Aug 15 (LG) At the height of the LTTE's final battle for the survival of terror through the holding of thousands of civilians hostage and as human shields for the safety of the terrorist leaders, and was using all available civilian from children to the aged to carry weapons for the cause of terror, Amnesty International (AI) was among the international organizations, along with some western countries, that tried to do their best to extend a lifeline to Prabhakaran and more..

Aug 15 (LG) Women have from time immemorial assumed the role of nurturers and caregivers. This is a role that they have performed abundantly well and we all know this from personal experience. Our mothers performed thus role well. This traditional responsibility notwithstanding, there have been many instances where women have changed the course of history through their leadership, their contribution to the arts, the sciences and politics. more..

Aug 15 (GV) A little boy stares through barbed wire, wondering which direction his home is. He reaches out to rest his fingers between the rusted knots of wire but his watchful mother calls out to him to be careful. At the same time, a soldier patrolling nearby walks briskly up to him and pushes him back. �Listen to your mother� the soldier tells him not unkindly in shaky Tamil. The boy looks up along yards of camouflage material and searches the soldier�s face. more..

Aug 15 (GV) While acknowledging the meritorious work of Sri Lanka Unites and the passion being exhibited by such young people in contrast to the general apathy of most of their peers, as a Sri Lankan I feel it is my duty to bring to note certain issues that must be brought to light. Firstly, I am astounded and dismayed by Prashan De Visser�s message to the participants of the �Future Leader�s Conference� organized by Sri Lanka Unites. more..

Aug 15 (LP) Police have discovered bodies of two Tamil young women in a canal behind �Russian car park� on Bauddaloka Mawatha Colombo 07 this morning (15) on information from neihgbours. SSP Ranjith Gunasekara said that the two young women named Suwandi and Jeewarani were domestic helps in two Muslim households. One family being away had left their domestic help Jeewarani in the house where Suwandi worked. more..

Aug 15 (LP) Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs and Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama�s eagle eye is drawn to the need to revise the cost of living allowance through the 2010 Budget proposal. However the minister added that it was too early to reveal details. In the �budget call stage� the minister is involved in discussions with the Private sector and the Trade unions to accommodate their proposals. more..

Aug 15 (MoD) Family members and kinsfolk of Internally Displaced Persons in IDP welfare villages of Vavuniya had remitted nearly Rs.100 million during the past two months to 5,000 IDPs who opened new accounts with a zero balance at the Bank of Ceylon. The bank first wanted to serve the people to secure their valuables and cash and came to their help from February this year, more..

Aug 15 (LT) Most of the individuals taken abroad by a politician holding a ministerial post in the Central Provincial Council declaring them as his staff have not returned to the island say reports. The number taken abroad and �planted� in those countries by this politician is said to exceed fifty and curiously most of them who have not returned are said to be Tamils. The politician�s last trip abroad has been to Korea and eight persons who accompanied the politician have not returned. more..

Aug 15 (LT) Due to the existing economic crisis there is a risk of 9.5 million people in Sri Lanka falling below extreme poverty level say economists. According to Central Bank report for 2008 the average monthly expenditure of a family in Sri Lanka is Rs.16974.00. It is also revealed the monthly income of such a family is Rs. 10,800.00. It is further revealed that the monthly income of 262,000 families that include more than 1,132,000 people is only Rs.5400.00. more..

Aug 15 (CI) Pakistan offspinner Saeed Ajmal has said he exchanged tips with Muttiah Muralitharan on bowling the doosra during the tour of Sri Lanka. Murali, Test cricket's highest wicket-taker and one the leading practitioners of the doosra, was interested in how Ajmal bowled the same delivery. "Yes we had a few chats, it was interesting and useful to talk to a great bowler like Murali," Ajmal told Pakpassion.net. more..

Aug 15 (LT) An audit report reveals that Minister of Labour Mervin Silva has defrauded Rs.7 million in getting two official vehicles and obtaining fuel. Despite the allocated amount to buy a car and a double cab is Rs.13000000.00, Minister Mervin had spent Rs.3,680,000.00 more for the vehicles. Also, the minister has spent Rs.2,954,023.00 more than his allocation of one million rupees for fuel for the period between January, 2007 to 31st August. more..

Aug 15 (LT) Attempts are being made to sweep under the carpet the allegations brought at the Human Rights Commission against Diyawadana Nilame Nilanga Dela for displacing twenty five gold plated statues of Lord Buddha donated by Thailand Buddhists and unscrupulously handling of the bank accounts of the Temple of the Tooth. The Human Rights Commission which examined petitions filed by several civil organizations and individuals presented its report on the 2nd March, 2009. more..

