President leaves for UN General Assembly

President leaves for UN General Assembly


President Mahinda Rajapaksa left for New York yesterday (September 19th) to attend the 63rd General Assembly of the United Nations Organisation, which commenced on September 16th.

President Rajapaksa is to address the UN General Assembly on September 23rd.

Secretary to the President - Lalith Weeratunga and head of the UPFA media unit - Minister Dallas Alahapperuma accompanied the President.

Colombo Int'l Book Fair

Colombo International Book Fair-2008 start today at the BMICH in Colombo (Sept. 20th). Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association is organizing the annual event in its 10th year.

The nine-day event will be open for the public from 9.00 am to 9.30 pm, and from this year, a free of Rs. 10 will be charged per entrant.

The Sri Lanka Book Publishers'Association initiated the first national book fair at National Art Gallery in 1999.

In 2001, the book fair was shifted to BMICH and title changed to Colombo International Book Fair with the participation of Indian and British publishers.


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Vatican Cardinal says Catholics should be grateful to President or liberating Madhu -

Vatican Cardinal says Catholics should be grateful to President or liberating Madhu


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The entire Catholic community in Sri Lanka should be grateful to President Mahinda Rajapaksa for liberating the historic Madhu Shrine from the terrorists and restoring to the Church, Vatican Cardinal Francis Arinsay said when he called on the President at Temple Trees yesterday(Sep 16).

President Rajapaksa said the adherents of all religions in Sri Lanka always act with mutual understanding and commended the patronage extended by all religious leaders in this connection.

A delegation from the Asia region for the Liturgical Convocation of the
Catholic Church called on President Mahinda Rajapaksaat Temple
Trees yesterday. The Leader of the Delegation His Eminence Francis
Cardinal Arinze, Prefect of the Congregationfor Divine Worship and the
Discipline of the Sacrament, Vatican State, Rev. Mario Zenari,
the Titular Archbishop of Zuglio and the Apostoli Nuncio
in Sri Lanka, Rev. Malcom Ranjith, Secretary of the congregation
for Divine Worship and the Disciple of the Sacrament, Vatican
City State, Ministers Milroy Fernando, Neomal Perera and S
arath Gunarathna were present. Picture by Chandana Perera
tual understanding and commended the patronage extended by all religious leaders in this connection.

"The Security Forces liberated Madhu Shrine to further consolidate the religious freedom and peaceful co-existence among fellow-citizens. The Security Forces were cautious enough to conduct their operations to ensure no damage would be caused either to the Madhu Church or the nearby buildings," the President said.

Although the retreating terrorists inflicted damage to the Church, the Security Forces renovated the buildings and handed back to the Church authorities to conduct the religious observances, he said.

Cardinal Arinsay said only after his arrival in the island he was able to see the actual situation.

"Sri Lanka is blessed with natural beauty," he said.

Vatican representative in Sri Lanka, Archbishop Mario Senari, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith and Ministers Milroy Fernando, Pandu Bandaranayake, Dayashritha Tissera, Sarath Kumara Gunaratne and Neomal Perera were also present.

LTTE leader Prabakaran suspected hideout air attacked

Prabakaran suspected hideout air attacked



Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets launched successive air strikes at key LTTE locations in Kilinochchi and Mullaittivu including a 'high profile' LTTE hideout located in the Vattakachchi area, today (17) at around 6.35a.m.


The targets were acquired with precision on reliable ground information received Air Force Spokesperson, Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said.
The target at Vattakachchi area has been identified as a secret LTTE hideout and was engaged on real-time information received of the presence of a key LTTE figure, defence intelligence sources said. This is a site most frequented by the LTTE chief, and LTTE is expected to remain tight lip on the casualty figures, defence observes state.

Explosion inside bus at Colombo .Horton Place

Explosion inside bus at Horton Place


A bomb had exploded inside a bus at Horton Place. The passengers had been evacuated before the explosion took place. Four people have received minor injuries.

UN completely out of Kilinochchi

UN completely out of K’nochchi



Citing a statement issued by him, BBC Sandeshaya reported the UN has received assurances from the LTTE that UN and humanitarian agency staff remaining in Kilinochchi can leave.

India -New Delhi Blast

New Delhi Blast

New Delhi Blast
A day after five blasts rocked the Capital, the Delhi police today claimed to have gathered “vital clues” on the terrorist attacks which left more than 25 dead and over 100 injured. Official sources put the death toll at 21.

