Mar 16 (LG) Democracy is a highly abused word. It has been used, overused and exploited for wrong ends by many quarters. An ‘interesting’ example is the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (DPRK). There is another nation by the name the Republic of Korea (ROK). Which is what? It may be tempting for some to link South Korea, which is democratic, with the abbreviation Democratic PRK. more..

Mar 16 (LG) These days the discussions on the military trial of the retired General Mr. Sarath Fonseska, was also the common candidate for the opposition for the last election is naturally taking place as the so called trial is fixed for 18th of March. All kinds of cynical remarks are heard about this trial. Some say "why not add the death sentence also as the punishment?" another adds "why not have summary execution also, then this whole joke will be complete…" more..

Mar 16 (FP) Israel will bring a high- powered business delegation to Sri Lanka in July to participate in the Economic Summit organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said Ambassador of Israel Mark Sofer. Ambassador Sofer said that the delegation will have one on one meetings with Sri Lankan businessmen to enhance economic ties. It is also scheduled for a Sri Lankan business delegation to visit Israel in September more..

Mar 16 (BBC) Somali Pirates demand USD 20 million to release the Saudi oil tanker with thirteen Sri Lankan crew members says Sri Lankan consul general in Jeddah. Saudi tanker Al Nisr Al Saudi was captured by Somali pirates two weeks ago. Speaking to BBC Sandeshaya the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Jeddah, Safarullah Khan said, “the captain of the ship has contacted the company and informed that all thirteen Sri Lankan crew members are in good health”. more..

Mar 16 (TN) Unidentified men arriving at the house of a popular merchant in Madaththadi in Chaavakachcheari North abducted his son, a 17-year-old student of a leading educational institution in Jaffna, Sunday night around 11:00 p.m, according to complaints lodged by his father with Chaavakachcheari and Jaffna police stations. The abductors kept demanding 300 million rupees as ransom to release the boy using various phones from more..

Mar 16 (TN) A Tamil short film directed by a diaspora Eezham Tamil winning the best award in an international festival is seen as a first with the short film titled ‘Vanni Mouse’, which has won the best film award in the fiction category in the nine-day 11th International Short and Independent Film Festival (ISIFF) at the Shaukat Osman auditorium of Central Public Library in Dhaka on Friday. more..

Mar 16 (TN) Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Jaffna Commander, Major Gen. Mahintha Kathurusinghe and Jaffna Government Agent, K. Ganesh officially handed over Monday afternoon the original building of Thellippazhai government hospital to its administration which had been functioning in government buildings outside the SLA High Security Zone (HSZ) in Thellippazhai for the last 20 years. more..

Mar 16 (SLW) K.K.Rupa Indrani is a 40 year old married woman. This incident was happened on 09.03.2010. Her brother K. K. Sunil had lodged a complaint at the Aluthgama police. Indrani also gave evidence as an eye witness. The case bearing number is CIB 11 299/276. On 07.03.2010 three police personal from the Aluthgama police came to Indrani’s house. They were identified as Rajakaruna 14504, Subasinghe, and bearing number 90795. more..

Mar 16 (National) Rizana Nafeek’s indigent family fell on hard times when civil war forced her father, a Sri Lankan woodcutter, to stop going to his traditional cutting forest. Salvation seemed to appear, however, when a local recruiter suggested that Nafeek, then 17, go to work as a housemaid in Saudi Arabia. The agent put a false birth date on her passport so officials would not see that she was underage. more..

Mar 16 (TC) March 21st 2010 marks the first death anniversary of Mrs Gnanie Nalliah who passed away in Vancouver, Canada at the age of 91. The nonagenarian was a well known mathematician in the Jaffna circle and taught at Chundikuli Girls College Jaffna for more than 25 years. Some teachers leave an indelible mark on the young hearts and the memories linger with those when they become adults. more..

Mar 16 (TC) Today we email to illustrate the proceedings against the General on March 16 & 17. To request that anyone with any love for his/her nation try even in a small way to defend the supreme interests of this nation and not the petty interests of a small group. The Executive, Legislative and Parliamentary arms have been equipped with powers to balance and counter balance each other. All three work for the people and are answerable to the nation. more..

