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About this Sri Lankan News Forum
Welcome to the largest news forum on Sri Lanka. This is a discussion table for millions of Sri Lankans living around the world to express their thoughts on the latest Sri Lankan news events. Lankanewspapers.com is a powerful tool for all Sri Lankan ethnic groups to share information, knowledge and wisdom. Join! today |
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Mahinda to meet Pope Friday, 13 April 2007 - 4:49 AM SL Time President Mahinda Rajapaksa will next week embark on what analysts see as a significant visit to the Vatican to garner much needed international support for government efforts to resolve the ongoing conflict even as the co-chairs decided to adopt a `wait and see` policy on the future of a negotiated settlement. The President`s visit to the Vatican comes just days after Pope Benedict XVI, in his Easter day message, called on the government and the LTTE to stop violence and resume talks. In his Easter message last Sunday, Pope Benedict called on Sri Lanka`s warring parties to return to negotiations to end violence. `In Sri Lanka, only a negotiated solution can put an end to the conflict that causes so much bloodshed,` Pope Benedict said. `I am thinking of the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons,` he noted. 
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New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Super Eights, Grenada Thursday, 12 April 2007 - 8:24 PM SL Time New Zealand team PG Fulton, SP Fleming, RL Taylor, SB Styris, CD McMillan, JDP Oram, BB McCullum, DL Vettori, JEC Franklin, SE Bond, MR Gillespie Sri Lanka team WU Tharanga, ST Jayasuriya, KC Sangakkara, DPMD Jayawardene, LPC Silva, TM Dilshan, RP Arnold, MF Maharoof, WPUJC Vaas, CRD Fernando, Muralitharan Scorecard: http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wc2007/engine/current/match/247495.html Video: Is not available today.
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A-5 cleared after 14 years: Military Thursday, 12 April 2007 - 4:35 AM SL Time The Security Forces yesterday afternoon took full control of the Mahaoya- Chenkalady (A-5) main road after fourteen years, driving the remaining LTTE cadres to Thoppigala jungle, the military said. `With the capture of this road, the entire civilian population in the east is under government control and the remaining LTTE cadres are confined to some 150 square kilometre area in the Thoppigala jungle,` military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said. Calling it a major achievement of the military, Brigadier Samarasinghe said since the launching of its humanitarian operation to liberate some areas in the Batticaloa district 200 LTTE cadres were killed and a large number were injured. `The security forces lost 11 soldiers while 41 were injured since fighting broke out on February 24, this year,` the spokesman said.
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| Security
Security Forum
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Hit by Intelstat closure Tamil Tigers plans a new TV satellite channel in France Saturday, 14 April 2007 - 5:08 AM SL Time After the decision of Intelstat to close down National Television of Tamil Eelam (NTT) `within days` Tamil Tiger agents are planning to launch its second channel on the Hindu New Year day through Globecast which is at present said to be up-linking of the TTN television on the Hotbird satellite. TTN, a satellite Television operating out of Paris, is owned by the Taiml Tigers, formally known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an internationally banned terrorist organization. Kailayapathy Vagan Ponniah, Managing Director of the TTN France with branch office in London, is a cousin of Mathivathani, wife of Velupillai Prbhakaran, Leader of the LTTE. GlobeCast ( www.globecast.com) is a leading global content management and delivery company. It is the subsidiary of France Telecom. This company manages and transports, through its worldwide satellite and fibre network, 10 million hours of video and other rich media yearly for its core customer base of broadcasters, as well as corporate, government and retail clients.
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Tigers vow retaliation in Sri Lanka`s east Friday, 13 April 2007 - 8:21 PM SL Time The Tamil Tigers vowed Friday to hit back against an advance by government troops in the east of Sri Lanka, accusing the military of `genocidal activities` there. The rebels denied military claims they were retreating in the face of an onslaught in the Eastern Province, where they were ejected from a coastal stronghold in January, and said they would retaliate `very soon.` `As far as the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is concerned we have adjusted our tactics according to the needs and we have not withdrawn from the east,` LTTE`s political wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan said. `I believe only our actions in the coming period will answer the propaganda (of the government) whether the Sri Lankan military has won a stable victory,` he said in an e-mail interview with AFP.
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`There is no ceasefire agreement with LTTE` - Gotabhaya Friday, 13 April 2007 - 4:56 AM SL Time There is no ceasefire between the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan government and the 2002 agreement was only being left in place to satisfy the international community, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse said Tuesday. `There is no cease-fire agreement. There is no meaning in that,` said Rajapakse, who is the brother and a close-confidant of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, told the Associated Press. The 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) halted the decades long fighting. But over the last two years the truce has unravelled as a simmering `shadow war` erupted into open confrontations last year.
