Sep 8 (LG) Following the protest organized by Tele Makers Guild which comprises teledrama producers, directors, actors and technicians over the telecast of multi-episode-Mega teledramas, a number of Buddhist prelates, priests and veteran artistes have highlighted the harmful effect it could have on the industry. Here follows a few selected comments made by some of them. Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thera said that the 'Mega teledrama has become an addiction to television instead of giving freedom of selection to the audience. more..

Sep 8 (LG) After watching a TV news item one day last week about some UNP MPs, namely Johnston Fernando, Lakshman Seneviratne and Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena questioning the leadership of the party, I decided it was time somebody put the record straight. All what some MPs do after an election defeat is put the blame on party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and challenge his leadership. Let it be said that the UNP lost Ratnapura because of more..

Sep 8 (LG) Vanni is a region blessed with fertile land and sea. Little surprise then that competition for control of this territory has played a major part in both igniting and maintaining Sri Lanka's Sinhala-Tamil ethnic conflict. Seasoned peacemakers are adamant that restitution and reparations are essential for realising peaceful ends to violent conflicts. Yet, Sri Lanka's government has spent the past week warning the nearly half a million Tamil inhabitants of the Vanni to displace or get killed. more..

Sep 8 (LG) The government is cash-strapped because politicos and public servants are frittering away public funds.Gone are the days of politicians of the ilk of D. S. Senanayake, Sir John Kotelawela, Dudley Senanayake, C. W. W. Kannangara, M. D. Banda, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, M. D. H. Jayawardena, Gamini Jayasuriya and D. A. Rajapaksa. They became poorer and poorer, the longer they stayed in politics. more..

Sep 8 (LG) LTTE, the non-state terrorist group, is no longer the mighty Tiger it once was. The sustained military campaign has made them either move out or be edged out of the places in the north where they had established their hold by acts of commissions and omissions of Colombo, Chennai and Delhi. No powerful voices are being heard in support of Pirapaharan and company in Northern Sri Lanka and across the Palk Straits in Tamil Nadu. more..

Sep 8 (LG) "My view on the current situation is that the LTTE is currently being pressed quite strongly, but has shown a considerable capacity to resist. It has had set-backs before and still bounced back." So observed Associate Professor Damien Kingsbury who is a Sri Lanka expert and the Associate Head of the School of International and Political Studies (Research) at Deakin University, Australia, in an exclusive interview with Nilantha Ilangamuwa of Sri Lanka Guardian. more..

Sep 8 (LG) International Diabetic Federation has revealed startling information about the dangerous effects of diabetes. Diabetes, which has so far affected the middle aged people and the old, now affects the children in large numbers all overt he world. Therefore, awareness about the illness must be created among parents and paediatricians. Many children have died of diabetes. Parents and doctors fail to detect this disease among children. more..

Sep 8 (LG) It is necessary to take all possible steps to increase job opportunities and help the people to live without any problems. The major causes for the economic problems faced by the people are lack of income and lack of job opportunities. Particularly, the educated youths of the country are frustrated due to lack of job opportunities. Meanwhile, the unemployed graduates in the east have announced that they are going to fast as a protest on the 11th of September. more..

Sep 8 (LG) What is the political thinking in the South in respect of the ethnic issue? It reflects communalism and parochial thinking. ”Tamils are second rate citizens in the country. There should be no negotiated settlement to the Tamil problem. The unit of devolution must be the province or the district. There should be no federal solution. LTTE must be defeated and the areas under the LTTE must be taken over militarily.” more..

Sep 8 (AT) The United Nations has admitted it made an "error" in permitting three representatives of the Tamil Centre for Human Rights (TCHR), a pro-LTTE organization, to participate in a major conference of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Paris last week. Responding to a question from the media, Eric Falt, Director of the Outreach Division of the UN's Department of Public Information (DPI) said: "'I would like first of all to assure you that nobody was "ejected" from the conference.'" more..

Sep 8 (AT) Bifurcation of the country is the only way left for the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Selvam Adaikalanathan, Tamil National Alliance MP and the Leader of the now defunct TELO said in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. In an interview with Kumudam, Selvam Adaikalanathan said that in the Parliament of Sri Lanka, whenever they raised voices against the atrocities unleashed on the Tamils, other MPS used to come menacingly to assault them in the parliament. more..

Sep 8 (AT) A few decades ago, rural folks in the south, used to hold a man in partially high esteem – not fully venerated; not loathed either; the man in question used to wear a black coat, definitely carried a black umbrella even in the scorching sun – that in turn became his trademark - sometimes tie his hair into knot and often grow a moustache. He was the village matchmaker – a very busy man indeed by Sri Lankan standard in those days. more..