Mar 16 (SLN) With a view to provide a hassle-free, environment-friendly mode of transport and to ease the congestion in road traffic, Sri Lanka Navy has launched a canal boat service between Wellawatte and Nawala. The measure comes into effect in accordance with the concept of His Excellency the President on using Greater Colombo canals for water transport and recreation. more..

Mar 16 (LeN) The word McCarthyite is all too easily tossed about these days, but it’s hard not to apply it to what’s happening in Sri Lanka, as President Mahinda Rajapaksa prepares to follow his snap re-election with a blitz parliamentary vote and a ruthless crackdown on political critics and independent media ahead of it. Rajapakse’s January re-election and last year’s military victories over separatist Tamil Tiger insurgents have not slowed his habit of more..

Mar 16 (LeN) The CID had recorded a long statement of UNP Gen. Secretary Tissa Attanayake after a prolonged inquiry in regard to the manner in which funds were received for the last Presidential elections and how they were disbursed. Tissa Attanayake had told the CID that he was engaged in political activities at the elections and he was busy with the election campaign from village to village. more..

Mar 16 (DC) Retirement from Test cricket has not emaciated his guile. The best years of Chaminda Vaas might be behind him but he continues to be as adept at handling the new ball as he did in his prime. In the first two games of the IPL-3, the Sri Lankan veteran has bowled a total of seven overs for 43 runs and seen the back of five batsmen in the bargain. These are not easy returns in the slam bang world of T20 cricket. more..

Mar 16 (SLC) A nostalgic wallow in the past then, harking back to Balmy Ceylon in the 1950’s the vintage n which the adolescent Mike cut his teeth at the Elitist S Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia against the backdrop of the emerald sea, the lunch green turf and the quaint little chapel. Indeed his deft late cuts, his silky drives and gentle nudges past square were in complete harmony with the soft murmur of the sea. more..

Mar 16 (AFP) Sri Lanka's ex-army chief and opposition leader faced a court martial Tuesday that could see him jailed for up to five years if convicted on charges supporters say are politically motivated. A three-member panel of two-star generals has been named to try Sarath Fonseka, who is charged with engaging in politics while he was still the commander of the army and making irregular procurements. more..

Mar 16 (MoD) A discussion was held at the Jaffna Central College recently by the Northern province Governor Major General G A Chandrasiri to discuss the difficulties faced by Northern Province teachers. There were teachers who had to be temporary attached to schools in Jaffna and in the discussion the Governor convinced that most of them had travelling problems to schools in resettled areas due to various reasons. more..

Mar 16 (wsws) The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) held a successful meeting on March 9 in the fishing village of Uori on the island of Karainagar as part of its campaign for the April 8 parliamentary election. About 35 people including youth, fishermen and housewives took part in the two-hour meeting. Karainagar Island is part of the northern district of Jaffna—about 20 kilometres to the west of Jaffna town. more..

Mar 16 (SLNN) British Foreign Secretary David Miliband is openly wooing Tamil voters as Britain’s Labour Party faces the prospect of losing the country’s next general election, expected in May. “I want Tamils over here to be part of the British system and to vote Labour and be active in their communities,” the Harrow Observer quoted the British cabinet minister as having stated to prospective voters on more..

Mar 16 (MoD) The brutality of the LTTE terrorism that plagued our great nation for the past 3 decades left many scars both physical and psychological on all the citizens. The successful completion of the Humanitarian Mission bought an end to the terrorism and a new era promoting peace and harmony dawned on our motherland. The sacrifices of the valiant soldiers should be mentioned with great honor when speaking of this success. more..

Mar 16 (DN) Imagine today is April 10, 2010. The Elections Commissioner, Dayananda Dissanayake has announced that this party got this number of seats, that one got this amount and that the loudest mouthed party was humbled. The counting is all done. We know who is in and who is out, who squeaked in and who missed the bus, who bit the dust and who got singed but managed to come through the fire alive, who piggy-backed, who topped the lists and who had the last laugh. more..

Mar 16 (LP) The current election system is a burden to the middle class people said SLFP Chief organizer for Udunuwara. In order to bring about a change in the election system it is necessary to have a majority of 2/3 he said. Referring to past parliamentarians he said middle class men with lesser wealth entered Parliament with the popularity they had in their electorates. He said this addressing an election rally organized in the Hatharaliyadda area in Kandy yesterday (15). more..

