Sep 10 (LBO) Once Parliament figures out what really happened when the taxation provisions were supposedly debated and passed on the 6th of September, hopefully, we will find out that the regressive 50 rupee tax on mobile subscribers has been removed. So much for the braggadocio of the Government Whip, Minister Fernandopulle, about getting them passed without any changes. It is clear that Minister Rauff Hakeem’s amendment removes the vicious, regressive sting of the tax hike. more..

Sep 10 (LD) Five teacher unions are planning to stage a token strike to pressurize the government to issue a circular that contains interim proposals to eliminate salary anomalies in the teachers and principals services. The decision was announced at a media briefing in Colombo yesterday. It was attended by the Ceylon Teachers Union, the All Ceylon United Teachers Union, the Association of Educational Professionals, the Ceylon Teacher Service Union and the Union of Diploma Holders on Home Science and Agriculture. more..

Sep 10 (LBO) The Sri Lanka rupee was quoted at 113.25/28 flat against the spot dollar Monday with overnight call money peaking at 16.00 before easing to 14.00 percent in liquid conditions, dealers said. The six month forward dollar fell slightly to 120.95 levels from an earlier level of 121.11. Dealers were closely watching developments in the US and whether the Federal Reserve would cut rates. more..

Sep 10 (LBO) Sri Lanka's Central Bank plans to enforce tough new mandatory rules next year that include provisions to encourage 'whistleblowers', linking executive pay to performance and discouraging the practice of inter-locking directorates. The new corporate governance rules seek to separate the functions of the chairman, who must be one of the independent directors, and bank chief executives, as well restrict the number of corporate boards directors can serve on. more..

Sep 10 (LBO) A Sri Lankan teenager Rizana Nafeek who is on death row is being treated well by her jailors and was hoping an appeal of her sentence will succeed, media reports said. "Rizana was so confident that she told me to bring some good clothes to wear when she comes out of jail," Arab News quoted social worker Kifaya Ifthikar, who visited her in jail, as saying. "She also wanted a Tamil translation of the Holy Qur'an, which I gave the woman jailor to hand to her." more..

Sep 10 (LeN) Ambalapitiya police has still not taken action against the assault by Malaka Silva, son of Minister of Labor Mervin Silva, to Chaminda Senasinghe, a chartered accountant that came to country after being around 20 years abroad, said the lawyers of the assault victim. They said that the police is taking this criminal offense in light vein disregarding the rights of the victim who is now in hospital with serious injuries sustained due to assault by a fire arm. more..

Sep 10 (LeN) SLFP - People's Wing Convener Mangala Samaraweera says that India has hurriedly denied the Sri Lanka government's claim that a high level Indo-Lanka defense committee was formed and Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapskse was appointed as the Chairman of it. By stating that the above decision was taken at a discussion held by a delegation comprised of Presidential Secretary and Defense Secretary with the government of India, the government proved that it lied to the world, more..

Sep 10 (GDI) Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said that France has agreed to provide employment to a substantial number of skilled Sri Lankans. He said this at the Bandaranaike International Airport on his return to Sri Lanka today after a successful visit to France. During the visit Minister Bogollagama held several bilateral discussions with the French Government Officials such as French Minister for Immigration, more..

Sep 10 (GDI) The Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht had expressed satisfaction with regard to the progress achieved in the post Tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts of the Government of Sri Lanka. Minister Gucht has expressed this view during the bilateral consultations with the Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama who made a visit to Brussels last week. more..

Sep 10 (GDI) Sri Lanka’s Institute for Health Policy (IHP) unit has been appointed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to conduct a survey of how health promotion programmes in the region are being conducted. The World Health Organisation’s SEARO office has credited the Sri Lanka IHP jointly with Thailand’s International Health Policy Programme division (IHPP) for this survey. more..

