Apr 11 (DM) The Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology announced plans of initiating a program to enable a faster service of issuing of birth, death and marriage certificates through providing necessary details via mobile phones. Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitya said that under the proposed project, once the details for a birth, death or marriage certificate was provided to the Government Information Centre via mobile, more..

Apr 11 (ST) A government Minister who is often in the news is alleged to be involved in making efforts to free some of his aides and supporters who have been nabbed by the police recently, in connection with demanding protection (extortion) money from the traders at the new Central Fish Market Peliyagoda, LAKBIMAnEWS reliably understands. The Minister involved in the drama is also alleged to have brought on pressure on the police in this connection. more..

Apr 11 (DM) If there is a World Court for sports-related injustices to be heard then we must take our case concerning the day-light robberies, frauds and cheating over the sale and distribution of tickets, to this court immediately before the culprits leave the scene. This is the only way all those Sri Lankans who have been at the receiving end could have justice meted out as nobody in authority in this country can probe the matter and take action against the more..

Apr 11 (Island) Sri Lanka has given priority to post-conflict reconciliation and the process of negotiating a solution to the outstanding political issues, Minister Prof G. L. Peiris said. Referring to reconciliation, he explained the work of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), which was established to heal the wounds created in the minds of the people due to the conflict, and to bring about unity among the people of Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 11 (Island) Fisheries and Aquatic Development Minister Rajitha Senaratne yesterday said the lion�s share of protection money collected by extortionists at the St John�s Fish Market in Colombo had gone to certain politicians. The politicians had not taken action to eliminate extortion there because they were hobnobbing with extortionists, Dr. Senaratne told a press conference more..

Apr 11 (Island) A child died and his mother was hospitalized in a critical condition on Saturday in Wellawaya after they consumed a bottled soft drink. Initial investigations have revealed that the one-year-and-nine-month-old child�s father had brought home two bottles of soft drink and the two victims had shared one of them. Those who consumed the contents of the other bottle were safe. more..

Apr 11 (ABC) The Immigration Department has been unable to confirm how long asylum seekers at a far north Queensland detention centre will be housed in tents. There are 570 detainees from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka at the Scherger RAAF base near Weipa on western Cape York. A temporary detention centre was set up in October to house 300 detainees to relieve pressure on the Christmas Island facility. The Immigration Department recently announced Scherger would stay open until more..

Apr 11 (IANS) Just ahead of elections in Tamil Nadu, a pro-Tamil Tiger journal has accused Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and his daughter-cum-MP Kanimozhi of betraying the rebels as they went down fighting two years ago. Ezhamurasu, which is widely circulated among the Tamil Diaspora in the West, has said that a senior Tamil Tiger leader was in touch with Kanimozhi but neither she nor her father did anything to save the guerrillas. more..

Apr 11 (Island) The NFF says the UNSG Ban Ki-moon may launch a war crimes probe against Sri Lanka. The forthcoming release of a report by a three-member panel appointed by the UNSG will pave the way for a a UN sponsored war crimes probe, former MP Piyasiri Wijenayake alleges. He alleged that the recently released US State Department report on Sri Lanka�s HR situation was part of a plan by the West to target SriLanka. more..

Apr 11 (DM) Public Relations Minister Mervyn Silva said yesterday that a minister had alleged that he was involved in the extortion racket at the new Peliyagoda fish market: �If this allegation is proved I will quit politics, if not that other minister should quit� he said. �All the ministers are my friends. But if anyone abuses that friendship and says things without justification, I will not hesitate to act against him,� he said. more..

Apr 11 (Island) Sri Lanka should endeavour to harness positive vibes from cricket shows to develop its export industry and reach the projected 20 billion US dollar export revenue by 2020, Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishard Bathiudeen says. "Let us make Sri Lanka�s export Industry a 20 billion dollars by 2020. Let us now build on positive vibes from Cricket shows that is surrounding Brand Sri Lanka with its smiling and united people. more..

Apr 11 (LBO) Reforming Sri Lanka's loss-making public enterprises could help the country cope better with external shocks like high crude oil prices, the central bank has said. Adjusting domestic prices such as fuel to be more in line with international prices would reduce the burden on the budget of these enterprises, it said in its annual report for 2010. more..

Apr 11 (LBO) Sri Lanka's budget deficit fell to 7.9 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2010 from 9.9 percent in 2009, Swarna Gunaratne, additional director of the central bank's economic research department said. The deficit was better than the 8.0 percent of GDP that had been expected, she told a news conference held to mark the launch of the central bank's annual report. more..

Apr 11 (DM) Donors had pledged 42 percent of the UN flash appeal made for the reconstruction of the areas affected by the floods in January and February, officials said yesterday. After the second wave of floods, the UN revised its flash appeal to US $ 44 million. UN Acting Country Director Adnan Khan told Daily Mirror that the UN headquarters in New York had approved the revised appeal. more..

