Feb 3 (BL) Business leaders and chambers opine that the results of the recently-concluded Presidential election, in which President Mahinda Rajapaksa was re-elected as the country’s head-of-state, created the much-required stable environment that the corporate sector sees as necessary and conducive for enterprises. Aloy Jayawardane, President, Sri Lanka Chamber of Small Industries said that he believed that the country would have much required economic stability now. more..

Feb 3 (BL) Stock market analysts were seemed to be in a worrying mood during the last few days reagarding the overwhelming trend started by foreign investors and funds selling their shareholdings. “Different people may have different interpretations about this situation. Some may think that foreigners are shedding shares looking at the immediate macro situation of the country and some other may interpret it as mere valuation,” more..

Feb 3 (BL) Ceylinco Golden Key depositors, congratulating President Mahinda Rajapaksa on his impressive victory, requested him to look into once again the sad plight of investors who continue to suffer since this Ceylinco Group collapsed more than one year ago. During a meeting with representatives of Golden Key depositors prior to the Presidential election, President Rajapaksa pledged to find an urgent settlement to the humanitarian crisis more..

Feb 3 (BL) The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) is to contest in seven districts at the forthcoming General Election. JHU Media Spokesman Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe told The Bottom Line, the Party Central Committee had decided to contest under the UPFA. “Although exact details of how we would contest are not yet finalised, we would field candidates for Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kandy, Kurunegala, Galle and Matara Districts. more..

Feb 3 (BL) A.S.P. Liyange who contested the recently concluded Presidential Election from the Sri Lanka Labour Party said that he would like to invite a few journalists to contest the election from his party. “Journalists are kingmakers. All of you are educated, and very knowledgeable. I think journalists should get a chance to be on the other side of the story for once. They should be given an opportunity to contest in the election, and more..

Feb 3 (BL) Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and the Tourism Promotion Bureau, Bernard Gunetileke resigned from his post yesterday. Though Gunetileke had refrained from stating the specific reasons for his resignation, the Minister of Tourism Achala Jagoda confirmed to The Bottom Line that Gunetileke is expected to rejoin the Ministry as a special advisor to the Minister. more..

Feb 3 (BBC) A court in Sri Lanka has ruled that it is not essential to report to the police in order to record a statement. According to the court decision, it is possible to give a statement directly to courts without going to a police station. The Colombo Magestrates Court rejected a request by police to order a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officer to be arrested for refusing to appear at the police. more..

Feb 3 (LT) The enjoining order enforced on ‘Lanka Irida’ newspaper by the judiciary on a request by the CID was withdrawn by the judiciary and officials of the CID arrived at ‘Lanka’ to remove the seals. The member of the Editorial Board of ‘Lanka’ newspapers Priyadharshana Dayaratne speaking to the media after ‘Lanka’ office was opened said, “Lanka newspaper has been engaged in a righteous newspaper culture. more..

Feb 3 (Scoop) The failure to appoint the Election Commission as required by the 17th Amendment makes a mockery of any attempt to hold elections in Sri Lanka. The manner in which the election for the executive presidency would have been conducted if the commission required under the 17th Amendment had been in place would have been very different. Whatever be the ultimate outcome of such an election is not the issue. more..

Feb 3 (HP) On a sandy street on the northern shore of the Jaffna Peninsula in Sri Lanka, an innocuous building surrounded by mango and palmyra trees houses a rehabilitation center run by a Catholic priest, who in January 2005 just days after the tsunami began to counsel survivors. "Now our population has increased," he told me the other day. Now we have war victims and people who were put in the IDP camps. more..

Feb 3 (UCAN) Parishioners’ dreams of a new church have finally come true after nearly three decades. St. Thomas Church in Point-Pedro, Jaffna diocese, was officially opened last weekend on the site that used to be a battleground in the civil war. “Faith, determination relentless effort have paid off for the Tamil parishioners,” said Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam, more..

Feb 3 (UL) Releasing a media notice the president of National Trade Union Centre comrade Lal Kantha states that violence is being released on the opposition party members, by utilizing state media, resources and several thug gangs as the government previously acted, even though 6 days has passed from the date of presidential election. Trade union belongs to the government, Sri Lanka Freedom Employees Union and government friendly officers are more..

Feb 3 (TC) Sri Lanka celebrates Independence Day this year with the State in a better state than it has been for three decades. The country is a single united territory; unquestionably a single political entity. The borders of the state are coextensive with our natural borders, the sea. The writ of the state runs from North to South, East to West. The state’s monopoly of organized violence has been restored. more..

