Oct 1 (LBO) Consumer prices in Colombo rose 5.8 percent in September from a year earlier, accelerating from 5.0 percent in August, the government's statistics office said. In the 30-day of September prices rose 1.0 percent. The so called annual average inflation, a lagging indicator averaged across two years rose to 5.0 percent from 4.5 percent. The fastest rise was seen in food and non-alcoholic beverages which rose 1.7 percent and more..

Oct 1 (CBC) The refugee board accepted 85.5 per cent of Sri Lankans claiming refugee status in Canada during the first six months of 2010 � a rate that is on the high end among countries. An analysis by CBC News of numbers released by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada showed 345 Sri Lankan claims were accepted in six months, while 50 were rejected. Another 705 claims from that period are waiting to be processed. more..

Oct 1 (ST) Nurses in state hospitals island wide launched a sick note campaign a litte while ago to show their displeasure at the government's failure to meet their 11 demands. Sri Lanka Nurses' Union spokesman S.P. Medawatte said the sick note campaign was launched at 7 a.m. today and will continue till 7.am. tomorrow. He said the protest campaign was not aimed at inconveniencing the patients but more..

Oct 1 (MoD) Due to speedy demining process underway in war torn areas in the Northern Province, over 300 acres of paddy fields in Ariyalai East were given back to their original owners on Tuesday. The event was organized in parallel to the grand "Vap Magula" ceremony in "Maha" season. Ariyalai East in the Nallur Divisional Secretariat remained a restricted area for civilians until Army Engineers cleared the area of mines laid by the LTTE. more..

Oct 1 (SL) Former Army Commander and DNA Leader Sarath Fonseka is to be transferred to the Welikada Prison later today (30) from the Naval headquarters where is he is under military detention. The security has been increased around the prisons. Meanwhile, the government said that following the President�s endorsement of a 30-month jail term for Fonseka, he would not be eligible to sit as a Member of Parliament with immediate effect. more..

Oct 1 (TN) A Sinhala Buddhist monk, Ven. Ampitya Sumanaratna Thero, has been on a fast-unto-death campaign demanding construction of Buddhist temples in the predominantly Tamil-speaking Batticaloa district with Saivites, Christians and Muslims. The monk, who has on the fast-unto-death campaign for 3 days also demands appointment of Sinhala officers to Batticaloa District Secretariat, Divisional offices and Courts. more..

Oct 1 (LBO) Sri Lanka has decided to call for fresh tenders to build a section of highway around the capital Colombo as bids from Japanese contractors were too high, an official said. The Colombo city Outer Circular Highway is to be built largely on viaducts. It will provide an effective bypass for north-south bound traffic, reducing through-traffic in the city and traffic jams and improving transit times. more..

Oct 1 (LBO) Central Bank said it will introduce a deposit insurance scheme from October 1 that will help protect small depositors and reduce government liability if a financial institution collapses. Under the scheme, depositors will be compensated up to a maximum of 200,000 rupees per depositor. The initial capital of the Sri Lanka Deposit Insurance Scheme (SLDIS) of 1.1 billion rupees will be provided by the Central Bank, more..

Oct 1 (GDI) The National Child Protection Authority of Sri Lanka is making every endeavour to prevent child abuse which has surfaced prominently after the end of the war. Incidents of child abuse prevailed throughout people did not give much attention to such matters during the time of the war. The Authority has taken several steps to prevent child abuse and victimization of children. more..

Oct 1 (GDI) President has instructed to formulate necessary legislation to provide maximum protection to child labour, prevent child begging, and safeguard women from social discriminations and ill treatment. Accordingly revisions to the prevailing Acts are being undertaken. This was stated by the Minister of Child Development and Women�s Affairs Mr. Tissa Karaliyadda. more..

Oct 1 (BBC) What really happened in the closing stages of Sri Lanka's civil war? There's been a chorus of international demands that the final months - January to May last year - be the subject of an international investigation, with allegations that both the government and the Tamil Tigers committed war crimes causing the deaths of thousands of civilians. more..

Oct 1 (GDI) 1. 60th Anniversary and the 15th General Conference of the World Buddhist Congress: Sri Lanka has been privileged to conduct 60th Anniversary and the 25th General Conference of the World Buddhist Congress in the island from 13 - 17 December, 2010. This event was last held in Sri Lanka in 1984 and has got this opportunity again after 26 years. Organization of' the said series of functions have been assigned to the All Island Buddhist Congress. more..

