Share Blogs

The Release Candidate of Kubuntu 10.10 is available now for one last round of testing. 10.10 RC features a joint image for Desktop and Netbook, a new Mobile variant, a new application focused package manager and much more. Do let us know how it works for you. [This is a free and open source operating system]

Anoma Fonseka wife of former Army chief Sarath Fonseka today addressing a press conference sarcastically thanked President Mahinda Rajapaksa for serving her husband who rigorously fought in the battle field with a rigorous imprisonment. She added that she was however not disappointed by the verdict and will fight for her husband’s freedom. Anoma also stated that through this act the President unveiled his true image to the world to see.

The refugee board accepted 85.2 per cent of Sri Lankans claiming refugee status in Canada during the first six months of 2010 — a rate that is on the high end among countries. An analysis by CBC News of numbers released by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada showed 345 Sri Lankan claims were accepted in six months, while 50 were rejected. Another 705 claims from that period are waiting to be processed. Only six countries had higher acceptance rates, with Eritrea at the top of the list with 93.8 per cent of claimants accepted. Afghanistan had only a slightly higher acceptance rate than Sri Lanka, at 85.5 per cent. The board avoids speaking about individual cases, and would only say that acceptance rates indicate the claimants were able to prove that sending them back to their original country could get them killed. Immigration lawyers and human rights advocates say most of the Sri Lankan claimants Canada processes are Tamil. They say the high number of claims accepted speaks

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have star power, but even they may struggle to persuade China’s billionaires that celebrity philanthropy is a must. Chinese billionaires feel insecure about their wealth, and trustworthy charities are lacking. Still, as China’s wealth gap widens, the super-rich should start thinking up ways to look more generous. The Middle Kingdom is home to more dollar billionaires than anywhere except the United States, according to Forbes. But charitable giving accounted for only 0.1 percent of China’s GDP in 2009, versus 2 percent in the United States. Buffett and Gates are set to hold a banquet in China as part of their philanthropy-themed world tour, but some local moguls have reportedly kept a wary distance. Chinese billionaires aren’t quite like their U.S. counterparts. Charity probably feels like a luxury for the first generation super-rich, most of whom are still building their wealth in China’s young, fast-growing economy. Many want to leave their empire to the

Explaining the circumstance of the death of a Sri Lankan at Doha in Qatar on July 7, the Embassy in Qatar states that the body would be flown to the island within a week. The delay has been due to the documents pertaining to the incident being delayed by the Qatari police. The embassy also states that the Qatari sponsor of deceased P.G.D.L. Bandara had requested a thorough police investigation into the incident. This had caused the delay according to the Embassy. According to the sponsor, Mr. Bandara, an employee of a company by the name of Sultan Suwaidi Trading & Construction, Doha had set himself on fire at an abandoned accommodation away from the company accommodation on 06. 07.2010. He was immediately rushed to the Hamad Medical Corporation. The next day the hospital had pronounced him dead. Following this, Mr. Bandara’s sponsor had urged for a thorough investigation regarding the death. According to Qatari law, its police authorities would not grant permission for a body to b

A fourteen year old girl has given birth to a child at the Castle Street Maternity hospital, Anoma Dissanayaka, Chairperson, National Child Protection Authority told Ada Derana. The new born is reported to be underweight and undergoing special treatment. The teenage girl’s father is not there and the mother is reported to be mentally retarded, Anoma added. She also stated that none of the girl’s family members were visiting her at the hospital and Doctors at the hospital had become suspicious when a 28 year old man had started visiting her regularly and had informed the NCPA. The NCPA has taken the responsibility to protect and house both children under their care until inquires are completed, Anoma said.

The body of a child who allegedly went missing has been found from a pit at the Pabodarama Temple in Balapitiya. The seven year old boy is also the brother of a monk at the Temple. A complaint had been lodged with the Ambalangoda Police on September 27 that the boy was missing. The deceased was resident of Madampagma, Galagoda. Police are conducting further inquiries.

Stating that operations of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have now shifted to Canadian soil, Sri Lanka has requested the support of the Canadian government to put a stop to such activities that could threaten Sri Lanka’s national security. “Following the defeat of terrorism in Sri Lanka, some limited elements of the LTTE have now transferred their base of operations overseas, including to Canada,” Sri Lanka’s Minister of External Affairs G.L. Peiris is reported to have told his Canadian counterpart, Lawrence Cannon. The issue was discussed during bilateral talks between the two officials on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last week. The LTTE, a group that fought for a separate state in Sri Lanka for nearly three decades, was known to have a wide international network, which played a major role in the group’s long-term success in the war through financing and publicity. In May 2009, Sri Lankan forces defeated the LTTE, and since then supporters of the group livin

The Tissamaharama magistrate has been interdicted with immediate over an incident where he had misused his firearm, says the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). According to the JDC, a complaint had been received of the magistrate accompanied by two other persons, being involved in an incident at a night club in the Kollupitiya area. The services of the magistrate have been suspended to facilitate further inquiries into the incident, added the JSC. A special committee is to be appointed to probe the incident. Adding further, a JSC official said that the magistrate had allegedly fired his official pistol into the air during the incident.

