Oct 11 (LBO) Sri Lanka is "unlikely" to announce direct targeting of reserve money next year and will rely more on "traditional instruments" as the country moves gradually to target inflation directly with rates, central bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. He said the need for "extraordinary steps" has now passed. Sri Lanka has had lower inflation for about two years. more..

Oct 11 (NF) A woman, who grabbed a gold chain from a teacher, was caught and tied to a tree by a bystander in Badulla on Friday morning. According to police, the suspect had stolen the chain from a teacher who had been on her way to school yesterday at Pingarawa in Badulla. The school teacher had started screaming when the person clad in black had snatched the gold chain she had been wearing. more..

Oct 11 (Hindu) Cadres of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Sunday staged a demonstration in Rameswaram protesting against the alleged attack on Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. Former Ministers Jeyakumar, Kalaimani, A. Anwarraja, district secretary K.C. Animuthu, former district secretary S. Murugesan took part in the agitation. Besides, around 400 cadres and fishermen participated in it. more..

Oct 11 (LB) Consumers are feeling the pinch due to skyrocketing prices of essential food. Prices of items like vegetables, sugar and flour-based products have increased considerably, leaving people struggling to cope. It is reliably understood that the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) is also planning to raise prices of milk food within the next fortnight. The kilo of sugar is now three rupees costlier due to rising work market prices. more..

Oct 11 (NS) Around 50 percent of HIV infected women in Sri Lanka have contracted the disease from their husbands without their knowledge. “Most of these husbands are those who have been working abroad and return to the country on a holiday. They then engage in sexual relationships with their partners without protection, and without informing their wives that they have been infected with HIV, thus passing the infection to their wives/partners,” more..

Oct 11 (DM) The Sri Lankan business community is apparently sitting on a gold mine, without exploring or exploiting, where the huge Pakistani market is concerned. Ms Mariam Saeed, Charge d’ Affairs, Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka, speaking on “Potential areas for further development of Trade and Investment between Sri Lanka and Pakistan” at a seminar pointed at a tremendous lot of trade and investment activities that more..

Oct 11 (BBC) Two prominent Tamil Tiger leaders in Sri Lanka are missing after arrest by the army last year, their wives have told a presidential commission. LTTE spokesman Rasiah Ilantherian and head of the Tiger intelligence wing in Batticaloa, Prabha have not been seen since being detained, they said. The two wives were among hundreds of Tamil and Muslims testifying to the panel in Batticaloa, eastern Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 11 (LT) The JVP General Secretary, Mr Tilvin Silva said today that some are attempting to place different impressions on nominating someone instead of former Army Commander and Member of Parliament Mr Sarath Fonseka. He said this at a media briefing held today. Mr Tilvin Silva added that there is nothing political parties could do when an elected member of a party faces such a situation. He also added that unlike from the National List, more..

Oct 11 (NS) Ven Maduluwawe Sobhita Thera, Viharadhipati, Naga Viharaya, Kotte: Incarcerating garbed in a `jumper’ the former army commander who played a decisive role in ridding the country of the scourge of LTTE terrorism when the Tiger leaders like Pillayan, Karuna Amman and Kumaran Pathmanathan responsible for inhuman massacres are living in the right royal comfort, enjoying privileges, can be described as an act that shocks the entire world. more..

Oct 11 (AN) The Saudi Arabian National Recruitment Committee (SANARCOM) decided Sunday to request the authorities concerned to stop the recruitment of housemaids from Sri Lanka until Colombo agrees to implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed between the SANARCOM and the Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA) two months ago in Riyadh. more..

Oct 11 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa told officials in-charge for western province administration to bring all abandoned and non functioning factories within investment zones under the control of the Board of Investment (BOI). During the Western Province development review meeting in Panadura on Saturday, President Rajapaksa instructed state officials to gather information on all such non- functional factories and take steps to acquire them. more..

Oct 11 (Island) Customs officials at the Bandaranaike International Airport nabbed two women who attempted to smuggle gold biscuits worth over Rs. 5 million into India. The gold had been hidden in some inner parts of their anatomy, the Customs said. First, the Customs officials had detected gold worth Rs. 2 million first and fined them Rs 100,000 each and the confiscated the gold when they made the second detection. more..

