Jan 19 (ICP) A month after visits to Sri Lanka were announced by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for his Panel of Experts on Accountability, a UN official from New York is finally going to Colombo. It is not, however, about accountability. Rather, deputy chief of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Catherine Bragg is going to issue an appeal for money. more..

Jan 19 (NF) The Prime Minister appears to be totally confused. His statement, which said that all religions in the country are equal and no religion will be afforded special attention or special treatment, is illegal and against the Constitution, said the leader of the Jathika Hela Urumaya, the venerable Dr. Omalpe Sobitha Thera. “The Prime Minister had stated that all religions in the country are equal and more..

Jan 19 (DM) The government yesterday said it would take all efforts under its purview not to increase fuel prices despite the sharp increase in the global market, Petroleum Industries Minister Susil Premajayantha said. He said world oil prices had increased by 12% in the past month alone. “We will try our best to maintain the current fuel prices in the domestic market unchanged. more..

Jan 19 (Island) ITAK Parliamentarian for the Digamadulla District P. Hewage Piyasena, in a petition filed in the Supreme Court, challenging his expulsion from the party, had stated that he was unduly expelled for having voted with the government in favour of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which enables the incumbent President to contest the presidency for a third time. more..

Jan 19 (DM) The JVP led National Trade Union Centre tendered an open invitation yesterday to all other trade unions, including those affiliated to the UNP and the SLFP, to join them in fighting for a Rs. 10,000 salary increment for public sector workers. The invitation was tendered by its president, JVP stalwart K. D. Lal Kantha, who was speaking at a seminar in Colombo yesterday. more..

Jan 19 (DM) The UNP said yesterday that it would limit its rallies at this year’s local government elections and concentrate more on a grassroots level campaign. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said that the party had decided to educate the people,at the grassroots level, on the large scale corruption in the state sector instead ofconcentrating on mass rallies. more..

Jan 19 (Island) Having spent Rs.500 million in preparation for the forthcoming Local Government Elections, the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime wants to conduct it only in certain councils, while the others have been postponed, the UNP said yesterday. General Secretary of the UNP Tissa Attanayake, said that national funds were being wasted to obtain political mileage, while more..

Jan 19 (DM) The government announced yesterday that universities would be able to recommence their external degree programmes and also initiate online courses for the first degree once the restructuring of their external course programmes was completed. All universities in the country had been instructed, through a road map, how they should restructure their external courses programmes in future, more..

Jan 19 (DN) Media reports that over 60 percent of the total Maha paddy cultivation of the country was destroyed are baseless. Only 17 percent of the paddy lands were affected. The Government has already stored 15 percent paddy from the total paddy requirement. There will be no price increase or paddy scarcity in the country due to floods, the report further said. more..

Jan 19 (wsws) The reality on the ground in Sri Lanka’s flood-affected areas is vastly different from the sanitised view being presented in television footage. The news programs show government ministers and parliamentarians with smiling faces, parading before the cameras and distributing food items and clothes to victims. Behind the scenes, however, there is widespread anger and more..

Jan 20 (IRIN) Healthcare workers are slowly returning to the conflict-affected north of Sri Lanka, where only six doctors covered 1,279 sqkm and an estimated population of at least 300,000 during the height of fighting in 2009 in a region known as the Vanni. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least one doctor - 23 health workers in total - for every 10,000 residents to provide the minimum level of care; in the Vanni, each doctor covered at least 50,000 people. more..

Jan 20 (HT) The rights of the minority Tamil and Muslim communities of Sri Lanka continue to be violated and they live in fear of marginalisation, a new report from a UK-based rights watchdog has said in a new report. The report compiled by the Minority Rights Group International (MRGI) said human rights violations in Sri Lanka continue unabated against ethnic Tamils and Muslims who fear an increasingly nationalist government. more..

Jan 20 (AP) The United Nations plans to seek $51 million to help Sri Lankans recover from deadly floods that affected up to 1 million people. U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Catherine Bragg will launch the appeal during a three-day visit to the island that started Wednesday. The U.N. office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said in a report Tuesday that more..

Jan 20 (Xinhua) Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani arrived in Sri Lanka Wednesday on a three day official visit, defense officials said. He was received at the airport by his Sri Lankan counterpart Jagath Jayasuriya. The Pakistani army chief is to meet with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other senior officials. Sri Lanka received military co-operation from Pakistan in their successful military campaign against the Tamil Tiger rebels. more..

Jan 20 (NF) “Apart from the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), it is Cuba that has done the most to help people of the world for their freedom,” said Bimal Ratnayake, Central Working Committee Member of the JVP. Addressing a meeting held in Colombo to mark the 52nd anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and Cuba's national day, Ratnayake said that Cuba was the only country in the world to have defeated the United States of America at diplomatic level. more..

