Jan 28 (SAMN) The SLMC said Sunday that it would stand only for a ‘conditional merger’ of the northern and eastern provinces that would ensure a separate Muslim unit. The party’s representative to the APRC Nizam Kariapper said that the party took such a stand on grounds that it could not work against the aspirations of Tamil people. Kariapper said that the SLMC would revise its stand if Tamils attempt to re-merge the two provinces casting aside the Muslim aspirations. more..

Jan 28 (SAMN) The All Party Representative Commitee (APRC) which endorsed the government’s move to implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution will meet again today in its deliberations to evolve a final power devolution formula. Last week the APRC submitted a report which contained interim proposals for the resolution of the ethnic conflict to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. more..

Jan 28 (SAMN) A senior LSSPer Lal Wijenayake Sunday claimed that proposals presented to President Mahinda Rajapaksa as proposals of the All Parties Representative Committee (APRC) were in fact proposals that the President handed over to the APRC. He claimed that leaders of parties supporting the SLFP-led coalition government were requested to present the proposals as of their own. more..

Jan 28 (DN) Chief Prelate of the Malwatte Chapter the Most Ven. Thibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera yesterday praised the Government’s efforts to eradicate terrorism and usher in an era of peace through a viable political solution to the ethnic conflict. Ven. Sumangala Thera made these comments at a meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, when he visited the Thera in Kandy yesterday. more..

Jan 28 (DN) The Jathika Hela Urumaya said yesterday it has decided to support the APRC proposals as there was a need to establish a democratic climate for the people living in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. The proposals of the All Party Representative Committee are centred on the 13th Amendment to the present Constitution which gave effect to the establishment of the Provincial Councils. more..

Jan 28 (Island) Lanka Viduli Sevaka Sangamaya said that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has been forced to invest funds of its privately managed Provident Fund in government treasury bonds. Ranjan Jayalal, General Secretary of the union, said that the workers strongly objected to the government interference and pressure being brought on the management to invest funds on the direction of Treasury Secretary Dr. P. B. Jayasundera. more..

Jan 28 (Island) About 550 university teachers haven’t returned after the completion of their post graduate studies and training overseas, Chairman of the University Grants Commission, Prof. Gamini Samaranayake told The Island yesterday. As they hadn’t settled their dues in keeping with the bonds they entered into with the state, the UGC had no alternative but to make the guarantors concerned pay for the breach, Prof Samaranayake said. more..

Jan 28 (DM) The Interim Advisory Council (IAC), one of the key requirements in the APRC proposals handed over to President Mahinda Rajapaksa last Wednesday by Prof. Tissa Vitarana would not be established immediately as expected, Engineering and Construction Services Minister, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said yesterday. Addressing the media at the Information Department he said all sections in the democratic setup in the north have to be consulted before naming the members of the IAC. more..

Jan 28 (DM) The JVP is to hold a protest against the Western Provincial Council Decision to increase the vehicle revenue licence fees for all vehicles during the special sessions of the council summoned to debate the issue on Tuesday. The JVP Western Provincial Councillors’ Group Leader Waruna Deepthi Rajapaksha told a press conference yesterday that they would protest against this move by the ruling party though they would boycott the sessions. more..

Jan 28 (IANS) A terror plot in Tamil Nadu was thwarted with the arrest of Thambithurai Parameswaran, a member of the LTTE's intelligence wing, from Madipakkam two weeks ago. He was in Chennai to organise supplies. Interrogations, however, revealed he had another agenda that could come as a major embarrassment for the DMK government. Parameswaran was collecting information on the movements of Varadaraja Perumal, a former EPRLF chief - EPRLF is a political party in Sri Lanka - and a key ally of the IPKF, who is lodged at a secret location in Orissa under Army supervision. more..

