) Sri Lanka opening batsman Upul Tharanga is desperate to score a World Cup century, having already racked up nine tons in his one-day international career. Tharanga, 26, opened in the 2007 World Cup with veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, and made three 50s as his team reached the final. Now he is hoping to reach the century landmark in the glamour clash against Pakistan on Saturday. "Playing well to get a 100 in this World Cup is one of my targets," more..

Feb 24 (BBC) In a new survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit Sri Lanka�s biggest city, Colombo, is ranked as one of the ten least �liveable� cities out of 140 that it surveyed around the world. Perhaps Colombo has mainly fallen short on the stability criterion. Until the war ended it was the target of terror attacks by the Tamil Tigers. The threat has now gone, but the central business district is still cordoned off, while in much of the city, soldiers still stand guard more..

Feb 24 (PTI) India today handed over a batch of Sri Lankan fishermen, who had been subjected to legal proceedings in India for allegedly starying into its water while fishing in the International Maritime Border, to authorities of the country, officials said here. Narendra Rajapaksa, a senior Fisheries Ministry official, said the 16 fishermen on three trawlers were handed over to the Sri Lankan Navy. Their jail terms ended on January 31, 2011. more..

Feb 24 (NN) The Nay will legally acquire some private land and property in the North which it feels is required for security reasons despite the end of the war. Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told Parliament that approximately 472 private homes occupied by the army during the war in the North have now been returned. Responding to a question raised by the TNA, Minister Gunawardena said that around 1129 private homes are still being occupied by the military in Kilinochchi. more..

Feb 24 (NN) A Mount Lavinia Court today warned the parents of seven children after the children were arrested for spray painting graffiti on the wall of another school. The seven boys attend an international school in Colombo. The Mount Lavinia Additional Magistrate told the parents that sending the seven boys to an international school was not good enough and that they should be educated on discipline as well. According to the police the seven boys had painted graffiti on a more..

Feb 24 (AFP) Pakistan�s cricketing isolation could end in October if Sri Lanka, who were targeted in a deadly terror attack in Lahore two years ago, agree to tour the troubled country. Sri Lankan officials said Wednesday they were in talks with the International Cricket Council�s Pakistan Task Team (PTT) to explore the possibilities. �We are still discussing the option with the ICC and with all the other board members,� more..

Feb 24 (GDI) Lack of access to safe sanitation facilities and services has become a major cause of diseases world wide. In many South Asian countries, this problem is affecting the population intensely and it is estimated that daily 6,000 children die in South Asia due to sanitation related diseases. The first South Asian Conference was held in Bangladesh in 2003, which was followed by Conferences in Pakistan and India and the 4th Conference is more..

Feb 24 (NN) A survey carried out by the govt has found that most people in Sri Lanka support the death penalty and death by hanging, the President�s media unit said. The survey said that 88% of the population in Sri Lanka back death by hanging. According to the survey the failure to implement the death penalty has resulted in over 334 people remaining in prison for several years, some serving life in prison, for crimes related to smuggling drugs and murder. more..

Feb 24 (AP) The ashes of the mother of former rebel leader have been desecrated hours after her body was cremated, a relative said. Kanagalingam Sivajilingam said the incident took place Tuesday night, shortly after slain rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran's mother was cremated in his native village of Valvettithurai. Sivajilingam said relatives who visited the cremation site to collect the ashes found them scattered and more..

Feb 24 (CI) The road from Colombo is cosy and potentially dangerous. It might not look so severe on a map, but driving along it feels like navigating a particularly aimless, thin jalebi, escorted along both sides by thick, beautiful jungle. Intermittently appear signs of life, brief stretches of thatched shops and houses, relief from overwhelming beauty. About five hours in arrives a junction, at the village of Suriyawewa. The left takes you into a new country. more..

Feb 24 (ST) Former journalist and singer, Steve de Silva passed away at a private hospital in Colombo yesterday after a brief illness, his family said. Steve, son of popular singer and Baila Maestro Desmond de Silva lost his battle with Cancer during the early hours of today, his mother Diana said. He had taken ill in December last year and later diagnosed with the disease, his mother added. Steve joined the Independent News Papers as a cub reporter in 1985 and more..

Feb 24 (DM) The Govt today rejected reports that External Affairs Ministry Secretary Romesh Jayasinghe and Attorney General Mohan Peiris were in New York to meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Deputy Minister Neomal Perera said that the External Affairs Ministry Secretary was overseas on a private visit and that, to his knowledge, there was no meeting scheduled between the Attorney General and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. more..

Feb 24 (NN) Rat fever has spread in Galgamuwa in the Kurunegala district claiming the lives of two people so far and affecting over 20 others. According to authorities at the Galgamuwa hospital 28 people with symptoms of rat fever had sought treatment yesterday and today. Health authorities also said that two people including a father of four had died from suspected rat fever this week. Rat fever is also spreading in the Anuradhapura District and more..

Feb 24 (NN) Students of the Sabaragamuwa university boycotted classes today over the suspension of 58 students last month. The students had been suspended over allegations of misconduct and according to the student�s union, several attempts were made to resolve the issue and have the students reinstated, but the talks had failed. A student union spokesman said that the Sabaragamuwa university students will boycott classes today and more..

Feb 24 (LBO) Sri Lanka Telecom said it made a profit of 1,542 million rupees in the December quarter from a loss of 379 million rupees a year earlier, helped by a turnaround of its mobile unit, while revenues rose 6 percent to 12.9 billion rupees. Malaysia's UT group owns 49.8 percent of the firm and Sri Lanka's government, 49.50 percent. The group reported 85 cents of earnings per share for the quarter. The stock traded at 59.00 rupees up 40 cents, more..

Feb 24 (NN) The Sri Lankan government says it will take the necessary measures with the assistance of the International Office of Migration (IOM) in order to ensure the security of Sri Lankans employed in Libya. Deputy External Affairs Minister Neomal Perera told News Now.lk that currently there are over 1200 Sri Lankans employed in Libya and all steps are being taken to look into their security after deadly protests have erupted in that nation. more..

Feb 24 (CI) Kenya again appeared totally out of their depth and posed no challenge to Pakistan at Hambantota, Collins Obuya's death-or-glory 47 being the only highlight for them as Shahid Afridi helped himself to 5 for 16 in a massive 205-run win. Four of Pakistan's batsmen cashed in to raise half-centuries and set up a total of 317 for 7 after a brief wobble against the new ball and Kenya made little effort to mount a serious challenge in their pursuit, more..

Feb 24 (SO) It is the desire of all to see a better Colombo; a city that is clean, green, attractive and dynamic. If all stakeholders work together and work hard the Colombo city can be transformed in to a world-class city, globally recognized as a thriving, dynamic and attractive regional hub that is the centrepiece of '21st Century Sri Lanka: the Miracle of Asia'. That was how Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa conceptualized the future of the Colombo city more..