Nov 4 (PSM) “Members of the Bar Association were not consulted by the Law Reform Ministry before preparing proposal to change the territorial jurisdiction zones in Ampara,” charged Mr. Natheer President, Bar Association, Kalmunai at a discussion organized by the PSM and Muslim Peace Assembly of Ampara under the topic “Change of territorial jurisdiction” today in Maligaikadu, Ampara. more..

Nov 4 (LP) As head of the Armed Forces, the right to command lies with the President said Minister of Media Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana. If any party or person had the intention of raising questions on Human Rights Operations in Sri Lanka, such party or person should raise them with His Excellency the President stated Minister Abeywardena addressing a media briefing held in Colombo today (04). more..

Nov 4 (LP) A total number of 49,500 IDPs were resettled in the Jaffna peninsula and with it 99% of the resettlement process in Jaffna reaches completion. Speaking to Lankapuvath Governor of the Northern Province Major General G A Chandrasiri said that 3000 persons were resettled in the areas within yesterday (03). He also said that the resettlement process in Jaffna will be completed soon. more..

Nov 4 (GDI) The Ministry of Vocational and Technical Training has taken steps to introduce a National Vocational Qualification system (NVQ) consisting of seven levels in collaboration with all Government technical education and vocational training institutes, Minister of Vocational and Technical Training Piyasena Gamage said at the media conference held at the Ministry of Mass Media and Information today. more..

Nov 4 (MoD) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided not to curtail the funds needed for development purposes in the North under any circumstances faced by the Government, Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said. The Minister made these remarks at a ceremony held at the Vavuniya Teaching Hospital on Monday where he opened a new maternity clinic, labour room, chest clinic and the nurses quarters built at a cost of Rs. 22 million. more..

Nov 4 (MoD) An Ayurvedic exhibition will be held at Kaithadi, Jaffna to promote Ayurvedic treatment and share experiences with physicians based in the Jaffna peninsula. The Ministry of Indigenous Medicine collaborating with the Ayurvedic Teaching Hospital in Jaffna organise this exhibition. "The programme would help create an awareness of Ayurvedic and Siddhayurvedic medicine among people living in the Northern Province. more..

Nov 4 (LG) For several recent years, the international community’s approach to ‘Sri Lanka’ has been shaped, to a great extent, by the opinions and prescriptions of a select group of – largely British - analysts and policy makers. In their rarely self-questioned conviction, the reasons for war in Sri Lanka - and what consequently needed to be done for ‘peace’ - were blindingly simple: the root cause of war was the demand for Tamil Eelam and the ‘fanatical’ LTTE’s armed struggle for this goal. more..

Nov 4 (MoD) The Parachute Training School produces its 20th Batch The passing out parade of the 20th batch of basic paratroopers (Airborne) produced by the SLAF Parachute Training School, was held last morning at the Sri Lanka Air Force Base premises. A total of 04 Commissioned Officers and 28 Airmen from the Regiment Special Forces and Special Air Borne Force did take part in this course which was conducted for a period over a month. more..

Nov 4 (MoD) The Government Agent (GA) of Killinochchi and Mullaithivu Emelda Sukumar outlining the Government efforts to speed up the resettlement in the two districts, said Tamils were confident of the Rajapaksa Government and need to live under a united country. The first Tamil woman to be appointed as a GA in the country who served as for over eight years as Mullaithivu GA under the LTTE control, says that more..

Nov 4 (LG) Mahinda Rajapaksa, overcame all odds to win the Presidency in November 2005. Few gave him a chance, given that he didn’t have the support of his party, didn’t have big-name financiers chipping in the millions necessary for an election campaign and didn’t have the personnel on the ground to do the daily house-to-house grind. Perhaps he was helped by the fact that his opponent, Ranil Wickremesinghe had a difficult brief to defend and more..

Nov 4 (LG) "The 51st Division of Sri Lanka Army in Jaffna conducted the ‘Kathina Pooja’ perahera Thursday night [22nd October] led by Namal Rajapakse, who had come along with 250 youths and 20 Buddhist priests from the South to participate in the perahera." Religious processions are usually conducted in order to affirm and strengthen the faith of a people: a Christian pageant usually takes place in a Christian region; a Buddhist procession among an essentially Buddhist population, and so on. more..

Nov 4 (MoD) IGP Mahinda Balasuriya said his doors are open for the public to meet him on Fridays from 11.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. "All Police personnel who have problems in the Department also could meet me on every second Mondays and last Mondays from 11.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m," Balasuriya told a press briefing at the IGP's Chambers yesterday afternoon. more..

Nov 4 (LT) The customers with fixed deposits in state banks are facing a difficulty due to the decrease of interest rates on their deposits. Even though the State Banks Management stated at a press briefing recently that the interest rate on fixed deposits will not be reduced, Bank of Ceylon has decreased interest rate to 5% from 5.25% by now. However the National Savings Bank has not decreased its 5% interest. more..

