Lanka News – Lanka Gazette – Sri Lanka News Portal

Deputy Minister Mervyn Silva a short while ago announced his resignation as Deputy Media Minister and said he was doing so on the advice of a panel of professors.

“They advised me that I cannot handle the work of two ministries as the deputy and that I could to a better service as the Deputy Highways Minister”, he said.

Mr. Silva said that the panel of professors were appointed before the elections.

The Asgiriya Mahanayaka thera, Ven Udugama Sri Buddha Rakkitha thera expressed disappointment about the handling of foreign affairs during the past few years and that some of the Lankan diplomats failed in their duties of briefing leaders of the respective countries and the people where they served.

The Mahananayaka thera made the comments when the External Affairs (Foreign) minister G.L.Peiris visited him last morning. Continue Reading

The JVP alleged today that that there was widespread displeasure among the members of the newly appointed Cabinet of President Mahinda Rajapaksa over the allocation of Cabinet portfolios.

JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva told a press conference that the best ministries such as Ports and Aviation and Highways have been taken over by the President and would soon be handed over to his brother Basil Rajapaksa who was named Minister of Economic Development last Friday.

He added that the issues have also caused problem with the constituent’s parties of the UPFA such as the CWC whose leader A.Thondaman was not among those allocted a ministerial post.

Fourteen new parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) – thirteen elected from the five districts in the North and East and one from the TNA national list are to meet in Trincomalee on Sunday (April 18), TNA leader Mr.R.Sampanthan told timesonline.

At the conclusion of the first meeting a press communiqué would be issued, he added.

Five MPs from the Jaffna district, three from the Vanni district, three from the Batticaloa district and one each from the districts of Trincomalee and Amparai have been elected on the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi ticket, a constituent of the TNA.

The results of the Trincomalee district have not been officially announced till the re-poll is held on April 20 in a polling station located in Kumburupiddy, a village off north of east port town.

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Plans to allow star-cricketer-turned-UPFA-Matara-district candidate Sanath Jayasuriya to vote ahead of the April 8 general elections were hastily put on hold for unexplained reasons, the Sunday Times learns.
Arrangements had been made earlier for him to vote this morning at the Matara District Secretary’s office.

The Sunday Times learns that he had been given special permission to cast a postal vote on the grounds that he has to go back to India to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament. Continue Reading

Three separate Major Generals to hear charges against Gen. Fonseka in the second charge-sheet

A new General Court Martial (GCM) to hear charges of fraudulent military deals against retired General Sarath Fonseka is to comprise Major General Milinda Peiris (President), Major General Lalith Daulagala and Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe.

Their formal appointment, the Sunday Times learns, now awaits the signing of a Convening Order by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

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Foreign monitors including members from the European Union (EU) have been left out of the election monitoring process amidst allegations by the main opposition UNP that the Commissioner of Elections has failed to forward the invitations in time.

The Elections Department yesterday confirmed that no foreign monitors had been invited for the monitoring process. European Union Ambassador Bernard Savage told the Sunday Times the EU had not received an invitation to send monitors for the April 8 poll.

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Postmen have threatened to stop distribution of poll cards in protest over a cut in their special duty allowances. The protest came after the postal department in a cost-cutting exercise reduced the allowance paid to postmen put on duty to deliver poll cards.

Pro-JVP Lanka Postal Services Union spokesman Jayantha Wijesinghe said around 60% of the postmen throughout the country have expressed their opposition to the allowance cut and they might resort to trade union action if the issue was not resolved quickly.

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CID questions Attanayake on Retired General’s sources of campaign money

Retired General Sarath Fonseka gave no funds from campaign donations he received for the January 26 presidential elections to his main backer, the United National Party (UNP), according to a senior UNP leader. Continue Reading