Oct 3 (TOI) Mystery surrounds the death of pilot Raman Joshi, who was stabbed to death at Negombo in distant Colombo where he was working with Sri Lankan Airlines. His wife Ranjana and two daughters, who arrived at her parents’ house in Panchkula from Canada, were too traumatized to speak, while her brother Ashok Kaushal and family members demanded a probe into the murder on Friday. more..

Oct 3 (LG) I often wish that human beings visit more frequently the Buddha’s discourse on loving-kindness, the Karaniya Metta Sutta. “May all beings be joyful and secure; may they be happy within themselves. Whatever living beings there be, without exception, movable or immovable, long or huge, medium or small, subtle or gross, visible or invisible, dwelling far or near; born or coming to birth, may all beings be happy within themselves.” more..

Oct 3 (TC) The most pressing political question ought to be about the freeing of over 200,000 Tamil people held in the Wanni camps. There are many more Sri Lankan Tamils and Muslims displaced and scattered elsewhere in Sri Lanka, but they are the victims of multiple sources of violence and rights abuses that have been the lot of the land for decades. more..

Oct 3 (LG) The Government of Sri Lanka is trying hard to rebuild Colombo – Jaffna railway track. However, paying no attention to intangible results that it would bring about to the people. In reality, apart from demonstrating to the gullible people that the old railway link is re-established [at an enormous cost] nothing tangible would be achieved by this futile effort. It is worthwhile to ask how the people would be benefited with more..

Oct 3 (LG) In years gone by, development pundits opined that the benefits of policies and projects conceived at the highest levels will eventually percolate down to people who will say a big thank you and all that. This came to be known in development circles as the top-down process or, more colourfully, the trickle-down effect. Since then, the theory has been largely discredited and more..

Oct 3 (Hindu) Sri Lanka on Friday expressed concern at the forcible entry earlier in the day of protesters into its mission premises in New Delhi and requested India to investigate the incident. In a statement here, the Foreign Ministry said the High Commission in New Delhi brought to its notice that a mob of 40-50 persons had assembled at the main gate and around 10 persons made a forcible entry, causing some damage to its premises. more..

Oct 3 (Hindu) Members of Communist Party of India (CPI) took out a rally and followed it up with a demonstration here on Friday urging the Sri Lankan government to take immediate steps to resettle ‘suffering Tamils’ detained in camps for the internally displaced in the Island Nation after Eelam War IV. The cadre, a majority of them women, raised slogans against the Sri Lankan Government and its President for gross human rights’ violations. more..

Oct 3 (ICG) Thank you, Madam Chair, for offering Crisis Group the opportunity to present our assessment of the situation in Sri Lanka today. Since the end of the war and the defeat of the terrorist Tamil Tigers, the government of Sri Lanka has been imprisoning without charge over a quarter of a million ethnic Tamils displaced by the conflict. The state has locked them in internment camps in the north of the country. more..

Oct 3 (wsws) The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) in Sri Lanka recently campaigned in the rural area of Karandeniya in the Southern Province as part of its election campaign for the Provincial Council election on October 10. The SEP is standing a slate of 26 candidates in the Galle district. Karandeniya is situated about 30 kilometres inland from Galle, the capital and main city in the Southern Province. more..

Oct 3 (LBO) State-run Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka (MBSL) chairman Janaka Ratnayake owns a large stake in a Ceylinco group company in which the state bank has also invested an equal stake, a listed company filing has disclosed. The Finance Company (TFC), a troubled Ceylinco group firm which is also under MBSL management, said Ceylinco Investment Company Limited (CICL) which owned 37.14 percent of its stock was 46.35 percent owned by Ratnayake. more..

Oct 3 (GDI) The National Wap Magul festival will be held at Kandalama area in Dambulla under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa on October 12, the Ministry of Agricultural Development & Agrarian Services Development disclosed. According to Ministry sources, Wap Magul festivals will also be held at district level parallel to the national festival. The Government aims to cultivate 700 thousand hectares of paddy in the Maha Season. more..

Oct 3 (LP) The second stage of the 60th anniversary of the SL Army commences today (03) with the mega Army exhibition at the BMICH. The exhibition will go on till the 07th of October where there will be a collection of the war items recovered by the Troops of the SL Army belonging to the LTTE. LTTE suicide boats and submarines, model operations that started from Mavil Aru and ended in Puthumattalan, more..

