Sri Lankan Navy today denied the arrest of nine Indian fishermen hailing from Pudukottai district in Tamil Nadu, as reported in the Indian media.

"We have not arrested any Indian fishermen anywhere", Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya, the naval spokesman said.

Indian media had reported that nine fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy when they were fishing mid-sea.

The United States had felt that Sarath Fonseka had poor economic knowledge during the run-up to the 2010 Presidential elections.

A leaked US cable, made public by Wikileaks, quoted the then US Deputy Chief of Mission in Sri Lanka Rebecca Cohn as saying that Fonseka is a military man who has publicly admitted that he has little knowledge of economic issues, and other than clamping down on corruption, he has no apparent economic program.

In the event the spouse of the Chairperson of the University Grants Commission (UGC) is appointed as the new Vice Chancellor for the University of Colombo, there will be a conflict of interest as it would not be possible to make impartial decisions, the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) cautioned.

Concerns have been raised over the fact that one of the candidates, who has applied for the position, is none other than the spouse of the former Vice Chancellor of the Colombo University and the current UGC Chairperson, Prof. Kshanika Hirimburegama.

Ven. Galagodaththe Gnanasara Thero is also in the BBS group visiting the United States

Academics have begun circulating a petition calling for a leading telecommunication service provider to remove the Bodu Bala Sena theme tune from their site, where it was uploaded as a ring-in tone.

“The anthem of the Bodu Bala Sena carries an incendiary message that seeks to depict sections of this country’s people as outsiders and destroyers. Its purpose is to incite distrust and hostility between ethnic and religious groups, promoting national disharmony in the country,” the statement said.

With the unearthing of 154 skeletal remains from the Matale Hospital compound, various theories have sprung up, ranging from a mass grave from 1988-1990 being unearthed to the possibility of a mass burial by the hospital authorities following an epidemic.

As for the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) members of the past and the present, there is no mystery surrounding the Matale mass grave, but a persistent and stubborn fact about gross human rights violations that had emerged.

While the government remains noncommittal, the JVP has strongly come out, demanding the setting up of a special court of inquiry to investigate the mass grave, expressing their lack of faith in yet another presidential inquiry.

The international community continues to emphasize the need for the Mahinda Rajapaksa government to get its act together and address issues of reconciliation and accountability.

The Rajapaksa government’s statement in parliament on Tuesday (9) that it rejected the resolution brought against the country at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva last month and there has been no change in the government’s stance on the proposal since its inception does not augur well for the building of diplomatic ties with the West.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prof. G. L. Peiris, Rauf Hakeem and Champika Ranawaka

Minister of National Languages and Social Integration Vasudeva Nanayakkara has received the backing of Muslim parliamentarians in the government for a new Cabinet paper he is expected to produce seeking a ban on hate speech.

Senior Minister A. H. M. Fowzie said that such legislation should be introduced in order to safeguard the coexistence among communities.

He said that all other Muslim parliamentarians in the government should back the Cabinet paper if it is submitted.

UPFA parliamentarian A.H.M. Azwer said when people go mad they make ludicrous statements like UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake when he said that the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) would be converted into a museum under a future UNP government.

In the first instance, I don’t think the UNP would capture power during our life time. Even UNP politicians had condemned such ridiculous statements by their party General Secretary, Azwer told the Sunday Observer.

Early morning incident – printing machine scorched, press set on fire by unknown group this morning.
An attack is again executed against the "Udayan" daily newspaper published from Jaffna today in the early morning hours.
 
Unidentified armed group stormed into the printing press point blankly carried out shooting.  Shooting was executed towards the print machine, doused the printing machines with petrol and set fire to them.
 

Net working for rights, a network for media freedom and human rights in Sri Lanka condemns in strongest terms the dastardly armed and arson attack on Uthayan news paper in Jaffna, which took place at dawn today. This is a yet another major blow to independent news paper culture in Jaffna and freedom of expression rights in Sri Lanka.

According to NfR sources in Jaffna around 4.30 am shooting randomly, a three armed men forced their way in to the Uthayan Jaffna. At that time the office was full of news paper delivery personal and tens of thousands of news papers were ready to be transported.