Police have notified three telephone numbers where information, if any, regarding the Rs. 70 million cash heist could be conveyed. The numbers are: 011 266 2311, 011 266 2323 and 011 268 5151 A cash reward of Rs. 2.5 million has been announced to anyone who produces information leading to the identification or arrest of the suspects involved in the Rs. 70 million robbery at Thelangapatha.

A new Elections Commissioner can be appointed following the appointment of a Parliamentary Council, Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardena expressed at Parliament today. The Minister said that the current Elections Commissioner was set to retire on February 28th 2002, however the Election Commission being inactive has prevented him from retiring as notified by the Supreme Court. Mr. Gunawardena made these statements in reply to a verbal question poised by UNP Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara at Parliament today. Dayasiri Jayasekara questioned as to when the Elections Commissioner will be retiring and whether the fundamental rights of the commissioner have been breached by not letting him retire in due time.

The issue of the breach of Parliamentary privilege of Democratic National Alliance (DNA) leader Sarath Fonseka came up in Parliament today as well. Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has urged Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa to call for an explanation from the Army Commander regarding the matter. United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has reportedly told the Speaker to call for an explanation from Sri Lanka Army Commander Lt. General Jagath Jayasuriya as to why Sarath Fonseka who is under detention was not allowed to attend Parliament yesterday as well as today (Sept. 24). UNP Colombo District Parliamentarian Sujeewa Senasinghe is reported to have stated that MP Sarath Fonseka should be permitted to attend Parliament first and that discussions regarding the possibilities or not should be discussed later. Meanwhile, when Adaderana inquired from Director General of the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) Lakshman Hulugalle regarding the issue, he said that since the v

The gunman who shot the lady teacher attached to the Siyambalanduwa Maha Vidyala was a father of two and a resident of Badulla, Police told Ada Derana. It was further revealed that the teacher and the suspect were having an affair which turned sour leading to the shooting and suicide. The gunman had been working as a peon at the Moneragala Post Office and had lost his job two months ago.

Former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka today filed a case at the Appeal Court challenging the decision of the First court martial. In the case he requested the Court to overturn the decision stripping him of his military rank. Fonseka further states that he was not given a fair trial by the Court Martial and named the three Majors General who presided over the proceedings as the respondents.

The Islamic Solidarity Front (ISF) today warned of a group of ‘Wahabi’ Muslim extremists who have entered into certain parts of Sri Lanka among moderate Muslims and creating division by spreading Wahabism. Riyaz M. Sally, president of the Islamic Solidarity Front speaking to Ada Derana said that these Wahabi groups among which is the ‘Thauheed Jamath’ are funded by foreign groups and are turning Muslims against each other. These groups have even caused problems between brothers of the same family he added. He further added that their have been incidents where Muslim shrines where attacked by these extremist groups. “We are living in a Buddhist country. We want to live together in peace and harmony after the eradication of terrorism. We don’t want to be another part of it as we are against terrorism” Riyaz Sally stated. Mr. Sally urged President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to look in to the matter and to bring an immediate stop to it.

Voters from the Gampaha District held a protest against Paba or Upeksha Swarnamali’s recent crossover to the government side in the township of Kirillawela in Kadawatha a short while ago. The protestors claimed that Ms. Swarnamali had gone to Parliament through the votes of the United National Party (UNP) supporters and had betrayed them by joining the government for monetary considerations. The protest was organized by Western Provincial Councillor U. George Perera and Opposition supporters in the area. Recent media reports suggested that Ms. Swarnamali’s husband had forced her to support the government’s 13th Amendments to the Constitution and that another government member had offered a large amount of money for the crossover. She attended the UNP protest at the Parliamentary complex dressed in black but later voted for the amendments in Parliament along with another few UNP members.