Sep 8 (AT) Sri Lanka’s Minister of Science & Technology, Prof. Tissa Vitarana was in Pretoria, South Africa from 2nd to 6th September on a five day visit, to brief the APRC process and the conflict in Sri Lanka. During this visit, he met with several South African dignitaries in the Government, leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) to briefed them on the APRC process and the conflict in Sri Lanka. more..

Sep 8 (AT) An e-mail transmitted world over by a group of Tamils in Melbourne, Australia request all Tamils spread all over the world to pray the whole day with fasting including Jesus Novena. The prayers and fasting is aimed at ‘deliverance of our oppressed people' (Tamils) and urged ‘All Tamils living all over the world to pray all day with fasting to the Almighty God.’ It mentioned that "The roles played by the major powers in overlooking the state terrorism and more..

Sep 8 (AT) The petitioners in the Digawapi land allocation case have prepared a counter affidavit to be submitted to the Supreme Court when the case comes up for hearing on Tuesday September 9. The case concerns the alleged infringement of the rights of Sri Lanka's Buddhists, especially those residing in the Digawapiya area in the East. The counter affidavit is in response to an affidavit filed by some of the respondents. more..

Sep 8 (Hindu) Sri Lanka has offered all facilities, including land, to the Tatas to help relocate its Singur car project in the wake of the controversy relating to land acquisition in West Bengal. A spokesperson for the Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI) said here on Sunday that Sri Lanka was interested in establishing an automobile manufacturing plant at the Special Economic Zone at Mirigama. more..

Sep 8 (TW) Sri Lanka Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse has used several numbers and figures to solidify some of his claims on being ‘on the right track’ with the ongoing war with an interview published in a Sinhala newspaper. The Defence Secretary’s comments are seen as an attempt to calm certain uneasiness with regards to successful LTTE air operations among some Sri Lanka troops on the ground, opposition party questions on the success of the ‘onslaught’ so far and more..

Sep 8 (BBC) Two Sri Lankans are competing in their respective fields on 08 September in Paralympics held in the Chinese capital, Beijing. Shantha Kumara, (200m), and Upali Rajakaruna (Wheelchair Tennis) are among the five Sri Lankan men are taking part in this year’s Paralympics. Lal Pushpakumara (High Jump), Sandun Wasana Perera (Weightlifting) and Udaya Pushpakumara (Javelin and Long Jump) are the other three Sri Lankans among nearly 4000 sportsmen representing 148 countries. more..

Sep 8 (LBO) Sri Lanka is planning an optical fibre backbone to take broadband internet access to rural areas of the island, with the infrastructure to be built as a public private partnership, an official said. Dharmasiri de Alwis, network chief of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission says Sri Lanka Railways and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) would be partners in the project which is backed by the island's ICT Agency. more..

Sep 8 (CI) South Africa A's bowlers once again dismissed Sri Lanka A quickly to help their team win the second four-day game and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Sri Lanka, who had lasted just 41 overs for their 180 in the first innings, began the day needing another 286 runs to make South Africa bat again. The task was onerous, but the response was tame. Barring opener Tharanga Paranavitana, none of the batsmen went past 50 as the visitors were bowled out in 58 overs, scoring 233. more..

Sep 8 (MG) O who believe, fasting is decreed for you as it was decreed for those before you; perchance you will guard yourselves! The month of Ramadan is the month in which the Koran was sent down, a guidance for the people, and clear verses of guidance and criterion! [Quran: Chapter 2, 183] This is a common but interesting question which a child may ask his/her parents. Non-Muslim may also pose it to a Muslim. more..

Sep 8 (MG) Muslim Aid Sri Lanka (MASL), in association with the World Health Organisation, AmeriCares, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA), has organized a “Walk 2 Feed” to raise awareness of the global food crisis. The walk will be held on Sunday, September 14 at 4 pm starting at the Viharamahadevi Open Air Theatre. more..

Sep 8 (PISL) Recent research reveals that the Northern Province contributes only 3% to the national GDP of the country. With the liberation of the Northern Province which is in progress now, this geographical area has the potential to quadruple in the near future. The logic for the economy quadrupling in the Northern Province is based on the experience we saw during the period between 2002 and 2004 where the GDP growth increased by 12.6%. more..

Sep 8 (LT) The government should take immediate measures to direct the state media towards genuinely independent and responsible media practice as promised by 'Mahinda Chinthanaya' says the Leader of the group of Parliamentarians of the JVP Anura Kumara Dissanayake. This is stated in a letter to Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa. The full text of the letter: more..

Sep 8 (LT) It is reported that Namal Rajapakse, an offspring of President Mahinda Rajapakse, had broken into Police Headquarters in Kandy and tried to deliver a lecture on the duties of the police officers. The police officers present who had got excited at the sudden appearance of a Rajapake offspring had come running with a complaint book thinking he had come to make a complaint. more..

