Jun 8 (DBS) U.N.Secretary-General Ban Ki moon has warned of the risk of rising triumphalism in Sri Lanka following the military defeat inflicted upon the LTTE by the Sri Lankan armed forces. It is quite understandable that people suffering from what they perceived as terrorism would be relieved at the prospect of such acts ceasing and would celebrate what they think is an “end to terrorism”. more..

jun 8 (LT) Hospitals don’t have kits to carry out instant tests for dengue fever say doctors in government hospitals. As a result only blood tests are carried out to determine whether a patient is suffering from dengue and the delay in getting result of these tests hinder proper treatment of patients causing many deaths point out these doctors. The normal cost of a test kit to identify dengue fever is Rs.300. more..

Jun 8 (LT) The Ministry of Health does not have a programme to crack down on epidemics and as a result of the failure and inconsistency of the programme carried out regarding dengue fever the country is confronted with the menace of the epidemic spreading throughout the island states President of All Ceylon Government Medical Officers Union Dr. Gisanthe Dasanayake. He said dengue is an epidemic that spreads with the monsoon season and more..

Jun 8 (LT) 14 new police stations would be established in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts and a DIG would be appointed to run police operations in the newly liberated areas said IGP Jayantha Wickremaratne. He said the police personnel deployed in the area would be from all three communities. The IGP said the screening process of IDPs is continuing and so far about 400 LTTE cadres who had taken refuge among civilians at welfare centers in the Vavuniya District have been taken into custody. more..

Jun 8 (LT) Minister Arumugam Thondaman has told Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi that Sri Lankan President was willing to implement the 13th Amendment plus 1. Elaborating on ‘plus 1’ he had said that it was restoration of the upper house of Parliament. Minister Arumugam Thondaman invited Karunanidhi to visit Sri Lanka to discuss the current situation when he met the Chief Minister in his residence in Chennai more..

Jun 8 (LT) With the dengue epidemic continuing to engulf the country victimising more and more people, the Health Ministry tightened its grip on errant residents who ignored repeated requests to keep their environment clean, thereby breeding vector borne diseases. The Government Epidemiology Unit put the death toll from dengue at 110 and number of patients detected up to yesterday over 8,000. more..

Jun 8 (LP) The British Shadow Defence Secretary, Dr. Liam Fox congratulated Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and the Sri Lankan Government on the military victory against the LTTE terrorist group. This was conveyed to the Minister on the sidelines of the 8th Shangri – La Dialogue in Singapore last week. Dr. Liam Fox pointed out that the defeat of the LTTE proved to the world that terrorism could be eliminated. more..

Jun 8 (GDI) Highest priority has been given to uplift the living conditions of the civilians who fled from LTTE terror grips in the now defunct No-Fire-Zone, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said. Minister Bogollagama was elaborating on Sri Lanka IDP welfare to Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma on June 05. “Improved living conditions, resettlement, and reconciliation are central in IDP rehabilitation,” Bogollagama said. more..

Jun 8 (GDI) The Foreign Employment Bureau plans to launch a programme to create foreign employment opportunities for those residing in welfare centers in the north and two offices will be set up in the north-east for this purpose with the first office set to commence operations in Batticaloa this month. The programme would include the creation of awareness on foreign employment and provide employment opportunities for those who wished to seek employment overseas. more..

Jun 8 (GDI) The Kandy Annual Esala Perahera will begin to parade the streets of the Hill Capital on July 27 and the Kumbal Perahera, the first phase of the pageant will commence on July 27 till July 31 at night. The water cutting ceremony will take place at the Getambe ferry with the participation of the devale chiefs, on August 26. The commencement of the historic pageant and the making of the 'Kap' at the main devales of Kandy will take place at dawn on July 22. more..

Jun 8 (GDI) The pro-LTTE Janani Jananayagam, who contested the European Union election was badly defeated obtaining only 29 per cent votes, reports reaching Colombo from London stated a short while ago. Janani, known as 'Jani' among pro-LTTE tamil diaspora, only obtained a few votes though the LTTE's vocalist 'MIA' came to her rescue during the campaign to urge Tamils to vote for her. more..

Jun 8 (LP) In search operations conducted in the Palleikuduirippu area in Mullaittivu yesterday, troops of the 53 division recovered several war items. A Micro pistol, a magazine, 04 pistol ammunitions, 03 GPS, a night vision device and 03 “Silva” compasses were among the recoveries made. Troops attached to the 57 division of the SL Army also recovered several other war items from the Vishwamadu area the same day. more..

Jun 8 (AT) At his last official press briefing at the Ministry of Justice last week, outgoing Chief Justice Sarath Nanda Silva described that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution as ill-conceived and hurriedly pieced together by picking bits and pieces of the Indian Constitution in keeping with the Indo-Lanka Accord and hence was not practicable. Since India was a large country, devolution of power was essential for her but more..