Oct 11 (MoD) 'Viru Dana Gee Sara -3' musical show organized by the Seva Vanitha Unit of the Ministry of Defence to raise funds for the projects initiated for welfare of the war heroes and their families took stage yesterday (October 9) evening at the BMICH main hall. The event sparkled with performances of renowned artists from the Sri Lankan music industry including Pundit W.D. Amaradewa, Wijerathne Warakagoda, more..

Oct 11 (SLW) Minister of resettlement Milroy Fernando says that many Sinhalese families who were forced to leave their homes and property in Jaffna 27 years ago, have now come back to Jaffna with the hope of resettling in their original homes. About a hundred of them have returned to Jaffna and are staying at the Jaffna railway station temporarily and they will be resettled as early as possible after confirming their land rights. more..

Oct 11 (DM) The corruption case against former Deputy Defence Minister, Anuruddha Ratwatte who was charged for being unable to account for his assets worth Rs. 46 million, will be restarting today, October 11, before the Colombo High Court. The criminal case against Anuruddha Ratwatte which was stopped halfway at the end of the prosecution case in November 2007 is to be resumed following an order of the Appeal Court. more..

Oct 11 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be sworn in for his second term as the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka on November 19, 2010 in Colombo –. His first term of office began in 2005 for a six year term was confined to five years following his decision to call for his re- election after completing 4 years in office by virtue of the powers vested in him under the COnstitution. more..

Oct 11 (Island) The Health Ministry said that 67,796 areas where mosquitoes bred had been located during house to house inspections on Saturday. Giving the previous day’s update the Health Ministry spokesman said yesterday (10) that 285,918 homes had been inspected and out of them at 11,002 places mosquito larvae had been detected. He said that 4,454 notices had been issued during inspections. more..

Oct 11 (DN) Sri Lanka was selected as the best breast feeding country according to a survey by South Asia International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN). A ceremony to mark this was held recently where breast feeding mothers were felicitated at the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Headquarters, T B Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10. The ceremony was organized by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Women's Organization. Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena was the Chief Guest. more..

Oct 11 (SL) The imprisonment of General Sarath Fonseka, consequent to a trial by a war tribunal could be described as one of the ugliest incidents that has taken place under the Rajapaksa regime. At a glance, it appears to be an act of serious and ruthless revenge taken from a political opponent who contested against the President at the presidential election. In view of the nature of the responsibility of the post that he held in the army and more..

Oct 11 (Island) The Kandy police Intelligence and Information Unit raided a house at Hamangoda near Katugastota on Thursday (07) and arrested a mother of two sons and her paramour for allegedly torturing her children. The two boys aged nine and three were taken into protective custody. The man is a father of three. Police said the man and the woman and the two children would be produced before the magistrate. more..

Oct 11 (wsws) Shanty dwellers from central Colombo, who took part in a meeting on September 26 convened by the Socialist Equality Party (SEP), have decided to form an action committee to fight the Sri Lankan government’s plans for mass evictions in the capital. The Action Committee to Defend the Right to Housing (ACDRH) has taken two decisions. Firstly, it will issue an appeal to other shanty dwellers and to the working class to defend the right to decent housing. more..

Oct 11 (DM) Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe charged yesterday that the authority that is to be appointed to run Colombo City would comprise five members who will be appointed by the president. Speaking at a public rally in Dematagoda yesterday, Mr. Wickremesinghe said this authority would be set up mainly to hand over lands in the city to Taiwan and Hong Kong based companies. more..

Oct 11 (ABNA) Holy Quran is one of the most significant assets which can serve as a basis for Iran-Sri Lanka interactions, said Iran's head of Islamic Culture and Relations Organization Mehdi Mostafavi. In a meeting with Sri Lankan Ambassador to Iran Mohammed Zuhair, he further noted that the two countries' officials are determined to develop cultural ties. He also called for active presence of Sri Lankan artists in Quran International Exhibit held in Tehran each year. more..

Oct 11 (OC) The arrival of a boatload of Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers in August generated a good deal of interest among the media and the general public. While Canadians are generally supportive of accepting a reasonable number of genuine refugees, their reaction to this event was decidedly negative. An Angus Reid poll, for example, found that 63 per cent of respondents felt the ship should have been turned back before it reached Canada, more..

Oct 11 (MoD) Sri Lanka has lifted all restrictions for fishing imposed due to LTTE terrorism making the country's territorial waters free and open for fishing. Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratna said according to Defence Ministry the sea will now be free of restrictions except for areas where landmines were not yet removed. The decision has taken by the Defence Ministry after more..