Aug 15 (LT) Thakshila Vidyalaya in Gampaha has not received the required number of Physics question papers at the G.C.E. A/L examination held today say reports. As a result the officials in charge of examination centre had to get the question papers photocopied say these reports. As the officials were unaware that a less number of question papers were in packets they had distributed the question papers and more..

Aug 15 (DN) The news item where UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe charged that Rs. 900 million were collected from schoolchildren as exam fees recently is totally false. It is regretting to note that, as usual, Wickremesinghe was most probably mislead by some one, who gave wrong information and figures, the Education Ministry said. The term tests for schools were conducted by the Provincial Councils. more..

Aug 15 (PSM) The results of the Jaffna Municipal Council and Vavuniya Urban Council could be summarized as follows: �The lowest turnout in Jaffna Municipal Council and a little higher turnout in Vavuniya Urban Council show that the voters have not yet settled down. They have their other priorities than exercising their franchise. �The Tamil political parties who are with the Government (EPDP, EPRLF (P) wing) contested under the UPFA symbol in the Jaffna Municipal Council. more..

Aug 15 (MoD) The Steering Committee on IDPs and the Health Emergency Preparedness Unit (HEPU) of the Health Ministry focused attention on health care measures for the forthcoming North-East monsoons. The Health Ministry said they will take emergency measures in case the Northern parts - especially if the welfare camps get flooded. The North and East has its highest rainfall in September and October, a Ministry spokesman said. more..

Aug 15 (LT) The stock of Grade 8 text books printed by Educational Publications Department for year 2008 and sent for recycling is now kept at Valachchena paper factory. On the 6th of this month �Lankatruth� reported that fraudulent education officials who were aware that the curriculum would be changed from 2010 had a large number of these text books printed to make their commission bigger. more..

Aug 15 (DN) The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) at a meeting scheduled for next week will determine on how individuals and institutions involved in uploading pornographic pictures and videos to the internet could be tackled. According to TRCSL Director General Priyantha Kariyapperuma, the Commission will convene IT experts from the Colombo University and other institutions specializing in IT, more..

Aug 15 (Island) Society is on the brink of a serious law and order crisis when custodians of the law and civil security resort to extra-judicial; violence, Bishop of Colombo the Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera said in a statement yesterday. Full text of the Bishop�s statement: The recent spate of violence perpetrated by certain Officers of the Police Force against civilians is cause for grave public concern. more..

Aug 15 (DN) Restrict travel to India as much as possible to prevent getting infected with Novel Influenza (A)H1N1. Persons who cannot avoid trips to India should take all precautionary actions to prevent getting infected, Chief Epidemiologist, the Epidemiology Unit of the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry, Dr. Paba Palihawadana said. She said that since India is already affected by the disease, Sri Lankans should avoid travelling to India as much as possible. more..

Aug 15 (DN) Moves are under way by the Higher Education Ministry to uplift technological education so as to keep up with the global trends in modern technology. As part of these initiatives, the Higher Education Ministry will set up three new �Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education� (SLIATE) in Vavuniya, Tangalle and Ratnapura allowing more youths to enter the technological field which is growing rapidly. more..

Aug 15 (LNW) It is has now been revealed that the much publicized story about the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) apprehending a bomb laden van in Uppukulam, Mannar is false. The main aim of the propaganda campaign had been to prevent attention from being focussed on the attack on SLIIT student Nipuna Ramanyake allegedly carried out by CCD Direcotr, Vaas Gunawarndena. Secuirty sources say that the explosives shown in the media were ones that were recovered from elsewahere. more..

Aug 15 (Island) A senior official of the Ministry of Labour said the proposed Unemployment Benefits Insurance Scheme is being delayed because the committee appointed to draft the scheme is yet to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa to seek his approval. This scheme is aimed at providing temporary relief to those workers who lost their jobs due to the adverse impact of the global financial crisis on Sri Lanka�s industrial sector, particularly exports. more..

Aug 15 (DN) In our cherished history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, the Bellanwila Raja Maha Viharaya occupies a very prominent place. Its history goes back to the era of King Devanampiyatissa. With the advent of Buddhism to Sri Lanka, Ven. Sanghamitta Therani, daughter of Emperor Asoka brought the Jaya Sri Maha Bo - Saplings to Anuradhapura. After the spread of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, many Bo - Saplings of Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi were planted throughout more..

Aug 15 (Island) This country has come to such a pass that it looks as if people had to be protected against the police, some of whose members have proved to be as bad as, if not worse than, the criminals they pursue. There are, of course, good officers and men in the department but their errant counterparts have ruined the image of the guardians of the law irreparably. Hardly a day passes without a public complaint against the police. more..