A senior police officer said based on these clues, they were confident of tracking down the perpetrators of the ghastly act.

More:http://online.wsj.com/article
/SB122137427839032987.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/default.stm

More Pictures:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7614412.stm

A Million Flee as Huge Storm Hits Texas Coast

Slide show http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/12/us/0912-IKE_3.html

Hurricane Ike lashed the Texas coast Friday night with 110

mile-per-hour winds as it churned toward this city and threatened to devastate Galveston and other towns along the Gulf of Mexico with a wall of seawater 20 feet

high.By late in the day, more than a million Texans had left their homes for safer pl aces inland, but tens of thousands decided to tough it out, and the authorities feared that those people had put their lives at risk. Officials in Galveston, on a vulnerable barrier island, estimated that 40 percent of the city’s 57,000 residents had ignored an order to evacuate.

As many as 100,000 homes could be inundated by the wall of water expected to hit the coast, federal officials warned, and millions of people could be left without electricity.

Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis: 'The Emerging player of the year' at ICC awards

Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis: 'The Emerging player of the year' at ICC awards

Sri Lanka's spin sensation 23-year old Ajantha Mendis was named as the emerging player of the year at an awards ceremony held by International Cricket Council (ICC) in Dubai, on Wednesday.

Speaking to media Mendis said “I am delighted to win the award, it is an honour to play for Sri Lanka and I hope to continue playing for my country for a long time to come.”

At the same ceremony, the Sri Lanka cricket team too won the 'Spirit of Cricket' award. It is the second year in a row that Sri Lanka won this award under Mahela Jayawardena's captaincy.

Other winners of the 2008 ICC Awards:

• Cricketer of the Year: Shivnarine Chanderpaul, West Indies
• Test Player of the Year: Dale Steyn, South Africa
• ODI Player of the Year: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India
• Emerging Player of the Year: Ajantha Mendis, Sri Lanka
• Associate Player of the Year: Ryan ten Doeschate, Netherlands
• Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: Yuvraj Singh, India
• Women's Player of the Year: Charlotte Edwards, England
• Spirit of Cricket: Sri Lanka
• Umpire of the Year: Simon Taufel, Australia

Japan hit by Magnitude 7 quake

Two powerful earthquakes have struck the north-eastern Indonesian Moluccas islands and Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, triggering tsunami alerts.

The first, which had a magnitude of 6.6, occurred at 0902 (0002 GMT) about 120km (75 miles) north of the city of Ternate, the US Geological Survey said.

THe quake is reported to have hit at 9.21 am local time off the eastern coast of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island at a depth of about 12 miles. A 4-inch tsunami rippled at the shore about 35 minutes after the quake.

Earlier a warning had been issued for a 20-inch tsunami along the eastern coast of Hokkaido and the northeastern coast of Japan's main island of Honshu. The warning was lifted about an hour later.

"There was some light shaking, but it was nothing major," said Yukio Yoshida, a police spokesman in Hokkaido.

Authorities temporarily advised about 10,600 residents of Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of Tokyo, to evacuate their homes, and ordered people to stay way from beaches throughout the region.

World economic growth may slow to 1-1.5% in 2009: UNCTAD

World economic growth may slow to 1-1.5% in 2009: UNCTAD

GENEVA, (AFP) -

World economic growth could slow to 1-1.5 percent in 2009, about half of the projected 2.9 percent growth for 2008, the UN trade and development body's chief economist said on Thursday.

In its latest annual report, UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) assessed that in mid-2008, the global economy was already “teetering on the brink of recession”, impacted by financial markets turmoil, commodity price hikes and huge exchange-rate swings.

dreaded Rat fever races on--117 deaths up to August

dreaded Rat fever races on--117 deaths up to August

Leptospirosis, widely known as rat fever, is raising its vicious head again with 117 deaths being reported up to August this year while only 34 deaths from the entire country were reported last year, Health Ministry Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Prabha Palihawadana said.

She said some 3,700 Leptospirosis infected patients were reported up to August this year while only 2,600 patients were reported last year it.

Dr. Palihawadana said the Unit would take immediate measures to prevent the spread of this deadly disease, and that the Prophylaxis antibiotic tablets were dispatched to health officers and hospitals in the affected areas.

