*
Sri Lanka President visits sacred Kataragama temple
Nov 07 (CP) Kataragama- Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited the sacred Kataragama Kiri Vehera Temple last night to participate in special religious activities.
*
IMF releases the second installment of Sri Lanka loan
Nov 07 (CP) Colombo- International Monetary Fund (IMF) said its Executive Board Friday completed the first review of Sri Lanka's economic performance and released the second installment of the US$ 2.5 billion Stand-by Arrangement.
*
General Fonseka appointed Secretary to the Ministry of Sports
Sri Lanka Chief of Defence Staff General Sarath Fonseka has been appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Sports.
*
Schools in the South closed on Friday
All the schools in the Southern Province will be closed on Friday in preparation of the upcoming provincial council polls.
Nov 07 (DM) The Supreme Court has determined that the Elections (Special provisions) (Amendment) Bill, that seeks to provide for visually impaired persons to be accompanied by another person when voting, was inconsistent with the constitution, Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara informed parliament yesterday.
*
IMF loan helps Sri Lankan reconstruction drive
Nov 07 (RW) A loan from the IMF is helping rebuild confidence in Sri Lanka's economy as it recovers from conflict and paves the way for donor assistance in its reconstruction effort.
The IMF Executive Board met on November 6 and cleared the way for the release of just over $322 million.
*
TNA MP hails resettlement
Nov 07 (Hindu) COLOMBO- In a clear signal that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has succeeded in garnering support from a section of the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA), a parliamentarian of the group came out openly in support of the government in Parliament.
*
Sri Lanka needs long term plans, Opposition Leader says
Nov 06 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe says long term plans as well as policies should be introduced to develop the country.
Speaking at a youth forum meeting held in United National Party headquarters this afternoon he said until the long term plans are introduced, the country could never achieve success in development in the future.
*
War orphaned children visit Sri Lanka parliament
Nov 06 (CP) Colombo- A group of internally displaced children visited the Sri Lanka parliament today to learn about the daily activities in the House. According to the parliament sources, a group of 218 war-orphaned children from Chettikulam IDP camp in Vavuniya has participated...
*
Sri Lankan Health Ministry gags its staff over contaminated drug issue
Nov 06 (CP) Colombo- After discovering few more contaminated drug vials the Health Ministry has prohibited its staff to speak to the media, its sources said. According to the sources, the Ministry has issued a special circular banning the staff from releasing to media.
*
Interruption of water supply in Colombo and suburb areas
Nov 06 (CP) Colombo- The Ceylon Electricity Board notified that, water supply from Ambatale station to the following areas will be interrupted on Sunday November 8 between 8.00 a.m. and 8.00 p.m.
*
Tourism Minister resigns from party
Sri Lanka Tourism Minister Nandana Gunatilaka, the General Secretary of the National Freedom Front (NFF), has resigned from the party,
*
Twister damages 103 houses in Sri Lanka
A twister that blew across the Bulathsinhala area in Kalutara last night damaged at least 103 houses.
*
Sri Lanka President to visit Nepal tomorrow
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is to leave for Nepal tomorrow (29) on a two-day official visit.
*
Children hospitalized after eating chocolates
Ten children from Anamaduwa Central School have been admitted to the hospital today when they fell ill after eating chocolates.
*
Explosion at army camp in Northern Sri Lanka
An unexpected explosion has occurred inside the premises of the Sri Lanka Army 58 division headquarters in Kilinochchi this morning
*
Sri Lanka: Rattle and roll on the Lanka Challenge tuk-tuk race
Nov 06 (Telegraph) What do you get when you put 70 foreigners in charge of 25 tuk-tuks? Charles Starmer-Smith finds out as he leads Team Telegraph on a wild and wonderful 10-day ride across a devastated land that's slowly regaining its tourism feet – and its winning smile.
*
DM likens Opposition alliance to clay scarecrow
Nov 06 (Island) Plantation Industries Minister D. M. Jayaratne said that the recently formed UNP-led United National Alliance was only a ‘Meti Pambaya’ (clay scarecrow).
*
President benefitted the nation
Nov 06 (DN) UNP veteran K. N. Choksy PC yesterday said President Mahinda Rajapaksa has benefitted the nation by wiping out terrorism and restoring economic progress.
*
“India-Sri Lanka FTA has helped cross-border trade”
Nov 06 (Hindu) CHENNAI- For the past nine years, the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement has helped free flow of trade across the borders
*
Presidential poll likely; signs of rift in cabinet
Nov 01 (ST) President Mahinda Rajapaksa indicated to his ministers on Wednesday that the presidential election will be held first but warned some of them to stop their clandestine relationships with opposition parties.
