Apr 2 (TC) An Easter Message: Jesus experienced a violent death through a distortion of the truth. He was called a blasphemer, accused of sedition and then put to death on a cross. But this was not the last word; it never is. God raised Jesus from the dead to announce that truth and love will finally prevail over distortion and violence. Consequently Easter is the festival that calls us to strive against the evil that humans impose on each other and more..

Apr 2 (UCAN) A factory set up by Caritas and Australia’s Victorian state government is proving to be a lifeline for widows in Jaffna. The factory, which produces fishing nets, was opened in January, with Caritas Australia and the Victorian government each paying half of the cost of 196 million rupees (US$1.9 million). The 26-year civil war in Sri Lanka has resulted in a large number of women losing their husbands who were the breadwinners of their families. more..

Apr 2 (UCAN) Christian and Hindu cooperation went a long way to ensuring a passion play in Jaffna performed by actors from the two religions ended as a runaway success. About 15,000 people queued up to watch the two-hour play staged by the Center for Performing Arts of Sri Lanka (CPA). It was part of a series of performances organized by the center and staged in major cities and church centers around the country throughout Lent. more..

Apr 2 (DN) I don’t see eye to eye with Dilan Perera. We have starkly different readings of conflict, genesis of conflict and conflict-resolution. On the other hand, he is a man who can and does take a position and defend it logically. That’s rare among today’s politicians, who think debating points can only be scored by a louder scream or the ability to unleash a stream of foul words. more..

Apr 2 (LG) On the 28 March 2009 between 3 and 4pm a Sergeant Jinasiri and a Constable Anura asked Tharidu Nishan, 21, to join them at Akuressa Police Station to discuss a motorcycle for sale. When he arrived they began to interrogate him about an incident days earlier in which he had slapped his girlfriend; the girlfriend was Sergeant Jinasiri's daughter. The officers also brought in Tharidu's friend, Nuwan Madusanka, who had been with him at the time of the dispute. more..

Apr 2 (LeN) The Left Vimukthi Peramuna Colombo District candidate Pathiraja , Attorney at Law said, the Rajapakse Govt. is preparing to establish camps to detain those who speak for the rights of the people. Pathiraja told this on the occasion of the opening of the party Colombo election office at Lotus Mawatha yesterday (31). He will contest opposing the leadership of Wickremabahu Karunanayake as much as possible without any condition , he added. more..

Apr 2 (TC) During the past few years i had been repeatedly requesting you to relieve all armed groups of their weapons and to provide them with Government Security if they ask for it. i don't really understand as to why the Government is reluctant to take action in spite of repeated requests from me and much more from the public. more..

Apr 2 (LT) There are two eligibilities for the post of prime minister in Sri Lanka and Minister Maithripala Sirisena is attempting to show that he is the most eligible person for the post says JVP MP Anura Dissanayake. He said this responding to the statement by Minister Maithripala Sirisena that the JVP had opposed the draft bill presented to the Parliament by Mr. Wijedasa Rajapakse to amend the Military law. more..

Apr 2 (TC) Last May, after more than a quarter century of civil war between government forces and Tamil separatists, a fragile peace came to Sri Lanka. Now, observers hope that parliamentary elections scheduled for April 8 can help unify the island nation. But if the government pursues the same discriminatory tactics it used for the presidential election in January, it will further alienate the island’s Tamil community and diminish hopes for peace. more..

Apr 2 (LT) A group that would fulfill aspirations of the masses and who are trustworthy should be elected to Parliament says national list candidate of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Anura Dissanayake. He said the detestable politics of crossing over from one party to another has come to a stage that even candidates for the general election cross over. more..

Apr 2 (wsws) The TNA has issued a manifesto for the April 8 general election in Sri Lanka that fails to raise, let alone answer, the obvious question: how was it that, after 26 years of fighting, the LTTE was defeated by the Sri Lankan military last May? For eight years, the TNA, formed in 2001 as an amalgam of several bourgeois Tamil parties, functioned as the LTTE’s loyal mouthpiece, accepting its false claim to be “the sole representative of the Tamil people”. more..

Apr 2 (GDI) The President made a pledge in Matara that he would mould a young generation who can compete with the rest of the world. The President opined that as he united the country, his aim is to unite its communities. During the past four years, massive development programmes were launched covering all districts, electorates and villages. It is the young generation who will be reaping the benefits of these development programmes. more..

Apr 2 (GDI) The Ministry of Health Care and Nutrition has announced that the outbreak of Influenza H1N1 has been successfully thwarted in the country. Dr. Paba Palihawadana said not a single patient was reported in March. Only two patients were reported in February. Dr. Palihawadana highlighted that the period of non-reporting of H1N1 patients is six weeks now. She said it was a good indication of progress. more..

