Feb 14 (HT) The detention of more than 300 Tamil migrants who landed on Vancouver Island last summer aboard a rusty Thai cargo ship called the MV Sun Sea has so far cost $18-million, the Canada Border Services Agency says. With 107 of the Tamils still in custody—and only five so far publicly linked to accusations of even indirect links to Tamil Tiger fighters in Sri Lanka—the high cost for the mass detention has prompted opposition MPs to renew calls on more..

Feb 14 (DM) The Railways Department said yesterday that an Intercity train service will be made available for the Colombo-Bandarawela railway route from February 16 to19. The service will be provided so as to give extra accommodation for travellers in the long weekend next week and for the Adams Peak season. The Intercity train service will begin at Colombo Fort on February 16 and 17 at 8.35 am and arrive at Bandarawela at 4.10pm. more..

Feb 14 (DM) Heavy rain that destroyed most agricultural crops would, however, help produce a high yield of coconut by the end of the year, a scientist said. Director of the Coconut Research Institute Dr. Chitrangani Jayasekara told Daily Mirror yesterday that soil in coconut plantations was saturated with enough water now, and it would help produce more nuts by the end of this year. “Normally, there is dry weather during January and February. more..

Feb 14 (DN) SAARC, having identified its priorities and put its institutional infrastructure in place, now faces the challenge of rapid and effective implementation for the benefit of all its people, External Affairs Minister Professor GL Peiris said in Thimpu, Bhutan. He was addressing the 33rd session of the SAARC Council of Ministers in the Himalayan Kingdom. Prof Peiris recalled that the theme of the 16th Summit of SAARC Heads of State and Government, more..

Feb 14 (DM) More than 200 engineers, technicians and supervisors from India would be employed on the three northern railway projects, officials said yesterday. The projects are implemented under financial assistance from the government of India. Already 20 Indians had been mobilized in Medawachchiya along with construction equipment to carry out the work on the railway lines from Medawachchiya to Madhu, and from there to Mannar. more..

Feb 14 (LT) The Fisheries Department has warned Sri Lankan fishermen not to cross the Sri Lankan maritime boundary line (IMBL) and head to Somali waters as they face a threat of being abducted by pirates. The Department warned fishermen not to go 200 nautical miles beyond Sri Lanka’s maritime boundary line for fishing purposes after five Sri Lankan fishermen have become the latest victims of Somali pirates. more..

Feb 14 (NN) Following a strict ban on over 180 porn websites in Sri Lanka, some of the local content available on these sites has now been transferred onto foreign porn websites making it accessible to internet users, police sources told News Now.lk. Sources added that as soon as the local websites had been blocked by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) following a court order, steps had been taken by the site owners to transfer the local content onto foreign porn sites. more..

Feb 14 (NN) The Fisheries Department has warned Sri Lankan fishermen not to cross the Sri Lankan maritime boundary line (IMBL) and head to Somali waters as they face a threat of being abducted by pirates. The Department warned fishermen not to go 200 nautical miles beyond Sri Lanka’s maritime boundary line for fishing purposes after five Sri Lankan fishermen have become the latest victims of Somali pirates. more..

Feb 14 (Island) The Colombo-based IMF Resident Representative for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Koshy Mathai says the impact of devastating floods would be certainly one of the key issues to be discussed between a visiting IMF delegation and the Sri Lankan government shortly. Mathai was responding to a query by The Island on ways and means of mitigating the impact of floods on the Sri Lankan economy and how the IMF proposed to do so. more..

Feb 15 (BC) A resolution vehemently condemning government’s nonchalance in retaining Sri Lanka’s Buddhist image was unanimously adopted at a largely attended meeting held at the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress Hall, on Feb 11. The issue is a covert move by the Prime Minister to promote a multi-religious program on the pretext of commemorating the 2600th Sambuddhathva Jayanthi (Anniversary of the of Siddhartha Gauthama’s attainment of Buddhahood) in May, 2011. more..

Feb 15 (NN) The police seized a stock of fertilizer issued free under the Mahinda Chinthanaya program while it was being transported to be sold in the market. According to the police 270 bags of fertilizer which had its original covers removed were sized at a police checkpoint in Welikanda this morning. When police checked a truck they found the fertilizer bags mixed with rice with fake covers in order to hide the information which reveals that the stock was issued free and is not to be sold. more..

Feb 15 (GDI) Six new Ambassadors and two High Commissioners presented credentials to President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat today (14). They include the Ambassador of the Czech Republic, Mr. Miloslav Stasek who will be residing in New Delhi as well as the Ambassador of Republic of Paraguay, Mr. Genaro Vicente Pappalardo Ayala, Mr. Thongphanh Syackhaphom, Ambassador of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mr. Sead Avdic, more..

Feb 15 (AD) The current government party, which raised objections towards restructuring the CPC during the UNP regime, has no moral right to sell the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation cheaply, says Gayantha Karunathilaka. During a conference called by the Minister in charge it had been announced that a decision had been made to sell the Petroleum Corporation, he claimed. The Minister had declared at that discussion that 107 filling stations given to the CPC by the treasury more..