Jan 28 (UNI) The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), an ally of the DMK-led DPA, has urged the Centre to nullify the Katchatheevu agreement with Sri Lanka and declare the area as an integral part of the Indian territory. resolution adopted at the party's one-day rally-cum-conference on 'Rights of Freedom of Expression' here, wanted the Centre to allow Tamil fishermen to fish in the Katchatheevu area and provide them adequate security to them. more..

Jan 28 (AN) A court in Jeddah yesterday gave three Asian workers, sentenced to death in relation to the murder of an elderly Saudi woman during an armed burglary, seven days to appeal the verdict. Those condemned to death include Haleema Nissa Cader, a Sri Lankan national, Naushad, her Indian husband, and K.M.S. Bandaranaike, also a Sri Lankan. Cader has an eight-year-old son and is from Kantalai, 300 km from the Sri Lankan capital. Her husband, Naushad, is from Tamil Nadu. more..

Jan 28 (Xinhua) UNP said here Monday that they would not take part in the official celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of independence on Feb. 4. "We will not be taking part in the celebrations", Tissa Attanayake, the UNP general secretary, told reporters. "It was UNP which gained independence to the country in 1948. What we have seen since then is that all governments other than the UNP governments have undone our achievement of gaining independence. There is no freedom to celebrate," Attanayake said. more..

Jan 28 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu government is taking all steps to secure the release of 12 fishermen from Rameswaram, arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy last week for entering their territorial waters, the state assembly was informed on Monday. Sharing the concern of members who raised the issue of the release of detained fishermen from Rameswaran during zero hour, Electricity Minister Arcot N Veeraswamy said that Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had spoken to Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed on the issue. more..

Jan 28 (NP) high-tech radar capable of monitoring small boats operated by drug dealers and terrorists and developed with Canadian tax dollars is being installed in Sri Lanka after the federal government decided it couldn't use the system. The high-frequency surface wave radar, developed at a cost of $39-million by Ottawa defence scientists and Raytheon Canada Limited, had been hailed several years ago by federal officials as the only one of its kind in the world and a major boost for domestic security. more..

Jan 28 (AP) Fighting raged between soldiers and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka's embattled north, leaving 36 insurgents and three soldiers dead, raising the overall death toll from weekend fighting to 79, the military said Monday. In the latest fighting, army troops clashed with guerrillas near the front lines in northern Vavuniya district, killing 22 rebels on Sunday. In the same area, two soldiers died after getting caught in booby traps, he said. more..

Jan 28 (PTI) Amid speculation that LTTE cadres may sneak into Tamil Nadu due to intensified clashes between the Sri Lankan Army and the Tamil Tigers, the Navy and Coast Guard have strengthened security along the coast by deploying more ships and helicopters. A Naval defence Boat T-60 and Coast Guard ship Razia Sultana were deployed in the Palk Bay while speed boats had intensified patrolling, Naval officials stationed at Rameswaram base said. more..

Jan 28 (AFP) Tamil Tiger rebels Monday shelled Sri Lanka's main northern military base, disrupting a vital air link to the troubled region as the military said it killed 82 guerrillas over the weekend. An aircraft carrying top defence officials and military brass was turned away from the Jaffna military airfield as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) pounded the region with heavy artillery, officials said. more..

Jan 28 (IANS) An academic and rights activist from Germany has urged the European Union to put pressure on Sri Lanka to embrace the peace process again. 'The EU should enforce peace in Sri Lanka, force the government to talk peace,' Dagmar Hellmann-Rajanayagam told IANS on the sidelines of a conference here. She said the breakdown of the Norway-sponsored ceasefire agreement on Sri Lanka had created 'a very intricate situation' in the island's north. more..

Jan 28 (IANS) A radical Sinhalese Marxist party wants India to clarify if it influenced the Sri Lankan government's move to finally implement a controversial constitutional amendment in a bid to resolve the ethnic conflict. 'We don't know whether India influenced the decision. But in 1987 India forced Sri Lanka to accept the India-Sri Lanka Accord and go for a constitutional amendment,' Somawansa Amarasinghe, who heads the Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP), told IANS. more..