Oct 3 (LG) Hilary Clinton first tried to throw in a life-line to the LTTE when they were facing annihilation. It came a cropper at the end. Ever since, her band at the US Department of State has been trying to vilify Sri Lanka for emerging victorious over terrorism, while her country is all messed up in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention Vietnam. Failing in all their sinister attempts to achieve their goal of victimizing SL, she now tries to sidekick us by more..

Oct 3 (LT) The presence of all ministers and Parliamentarians who have been assigned from other areas in the country to engage in Southern PC election campaign of the UPFA in the south is compulsory from 1st to 10th October states a letter sent to all ministers, MPs and electoral organizers by the Secretary General of the SLFP Maithripala Sirisena. more..

Oct 3 (LG) As the pressure on Sri Lanka to give into pro-LTTE pressure in the post-conflict situation mounts, there are mixed signals coming that the apparent unity of the sections of the international community that have been clamouring for action against Sri Lanka, are not as strong as they have appeared to be. News reports give more than a broad hint that the EU may be thinking of a passage out of a harsh and open confrontation with Sri Lanka over GSP+, more..

Oct 3 (TC) Despite the Indian centre taking a keen interest in the expeditious resettlement of Sri Lanka’s IDPs, Indo-Lanka relations could be said to be working themselves out in an unruffled manner at present in marked contrast to, for instance, the mid-eighties, when ‘India-bashing’ was a popular preoccupation among some sections in Sri Lanka and Indo-Lanka ties had soured as never before. more..

Oct 3 (LG) I was shocked when I learned of Hillary Clinton’s statement about rape being used as a weapon during the Sri Lankan war against the LTTE terrorists. For many reasons I simply cannot believe this is true. On one hand I applaud the unanimous passing of the UN Security Council’s resolution to create new tools to combat sexual violence against women and children in conflict situations. more..

Oct 3 (PSM) 8 youths have been arrested by Mannar Police following a clash that took place between Tamil and Muslim youths in Uppukulam, Mannar yesterday. A dispute between two teams playing a cricket match in the area has led to this clash. The Police who were summoned by the locals have arrested some of the youths and now 8 of them (both Muslims and Tamils) are in remand according to sources. more..

Oct 3 (LT) The government has taken measures to employ prisoners in Matara Prison for various activities of the propaganda meeting of the UPFA to be held tomorrow at Sanath Jayasuriya Stadium in Matara tomorrow (2nd). The labour of these prisoners is used for the erection of the security fence and the stage, cleaning of the esplanade and the pavilion. The prisoners have been released for the work on the mediation of a top person in the government. more..

Oct 3 (LT) It is reported that three senior officials of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation alleged to have been involved in several irregularities are to be appointed as deputy general managers. The three officials were promoted to A-2 grade only two months ago. According to the accepted mode of promotions they should heave been in the promoted grade for at least six months before they are promoted to a higher grade. more..

Oct 3 (LT) If the election law is continued to be violated and large scale irregularities are allowed to be committed it would be necessary to establish ‘election courts’ says Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dishanayake. He said this yesterday (2nd) at the Election Secretariat when he met representatives of political parties and independent groups contesting the Southern PC election. more..

Oct 3 (LT) A distribution of a sustenance packet to mothers had been arranged as a gimmick for the Southern PC election by the Media Minister and a group of UPFA supporters at Katuwana town yesterday. However, the number of packets brought by the minister and the group had not been adequate for the mothers who had arrived. A large number of mothers who had not received the packet of sustenance despite waiting for a long time and travelling from afar had reprimanded the minister’s group, more..

Oct 3 (MoD) Chairman of the Northern Task Force for Resettlement, Basil Rajapaksa, MP, together with the Vice-President of the European Parliament Dr. Libor Roucek, inaugurated a photographic exhibition titled 'Sri Lanka: Facets of Post-conflict Development' at the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday (30 September). The exhibition was conceptualized and organized by the Sri Lanka Embassy in Brussels, with the sponsorship of Mrs. Elisabetta Gardini, MEP and more..

Oct 3 (LNP) The Old Fox would spin in his grave if he knew the betrayal by his beloved party of his constitutional brainchild the Executive Presidency. Junius Richard Jayewardene was dreaming of creating that institution for years. When the United Front government made known its plan to introduce the Republican Constitution of 1972, it is said, he suggested a presidential system. more..

Oct 3 (CT) Blessings were invoked on the new opposition alliance at religious events in Matara yesterday (Oct. 01) attended by UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, SLFP Mahajana Wing leader Mangala Samaraweera and UNP MP Sagala Ratnayake. The Buddhist religious observance was conducted in front of historic Bo tree in Matara, by Ven. Hulandawe Soratha and Ven. Beragama Samitha Theros. more..