Sep 8 (LT) India is to get a large extent of land at Mirigama to open an industrial zone. India has already obtained large extents of lands in the Eastern Province for an industrial zone at Trincomalee, to build a coal power station at Sampur and also the rights to excavate coastal area in Pulmudai and southern areas for mineral sands, restart cement factory at Kankasanthurai and excavate for oil at Mannar. more..

Sep 8 (GDI) Central Bank of Sri Lanka has introduced a new index to measure prosperity in the country by tracking the progress in several sectors. The new index has been named "Sri Lanka Prosperity Index" (SLPI), which was officially introduced today (08), a spokesman for the Central Bank told www.news.lk. Several factors have been taken into consideration as 'indicators' when forming this index. more..

Sep 8 (GDI) In line with the International Literacy Day which falls on the 8th of September, the United States Embassy in Sri Lanka will work with "Room to Read" international organization to promote literacy among children in the Puttlam. Issuing a statement, the US Embassy in Colombo said that it will join with the Sri Lanka Office of "Room to Read", an international organization committed to improving literacy among children in Sri Lanka, more..

Sep 8 (GDI) The Government plans to bring greater focus into the growing of fruit in the next few years, as part of the "Api Wawamu, Rata Nagamu" initiative introduced to achieve self sufficiency in food production. Accordingly a programme has been introduced to promote the cultivation of 11 fruit categories at a cost of Rs. 15 million. The fruits that will come under the programme include banana, pineapple, mango, avocado, jack, more..

Sep 8 (LNP) People of Germany and for that matter even the international community though are willing to help Sri Lanka, they ask the question as to why should support countries that spend more on arms than on schools and hospitals. This was stated by Ambassador of Germany in Sri Lanka Jurgen Weert at the 15th Business for Peace Forum of the Business for Peace Initiative of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Sri Lanka (FCCISL) on more..

Sep 8 (LNP) A 12-year-old boy who had been ill-treated by a middle-aged woman and her daughter for about one and half years has been rescued. They have been arrested along with the middleman who had helped them to procure the boy. Acting on a tip-off, the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) found the boy employed as a domestic servant at Iluppudeniya in the Chilaw police area. more..

Sep 8 (LNP) Buddhism and the history of the Sri Lankan State are, as is well known, inseparable. Besides the spiritual guidance provided to the people, tremendous are the sacrifices that the Buddhist monks have made to protect this country they did not hesitate even to make the supreme sacrifice, especially during the colonial times to prevent the disintegration of the nation. So, they came to occupy a special place in the Sri Lankan society. more..

Sep 8 (SAMN) The Minor political parties Sunday slammed a government decision to ban parties that are not active in the political arena. The decision was notified by Minister Dinesh Gunawardene, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms through a public statement Saturday. Democratic Unity Alliance (DUA) Frontliner Roy Bogahawatte said the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) which has not contested at elections since 1989 should also be banned as more..

Sep 8 (SAMN) The National Police Commission (NPC) Sunday said Police Headquarters needed to take tough action against sex maniacs in the department to ensure an already bad situation from getting worse. This follows a shocking revelation of an alleged sexual assault on a teenage boy by an Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of a police station and several other similar incidents. K. C. Logeswaran, Secretary to the Commission said a report would be called from Police Headquarters on the alleged sexual assault by M. G. Chandrasiri, OIC Hakmana Police. more..

Sep 8 (SAMN) The People's Bank has launched a new loan scheme called "Micro loan scheme" in order to grant loans for self-employment projects.Loans were granted to 30 housewives in the Ibbagamuwa area under this scheme for self-employment projects by the Ibbagamuwa branch of the People's Bank at a function held at the bank premises recently. These loans were granted for self-employment projects such as dress making, making sweetmeats, selling fish, tailoring and hair dressing. more..

Sep 8 (SAMN) Close on the heels of teacher unions boycotting the evaluation of A/L answer scripts to pressure the government to rectify their long standing salary anomalies, Human Rights Commission (HRC) chief Nimal Punchihewa rapped the Salaries and Cadre Commission for failing in its job. Had the commission done it duty, this wouldn’t have been the case, he said on Saturday. more..

Sep 8 (DN) Rich List Publications has released RICH LIST 2008, the most successful business people in Sri Lanka. The book contains information about the companies, their histories, their brands and their directors. There is an economic history timeline of Sri Lanka and graphs on major economic indicators. This book is a snapshot of wealth at a particular time in our economic history. more..