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| Politics
Political News Forum
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Sri Lanka: Human rights is the issue, not cricket Friday, 13 April 2007 - 4:59 AM SL Time The distortion in Sri Lanka of Amnesty International`s campaign `Play by the Rules` is a ploy to distract attention from the increasingly desperate plight of hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankan people. `We are concerned at abuses by all parties to the conflict -- civilians are killed, abducted and forcibly disappeared every day at the hands of government forces, Tamil Tigers, the Karuna faction and other armed groups,` said Purna Sen, Asia Pacific Director at Amnesty International. `Let us be clear -- no side in this conflict has anything to be complacent about. On the contrary, all parties are breaching international law by failing to protect civilians.` Increasing abductions, illegal killings and child recruitment in Sri Lanka are all going on unchecked and victims do not receive justice. The intensified fighting over the last year has forced over 300,000 people to flee their homes. At least 1000 people have been forcibly disappeared since the beginning of 2006.
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No indications of LTTE coming for talks - Peace Secretariat Chief Friday, 13 April 2007 - 4:58 AM SL Time There had not been any official communique from the LTTE expressing their desire for returning to the negotiating table, Peace Secretariat Chief and Foreign Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona said yesterday. `The Government`s stance over the peaceful resolution of the ethnic issue still stands, but there are no indications of concrete moves towards resuming peace talks,` Dr. Kohona told the Daily News. Asked whether there were fresh moves to revive the peace talks, he said other than some newspaper reports quoting the LTTE of their wish for talks, they have not seen any official communique from the Tigers. He observed that the LTTE has responded with terrorism and violence to the Government`s repeated calls during the last 14 months for negotiations to achieve honourable and sustainable peace.
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Money problems for new ministries Thursday, 12 April 2007 - 4:46 AM SL Time Many cabinet, non-cabinet and deputy ministers holding newly created portfolios are facing hardships as they have to operate without proper offices and other facilities. No funds have been allocated for their operations, a senior Ministry official said. As those portfolios were created after the budget 2007, funds have to be allocated to them through supplementary estimates, which are delayed due to the failure of the Treasury to finalize the details of estimates, the source said, under condition of anonymity. He said that while departments and other institution heads having better offices and other facilities than those given to Ministers, many Cabinet and non-Cabinet ministers are facing embarrassing situations in exercising effective control over departments and other institutions under their portfolios.
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Business News Forum
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`Weli Katarata Sisilak` in an act of love Friday, 13 April 2007 - 12:54 PM SL Time Eight Sri Lankan house- maids, who were imprisoned in Dubai, were released and brought back to Sri Lanka on 07.04.2007 under the `Weli Katarata Sisilak` (Solo U beneficial project for housemaids), implemented under the patronage of Dr. Lalith Kotalawala, Chairman and Vice Chairperson Ms. Sicille Kotelawala, Ceylinco Group of Companies, for the purpose of releasing housemaids imprisoned at the Sajah Main Prison in the United Arab Emirates due to non-availability of visas and service permits. This beneficial activity was executed by the Association of Society for Love and Understanding (Solo U), which is owned by Ceylinco Group of Companies, together with the help of Consul General`s office of Dubai, under the instructions of Dr. Lalith Kotelawala, Chairman Ceylinco Group of Companies.
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Govt. hopes to continue with magic price formula Friday, 13 April 2007 - 4:55 AM SL Time Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Bandula Gunawardana said the government was not ready to lift taxes during harvest time to bring down the prices of locally produced food commodities but would continue to import essential consumer goods and sell them under the newly introduced price formula. Minister Gunawardana made these comments during an impromptu media briefing he held along with Highways Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle at a whole sale establishment on 4th Cross Street, Pettah after an inspection tour of the country`s largest wholesale market of consumer items. `We are not ready to dance to the tune of the UNP. The UNP wants us to lift taxes on imports of essential food commodities. We do not import rice. We import only Basmati. What will happen to the local farmer if the government lifts taxes on food imports?` he asked.
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Egypt - Sri Lanka talks on petroleum Thursday, 12 April 2007 - 4:45 AM SL Time The Egyptian Minister for Petroleum Engineer Amin Sameh Samir Fahmy has during a meeting with Sri Lanka`s Minister of Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development A. H. M. Fowzie, agreed to continued discussions on future cooperation in the field of enhancing Sri Lanka`s oil refining capacity from 50,000 to 100,000 barrels per day. Minister Fowzie was in Cairo attending an Islamic Conference and took the opportunity to meet the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum. He emphasized on the Egyptian commitment to undertake a feasibility study on this project in order to finalise the negotiations. The Egyptian Minister agreed to undertake the feasibility study and instructed his Under Secretary who participated at the discussion to send a letter indicating their commitment. Fowzie while thankful for the corporation extended by Egypt, indicated that he would like to obtain assistance in training Sri Lankan technical staff in the field of refining operational engineering and related technical services. The Egyptian Minister agreed to training facility. Egyptian Government will provide accommodation, domestic transportation and the training facilities to the Sri Lankan technicians.