Oct 11 (Island) Military officers may possess degrees and other qualifications and be very well trained and highly accomplished but the most important thing they had to bear in mind was that they must be loyal and faithful to their leaders and to one another, said Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe at the 30th Sir John Kotalawala Death Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony at the Kotalawala Defence University, on Oct. 3. more..

Oct 11 (DM) It is the responsibility and a national duty of parents as well as religious leaders to save the younger generation from the menace of unrestricted access to websites, video games and video films in a fast developing society, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday. Addressing a ceremony held to mark the completion of 200 years to the Panadura Rankoth Viharaya and to the Amarapura Nikaya at the temple’s Dharmasalawa, President Rajapaksa said that more..

Oct 11 (Island) As things limp back to normalcy in the north one and a half years after the end of the war, C.A.Chandraprema speaks to veteran northern politician V.Anandasangaree the leader of the TULF, about the future trajectory of Tamil politics. Q: We are now at a crossroads. In the mid-1940s when G. G. Ponnambalam wanted 50:50 representation and the Soulbury Commission turned it down, he did not pig headedly stick to his old position, more..

Oct 11 (ST) President Mahinda Rajapaksa went to Parliament this week to take part in the Consultative Committee meeting on the Ministry of Aviation. The discussion centred on aviation laws and proposed amendments which the Ministry planned to introduce. Ravi Karunanayake (UNP - Colombo District) wanted some changes made. Rajapaksa was to remark that "we don't sell" State enterprises and noted that Karunanayake saw it differently. more..

Oct 11 (ST) The UNP does not seem to be able to get its act together not only when dealing with its internal party matters but also in its conduct in Parliament. This was amply displayed when the no-confidence motion against External Affairs Minister G.L.Peiris was taken up last Thursday. The motion signed by four UNP members was handed in early last month requesting an early date for its debate, but when the motion was taken up on Thursday, more..

Oct 11 (DN) Red clay based glazed cookware product has been developed by Moratuwa University Materials Science and Engineering Department to increase the hygiene and attractiveness of traditional red clay based cookware. This has been developed using locally available material with modifications to the clay body. "Though ceramic materials are most suitable for cookware applications due more..

Oct 11 (PRIU) First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa left for Malaysia last night to participate in the first ever summit of the First Ladies held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia hosts the inaugural First Ladies Summit 2010 from October 11 to 13 in Kuala Lumpur with the focus on nurturing childhood development and children's potential. The summit, themed "A Child Today, A Leader Tomorrow" will be held at the Palace of Golden Horses. more..

Oct 11 (LBO) Sri Lanka is offering free land and tax breaks for top ranked foreign universities to start branches in the island with the end of a state monopoly in awarding degrees, the island's higher education minister said. "We are planning to bring higher education institutions ranked among the top 1,000 in the world to Sri Lanka," S B Dissanayake told LBO. more..

Oct 11 (ST) On the Seventh day of September, 1978, Sri Lanka's first presidential Constitution, drafted by Junius Richard Jayewardene, was passed by the then National State Assembly at the 'old' Parliament building at Galle Face. Although granting near absolute powers to the Executive, that Constitution imposed a limit of two six-year terms for a President. Thirty two years and one day later, the eighteenth amendment to that Constitution was passed by Parliament, more..

Oct 11 (DM) UNP MP Dr. Jayalath Jayawardane yesterday refuted claims by Plantation Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe that his complaint made to the Human Rights Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on behalf of MP Sarath Fonseka had been rejected. Earlier, Minister Samarasinghe had quoted that the IPU Committee had rejected Dr. Jayawardane’s complaint after he convinced about the proper legal procedure followed in prosecuting MP Fonseka. more..

Oct 11 (Island) Now that the SLMC has voted with the UPFA again, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe will have to review his party’s relationship with the SLMC. The issue is likely to be discussed at the next Working Committee meeting. Recently, Wickremesinghe told the Working Committee that the UNP shouldn’t sever its political ties with the SLMC as Hakeem’s group remained in the Opposition in spite of more..

Oct 11 (DM) The government has decided to setup a new National Intelligence Service through a new act of parliament. It is to be established with basic civil features and like in other countries. Informed government sources said that this service would be established under the Ministry of Defence on an urgent basis and the government expects to submit the draft bill soon. more..