Sep 10 (GDI) Construction and Engineering Services Minister Rajitha Senaratne said that the growth rate in the construction industry would exceed the last year’s figure of 7.4 percent. The Growth in the construction Industry was 7.42 per cent in 2006 according to the Central Bank report for the year. Mr Senaratne said that his Ministry is aiming to increase this before the end of this year. more..

Sep 10 (LNP) Following the capture of Silavathurai, the government is now considering the opening of a supply route to Jaffna so that essential goods may be transported to the peninsula by road rather than by air and sea as at present, a top defence official said. He said that, in accordance with the latest proposal, the military was evaluating three major roads that led to Jaffna, but added that all these roads passed through rebel held areas. more..

Sep 10 (LNP) Police said that eyewitnesses were not coming forward fearing attacks by non-Cabinet Minister Mervyn Silva`s son Malaka, accused of attacking Chaminda Senasinghe, brother of UNP provincial councillor Sujeewa Senasinghe, at a restaurant down Duplication Road Thursday night. Although over a dozen people, including the staff of the restaurant, had seen the attack, they had declined to implicate Malaka, who had figured in a series of brawls including assaulting an officer of the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) at My Kind of Place, police said. more..

Sep 10 (LNP) A recent bid to get rid of a hovercraft (A 530) acquired by the SLN nine years ago, but which had never been used for any tangible operational activity, has revealed the squandering of taxpayer`s money on worthless military equipment. The government had not been successful in its efforts to find a buyer for M 10 class hovercraft purchased, from ABS Hovercraft/ Vosper Thornycroft, at a staggering cost of Rs. 250 million in April 1998 during the PA administration, more..

Sep 10 (LNP) Five houses belonging to Tamils inside a high security area fully protected by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) sentries were burgled during curfew hours at 8:45 p.m. Saturday, civil society sources in Vadamaraadchi said. Two house owners were injured during the burglary, and cash and valuables with an estimated value of more than Rs 5m were stolen during the incident. Local residents accused of SLA soldiers and members of the SLA intelligence wing of the burglaries, sources said. more..

Sep 10 (SAMN) Concern has been voiced by authorities on the growing number of illegal migrants in Sri Lanka, who exploit the ‘on arrival’ visa facility to enter the country and not only find themselves employment but also engage in illegal activities. Eight migrants of South Asian origin were arrested last Thursday by the Investigation arm of the Immigration and Emigration Department for violating Sri Lankan visa regulations. more..

Sep 10 (SAMN) Milk powder companies have requested the Consumer Affairs Authority to approve a staggering price increase of Rs. 270 per 400g packet of milk powder (of every brand) on account of the prevailing world market conditions. Representatives of the companies held talks with Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Bandula Gunawardane and officials of the Treasury and Consumer Affairs Authority last week and asked the price increase should be effective from the end of this month. more..

Sep 10 (SAMN) Leading donor agencies are currently seeking guarantees to step up funding for Eastern development activities. Informed sources said several leading lending agencies, including the World Bank are seeking guarantees including a post conflict resolution from the government and the LTTE in order to fund development activities in the East. The lending agencies are concerned of the risks involved in funding the development of the East with more..

Sep 10 (UCAN) Catholics in Jaffna are complaining that their Church services have been seriously disrupted by a yearlong dusk-to-dawn curfew. Priests and Catholic laypeople alike grumble about the curfew imposed by the state government on Sri Lanka’s northern tip on Aug. 11, 2006, due to the civil war. The government-controlled peninsula, populated by ethnic Tamils, is cut off from the rest of the island by Tamil guerrillas, who have been fighting for an independent homeland since 1983. more..

Sep 10 (GDI) “Government was able t decrease the prices of many essential goods though the recently approved Special Commodity Bill,” stated the Minister of Trade, Marketing Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs Bandula Gunawardana. Minister Gunawardana stated this addressing the media today (10) here in Colombo, commenting on the approval of the Bill last week. more..

