Sept 8 (DM) The LLRC spokesman Lakshman Wickremasinghe said yesterday that since Amnesty International (AI) had not responded to the LLRC invitation to LLRC give testify before the Commission, statements made by it now were not relevant to the Commission. �At the initial stages the LLRC invited AI to testify before the commission. But regrettably AI declined our invitation and continues to condemn the commission; therefore we don�t consider it more..

Sept 8 (DN) The Colombo Fraud Bureau yesterday raided a bogus �money change� centre at Second Cross Street in Pettah and took into custody three suspects together with Rs 8.4 million. Among those arrested was the alleged kingpin who was the owner of a medicinal drugs centre down Vishaka Road, Bambalapitiya. The racket known as the Undiyal scheme was being carried out over a period of time throughout the Colombo city and suburbs on a large scale with the Second Cross Street address more..

Sept 8 (DM) The Deputy Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka at the United Nations, Major General Shavendra Silva dispelled misinformation and propaganda against Sri Lanka at the screening of the video, �Lies agreed upon� organised by the United Nations Correspondents Association headed by Mr.Giampaolo Pioli. He said that all who came to surrender irrespective of the "colour of the flag" they were waving were accepted. �It could've been white, black or any other colour. more..

Sept 8 (DM) A five member committee is to be appointed to look into the controversial Malabe Private Medical Faculty (MPMF) issue by Health Minister Maitripala Sirisena to obtain a report in 60 days on the quality and standard of its degree programmes and academic activities. The decision to appoint the five member committee was arrived after a discussion held on Tuesday night between the officials of the Health Ministry, the GMOA and more..

Sept 9 (LT) A summit of �Traditional Chena Cultivators� was held at Laggala on Tuesday. Among about 300 to 400 farmers who participated in the summit held under the theme �Legalize Chena cultivation� were university lecturers, environmentalists and journalists. It was discussed at the summit that traditional chena cultivation cannot be carried out further due to forest conservation acts and regulations. The farmers who participated in the summit expressed more..

Sept 9 (GDI) The Examinations Department has made arrangements to release the results of the G.C.E. Advanced Level results by end of November. Commissioner General of Examinations Anura Edirisinghe said that 147,761 candidates under the old syllabus and 147,100 candidates under the new syllabus sat for the Advanced Level examinations which was held from August 8th to September 3rd. The examination covered 64 subjects under Science, Arts and Commerce streams. more..

Sept 9 (CI) This Test series is only five days old, but already Michael Clarke's Australians can sense victory. Their win inside four days in Galle was impressive, but even more encouraging for the country's fans was the way Australia started the second Test in Pallekele, as an attack led by Ryan Harris bundled Sri Lanka out for 174 on a good batting pitch, and then the openers took the score to 60 for 0 before bad light stopped play. more..

Sept 9 (LBO) Prices of teas made by Sri Lankan plantation company estates rose this week although still below production cost as supply fell and demand improved with brokers saying the market seems to have bottomed out. There was good demand at the Colombo auctions with improved buying mainly from shippers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, the biggest market, Forbes & Walker Tea Brokers said. The better demand combined with low availability triggered price more..

Sept 9 (LBO) One of the biggest players in Sri Lanka's stock market has poured scorn on its stock brokers, saying they don't give proper advice, cannot be trusted and are ignored by most investors. "In Sri Lanka nobody trusts or believes brokers," declared Nimal Perera, deputy chairman of Vallibel Finance and a director of a host of other firms and investment advisor to Dhammika Perera, a big investor in the Colombo bourse. "That's because our stock brokers do not giving more..

Sept 9 (DM) A young couple who were produced in a Colombo Court on charges of having defrauded an 85-year-old woman of Rs.11.5 million were remanded till Wednesday. Sheila Seneviratne in her complaint to the CID said the main suspect K. Dinelka M. Fernando had befriended her when she was residing at an elders� home in Kollupitiya. She said soon after the suspect�s marriage in July, the newly married couple had requested Ms. Seneviratne to live with them in a rented house. more..

