Feb 15 (DM) A seminar organized by Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at a hall in Kiribathgoda yesterday evening had to be cancelled after the owner had refused to use the hall after alleged pressure from a government politician in the Gampaha district. Western Provincial Councillor Sisira Jayakody said the seminar was cancelled all of a sudden due to pressure from the politician of the area. more..

Feb 15 (Island) The five-party Socialist Alliance has decided to support the candidatures of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL), Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), Democratic Left Front (DLF) and the Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya (SLMP) contesting under the UPFA banner and the betel leaf symbol during the upcoming elections, said Socialist Alliance general secretary and ex-MP Raja Collure. more..

Feb 15 (Island) Although the UNP Working committee had decided that the UNF should contest the next parliamentary polls under the Elephant symbol and the colour, Green, if there were alternative proposals from the leaders of other parties, the UNP was amenable to negotiations with a view to forging an opposition alliance, UNP and Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe told the media yesterday more..

Feb 15 (AD) The CID on Friday had sealed four safety lockers belonging to Dhanuna Thilakaratne�s mother in a bank in Colombo, sources reported. The CID this morning had opened the safety lockers in the presence of Dhanuna Thilakaratne�s mother, Asoka Tillkeratne and had found around 525,000 US dollars and some Sri Lankan rupees as well. Dhanuna is Gen. Fonseka�s son-in-law. more..

Feb 15 (DM) Holding a country�s future a hostage to political drama has always been a threat that state and non-state actors pose nations all over the world. After the avalanche of a victory by President Mahinda Rajapaksa the countrymen were expecting a period of stability. Yet the arrest of General Sarath Fonseka went on to exacerbate the divisions once again. Adding another dimension to the political and legal drama the four Mahanayakas on Friday issued a statement more..

Feb 15 (DM) The suspension of the Kandy Mayor L.B. Aluwihare led to confusion with a tussle between the Central Provincial Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake and Governor Tikiri Kobekaduwa, with the Minister of Local Government and Provincial Council Janaka Bandara Tennekoon stating he had nothing to do with it. Chief Minister Ekanayake yesterday said he had suspended the Mayor of the Kandy Municipal Council L.B. Aluwihare according to an Act and more..

Feb 15 (DM) Sri Lanka�s master blaster Sanath Jayasuriya is to contest to the upcoming General Elections under the UPFA ticket from the Matara district. UPFA sources said that he will hand over his application papers to contest the polls soon. Meanwhile SLC sources said that Jayasuriya will need clearance from the Sri Lankan Cricket Board in order to contest while playing cricket. more..

Feb 15 (DM) The main suspect in connection with the food tragedy where one student died and 129 students in the primary sections of three schools were admitted to hospital after consuming rice and curry was further remanded till today by the Matale Magistrate Saliya Perera. His wife was released on a personal bail of Rs.100,000. The suspects were involved in providing rice and curry to three schools on contract basis under the National Schools Food Programme. more..

Feb 15 (AD) An investigation is being conducted on the Matara Municipal Council Mayor Upul Nishantha over alleged financial and administrative malpractices, Southern Province Chief Minister Shan Wijeyalal said today. The Chief Minister claimed that he has received a petition signed by Municipal councilors alleging such malpractises. He added that when he received the petition it was due procedure to direct the Provincial Council ministry secretary to probe the allegation. more..

Feb 15 (Island) The four Mahanayaka Thero including the prelates of Malwatte and Asgiriya in a joint memorandum have urged President Mahinda Rajapaksa to release General (Retd.) Sarath Fonseka and his colleagues in custody. The Mahanayake Theros have told the President that hatred cannot be conquered and therefore disregard what Fonseka had uttered during election times. more..

Feb 15 (wsws) In a further violation of basic democratic rights, Sri Lankan authorities are preparing new measures to censor Internet sites critical of the government. Reports of the plan emerged on several web sites last night, amid a widening crackdown on the political opposition, including the arrest last Monday of opposition presidential candidate, General Sarath Fonseka. more..

Feb 15 (PTI) The vanquished Tamil Tigers had a well placed chain of financial institutions called 'Eelam Banks' which provided loan and credit facilities to the people of north and east Sri Lanka, officials have said. The LTTE operated 11 bank branches in Northern Sri Lanka with claims of prompt service and various loan facilities prior to its annihilation in May last year. more..