Nov 4 (LT) There was a public outcry regarding serious blunders that were present in second term question papers held throughout the country at provincial council level. As a result the Minister of Education has issued a new circular 2009/30. The directives of this circular have subjected principals, teachers as well as students into severe difficulties points out Lanka Terachers Service Union. more..

Nov 4 (LT) Nurses would refuse to use medicinal drugs and equipment within the next two days unless the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition certify them to be of good quality states All Ceylon Nurses’ Union (ACNU). Even though Health Ministry officials have said that they have instructed such items to be removed from circulation, low quality medicinal drugs and equipment continues to be used in some hospitals states ACNU. more..

Nov 4 (TC) Flees: Sarath Fonseka in Strategic Withdrawal .Flees from US - Nov3rd 11pm without meeting US officials on 4th.Will arrive in Colombo -Nov 5th 4am. Fortunes: Sarath Fonseka avoids meeting US officials as talking to them may have badly affected his fortunes if the Lt.Gen contested for SL presidency. Gives in: Sarath Fonseka gives in to pressure from Govt, JHU & JVP. Puts US green card status in jeopardy & returns to Lanka as loyal patriotic army man. more..

Nov 4 (LNP) The Speaker of the House, W.J.M. Lokubandara, yesterday rejected Opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe s assertions that the President Mahinda Rajapaksa had violated the Constitution and Monetary Laws of the country by presenting a Vote-on-Account for four months in lieu of the Budget. The Speaker said that the Government had fulfilled all Constitutional requirements. more..

Nov 4 (DM) Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told Parliament yesterday that he would give a chance for the Opposition MPs on Friday to meet the expert panel conducting investigations into the import of sub-standard drugs. The Minister was responding to a statement made by JVP parliamentary group leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake regarding the recent problems reported in the health sector even claiming the life of a school girl in Kurunegala. more..

Nov 4 (LNP) Sri Lanka's Anusha Kodituwakku put up a splendid performance to win a bronze medal at the 3rd Asian Women s Indoor Games which is now in progress in Hanoi, Vietnam. Kodituwakku was up against Mary Murayama of Japan in the first fight in the preliminaries of the pin weight. Although Mary put on a brave fight, she was no match for the agile Anusha Kodituwakku who kept on scoring well until she won the bout by 25 points to 8. more..

Nov 4 (DN) Prof. Gamini Hattotuwegama made his contribution as a senior lecturer in the English Department at the Vidyalankara University, Kelaniya and the Peradeniya University specifically in the area of drama for well over 35 years and was the father of street drama. He took drama to the grass roots level and yet maintained a level of professionalism and academic interest. more..

Nov 4 (DN) It’s encouraging news that our traditional exports - tea, rubber and coconut - are on the mend due to the vigorous boost given by the Government. Earnings from these three main exports have exceeded US$ 200 billion besides providing jobs to more than 1.5 million over the recent years according the Plantation Industries Minister D.M. Jayaratna’s speech given at the Programs Evaluation Workshop of the Plantation Development Project (PDP) more..

Nov 4 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced today that the salaries of the security forces will be increased with immediate effect. The President made this announcement during his visit to Mannamkulm, Mannar today where he addressed war heroes who had engaged in the humanitarian operation in the Wanni to defeat terrorism. The President reminded the security forces that there had been a time when the country was divided through an agreement. more..

Nov 4 (AT) As Colombo District Court yesterday (November 03) removed an injunction against the holding of the final round of the State Drama Festival, it will be held as arranged early, an official from the Cultural Affairs Ministry told Asian Tribune. Accordingly, the State Drama Festival will be held from today onwards till November 10 at the John de Silva Memorial Theatre, Colombo 07. more..

Nov 4 (DN) The trend among schoolchildren to reuse school textbooks has enabled the Education Ministry to save Rs. 1,000 million from the allocation made for printing school textbooks next year. The Education Ministry has introduced a mechanism to avoid deterioration of school textbooks while getting the best use of school textbooks which are distributed free of charge each year by the Government, spending millions of public funds. more..

Nov 4 (Island) JVP frontliner Anura Kumara Dissanayake said President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s recent intervention on behalf of his nephew Sashindra Rajapaksa, bolstered the JVP’s position that the executive presidency had to be abolished. He said that the President went to the extent of using his executive powers to allow Sashindra Rajapaksa to remain the Basnayake Nilame of the Kataragama Devale while being Chief Minister of the Uva Provincial Council. more..

Nov 4 (Island) Australia, reeling under an influx of bogus Sri Lankan refugees has now appointed their top diplomat based in New Delhi to negotiate with Sri Lanka and explore ways and means of tackling the issue. Well informed sources told The Island that Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Monday night had briefed Parliament of his move as tragedy hit another boatload of Sri Lankans trying to reach Australia. more..

Nov 4 (Hindu) Several Sri Lankan Tamil refugees at Kottapattu and Vazhavanthankottai in Tiruchi district have expressed a desire to be granted Indian citizenship. They aired the demand before Transport Minister K.N.Nehru who inspected the camps in the two places on Tuesday. The inspection comes close on the heels of a high level meet convened by Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi to discuss the conditions at the refugee campson Monday. more..

