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Sunday October 05th, 2008 |
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LTTE,
TMVP on notice
Under a new law signed yesterday by US President George W. Bush,
leaders of military forces and armed groups in Sri Lanka who
have recruited child soldiers, may be arrested and prosecuted in
the United States, Human Rights Watch said. The law could apply
to leaders of forces that have...
(See
Inside)
‘No Fire’ zones for
civilians in Mullaitivu
With the war entering a crucial stage, the Army has established
two ‘No Fire Zones’ in Mullativu, to provide safety to
civilians, Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka announced in
Anuradhapura...
(See Inside)
Errant INGO manager leaves
Former ZOA Kilinochchi Programme Manager, Giovanni Puerto is
believed to have left the island yesterday, ahead of a
government directive that he leaves Sri Lanka’s shores before
October 5.
Puerto’s visa...
(See
Inside)
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Blessing the flags
Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath
Fonseka attending the Flag Blessing Ceremony, precursor to the
forthcoming 59th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Army and Army Day
that falls on October 10. The event took place yesterday near
the sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura |
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Lightning rail strike drags on
With the unions refusing to run trains until a new signal system
is in place, the lightning railway strike from midnight Friday
seems set to create chaos with the potential to strand thousands
of commuters tomorrow. The government and unions...
(See Inside)
Way out for trapped civilians through
INGOs
The government is to evolve a
mechanism shortly to transport civilians trapped in the LTTE
controlled areas in the north to Vavuniya, where transit
camps...
(See
Inside)
FIRING LINE
Arjuna Mahendran too
in reckoning Remember last week how we wrote about the antics employed by
UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, to sideline the party’s
existing economic team in favour of a new discovery? We have
however...
(See Inside)
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NEWS |
Sale of Dutch Lady milk banned
Conflicting reports and claims of ignorance were shrouding the
Health Ministry, Friday, regarding the banning of local sale of
liquid milk products manufactured by Dutch Lady Milk Industries
Berhad, Malaysia. Dutch Lady Milk products were banned by the
Maldivian and Singaporean Governments during the week, fearing
potential lethal melamine contamination.
East West Marketing (Pvt) Ltd who is the distributor of Dutch
Lady Products in Sri Lanka, yesterday claimed that they stopped
importing the Malaysian company’s products several months ago.
“We stopped importing this product because of the high price and
back then there was no talk of contamination,” said Roshan
Perera of East West. “Anyway, the stocks we brought down must
have been sold out many months ago and I am not aware of a new
supplier and distributor,’ he added.
(See Inside)
Dialog hits five million
Dialog GSM achieved the five million subscriber target this
week, cementing its position as the premier mobile
telecommunications service provider in the country.
(See Inside) Palestinian President here on Thursday
Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Sri Lanka on
Thursday (9) as a mark of gratitude to President Mahinda
Rajapaksa, for his numerous acts over the years to spotlight the
plight of Palestinians under Israeli occupation and to espouse
their cause.
President’s Advisor A.H.M. Azwer told The Nation that, the main
reason for the visit of the Palestine President is to show his
appreciation to President Rajapaksa for his enormous support
extended to the Palestinian people.
“The Palestinians are grateful to the President of Sri Lanka for
the contribution he made during the past many years to
strengthen the ties between the two countries, and apart from
paying gratitude, bilateral talks are scheduled to be held
during his state visit,” Azwer added.
(See Inside) Water hike before cabinet
A cabinet paper has been submitted to increase the water
tariffs, in a bid to overcome massive mounting losses at the
Water Supply and Drainage Board, running to more than Rs. 200
million a month, Deputy Urban Development and Water Supply
Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said yesterday.
The Minister told The Nation, it was very essential to
increase the water tariff to continue the water supply
to the entire country. “Although the Treasury has
promised to give a certain amount to offset...
(See Inside)
Kingsley’s funeral today
Cremation
of the remains of former Minister of Internal and International
Commerce and Governor of Southern Province Kingsley T.
Wickremaratna will take place today (5) at 4 p.m. at the General
Cemetery, Borella. Cortege leaves residence No. 570/6,
Welikadawatta Nawala, Rajagiriya at 3 p.m.
Wickramaratne died at a private hospital in Colombo on
Wednesday, aged 75. A past pupil of Colombo Wesley College and a
father of three daughters, Wickramaratne commenced his political
career joining the SLFP in 1974.
(See Inside) Doors closed for Colombo Arts students
The Colombo University Arts Faculty has been made out of bounds
to students until further notice, since Friday. The decision was
taken by the university administration following a clash that
broke out between two student groups.
“There was a clash between two groups of senior students
on Friday. Each group recruits members from the batch of
students, in competition with each other. This was the
cause for the clash,” said a student...