Apr 2 (GDI) Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka has underscored that no alien force will be permitted to influence Sri Lanka. He said the nation should prove this at the general election. The Prime Minister made this observation while addressing a public rally organized in Akuressa. The Prime Minster opined that a strong and stable Parliament is necessary. It is then that foreign investors will be attracted. more..

Apr 2 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa during a ceremony at Jaffna Duraiappa Stadium Thursday morning symbolically handed over all 680 new houses built by the Army for displaced people in Jaffna on a directive given to the Jaffna Security Forces Headquarters by the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya. President Rajapaksa inaugurating the ceremony delivered the keys to several recipients of those houses in a symbolic gesture. more..

Apr 2 (GDI) The new Oddamavadi bridge constructed at a cost of Rs 770 million across the Oddamavadi lagoon will be ceremoniously opened to the public by President Mahinda Rajapaksa today. A pledge was given in the Mahinda Chintana to build this new bridge in place of the old Oddamavadi bridge which will directly benefit the public entering Valachchenai town. more..

Apr 2 (MoD) The Foreign Ministry said yesterday efforts to rescue 23 Sri Lankan hostages from Somalian pirates is continuing. Somalian pirates seized a British Virgin Island cargo ship carrying a Bermudian Flag with 23 Sri Lankans of the 25 crew on board. The ship was seized off the coast of Oman, approximately 120 nautical miles south of Mazera on March 23. The crew of 23 Sri Lankans, a Filipino and a Syrian are held aboard the 11,000-ton Bermudan-flagged Talca more..

Apr 2 (MoD) Minister Champika Ranawaka yesterday said he will find a reasonable solution to the issue raised by environmentalists regarding the construction of what is said to be an illegal road inside the Wilpattu wildlife sanctuary. Ranawaka said the road emerged during the time the Forces were fighting against the LTTE. It was during Operation Silawathura in 2007 that the Wilpattu National Park was temporarily given to security forces for their use to fight the LTTE terrorists, more..

Apr 2 (MoD) A total of 1,300 ex-LTTE combatants (both male and female) who were arrested by the Security Forces and subsequently rehabilitated were handed over to their parents at a ceremony at the Pumbai Madu military camp in Vavuniya in the presence of President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday evening. The President symbolically handed over three such youths, Yogeshwaran Aravindan, Hinduraja and Hindur to their parents. more..

Apr 2 (MoD) A delegation of Senior Bangladeshi military officials made an observation tour to the liberated areas of North- first visit by a foreign military since the defeat of the LTTE terrorists on 18th May, 2009. The delegation following an air passage from Colombo on 26th March, were greeted by the 57 Division Commander at Kilinochchi, Major General LWCBB Rajaguru RWP RSP USP. more..

Apr 2 (MoD) Under the "Vadakkin Vasantham" Development Programme, Provincial Ministry of Health Services and Indigenous Medicine has procured twelve Nissan ambulances at a total cost of Rupees 58.8 Mn. for the reactivated hospitals in the resettlement areas in the Northern Province. The ambulances were ceremonially handed over to the Regional Directors of Health Services by the Hon. Governor, Northern Province, GA Chandrasiri on 30 March 2010 more..

Apr 2 (DN) Alliance Polls Campaigning Centre of the UPFA launched its website Sandanaya recently. The details of the election campaign have been entered into the website. Accordingly the details of 280 candidates who contest the upcoming general election representing the UPFA, history and data of former elections from 1948 and seat-wise analysis of elections from 1970 have been entered into the website. more..

Apr 2 (LeN) “Actions of the Executive are not above the law and certainly can be questioned in a Court of Law. Article 35 of the Constitution provides only for the personal immunity of the President during his tenure of office from proceedings in any Court. The President cannot be summoned to Court to justify his actions. But that is a far cry from saying that the President's acts cannot be examined by a Court of Law. more..

Apr 2 (LT) Yesterday was the second year since the post of Secretary General to the Parliament has been vacant. The post has been vacant since 31st March, 2008 and it has not been possible to appoint a permanent Secretary General. The Executive President has been appointing an acting Secretary General every two weeks throughout these two years to carry out affairs of the Parliament. more..

Apr 2 (UNP) Following a communication by Parliament Secretary General to the UNP last week that the two new UNP members cannot be sworn in since the Parliament is meeting on the 6th of April for the exclusive purpose of passing the emergency, the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has addressed a letter to the Speaker LokuBandara yesterday explaining that more..

Apr 2 (LT) Goons of UPFA candidate and Minister Janaka Bandara Tennekone have beheaded the statue of Lord Buddha. The incident has been reported from Galewala area. A rival candidate of the Minister Janaka Bandara Tennekone from the same party who is also a liquor merchant had held an election meeting at the site. Minister’s goons, outraged by this, had destroyed the place. The goons who had destroyed the Buddha Shrine have ‘beheaded’ the Buddha statue and more..

