June 26 (AT) Small-scale fishing can solve the issues “of food security, energy crisis and global warming”. Small-scale fishermen and small boats are not the problem but are “part of the solution,” said Gettha Lakmini, secretary of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO) as he welcomed 200 participants from 14 districts to NAFSO’s National Convention held last Tuesday in Colombo. more..

June 26 (Island) MP Wijedasa Rajapakshe says the UPFA should not resort to cheap publicity gimmicks to deceive people. The former UPFA MP, who quit the alliance over differences with the SLFP leadership, believes the recent decision to hold the next meeting of the Cabinet in Kilinochchi is nothing but a sick joke. He accused the government of being engaged in a ridiculous bid to deceive the people struggling to make ends meet. more..

June 27 (GDI) Japan gives 2877 million rupees as financial assistance for the development of the Jaffna Teaching Hospital. The related MOU was signed recently at the Health Ministry yesterday. Health Secretary Dr. Ravindra Ruberu and Singo Kuroda, Director of the Hospital Development Project, representing the Japanese Government signed the agreement. The Japanese International Cooperation Agency will be providing the required financial grants. more..

June 27 (NF) Cut-out and hoardings with lewd content that are on display in Colombo and suburbs will be removed, says the Police. The owners have been given time until the 30th of this month to remove them. According to the Police Women and Children's Bureau, 16 individuals have been given notice in this regard. The Bureau pointed out that the reminder was made after an order was made by the IGP. more..

June 27 (PTI) Members of SAARC on Saturday pledged to step up coordinated action against the common menace of terrorism, including steps to apprehend or extradite persons connected with acts of terrorism and facilitate real-time intelligence sharing. The meeting of the Interior Ministers of the SAARC also resolved to step up cooperation in real time intelligence-sharing and to consider Pakistan’s proposal for creation of SAARCPOL, more..

June 27 (SKY) Former Sri Lanka star Chaminda Vaas excelled with both bat and ball as Northamptonshire secured a 30-run win over Durham. Vaas smashed 73 from 49 balls as the Steelbacks compiled target of 164-5 from their allotted over in the Friends Provident t20 clash. The seamer then took 3-23 runs as Durham fell well short of the hosts' total at the County Ground, eventually being dismissed for 134 with 10 balls remaining. more..

June 27 (Gulf) The visually impaired and seriously ill Sri Lankan father who was helped by Gulf News readers to return home has died in his native country. Mohammad Mansour, father of four, who lived in the UAE for many years died a few days ago, four months after he landed there. Mansour who lost his eyesight and was jobless here was helped by Gulf News readers to pay back his bank loans and get the travel ban more..

June 27 (Island) Q. What is the current position with regard to the moves to oust the UNP leader? A. There is no plan to oust the leader, but there is a reform process in progress and that is moving forward. The views of party people at various levels are now being sought by the reforms committee of the party. Q. Even though people talk of reforms, the real need is to get rid of the present leader isn’t it? more..

June 27 (SL) No Sri Lankan government or any government in the world for that matter has misused the word ‘sovereignty’ as the Rajapaksa family regime. What makes the Rajapaksa regime specially sick is that sovereignty is been used to deprive the people of the country their basic democratic rights and establish a one family dictatorship at any cost. The reason given by the new External Affairs Minister G.L Peiris for not accepting the 15 conditions laid down by more..

June 27 (SL) Sweeping in change, the government last week did not pause as it increased prices on a large number of food items and other essential goods and soundly punched consumers hard in the guts. The government’s decision to remove certain duty waivers and grant permission for price hikes on certain essential items have dealt a severe blow to consumers. Statistics of the Census and Statistics Department have indicated that more..

June 27 (SL) Hot on the heels of the UN’s and EU’s actions on Sri Lanka, Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella sat down to speak of Sri Lanka’s position in relation to international interference as well as the current situation in the country. Opposing the UN and EU actions, Rambukwella said, “Everyone must respect our sovereignty. An infringement on our sovereignty is something that we will not tolerate.” more..

June 27 (SL) The resettlement and de-mining process in Sri Lanka has been long and arduous with no end in sight. Senior Programme Manager at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Wuria Karadaghy spoke to The Sunday Leader about how they are dealing with these activities, a direct result of the recently ended 30-year war. The UNDP coordinates with the Sri Lankan Government and the organisations directly involved in mine action as well as the Sri Lankan Army and more..

June 27 (SL) 400,000 coconut trees will be axed due to the spread of “blight” (phytoplasma), which is a disease that has reduced the coconut yield in Sri Lanka by 45 percent. Due to a recommendation made by the Coconut Cultivation Board (CCB), the Sri Lankan Government has decided to destroy these trees so that the remaining trees would not be affected. This was detected in 2006 and is now severely affecting the districts in the South. more..