(See Inside) |
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POLITICS |
Winning over India as
important as gaining Kilinochchi
 There
lies today in the current context of power play within the Indian
political arena and the diplomatic environment vis a vis Indo Sri Lanka
relations, a dire need for Colombo to inform and educate New Delhi about
the ground situation in the theatre of conflict, especially with regard
to the relief measures in place for the thousands of civilians fleeing
the region, about whom the Tiger propaganda machinery is working
overtime, spreading their brand of misinformation, hoping India would
not only sit up and take note, but decide to act too
There is no denying that given the scenario of
terrorist mayhem that has been unleashed in various
cities globally, World leaders are both unanimous in
their condemnation...
(See Inside)All eyes on Eelam War IV
 As
Sri Lanka’s armed forces came within kissing distance from
Kilinochchi town, the former LTTE administrative capital that
now promises to be a ghost town, when the troops finally march
in, most likely some time next week. Amidst the fighting, the
government last week, aided by the UN’s World Food Programme
sent food supplies to the displaced people of Kilinochchi and
other areas where fighting has driven populations further into
the jungles of Mullaitivu and Pudukudirrippu.
International concern for IDP’s
This move by the government also acknowledges
international concerns expressed about the plight of
the civilians trapped in the battle zones, some of
them being...
(See Inside)
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NEWS FEATURES |
Kerala port casts shadow over Colombo
harbour’s future
Fresh questions are being raised as to whether Colombo harbour
which has been acclaimed as one of the best transshipment hubs
in the world, could continue to stake that claim with the advent
of another major port in Kerala, India.
If Sri Lanka’s pride has been the port of Colombo, for its
efficient and effective operation as a transshipment hub, doubts
have now been cast. Soon the Colombo harbour may lose its
splendor due to the emergence of other ports in the region.
It is not known how much and to what extent...
(See
Inside)Murdering the hands that heal, how
quixotic!
The most precious gift that any parent has in this world is his
or her children. Every parent on earth wishes for their child to
be in a good position when they grow up. W.D. Patison and Kusuma
Kariyawasam  had the same dream for their youngest daughter W.D.
Lakshmi Indunil (33) when she was a child.
Indunil spent her childhood in Mahagammadda, Payagala in the
Kalutara district and was
always known as ‘Manike’ by her loved ones, among whom, was an
elder sister.
(See Inside)
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Lanka on the look out for
all-rounders
 Sri Lanka will use the Canada Cup Twenty20 four-nation
tournament with an eye on the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England
in order to arrive at the right balance on team selection.
“We will be looking for fast bowling all-rounders who are
essential in this type of competition,” Sri Lanka captain Mahela
Jayawardene told The Nation.
“We have two quality spinners capable of bowling under any
condition and specialist batsmen to bat in different situations.
We don’t have that many Tweny20 tournaments before the World Cup
except the domestic Twenty20. The Canada Cup will be an
opportunity for most of them picked in the squad,” he said.
Following the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in September 2007
this is only Sri Lanka’s second international tournament they
are taking part in this form of the game.
(See Inside)
Point Blank
Cricket administration lacks
professionalism
 Often
there is talk of our cricketers playing the game professionally.
Today they are up there with the best in the game and have
brought honour and glory to the country by bagging many
international awards the crème de la crème of it being winning
the World Cup and the ICC Spirit of Cricket which they have won
for two consecutive years – 2007 and 2008. But the same cannot
be said of our cricket administration which has over the past
decade or so been riddled with petty politics and a lack of
professionalism leaving it a laughing stock in the eyes of the
cricket world.
Becoming World Cup champions in 1996 brought about a new
dimension to Sri Lanka cricket administration which has failed
to change with the times and streamline itself in a professional
way. As a result they have been making the same mistakes over
and over again and to say the least, been rather amateurish in
handling certain issues.
(See Inside) |
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INTERVIEWS |
COPE to be made Govt. officials friendly
 Power & Energy Minister and Chairman, Committee on Public
Enterprises (COPE) John Seneviratne, is not content with the
manner in which COPE proceedings take place at present. He feels
that Public Sector officials summoned by the COPE, more often
than not, do not feel comfortable facing the COPE members.
Therefore, the Minister now intends to introduce a set of
changes, so that public officials could feel relaxed, when being
interrogated by the COPE. “We should give the officials
confidence, so that we could expedite the inquiry. In the past,
though the COPE has been following certain procedures, officials
who appeared before the committee, were not happy or
comfortable. This, I will change from now on,” the Minister told
The Nation in an interview. He also said that he had no
intention to safeguard any individual or organisation found
guilty of mismanagement or corruption. “I am very keen to ensure
a clean society. I will not be soft on those found guilty,” he
said.
Following are excerpts:
Q: Being elected recently as Chairman of COPE, do you intend
introducing any procedural changes to the functions of COPE?
A: I really want to follow a judicious procedure, in order
to evaluate the management of public funds in those institutions
that come under the COPE. Public officials who come before the
COPE, should be made to realise that, they are recognised,
(See
Inside) |
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