Feb 3 (TC) Nobody knew the room number of Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel where Gen. Fonseka was staying on the day of the recent Presidential election in Sri Lanka. Yet , after the results were announced, when the General learnt that his hotel has been surrounded by Army personnel, it was certain that he was subjected to great anxiety and fear. more..

Feb 3 (Reuters) President Mahinda Rajapaksa won a landslide re-election on Jan. 26, putting him firmly in charge of the Indian Ocean island nation he led to victory in a quarter-century war in May. Following is a summary of key risks to watch in Sri Lanka: * POLITICS: Rajapaksa is proceeding full speed ahead toward parliamentary elections due before April. After he won by a margin of 18 percent over opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka, more..

Feb 3 (CL) Church leaders must do more to help 25 Catholic Tamil asylum seekers aboard a boat intercepted by Indonesian authorities at Australia's request last October, a Brisbane priest has urged. Dominican Father Pan Jordan said it was important Church and government bodies around the world closely monitored the actions of the Sri Lankan Government to see why Tamils were fleeing their home country. more..

Feb 3 (LG) The Batticaloa Mayor Ms Sivageetha Prabakaran is facing untold misery in the hands of the goons associated with the paramilitary leader and government Minister Vinayagamoorthy Mualitharan alias Col Karuna. She has been targeted for supporting the opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka at the Presidential election. more..

Feb 3 (MoD) The Health Ministry has pledged to support the Northern Province Governor's Office to carry out medical services and supply drugs to the internally displaced people's camps in Chettikulam. Around 95 doctors were still remaining at the camp. The Health Ministry, however, has held that 45 doctors would be enough to continue providing medical care to IDPs while the rest would be re-listed according to the merit list and more..

Feb 3 (MoD) The Construction work on new Mannar bridge and the causeway connecting the Mannar Island with the mainland are now nearing completion and will be opened for the public soon. Approximately 41,000 people living in Mannar Island will be directly benefited by this project which will vastly improve the market approachability and facilitating transportation at a low cost. more..

Feb 3 (MoD) Major General R.M.D Rathnayake, more popularly known as 'Daya Rathnayake' assumed duties last morning after a brief ceremony as the 43rd Chief of Staff in the Sri Lanka Army. Major General Rathnayake on entering his office at the Army Headquarters observed religious rites. As members of the Maha Sangha, led by Ven. Sugathawansa Thera of Uththara Chethiyaramaya, Bandaragama commenced chanting 'Seth Pirith', more..

Feb 3 (TN) New Buddhist temples built by armed forces and militant monks mushroom in Tamil land occupied by Colombo, news reports from Eezham said, citing new constructions along A9 highway. Meanwhile, an extremist Buddhist monk with armed support has arrived at Thalai Mannaar Pier area, the nearest point opposite to the Indian coast, to buy 1000 acres of land and to start a Sinhala-Buddhist colony there, more..

Feb 3 (TN) Indian fishing trawlers encroaching the seas around Jaffna peninsula have increased in large numbers recently, damaging the fishing nets of local fishermen while robbing local fish resources, president of Federation Jaffna peninsula fishermen societies, S. Thavaratnam said. Sri Lanka Navy turns a blind eye to deep sea trawler fishing by Indian fishermen in the seas from Mayiliddi in Kaangkeasanththu’rai to Maathakal and in the seas of the islets of Jaffna, more..

Feb 3 (LG) Yesterday’s Ranaviruvo (War heros) are now been declared as a threat to national security. The very top brass of the army whose victory was celebrated in streets with Kiribah (Milk rice) are now been arrested or forcibly retired from the arm forces as they are been declared by the government as a grave threat to national security. National television which then led the chorus of praise for them and sang song of eternal debt to their bravery and more..

Feb 3 (GDI) The CID filing a further report subsequent to investigations before the Court alleged that supporters of Sarath Fonseka had deleted the data of the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel security camera sets last Wednesday. The CID further alleged that the cables of the security cameras fixed at the hotel were disconnected and said that data storage devices had been taken into the Police custody. more..

Feb 3 (GDI) The Department of Examinations will commence the re-evaluation process of the G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination 2009 answer scripts on February 15. The results of the re-evaluation are scheduled to be issued in March,. the Examinations Department has received around 61,000 applications. According to the Department of Statistics, the Examinations Department is engaged in arranging the re-evaluation process now.