*
UNHCR says 90,000 IDPs returned home in Sri Lanka
Nov 07 (CP) Colombo- The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said some 90,000 of Sri Lanka's Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have returned to their homes in the past three months under the Sri Lankan government's resettlement program.
*
First H1N1 death in Sri Lanka?
Nov 07 (CP) Colombo- First suspected death due to influenza A-H1N1 of a child in Kandy who belonged to a high risk group is most probably due to the pneumonia related to the flu, health sources said.
*
Unemployed graduates stage protest demanding jobs
Deamnding jobs, Unemployed graduates have staged a massive protest campaign this afternoon in front of the Fort Railway Station in Colombo.
.
*
WPC erupts over body building equipment to PSD
Nov 07 (Island) The JVP and the UPFA yesterday clashed at the budget debate of the Western Provincial Council over allocation of funds to procure a set of body building equipment for Temple Trees.
Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, JVP member of the WPC, said that of Rs.11 million allocated for development and promotion of sports in the entire province, Rs. 180,000 had been spent on body building equipment.
*
Counter protest against striking unions
Nov 07 (DN) Representatives of some trade unions who met Western Province Governor and Trade Union Federation Convenor Alavi Mowlana at his office yesterday decided to stage a protest campaign against the proposed trade union action to be launched by anti-government elements.
*
‘Colombo wary of Kosovo-type fate’
Nov 07 (Hindu) NEW DELHI- Wary of a Kosovo-type fate, Colombo wants to adopt a cautious approach to the issue of political settlement of Tamils, a senior Sri Lankan official told The Hindu here.
“We need to move forward on the process of empowerment. But one problem with federalism in a small country is that it is more subject to splitting.
*
Sri Lanka hands over the report on GSP+ to EU members
Nov 06 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka today handed over the observation of the government on the European Union's report on extension to the GSP+ trade concession to the Heads of Missions of the EU member states.
*
Sri Lanka President visits Parliament
Nov 06 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa today made a surprise visit to the Parliament complex in Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, Presidential Media Unit said.
*
President appoints a committee to study the US report to Congress on Sri Lanka
Nov 06 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa today appointed a five- member independent committee to comprehensively examine the report submitted by the US Department of State....
*
French FM sends special envoy to Sri Lanka
Nov 06 (CP) Colombo- French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has decided to send a special Human Rights Ambassador to Sri Lanka in order to gather from the authorities, the NGOs and the population information, evidence and proposals that will allow France to help Sri Lanka speed up the voluntary return of refugees and strengthen the rule of law.
*
Sinhala Music ( Hela Kalawa) to international arena
Nov 06 (CP) Colombo- The W. D Amaradewa Foundation have taken steps to set up an international music centre in Colombo to deliver the invaluable experience and knowledge gained by the artist Pandith W.D Amaradewa to the next generation.
*
Floods in Batticaloa displace people
Heavy rains in several areas of the Batticaloa District have been severely flooded displacing the residents.
*
Sri Lanka's theater legend Gamini Haththotuwegama passes away
Gamini Haththotuwegama, the theater legend in Sri Lanka has passed away this morning at a hospital in Colombo after a brief illness.
*
School closed due to fever
M.D.H Jayawardana Vidyalaya at Udumulla in Padukka has been temporarily closed due to an unidentified fever spread through out the school.
*
Tamil Nadu MPs to visit Sri Lanka today
Oct 10 (CP) Colombo- A delegation of 10 parliamentarians from Tamil Nadu is to leave for Sri Lanka on Saturday on a mission to get a first-hand account of the conditions at the Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps in the North.
*
Army soldier arrested over school van blast
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has arrested an army soldier over yesterday's blast inside a van in Kurunegala.
*
‘Exciting economic phase ahead for Lanka’
Nov 06 (ENS) CHENNAI- “It’s exciting times ahead for Sri Lanka’s economy and the country has a lot to offer for business in many areas like transportation, tourism and banking,”
*
TNA hails government
Nov 06 (DM) In what was widely seen as a new political development , the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday commended in Parliament efforts by Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa and Resettlement Minister Rishard Bathiudeen in resettling displaced civilians in the North.
*
More Indian relief for Sri Lanka
Nov 06 (Hindu) COLOMBO- India on Thursday announced a package of relief material for the nearly 3 lakh war displaced in northern Sri Lanka.
*
Lankan Group to Regale Fans, Help War Victims
Nov 06 (KT) Sri Lanka’s ‘Ranaviru’ musical group has returned to the UAE for its second ‘Tour of Duty’, aimed at raising awareness and funds for the rehabilitation of disabled soldiers back home as a result of injuries sustained in the 30-year-old conflict against the internationally banned group, Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE), in the island nation.