Sep 10 (SAMN) SriLankan Airlines is on track to reach global e-ticketing targets this year, with 80 percent of its tickets issued worldwide now in an e-ticket format. The country’s national carrier, SriLankan Airlines has been driving the changeover to electronic ticketing since January 2006, a process that has begun paying dividends. From January to June this year the airline’s overall e-ticketing penetration spiked from 30 percent to 80 percent with more..

Sep 10 (WB) A convoy of seven red, green and blue three-wheeler tuk tuks rolls along Colombo’s busy streets, carrying striking blowup portraits that put the HIV/AIDS message out there in a way never before seen in Sri Lanka. The tuk tuk drivers, proud of their dramatic impact and the curiosity of the crowds, have become messengers for the cause, helping people understand the health issues surrounding the disease and motivating them to step up and respond to HIV/AIDS in South Asia. more..

Sep 10 (F2F) Country's largest leather manufacturer, Ceylon Leather Products Ltd (CLPL), has decided to clear off debts by selling valuable land and revive the once-popular DI brand, sources said. Accordingly, the company will likely sell either its factory or tannery situated at Mattakkuliya within the next two weeks at the best available price. It also plans to set in motion a modernizing process and manage its working capital in a more efficient manner. more..

Sep 10 (DN) The book titled “Offences Against Public Property” by Senior Attorney-at-Law D. A. P. Weeratna, BA (Ceylon), can be described as a long overdue contribution to the literature on Criminal Jurisprudence in this country, said Additional Solicitor General, President’s Counsel Palitha Fernando, at the book launching ceremony held in Colombo recently. “It is regrettable to note that senior practitioners and academics in Sri Lanka do not pay much attention to the necessary of contributing towards the development of legal literature. more..

Sep 10 (DN) A 26-year-old woman from Homagama has taken out her six-months old baby after cutting open the womb with a knife, Police said. Police recovered the baby’s body wrapped in black polythene under her bed. The woman, a mother of two, had administered a crude anaesthetic before undertaking the ‘operation’, police said. She had claimed that she operated on herself as she could not bear the pain which she initially said was a cyst in the stomach. more..

Sep 10 (DM) UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said if the government moved to cut down on relief to the people after obtaining a loan from the HSBC through “illegal” means, he would be compelled to tell the people to surround the bank. Speaking to the business community and professionals in Kandy on Saturday, the Opposition Leader said the UNP would bow to only the people of the country and not to any banks. more..

Sep 10 (DM) The Trade, Commerce and Consumers Affairs Minister threw a challenge at the opposition parties yesterday to quash his argument that there had been a price reduction of essential commodities due to the Special Commodities Bill passed in Parliament last week. Minister Bandula Gunawardane told the Daily Mirror yesterday that the government introduced a single taxation system for essential items such as more..

Sep 10 (AP) Sri Lankan soldiers killed six Tamil Tiger rebels as they attacked separate army positions along the front lines of fighting in northern Sri Lanka, the military said Monday. The army killed four rebels Sunday near the line separating the Tigers' de facto state from government-held territory on the Jaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka, the military said in a statement. more..

Sep 10 (IANS) Sri Lanka's embarrassing denial of its own claim that it had formed a military panel with India comes at a time when the island nation is finding itself in knots as it grapples with the unending ethnic conflict. In an admission of a diplomatic goof up, the presidential secretariat in Colombo said Sunday that it erroneously reported that an India-Sri Lanka defence committee was set up following high-level discussions in New Delhi earlier this month. more..

Sep 10 (TMG) Much of my life I have wanted to go to Sri Lanka. But every time I've been on the verge of booking, the Tamils have caused trouble. This year, when I finally bought a flight, things kicked off again. But I went anyway, and am glad I did. Avoid the north-east, the centre of the troubles, and you feel safe. At times I felt that I had the island to myself - and what a superb island it is: its beaches are Bounty-advert perfection, its tea country the prettiest I've seen, its temples drip with character. more..