Jun 8 (LeN) Sri Lanka Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda says that the war dragged for thirty years due to corruption in mass scale. He emphasizes, “The biggest issue of the war was the corruptions that took place in mass scale. That was why the war dragged for thirty years.” He expressed these views in an interview with a weekend newspaper. Following are the causes for the victory as pointed out by the Navy Commander. more..

Jun 8 (AT) The name 'Prabhakaran' is likely to fade away from the Register of Births in the Jaffna peninsula and other parts of the Northern Province. According to hospital sources from the peninsula, no male child born after May 18,the day Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed had been given the name Prabhakaran. In Tamil, language experts say that 'Prabhakaran' is a name without a proper meaning though LTTE supporters attempted to indicate that 'Prabha' was referred to as the 'Sun'. more..

Jun 8 (CT) The defeat of the LTTE was a massive achievement by the Sri Lankan government and none in the British Government would shed any tears for these terrorists, foreign secretary David Milliband has told visiting Sri Lankan foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama. Foreign secretary Miliband has said that after 28 years of armed conflict, time was now opportune to reflect on the basis for rebuilding and reconstructing of the war ravaged areas of Sri Lanka. more..

Jun 8 (LNP) That the UN is a rubber stamp of the US is only too well known but the current UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has proved he is a puppet of the West. With him and UN human rights chief Navi Pillai around, the LTTE rump may not feel the loss of Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman so much. Vilification of Sri Lanka seems to be Ban`s raison d` tre. His day is not complete unless he calls for a probe into what he makes out to be `war crimes` in Sri Lanka. more..

Jun 8 (MoD) Foreign Minister Bogollagama, who met with his counterpart from Bangladesh, Dr. Dipu Moni on the margins of the 8th Shangri - La Dialogue in Singapore last week, discussed the scourge of terrorism and the economic and human destruction caused by terrorist groups in the region. Dr. Moni congratulated the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister and the Government of Sri Lanka on the military defeat of the LTTE. more..

Jun 8 (MoD) Foreign Minister Bogollagama briefed the Minister of Defence of Australia, Joel Fitzgibbon on current political developments in Sri Lanka at a meeting on the sidelines of the 8th Shangri - La held in Singapore last week. Minister Bogollagama highlighted the need for bi-lateral assistance for economic development of Sri Lanka, particularly for the development of the Northern Province, more..

Jun 8 (MoD) Foreign Minister, Rohitha Bogollagama briefed Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Mitoji Yamanaka on political developments of Sri Lanka on the margins of the 8th Shangri - La Dialogue in Singapore last week. Minister Bogollagama explained to the Japanese Vice Minister, the measures taken by the Sri Lankan Government to rehabilitate and resettle the rescued civilian hostages. more..

Jun 8 (CT) The late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike may be the founder of my party, but he had done a great injustice to the Tamils by making Sinhala the state language, and 51 years later President Mahinda Rajapaksa has rectified that mistake, said Transport Minister Dallas Alahapperuma. The minister was speaking at the opening of a tyre factory of the Sri Lanka Transport Board in Ampara recently. more..

Jun 8 (MoD) The ceremony to mark the National (War Heroes) Ranaviru Day was held to commemorate the war heroes who paid the supreme sacrifice to safeguard the sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the motherland near the Ranaviru monument at Sri Jayewardenepura, Kotte, yesterday. President Mahinda Rajapakse, the speaker Mr. W.J.M. Loku Bandara, Presidential Secretary Mr. Lalith Weerathunga, Defence Secretary Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapakse, more..

Jun 8 (DN) The great victory over terrorism was achieved through the correct leadership given by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in setting a correct objective from which he never wavered, in evolving a correct strategy through the appointment of capable leaders of security forces and in providing the military with all necessary infrastructure and hardware to continue the humanitarian operation without obstacles, said Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa more..

Jun 8 (DN) Devotees could travel freely to worship not only Mihintale but any shrine as terrorism has been wiped out from the country, Chief Minister Berty Premalal Dissanayake said. “During the last three decades, we participated in the Mihintale Aloka Pooja with fear of being attacked by the LTTE. But since May 18, 2009, the fear, suspicion, violence and terror has been wiped out by President Mahinda Rajapaksa with the help of war heroes,” more..

Jun 8 (DN) Sri Lanka is set to seek assistance from Middle Eastern nations, to reform migrant worker sponsorship laws, that require the consent of the employer to change sponsors or exit the country of employment. The SLBFE said yesterday that as its proposals to enact such changes to visa provisions had been received positively by the Government of Bahrain, the proposed new laws would come into effect from August 01. more..