Aug 15 (DM) An anti-LTTE Tamil political party which polled the second largest number of votes at the election to the Vavuniya Urban Council said yesterday that under the present conditions it was unrealistic to expect a political solution that went beyond the 13th Amendment. A former parliamentarian and PLOTE leader Dharmalingam Siththarthan told Daily Mirror a meaningful implementation of the 13th Amendment would only be possible if more..

Aug 15 (Island) The Officer in Charge of the Angulana Police post and five other policemen, who were produced before the Mount Lavinia Magistrate in connection with the death of two youth on Wednesday night, were remanded till August 26. The bodies of two youth, Dinesh Tharanga Fernando (26) and Dhanushka Udayakantha, were found at dawn on Thursday near the Ratmalana Cooperative Society and the Lunawa Bridge, respectively. more..

Aug 15 (DM) Mystery surrounds the death in Tanzania of Sri Lankan lawyer Shyamlal Rajapaksa a brother of parliamentarian Nirupama Rajapaksa and a second cousin of President Mahinda Rajapaksa after the Tanzanian police rejected claims that he was killed by robbers who had broken into the house. The reports said that Shyamlal Rajapaksa -- an associate trial attorney of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), was found dead on Tuesday morning at more..

Aug 15 (DM) How many in Colombo, even among Tamil civilians, have an idea as to what exactly is happening in the IDP camps in Vavuniya and elsewhere? Not more than a few indeed. How many Tamil civilians living in Colombo for decades know as to what exactly their fellow Tamil civilians in the North and the East want as a political solution? Perhaps a handful and only what is gathered by those who still visit the North and the East or from their relatives based in those areas when they visit Colombo. more..

Aug 15 (DM) Colombo Crime Division head, SSP Vas Gunawardena, who is at the centre of a controversy over his alleged involvement in the alleged abduction and assault on an IT student, has been transferred to Police Headquarters with immediate effect. Police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekara told Daily Mirror that SSP Gunawardena had been transferred yesterday on the direction of IGP Jayantha Wickramaratne. more..

Aug 15 (LT) The budget for year 2009 reveals that maintaining 23 ministries cost four times more than the annual allocations for development. The government with the mega cabinet spends Rs.311090 million (recurrent expenditure) for the maintenance of 23 of its ministries. However, only Rs.89500 million (capital expenditure) has been allocated for development. more..

Aug 15 (AP) Sri Lanka's Roman Catholic leaders called for the release of ethnic Tamils held in military-run displacement camps on Saturday, saying they are confined like prisoners behind barbed wire. The leaders made the appeal during an annual feast at the island's holiest Catholic shrine in the former northern war zone. The government lifted a blockade on the Our Lady of Madhu shrine the day before to allow more..

Aug 16 (GV) These are the first images of the flooding in Menik Camp, where over 260,000 IDPs are interned. Groundviews was first to break the news on Friday that flooding on account of torrential rain was severely affecting thousands of IDPs, particularly in Zones 3 and 4 of Menik Camp. While heavy rain has stopped, intermittent showers are continuing, exacerbating the hellish camp conditions as flagged by updates from Vidura today. more..

Aug 16 (LNW) Cultural Affairs Minister Piyasiri Wijenayake has stated that he was concerned about the statements made by Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, who is also the Cabinet Spokesperson, that were critical of the President with regard to the action taken by him following a Presidential directive to address several complaints sent by parents with regard to the telecast of programmes unsuitbale for childen in radion and TV channels. more..

Aug 16 (LG) �As our liberation movement has decided to silence the guns and follow a politico diplomatic path, our cadres in the homeland would follow this decision. Since we do not have an open political space in the homeland to engage in political activities, our cardres cannot openly engage in any political activities at this point in time,� KP has pointed out in his final article regarding the political programme of Eelam Tamils in the current context of our homeland. But he was failed. more..

Aug 16 (MoD) Chief Of Defense Staff (CDS), General Sarath Fonseka and Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya and senior officers who visited Jaffna area today (15), were received by the Commanding Officer Security Forces Jaffna ,Major General G.P.R. De Silva, Air Force Base Commander, Palaly, and Senior Officers. 11th Sinha Regiment presented a ceremonial Guard and more..

Aug 16 (AT) In his speech to the Sri Lankan parliament announcing the victorious end to the 25 year old Eelam War, President Rajapakse proclaimed the de-existence of minorities. His claim was so outrageously absurd that few took it seriously. In September, a piece of legislation premised on this Presidential concept will be presented to the parliament. If passed into law, it will empower the Elections Commissioner to �de-recognise� political parties �bearing the identity of a religion or a race�. more..