Sep 10 (BBC) The Tamil Tigers say nearly 2000 Tamils killed since President Rajapaksa came to power in 2005. The LTTE made the allegations ahead of a United Nations meeting on the Sri Lanka’s human rights record. UNHRC session, due to open on Monday will discuss the human rights record of Sri Lanka. The LTTE said at least 1,974 Tamils had been killed, including 842 civilians who were either arrested or abducted and then "disappeared," since Rajapaksa won the November 2005 elections. more..

Sep 10 (LBO) The head of Sri Lanka's consumer authority has been ordered to resign by the Supreme Court after being found guilty of contempt of court over the implementation of a previous order on liquid petroleum gas pricing. Consumer Authority Chairman Sarath Wijesinghe was ordered not to take up any government post in the future, an official said. Witnesses said Wijesinghe fainted after hearing the order. more..

Sep 11 (BBC) The breakaway faction of Tamil Tigers have denied accusations that both groups are engaged in terrorism. “We are in a democratic process and we do not follow the footsteps of terrorism ” says the head of Karuna faction's political secretary S. Padmini. Responding to the comments made by former minister Mangala Samaraweera, she said, “still we have a military wing in our organisation but it is not our intention to carry arms for ever, but without arms our lives are at danger”. more..

Sep 11 (LeN) An organization called �Sennan Padai� has pasted a poster in Baticaloa area warning the Eastern Province public not to support any other political party except Tamil People's Liberation Tigers (TMVP) led by Karuna Group. Karuna Group distributed a communique against TNA, PLOTE, TULF and EPDP stating that anyone that supported them would be thoroughly dealt with, by the time, those political parties were approaching the liberated Eastern Province for political activities. more..

Sep 11 (LeN) The Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) Sarath Wijesinghe fainted in the Supreme Court today when the Chief Justice declared that he had violated a Supreme Court order. The Chief Justice said that he had seen such incidents in his career. He made this statement reprimanding the CAA Chairman for contempt of court through filing a case against Dialog TV ignoring a court injunction and for committing a bias through filing a case against LAUGFS, a local company, to benefit the Shell Gas. more..

Sep 11 (LeN) Former President Chandrika Kumarathunga who is in the political limelight these days is to leave for India urgently tomorrow. The former President had a lengthy discussion with the Indian High Commissioner today (10). Any news on the dialogue is tightly kept away from the media. India hurriedly denied the Sri Lanka government's claim that a high level Indo-Lanka defense committee was formed and more..

Sep 11 (LD) As the cost of living is skyrocketing due to rampant bribery and corruption in the government, President Mahinda Rajapaksa is leading a 65-member delegation to the forthcoming UN General Assembly in New York in a tour that will waste millions of rupees, Convener of the SLFP (Mahajana) Wing Mangala Samaraweera told a public rally organized by ‘Surakimu Sri Lanka’ in Polonnaruwa yesterday (September 09th). more..

Sep 11 (LeN) Colombo Chief Magistrate Sarojanee Kusala Abewardhana today remanded the son of Dr. Mervin Silva until September 12 for allegedly assaulting chartered accountant Chaminda Senasinghe at a nightclub in Bambalapitiya. The victim is now in hospital with a serious injury with 11 sutures on his face. The Magistrate was to visit suspect Malaka Silva at Asiri Hospital this evening to decide whether to send him to the prisons or to keep him in remand custody in the hospital, more..

Sep 11 (CI) The Sri Lanka team were named as the recipients of the Spirit of Cricket Award at the ICC Awards celebration in Johannesburg on Monday. The Spirit of Cricket Award was presented to the team which, in the opinion of the elite panel of umpires and referees and the captains of the 10 Test teams, has best conducted themselves on the field within the spirit of the game. more..

Sep 11 (AT) A mass demonstration will be staged on 26th of this month by the Parents and the School Development Society of the Wattala Roman Catholic School against the Roman Catholic Church which is situated in close proximity of the school. Some local legislators and academics will assist them to end the dictatorship of the Catholic Church which interferes with the school activities. more..

