Oct 9 (AT) First, it was secretary of state Hillary Clinton addressing the UN Security Council accused Sri Lanka using ‘rape’ as a tool of war. She did not even use the qualifying term ‘alleged use of rape’. She was positive. And, the statement tarnished the international image of Sri Lanka focusing on the timeline the nation seriously went to war with the ruthless Tamil Tigers since Mahinda Rajapaksa took office in November 2005. more..

Oct 9 (LP) A group of Sri Lankan expatriates are organizing an armed struggle covering to peace and democracy, according to Sri Lanka Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka. Addressing the debate for the extension of emergency regulations at the parliament, Prime Minister Wickramanayaka said that the rebel cadres of the LTTE are staying in Colombo stealthily until they will have an opportunity attack again. more..

Oct 9 (LG) This is how the Sri Lankan government described (through a Ministry of Defence Press Release) the war strategy of its defence forces on May 18, 2009 after the annihilation of the LTTE. “Security forces have marked a decisive victory in the humanitarian operations launched against terrorism by killing almost all senior cadres of the LTTE. The security forces commenced this humanitarian operation in August 2006 by more..

Oct 9 (wsws) The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) calls on workers, farmers and youth in the Galle district to vote for its slate of candidates in the Southern Provincial Council elections on Saturday. The SEP is the only party fighting for international socialism against the divisive communalism of all the parties of the Colombo political establishment. We are campaigning to unify Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim workers and the poor to defend their common class interests and more..

Oct 9 (GDI) The Minister of Power and Energy,John Seneviratne has directed the Chairman of the Electricity Board to immediately submit a report on the power failure experienced islandwide this morning and in the wee hours of today. The Minister said that the cause for the power breakdown will soon be identified and l take necessary action will be taken to avoid such failures in the future. more..

Oct 9 (GDI) Chairman of the Electricity Board, E.A.S.K. Edirisinghe said the government aimed to provide electricity within this year to every area in the north that has been resettled. An accelerated programme is being implemented for this purpose,he added. The government has allocated 11.6 billion rupees in this regard. Areas such as Nedunkerni, Mullaitheiv, Kilinochchi, Oddusuddan, Poonaryn and Paranthan have already received electricity. more..

Oct 9 (GDI) The BOI granted investment approval to Flying Star Lighting Limited to commence operations under the BOI. Dhammika Perera, Chairman signed the agreement on behalf of the BOI and formally presented the BOI Certificate of Registration to Mr. M. Z. Munzir, Director of Flying Star Lighting. The investment agreement signed with Flying Star Lighting is a project manufacture incandescent bulbs, CFL lamps and bulb holders for local and export market. more..

Oct 9 (LG) The two boys who were murdered by the Angulana police, Ranga Bandara, MP, or a child in an IDP camp, all have one thing in common as Sri Lankans; they have no protection in law. Yet according to the legal enactments each is entitled to protection. The Angulana boys were entitled under the law to be arrested only on suspicion of a criminal charge, to be treated humanely during detention and if there were any charges, to be produced before a court within 24 hours. more..

Oct 9 (LG) There is a demand from some political parties to abolish the Executive powers of the President of Sri Lanka. It is a major slogan of a certain political party. Executive powers were vested in the President of Sri Lanka by the constitution of 1978. Before 1978 there were Presidents without Executive powers under the 1972 constitution. Presidents ruled this country from 1978 and it has only a 30 year history with five Executive Presidents. more..

Oct 9 (LP) The Epidemiology Unit of the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry has advised general public to be mindful of Rat Fever (Leptospirosis) during the rainy season about to begin. When compared with last year there is a decrease of the number of patients reported during the past nine months. Doxycychine tablets which are used to cure Rat fever have been sent to state hospitals in high risk areas more..

Oct 9 (LG) The U.S. Secretary of State and the former First Lady, while chairing the UN Security Council meeting on September 30, 2009, the last day of the U.S.’s turn for rotating the presidency of the 15-member body on violence against women in warfare, came out strongly against the perpetrators of violence against women, especially rape, by States such as Bosnia, Burma, Congo, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Sudan. more..