Aug 16 (AT) A well executed plan of government intelligence agencies led to KP�s arrest � Gotabhaya Rajapakse. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse reiterates that the arrest of KP alias Kumaran Padmanadan is the outcome of a long term plan implemented with commitment. The intelligence and security divisions were aware of the information regarding KP since the beginning. more..

Aug 16 (AT) The casket with the remains of Shyamlal Rajapaksa, a Sri Lankan lawyer is expected to reach Colombo today morning. Shyamlal Rajapaksa who was working at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), in Arusha, located in Tanzania who is related to the current Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has been found dead in Arusha in mysterious circumstances. more..

Aug 16 (AT) A pre-election public opinion poll conducted within the Jaffna Municipal Council in the run-up to the Jaffna elections showed that the majority of voters had �no interest in Sri Lankan politics at all.� The majority also said that they registered for voting in the process. Also, a majority of Jaffna voters did not want to reveal to whom they were intending to vote on the elections day. more..

Aug 16 (CI) Though only around 25 overs were possible in the day, Pakistan A consolidated their advantage and are now just 53 away from victory with all ten wickets intact. Despite a sixth-wicket 161-run stand between Muthumudalige Pushpakumara (95) and captain Kaushal Silva (79 not out) which rescued Sri Lanka A from what seemed a hopeless situation at 30 for 5, the hosts could only muster a lead of 66 while following on. more..

Aug 16 (FL) Fiji�s Chief Justice Anthony Gates is currently recruiting judges from Sri Lanka. Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum confirmed this to FijiLive saying Fiji is looking at sourcing qualified judges from Commonwealth member countries. Justice Gates said the government planned sweeping judicial changes in April next year and since Fiji and Sri Lanka were countries that inherited similar judicial systems, he wished to recruit judicial officers from Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 16 (SL) The recently arrested LTTE�s self proclaimed leader and chief arms procurer, Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP was responsible for building a large scale international network that was funded through drug trafficking and diaspora funding to militarily strengthen the organisation commencing the early 1990s. The international operation launched by KP saw huge finances being used for more..

Aug 16 (SL) Joint opposition political parties have petitioned the Supreme Court challenging a parliamentary bill tabled in the House on August 6 on the basis that it is inconsistent with the constitution and a violation of Article 14 that guarantees freedom of association. The second batch of petitioners include the UNP, government coalition partner LSSP, TNA and SLFP (M) Convenor Mangala Samaraweera. more..

Aug 16 (SL) Not soon after Sashi Rajapakse was savouring his newly set record of achieving the astonishing rate of 85% of the preferential votes, the UNP Deputy Leader, Karu Jayasuriya issued a statement that was incisive and stirring all in one. The calm and quietly spoken �gentleman politician� from the Gampaha District, spoke of the need to be patient. Acknowledging that the UNP is �down� he categorically stated that the party was by no means �out.� more..

Aug 16 (SL) Full blown troubles have started between Lakshman Watawala � the chief promoter of new legislation on �local CIMA� branding and business schools � attempting to continue using the traditional logo of CIMA in Sri Lanka. Since The Sunday Leader on July 26 exposed the inequity of the Parliamentary Act, giving life to the present confusion, Watawala has sought and obtained an injunction against the use of the CIMA logo. more..

Aug 16 (LB) The UNP is now so boring you could fall asleep just staring at that green elephant. The United National Party was routed in the North, and what a drubbing it was. It polled 228 votes in Vavuniya and a mortifying 83 votes in Jaffna. Eighty-three, ladies and gentlemen, is the age Ranil Wickremesinghe would be in twenty years � and, by god, he would still be the leader of the United National Party. more..

Aug 16 (LB) Political appointees as Ministry permanent secretaries have crippled public administration and financial discipline in the public sector. "Lack of experience and education on administrative procedures of political appointees has become a serious issue in the Administrative Service", union members said. It was reported earlier that out of 55 ministry secretaries, 23 were political appointees. more..

Aug 16 (LB) While people in the Uva province who are majority Sinhalese voted overwhelmingly for the ruling UPFA, electing a member of the Rajapaksa family as the chief minister in the provincial elections held on August 8, the majority of the Tamils living in the municipal council area in Jaffna as well as the urban council area in Vavuniya, either voted against the ruling party, or abstained from voting at the mini polls on the same day. more..

Aug 16 (LB) Now, Anarkalli wants to get into politics. She says there is much she thinks she can do for the people. Everybody who wants to get into politics says there is much they can do for the people. How long have the people been done to in this way? I�d say very very long. On the average there are at least twenty new beauty queens, actresses and other mini-celebrities getting into politics each year, announcing what they want to do, to... I mean for the people. more..