Jun 8 (Island) The Hingurakgoda-based Mi 24 helicopter gunship squadron played a critical role in the recently concluded eelam war IV with nearly 400 missions in the Northern and Eastern theatres. Known as the No 09 squadron, it had caused devastating losses in coordinated attacks directed at fortified LTTE positions situated close to what Wing Commander Sampath Thuycontha, Commanding Officer of the squadron called forward location of own troops.’ more..

Jun 8 (Island) Predictions of the impending end of the LTTE came thick and fast after the Sri Lankan Army’s offensive swept through their long-held sanctuaries in late 2008 and January of 2009. However, the Tiger’s mental flexibility should not have been underestimated – they staved off complete defeat for four months by taking over 200,000 Tamil hostages; and simultaneously used them as a human shield and a propaganda instrument. more..

Jun 8 (AT) Justice Ashoka de Silva has been sworn in as the 32rd Chief Justice, by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Temple Trees, Colombo, this Morning. Justice Asoka N. de Silva, is one of the most senior Judge of the Supreme Court and he is an expert on Sri Lankan as well as international law. He succeeded the outgoing controversial Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, more..

Jun 8 (Island) The following statement was issued by UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya on the recent attack on Mr. Poddala Jayantha, Secretary to the sri Lanka Working Journalists Association: It was with shock that we received news of the latest attack on a Sri Lankan journalist, this time on one of the stalwarts in the ongoing battle for media freedom in the country. Mr. Poddala Jayantha is not only a media professional, but he is also the secretary of the Working Journalists Association, more..

Jun 8 (AT) Many Tamil political parties representing the Northern people are yet undecided over the formation of a political pact to contest the forthcoming mini poll to the Jaffna Municipal Council, known as the key political body of local administration in the peninsula. With ten days to go for nominations, the EPRLF, PLOTE and TULF are still engaged in discussion to form a pact while the TNA led by veteran Tamil politician, R.Sampanthan now overseas, stand undecided whether or not to go for the mini poll. more..

Jun 8 (DM) The Justice and Law Reforms Ministry is in the process of demarcating the territorial limits of judicial areas in Sri Lanka for the first time in the country’s 200-year judicial history, Chief Justice Sarath N Silva said during a news conference on the eve of his retirement. The Chief Justice said the absence of officially demarcated boundaries for High Courts, Magistrates Courts and District Courts Sri Lanka and more..

Jun 8 (DM) The Department of Motor Traffic said producing a gas emission certificate would be made compulsory from June 22 to obtain revenue licences for motor vehicles in the Southern, Central and North Central Provinces. However brand new vehicles originally registered for a period of three years and vehicles registered prior to 1975 as well as all agricultural and land vehicles would be exempted from obtaining this certificate. more..

Jun 8 (EB) An all-party delegation might visit Sri Lanka to study the present situation and help the Tamil there, DMK MP Kanimozhi indicated on Sunday. Asked about the possibility of such a visit by an Indian delegation, Kanimozhi told reporters that there are chances for it to happen. She was speaking to newspersons after a Sri Lankan delegation comprising ministers, more..

Jun 8 (LBO) SriLankan Airlines said its long-haul flights will carry an Automated External Defibrillators (AED) or 'heart start machine' for medical emergencies. The AED will monitor and evaluate heart rate and rhythm when attached to a patient. Through voice commands the machine recommends immediate actions such as cardio pulmonary resuscitation CPR, and if a patient’s condition is serious, it can also discharge an electric shock to stimulate the heart. more..

Jun 8 (wsws) The following report was provided by an elderly person who visited several relatives being held in one of the internment camps set up by Sri Lankan authorities to house nearly 300,000 civilians who fled during the final weeks of fighting between the army and the LTTE. Manik Farm is about 30 kilometres from the northern town of Vavuniya. It is the biggest camp established by the army, housing more than 160,000 Tamil refugees. more..

Jun 8 (PTI) The Congress on Monday demanded that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa should fulfil his promise of devolution of power to minority Tamils and end their "discrimination" to bring lasting peace in the island. Jayanthi Natarajan (Cong) said it was absolutely vital for the Sri Lankan government to ensure immediate relief to Tamils displaced due to the war with LTTE so that they can return to their homes. more..

Jun 8 (LBO) Sri Lanka's central bank has bought 160.25 million US dollars from foreign exchange markets since a float of the currency in late March 2009, with 123.0 million collected in the month of May. In April the monetary authority collected 37.25 million dollars, after floating the currency and breaking a cycle of 'sterilized intervention' in the last week of March as prior action ahead of an International Monetary Fund bailout. more..