Days after it was revealed that German Bakery blast-accused Mirza Himayat Baig allegedly met his Lashkar-e-Toiba contact in Sri Lanka to avoid detection, US agencies have passed on intelligence inputs to India that the LeT already has some 200 cadres present in the island nation who plan to use the country as a “staging ground” to enter India. It’s learnt that Washington has also informed Colombo about this after Lankan authorities denied that LeT had training facilities there. As per New Delhi’s assessment, the threat could be aggravated if remnants of the LTTE cadre are engaged in logistics for LeT. Contrary to initial claims that Baig was trained in Sri Lanka, what has been confirmed is that he traveled there in 2008 where he met a contact from LeT. Sources said investigations are on to find out whether he undertook more visits and if LeT operatives are using Sri Lanka as a rendezvous to avoid detection. According to US inputs, LeT’s 200 cadres in Sri Lanka were possibly “planners a

President has instructed the Inspector General of Police and the Acting Defence Secretary Lalith Weeratunge to conduct an immediate inquiry into the accidental explosion at Karadiyanaru. President has also offered his condolences to the families of those killed and injured in the blast.

Contrary to earlier figures a senior Defense Ministry official said that the total death toll of the Karadiyanaru accidental explosion is 19. Amongst the dead are 10 police officers, 7 civilians and two Chinese nationals. 52 people are said to be injured while 4 critically injured persons have been air lifted to Colombo.

Former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka was found guilty by the Second Court Martial under four charges a short while ago.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is using the perceived Sino-Indian rivalry to keep at bay New Delhi’s concerns over the Tamil community, says a leading rights activist from Colombo, Indian media reports. But India has many options to ensure that promises repeatedly made by Rajapaksa to Indian leaders are kept so that minorities feel a sense of equality, P. Saravanamuthu told a group of Sri Lanka watchers here late Wednesday. Saravanamuthu, executive director of the Colombo-based Centre for Policy Alternatives, said Rajapaksa was “cleverly” using contradictions in the international community - between the West and Asia, between China and India - to its political advantage. “But the Rajapaksa regime needs to recognise that they can use the China card to a certain extent, not forever,” Saravanamuthu said at a meeting organised here by the Sanchal Foundation. In recent times, China and India have emerged as two of Sri Lanka’s biggest economic partners. India is Sri Lanka’s large

The Battaramulla Juvenile Court today ordered to ban 87 pornographic websites including three local sites with immediate effect bringing the total number of sites banned to 275, the Police Women and Children’s Bureau said.

TNA MP and party spokesman Suresh Premachandran speaking to Ada Derana said that his party rejects Ranil Wickremasinghe’s nomination of TNA MP M.A Sumandiran as the opposition nominee to the Parliament Council created under the 18th Amendment. When the opposition leader contacted us we told him that since the TNA is totally against the 18th amendment, the party and MP Sumandiran both refused offer, Premachandran said. He added that the so called parliament council does not have any power.

“Maids in the UAE are treated better than anywhere else in the Gulf,” a top senior Sri Lankan emissary in the country has said. Wasantha Senanayake, Sri Lanka’s Consul-General in Dubai, told Emirates 24|7 that the number of complaints they have received from its nationals working as maids in the country has drastically reduced. “I am not saying that there are no complaints what so ever. But it is negligible. The way you treat your maid, or whoever it could be for that matter, is a reflection of ‘the cultural background’ and we have had very good examples here in the UAE,” he said. “People here are exposed to different cultures,” he said. Gulf countries continue to attract the largest number of Sri Lankan maids. “Saudi continues to lead the list in the Gulf, followed by Kuwait and the UAE. The numbers are also a reflection of the demand,” he added. Meanwhile, commenting on the recent fiasco with the on arrival visa scheme, he said. “It was a good decision to withdraw the order

Toronto police are investigating the theft of a computer containing the names of Sri Lankan migrants who arrived in Canada last month aboard the smuggling ship MV Sun Sea. The computer was stolen during a break-in at the head office of the Canadian Tamil Congress, which had been keeping records of the migrants and their families in Canada and Sri Lanka. As police searched the office Sunday, CTC spokesman David Poopalapillai told reporters outside he fears Sri Lankan intelligence agents could be responsible. Some of the Sun Sea migrants have said they could testify as witnesses to war crimes committed during the final stage of the South Asian island’s civil war, Poopalapillai pointed out. “It could be the work of the Sri Lankan intelligence unit,” he said. “Sri Lanka is trying their level best to prevent any war crimes investigation in the future. The families might be intimidated and the war crimes witnesses would back off.” The RCMP has not shared the names of the Sun Sea migrant

Speaking for the first time after being reappointed as Deputy Minister, Mervyn Silva claimed that the government achieved a landmark victory. Silva also warned the media against revengeful journalism and reminded that the truth will win. He added that the media should portray the truth and should not use the pen in a manner where it will take his to the gallows.