Sept 9 (LBO) Sri Lankan stocks closed weaker Thursday with interest in a coconut products exporter and continued buying of John Keells Holdings, after Wednesday's deals, as well as in CT Holdings, brokers said. The main All Share Price Index fell 0.09 percent to 6,991.60, while the more liquid Milanka index fell 0.53 percent to close at 6,293.65, according to stock exchange figures. Turnover was 2.9 billion rupees. Trading in John Keells Holdings generated more..

Sept 9 (IRIN) More policies and programmes must address the needs of female-headed households in Sri Lanka's former conflict zone, experts say. "Most programmes don't take into account the unique role of women here," Saroja Sivachandran, director of the Center for Women and Development (CWD), an advocacy body based in northern Jaffna, told IRIN. "They may be providing for the families, but [women] still have to cook, look after children and do all household chores." more..

Sept 9 (SL) Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena says the National Drug Policy would be presented to parliament shortly and that the drug imports to the country could then be streamlined. He has noted that the country imported 10,000 varieties of drugs to the country every year when the requirement is only for 3,000 varieties. Addressing the award ceremony of the SLNCPI Sirisena has said there were over 40,000 varieties of drugs registered in the country. more..

Sept 9 (SL) A UPFA MP accused the TNA of creating a fear psychosis in the minds of the people in the North. UPFA MP and Deputy Chairman of Committees Murugesu Chandrakumar has told parliament that three TNA MPs had flown to London to collect funds claiming to help the people in the North fight the �Grease Devil� after creating a fear psychosis in the minds of the Northern civilians. He has accused the TNA of misleading the Tamil Diaspora with false information. more..

Sept 9 (LT) The UGC and vice-chancellors of all universities in the island have been informed by the Ministry of Higher Education to hand over security affairs of all universities to Ratna Lanka Ltd that belongs to Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse and L.R.D.C. Pvt. Ltd that is also connected to him. The order has been sent in a letter dated 29th August and signed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Higher Education Dr. Sunil Jayanthe Nawaratne. more..

Sept 9 (CI) Sri Lanka's captain Tillakaratne Dilshan has demanded more from his batsmen following their first-innings surrender for 174 in the second Test against Australia in Pallekele. He threatened numerous changes to the team if performances did not improve. Dilshan was one of a series of batsmen dismissed cheaply as Sri Lanka lurched to 76 for 5 at lunch on the first day, a position from which they never recovered despite an excellent batting pitch. The start seemed to more..

Sept 9 (AD) The UPFA will voice its disapproval of President Mahinda Rajapaksa�s image being used by other parties in election campaign posters and banners, the General Secretary of the UPFA, Susil Premajayantha said. The statement revealed that a candidate contesting the Galle Municipal Council who is not part of the Alliance was publishing advertisements in a newspaper which included the image of the UPFA leader President Rajapaksa and another party leader from the Alliance. more..

Sept 9 (LP) The so called LTTE Transnational Govt announced by LTTE's US based leader, V.Rudrakumaran who appointed himself as Prime Minister has collapsed and Rudrakumaran cannot be reached by his followers in other countries, reports from US said. Rudrakumaran is reported to have gone underground following death threats issued on him by LTTE International Wing leader, Perimpanayagam Sivaparam alias Nediyavan. He is called Nediyavan, which, more..

Sept 9 (LT) A member of an underworld gang died in a shoot out with the police at Grandpass in Colombo yesterday (7) say police. The police media spokesman Prishanthe Jayakody says when a group of police officers had gone to a place on receiving information that an armed underworld gang had arrived to commit a certain crime, the gang had started shooting at the police. When police retaliated one member of the gang was killed and a T-56 rifle and a pistol that were with him were more..