Apr 11 (DM) The government has appointed 2273 persons as Management Service Assistants to serve in the government offices. These new appointees will be posted to serve in Government Departments in all the 25 districts. The appointment letters were handed over at a function at Temple Trees under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. more..

Apr 11 (DM) The main opposition UNP is to take up the issue of jailing of DNA Leader and Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka and his apparent loss of Parliamentary seat with the Human Rights Council of International Parliamentary Union (IPU) which is to meet on April 15. UNP Deputy General Secretary Dr. Jayalath Jayawardene said Mr. Fonseka�s rights had been violated as he was deprived of his parliamentary seat because more..

Apr 11 (DM) Minister of Fisheries Rajitha Senaratne said that his colleague Minister Mervyn Silva did not have to get excited and deny involvement in the extortion racket at the newly constructed Peliyagoda Fish Market as no one had accused him of it. Mr. Senaratne was replying to a statement made by Mr. Silva at a public function in Kelaniya recently to the effect that he was not involved in the racket. more..

Apr 12 (NN) The government says it will import milk powder if the need arises after milk powder companies warned that they may be forced to limit the import of milk powder. Consumer Affairs Minister Johnston Fernando said that the government will not allow milk powder importers to make unfair demands. He said that if the private companies limit the import of milk powder the government will import powder on its own. Milk powder companies in Sri Lanka had requested more..

Apr 12 (BBC) The sports minister in Sri Lanka says he will lodge an official complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the �ill-treatment� of Sri Lankan VIPs by the Indian officials. Minister Mahinda Aluthgamage said the Sri Lankan ministers were subjected to harassment by the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) when they visited Mumbai to watch the World Cup final on 02 April. He insisted that his grievances are not against the government of India. more..

Apr 12 (LT) The statement made by the Leader of the Indian Congress Party Sonia Gandhi in Chennai on the 5th on the national question in Sri Lanka reveals the authoritative attitude of the Indian government states the JVP. This is stated in a communiqu� issues by the party today. The communiqu� states Sonia Gandhi�s statement that Sri Lanka should amend her constitution assuring equal rights and equal status to Tamils in Sri Lanka indicates the views held by Ms. Sonia Gandhi more..

Apr 12 (BBC) The responsibility of investigating the assassination of Sunday Leader editor lies with the Sri Lanka government, says an international media watchdog. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) told BBC Sinhala service, Sandeshaya that the government should also investigate attacks on Namal Perera and Upali Tennakooon. CPJ Asia division�s Bob Dietz was commenting on ruling party MP Rajiva Wijesinha�s allegation that the British government did not provide details more..

Apr 12 (BBC) The removal of tax concessions for exports by the EU did not have an adverse affect on the economy, Sri Lanka's Central Bank says. Releasing its annual report, the Bank says the island nation's economy grew by an �impressive" eight percent during 2010. The report said that all key sectors of Sri Lanka�s economy demonstrated a commendable performance, last year. �The textile, wearing apparel and leather products category, which was adversely affected by more..

Apr 12 (PTI) India today said it will initiate legal action against Indian pharmaceutical companies that had been blacklisted by Sri Lanka for violating procedures and supplying sub-standard drugs. Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Ashok Kantha met Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena today to discuss the failure of some Indian companies in supplying medical drugs appropriately after obtaining tenders, that led to a drug shortage in local hospitals. more..

Apr 12 (DM) Gampaha DIG K. Dayananda, Peliyagoda SSP Kithsiri Ganegama and Peliyagoda HQI CI Somasiri Perera have been transferred with immediate effect to North Central Division, Badulla and to the Police Field Force Headquarters respectively, police media spokesman SP Prishantha Jayakody said. He said that he cannot give a reason for the transfers as he is not aware of it. However it is believed that it is related to the ongoing investigations on the extortion racket more..

Apr 12 (Bettor) Mumbai Indians spearhead pacer Lasith Malinga has said that he does not fear any batsman in the world and only focuses on bowling to his strength. �I don't fear any batsmen in the world whether it is Virender Sehwag or anyone else,� said the Sri Lanka pacer who is known for explosive round-arm action. �I only look to bowl to my own strength. I just bowl straight and try to mix variety with pace. I just back my ability and bowl as fast as I can.� more..

Apr 12 (SLN) A mega Avurudu Pola organized by the Seva Vanitha Unit of Sri Lanka Navy was held at SLNS Gemunu,Welisara on 09th April 2011 while New Year festival was also went on at the same premises. Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy Vice Admiral Somethelake Dissanayake who attended the occasion as the chief guest was welcome by the President SVU Mrs. Neluka Dissanayake. Director Generals of SL Navy, senior officers in the area, members of the SVU and family members of more..