Oct 11 (DM) A senior Sri Lankan Diplomat accused of forging a French language proficiency certificate and sent on compulsory leave had also been accused of forging the signature of Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative in New York Dr. Palitha Kohona, sources told the Daily Mirror. A political officer and counsellor in the Sri Lankan mission in New York, had produced false documents claiming to be from more..

Oct 11 (DM) Pleading mitigation for an accused in the Town Hall bombblast of 1998, defence counsel informed the Colombo High Court that former President, Chandrika Kumaratunge must be undergoing far more severe mental agony than the physical pain she underwent with the loss of her one eye to see that today the post of Vice President of SLFP is held by a former leader of the LTTE, which planned her assassination. more..

Oct 11 (Island) The JVP says it will fill the vacancy in Parliament created by DNA leader General Sarath Fonseka’s imprisonment. JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said if they refused to fill the vacancy, it could go to a person, who had contested the April 8 parliamentary elections on the DNA ticket but switched his allegiance to the government. He said that the democratic world condemned the government for more..

Oct 12 (SLBC) Director of the budget department of the Treasury Mahinda Saliya said the forthcoming budget is being formulated with plans for the coming three years. Priority is being given to fulfil the targets of the projects of the government. Around 800 suggestions and opinions from the general public and various organisations have been received for next year’s budget. more..

Oct 12 (BBC) Saudi Arabia has suspended the recruitment of workers from Sri Lanka following a housemaid's claims that nails and needles were forced into her. Doctors removed 13 nails and five needles from the Sri Lankan maid in August. She said her employer had hammered them into her body. LP Ariyawathie, 49, told staff in Colombo that her employer had inflicted the injuries as a punishment. Saudi officials say her claims are baseless and harmful to their country. more..

Oct 12 (LP) The Indian Government has taken steps to develop the Duraiappa Stadium in Jaffna and raise it to the standard of an International Sports Stadium. Along with the renovations, a Cultural Hall will also be built with modern facilities says the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Ashok K Kantha. He said this while addressing a function to hand over buses given by Indo Ceylon Friendship Association at Jaffna Municipality Office. more..

Oct 12 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's benchmark share index closed flat on Monday after rising almost 1.7 percent in early trade as selling by retail investors offset bargain-hunting buying pressure. Sri Lanka's main share index .CSE edged 1.00 points or 0.01 percent up to 6,834.61. It is Asia's best performer in 2010 with a 101.9 percent gain. Last week, the index fell 5.3 percent in through Thursday before rising 0.9 percent on Friday. more..

Oct 12 (AFP) Thousands of protestors marched through the streets of Sri Lanka's capital Monday, demanding the release of ex-army chief and opposition leader Sarath Fonseka who is serving a 30-month jail term. Activists led by Fonseka's Democratic National Alliance (DNA) and his wife Anoma marched to the maximum security Welikada prison in Colombo, witnesses said. They were dressed in black as a sign of protest. more..

Oct 12 (LG) According to Failed States Index of the Foreign Policy publication, Sri Lanka is fifth in the second league of twenty failed states for the year 2010. The worst performer is Somalia in the first league topping the list scoring 114.3 points. Sri Lanka is 25th with the score of 95.7 points. Sri Lanka has been ranked 22nd in 2009, 20th in 2008 and 25th in 2007. Though it achieved its ranking to the 25th in 2010 like in 2007, its scoring rate in the league has gone up from 93.10 to 95.70. more..

Oct 12 (MoD) On par with the main ceremony at Army Headquarters, Security Forces Headquarters-Jaffna (SF-J) celebrated the Sri Lanka Army's 61st Anniversary with pride and splendor on Sunday. Commander SF-J Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe hoisted the Army Flag before officers and other ranks who had fallen in line at the parade square sang the Army song and observed two minute silence to remember fallen war heroes. more..

Oct 12 (MoD) Sri Lanka Army, much-respected saviours of the Nation, who triumphantly eradicated the 30-year long LTTE terrorism and is now engaged in a multiplicity of nation-building development tasks, emerging as an admirable force to reckon with, marked its 61st Anniversary cum Army Day, during a colourful parade and special ceremony at Army Headquarters Saturday morning. more..

Oct 12 (GV) On a beautiful late summer day, the eighth of September 2010 to be precise, outside the railway station in the historic university city of Bridgetown, England, I found this Sri Lankan chap, Sivapuranam Thevaram, of whom we have read a bit in these pages recently: the structure of his name, his debt to his father and the sorrow of Sivahamy, his mother. Thevaram has been crying at the railway station when I caught up with him more..