Sep 11 (AT) In an interview with Sri Lanka’s pioneer Tamil daily Virakesari, P.Nedumaran Head of the Tamil Nationalist Movement has blamed the Sri Lanka Army for the Lankan Tamils to flee the country and come to Tamil Nadu in large numbers as refugees. He pointed out similarly refugees from Bangladesh, Burma and Tibet are too coming to India, but tests and tribulations are faced only by the refugees coming from Sri Lanka. more..

Sep 11 (AFP) Thailand has arrested the procurement and finance chief of the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka. Kumaran Pathmanadan is reported to have been arrested by police in Bangkok on Monday evening. He is one of the top officials in the LTTE, the formal name of the group. Pathmanadan apparently had obtained Thai citizenship. He continued to run the global network of LTTE offices and its weapons procurement, logistics and money laundering operations. more..

Sep 11 (CI) We touched down in South Africa last week not fully knowing what to expect. We have a new coaching and management team, a slightly different team and a new format of the game to experience. Unlike some teams, we have hardly played any Twenty20 cricket at all. All we know is that the pace can be frenetic, the crowds love it and it’s all over in just three hours. more..

Sep 11 (LBO) Sri Lanka consumer affairs minister, cornered by rising prices and a falling rupee caused by money printing, lashed out at a Marxist party that helped engineer the collapse of government finances. Consumer Affairs Minister Bandula Gunewardene said the government could not subsidize all imported goods, such as milk power, fuel and fertilizer because there was no money to do so. more..

Sep 11 (ISL) What is the best Intelligence in world? Normally we say CIA, M16, KGB.....Well I say CIA and M16 are the brand names with multi-billion dollar funded. The top agency is the Israel one "Massod" (ha-Mossad le-Modiin ule-Tafkidim Meyuhadim). But Massod always maintained a low profile and did great achievements. They are made stronger by their neighboring enemies. more..

Sep 11 (AT) The "Malabar CY 07-2" naval exercises in the Bay of Bengal held in the first week of September, 2007 undoubtedly represent a major shift in India's strategic security perceptions. Only the US and Indian navies had been participating in the 12 Malabar series of naval exercises held usually off the west coast of India so far. But Malabar CY 07-2 is different in two ways. more..

Sep 11 (LBO) Residents in Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna peninsular are moving beyond basic needs and are now looking for inputs to revive livelihoods, the top official in charge of supplying the area said Tuesday. S.B. Divaratne, Commissioner General of Essential Services (CGES), said regular shipments by sea to Jaffna had ensured the people had enough food, medicine, fuel and other basic products. more..

Sep 11 (LBO) Two of Sri Lanka's biggest clothing exporters, Brandix Lanka and MAS Holdings, Tuesday announced they have bought each other's stakes in two subsidiaries they jointly owned. Following the deal, Linea Clothing will be a fully owned unit of MAS Holdings and Textured Jersey Lanka will be owned by Brandix Lanka and Pacific Textiles Holdings (Hong Kong), the companies said in a statement. more..

Sep 11 (LD) A timber mill owner in Katupotha has allegedly been brutally assaulted by a Sub Inspector of the area police, and was admitted to the Kuliyapitiya Hospital in unconscious condition. It is reported that a group working for the businessman had gone to bring some mango timber from a private land, when policemen in civics had ordered them to load some jak timber in the land, into their vehicle and take them to the police station. more..

Sep 11 (LT) "The great scale development China has gained within little more than 5 decades proves that a correct leadership could be used to win any challenge faced by a country" JVP Propaganda Secretary and the parliament group leader said at Xian in Shanxi region. Mr Weerawansa said this when he met Li Gin Bin, Permanent Member and the Director General of the Administrative Affairs in the Regional Committee of Chinese Communist Party. more..