Mar 17 (BBC) Sri Lankan government delegates asked the UNHRC to give due consideration to the domestic processes, rather than asking for International interventions to address the accusations of human rights violations in the country. Head of Sri Lanka mission in the United Nations in Geneva, Kshenuka Seneviratne, addressing the 16th session of the UNHRC, said the process of the LLRC will address the issues of alleged violations. more..

Mar 17 (PTI) Injured New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and speedster Kyle Mills are all set to miss their team's final World Cup Group A fixture against Sri Lanka on Friday in order to be fit for the quarterfinals, said vice-captain Ross Taylor on Wednesday. "We are looking at having Kyle Mills and Daniel Vettori fit for the quarterfinals. Their injuries have come along fine but they probably are not ready for this match," said stand-in-skipper Taylor. more..

Mar 17 (PTI) Acting on a petition by BJP President Nitin Gadkari, the National Human Rights Commission has asked the Ministry of External Affairs to submit a report on the issue of attacks on Indian fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy. The BJP leader had submitted the petition in person to the rights panel, seeking its intervention on the matter. The petition contended that fishermen of Tamil Nadu sometimes stray into the Sri Lankan waters without more..

Mar 17 (GDI) Sri Lankan Sports Authorities today imposed a ban on Boxer Manju Wanniarachchi from taking part in any national or international games. The National Anti Doping Agency of Sri Lanka in accordance with the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) code has imposed a provisional suspension on him from taking part in the games effective from today. This would apply to national and international games until the completion of hearings against him by more..

Mar 17 (IANS) A Sri Lankan minister has warned that recurring clashes between Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen may spark off a major showdown because the dispute is not getting resolved. Minister Douglas Devananada said that there was mounting anger among Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen over what he described as repeated incursions by Tamil fishermen from India. "I am afraid the issue is going to take a serious turn, become a serious crisis," Devananda, a Tamil, said. more..

Mar 17 (CM) A missing woman was yesterday found dead in a gruesome state at a pig farm in the Limassol district where she had been working, beaten and tied to a concrete block thrown into a lake of wastewater. The 37-year-old woman from Sri Lanka was reported missing from her workplace at the pig farm in Monagroulli, where she worked the last year and a half, on the afternoon of March 3. Police were notified yesterday afternoon of her possible location when more..

Mar 17 (LBO) State-run Sri Lankan Airlines said it will operate a special flight from Tokyo's Narita airport on March 17 for Sri Lankans who want to come back to the island. The airline said flight UL1423 will depart Tokyo at 1630 hours on March 17 and arrive in Colombo at 0015 hours on March 18. Citizens of many countries have scrambled to get out of Japan following an earthquake, tsunami and growing fears of radiation leaks from an overheating reactor. more..

Mar 17 (LBO) A Maldivian wanted for a 2007 terror bombing in Male was arrested there after his transit through Sri Lanka was detected by an INTERPOL team deployed for Cricket World Cup security support. INTERPOL said in a statement the Maldives national Iqbal Mohamed was arrested less than six hours after his passport triggered an INTERPOL alarm as he travelled from Pakistan to the Maldives via Sri Lanka. Mohamed was the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice for more..

Mar 17 (SL) Former Army Commander and DNA Leader Sarath Fonseka’s wife Anoma Fonseka has denied media reports about Fonseka aides being denied refugee status by the Nepalese government saying that their relatives have not sought asylum overseas. Anoma Fonseka has told a private electronic media institution that none of her relatives had sought refugee status in Nepal. more..

Mar 17 (LG) Honourable Robert Blake, Your are no doubt aware of an organization calling itself the Transnational Govt of Tamil Eelam comprised of a segment of the expatriate Sri Lankan Tamil community residing in the USA, Canada and other western countries who are yet pursuing the break up of the sovereign independant nation state of Sri Lanka, to create a mono-ethnic racist Tamil only state on territory extending to one-third of the land area and two-thirds of the more..

Mar 17 (LG) In a recently published an article by Dayan Jayatilleka makes a wonderful observation of some kind of journalism that prevails in in Sri Lanka, comparing it to history writing published in Sri Lankan newspapers. In both people without qualifications do the writing, he says. How true! Just take the rubbish published under “Underpala” column in LakbimaNews, by someone known also as “Pundaya”. In Sri Lanka “Underya” and “ Pundaya” tradition of more..

Mar 17 (SL) UNP MP Rosy Senanayake has been traversing the country, campaigning for the upcoming local government elections. The Sunday Leader met with her on Wednesday to talk about the conditions in the villages and her personal experiences on the campaign trail. Excerpts: Q: You have been traveling around the country campaigning for the upcoming local govt elections. How has the going been so far? A: The going is very good for the UNP, but more..