Sept 9 (CI) Michael Clarke became Australia's Test captain after at least three years of waiting for Ricky Ponting to grant him the privilege. Tillakaratne Dilshan inherited Sri Lanka's crown only once all his contemporaries had taken their turn. This difference was as striking as the Pallekele sunshine on the first day of the second Test, in a series that is rapidly becoming a mismatch between a natural leader and one who looks anything but. Those wishing to be critical of Clarke often point out, among other caustic observations, more..

Sept 9 (PTI) A senior leader of Communist Party of Sri Lanka today met the top brass of CPI and discussed issues related to the Tamil question in that country and its political solution. Dew Gunasekara, General Secretary of Communist Party of Sri Lanka, met CPI leaders D Raja and S Sudhakar Reddy here during which Indo-Sri Lanka ties also came up for discussion. The leaders of the two parties, which have been working closely on several issues, more..

Sept 9 (LG) In his article �Should the Government revoke PTA as demanded by LTTE proxy TNA?� (Sri Lanka Guardian 06 September), Mr. Malin Abeytunge says, �Sri Lanka is not a fantasy island the TNA seems to think. We have a strong president elected twice with an absolute majority in the Parliament where no one can dictate terms to the Government and for that matter definitely not TNA who represents only a small percentage of the Tamil population in the North and East.� more..

Sept 9 (LG) The basic instinct of self-preservation has always made people cry out against threats to life that come from terrorism and armed conflicts as their impact is immediate and direct. But they have not been as noisy as that against such things as unhygienic food and harmful medicine. This is because the ill effects of these items on human life are slow and often indiscernible. It is encouraging, however, that public attitudes have now changed mainly as a result of media exposures of more..

Sept 9 (SO) It is said that tourism is the second biggest industry in the world after oil; several countries totally depend on the industry for their existence. In Sri Lanka too, tourism is one of the top five foreign exchange earners. In Arugam Bay too, tourism is making a tremendous positive impact on the community. Pottuvil has been an area which had undergone many misfortunes; it was first battered by a devastating cyclone and saw heavy LTTE movement. more..

Sept 9 (LG) It gives me great pleasure to be part of the opening of this fourth annual �Training for Trusteeship� workshop. My Embassy is proud to sponsor your conference once again this year. I offer my congratulations to Judge Weeramantry and his staff at the Weeramantry International Center for Peace Education and Research for organizing this event. Judge Weeramantry and his team are at the forefront of advancing the belief that each individual is a caretaker and trustee of the environment. more..

Sept 9 (LG) For a few, Sri Lanka has returned to normalcy and there is no problem. For some, Sri Lanka has wiped out terrorism but has a lot to hide and so on. In fact, what is the reality in Sri Lanka? As human beings there is so much suffering to worry about, at the hands of rudeness, megalomania, widespread lies and deception. Those who speak about Western interest tarnishing the image of Sri Lanka should realise who invited the West, Neighbours, North Korea, Israel, Iran and others were more..

Sept 9 (SL) National Organiser of the UNP and Colombo District parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake sees the formation of a leadership council as the best method to bring unity and direction to the party to face a �dictatorial, politically streetwise, lethal President.� Karunanayake told The Sunday Leader that any replacement to the party leadership must be better than the existing one. Excerpts: Q: As of now is the UNP in or out of crisis? more..

Sept 9 (DM) Election Commissioner must be having the shock of his life. He is under attack, firstly by Tamil political parties and thereafter by legal luminaries in the caliber of former chief justices. They have alleged that the Election Commissioner had been unfair, unreasonable and incautious by reducing the number of parliamentarians allocated for Jaffna District. It is true that he is new in the office of the Election Commissioner. Nevertheless, he is not a novice in electoral process. more..

Sept 9 (Island) Today (8) is International Paralympic Day. The UK is hosting it for the very first time at Trafalgar Square in London. In less than a year from now, the UK will welcome the world to London for the 2012 Paralympic Games. The Paralympic movement has come a long way since it started. In 1948, Dr Ludwig Guttman held the first disability sport competition, in archery, for wounded WWII war veterans at Stoke Mandeville hospital in the UK. 4 years later Dutch athletes took part, more..