Nov 4 (DM) The UNP-led alliance was sealed in the parliamentary complex yesterday with the participation of 12 political parties. The new Alliance called the United National Front comprises four main parties including the UNP, the SLMC, SLFP (Mahajana Wing) and the Democratic People’s Front. The other parties in the Alliance are the National Development Front, New Sihala Urumaya, Prajatantrawadi Janatha Peramuna, more..

Nov 4 (DN) The Government will grant a salary increase to all public sector employees from January next year. President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced this at the seventh National Convention of the SLFP oriented Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya held at Temple Trees yesterday to the loud applause of the gathering. The theme of the convention was ‘Prosperous Nation - Contented Workforce’. “We have been able to end a destructive war which engulfed the nation for nearly three decades. more..

Nov 4 (Island) Southern Provincial Councillor Nishantha Muthuhettiga-ma’s car yesterday met with an accident at Gambeddegoda, Ratgama causing damage to the vehicle. The controversial politician, who recently took oaths as an UPFA member of the SPC before an astrologer cum JP after ignoring an invitation from the Presidential Secretariat to be sworn in before the President, told The Island that the Gods had saved him. "I am lucky to be alive," he said, adding that more..

Nov 4 (DM) At least two people died mysteriously after attending a healing session which had been conducted by a religious prayer group during the weekend at the Vihara Mahadevi Park. The two unfortunate victims were identified as Neminona from Ambalangoda and Damayanthi Samaratunge from Matale. According to relatives, the victims had not been suffering from any major illness when they attended the healing session but more..

Nov 4 (DM) Addressing the 7th National Convention of the SLFP affiliated Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya at Temple Trees yesterday, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, expressed his readiness to forego two years of his six year term and hold the presidential election early.He said that he would declare the exact position on this at the SLFP convention on November 15. He ruled out the possibility of holding the general elections first. more..

Nov 4 (BN) Raj Rajaratnam, the biggest investor in Sri Lanka’s stock market, has no immediate plans to sell holdings in the south Asian nation after insider-trading charges in the U.S., a person familiar with the matter said. The Sri Lankan-born billionaire’s direct interests and stakes on the island held through his Galleon Group LLC won’t be affected by the liquidation of the hedge-fund firm following criminal and civil probes, more..

Nov 4 (Hindu) P. Geetha Jeevan, Minister for Social Welfare, along with Collector G. Prakash, on Tuesday visited refugee camps housing Sri Lankan Tamils in Tuticorin district to ascertain the living conditions and requirements of inmates. The visit follows the meeting convened in Chennai by the Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, on Monday in which Ministers and Collectors were directed to visit 115 refugee camps in the State and submit their findings by November 10. more..

Nov 4 (Island) The government yesterday presented a vote-on-account seeking over Rs. 362 billion for the first four months of 2010. Deputy Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama made the presentation amidst Opposition protests. The proposed spending for maintaining public services included Rs. 197,478,109,000 for recurrent expenditure, Rs. 158,987,398,000 for capital expenditure and Rs. 6,222,467,000 for advance accounts. more..

Nov 4 (UNP) On the basis of the vote on account presented to Parliament this year, a colossal Rs. 1400 million had been allocated for the President’s office expenditure. This means that he requires a sum of Rs. 19 million per day for his own office expenditure. While allocations to Ministries are drastically cut and Govt. says it has no money to bring down the cost of living, tariffs and taxation burdens heaped on the people, more..

Nov 4 (IPS) Sudarma Senevirathana’s teenage daughter is at an age when she can already be given the ‘rubella’ vaccine, administered free of charge by government health officials at schools. But Senevirathana refuses to subject her twelve-year-old daughter to the injection. "She can take it when she is nearer to getting married," says the mother from Kurunegala, about 100 kilometres east of the capital Colombo, "I don’t want to risk my daughter’s life." more..

Nov 4 (Reuters) Police fired tear gas and water cannon on Wednesday to stop unemployed graduate protesters entering a high security area near President Mahinda Rajapaksa's official residence. Rajapaksa has been riding a wave of popularity since the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels in May ended a 25-year civil year, but is now coming under pressure from protests and strikes by trade and student unions ahead of elections in early 2010. more..

Nov 4 (AFP) Sri Lanka's military commander left the United States ahead of possible questioning over alleged war crimes committed during the defeat of the island's Tamil rebels, a legislator said Wednesday. General Sarath Fonseka headed back to Sri Lanka without facing questioning by the Department of Homeland Security later in the day, Samantha Vidyaratne told parliament. more..

Nov 5 (ANN) Four months ago, President Mahinda Rajapakse looked invincible. He had ended a quarter-century ethnic conflict with a decisive victory over the separatist Tamil Tigers, a seemingly unbeatable force that brooked no rivals. Earlier this month, his SLFP swept the polls for the provincial council in the Southern province. But now, his erstwhile alliance partner, the JVP, is out on the streets, demanding he abolish the executive presidency and that he not plan mid-term presidential polls. more..