Feb 15 (BBC) UNP says that the country's commissioner of elections is "helpless" to take action against the violation of election laws by the government. After a meeting with Commissioner Dayanada Dissanayake, the UNP said the party is considering taking legal actions against the alleged violations. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said that the party raised concerns over the difficulties faced in carrying election campaigns in the camps for more..

Feb 15 (NN) A bomb scare onboard a Sri Lankan airlines flight resulted in the plane being diverted to the Maldives today. However the threat was later found to be a hoax. Sri Lankan airlines spokesperson said that a passenger had claimed he had a bomb with him and threatened to blow up the plane. Following the threat the passenger plane was diverted to the Maldives capital Male. However the threat was found to be a hoax and the plane is now on its way back, the spokesperson said. more..

Feb 15 (AD) 400,000 plastic containers will be distributed from today (February 14) in order to be used for the transportation of vegetables, said Minister of Cooperatives and Internal Trade Johnston Fernando. He stressed that using plastic containers to transport vegetables will be compulsory from March 01 onwards. Measures have been taken to purchase these containers via the government and distribute them through economic centers, the Minister conveyed. more..

Feb 15 (LT) Two petitions filed against the decisions taken by Returning Officers to reject nomination lists for the forthcoming local government elections were heard by the Appeal Court today (14th). The petitioners have stated that decisions by the relevant Returning Officers were illegal and requests Court to issue an order to the Commissioner of Election to accept the rejected nomination lists. more..

Feb 15 (UNI) Self-styled godman Premananda, serving two life terms on charges of rape and murder, has been admitted to a hospital in the city following allergy and symptoms of jaundice. Premananda, who was lodged in Cuddalore Central Prison, was shifted to the Govt Stanley Medical College Hospital, where he was being treated by a team of doctors. The godman, who had a bout of jaundice, was treated three months back at the Govt General hospital here and shifted back to Cuddalore prison. more..

Feb 15 (LBO) Car imports into Sri Lanka shot up by 300 percent to 23,072 in 2010 after the government slashed import duty and also because of rising demand after the end of a war, a government statement said. It said the number of cars registered with the motor traffic department in 2009 had been only 5,762. A total of 359,243 vehicles of different types were registered with the department in 2010 up by 155,168 or 76 percent from 204,075 in 2009, more..

Feb 15 (BBC) A court in Sri Lanka has ordered the army chief to hand over the reports of the entire court proceedings of a military court against former commander Sarath Fonseka. Colombo High court Judge Sunil Rajapaksha has overruled objections by the Attorney General (AJ) in issuing the order. The court questioned the state counsel who represented the AJ why a high court has no right to issue orders to military courts. more..

Feb 15 (LG) The International Institute of International Software Economies, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IISEIE) are encouraging local Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies to participate in a High-Tech Survey that will provide a comprehensive overview of the local ICT industry in Sri Lanka. The information provided by this survey will assist both government and industry to better understand the opportunities for growth in more..

Feb 15 (LG) The master plan of taking control of the largest telecom company in Sri Lanka by foreign Diasporas that is against Sri Lanka is now clear. GTH (Global Telecommunication Holdings) the largest private shareholder (44.9%) which is a foreign company. How did they entered to Sri Lankan market and acquired half the company and its assets of a National Telecom company such as SLT is a big wonder! The truth is the entire deal was negotiated by current chairman by more..

Feb 15 (NS) The Nation spoke to the two key players on both sides of the political divide, Parliamentarians Thilanga Sumathipala (UPFA) and Dayasiri Jayasekera (UNP) who figured in the dangerous incidents at Punchi Borella Junction on Independence Day February 4 and on February 9, both of which fortunately did not go totally out of control. Following are excerpts of their explanations and we leave it to the readers to draw their own conclusions: more..

Feb 15 (LG) A recent issue of The Economist carried a joke about a plump Tunisian dog during the comparatively economically prosperous days under strongman Zine el- Abidine Ben Ali, running across the border to neighbouring Algeria during the bloody civil strife in Algeria in the 1990s and meeting a ragged, starving Algerian dog. The starving Algerian dog had asked the Tunisian dog: ‘What on earth are you doing here?’ ‘I came here to bark’, had been the forlorn reply. more..

Feb 15 (LG) Turbulence in Egypt has come as a surprise to many. Hosni Mubarak has finally resigned. When faced with a contest between democracy and geopolitical interests, USA chose geopolitics, not democracy for the past 30 years. Still US officials make absurd demands including better democracy, reforms and a smooth transition of power. However, none of these are in the agenda of the people in the streets. They wanted the pro-US dictator to go without any conditions. more..

Feb 15 (NS) Prime Minister D.M Jayaratne, popularly known as Dimu is the only living founder member of the SLFP in Sri Lanka. He was instrumental in forming the party along with the late SWRD Bandaranaike way back in 1951. He was the 13th member of the SLFP to accept the party membership in 1951 and today Dimu stands tall as the 14th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. The Premier, while being humble and honest in politics has also been loyal to his party more..