Oct 1 (GDI) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has directed The Finance Company (TFC) PLC to invite new investors to infuse fresh capital in the form of 40 million ordinary shares at Rs. 40 each, and in particular, attract strategic investors capable of infusing funds and playing an effective leadership role in managing TFC. The Central Bank intervened to stabilize TFC in the face of difficulties encountered by the TFC in February 2009, more..

Oct 1 (SL) DNA Leader Sarath Fonseka�s wife, Anoma Fonseka said the verdict, instead of discouraging her has strengthened her to resolve to fight for her husband�s freedom. She called on the people and the true war heroes in the three armed forces to rally against the court martial verdict that has imprisoned her husband. She that the whole world knew the sentence against her husband is an act of political revenge. more..

Oct 1 (DM) The contingent of athletes and officials met with the Minister of Sports C.B. Ratnayake and the High Commissioner for India Ashok Malhotra at the Olympic House at Torrington Avenue yesterday morning. They also received their packages of kits and other goods to look as one unit at the Commonwealth Games Village in Delhi. The High Commissioner for India addressing the gathering said that he was happy to note that the Sri Lankan contingent is making the trip at full strength. more..

Oct 1 (DM) Two Sri Lankans living in Italy have been killed in a fatal car accident in the city of Modena, Italy. The deceased persons were traveling with four others, when the driver lost control of the vehicle and collided with a parked water Bowser. The other four passengers are in critical condition. The deceased persons are Disna Helen Sanjeewani (29) of Wennapuwa and Ajith Ranjan Suresh Fernando (34) of Lunuwila. more..

Oct 1 (ST) Colombo District judge M.P.M. Marikkar issued a restraining order today preventing the 4x400 (men) relay team from leaving the country to take part in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. This was followed by a petition forwarded by Shalitha Tharanga Ramanayake who said that he had been selected for the Games but was taken out from the relay team which consists of a member who didn�t get selected to the last 8 who were short listed. more..

Oct 1 (LG) Madu is a 20-year-old resident of Kaduwela. She is married and a mother of a three year old baby girl who is now placed under the care of her mother in law. Her father was a drunkard since she was a child and her mother is a heart patient. One day she found her brother-in-law's clothes in a basin ready for washing. It looked brown in color so she asked him what the reason was. He told her that he had a fight with his relatives. more..

Oct 1 (LG) What Sarath Fonseka and Sam Rainsy have in common is that they are the most popular opposition leaders in their countries and that they have been jailed for that very reason. Political popularity is treated as a serious crime in both countries, where the ruling parties are aspiring to create one party rule. Here are some similarities between the political styles followed by the ruling regimes in both countries: more..

Oct 1 (MoD) Defence Sectary Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa emphasized the importance of understanding of how we achieved the success over the world's ruthless terrorist organization, as it can teach us valuable lessons for the future. The Secretary made these comments speaking at the 60th Anniversary celebrations of the Central bank of Sri Lanka, yesterday (29 Sep). more..

Oct 1 (SL) There�s been a debate on The Sunday Leader site about female sexuality, among other things. I thought this comment by Mohottige was interesting (in response to someone else) � � �An educated man will not marry a prostitute from Sri Lanka� Because he has other options� What about all these educated Sri Lankan men who also have had sex before marriage? And they are many ! (since no woman can loose her sexual virginity without there being a male�prostitute� present). more..

Oct 1 (SL) President Mahinda Rajapaksa last week left with a delegation to attend the United Nations Annual Sessions of the General Assembly (UNGA) in New York via Europe. Annual visits of such Sri Lankan delegations to New York during General Assembly sessions have become ritualistic as annual pilgrimages of our village folk to places of worship such as Anuradhapura with mat, pillow, family, friends and relatives except of course that one does not take mat and pillows to suites in hotels more..

Oct 1 (DM) Veteran left wing politician and the General Secretary of the Democratic Left Front Vasudeva Nanayakkara spoke to the Daily Mirror on his reasons for siding with the Government despite his opposition to the 18th Amendment, his dissapation of UNP ideology and a possible situation which would lead to his party breaking away from the Government. Q: What are your observations on the 18th amendment? more..

Oct 1 (DM) Madhavi* was overwhelmed with happiness as she set off to head home to Matara, from the hospital. Clutching her newborn baby, she got into the vehicle with Suneetha* one of her close relations, Lakshmi* - Suneetha�s friend and Lakshmi�s husband. She was happy that everything turned out so well. �Thank god my fears were nothing but silly suspicions,� Madhavi thought to herself as she began to anticipate of the life ahead of her. more..