Feb 15 (AFP) Lawyers in Sri Lanka accused the government Monday of illegally suppressing protests at the arrest of former army chief Sarath Fonseka. Thousands of people taking part in peaceful protests have been attacked by pro-government supporters despite the presence of armed police, the independent Lawyers for Democracy said in a statement. "We were shocked to witness that protesters were first attacked by hooligans more..

Feb 15 (AP) A police spokesman says an explosion in northern Sri Lanka has killed two students and wounded six others. Prishantha Jayakody says the authorities were investigating the nature of the explosive device which killed the Tamil students in Jaffna. Jayakody says that the Monday blast happened after the students first picked up and then threw away a small ball-like object. more..

Feb 15 (IRIN) Sri Lankan government officials aim to resettle more than 100,000 IDPs by April after missing a self-imposed deadline to move everyone out of camps in the country�s north by end-January. Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services, said the delay was due in part to incomplete demining activities in northern areas. more..

Feb 15 (PTI) Despite the killings of top LTTE leaders, including its chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, and the decimation of the rebels, the concept of Tamil Eelam has not died out amongst those harbouring it, Sri Lankan Army chief has warned. "Even at present those who had connections with terrorists and the Tamil Diaspora overseas are still discussing the possibility of establishing a state of Eelam more..

Feb 15 (PTI) Sri Lankan government today said it will send a delegation to meet the country�s powerful Buddhist monks to clarify the reasons behind the detention of former army chief Sarath Fonseka, after they asked President Mahinda Rajapaksa, to release the �gallant officer�. �The government will be soon sending a delegation to (Central) Kandy to meet the Mahanayakas of the four chapters to clarify the situation,� more..

Feb 15 (AP) The main partner in Sri Lanka's opposition coalition will contest the next elections independently, officials said Monday, the first split since its defeated presidential candidate was arrested for alleged sedition. UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe told reporters Sunday that his party had decided to go it alone, but might still field joint candidates with others in the April 8 polls. more..

Feb 16 (Reuters) Sri Lankan shares rose 0.2 percent on Monday as reatil investors sought to take advantage of the drop in prices to a one-week low in the previous session. The benchmark index fell 2.1 percent in the four sessions to Friday and ended at its lowest since Feb. 5 on Friday, on growing political uncertainty and low foreign inflows. The All-Share Price Index closed 7.54 points or 0.2 percent firmer at 3,717.51, more..

Feb 16 (BBC) A court in Sri Lanka has heavily criticised the police for arresting an opposition politician without a valid reason. The Colombo chief magistrate granted bail to UNP Mannar District organiser Noordeen Mashur, ruling the arrest by the police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) as unjustifiable. Champa Janaki Rajaratne told the open court that such action will lead to the police becoming 'jokers' in the public eye. more..

Feb 16 (TS) Every Saturday, on one of the main roads leading off London�s famous Trafalgar Square, locals and tourists briefly stop to watch a group of protesters singing, dancing and chanting outside the Zimbabwean Embassy. This is the Zimbabwe Vigil coalition, which has been holding demonstrations against President Robert Mugabe�s brutal dictatorship since October 2002. more..

Feb 16 (AF) The Church in Sri Lanka "which is acting in compliance with the institutions and has expressed its concern, is confident in the national legal system, without renouncing her prophetic role and proclaiming the values of peace and justice." This is what Agenzia Fides recently learned from Bishop Vianney Fernando of Kandy, President of the Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka. more..

Feb 16 (PTI) A court on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Gen. (Retd.) Sarath Fonseka�s son-in-law in a multi-million dollar defence scam, spelling more trouble for the defeated opposition presidential candidate who is already detained for treason charges. The Colombo Fort Magistrate issued an arrest warrant for Dhanuna Tillekaratna over the multi-million dollar Hicorp deal, a defence contract which was awarded when Gen. Fonseka was the army chief. more..

Feb 16 (CaFFE) A group of about hundred protesters backed by Sri Lanka's Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna clashed with the police this morning in the town of Tangalle in Southern Sri Lanka. The police baton charged and dispersed the protesters who rallied around the central bus stand in the town and blocked the traffic disturbing the public. Six protestors have been arrested, police said. more..

Feb 16 (PW) Lanka IOC PLC the Sri Lankan arm of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), is disputing reports from local press and other sources that at least one of its bunker tankers has been detained by authorities for regulatory infringements. Managing director of the Sri Lankan bunker supplier, K.R. Suresh Kumar, told Bunkerworld on Monday that "there is no issue at all" regarding any of its barges. more..