Mar 16 (GDI) “The teaching profession of teaching needs to be reviewed and brought to an honourable level”, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga said while participating in the Communicative English Training Programme for English teachers in Colombo schools held at Royal College, Colombo yesterday. He stressed that this is how this nation can be built. He said that teaching English is a very special vocation as it empowers people. more..

Mar 16 (DN) Another threatening telephone call has been made to a top official of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) currently spearheading the Mathata Thitha program. This follows threatening telephone calls made to NATA Chairman Prof Carlo Fonseka which has already been highlighted in the media. The latest to receive such a threatening call is Dr Prasanna Cooray Coordinator of the project (SL -3- 02). more..

Mar 16 (LNW) The All Ceylon Port Workers Union says that the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman has ignored a written directive issued by the Elections Commissioner to immediately stop the transfers that have been made as a result of political victimization. The Elections Commissioner had sent this written directive through letter dated February 28, 2010 following a complaint made by the trade union. more..

Mar 16 (LeN) There are reports that Govt. M P and Minister representing the Eastern province has been provided with a Radio service without license to broadcast under name of ‘Kalkudah F.M.’ from his home. This is an absolutely illegal act. The purpose of this illicit service is to carry out this Minister’s political campaign and activities at the upcoming Gen. elections. more..

Mar 16 (SLW) The Eppawela police have received a complaint where a ten year old child from Kattiya yaya area of Eppawela being abducted by some people and released later after taking his blood. Residents are suspecting whether the child was abducted to be sacrificed to get at buried treasure. The child stated the following about the abduction. “I was riding the bike when a van with darkened windows came from behind me and parked in front. more..

Mar 16 (TC) There have been news reports carried in the media that human rights lawyer and head of Transparency International, Sri Lanka, which is currently monitoring election abuses, J C Weliamuna, may be arrested and detained. In addition there have been reports that the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives and joint convenor of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence, Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu and more..

Mar 16 (TC) The North- South Dialogue Desk of Lanka Centre for Social Concern co-sponsored the much awaited educational tour of the Arippu school children to Colombo and Kandy . On our last visit to Arippu, we promised a tour for the students from grades six to eight. The Principal, Mr. Ravi Croos, Rev. Fr. Arul, Rev. Sr. Subashini and a few teachers accompanied the children. more..

Mar 16 (MoD) The Ministry of Tourism is promoting Jaffna and the Northern Province as tourist destinations in an effort to empower the economy in the conflict-ravaged region. Following the opening of the main A-9 Kandy-Jaffna highway, the only land route to the Jaffna peninsula, around 300,000 local and foreign tourists have flocked to the region. more..

Mar 16 (DN) The Government will change the existing Constitution by introducing radical reforms and introduce a new electoral system when it obtains a two-thirds majority at the April 8 General Election, Constitutional Reforms and National Integration Minister D.E.W. Gunasekara said. “It is the Opposition that prevented this on three occasions,” he said. more..

Mar 16 (LT) The police attacked the agitation held at Panadura today protesting against bringing Gen. Sarath Fonseka illegally before a military tribunal and demanding the release of Gen. Fonseka. 10 people were arrested by the police says our reporter. Three persons who were seriously injured in the police attack have been admitted to Panadura Hospital. A provincial journalist is among those who have been arrested says our reporter. more..

Mar 16 (LT) The Galle to Matara portion of the Colombo – Matara rail line would be closed for 7 months from May this year to develop it to a high-speed track states Ministry of Transport. Special bus services would be started from all railway stations between Galle and Matara for the convenience of commuters travelling between Gall and Matara states the ministry. The Colombo – Matara rail line would be developed into a high-speed track in three stages. more..

Mar 16 (LNP) The large scale election campaign of the United People s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) will commence on March 19 in Kandy with a mass rally under President Mahinda Rajapaksa s patronage, Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said. The UPFA will hold 26 main election rallies at district level with the President's participation from March 19 to April 5, he said. more..

Mar 16 (LNP) Trading at the Colombo (CSE) and the London Stock Exchanges (LSE) has been excellent. The London Stock Exchange is confident about future activities in Sri Lanka. London Stock Exchange Information and Technology Director David Lester told Daily News Business this year is equally important for Sri Lanka and the UK as the entire world is recovering from the global economic meltdown. more..