Operating frequency GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 Display (OLED) Capacitive touch screen with 16.7 million colors Sound Music playback file formats: MP3, WMA, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, E-AC-3, AC-3, Speakerphone and supports 3.5 mm AV jack Memory 16 GB Internal memory MicroSD memory card slot, hot swappable, up to 32 GB Data GPRS/EDGE HSDPA maximum speed up to 10.2 Mbps, HSUPA Cat5 2.0 Mbps WLAN IEEE802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth version 3.0 Camera 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Xenon flash, Face recognition software, Autofocus, Zoom up to 2x (digital) for still images, Zoom up to 3x (digital) for video & Secondary camera for video calls (VGA, 640 x 480 pixels) Features Symbian ^3 for Nokia, Java™ MIDP 2.1, SMS, MMS, Email, games Dedicated graphics processor with OpenGL 2.0 enables 3D graphics,FM radio, FM transmitter Integrated GPS, A-GPS receivers Battery BL-4D, Stand by Up to 72h, Talk tim

Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Western Provincial Council member Udaya Gammanpila today said that the opposition is opposing the Constitutional Amendments due to Mahinda Phobia and not due to the changes proposed in the amendment. During the same press briefing the JHU pledged their support to the 18th Constitutional Amendment bill which is scheduled to be presented to Parliament on Wednesday (September 08). It was also said by the JHU today that the presidential term should not be restricted by the constitution but be left for the people to decide.

A Lankan born Queenstown skydive pilot, Chaminda Senadhira was killed along with eight other skydivers when their plane crashed in Fox Glacier in New Zealand. The plane crash is reported to be the worst in New Zealand aviation for almost 17 years. Originally from Sri Lanka Mr. Senadhira had moved to Germany when he was 7 and then to New Zealand at the age of 22 to train as a pilot. Chaminda Senadhira who was at the helm of the plane when it crashed was a veteran skydive pilot with thousands of hours of experience, a former employer says. NZ Skydive Auckland operations manager Erica Coyle yesterday said pilot Chaminda Senadhira, 33, widely known as "Chami", trained at the company´s Mercer base before moving south. "We don´t know what happened, but he would´ve been fighting to keep that plane in the air right until the end." The deaths have rocked the close-knit community of pilots and skydivers throughout the country. Wakatipu Aero Club president Peter Daniels said M

CHENNAI: The United National Party will cooperate with all stakeholders in the efforts to find a political solution to the Tamils issue, the former Sri Lankan Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Friday. “We are for a solution… We will cooperate with the TNA [Tamil National Alliance], the [Sri Lankan] government and the Indian government,” he said, in an interaction with journalists at The Hindu. Mr. Wickremesinghe stressed the need for involving Members of Parliament belonging to the TNA (the Tamil party won 14 seats in the last general election) to decide the timing of the provincial election in the North. “All MPs must be involved. Let them decide what is an appropriate time for the elections,” he said. The TNA too will have to be realistic about the changed situation and be prepared to make some compromises. “[The] TNA has to be very specific and put down on paper what exactly we need taking into account the current situation. The whole environme

UNP Galle District MP Manusha Nanayakkara has stated that he will support the upcoming Constitutional Amendment of the Government. He added that he will vote in favour of the amendment at parliament next week. Manusha addressing a press conference said that while the opposition suffers defeat after defeat, a service could rendered to the country by joining the President.

Seeking to give a fillip to bilateral military ties, army chief General V.K. Singh is set to undertake a five-day visit to Sri Lanka from Sunday to discuss defence cooperation. During his visit, Singh is scheduled to meet Defence Secretary, Mr Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, his Sri Lankan counterpart, Mr Jagath Jayasuriya, and other senior defence officials. The Indian army chief, who was awarded the ‘Yudh Sena Medal’ for his distinguished service during ‘Operation Pawan’ against the LTTE in Sri Lanka, would also visit the war-ravaged Vavuniya in the island nation’s north. His visit to Sri Lanka comes close on the heels of a four-day trip here by Foreign Secretary, Ms Nirupama Rao. According to sources, as many as five high-level Indian delegations from various fields are slated to visit Sri Lanka this month. Foreign minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka in October end to inaugurate consulates in Hambantota and Jaffna. He will also be attending the India-Lanka joint

Shiral Lakthilaka Convenor of the The movement against the 18th amendment today stated that they have declared September 8 a Black Day. He added that a massive protest will be organized at the Borella Ayurveda Junction on the same day. Lakthilaka also claimed that a fast led by opposition parliamentarians will be organized. The undemocratic constitutional amendment which will pave the way for a dictatorship should be defeated, he said.