Oct 14 (TS) An Orange County Circuit judge said Tuesday he will send Ohio runaway Fathima Rifqa Bary back to her home state, but only after her parents provide immigration paperwork and other officials ensure she can continue her schooling through a Florida online school. At a hearing packed with lawyers, media, bloggers and spectators, Circuit Court Judge Daniel Dawson once again ordered more..

Oct 14 (TA) "JOSEPH Silva", who prefers not to use his real name, is a loving father of three, devoted husband, good church-going Sinhalese Catholic ... and a people-smuggler. The 43-year-old entrepreneurial fishmonger from Sri Lanka's west coast says he turned his hand to the illegal immigration racket for the first time this year only after a bad fishing season more than doubled the 1.8 million rupee ($17,275) debt on his new fishing trawler. more..

Oct 14 (GDI) A delegation of MPs from Tamil Nadu paid a courtesy call on Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday. Discussions centred between Secretary Defence and the Indian delegation on country's current security situation and accelerated resettlement program under way for the IDPs sheltered in welfare villages. MPs representing DMK, Congress and Viduthalai Chiruthaikl Kachchi were among the delegation arrived on 10 October 2009 for three days visit. more..

Oct 14 (GDI) The Engineering Faculty of the University of Peradeniya has taken steps to meet the urgent requirements of graduate engineers to facilitate the State infrastructure development projects in the Northern and Eastern sector, by the advanced release of the results of the final examination of the Engineering Faculty. The results of the final examination of the BSc Engineering degree examination held on August 21, more..

Oct 14 (GDI) Malini Fonseka,the shining star of the Sinhala silver screen now known as the 'Queen of the Silver Screen' is likely to bring honour to her motherland shortly. This versatile actress who had bagged many an award is the most outstanding actress of our times. The late Gamini Fonseka once described Malini as the 'most intelligent actress' of the silver screen adding that she really lived in all characters she played in films. more..

Oct 14 (GDI) The government said the cabinet headed by the chief minister of the southern provincial council will be named very shortly. The necessary preparations are underway for the swearing in of the cabinet. Prominence will be given to the candidates who have shown allegiance to the codes of discipline and policies of the UPFA during the propaganda campaign, General Secretary of the UPFA Susil Premajayantha told more..

Oct 14 (GDI) The government has focused attention to strengthen the judicial system in the Northern Province. Minister Milinda Moragoda has instructed authorities to present a report after evaluating the relevant needs. A group of representatives of the ministry of justice is scheduled to engage in a tour in Kilinochchi and Jaffna within the next few days. The ministry has made preparations to implement the decisions of the commission for the re-demarcation of judicial limits from next January. more..

Oct 14 (AP) Sirens blared, parents grabbed their children and hundreds ran to emergency shelters in Indonesia as countries bordering the Indian Ocean conducted a test Wednesday of a warning system set up after the devastating 2004 tsunami. But at least one survivor was too paralyzed by memories of the killer wave to take part in mock evacuations off Aceh, Indonesia. "What is this all for? My chest has gone tight and I am shaking," more..

Oct 14 (LG) Resettlement of IDPs is foremost on the Government of Sri Lanka’s agenda in the post-conflict phase, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollama said when he met with members of the All Party Parliamentary Delegation from Japan on 13th October 2009 at the Ministry. The delegation of Rules and Administration Committee of the House of Councillors, the National Parliament of Japan are currently in Sri Lanka on a two day good will visit, more..

Oct 14 (DN) The Supreme Court yesterday in a majority judgment declared that P.B. Jayasundara was not bound by the purported affidavit filed by him in the Supreme Court. The Court accordingly held that the appointing authority, the President in terms of the Constitution was free to consider the appointment of petitioner-respondent Jayasundara as the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and more..

Oct 14 (LG) We have to detour from our series on Pavena Parandel to make an attempt to understand what happened in the south on Saturday. The UPFA on paper has secured a two third majority in the Southern Provincial Council and has increased its vote base. The party has increased the percentages of votes at Galle and Matara districts but appears to have failed to do so at Hambantota the "village district" of the President. more..

Oct 14 (LP) A program to register the marriages of internally displaced couples who are living together in welfare villages of Vavuniya was launched recently by the Equal Access to Justice Project of the UNDP. During the program, held in the Zone 0 Kadirgamar Nagar welfare village, 27 couples who had cohabited without registering their marriage exchanged marriage vows and received marriage certificates. more..

Oct 14 (LP) The Central Bank has learnt that there are scams that are being perpetrated by some unscrupulous persons who claim that they have been authorized to sell gold belonging to the Central Bank. On that basis, various offers have allegedly been made by such persons to members of the public. The relevant authorities are now investigating these scams and steps will be taken by them to trace, identify and take the necessary legal steps to deal with the offenders. more..