Mar 17 (DM) It’s a local government election, none appear to care except the candidates’ – incapable of enthusing the electorate. The voters find the World Cup a more satisfying exercise than sorry politics- switch channels to watch cricketers and avoid politicians. Television was the last refuge of the politicians to reach the people; with prime time lost, the point of contact is gone. With a dismal voter turnout - a tendency at local government elections, more..

Mar 17 (ST) My dear voter, I thought I must write to you because most of you will be called upon to vote yet again on Thursday despite doing your democratic duties several times in the last two years in provincial, presidential and general elections. I know you may not be really keen on voting this time around; after all, there is a World Cup going on and most of you are more interested in the number of runs Mahela makes or Malinga’s hairstyle rather than being bothered about more..

Mar 17 (BL) One of the giants in the motor vehicle industry, Japan’s Suzuki Motors is keen on investing in Sri Lanka and one of its top shareholders, Isomi Suzuki has arrived in the island to explore massive investment prospects in Sri Lanka, according to reliable sources. “Isomi Suzuki will be visiting Hambantota to assess for himself the viability of investing in Hambantota. Japan’s Suzuki Motors have taken stock of the fact that more..

Mar 17 (ST) The UN Human Rights Council sessions continue in Geneva this month, while the report of the UN Secretary General’s expert panel on Sri Lanka (‘war crimes’ panel) is expected to come out any time soon. As these weighty deliberations take place the image of post war Sri Lanka projected in the western world is not one of a country that has overcome the scourge of terrorism, ended a three decades long conflict and now holds out the distinct prospect of a more..

Mar 17 (TC) Sri Lanka is fortunate to be endowed with a very large number of trees, some of which even have historical, cultural, social and religious value, growing in all parts of the country. In June 2009, the Bio-diversity Secretariat of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources published a book depicting some important trees, an endeavour that took them several years. However, it has to be noted that two of the trees provided in the text were destroyed within the year itself. more..

Mar 17 (SO) An advertisement for a topical cream that claims to shape your body starts like that. The product’s manufacturers boast that this is their invention for 2010 and the luring continues. Therapeutic drugs and cosmetics have become a modern day craze and a ‘hard to-do-without’ item among not only the fashion conscious, but all and sundry. Many women as well as men in our society want to enhance their looks. more..

Mar 17 (SL) The recent statement by Britain’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, to the effect that multiculturalism has been a failure in Great Britain has been pounced on by various Sri Lankan “experts” who, have never heard the admonition that it is better to keep one’s mouth shut and be considered an idiot than to open it and confirm the fact. The majority of these, inevitably, are those that subscribe to a belief that the post-conflict status quo in this country is ideal in terms of more..

Mar 17 (SL) I grew up in America. In my school I was the only brown person for years. I remember going to a country club swimming pool once, with my friend. Amidst the sea of white bodies, I felt like you could see me from space. The people in that suburban town, however, were never racist to me. They never made me feel like anything other than a kid who’d grown up in that town. Thus, I have a great faith in the American people. The problem is that the trauma of 9/11 has beget fear, and more..

Mar 17 (SL) Diplomacy used to be a job. G.L. Peiris is turning it into a vacation. In a death blow to the already ‘suffocating’ professional service, the Minister of External Affairs is trying to stuff the Foreign Service with sons and daughters of politicians and artists, all based on political support. Rather than sending out the best abroad, we are now sending out the best connected. On March 9 the good Professor signed a Cabinet Paper, seeking more..

Mar 17 (Island) The country goes to the polls today to elect representatives to local government authorities. Elections to some LG bodies have been postponed due to legal and political reasons. The voter turnout is expected to be low at today's polls. There are signs of the so-called election fatigue having set in. People cannot either make or break governments at LG polls and therefore they are usually less enthusiastic about voting. However, this time around, more..

Mar 17 (DM) The much awaited Local Government Polls are here, finally. What is disturbing in our democracy is that aberrations have become the norm. The violence related to the very basic form of the non-violent method of rule has become high, while citizens have developed an aversion towards the entire system. So much so that NGOs have to engage in awareness campaigns of the importance of exercising the franchise. The malaise is not peculiar to Sri Lanka but very much more..

Mar 17 (LT) The govt has displayed its bankruptcy by carrying out a slander campaign against the JVP just before the commencement of the local govt elections says the JVP MP Vijithe Herath. He said the govt, as a part of its election propaganda against the JVP, attempted to create various ‘Billas’ and now when the ‘Billas’ have failed is attempting to use school children in their ‘satanic’ attempt to throw mud at the JVP. more..

Mar 17 (FT) Most listed companies are non compliant with several mandatory standards, rules as well as legislations, an analysis done by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revealed. “We found violations and non compliances with Sri Lanka Auditing Standards (SLAS), Listing Rules and the Companies Act. It was observed that SLAS 30, SLAS 18 and section 7.6 and 7.10 of the Listing Rules were mostly violated,” the SEC said. more..