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| Editorial News
Editorial News Forum
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Oasis in the desert Thursday, 12 April 2007 - 4:37 AM SL Time The news about the completion of the report on electoral reforms is indeed an oasis in an arid desert of disconcerting reports that the people of this country are treated to regularly. According to the news report carried in Tuesday`s edition of this newspaper, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms Dinesh Gunawardena has said that the PSC has finalized its recommendations and that the report will be ready after their April 24 meeting. The proceedings of this PSC were unduly delayed mainly for want of adequate cooperation from the political parties. Occasions were numerous when we stressed in these columns the urgent need for finalizing these reforms. Minister Gunawardena who has been persistently making an endeavour to complete the task has said that they have come to the present stage after long and hard deliberations and that their effort has been to put forward a feasible set of recommendations at the earliest possible date.
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Stamp out highway terror! Wednesday, 11 April 2007 - 4:40 AM SL Time All good soldiers, it is said, go to heaven. Similarly, cynics may say, all bad drivers, too, end up there. For, they keep their passengers and other road users ever reminded of God! Put any atheist or agnostic in a boneshaker with a manic at the wheel?aka a private bus?and the rollercoaster ride that translocates his heart to his mouth will certainly have him say a prayer or two. He will alight?if lucky to survive the journey?from that contraption a true believer! Some years ago, a South African cricketer who happened to take a bus ride from Colombo to Galle made some interesting observations about Sri Lankan driving. He said he had lost count of the number of near misses along the way and considered it a miracle that he had made it to Galle and back in one piece. Such are the `glorious uncertainties of travelling` on Sri Lankan roads.
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Rein in these Mee Harakas! Tuesday, 10 April 2007 - 11:21 AM SL Time Politicians and their goons may be divided on anything but the plunder of the public wealth. They may kill one another in the run up to an election and go all out to topple governments but on the question of their privileges, perks and corrupt activities, their cooperation has never been lacking. What is going on at Maligawatte, Colombo is a case in point. A group of politically backed Mafiosi, belonging to different parties, is going hell for leather in its bid to grab the recreational areas of the sprawling housing complex consisting of 3,000 units at Maligawatte. Last week, they, accompanied by a posse of policemen who were obviously in their pocket, descended on the `green lung` of the housing scheme to block it out for the construction of some shops. But for the vehement protests by the Argus-eyed residents, determined to keep the land grabbers at bay, they would have accomplished their mission with ease.
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| Sports News
Sports News Forum
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Russel Arnold`s column Saturday, 14 April 2007 - 10:10 PM SL Time Things could not be going much better for us right now and confidence in the camp is sky high. We have beaten England and New Zealand in our last two games, and we are in a very good frame of mind with the semi-finals coming up. Results in other games could guarantee us a place in the last four but we`d obviously prefer to keep winning and take that momentum into the big games ahead. What we must not do is get carried away - as long as we keep our feet on the ground, we will continue to perform to our potential. If we do that, we have nothing to worry about. The victory against New Zealand sent out a positive message to our rivals - we were without our leading wicket-taker Lasith Malinga and in his absence the bowlers did a brilliant job.
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Sri Lanka Beat New Zealand by six wickets Friday, 13 April 2007 - 5:00 AM SL Time George`s, Grenada: Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by six wickets ending its unbeaten World Cup run with a comfortable six-wicket win today in the World Cup Super Eights match at the Grenada National Stadium. Early on in the match Chaminda Vaas struck a double blow by taking the wickets of New Zealand Captain Stephen Fleming and Ross Taylor. Later he took the third wicket of Peter Fulton. Sri Lanka restricted New Zealand to 219/7. Sanath Jayasuriya scored 64 and Kumar Sangakkara added 69 to beat the Kiwis in 45.1 overs.
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Lara plans one-day retirement after World Cup Thursday, 12 April 2007 - 10:45 PM SL Time Brian Lara will retire from one-day internationals when West Indies are knocked out of the World Cup. Lara is likely to have only two matches left following the loss to South Africa at Grenada on Tuesday. `I think this is the end of my one-day career, for sure,` Lara said. `I honestly feel that my game is over and we should give it to one of the younger players. It`s really tough playing one-day internationals out there.` West Indies go to England for a tour in June and Lara said he would `love to sit back and watch and see the team do well`. `I want to leave a team that plays better,` he said. `And that is still my hope. These might be my last two one-day internationals but I still want to see the team moving out of this competition learning something from it and that`s all I can hope for.`
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