June 27 (SL) The fishery industry can survive without the GSP+ concession, an official said. Defence Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said this in response to a query made by this reporter at a seminar on Tuesday, where he asked as to what the Government’s fallback option was, in the event EU withdrew the GSP+ concession. Fishery exports to the EU are one of several exports to that region, another being garments, more..

June 27 (Hindu) The Sri Lankan Tamils must be given autonomy within the framework of a ‘united' nation and not on the basis of a ‘unitary' nation as was being promised by the government of the island nation, said Sitaram Yechury, Parliamentary Party leader of the Community Party of India (Marxist), here on Saturday. He said that there was a huge difference between the terms ‘united' and ‘unitary' as the former referred to more..

June 27 (National) Sri Lanka is facing growing international pressure after last week refusing entry to members of a UN investigative panel tasked with probing human rights abuses in the country. The UN secretary general Ban Ki- moon on Tuesday appointed a three-member panel headed by the former Indonesian attorney general Marzuki Darusman to look into accusations of war crimes during the last few months of Sri Lanka’s 30-year civil war which ended in May last year. more..

June 27 (LB) Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP has organized a fund raising campaign in Malaysia for rehabilitation work in the North and East. Top entrepreneurs of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora met yesterday in Malaysia in a giant fund raising event to collect funds for the rehabilitation process in the North and the East, a Sri Lankan High Commission source in Malaysia told LAKBIMAnEWS. more..

June 27 (LB) The extent of the EU conditions imposed on Sri Lanka are now clear, and the list of conditions submitted to the Sri Lankan government by the EU for grant of GSP + is carried elsewhere in our pages today. These conditions are preposterous and amounts to gross interference in the internal affairs of this country. It’s worth querying whether Sri Lanka should have a government at all—why doesn’t the EU govern Sri Lanka from headquarters in Brussels, more..

June 27 (LB) The external affairs ministry is canvassing support among Asian nations and the Non Aligned Movement after the UN secretary general appointed a three member panel to press the government on accountability issues related to war crimes. The government has reportedly approached China and Egypt which holds the chair of the Non Aligned Movement, according to external affairs ministry sources. Russia, earlier criticized the UN panel. more..

June 27 (LB) Former leader of the JHU Venerable Ellawala Medhananda Thera says that he couldn’t have been more thrilled than when he learnt through the media of his ouster from the party leadership while on an excavation tour in the outstation. The ex-JHU leader in an interview affirmed that he has never hankered after posts in his life and hence will continue to work for the betterment of the Buddha Sasana by remaining a member of the party, more..

June 27 (LB) It was a double blow to the Diaspora scheming of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE). First, Colombo did what was anticipated to happen anytime since the arrest of Kumaran Pathmanathan, LTTE’s chief arms procurer and the successor of Velupillai Prabhakaran. KP was brought to the scene in a calculated move to win a part of the Tamil diaspora. KP travelled to the North and East with a delegation of diaspora representatives, more..

June 27 (TC) In the past four decades, whenever a political party or alliance secured a substantial majority of seats in parliament, that group of politicians has claimed the right to foist a new constitution on the people of this country. In 1972 and in 1978, the constitutions that were enacted reflected the policies of the two principal political groupings of the south. Though adopted in the name of the people, the public consultations were both superficial and perfunctory. more..

June 27 (LB) The calm after the storm. Now the war is over tourists are flooding back into Jaffna and discovering its myriad of hidden delights. Guide book writer Juliet Coombe sets sail for Sacred Nainativu, one of Jaffna’s seven out islands and found herself surrounded by miniature dolls. My classic Morris Minor hired in Jaffna old town glistens in the sun, which rises above dark ominous clouds, passing old men throwing fishing nets into a picturesque lagoon, more..

June 27 (RW) Having spoken last month in the Emergency Debate, I feel it makes more sense this time round to reflect not on the Emergency Regulations that have still to be continued, but rather on the changes that we have been able to achieve over the last couple of years. In particular I think we should rejoice that the difficulties under which we all had to live during the last few decades have vanished away, and more..

June 27 (CT) The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress is willing to conditionally support the government to secure a two-third parliamentary majority needed for the passage of constitutional reforms aimed at allowing the president to hold office for more than two occasions, party MP M.S.M. Aslam has said. According to him, the government should first agree to grant SLMC's requests on behalf of the Muslim community. more..

June 27 (ST) 'MAHINDA' -a book on the early years of President Mahinda Rajapaksa by Muthu Padmakumara, was launched at the Hilton Colombo on Monday, June 21. The biography published by Sarasavi Publishers depicts the early years of President Rajapaksa up to his assumption of duties as the Executive President of the country. 'MAHINDA' provides an insight to the childhood years of the President more..