Jan 29 (MC) This week, local beer police investigated the savory world of stouts. These dark and aromatic beers all proved to be full of flavor. Stouts were originally brewed to contain more ingredients to help them survive long journeys overseas without spoiling. Lion Stout, an import brewed and bottled in Sri Lanka, was the first beverage surveyed. Lion boasted its eight percent alcohol content on the label and proclaimed that it was the winner of five international gold awards. more..

Jan 29 (LDP) EVERY profession has its ultimate challenges. Physicists, for example, are constantly searching for the theory of everything and politicians know that their chances of re-election would be immeasurably enhanced if they could please all of the people all of the time. Last summer in the rather less rarefied but equally passionate environment of English county cricket, Lancashire’s Luke Sutton also faced up to greatest test of his professional skill – he kept wicket to Muttiah Muralitharan. more..

Jan 29 (SMH) WHAT Odel Unlimited, the most popular department store in Sri Lanka, and House of Fashion, a bargain emporium of designer apparel, luggage and manchester. WHERE Odel's main store is on Alexandra Road in Sri Lanka's bustling capital, Colombo. House of Fashion's multistorey complex is a short tuktuk ride away. HOW MUCH Even diehard bargain shoppers will be shocked and awed by the low prices at these two stores, popular with locals and tourists. more..

Jan 29 (TT) A solo exhibition of Iranian products was inaugurated in Colombo, capital city of Sri Lanka, on Sunday in presence of Iran’s Commerce Minister Mas’ud Mirkazemi and Sri Lankan ministers of Petroleum and Investment Development, IRIBNews reported. The exhibition in which 60 private and state-run Iranian companies have took part aims at broadening the economic and trade ties between the two countries. more..

Jan 29 (CI) Sri Lanka Under-19s beat their England counterparts by the massive margin of 158 runs on Monday with Sachith Pathirana producing a fine allround display. Dinesh Chandimal lost his opening partner, Dilshan Munaweera, as well as the No.3, Lahiru Thirimanne, before he took command with a fine 112. He found good support from Kushal Perera and the pair added 132 for the fourth wicket. more..

Jan 29 (GV) Deception has two extreme poles at each end of the untruth. One end is witty, subtle, astute and artistic. A magician, for example, perplexes us with pleasant surprise, tickling our innocent perception of truth as something illusive, though the deceptive role involved in the trick is taken for granted by everyone, magician and spectator alike. And, this trick, as long as it is not disproved hangs in suspension as an “untrue truth”. more..

Jan 29 (LBO) Sri Lankan Airlines, the island’s national career, has steadily increased the number of passengers in transit to 46 percent from 28 percent in 2003/04 in an attempt to make Colombo a hub for air travel, a statement by the carrier said. According to Sri Lankan, it has recorded a steady rise in transit passengers from 28 percent in 2003/04 to 36 percent in the next year to 42 percent in 2005/06, and to the current 46 percent. more..

Jan 29 (LD) T.M.G. Chandrasekara, the News Director of Rupavahini Corporation, who was assaulted by Labour Minister Mervyn Silva and his henchmen last month, has been removed from the post. Chandrasekara has been transferred to the Research Division of SLRC. Shan Wijetunga, presently a Director at Swarnavahini, is tipped to replace him, according to reports. When contacted, Wijetunga confirmed to ‘Lankadissent’ that he has been offered the post, but that no agreement has been reached over the matter. more..

Jan 29 (LD) Trade unions of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation have called for intervention by political party leaders to protect the threatened lives of employees of the state-owned television station. The request came at a meeting at the auditorium of the National Library Services Board in Colombo today (Jan. 28th). Political leaders present on the occasion included JHU MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera, Justice Minister Dilan Perera, Constitutional Affairs Minister Dew Gunasekara, more..

Jan 29 (LD) The Supreme Court ordered the Attorney General today (Jan. 28th) to ensure that the two security backup vehicles allowed for SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem are in good condition. Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva gave the order while taking up a fundamental rights petition filed by Hakeem. Attorney Sugath Caldera, who appears on behalf of the SLMC leader, told the court that his client has been provided with two dilapidated backup vehicles. more..