Feb 15 (TC) Neither President Mahinda Rajapaksa nor his administration can be faulted for the calamitous weather conditions afflicting Sri Lanka. Global warming is a global phenomenon, an environmental malaise to which the entire world (and each one of its people) has contributed, to a greater or a lesser degree. (To talks of rain gods who punish countries because they have bad rulers is to insult intelligence; such beliefs belong in pre-scientific times, more..

Feb 15 (NS) Last week, I presented the Sri Lankan side of the fishing story. In that I pointed out that since ancient times fishing communities of Tamil Nadu and northern Sri Lanka shared the resources of the Palk Bay amicably fishing along their coasts. Since mechanised trawling was introduced in the latter half of the last century, the need to draw up the boundary arose. Though the first attempt to draw the maritime boundary was made in 1921, it was not ratified. more..

Feb 15 (MoD) As the Maha Season is the most favorable season for paddy Northern Provincial Council has taken steps to develop the agriculture sector in the North. For the Maha Season 29320 acres of paddy land was targeted to cultivate and 26000 acres of them have been cultivated so far. Expected harvest is 32611 MT of paddy. Target for onion cultivation is 4060 acres and so far 3047.5 acres have been cultivated. more..

Feb 15 (TC) A few years back I had the pleasure of seeing the Royal-Thomian rugger match on television and watched you Sir, present the winner’s cup to the Captain of the Thomian rugger team, none other than your son, Namal. On this ground I earnestly request you and your sons to sit together and watch a replay of any recent rugby international between the New Zealand All Blacks and the South African Proteas. There, you will hear New Zealand’s more..

Feb 15 (SL) By the time this appears in print, the world would have seen the denouement of the Cairo crisis. What is interesting about the huge crisis that Hosni Mubarak and his Egyptian (and international) allies brought upon themselves is that Mubarak didn’t seize power through coup or putsch but reached omnipotence in Egypt in a completely legitimate (by that country’s standards) manner. He served his apprenticeship as an Egyptian air force officer who more..

Feb 15 (IL) Sri Lankan dances dazzled the Belgians who visited the 'Salon Des Vacances' tourism fair which was held from 03-07 February 2011. Dubbed as the 'largest B2C tourism fair' in Belgium, this year's 'Salon des Vancances' fair drew more than 150,000 Belgian visitors during the five day exhibition. Sri Lanka which was participating in this fair after a spell of four years, was part of the 'Asian Village' more..

Feb 15 (Island) In the mid 1970s India offered her services to Sri Lankan separatists as a surrogate mother and delivered the monster of secessionist terrorism; she breast-fed and nurtured it until it came of age and then sent it across the Palk Strait to unleash hell on her neighbour. Only after her pet Tigers trained their guns on her army in the late 1980s and blew Rajiv Gandhi to smithereens in 1991 did danger really come home to her. India is still paying for her sins. more..

Feb 15 (DM) In Sri Lanka the truth must be the first casualty. It happened during the war and now in cricket -- the World Cup to be precise and at a time the country is trying to showcase itself to the world as a sporting spot on the globe, after the end of decades of war. By the time these lines are read Sri Lankans may know what would have become of the fiasco or some may argue, the pompous shots surrounding the construction of the World Cup venue at Sooriyawewa more..

Feb 15 (AJC) His official title is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sri Lanka. But when Jaliya Wickramasuriya is not working to improve relations between Sri Lanka and the United States, he heads the Atlanta-based Ceylon Royal Tea Co., which sells its Chami brand. Wickramasuriya began his career working in the Sri Lankan tea industry for the Dilmah brand, more..

Feb 15 (TN) Against their wishes, the local officials are forced by the occupying military to undertake Nazi-style photo registration of families in the Jaffna Peninsula. A meeting to this effect was convened at Uduvil Girls College last week by the commanders of the 513 division of Sri Lanka Army, headquartered at Uduvil. Village officials and SL police officials of Cha’ndilippaay, Maanippaay, Thillippazhai and Chunnaakam polici divisions were asked to attend this meeting. more..

Feb 15 (TN) A group of Sinhalese settlers from the 36th colony, with Police protection, has encroached into more than thirty acres of land belonging to twenty Tamil families located in 35th colony, south of Batticaloa district and north of Ampaarai district in the Vellaveli DS division, civil sources said. The affected Tamil families have been residing in the lands that were legally handed over to them by the District Land Development (DLD) in and after 1956. more..

Feb 15 (TN) Nearly half of the children less than five years old are suffering from malnutrition in the three districts in the Eastern province. 53% in Batticaloa, 45% in Trincomalee, and 44% in Ampaarai have been found suffering malnutrition, according to a survey carried out by the World Food Organization (WFO), UNICEF, and Health Services Agency of the United Nations, NGO sources in the eastern province said. more..

Feb 15 (GV) As the rains abated and flood waters begin to recede, the return and resumption of normal lives presents itself as a big challenge in many parts of the country. In the villages in Dimbulagala DS division in Polonnaruwa District, home to some of the poorest people in the country the impact was devastating and the return to normal life daunting. Many families had their wattle and dob houses completely destroyed by the rains. more..