Oct 14 (LT) Ananda Lanerole, the Leader of the Opposition from the UNP of the Baddegama Pradeshiya Sabha, who took a bet before the elections, has decided to resign from the post of Leader of the Opposition. Two weeks before the elections, while participating at a political talk show on ‘Derana TV, Mr. Lanerole took a bet with Deputy Minister Lionel Premasiri that he would resign from his post of Leader of the Opposition if the UPFA won the Galle electorate at the Southern PC election. more..

Oct 14 (LT) There are serious doubts regarding the standard of the rubella vaccine that has been imported from an Indian company states General Secretary of the All Ceylon Government Medical Officers Union Dr. Dhammike Pathirana. He was speaking at a media meeting held at the headoffice of the union yesterday afternoon to apprise the media regarding the conditions that led to the death of a 13 year old child at Kurunegala Hospital after a rubella vaccine was administered. more..

Oct 14 (LT) Mr. Nishanthe Muthuhettigama, who was a controversial figure during the Southern PC election has been brought to Galadari Hotel in Colombo and is being detained on orders from the President say reports. He is detained in room No.208 say these sources. Mr. Muthuhettigama was brought to Colombo after his statement was telecast over the ‘Sirasa’ TV. As soon as the statement was telecast the President and others in UPFA have flared up and had decided to bring him down to Colombo. more..

Oct 14 (LNP) Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake in a press release issued yesterday said that when ballot papers relating to Saturday`s Southern Provincial Council elections were being examined on September 28, UPFA Galle District candidate Nishantha Muthuhettigama had arrived at the Galle district election office accompanied by a group of supporters and allegedly scolded the election staff and obstructed their official duties. more..

Oct 14 (TC) Batticaloa is a land of contrasts. Roads as smooth and straight as runways lead to a land steeped in potential on one hand, and poverty on the other. Colourful multi-storied buildings rise amidst blackened skeletons of brick, with the brand new Cargills and recently opened banks lining the roadside. Elsewhere are buildings demolished for road widening purposes. In the midst of all this development are signs of scars that have barely healed. more..

Oct 14 (LNP) Secessionist forces opened several fronts in a bid to destroy this country they were military, economic, diplomatic, propaganda and political. With the emergence of Prabhakaran s ruthlessly efficient outfit as a dominant factor in their campaign, they chose to put all their eggs in his basket for want of a better alternative. Now that the LTTE has been decisively defeated on the military front and Prabhakaran is not around, more..

Oct 14 (LT) leadership to defeat the LTTE in a 30 year old brutal war, to join the political process, win elections using them and later cast them away says Minister of Media Lakshman Yapa Abeyawardene. Mr. Abeyawardene said, “All three war heroes put forward by the UPFA for the Southern PC election won. Those who said that the Army Commander was not suitable for the ‘Salvation Army’ are attempting to put forward war heroes at elections to win them. more..

Oct 14 (AT) We witnessed enough and more of this in Tamil Nadu during the last phase of the anti-LTTE war. Lest some readers are not familiar with the term ‘Sudete’ it is linked to former Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland whose German inhabitants were the ‘ethnic’ excuse for Nazi Germany to annex the region in 1938 backed by the Sudete German Party. In Sri Lanka’s case the problem is not annexation but the TNA manipulating more..

Oct 14 (UNP) Speaking to the media today, UNP M.P. Ravi Karunanayake said, the last Southern PC election results is a dire signal to the Govt. that it cannot fool all the people all the time. Even in the President’s electorate he could not hold on to the percentage of votes that was received in the earlier elections. The least number of votes polled for the PA was at Hambantota. more..

Oct 14 (DM) Another plantation crisis is waiting to happen with several trade unions planning to re launch trade union action demanding a daily wage of Rs.500 for estate workers, an official said yesterday. Members of the Ceylon Workers Alliance (CWA) led by S. Sathasivam; the National Union of Workers led by P. Thigambaram and the Democratic Workers Congress led by Mano Ganesan are expected to take part in the trade union action. more..

Oct 14 (MoD) A high level Delegation from Indonesian Defence Ministry paid a courtesy call on Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday, 13 Oct. Secretary General of Indonesian Defence Ministry Lt Gen Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin headed the delegation arrived island on 11 October comprising members representing Defence Department and Strategic Industries of Indonesia. A discussion was held between more..

Oct 14 (DN) There is no comprehensive plan to combat climate change and global warming after 2012 for the world and the existing plan to combat the harmful effects of climate change has not been fully implemented yet, said Environment and Natural Resources Minister Champika Ranawaka on Monday. He was speaking at a press conference held at the Environment and Natural Resources Development Ministry. more..