Oct 9 (LP) Navy Commander Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe is attending the 19th Sea Power Symposium conducted by the United States Navy at the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. Ninety-six Chiefs of Navies of the world and 15 other heads of naval delegations are attending this symposium which is the highest naval gathering under one roof in history. Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe will address the gathering. more..

Oct 9 (LP) The Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRC) issuing a press release said that they took speedy measures to assist displaced people in Sri Lanka following the mass devastation caused by Tsunami in 2004 affecting several Asian countries including Sri Lanka. SLRC also appealed from world leaders and organizations to render their support for reviving the Tsunami hit Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 9 (MoD) Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka told Parliament that the intention of the Government is to resettle the displaced people in the north in their original villages with maximum security. The Government has provided maximum facilities to the IDPs until they are re-settled in their original villages. The Government has also taken every possible measure to safeguard the rights of these IDPs who have been temporarily sheltered in welfare camps by more..

Oct 9 (MoD) Russian Ambassador in Sri Lanka Vladmir Mikhaylov declared that the standards maintained at the civilian welfare centers in Sri Lanka are of expected international standards not second to similar camps elsewhere in the world. He was speaking at a ceremony to hand over equipment and food worth 72 million Rupees to the rescued hostages in Sri Lanka. The equipment and food was handed over to Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe. more..

Oct 9 (IL) Ref. to the Daily mirror news paper dated , 07 October 2009 that Our Hon. Prime minister Mr Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka who was in live radio interview this morning make an statement against US state secretary Mrs Hillary Clinton, that her statement of saying "women had been raped in war countries that were at war including Sri Lanka". I am aware of this incident before and as a Sri Lankan I got a shock from her statement, more..

Oct 9 (LT) About Rs.100 million has been lost to the CTB due to illicit use of CTB buses for the UPFA campaign at provincial council elections held so far. During the last three days of the Southern PC elections alone 700 buses were used by the UPFA for its campaign and the reported approximate cost of fuel for the three days is Rs.2.5 million. Also the minimum daily loss to CTB by using these buses for the campaign is estimated at Rs.7,020,000.00. more..

Oct 9 (MoD) Yogesveran Sri Harshan who sat for the year 5 scholarship exam in waduccode Jaffna got 192 marks, the highest marks of Tamil medium students and won the second place in the whole Island.He was the first in his class every term and has not attended to any extra class. As he said that his main ambition was to become a doctor in the future. more..

Oct 9 (LNP) The election monitor PAFFREL (People s Action for Free and Fair Elections) said yesterday that during tomorrow s Southern Provincial Council election monitoring activities pertaining to observations will be done through stationary and mobile observations. PAFFREL Executive Director, Rohana Hettiarachchi said that a total of 1,085 observers will be assigned for the election. more..

Oct 9 (DM) The JHU yesterday in Parliament emphasised the need to initiate a dialogue with the democratic political parties and create a cultural understanding between the Sinhala and Tamil communities. JHU MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera told the House that his party would be pleased if the displaced civilians could be resettled as soon as possible. more..

Oct 9 (LNP) The JVP yesterday faulted the government for what it called a violation of both the election laws and the Constitution during the UPFA campaign for the Southern Provincial Council election. `Today, the country is being run according to President Mahinda Rajapaksa s own constitution,` the JVP said. Vijitha Herath MP said that the government had used prisoners, too, to erect UPFA cut-outs in the South while abusing all kinds of state property. more..

Oct 9 (LNP) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told Parliament yesterday, the decision of the Government to present a Vote on Account instead of an Appropriation Bill was not done succumbing to influence or pressure from the IMF or any other organisation. It is not appropriate for the present Parliament to pass the Budget for 2010 as there would soon be a General Election, he said. more..

Oct 9 (Island) The Government which did not take orders from the United States, European Union and other western nations in fighting the LTTE would certainly never give in to pressure from the International Monetary Fund to postpone the budget, NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa said. The public were well aware that the government would not pander to the whims and fancies of the IMF, he told the media more..

Oct 9 (LNP) In January 2008, during a trade union dispute at the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital, some members of the warring parties adopted a novel yet despicable method of winning their demands and opened, in the process, a new low in trade union action. They removed the oxygen masks of critically ill patients gasping for breath in the Intensive Care Unit and hid life saving drugs! more..