Feb 16 (Reuters) The European Union said on Monday it planned to withdraw preferential trade benefits to Sri Lanka because of concerns about the south Asian island's human rights record. The European Commission, which oversees the 27-nation bloc's trade policy, said an investigation had revealed significant shortcomings in Sri Lanka's implementation of three UN human rights conventions more..

Feb 16 (DPA) Sri Lanka's Buddhist clergy was reportedly divided Monday over the arrest and detention of former army commander General Sarath Fonseka on charges of conspiring against the government. The split appeared to surface after some of the most prominent Buddhist monks issued a statement calling for Fonseka's release, while others reportedly defended the February 8 arrest. more..

Feb 16 (Ekklesia) The Anglican Bishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka, the Rt Revd Duleep de Chickera has expressed deep concern over the arrest of retired former army chief Sarath Fonseka, as the country faces yet more political turmoil. The order for the arrest was issued in the midst of unprecedented security, as thousands of protesters had clashed with a pro-government group last week. "The manner of the arrest and detention of General Sarath Fonseka has more..

Feb 16 (Hindu) The World Bank on Monday clarified that the Institutional Development Fund (IDF) Grant for the Sri Lanka Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) has no provision or scope to utilise these funds to implement an Internet censorship programme as implied by a local English weekly paper in its story titled Chinese here for cyber censorship. more..

Feb 16 (Hindu) Sri Lankan government aims to resettle the remaining 100,000 war displaced Tamil civilians, currently housed in temporary shelter camps in Vavuniya district, by April after missing a self-imposed deadline to move everyone out of camps by end-January, IRIN, a news agency under the jurisdiction of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNCHA) reported on Monday. more..

Feb 16 (LT) �Free general Sarath Fonseka�, A massive people�s rally is to be held today (16th) by the JVP against the illegal detention of Sri Lanka�s well loved war hero. The rally is expected to bring pressure on the Government to release the General. It will commence at 3.00 pm with a walk at Campbell Park. Commenting on the rally, MP Vijitha Herath said that the country is shocked by the unlawful arrest of its most recent national hero. more..

Feb 16 (TC) The voting pattern in the North and East is understandable as the Government had failed to attend to the legitimate grievances of the Tamils. It is a protest vote they registered against President Rajapaksa rather than a vote in support of Sarath Fonseka. They expressed confidence that some of the political parties allied to the opposition candidate are more acceptable than more..

Feb 16 (TC) To a segment of Tamils in Sri Lanka, alienation from mainstream life has become a habit of thought. It has now got embedded in sentiment and inertia. Perhaps to a people habituated to fatalistic propensities, this mode of action came a bit too easily. So, for eighty years have we cherished this �gift�, without ever looking it in the mouth. Whatever the vicissitudes in the nation�s political life, we stayed put. more..

Feb 16 (TC) Any master plan for development of tourism for each of the provinces in Sri Lanka should be worked out within the wider framework of the tourism network of the country. For example, Jaffna alone cannot be the desired destination of a tourism development programme; instead it should fit within the market strategy of the tourist industry as a whole or for that matter The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and more..

Feb 16 (NPC) It was reasonable to expect the aftermath of the Presidential election to usher in a period of political stability. The large majority of votes secured by President Mahinda Rajapaksa was impressive on its face and promised benevolence in his decisions after the elections. His unchallenged command over the levers of state power, made it unlikely that there could be any viable opposition to his rule. more..

Feb 16 (AT) Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo has made all the arrangements for the Catholics in Sri Lanka to bring the Holy Relic of St. Anthony to Sri Lanka in March 2010. The Catholics in Sri Lanka are blessed to have this very rare opportunity to see and pray before the Holy Relic of St. Anthony. This Holy Relic is presently at St. Anthony's Shrine in Padua. more..

Feb 16 (RW) The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator has received queries regarding recent comments made by former UN spokesman, Gordon Weiss, in an interview with ABC. These views, communicated to the media are his personal ones and do not represent those of the United Nations. The overall view of the UN on any particular situation comes from statements by the Secretary General or other senior UN figures. more..

Feb 16 (LG) The January 26 Lankan Presidential Elections results, instead of bringing hope and peace to the blood-soaked island,appears to have only brought further trouble to President Rajapakse and his brothers � the virtual power-centre in the country. Nomenclature-wise the Island of nearly 20 million multi-racial and multi-religious land goes as a Democratic, Constitutional Republic since 1972. more..