Apr 12 (LT) A motion presented by the JVP Member Wimal Piyatissa demanding the government to reveal names and places of detention of those persons detained on charges of taking part in LTTE activities during the war period and several other issues confronted by the people in the North was passed in the Eastern Provincial Councils on Wednesday. The motion states the government has failed to establish economic stability, national unity or democracy despite two years more..

Apr 12 (LBO) An attempt by Sri Lanka's state to deduct a two percent from workers' salaries under to start a 'pension scheme' without any prior discussion with the workers themselves has come under heavy fire. The state which already deducts 8 percent from workers salaries for a state managed Employees Provident Fund, a retirement fund of private sector workers money, management of which is also becoming increasingly controversial. more..

Apr 12 (NF) It is a rare occurrence for an individual to be knocked down by a train, and actually live to tell the story. Incidentally, such an incident was captured on tape near the Idalgashinna train station recently. This incident was captured on tape by Prabhath Abeysiri of the Media unit of the Ministry of Indigenous Medicine. Several days ago Prabhath has accompanied the Deputy Subject Minister Salinda Dissanayake to Idalgashinna, in order to inspect more..

Apr 12 (ER) On the model of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, at the end of three decades of civil war, appointed a Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) on May 15, 2010, to examine the events covering the period between February 21, 2002, and May 19, 2009, and their attendant concerns and issues, and to recommend measures to ensure that there would be no recurrence of such strife. more..

Apr 12 (NN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa officially declared the standard time of Sri Lanka a short while ago. The government information department said that the standard time can be obtained via www.sltime.org Sri Lanka Time (SLT) is the time zone for Sri Lanka. It is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT/UTC (UTC+5:30). The Sri Lanka Time reverted on 2006 April 15 00:00 to match Indian Standard Time calculated from the more..

Apr 12 (DM) Finally a viral fever that lasted several months left the millions of patients who were afflicted by it. The debilitating disease that made its appearance when several countries played cricket against each other was known as �World Cup Cricket Fever�� a close relative of the much severe �World Cup Football Fever�. Unlike in the days when �sports� was �sporty��meaning that competitive games were clean, fair and winning was not all that mattered, today�s scene is different. more..

Apr 12 (DM) Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, in what he purports to be a response to critical reports about the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) of which he is the Executive Director and to what he thinks are �personal attacks�, has made some very valid and thought-provoking observations (see �Hack-attack,� in the Daily Mirror of April 7). He has not mentioned what the �personal attacks� are or who has made them. Neither has he mentioned what these �critical reports� are about or who the critics are. That�s interesting and pertinent. more..

Apr 12 (Cimic) Troops of Security Forces � Jaffna extending their community welfare projects to interior village areas in Jaffna, arranged a donation to students of Panthalai Kanakasabai school in Thelippalai. Kanakasabai Primary school in 515 Brigade area functions with daily attendance of about 50 students who are in need of a helping hand to continue with education. Having identified the requirements of those children, more..

Apr 12 (LG) Behind its splendid stone facade, the Acadamie Diplomatique Internationale has been in existence from the early decades of the last century, and according to its head, was discussing Western military intervention in the Middle East then as it was that very day last week when a team from the National University of Singapore�s Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), on a Paris-London visit, presented on �Developments in the Arab World and more..

Apr 12 (LG) The country heads into the traditional New Year season on a reasonably upbeat note. Despite the increase in the cost of living, the shops are crowded. The government has won another big election victory, at the local government polls, ensuring that political stability continues. The prevailing national vision accepted by the majority of voters appears to be one in which the government leadership is entrusted to decide on what is in the country�s best interests. more..

Apr 12 (LG) I hope I need no introduction to you. I had lived as a citizen of this country throughout the period since independence. I am now 78 years old and have completed more than half a century in politics and had served for more than 17 years as a MP. For your information I do not mix up politics with administration. You may perhaps be aware how appreciative I had been of the humanitarian services rendered by the forces for more..

Apr 12 (LG) Diplomacy is lying with panache for the State and diplomats propagate their lies coated in convincing lingo that you are left with wondering, �My God, they could be telling the truth.� The LLRC commissioner and former diplomat H.M.G.S. Palikkara argued expertly and convincingly how Sri Lanka could forge ahead with development, post-conflict resolution, reconciliation et al under the able leadership of President Mahinda Rajapakse. more..

Apr 12 (LG) One must re-scrutinise the emphatic assertion that post-war accountability, democracy, good governance and post-conflict reconciliation are integral parts of a single package or located on a continuum. It is argued that greater democratisation and fuller accountability regarding the war are indispensable complementarities. The argument is put forward that without accountability there will be no reconciliation, and the question is more..