Oct 14 (DN) Good governance and human rights are perhaps the most important and crucial cross-cutting issues that we have to focus serious and sustained attention on. The adverse impact of an internal conflict on institutions and structures of good governance is well documented the world over. Sri Lanka nearly three decades-old conflict has had an inevitable impact but we are fortunate that our institutional foundations are preserved intact. more..

Oct 14 (DN) Four Sri Lankan Nephrologists who underwent a six year training abroad have not returned to the country, Sri Lanka Medical Association President Prof Rizvi Sheriff said. The Post Graduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) trained six Nephrologists for the state sector and two for the private sector. Another nine Nephrologists are now undergoing training in both local and foreign institutes, Prof. Sheriff said. more..

Oct 14 (Island) The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) yesterday strongly emphasised the importance of the full implementation of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution as a mechanism for protecting the electoral process, particularly with regard to the violation of election laws and the abuse of State resources. Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Dr. Pakiyasothi Saravanamuthu told a press conference in Colombo that more..

Oct 14 (Island) UPFA General Secretary Susil Premjayantha yesterday said nothing could be as stupid as the Opposition attempt to depict Saturday’s Southern Provincial Council election results, as a sign of weakness on the part of the SLFP-led ruling coalition. He told The Island, the UNP had conveniently forgotten that it lost all 21 electorates in the Southern Province, more..

Oct 14 (Island) Although LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had informants within the military establishment, he received a weekly security update based on print media reports, particularly during Eelam War IV, according to captured LTTE cadres. Prabhakaran had received the briefing from LTTE intelligence wing leader Pottu Amman every Monday, they had told investigators. Sources said that the recovery of five explosives packed suicide jackets meant for more..

Oct 14 (DN) The Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry has appointed a special four-member committee to conduct an investigation into the death of the 13-year-old schoolgirl from Minuwangete Vidyalaya on Monday after receiving the Rubella vaccine on Saturday. The investigation will commence this morning. The Rubella vaccine program has been suspended with immediate effect, Public Health Deputy Director Dr. Palitha Maheepala said. more..

Oct 14 (Island) The Central Bank says the Monetary Board would not adjust existing policy interest rates as there is room for credit expansion to the private sector with lending rates expected to come down within the next few weeks. The Central Bank cut key policy rates earlier this year as the rate of inflation declined. The Repurchase rate and the Reverse Repurchase rate is now 8 percent and 10.50 percent, respectively. more..

Oct 14 (DM) President Mahinda Rajapakse who visited Kalutara on Monday has reportedly been furious with the lethargic Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) interim committee officials for neglecting the construction of the international cricket ground at the Surrey Village in Maggona, and had ordered Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge to expedite the matters. SLC were due to finish the construction of the ground in August 2007, but have not even been able to finish the more..

Oct 14 (wsws) The Sri Lankan army captured the last area held by the separatist LTTE in May, slaughtering most of its top leadership in the process. The fighting has concluded, but none of the underlying political reasons for the conflict have been addressed, let alone resolved. Successive Colombo governments have exploited the anti-Tamil war for 26 years to divert, divide and suppress opposition from working people over their pressing problems. more..

Oct 14 (DM) The Sri Lankan Government has been asking America to extradite Rudrakumaran even before the arrest of KP. After the SL Govt. became aware that Rudrakumaran along with the Tamil Diaspora representatives met Blake, the SL Govt. lodged its protests against it. The American Government. took the position that if charges against Rudrakumaran that he helped terrorists can be substantiated, it will take measures to institute legal action. more..

Oct 14 (DM) Sri Lanka is a middle income country with a per capita income of US$ 2,000. The incidence of poverty was 19.2 per cent in 2002 and 12.6 per cent in 2006-2007. The annual average rise in GDP has been around four to five per cent during the last decade. All these are true but not the whole truth. National averages are misleading. The per capita income does not represent the income of the average Sri Lankan. The income in our country is unevenly distributed. more..

Oct 14 (IPS) Well before 1.7 million voters trooped to 1,485 polling stations on Oct. 10 to elect the 55 members of the Southern Provincial Council, it was a foregone conclusion that President Mahinda Rajapakasa would easily lead his UPFA government as the clear winner. There was not doubt on anyone’s mind who the winner of the Council polls would be. "He is very popular, every one supports what he has done. I don’t think there is anyone to challenge him," more..