Jan 20 (NN) Prime Minister D.M Jayaratna today slammed the JHU saying the party was creating rifts among religious communities in the country. The Premier said that the party should discuss its concerns with the government without going public and criticizing other religions. The JHU had told reporters yesterday that Prime Minister Jayaratne had submitted proposals in view of the 2600th Sambudhdha Jayanthi celebrations in an attempt to create more..

Jan 20 (SL) The Eastern University located in the Batticaloa District has incurred damages amounting to millions of rupees due to the heavy floods experienced in the Eastern Province. Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University, Dr. K. Premkumar has told the media that the damages to the university amounted to about Rs. 130 million. The buildings in the university’s Vandaramulla faculty have reportedly been damaged along with computers and other equipment that were more..

Jan 20 (SL) The Army has denied interfering and questioning the members of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) during its sessions in Mannar. The military has made this statement in response to an allegation leveled against the army by member of the We Are Sri Lankans movement, Udul Premaratne, that the LLRC members were questioned by the army on why approval had not been sought from the Defence Ministry to conduct hearings in Mannar. more..

Jan 20 (NN) NFF Administrative Secretary Achala Jagoda has decided to boycott his party activities over a rift with his party leader Minister Wimal Weerawansa. Jagoda said that he had written to his party saying he will not take part in NFF meetings over what he claims is the unfair treatment given to him. He further noted that if the NFF removes him from the party he will seek membership with the SLFP but so far has no plans to resign on his own. more..

Jana 20 (NN) The government has deported some International Non Governmental Organizations (INGO) for acting against the interest of the country, Prime Minister D. M Jayaratna told News Now.lk without mentioning the names of the INGOs. Prime Minister D. M Jayaratna noted that investigations had revealed that these INGOs were helping promote anti-Sri Lankan sentiments with the Tamil Diaspora who were supportive of the LTTE cause and were attempting to divide the country. more..

Jana 20 (DM) Sri Lanka is ranked eighth in a Gallup poll of civic engagement in 130 countries measuring individuals’ likelihood to volunteer their time and assistance to others, a survey conducted by a US-based company revealed. According to the poll conducted by the Gallup Organization in 2009 and 2010, India is ranked 48th far behind neighbours Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal in a Gallup poll. Pakistan was ranked 27th with a score of 42 percent while more..

Jan 20 (DM) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has left the country for the US on a private trip, Director General of President’s Media and spokesman Bandula Jayasekara told Ada Derana. When inquired Jayasekara stated that the President left the country early today morning. First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa has reportedly accompanied the President in his trip.

Jan 20 (DM) Four years ago euphoria gripped Sri Lanka on reaching the finals of the World Cup for the second time. The night of nights (28 April 2007) at Sri Lanka time (GMT -4 in Barbados) came when we played Australia in Bridgetown in the finals. People anesthetized on the aroma of cricket were glued to their television screens while LTTE planes flew low over tree tops to mark the arrival of Tiger Air. LTTE calculated correctly the moment Sri Lankans were intoxicated on more..

Jan 20 (DM) The Ceylon Electricity Board purchase power from the private sector for meeting the increasing electricity demand of the country. This is in addition to generating power from CEB's own hydro and thermal power plants. The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL); the power sector regulator has announced cost reflective tariffs for purchasing power from all private Independent Power Producers (IPPs). more..

Jan 20 (NS) Following are extracts from the Preface: For nearly 2,500 years, Sri Lanka has been at the crossroads of different civilisations. Her civilisation itself had been partly shaped by these encounters. But suddenly in the early 16th century, she encountered a ‘civilisation’ like no other as the Portuguese yanked her into the arena of bloodthirsty wars which encouraged by the Pope, more..

Jan 20 (LG) We at the Chinthana Parshadaya became interested in the Rajarata chronic kidney disease unidentified etiology (RCKDunet) about four years ago, as we were worried about the patients and also due to the spread of the disease in the so-called border villages in the Rajarata. Of course, today thanks to the President and the heroic soldiers there are no ‘border villages’ though the NGO and other pundits who used these terms still occupy the centre of more..

Jan 20 (MoD) Dr. Balazs Botos, Hungarian State Secretary, Ministry for National Economy, expressed his confidence that Sri Lanka will be among the world's developed countries in the near future. He said so during a discussion with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees after a commemorative stamp was issued to mark the 125th Anniversary of the Labugama Reservoir and Water Purification Plant. The upgrading of the Plant will commence tomorrow with financial assistance from Hungary. more..