June 27 (SO) Gampaha district belongs to the ancient Maya Rata - one of Sri Lanka’s four provinces in pre-colonial times. Gampaha’s northern boundary is Maha Oya, southern the Kelani River and western the Indian Ocean. The district’s eastern boundary is the 1,000 feet-long contour. To the north of Gampaha are the Puttalam and Kurunegala districts and to the south is the Colombo district. To the east is Kegalle district. more..

June 27 (SO) Small domestic airports scattered throughout the island will be upgraded to facilitate domestic travel. The Deputy Minister of Ports and Aviation Dayasritha Tissera told the Sunday Observer that the government is looking at the possibility of improving conditions of small airports to facilitate air travel within the country. When these airports are renovated, domestic air travel within towns will be possible, he said. more..

June 27 (MN) Even though Sri Lanka is a small country, she has been an active member in the of world affairs since the independence from British imperialists. She has been a signatory to hundreds of UN treaties and had an excellent relationship with her neighbors. Sri Lanka`s active role in None Aligned Movement brought her the prestige and respect from other member nations. more..

June 27 (SO) Sri Lanka imports sixty-five percent of her milk food items worth over three billion rupees annually. The government and various other organisations introduced a number of programs to develop the milk production in the country. The government policy frame work, the “Mahinda Chintana Vision for the future” gave the highest priority for the dairy products and live stock development. It targeted to achieve 50 percent self-sufficiency in milk products in 2015. more..

June 27 (SO) International schools in Sri Lanka have been mushrooming of late like Chinese restaurants! But apart from a few leading international schools, their standards as well as discipline are now in question with more international schools with substandard infrastructure and human resources being established. It is no wonder that most of the teachers employed in these schools, at minimum wages, lack the basic qualifications. more..

June 27 (SO) Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake says the attempts made by the United Nations to interfere in Sri Lanka’s affairs is a violation of the UN charter and it should not be done in a decent society. The Minister in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer said one of the basic principles that we must follow is not to interfere into the internal affairs of a country. more..

June 27 (Hindu) Chief of the Naval Staff Nirmal Verma is arriving here on Sunday on a five-day visit for exchange of views with his Sri Lankan counterpart, and to travel to the eastern and northern provinces. Admiral Verma is the senior-most Indian military official to visit the island nation in the last five years. He will be the chief guest at the passing out parade of the Sri Lanka Naval Academy in Trincomalee. more..

June 27 (BBC) Just over a year after the end of the long war between the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tiger rebels, the country has played host to its first surfing championship. And as the BBC's Charles Haviland discovered, both surfers and local residents hope it will not be the last. As dawn breaks over Arugam Bay, a fisherman casts his net into the lagoon near the long, low bridge that links the remote village to the rest of the country. more..

June 27 (LG) The government has commenced a campaign to defame the Lanka News Web, which fearlessly took up the challenge of exposing the foolish and oppressive acts of the President, in the backdrop of a murderous censorship imposed on the local media. In order to show our readers the extent of the actions taken against the website, we publish in full, without any editing, an article published in the Dailynews newspaper on Saturday (26) more..

June 27 (CIMIC) The “Pongal” festival of Veerapathpir Karer Hindu temple at Kilaly was held recently after thirteen years. The Kovil was not used for religious activities since 1995 due to LTTE activities and the troops of 9 (Volunteer) Sri Lanka Light Infantry deployed in Kilaly under 52 Division brought it to former condition after renovating with assistance of civilians in the area. more..

June 27 (Hindu) The idea of forming the International Association of Tamil Research (IATR) took shape when most of the Tamil scholars attended the South Asian Linguistic Conference held in New Delhi. Ka. Po. Rathinam, former MP belonging to the TULF in Sri Lanka, proposed this and was welcomed by Dr. M. Varadarajan, Fr. Thani Nayagam of the University of Malaya, Salai Elanthirayan of Delhi University and various other Tamil scholars. more..

June 27 (GDI) Indian Trade Fair 2010 is scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in August. The Indian Trade Fair will showcase over 160 exhibitors from all parts of India. Sectors will include agriculture, fisheries, plantations, manufacturing, engineering and construction, power and energy, tourism, health care. ICT, banking and finance and education services are among the other fields. An investor forum will be held simultaneously with the trade fair. more..

June 27 (LP) The prices of fish are being brought down in order to enable the citizens to consume protein rich fish. Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Rajitha Senarathene said that the prices of several fish in the fish stalls have already been reduced. The Minister also plans to establish over 100 fish Stalls Island wide for the benefit of the consumers while he also plans to have a fish market within the premises of Economic centres. more..

June 27 (GDI) The Gem Industry joins in glittering Sri Lanka throughout the World. Sri Lanka was able to increase the demand for local Gem and jewellery in the world market during the past period. There is a high demand from many countries for gem and jewellery as well as jewellery embedded with Diamonds. The National Gem and Jewellery Authority pointed out that it was able to earn an income of over 15 Billion rupees during the last few months. more..