Feb 3 (GDI) Construction work of the world’s largest publication and information center kicked off in Colombo with President Mahinda Rajapaksa laying the foundation stone for the erection of the 12 storied Buddhist complexes. The Buddhist Center- Sambuddha Jayanthi Mandira after construction will be the first of its kind in the world to serve as a resource center for Buddhists and persons who are interested studying and more..

Feb 3 (GDI) Parents of children who have still not gained admission to Grade 1 can forward appeals for reconsideration to the Zonal Education Offices, the National Schools Division of the Education Ministry said. Grade I admissions to national schools have been fianlised after considering the appeals that had been received. The Education Ministry stated that the remaining students will be informed in case vacancies exist for Grade 1 in national schools.

Feb 3 (LG) Jan. 26, 2010 was an auspicious day for the people of northern Sri Lanka. They were eagerly waiting to vote in the first presidential election since the Sri Lankan Civil War between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan Government came to an end in May 2009. But what followed was a crisis that requires international attention. The ruling party candidate, Mahinda Rajapakse, asked the people to show gratitude for bringing the 30-year war to an end, and more..

Feb 3 (TC) Ending over a month-long acrimonious political campaign, the ‘silent majority’ of the country gave their verdict through the ballot on January 26. The verdict was very clear. President Mahinda Rajapaksa who came into office in 2005 with only a majority of 150,000 votes, won the second term with more than six million votes surpassing his opponent by 1.8 million. more..

Feb 3 (TC) The Sri Lankan government has a serious credibility factor in the manner it conducts itself, especially in relation to defence matters, and recent incidents have not helped. After the broadcast of the Channel 4 video for example, the defence authorities attempted to dismiss it during a hastily convened press conference, which was covered by Western Television stations. more..

Feb 3 (TC) Julius Caesar, the great Roman emperor, when asked why he had divorced his wife Pompeia, said he considered his honour and position compromised, since she was indirectly associated with Publius Clodius' trial for sacrilege. He explained that his wife should not only be free from sin but from suspicion. Not only Caesar’s wife, but also Lord Rama’s too. How? more..

Feb 3 (LNP) The Special Police Squad led by a Senior DIG investigating the conspiracy to assassinate President Mahinda Rajapaksa and several others have detained 37 suspects, including a Brigadier, a Colonel, several Army deserters and four civilians under Emergency Regulations pending the completion of investigations. more..

Feb 3 (LP) On the conclusion of the Presidential Election on the 26th of January, the leader of the Opposition, Ranil Wickramasingha made a statement on a peaceful conduct of a free and fair election and thanked the public and Police for same. But surprisingly now however it appears the opposition is organizing a “Sathyagraha” or show of protest on election results said Minister Laxman Yapa Abeywardena more..

Feb 3 (LG) The JVP Urban Counselor for the Ambalangoda district, Chandradasa Naiduwadu, who sustained injuries following an assault by an unknown group on the 25th January, the day before the presidential elections passed away in hospital on the 2nd February. He was undergoing treatment at the Bambilipitya Hospital for the injuries suffered in the assault. He was a member of the JVP and worked as a teacher. more..

Feb 3 (GDI) The international community will not be permitted to carry out any investigations with regard to Sri Lanka, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said in an interview with the BBC. The Defence Secretary said that while anyone can call for investigations but that it was up to Sri Lanka to decide whether or not such exercises are necessary. more..

Feb 3 (LP) Several religious programmes will be held tomorrow (04) in keeping with the 62nd Independence celebrations. The Buddhist rites will be observed at the Dalada Maligawa, Kandy (Temple of the Tooth Relic) at 06.30 pm with the participation of the incumbents of Asgiri and Malwathu chapters. The Hindu religious observances will be conducted at the Sri Selva Vinayagar Kovil at Katukele in Kandy. more..

Feb 3 (UNP) Despite police warnings to disrupt today’s protest meeting organized by the Opposition parties at Hyde Park, the meeting will be held as scheduled, JVP M.P. Anura Kumara Dissanayake said yesterday. The Govt. only has violated the laws by holding processions within a week of the conclusion of the Presidential elections. The meeting today held with the participation of all UNF constituent parties is not barred legally, he added. more..

Feb 3 (LNP) The versatile rider Janaka Hemantha of Sri lanka Air Force performed superbly winning a gold medal in the 170 kilometre road race in the cycling event held from BKSP, Khulna to Gopalgoi Road and back. For Sri Lanka it was the third gold, weightlifters bagged the other two golds on Sunday. Altogether 36 riders from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal rode in the race started around 9 a.m. more..