Sept 9 (MoD) Sri Lanka's ambassador to the United States called on Sri Lankan-Americans to speak with one voice to aid reconciliation at home, noting that the government has rehabilitated hardened terrorists, held local elections and continued an ambitious development program in areas affected by the conflict against terrorist group LTTE. "Sri Lanka's critics and supporters of the LTTE want to fall back on the past, because they do not have a future," more..

Sept 9 (Island) Wednesday's deadly explosion that ripped through part of the New Delhi High Court complex is a gruesome reminder that the biggest threat to the world emanates from mindless terrorism. In May this year a smaller bomb went off near the same location but luckily no one was hurt in that attack. Security lapses at the courthouse have been blamed for its vulnerability to terror strikes. But, it is not only there that terrorists have demonstrated their ability to strike at will. more..

Sept 9 (DM) Intelligence is a special mental faculty given to human beings and the tongue or the ability to talk, sometimes constructively but often destructively, is an important part of that intelligence. Down the ages unfortunately, most human beings most of the time have been using the tongue more for destructive purposes than for constructive purposes. Bluntly, the tongue is widely misused or abused for gossip or slander, character assassination, defamation or other vices. more..

Sept 9 (Island) During his visit to Belgrade to attend the commemorative meeting of Foreign Ministers, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement, Professor G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, was received by Boris Tadic, President of Serbia. The Minister comprehensively briefed the Serbian President as well as the Foreign Minister and the Defence Minister of Serbia, Vuk Jeremic and Dragon Sutanovac, whom he met separately, more..

Sept 9 (SL) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has but two foes left. The accountability that the international community is seeking on allegations of war crimes during the final stages of the conflict, and of course, the economy. The first, he could wriggle out by mustering support from nations who would themselves be under the radar on similar charges sometime or the other, but the second he would have to depend on his vision and execution. It could remarkably be interconnected. more..

Sept 9 (SL) I know, I know, you�re going to ask what the heck a Christmas wish list is doing in a column written at this time of the year. Be patient and you might achieve �elucidation,� as one of the professors of gobbledegook that grace this and other publications might put it, before you reach the end of this effort. Anyway, the reason that I am putting this random list together when I am, is because I believe in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus etc. Also, I don�t think the afore-mentioned Santa Claus more..

Sept 9 (FT) The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday set the record straight with regard to its action against Environmental Resources Investments Plc (ERI), which drew some flak from the main Opposition UNP. SEC said that the offence by ERI was relating to non-disclosure of related party transactions and release of misleading information and not securities fraud as alleged by UNP MP and Consultant Economist Dr. Harsha de Silva. more..

Sept 9 (DN) The thriposha requirement - 18,000 metric tons will be produced in Sri Lanka by mid next year. Only 13,000 metric tons are produced in Sri Lanka. The factory was taken over by the govt in September last year and a significant progress has been witnessed since then, Minister Maithripala Sirisena said. During an inspection tour Minister pointed out the importance of training workers. Earlier the factory was run by a private company. Sirisena thanked World Food Programme (WFP) for more..

Sept 9 (Island) The wife of a former Inspector General of Police had filed action in the Mount Lavinia Magistrate�s Court against a constable, attached to the security detail of her husband, claiming that he had criminally misappropriated two vehicles belonging to her. Lakshmi Susilla Nayomi Silva, wife of former IGP Lucky Kodituwakku, claims that the accused Asoka Weerasiri was retaining two vehicles � a Toyota Belta and a Maruti� valued at about Rs.4 million, belonging to her, in his possession. more..

Sept 9 (DM) Former IGP Cyril Herath who headed the Police Department from 1985 to 1988 expired yesterday after a brief illness. Mr. Herath joined the Police force in 1957 as a probationary ASP and was promoted as SP in 1969 and as DIG in 1975. As the IGP he ensured discipline in the service and handled admirably the challenges faced during that time with northern terrorism raising its head and southern subversive activities. Subsequent to his Police career he was appointed as more..