Sep 8 (DN) Army Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka during a tour to the Jaffna peninsula to evaluate security developments on Saturday afternoon unveilled a special monument dedicated to the memory of Armed Forces and the Police at the Palaly Security Forces Headquarters. The monument built by the Army carries all four logos of the tri-services and the Police and is symbolically guarded by two soldier sculptors. more..

Sep 8 (Island) JVP Western Provincial Councilor Kingsley Kasturiarachchi yesterday joined the National Freedom Front (NFF) led by JVP dissident MP Wimal Weerawansa, at the NFF headquarters in Battaramulla. Kasturiarachchi, having joined the JVP in 1970, successfully contested the 2004 PC polls on the UPFA ticket from the Gampaha District. Earlier, he had worked as a JVP member of the Gampaha Municipal Council. more..

Sep 8 (Island) The Oil Exploration Licence awarded to Cairn India has been approved by Cabinet Petroleum Minister A. H. M. Fowzie said. "It was submitted to the Cabinet for formalities sake so that no one can accuse the government that due process was not followed without consulting the people," he told the Island Financial Review. Sri Lanka issued its first oil exploration licence in June when Cairn India signed the Petroleum Resources Agreement (PRA) with the government. more..

Sep 8 (DM) Popular actress Chathurika Peiries was issued summons by Colombo District Court in response to a case filed by a film production company claiming Rs.1.5 million as damages. Sri Sai Baba Cine International situated at Palmyra Mawatha, Palmyra Court in Colombo-03, a film production company of India and Sri Lanka cited Ms. Peiries of Gemuni Mawatha, in Kotuwegoda at Rajagiriya as the defendant. more..

Sep 8 (DM) The abandoned 160km long A-15 highway connecting Trincomalee-Batticaloa for several decades is to be renovated with the construction of five modern bridges over Upparu, Gangai, Ralkuli and Verugal in the Trincomalee district and Kayankerni in the Batticaloa district at a cost of) Rs. 105 billion. The work is to be carried out under the Trincomalee Integrated Infrastructure Development Project (TIIP) more..

Sep 8 (LD) Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickremanayake says certain countries and organizations are interfering in internal affairs of Sri Lanka. This amounts to a violations of Bandong and nonaligned agreements and would not be tolerated, he told a function in Galle to mark the opening of a new building of the Southern Provincial Council and the 86th International Cooperatives Day. more..

Sep 8 (LD) Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi will visit Sri Lanka tomorrow (Sept. 09th) at the invitation of his Sri Lankan counterpart Rohitha Bogollagama. Mr. Jiechii will arrive from India, his first visit to both countries since taking office in April 2007. Mr. Jiechi would also hold talks with President Mahinda Rajapaksa on investment and other matters. more..

Sep 8 (AP) Air force jets attacked a rebel bunker line in northern Sri Lanka on Monday morning as a new wave of fighting in the country's civil war killed 22 ethnic Tamil rebels, the military said. The fighting was part of the military's recent offensive aimed at crushing the Tamil Tiger rebel group and seizing its de facto state in the northern jungles of this island nation. more..

Sep 8 (WB) Sri Lanka has a rapidly aging population and need to move fast on the policy front to avoid major social and economic implications. This study focuses on four key areas connected to population aging: * informal support, * old age income support, * health care of old people, and * labor market participation of old people, in each area indentifying key issues and proposing policy recommendations. more..

Sep 8 (LD) The Supreme Court today ordered the release of the chief incumbent of Welikada Meditation Centre in Rajagiriya who was remanded last week after failing to appear in courts in a noise pollution case. The release order came following a bail application made on behalf of the monk. Controversy surrounded the case after the SC rejected a motion for bail for Ven. Pannala Pannaloka Thera on September 05th. more..

Sep 9 (CI) Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies, Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene and South Africa's Dale Steyn have been nominated for both the Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year categories for the LG ICC Awards 2008. While South Africa captain Graeme Smith is the fourth nominee for the Cricketer of the Year, Jacques Kallis completes the list for the Test Player of the Year. more..

Sep 9 (Reuters) Central bank on Monday said its suspension of benchmark 91-day treasury bills, along with easing inflation, would gradually reduce market interest rates this year. The central bank has suspended 91-day T-bill auctions for the last three weeks, and has only made 182-day and 364-day bills available for investors. Banks in Sri Lanka base their own interest rates off of the benchmark 91-day T-bill rate. more..

Sep 9 (CH) While most Nova Scotians were bracing for the remnants of tropical storm Hanna, Pamela Porodo was continuing to do what she can to help those hit much harder by Mother Nature. Ms. Porodo and her husband Jerry were living in Sri Lanka in 2004 when a tsunami hit and devastated coastal areas. When the waves hit, she said she saw the absolute worst nature could deliver and, to this day, anything to do with weather and water still frightens her. more..