Mar 16 (LNP) The UN is behaving like a jackal at the beck and call of the West bent on removing from its path strong leaders of the global south, who refuse to fall in line. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon seems to be having sleepless nights trying to figure out how to fix Sri Lanka`s political and military top brass, who crushed the LTTE`s military muscle once and for all, for having committed the crime of ruffling the feathers of the US and its allies, more..

Mar 16 (GDI) Statements on alleged “intelligence lists” of NGO activists - Presidential SecretariatThe Presidential Secretariat in a press release says that in the past few days there has been a well coordinated series of statements and web comments on alleged government plans to arrest NGO activists and to suppress and intimidate its opponents and critics. more..

Mar 16 (GDI) The State Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Corporation (SPMC) has taken steps to produce Thyroxine tablets. The tablets will meet international standards and would come to the market in the first week of next month to meet the local demand. The monthly requirement of Sri Lanka is two million tablets while it is 24 million per annum. more..

Mar 16 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa will ceremonially unveil the pinnacle of the newly constructed cetiya at Sri Anandaramaya in Maha Heenatiyangala village in Kalutara South today. The statue made out of rock, five feet in height and in Abaya and Kataka mudra is surrounded by four stone pillars representing four noble truths of worldly life leading to sorrow. The leaning rock pillar on the left indicates the attachment to worldly things, which causes the suffering. more..

Mar 16 (LT) Four police officers of Trincomalee Police including the Headquarter Inspector have been interdicted in relation to killing by shooting a businessman at Mahamayapura in Trincomalee. The businessman was shot while the police was attempting to arrest him. The police officers interdicted are HQI W.R.A. Dharmasena Ratnayake, Police Constables H.B.V. Samaratunga, H.A. Asanga Karunaratne and more..

Mar 16 (UCAN) The Sri Lankan Church is urging politicians to work toward eliminating violence as the nation prepares for a general election on April 8. “We Sri Lankans … boast of our cultural and spiritual heritage. But it is very sad to see that at each election, more blood is shed than in previous ones,” said Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo at a recent forum. more..

Mar 16 (UNP) The UNF launched its election manifesto today at Sri Kotha, the party Headquarters ,under the leadership of UNP and Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe before a large gathering which included all Western Province candidates and UNF leaders. Following religious ceremonies, the key note address was made by the UNF Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who introduced the manifesto to the large gathering. more..

Mar 16 (Island) The All Ceylon Tamil United Front has warned the Tamil National Alliance against conspiring to split the Tamil vote at the upcoming general election in the North and East and leave Tamils rudderless. The warning was issued to TNA leader R. Sampanthan by Dr. K. Vigneswaran. ACTUF General Secretary Dr. Vigneswaran was speaking to a group of Tamil intellectuals who had cautioned the Tamil voters to be wary of a conspiracy to divide the Tamil vote and make them powerless. more..

Mar 16 (Island) The biggest heroin detection (70kg) was made at Kalpitiya recently by a joint operation conducted by the Puttalam Police and Police Narcotics Bureau sleuths, who had worked undercover. DIG Daya Samarasekara said, at a media briefing yesterday, the recovered heroin had a value of Rs. 500 million. He said: "Our undercover sleuths lived in a hut on the Kalpitiya beach for several weeks. more..

Mar 16 (Island) Former TNA MP Sivanathan Kisshor yesterday requested the displaced people of the Vanni, who had lost their vehicles and household items during the final days of the conflict, to hand over their complaints to the District Secretary of Mullaitivu Mrs Emelda Sukumar. The Security Forces Commander in Mullaitivu Major General Athula Jayawardena had agreed to release the vehicles and more..

Mar 16 (Island) Medical Laboratory Technologists warned of a possible arrest in full blood count testing at the National Hospital due to a shortage of reagents for the machines. The President of the Sri Lanka Association of Government Medical Laboratory Technologists (SLAGMLT) said yesterday that the Hospital owed approximately Rs.22 million to the two companies supplying reagents for the machinery which are used for full blood count (Fbc) testing. more..

Mar 16 (DM) Following high level talks between the European Union (EU) and Sri Lanka, the EU may consider the possibility of extending the GSP+ facility through mutual agreements on key areas of concern, EU delegation head Bernard Savage said yesterday. He said the EU was conscious of the importance of the trade concession for Sri Lanka’s economy and had no intention of causing it harm. more..