Oct 3 (LP) Archbishop of Colombo Most Rev. Malcom Ranjith said that all arrangements have been completed to conduct the October feast at the Madhu, Sri Lanka's holiest Catholic Shrine today (03), which is an important occasion for the Catholics in the country. Forty five statues were taken from Colombo in a special motorcade to be installed at the Madhu Church premises. more..

Oct 3 (DN) Inheriting a land with a clear deed is a foundation for life for any citizen, as it adds more strength to him or her to reach prosperity in life. But this has become one of the biggest challenges in their lives due to shortcomings especially the complex nature of the land deed registration system. Not only has it created problems to the public, but it has also paved the way for many racketeers to make easy money, in the means of the complicated nature of deed registration system. more..

Oct 3 (DN) At least five persons from the same family including two children were killed when a large kapok tree fell onto a house in Galuwadugoda area in Galle yesterday morning due to heavy rain and strong wind. Police spokesman Senior DIG Nimal Mediwake said five persons from the same family were killed and two others injured when a tree fell onto a roof of the house in the Galuwadugoda area around 11.15am. more..

Oct 3 (DN) One would say it was destiny , that one's death is pre-determined. He was to depart this world on this particular day at this particular time. However, fate as it was that his final breath was taken away by a speeding military truck. S.A.Upananda Gunasekera (34), an ambulance driver attached to Seru Nuwara hospital in the Trincomalee district had a heart where his heart should be, in a world where most have stones instead. more..

Oct 3 (Island) The government has decided to recruit 225 officers to the Sri Lanka Educational Administrative Service Class III, through a competitive examination. The proposal to recruit a new batch of officers had been approved by the Cabinet of ministers, based on a memorandum submitted by Education Minister Susil Premjayanth. "The recruits will be required to serve in any part of the country and they will have to undergo a a nine-month training programme," more..

Oct 3 (Island) Hambantota District JVP MP Nihal Galappaththi, addressing a press conference, said Minister Chamal Rajapaksa had stated that there was no challenge from any quarter to the UPFA at the forthcoming Southern Provincial Council election and it was a one horse race. But the same night itself the JVP propaganda office had been attacked and demolished and subsequently a number of other JVP offices had been attacked. more..

Oct 3 (Island) The Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka has decided to take over the management of Ceylinco Building Society, a spokesman for the company said. Ceylinco Building Society was established under the National Housing Act No.37 of Sri Lanka, in 1995 and commenced operations in 1998. "The Society operates in a similar fashion to the Co-operative Societies and is structured broadly along the lines of building societies in the United Kingdom. more..

Oct 3 (Island) It is not inspiring to see the President spending a great deal of time on tasks which he can conveniently delegate to others. The President is the Head of State, Head of Government and Commander in Chief of the Defence Forces. He has many onerous duties to perform which are crucial for the country’s security, development and good governance. He should operate on the plane of envisioning, planning, directing and overseeing the work of the Ministers. more..

Oct 3 (DM) Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama summoned US Ambassador Patricia Butenis yesterday to express concern on the part of the government over the comments made regarding Sri Lanka by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Daily Mirror has learned. According to well informed sources the Foreign Minister had informed the US Ambassador that the US had no right to make allegations against the Sri Lankan armed forces. more..

Oct 3 (DM) The Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Australia Seneka Walgampaya says the group of Sri Lankans being deported from Australia are all Sinhalese nationals and cannot be classified as a minority that is being harassed and given refugee status. The High Commissioner told Daily Mirror the nine Sri Lankans facing deportation had arrived on the Western Coast of Australia last November and were from the coastal areas in Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 3 (DM) The government has decided to deregister the NGOs that do not actively engage in humanitarian work in the country, and information is currently being sought for the purpose through newspaper advertisements. The NGO Secretariat, which functions under the Internal Administration Ministry, held by Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, has now published a newspaper advertisement calling for information from the NGOs and INGOs about their more..

Oct 3 (DM) The SLMC leadership met with stiff resistance from some party members who opposed moves to join the UNP-led alliance, and instead emphasised the need to give priority to a political alignment with minority parties first. These members have pointed out that it would be more advantageous for the SLMC to strike a deal with the UNP for a general election. For the presidential election, they have noted that they should wait till the opposition candidate is nominated. more..

Oct 3 (AFP) J.S. Tissainayagam, a Tamil reporter and editor serving a 20-year prison sentence in Sri Lanka, was awarded the first Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism on Friday. His wife, Ronnate Tissainayagam, accepted the award, named for a 30-year veteran of Agence France-Presse who died last year, at a ceremony at the National Press Club. more..