Jun 8 (ANN) Police Chief Jayantha Wickremaratne yesterday said that about 400 LTTE cadres taking refuge among civilians at welfare centres in the Vavuniya District had been taken into custody. The suspects had been identified following screening of internally displaced persons. IGP told The Island that the suspects had revealed the identities of their contacts, some of them living in the South. more..

Jun 8 (DM) The Colombo Municipal Council yesterday warned that 50 per cent of the city’s residents were living in congested settlements and this is causing a major crisis. “The environmental burden on the city is particularly felt due to these congested settlements,” the CMC said in a statement. The CMC’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam said the congestion could be a probable reason for the spread of dengue in the city. more..

Jun 8 (AFP) Sri Lankan authorities Monday ordered a foreign-owned ship carrying aid for Tamil civilians to leave the island without unloading its cargo. The Syrian-registered ship, Captain Ali, was seized last week, and the Sri Lankan defence ministry said the cargo of food and other supplies had been destined for the now defeated Tamil Tiger rebels. "The ship had tried to enter Sri Lankan waters without following the proper procedure," more..

Jun 9 (CI) I don't get why the English eat cold food in their icy weather - cold salmon, cold chicken, cold salad - even though I like it. They probably don't get how Indians eat hot and spicy food in our already sweaty climate. I realise I've been whining about the weather every day since arriving in Nottingham, but I haven't seen the sun for three days. Sunday was the worst of the lot. It was miserably cold, and the wind toyed with my umbrella - I haven't used one in years. more..

Jun 9 (NN) Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapakse will pay a three day visit to Burma in the near future to boost bilateral ties between the two countries, government sources said. The visit is a first by the Sri Lankan President abroad after its troops conquered the Tamil Tigers guerrilla force in May 2009. Both countries have been facing long-term insurgency in their territories, after independence from the British. more..

Jun 9 (BL) From the time the military operations undertaken by the Sri Lankan Government against the LTTE reached its concluding stages, some of the countries of the EU, principally Britain, France and Germany, which are also members of the UNHRC, had launched a strident campaign to institute an investigation under UN auspices into allegations of violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in the course of the hostilities ‘in accordance with international standards’. more..

Jun 9 (LG) “The world without the LTTE is a good place to live in”, deceptively deceitful bellicose of a phrase that booms out of the abyss created by the killers on both sides, and their apologists in the land of serendipity, Sri Lanka. Deceptive, because it gnaws into our senses totally destroyed by the cruelty of the LTTE, offering a false sense of security. Deceitful, because the Tamils as a people are totally defeated in every sense and more..

Jun 9 (LG) “Tamil Tigers are among the most dangerous and deadly extremists in the world. For more than three decades, the group has launched a campaign of violence and bloodshed in Sri Lanka, the island republic off the southern coast of India.” said a report of The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This is now past history. The LTTE has been convincingly defeated by our Security Forces, under the leadership of its Commander in Chief President Mahinda Rajapakse. more..

Jun 9 (HP) As I travel through Sri Lanka, covering the nation as it seeks reconciliation among its diverse population after decades of conflict, I am receiving e-mails from my friends at home asking me to review the basics for them. Here we go: Sri Lanka is an island nation off the southern tip of India in South Asia. It was populated mostly by Buddhists called Sinhalese until Europeans took over. more..

Jun 9 (LG) Democratic Tamil National Alliance considers the TNA, as the first and the worst enemy of the Tamil People. They should take full responsibility, among many other matters, for the loss of several thousands of lives and for causing injuries for many more. One in ten in the IDP camps has some deformity. Many have become widows, widowers and orphans. The kith and kin of some are either dead or still missing. more..

Jun 9 (LG) Ven. Galayaye Piyadassi thero, Sri Lanka Freedom Party UK and SLAT UK members welcomed Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and his wife Mrs Bogollagama on their visit to Kingsbury temple, London, on Saturday 6 June as part of his UK state tour. The event was well attended by Sri Lankans in the UK. Galayaye Piyadassi thero hosted the event and invited the Foreign Minister to address the audience on the current situation in Sri Lanka. more..

Jun 9 (LBO) A Sri Lankan student has won an award at the ISEF 2009, winning third place in the electrical and mechanical category, the technology firm said. E. Chandula Padmasiri has won the award for a portable microscope invention and had received 1000 US dollars in prize money. "Intel ISEF provides students from Sri Lanka and around the world the opportunity to share ideas, showcase cutting-edge technology and compete with the best young talent," more..

Jun 9 (AT) French voters elected 78 MEPs for EU Parliament including 14 each from the Green Party and the Socialists, but outright rejected the LTTE backed Tamil candidates who fielded under independent group for Ile de France district that includes Paris. EPP topped the list with 30 seats while the Liberals came fourth with 6 seats after the Greens and the Socialists. more..