Mar 17 (CI) By the time Shane Watson and Brad Haddin were launching the ball with frightening regularity into sparsely populated stands at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Australia had taken control of a game that extended their unbeaten run in World Cups to 34 matches, and vaulted them from fourth to first in Group A. Though the margin of victory - seven wickets with 91 balls to spare - was huge, they did not have it easy throughout. Canada ambushed them with the bat, and more..

Mar 17 (LB) Hundreds and thousands of harassed Golden Key depositors alleged that the Lakshman R Watawala committee appointed by the government on June 11, 2010 to provide them redress is in fact a group of parasites intent on sucking the blood of the greatly distressed depositors. The Lakshman R Watawala committee also consists of Mahendra Panduka and Nelson R Silva. Chairperson GKDS, Anusha Emmert charged that more..

Mar 17 (DN) The examination system in universities and other higher education institutions have been remodelled to ensure more transparency and avoid flaws in the system of correcting answer scripts. Under this system, students themselves will be given an opportunity to peruse their corrected answer scripts so that they could satisfy themselves that there had been no mistakes in the marking system, said Higher Education Minister S B Dissanayake. more..

Mar 17 (DN) Minister Dr Mervyn Silva said, information has been received that Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) organization is conspiring to undermine the UPFA victory in the Local Government polls. He has sent a letter to the Elections Commissioner in this regard. The Minister said action has already been taken to give a wide propaganda after the LG polls to the effect that the UPFA had been engaged in malpractices and other fraudulent activities on election day. more..

Mar 17 (CI) Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka vice-captain, has said travelling away from Sri Lanka has allowed the team to spend more time together, away from the distractions they face back home. Sri Lanka played their first five group games at home, but have travelled to Mumbai for their sixth match, against New Zealand on Friday. "When we are at home as a team there are so many things that are happening; we hardly spend time together," more..

Mar 17 (DM) A large number of eligible voters in some parts of the country have still not received their polling cards for today’s local council elections, a leading election monitoring group said yesterday. PAFFREL Executive Director, Rohana Hettiarachchi said a person who had not received his or her polling card was still eligible to vote if their name appeared in the 2009 voters’ registry. “In case an officer stops you from voting, you must notify an Elections Department representative,” he said. more..

Mar 17 (DM) More than 100 students from the Northern Province have been prevented from sitting the GCE A/L examination as they have exceeded the age limit to apply as school candidates, the Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) said yesterday. CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said these children were unable to attend school for several years due to the then prevailing conflict and though they have resumed their studies and attending schools, they were unable to apply as more..

Mar 17 (Island) The JVP yesterday said that they were confident of winning the Tissamaharama Pradeshiya Sabha at the March 17 LG polls. They said that the government could not prevent the JVP from regaining the PS in spite of the UPFA carrying out a violent campaign targeting them. Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath alleged that there was absolutely no truth in President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s claim that the JVP was trying to involve the student community in politics. more..

Mar 17 (NF) There are both positives and negatives of technological advancement. Newsfirst brings a report of a young inventor who has invented a remarkable devise that could be used for the good of mankind. Janith Tharanga Hettiarachchi who is a resident of the Thalala in Dikwela earns his living by repairing radios, televisions and other electronic equipment. This successful invention tells of Tharanga's technological prowess and skill which goes well beyond his occupation. more..

Mar 17 (BBC) There will be no voting centres in Vanni for IDPs in the local elections "We have not organised voting centres for the displaced" Vanni district Deputy Elections Commissioner A. S. Karunanidhi told the BBC. "Under the local authority proceedings, there are no provisions to organise such voting facilities for displaced people. The only way they can cast their vote is by travelling to the original constituency". more..

Mar 17 (LBO) Japan has sent a nano-technology expert and will provide related equipment to Sri Lanka to help the island develop applications that make exports more competitive. The aid will be given by Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) to the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC) under a deal signed Wednesday, the aid agency said in a statement. JICA’s assistance includes the dispatch of a Japanese expert who helped start MEMS/NEMS more..

Mar 17 (LBO) Customers of Sri Lankan banks will be able to get cash over-the-counter quicker from April 01, following technical upgrades to speed up processes, the island's central cheque clearing house said. LankaClear, Sri Lanka's central clearing house, already provides next day credit for cheques with the use of electronic clearing (cheque image and truncation) but funds usually come after 3.00 pm when bank counters are closed. more..

Mar 17 (Island) The UNP will win today’s Local Government Elections, if it was free and fair, the party’s Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya said yesterday. Jayasuriya told a news conference in Colombo that they had campaigned in every part of the country including the North and East and received a tremendous response, indicating that the people had lost confidence in the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime, which has failed miserably on the economic front. more..