Oct 3 (DN) J. W. Promode Dilshan, a student of Ruhunu Wijayaba Maha Vidyalaya, Beliatta has secured the first place in the island passing the Grade Five Competitive Scholarship examination this year scoring 196 marks in the Sinhala Medium. Logeshwaran Sri Kanthan, a student of Vaddukkottai Tamil Maha Vidyalaya came first in the Tamil medium scoring 192 marks. "This is the first time in the history that a student from Hambantota district had obtained the highest marks in the more..

Oct 3 (IANS) A woman tourist from Sri Lanka was found dead near the railway tracks in Uttar Pradesh’s Chandauli district, the police said Saturday. Herat Mudian Anulla, 61, was found dead late Friday evening near the railway tracks in the Bhagwantalab locality in Chandauli district, police Inspector R.B. Singh told IANS on phone. Police said prima facie it appeared that she died after being hit by a train. more..

Oct 3 (DM) A suspect who had allegedly threatened the OIC of Children and Women Bureau by giving telephone calls using filthy words was remanded till October 5 by the Fort Additional Magistrate Ruwan Dhammika Dissanayake yesterday. The complaint had been lodged by the OIC of Children and Women Bureau Buddhika Balachandra against the suspect S.H. Sujith Dhammika of Deniyaya. The suspect had phoned and threatened the OIC with more..

Oct 3 (PTI) Sri Lanka has appreciated India’s swift action to strengthen security around its mission in New Delhi, which was stormed by a Tamil outfit’s activists who pelted stones at the building and ransacked its premises. Its appreciation was conveyed by Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama to his Indian counterpart S M Krishna, who telephoned him after the incident at the Sri Lankan High Commission. more..

Oct 3 (hindu) Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s letter [to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh] on the status of the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu is under the consideration of the Union government, P. Chidambaram, Union Home Minister, said on Saturday. Mr. Chidambaram, who called on the Chief Minister at his residence, was responding to a reporter’s query regarding the ruling DMK’s resolution more..

Oct 4 (EB) MDMK general secretary Vaiko and Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Movement coordinator P Nedumaran on Friday took strong exception to the remark of Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner Vadivel Krishnamoorthy that the camps for displaced Tamils in Lanka were not a zoo to be visited by people from other countries. “The Central government should make Krishnamoorthy apologise for his inappropriate remarks and ask him to leave India immediately,” more..

Oct 4 (AT) "Perpetrators of this violence are not punished, and so this impunity encourages further attacks," is the catch phrase of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s accusation that Sri Lanka was using rape as a tactic of war when she addressed the UN Security Council on Wednesday September 30. American Ambassador to Sri Lanka Patricia Butenis issuing an official statement noted that the full remarks of the speech by more..

Oct 4 (AT) From their winter of discontent a summer of rage will be born. Last week’s outbreak of violence at the Menik Farm was a tragedy waiting to happen. According to the official version, soldiers intervened to prevent an escape attempt by some of the inmates, the inmates stoned the soldiers and the soldiers responded with guns. According to the UNHCR the incident originated when the soldiers tried to stop some inmates from moving between two zones in the camp. more..

Oct 4 (LG) Ranil Wickremesinghe seems to have a thing for hand/wrist ornaments. There was a time he was obsessed with bracelets, promising all young people bracelets if they voted for him. He never got to hear the end of it. Now he’s concerned himself with pirith nool, ‘observing’ that journalists these days have taken to wearing pirith nool, several of them in fact, supposedly to protect themselves from possible harassment. more..

Oct 4 (LG) By “step land” I mean America, the land that adopted me. By motherland I mean Sri Lanka, the land of my birth. My claim to be a world citizen derives from my blend as a cultural mix of these two countries and, to a lesser extent, of the countries where I worked (Australia, China and Malaysia) and traveled. As a perk for teaching journalism at the college level, the American Society of Newspaper Editors sponsored two working summer internships for me. more..

Oct 4 (LG) On September 30, 2009, UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1888/2009, on Women and peace and Security aimed at combating sexual violence in armed conflict. This session was presided over by Hillary Clinton, the US State Secretary, who used the opportunity to name Sri Lanka, along with Burma and Rwanda, as one of the countries that uses rape as a war tactic. This is not the first time that the American administration used more..

Oct 4 (AFP) Sri Lanka lodged a protest over US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's remarks that rape had been used as a war tactic on the island, officials said Saturday. Colombo's displeasure over a statement by Clinton to the United Nations Security Council was conveyed to US diplomats in the Sri Lankan capital, a foreign ministry official said. more..