Apr 2 (LT) The distribution of polling cards in Killinochchi, Palai and Mankulam areas has not been carried out properly stating there were no registered voters in these areas. This situation is widespread in Vavuniya and Mulaithivu districts. The postal department on behalf of the government states the official polling cards are in post offices and for the voters to collect them. more..

Apr 2 (DN) Social Services and Social Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda yesterday said the time has dawned to regain what the people in Jaffna were deprived of, due to terrorism. The Minister was addressing an election rally at the Duraiappah Stadium in Jaffna yesterday. He stressed that all people displaced by terrorist atrocities in the north will be resettled in their original places soon. more..

Apr 2 (LNP) Most Sri Lankans are quite adept at `saying things without saying them` or in colloquial Sinhala it is called nokiya kiyanawa. Minister Maithripala Sirisena practised this method on Wednesday at a media briefing, where he gave away copies of his political biography. Minister Sirisena, who is considered one of the contenders for premiership in a future UPFA government, has, as we reported yesterday, dug out a letter the JVP wrote to President Chandrika Kumaratunga, more..

Apr 2 (DN) All indications are that the UPFA will record a convincing victory at the forthcoming General Election. Achieving a two third majority of seats will not be difficult when you consider the results of the last Presidential Election. The President gained 58 percent of the votes cast at the Presidential election. Ten to 12 percent additional votes at the General Election would ensure a two third majority. more..

Apr 2 (LeN) Dear Victor Ivan, I had a chance to read your tabloid. I have read some of your stuff in the past and used to have the highest respect for you. USED TO. Then when reading part 2 of your article titled 'media mafia', I came to a couple of paragraphs about my Uncle Lasantha where you trash him in the most disgusting way. I understand that you have not received the awards and accolades that Lasantha has but to trash a man that was nothing less than more..

Apr 2 (Island) Not only members of Parliament (MPs), but also their families will have to declare their assets to Parliament every year. If their assets do not match with their income, it will be confiscated. The UNF government that will be formed after the April 8 Parliamentary Elections will bring in legislation to this effect, which may end corruption by politicos to a great extent, UNP and UNF Leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe said. more..

Apr 2 (Island) IMF resident representative to Sri Lanka Dr. Koshy Mathai says government borrowing is not putting pressure on inflation and interest rates and the government is not crowding out credit to the private sector by borrowing excessively from the domestic banking sector. "We are not seeing these things at this time. However, the high budget deficit could lead to medium term issues," more..

Apr 2 (Island) The Colombo Municipal Council has completed 58 toilet building and bath projects for the under-served sector of the city. Over half the city population belongs to this sector which contributes towards the development of the economy, Chief Administrative Officer of the Council, Omar Kamil said explaining that many of them worked in the port, the CEB, and the railway. more..

Apr 2 (DM) The UPFA expressed hope yesterday that some opposition MPs would support them to work out necessary amendments to the Constitution if they fell short of a two-thirds majority at the upcoming General Election. Minister Susil Premajayantha said UNP Moneragala district candidate Ranjith Madduma Bandara’s decision to sue the party leadership was quite indicative of his plans to join hands with the UPFA after the General Election. more..

Apr 2 (Island) The Speaker W. J. M. Lokubandara was refusing to swear in two UNP MPs in place of Ministers Johnston Fernando and Indika Bandaranayake, who have lost their seats in Parliament, because he wants to ensure that the government would appoint him as a National List MP after the April 8th General Election, UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake said yesterday. more..

Apr 2 (DM) Capital markets regulator yesterday emphasised the time was right to invest in the wake of rapid changes and increased flexibility exercised by the government to increase investment in Sri Lanka. SEC Chairman Udaysri Kariyawasam observed that with newly listed companies such as Capital Reach, Hemas Power, Ceylon Tea Brokers, Raigam Wayamba Salterns and Vallibel Finance all over subscribed it is a clear indication for more..

Apr 2 (DM) Mt. Lavinia Chief Magistrate Harsha Sethunga yesterday said that OIC of Commercial Division of CID Inspector Vishvanath, who had given wrong advice to the Junior Officers, deserves to be arrested and prosecuted. The Mt. Lavina Magistrate made that comment when the case filed by the Depositors of Sandun Vihara Branch of Piliyandala Seeds Establishment located at Sandungama, Ratmalana, was taken up for hearing. more..

Apr 2 (DM) My dear Mahinda Aiya, Ayubowan, vanakkam, assalamu alaikkum and best wishes as we move into the final week before the general elections with vital issues being virtually sidelined while the headlines are on the subtle if not deceitful and selfish battle for preferential votes. The ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) appears to be the worst hit by the unprecedented rivalry among candidates of the same party. more..