Jan 29 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa honoured those who have contributed immensely to the development of the tourist industry today (28) at the inaugural Presidential Awards for Travel and Tourism – 2007. The awards ceremony, held at the Presidential Secretariat, was the brain child of Minister for Tourism Milinda Moragoda, and followed deliberation of a panel of judged comprising of Nalin Attygalla (Chairman), more..

Jan 29 (GDI) Expanding economic co-operation was the major topic at the discussion held between the Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion, Dr Sarath Amunugama and the visiting Minister of Commerce of the Islamic Republic of Iran Dr Massoud Mir Kassim. During the discussion, Minister Amnugama pointed out that changes taking place in Asia as a result of the growth of the Indian and Chinese economies would impact on all countries in the region including Iran and Sri Lanka. more..

Jan 29 (LG) The 122nd Executive Board Meeting of the WHO convened in Geneva from 21st to 26th February 2008 at the premises of the WHO headquarters. The Health Ministers and other Senior Health officials of 34 Executive Board Member countries participated at this meeting and held extensive discussions on several issues of the World Health Agenda of the year 2008. Nimal Siripala de Silva, the Minister of Healthcare and Nutrition represented Sri Lanka at the 122nd Executive Board Meeting. more..

Jan 29 (LBO) Developing countries should first enlighten state officials and citizens on privacy to implement a privacy regime that helps develop e-commerce and international trade, experts say. A privacy regime is a mechanism that is in place to protect personal information which is stored or transferred into and out of a country. "It is very important both the public and lawmakers become aware of the rights and obligations which form the focus of the debate on privacy," more..

Jan 29 (HT) Somebody long ago said reporting Sri Lanka’s long ethnic war is like running along a toy train. You could jump on it and hop off anywhere, the same old things would just keep coming back. On January 15, the toy train whirred to yet another end of yet another truce in the island with a bloody history going back a quarter of a century. Six years of relative peace ended with the deafening sound of a bomb ripping a civilian bus. more..

Jan 29 (UCAN) The first Church-run theology school to teach in Sinhalese and Tamil marked its silver jubilee, recalling the difficulties it has overcome in making theology more accessible to the people. Blessed Joseph Vaz Deva Dharma Nikethanaya celebrated the milestone with a Mass and cultural shows. The program brought 400 clergy and laypeople, including students, to St. Joseph's College hall in Colombo on Jan. 14. more..

Jan 29 (AT) Year 2008 is a significant milestone for one of Sri Lanka's pioneering Information Technology giants. On May 31st 2008 Informatics (Pvt) Ltd the parent company of the Informatics Group completes 25 years of service to the industry and to the country. Informatics was established in 1983 with a mission to be a leading Systems Integrator providing quality innovative IT solutions to its customers. The company's record of successes in the IT industry in Sri Lanka is overwhelming. more..

Jan 29 (DPA) The associate editor of a state-run Tamil language newspaper, The Thinakaran, was stabbed and injured in Sri Lanka's capital late Monday, police said. T. Mohamed Suhaib was dragged from his home at Maligawatte in Colombo by five unidentified men and stabbed, causing serious injury. He was operated upon at the national hospital. Police said the motive of the attack was not known immediately, but he had been threatened earlier by a supporter of a Muslim politician over a report published in his newspaper. more..

Jan 29 (ML) My attention has been drawn to a recent article by Warren Hoge which, in talking about the R2P concept, asserts that: “Next month, a research and advocacy center dedicated to moving the principle of responsibility to protect into practice is being inaugurated at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Similar offices are being set up in Australia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.” more..