Oct 14 (Reuters) Sri Lanka is opening orders for only its second global bond ever, aiming to raise $500 million after investor sentiment towards the South Asian country improved sharply with the end of a 25-year civil war. The country, which debuted in the international bond market in 2007, is selling dollar bonds due in January 2015 in an offering handled by JPMorgan, HSBC and The Royal Bank of Scotland. "The central bank has launched the sovereign bond today. An official announcement will follow soon," more..

Oct 14 (MoD) Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has conveyed deep concern and condemnation of the Government of Sri Lanka to the Norwegian Government over a meeting held by the Advisory Committee for the formation of the Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (PTGTE) in Oslo, Norway this month. Foreign Minister Bogollagama summoned the Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Tore Hattrem yesterday and more..

Oct 15 (PSM) Ministry of Lands and Land Development reiterated its call for applications from people who are legitimately landless under the government initiated land distribution program. The applications from Western Province should be forwarded to the Land Commissioner in Colombo at Gregorys Road, Colombo 7, or the Provincial Commissioner of Land Western Province. This program of distributing available land among the landless and more..

Oct 15 (TA) ASYLUM-SEEKERS detained by the Indonesian navy at the weekend could be sent to an Australian-funded detention centre in Sumatra. The likely destination of the 260 Sri Lankans is set to spark a new debate over whether the Rudd government is embracing a Pacific Solution-approach to an influx of boatpeople. And Australia has committed to spending a further $1 million to help Indonesia run its detention centres into the future. more..

Oct 15 (LT) The children of the people in the country have to pay with their lives due to corruption, commission frauds and incompetency of the government says the JVP. In a statement issued by the Political Bureau of the JVP regarding the death of a 13 year girl due to an allergic reaction after the rubella vaccine was administered on her the JVP states the government including the Minister of Health should be responsible for such deaths. more..

Oct 15 (LT) Construction work of the controversial super luxury mansion built at Deniyaya has been completed and measures have been taken to send all ‘Maga Neguma’ vehicles that had been brought to the site for construction work back to Colombo says our reporter at Deniyaya. Three journalists from ‘Lanka Irida’ which first revealed the construction of the super luxury mansion at Deniyaya using ‘Maga Neguma’ resources, more..

Oct 15 (LT) Security chiefs should be careful to act according to their limits says Minister of Labour ‘Dr.’ Mervin Silva. Speaking at an opening ceremony of a road development project at Dematagoda headed by Western PC Member Thilan Sumathipala ‘Dr.’ Mervin said, “In a war the political leadership that directs it is important. It is the name of King Dutugamunu that was added to history. However, the war was carried out by the ‘ten heroic commanders.’ more..

Oct 15 (LT) Gen. Sarath Fonseka or which ever ‘Sarath’ contests the presidential election President Mahinda Rajapakse would definitely win says ministers of the government. This was stated at a media meeting held on behalf of the election campaign centre of the UPFA today. Secretary General of the UPFA Minister Susil Premajayanthe and Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva and Dilan Perera were present. more..

Oct 15 (IANS) Sri Lanka has assured a team of 10 MPs from Tamil Nadu that 58,000 Sri Lankan Tamils currently staying in fenced-off camps will be taken back to their homes from Thursday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said. 'There are 253,000 Tamils living in the camps and they will be sent back to their original places in phases - that is the assurance the MPs team got from Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa,' more..

Oct 15 (TC) A clarification has been sent from Germany to Human Rights and Disaster management minister Mahinda Samarasinghe about the controversial video of "executions" aired by British channel four TV in August. Ranjith Henayaka Lochbihler of the International Network of Sri Lankan Diaspora e.V. has in a letter sent to minister Samarasinghe denied charges levelled against him of being involved in the video being shown on Channel 4 TV. more..

Oct 15 (AT) As the country awaits the fate of crucial GSP plus trade concessions, economic experts spoke to Asian Tribune on whether the much-lobbied scheme is a must or is it time to let it go. It was stressed that the government should handle the issue GSP plus “more diplomatically” now that the war is over, and at the same time, the country should address “structural issues” in the economy than blaming it on the global economic meltdown. more..

Oct 15 (BBC) The main opposition in Sri Lanka says that the party is prepared to contest any national elections in the coming months. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake, MP, told BBC Sandeshaya that the tide has turned away from the government after the recently concluded Southern Provincial Council (SPC) elections. Sri Lanka will hold both presidential and parliamentary elections before April 2010, the government announced on Tuesday. more..

Oct 15 (Hindu) An all-party delegation should have visited Sri Lanka and assessed the progress of relief and rehabilitation of the Tamils in that country, BJP MP and former party president Venkaiah Naidu said here on Wednesday. Almost all political parties hold similar views on the question of the Sri Lankan Tamils, he said and added that this was another important reason for the delegation to have included representatives from all political parties. more..