She said most of the cases had been reported from paddy farming districts but there appears to be a significant number of new cases being reported from Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara in the Western Province, Matale and Kandy in the Central Province, Matara in the Southern Province and Kegalle in the Sabaragamuwa Province. “The danger is that the cause of the disease is not only water contaminated by rat urine but also from water contaminated by the urine of infected cattle, goats, dogs and cats,” Dr.Palihawadana stressed.

Heavy rain in Sri lanka

Heavy rain in Sri lanka
A depression in the lower atmosphere over Sri Lanka is the cause for the heavy rain being experienced in several parts of the country. More rain expected.

Weather Forecast
Department of Meteorology - Sri Lanka

Weather Forecast for 5th September 2008

Issued at 5.30AM on 5th Sep2008

There will be showers at several places in the Western And Central provinces and in the Gall and Matara districts.

Thundershowers will develop at a several places in the Uva,Eastern and North-central provinces during the afternoon or night.
The nearest towns of Sri lanka over,which the sun is overhead today(5th) are Wadduwa, Balangoda and Okanda about 12.09.

Weather Forecast for sea area around the island during the next 24hours (Issued at 5.30am 5th Sep.2008)

There will be showers or thundershow at several places sea areas around the island.Winds will be 20-30Km/h(moderate) and South-westerly direction. The speed may increase up to 40Km/h in the South-eastern and Gulf of Mannar sea areas.
South-eastern and Gulf of Mannar sea areas will be slightly rough and elsewhere sea areas around the island will not be rough.

Civilians should be allowed to move freely to liberated areas" - UN

Civilians should be allowed to move freely to liberated areas" - UN

With the announcement of the Ministry of Defence that a "humanitarian corridor" has been established to assist the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the non-liberated areas in the North to move to liberated safe areas, the United Nation's Resident Representative in Sri Lanka states that such people in need should be allowed to move without any hinderance.

Issuing a public statement, the UN Representative, Neil Buhne said that any displaced person is entitled to freedom of movement according to international principles; they can move where and when they want, in search of safety and assistance.

The LTTE has been continuously accused of using civilians as a human shield in the areas where the security forces are confronting the terrorist. Despite all the factual evidence of LTTE using civilians to prevent military attacks the terrorists have continued to coerce people living in areas under their control to prevent them from fleeing to liberated areas.

Pakistan PM's motorcade attacked

Pakistan PM's motorcade attacked

Shots have been fired at the motorcade of Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, although it is not clear if he was in the convoy at the time.

Interior ministry officials said the car was on its way to collect Mr Gilani from Islamabad's airport.

Earlier, his press secretary told the BBC that unidentified gunman fired on Mr Gilani's car as he was travelling from the airport into the city.

It is not clear who carried out the attack, which is being investigated.

Mr Gilani's government is grappling with a growing threat from Islamist militants.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7595572.stm

LTTE Asian propaganda channel terminated

In response to the continuous requests made by Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Hong Kong based management office of Asia- Sat Telecommunication Company explicating that the Tamil Cultural Programmme is a pro-LTTE channel, the officials of the said company have terminated the transmission of Tamil Cultural Programme TV Channel through their Asia SAT 3S Satellite.

The decision was officially informed to the Sri Lanka embassy in Beijing by the officials of Asia-Sat Telecommunication.

Air Force hits LTTE fighter boats

Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets pounded two LTTE fighter boats, defence sources said.

The boats were anchored close to the Alampil Beach near Nayaru Lagoon at the time of the air attack carried out this morning.

According to confirmed reports from the Air Force one boat was completely destroyed while the other suffered heavy damage.

Political parties propose constitutional amendments

Political parties propose constitutional amendments
In a new initiative to expedite the establishment of Independent Commissions and introducing new provisions to the 17th Amendment a group of legislators representing all political parties in the government and the opposition have proposed a set of new amendments to the Constitution.

Import duty concessions for five commodities for migrant workers waived

Import duty concessions for five commodities for migrant workers waived

Concessions for Sri Lankan migrant workers returning on import duty pertaining for purchasing five commodities at the airport have been waived since Sep 1st 2008.

Initially, the tax concessions were waived for seven commodities but later the washing machines and four burner cookers were removed from the list. These items can be purchased with duty concessions further.

Duty concessions have been waived for all kinds of air conditioners, deep freezers, CRV televisions with screens wider than 29 inches and LCD TVs with screens wider than 32 inches under the new custom regulations.