Jan 29 (SLW) The number 10 Fighter Jet Squadron of the Sri Lanka Air force launched a counter attack on LTTE Artillery Trenches at Kalmunai Point, in the general area Pooneryn this morning, soon after a rebel attack on the Palaly Military Base, Kankesanthurai and Keeramalai that grounded all air traffic to a halt. A total of 15 shells fell inside the Palaly base. No damages were caused either to military lives or assets. K-Point is an ideal location for this type of attack, given the proximity to the Jaffna Peninsula. more..

Jan 29 (CP) The tenders for the travel counters at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) for 2007 had been cancelled. Sources indicate that this was because the bid by the Tourist Drivers Association (TDA) of which Deputy Minister Sarath Kumara Gunarathna was the former chairman, was unlikely to have been chosen as it did not posses a valid Tourist Board license. Sarath Kumara Gunarathna became the Chairman of the association in 2004 after the UPFA’s victory at the general elections. more..

Jan 29 (CP) The Patriotic National Movement (PNM) declaring its disproval of the APRC proposals yesterday revealed that the proposals were not by Prof. Tissa Vitarana or by the APRC but were by the President himself. PNM head Prof. Gunadasa Amarasekera told the media that the APRC proposals were altered by President Rajapaksa. The initial document had been of ten pages but after the alterations it has been reduced to only two pages. more..

Jan 29 (CP) Derana, the young yet revolutionary television channel has once again brought to the Sri Lankan viewer an all new media experience. Launched at the Independence Square today, Derana’s "Rapid News Reporting" (RNR) service is a first for Sri Lanka. "Rapid News Reporting" will ensure that Derana’s viewers are privy to the latest and most up-to-date information and visual imagery. more..

Jan 29 (CP) Marhoom Sir Abdul Ameer is not a distant memory. Most of us have the privilege of having known him, of having worked with him and, above all, of having shared his friendship. He was a man of many parts and excelled in all of them. He was a successful entrepreneur, a popular diplomat a leader of the community. He had wide interests. These ranged from the English-speaking Union to the Dewatagaha mosque. more..

Jan 29 (LG) A red alert has been sounded all over the state to arrest at least 50 LTTE militants, who recently infiltrated from Sri Lanka in the guise of refugees and gone missing from camps. The “Q” branch of the police, which deals with terrorism, has placed their men at airports, railway stations and stepped up vigil in all coastal districts as these men were engaged in smuggling battle requirements and medical supplies for the LTTE. more..

Jan 29 (LG) People's liberation movements and rebellions were born and thrived in countries all over the world where anarchy, corruption, fraud and injustice prevailed in society. In such situations angry citizens put czars, monarchs and feudal lords to a cruel death along with their families, history records. The JVP at various demonstrations vociferously shouted slogans such as Kolombata Kiri, Gamata Kekiri in the past often to highlight the plight of the peasantry; more..

Jan 29 (LG) This expression seems to be rather contradictory & paradoxical. A person who renounces the world conquers it afterwards. What does it mean? In order to conquer the world one has to remain attach to it. If he intends to conquer it by renouncing it can be seen as a folly. Hitler, Mussolini did not renounce & instead waged wars to get the world for themselves. Ultimately they had to leave it with frustration. more..

Jan 29 (LG) Initially, the Trincomalee district be brought in as territory under the Provincial Council, subsequently other disputed and shared AGA divisions be administered by the Provincial Council and the law and order within these regions be administered by the Provincial Police Force that shall be established on a priority basis drawing from the central police force as well as new recruits. more..

Jan 29 (LG) As an interim council consisting of political parties can only be a source of discord, this process should start with the appointment of an Advisor to the Governor who would command the support of a broad (not necessarily all) and be acceptable to as many parties so that the process of hand over of power to the political parties and to LTTE can be effected in a gradual manner. more..

Jan 29 (LG) This article was written by the author in 2001 under the title ‘Sri Lanka - The Way Forward’ and circulated in Colombo and Trincomalee. The article draws on authors own experience of implementing the 13th Amendment as Head of the Research Division of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat of the North East Provincial Council and how it cold be made a basis for resolving the so called ethnic problem. more..