Oct 1 (LB) The fact that certain frontline TNA MPs are sitting down with Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa has been underreported in the newspapers. This is rather curious, for the simple reason that these are TNA MPs who are very often accused of being agents for the so-called Tamil diaspora, and for the so-called remnants of the LTTE. The TNA is very critical of the Sri Lankan government and some aspects of resettlement and rehabilitation, and more..

Oct 1 (GV) I gave evidence before the LLRC which became very problematic. My evidence was inaccurately or partially reported, which resulted in many unwanted and underserved comments appearing in the public domain. Having waited a month after bringing this issue to the notice of the Commission, and not hearing of any response, I thought it is time to tell what I really said at the inquiry and more..

Oct 1 (Island) One of the major constraints for such implementation is the dearth of qualified academic staff in our higher educational institutes, particularly in subject areas such as computer science, nanotechnology, industrial management and biotechnology which are avenues for lucrative employment. This shortage is more acute in the sub-urban universities than in the city universities in a way mimicking the situation in high schools. more..

Oct 1 (Island) A key issue emerging from the presidential election manifesto is the substantial increase in government expenditure within the next few years. In line with the proposed expansion in the role of the government, apparently the government expenditure is due to rise. In almost all the programmes highlighted in the manifesto such as the welfare and poverty alleviation, infrastructure and rural development, large-scale public investment projects, more..

Oct 1 (LBO) Eco-friendly, energy and material-efficient apparel manufacture is giving Sri Lanka an edge over competition despite the loss of European trade concessions, Marks & Spencer, a UK-based retailer said. "As far as we are concerned Sri Lanka continues to be a very important source for us and that will continue," Krishan Hundal, head of sourcing offices and technology at M&S said. more..

Oct 1 (LB) The 18th Amendment to the Constitution has raised a number of issues regarding the prudence of allowing one person to have unchecked power for an unlimited period of time. Some Sri Lankans appear to be comfortable with the idea while most others seem apathetic towards the potential for the abuse of this power. Many have rationalised the move by citing the need for a strong central figure to guide the country at this crucial juncture and more..

Oct 1 (LB) Several UNP MPscharged that party leader Ranil Wickremasinghe continues to receive spiralling benefits and privileges under the table from the UPFA government after his recent talks with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. They alleged that the opposition leader has been presented with a new official vehicle -- a Mercedes Benz instead of his old one which had fueled speculation that he has secured many other �gifts� as well. more..

Oct 1 (DN) The Immigration and Emigration Department will put into practice a new method for issuing passports from today. Considering the inconvenience faced by applicants when renewing passports, a new simple method will be introduced, a official said. According to the current practice when renewing a passport a set of documents has to be produced to the Immigration and Emigration Department. more..

Oct 1 (NF) The father of the seven-year-old girl, murdered in the Gonabikawatta area in Kadugannawa, has been taken into custody over the crime. The magisterial inquiry was carried out yesterday while the postmortem examination would be conducted by the judicial medical officer of the Kandy Hospital. Police, who believe that the child had been murdered, said that a conclusion in that regard could only be arrived at after the postmortem. more..

Oct 1 (Island) President Mahinda Rajapaksa having confirmed the Second Court Martial ruling, former army chief and DNA leader Gen. Sarath Fonseka, MP is now left with only a few options. He can invoke the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal against the ruling or resist it politically to pressure the President to use his executive powers to release him or do both simultaneously or swallow his pride and ask for a presidential pardon. more..

Oct 1 (DM) The UNP yesterday voiced its strong condemnation against the ratification of the court martial verdict given on DNA Leader Sarath Fonseka. UNP Spokesman and MP Mangala Samaraweera told a news conference the party would fight against this move both in the national and international level. �We knew that the government was going for this move as some public servants openly said the former army commander would be hung,� more..

Oct 1 (Island) The 2011 budget will be presented in parliament on November 22, this year the government said yesterday. Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwalle said that the Cabinet had on Wednesday, approved the 2011 Appropriation Bill. "The 2011 budget will be presented to Parliament on November 22, this year,while the second and third readings have been fixed from November 22 to 27 and November 29 to December 20, 2011 respectively." more..

Oct 1 (DM) It certainly would have been a too idyllic a picture to have President Mahinda Rajapaksa the Commander-in-chief and his three commanders who led the forces to epic victory over the LTTE, sipping tea together in their 70s in a sunny afternoon recalling the good old days. As Robert Burns said the best laid plans of men and mice often go awry so we had President Mahinda Rajapaksa endorsing the second court martial recommendation to more..