Oct 9 (LNP) Promising sprinter Shehan Ambepitiya of Gateway College Rajagiriya continued to update the record books when he shattered his own meet record to win the boys under-20 200 m event in 21.48 secs. on the second day of the Sir John Tarbet Senior Athletics Championship which continued at the Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo yesterday. Ambepitiya lowered his record of 21.93 secs. which he set last year. more..

Oct 9 (DN) Over 89,744 families in Matara and Hambantota districts have benefitted from the Water Supply and Sanitation Project implemented under the Urban Development and Sacred Areas Development Ministry, Minister Dinesh Gunawardane said. The total cost of the project is Rs.1,040 million and Rs. 520 million has been allocated for Matara and Hambantota districts respectively, the Minister added. more..

Oct 9 (DN) The Government yesterday presented a set of papers seeking Parliament approval for a supplementary estimate of Rs. 33 billion to strengthen the Security Forces. President Mahinda Rajapaksa as Defence, Public Security, Law and Order Minister has presented the supplementary estimates to further strengthen security and humanitarian operations of the areas liberated from the LTTE and other parts of the country. more..

Oct 9 (DN) Address by Labour Relations and Manpower Ministry Secretary Mahinda Madihahewa at the National Workshop held on October 7, 2009 at Colombo at an event to mark the National Occupational Safety and Health Week. The National Safety Conference is one of the major events of the Safety Week 2009. This year the theme of the National Conference is ‘Safe Work Promotes Healthy Life’. more..

Oct 9 (DN) Having seen Victor’s enormous potential at a very young age, M G P Perera (Ananda Perera’s father, leader of Shakthi) directed him to ‘Heywood’ (Government Music College). There, Victor mastered the melodious instrument called violin, apart from routine voice training. (In his twenties, Victor was a lean and tall average young man, with short hair. He combed his hair upwards with a ‘bump’ in front, to comply with the trend at that time. more..

Oct 9 (LNP) Welcoming Russia s decision to provide assistance to IDPs through the Sri Lankan government, Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe yesterday (Oct 8) said it was significant as other donors always operated through UN agencies and INGOs. Addressing the press at the Russian Centre, Samarasinghe said such assistance would further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. more..

Oct 9 (LNP) The country has the potential to capture the global construction market and international exposure is necessary to compete with other countries, Chief Executive Officer/Secretary General, Chamber of Construction Industry Dakshitha Thalgodapitiya told Daily News Business. What our construction industrialists lack is the experience in handling mega scale global construction projects. more..

Oct 9 (Island) An employee of a Kalutara tourist hotel who attempted to sexually abuse a British woman police officer after making her drunk, was remanded till October 12 by Kalutara Additional Magistrate Chandani Dias. In her complaint to the Police, she said that when she was partaking of drinks with another foreigner near the swimming pool in the night, the suspect had come and inquired whether they wanted more drinks. more..

Oct 9 (Island) After all of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s men had failed to persuade the European Union to extend GSP+ concessions to Sri Lanka until 2011, the government was planning to send a religious delegation to Brussels, as a last ditch attempt, UNP MP Lakshman Kiriella said. The delegation, which was to include Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian priests, will actually be pleading for the GSP+ facility extension. more..

Oct 9 (Island) "Not only the UNPers and JVPers but even the UPFAe members sling mud at me because all of them were aware of my ability to get more votes in the forthcoming SPC polls," UPFA SPC candidate, Sajin Vaas Gunawardane said at a media conference at his Ambalangoda SLFP main office Oct. 4. He challenged the UNP MP, Ravi Karunanayake to prove his allegations of misappropriation of funds from Mihin Air. more..

Oct 9 (LT) The University of Bolton in the UK launched a scholarship program under the name of Sri Lanka's star spinner and world's leading wicket taker, Muttiah Muralitharan for six Sri Lankan students. A ceremony was held at the JAIC Hilton residencies yesterday evening to launch the scholarship program with the participation of the representatives from the University of Bolton. more..

Oct 9 (UNP) UNP M.P. Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, regretted that on the World Teachers’ day when the whole world was celebrating and extolling the virtues of the Teachers, the SL Education Ministry celebrated it by disgracefully driving the Teachers to the streets. On that day, because the Teachers’ woes and demands were not attended to by the Govt., the Teachers were forced to stage street protests more..