Jan 20 (Cimic) Until 1980s, Jaffna Library was an oasis for educationists, teachers, students and booklovers in Jaffna with a stock 97000 books on various subjects. It helped produce Great Intellectuals to Mother Lanka and became a jewel to whole South Asia with regard to education. With prime objective of restoring this invaluable treasure with wealth of knowledge, Security Forces Headquarters-Jaffna requests viewers of more..

Jan 20 (ST) The growing public debt and its servicing costs are a severe burden on the economy. It has a detrimental impact on macroeconomic fundamentals that have adverse effects on long term economic development. The large expenditure on debt servicing implies fewer resources for developmental expenditure. Government borrowing from domestic banking sources to service the debt results in inflationary pressures that destabilise the economy. more..

Jan 20 (ST) EDEX 2011 offers competitive choices in education to employment and beyond. EDEX 8th Expo 2011, Sri Lanka's largest Education and Careers Exhibition will be ceremonially opened on Saturday, January 22 at B.M.I.C.H. and conclude on Monday the 24th, which has been declared a special school day for senior students. Its' twin exhibition will be unveiled at the Kandy City Centre on January 26th & conclude on the 27. more..

Jan 20 (GV) Bonsika Vadivel Vasanthan (7) always stays alone and confines to a brown plastic chair with flower work. The chair is bigger than she. She wears a pristine white pleated frock, which is the school uniform with light Blue and white stripe tie. A light blue silk ribbon holds her straight hair into a ponytail, and she wears a pair of artificial white stone ear studs. She does not mingle with anybody. more..

Jan 20 (RSF) Reporters Without Borders and Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS), a network of exiled Sri Lankan journalists, announce the launch of an international appeal already signed by Noam Chomsky, Arundathi Roy, Ken Loach, Antony Loewenstein and Tariq Ali, asking writers and intellectuals to endorse a campaign for more freedom of expression in Sri Lanka. In a few days, the family and colleagues of political cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda will be more..

Jan 20 (AN) The Sri Lankan government appears ready to return the thousands of families displaced from Jaffna to Puttalam in 1990, following the war. But the authorities are denying the registration of new families, those formed by the children of first refugees who arrived in the district. The groundless refusal worries representatives of the IDPs. Rk Suvarkhan, responsible for Idp Muslims in two refugee camps, more..

Jan 20 (FT) Top representatives of leading export sectors of the country on Tuesday fired a serious warning that their success and survival was under threat owing to fast-eroding competitiveness on account of five major blows. At a special forum for journalists organised by the 450-member-strong National Chamber of Exporters (NCE), representatives engaged in export sectors of porcelain ware, rubber, coconut, ship repair, more..

Jan 20 (DM) Kurunegala Police had initiated investigations to arrest a driver attached to the army, who they suspect had been involved in heroin distribution for nearly three years and had dealings with several associates of the slain heroin kingpin, Olcott. According to police the suspect had been using an official vehicle for such purposes. It was revealed by police that the wanted soldier was a resident of Maligawatte and that he had been dealing with drugs while wearing the army uniform. more..

Jan 20 (DN) Thinakaran newspaper was re-launched yesterday to cater to the needs and aspirations of its readership by introducing new features such as political cartoons, a business page, separate page for Northern, Eastern and upcountry plantation sector. The paper has also introduced a weekly column on law and legal related activities. This is being handled by Open University Legal Department Head Yasodara Kathirgamathambi. more..

Jan 20 (LB) With monotonous regularity there are reports in the newspapers of blatant harassment, exploitation and deprivation of legitimate dues of our migrant workers in the Middle East. The most recent cases of torturing of housemaids with nails have been shocking. The following are some of the recent news paper reports of harassment and torture of our migrant workers. more..

Jan 20 (Island) The government is in the habit of using sledge hammers to crack nuts (and nutcrackers to break rocks)! Whenever it gets into trouble, it calls in the military even to perform simple tasks like cleaning drains. Now that vegetable prices have gone through the roof, the army has been tasked with battling unscrupulous traders who fleece both the producer and the consumer alike. The army's Operation Vegetables or Elavalu Meheyuma has proved to be a huge success. more..

Jan 20 (DM) The Ottawa Citizen yesterday reported information from Canadian security intelligence authorities that exiled Tamil rebel leaders are in the process of re-establishing the LTTE. They claimed it was still unclear how far advanced it is, but suspect intentions of setting up a base-in-exile there for the leadership. According to the news, this follows a report which reveals information of two Southeast Asian smuggling syndicates reportedly in the process of more..

Jan 20 (DN) Eight dangerous pesticides are no longer used in Sri Lanka though PCG and HCB industrial chemicals were used extensively some time ago, Environment Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said. He was speaking at the inauguration of the joint workshop of the Stockholm and Rotterdam convention for the Asian region held at Hilton hotel yesterday. He explained the action taken by the Government to more..