Oct 1 (LT) DNA had called a press conference today regarding the steps taken by the President to endorse the verdict of imprisonment given to former Commander of the Army Gen. Sarath Fonseka by the second court martial. DNA Parliamentarian Vijithe Herath, Ms. Anoma Fonseka, Artist Jayanthe Katagoda, Messrs. Sirimasiri Hapuarachchi and Shanmugadasan participated. more..

Oct 1 (NF) Four suspects, placed under remand custody on charges of conspiring against the government with former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, were released after being produced before Colombo magistrate Rashmi Singappuli. Those who were released included Major General Sunil Amarawansa, Major General Upali Edirisinghe, Brigadier Duminda Keppetiwalana and journalist Ruwan Weeerakoon. The Attorney General told court that there was insufficient evidence against those suspects. more..

Oct 1 (DN) The development of the Jaffna Industrial Estate in Achchuveli, that has been defunct since 1986 due to LTTE terrorist activities in the North, will start next month with funds being granted by the Indian government for the site's much needed reconstruction. The Indian Government has committed a grant of Rs. 178 million under its Small Industries Grants Assistance to the Sri Lankan Government. more..

Oct 1 (AN) Saudi sponsors seeking to recruit domestic help from Sri Lanka say they have suffered delays of nine months to a year, despite completing the application process and paying the fees. �In March, I paid the fees and was told that according to the new regulations, I should only have to wait for 190 days or just over six months until the maid arrives. Instead, I am still waiting,� said Saad K., a retired government employee. more..

Oct 1 (BBC) The head of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) is not very optimistic about his country�s medal winning prospects at the Commonwealth games (CWG) to be held in New Delhi. Domestic problems regarding training have lessened our prospects, Hemasiri Fernando President of the NOCSL said. �I am not optimistic because of many reasons, but we have some hopes in athletics, boxing, archery, shooting and weightlifting,� more..

Oct 1 (WB) The emergence of Sri Lanka from the thirty-year long conflict brings new opportunities for the country�s economic growth and development. Sri Lanka has seen a steady economic growth over the past decade despite fragile macro-economic environment; the decades-old civil conflict; a large fiscal deficit, and challenges posed by the current global economic crisis. However, during the height of the global economic crisis the overall GDP growth more..

Oct 1 (DT) CONTROVERSIAL spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan is set to make a surprise farewell tour of Australia and has also declared he wants to play at next year's World Cup in the subcontinent. Murali retired from Test cricket in July with a record 800 wickets but last night told Sri Lankan cricket officials he was keen to continue playing one-day cricket. more..

Oct 1 (NF) There are no special cells within the prison, said the Prisons Commissioner General Major General V.R. De Silva, speaking on the measures that will be taken with regard to Sarath Fonseka, as the President has approved the verdict of the court martial. �From this point on, he becomes a prisoner. After we receive a copy of the President's endorsement of the court martial from the Army headquarters or defence officials, he will be accepted as a normal inmate. more..

Oct 1 (LT) The President, by approving the verdict given by the fraudulent court martial, has yet again displayed, in front of the country, his intention of taking revenge states the JVP. This is stated in a communiqu� issued by the JVP regarding the approval given by the President to imprison Gen. Sarath Fonseka for 30 months. In its communiqu� the JVP states: By approving the verdict given by the fraudulent court martial the President has yet again more..

Oct 1 (DN) An ICT-enabled Government institution that can provide solutions to people�s complaints will be set up soon. Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga says that an extensive study has been done in this regard. This people�s complaint management program will be implemented parallel to 1919 or Government Information Centre (GIC). Lalith Weeratunga emphasised that while this complaint management program would be run more..

Oct 1 (TN) Sri Lanka government has not allocated sufficient funds for the renovation and rebuilding of schools and other government department offices which had been either badly damaged or totally destroyed during its war on Vanni, officials of Northern Province Education Ministry and Ki�linochchi Government Secretariat said. Basic facilities are not made available for the government employees and teachers from other areas who have returned to work in Vanni mainland and more..

Oct 1 (DM) Following a news report that appeared in the media, six year old I.H.Samindi Vimandika from Welegoda, Matara, who had been at her home for nine months without a school, has now been admitted to Matara Sujatha Balika Vidyalaya. Although she lives just 300 metres away from the school and despite having received 96 points at the interview, she had not received admission to Sujatha Vidyalaya Matara which is a National School. more..