Oct 9 (DM) The Inspector General of Police has ordered the DIGs in charge of the Northern and Eastern Provinces to resume providing security cover for the regional local politicians and their teams, police sources said. An order was given by the IGP on October 5th, to withdraw the security provided to non parliamentarian and Provincial Council politicians, following instructions from the Ministry of Defence. more..

Oct 9 (DM) The TNA said yesterday the de-mining operations appeared to be moving slowly, and the government had failed to harness the support extended by the international community in carrying out these operations. TNA leader R. Sampanthan told parliament the government was reluctant to deploy anyone other than the armed forces personnel for de-mining in the districts of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. more..

Oct 9 (LBO) Fitch Ratings said it has lifted the outlook on Sri Lanka's 'B+' sovereign rating to 'stable' from 'negative' on the end of a war and a deal with the International Monetary Fund that has boosted foreign reserves. At the same time, the agency said in a statement it has confirmed the long-term foreign and local currency IDRs and the country ceiling at 'B+', and the short-term IDR at 'B'. more..

Oct 9 (LBO) Prime minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake has called for lower consumption of sugar, saying diabetes was on the increase, and alternative uses for the crop such as fuel production. "We consume far too much sugar for our health," he told the 25th anniversary celebrations of the island's Sugarcane Research Institute. "Diabetes is on the increase alarmingly. It is spreading even among children. And one of the main causes for this is the high consumption of sugar." more..

Oct 9 (CT) Sixty two central and provincial state institutions have yet to send to the Central Bank Rs. 170 million they have collected from employees as contributions to the now defunct contributory pension fund, said the Department of Pensions. According to treasury circulars, employees had to contribute eight per cent of their salaries, and the state institutions 12 pc to this fund. more..

Oct 9 (IE) Acknowledging that there was international pressure on it, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that the country cannot allow LTTE chief Prabhakaran's "ghost" to rule Sri Lanka even after his death. "There is international pressure on us. There is pressure from outside the country and from within to reverse the victories we achieved. However, we cannot let that happen. We cannot let the country be taken backwards," more..

Oct 9 (IPS) New laws dealing with foreign employment agents and migrant workers, Sri Lanka’s biggest foreign revenue earner, have stirred up a hornet’s nest and concerns over a fundamental issue – the freedom to travel. "The fundamental freedom to travel (enshrined in Sri Lanka’s Constitution) is being challenged under these new laws," noted David Soysa, a veteran rights activist in the migrant worker industry, more..

Oct 9 (AFP) Sri Lanka has raised its defence expenditure by another 20 percent this year following its military victory over separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. Parliament late Thursday approved an additional 33 billion rupees (287 million dollars) to pay for hardware and beef up security in former conflict zones. At the beginning of the year, Sri Lanka had allocated a record 1.6 billion dollars for defence in 2009, up from 1.5 billion dollars last year more..

Oct 9 (LT) Is patriotism of the Rajapakse government making former leaders of tiger organization ministers while the Commander of the Army who gave leadership to Security forces to liberate the country from tiger terrorists is appointed a secretary of a ministry asks JVP MP Sunil Handunneththi. Mr. Handunneththi asked this question participating at more..

Oct 9 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's power grid crashed on Friday, plunging the entire country into darkness barely 24 hours after private companies took over some functions of the state-owned electricity company despite union objections. The government ruled out sabotage or action by electrical workers' unions who have threatened blackouts if pay demands are not met. The unions said they had no role in it either. more..

Oct 10 (CI) Australia coasted to an easy six-wicket win in the fourth ODI at the Marrara Cricket Ground to level the series 2-2 against Sri Lanka Under-19s. It was a poor day in the office for the Sri Lankan batsmen in particular, who lost half their side by the 20th over and posted a paltry 155. The Australian batsmen were hardly challenged as they sailed to victory within 38 overs. more..

Oct 10 (LBO) Sri Lankan can avoid foreign pressure tied to aid or trade concessions by putting its own economic house in order through better management, a think tank has said. "Sri Lanka has learnt first hand over the last few years that its traditional sources of donor assistance increasingly comes tied to conditions that go beyond the scope of economic assessments," the Institute of Policy Studies said. more..