In an unprecedented move, the Western Provincial Special Operations Unit of the Police was dissolved with immediate effect and over 1000 police officers have been transferred out. It is learnt that this step has been taken in retaliation as O.M.C. Gemunu, OIC of the Colombo Central Division, and a group of police officers raided a press in Maradana and confiscated a stock of scurrilous (‘mud’) posters against General Sarath Fonseka during the presidential election. More >>

Around 800 political supporters have been absorbed to the Sri Lankan Education Administration Services (SLEAS) as acting subject directors violating recruiting procedure, an education ministry union charged. This has caused an outcry with the Teachers’ Associations accusing the education ministry of violating the SLEAS Constitution by making appointments on political favouritism, says Joseph Stalin, president of the Sri Lanka Teachers’ Association. More >>

There is a strange and new crisis in the UNP which is the feeling that for what its worth it is Sarath Fonseka and the ‘Trophy’ that is offering some resistance to the government. This is also probably why it was rather difficult for Ranil Wickremesinghe to stomach the fact that Anoma Fonseka the General’s wife had asked some UNP organizers to come on board the Trophy list and contest with the general and the UNP.
However, there was a reason for the disaffection in the UNP, and that can be called the Aung San Su Kyi affect of the general.
He is seen as a martyr. More >>

In the ruins of Moor town in Jaffna, there is no mood for celebration. The majority of over thousand residents are taking shelter in abandoned schools and shacks put up next to the ruins of their old homes.
Twenty years after the LTTE chased the northern Muslims, including 75,000 from Jaffna, the displaced want to return. But, even for those who returned, it is an unhappy homecoming.
Zarina (45) returned to Moor town from a transit camp in Puttalam in 2001, during the period of the peace process. More >>

Over a 100-run stand between openers Udara Munasinghe (74) and Supun Navaratne (65) almost carried Thurstan College to an exciting win over archrivals Isipatana College in their 47th cricket big match at SSC ground yesterday. When bad light stopped play yesterday evening Thurstan chasing a victory target of 189 runs were 175 for 3 in 29.2 overs – 14 runs short of the target –and the big match yet again ended in a draw. More >>

Dambulla will host its first major international cricket tournament since the tri-nation tournament involving Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan in 2003, when the venue hosts the 11th edition of Asia Cup in June this year. Sri Lanka Cricket has decided to shift all matches to Dambulla, the only international venue with floodlights apart from R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo as the tournament requires all matches to be day night. Dambulla, inaugurated in 2001 hosted its first major tournament in 2003, More >>

Suddenly it has become ‘cool’ to travel to Jaffna. Everyone you know seems to be taking the bus, car, van or helicopter to the North and the East after the end of the war, an area which has been closed to the public for nearly three decades. And with the New York Times naming Sri Lanka as the top place to visit in 2010, a large number of foreign tourists are expected to join the locals in the coming months.
So what does every avid traveller have when s/he travels into unknown lands, apart from a passport and hard currency? A travel guide, More >>

Last week, ZooLander visited the royal Bengal tigers at the Zoo to mark the dawn of the Chinese New Year -- the year of the tiger. These big cats are blacklisted as notorious man-eaters, so ZooLander persued literature to follow the great hunter Jim Corbett who tracked these stealthy creatures in the dense forests of India. “I was tracking the Champawat man-eater when the tigress suddenly broke cover. My .500 modified cordite rifle shot high. I’d hit her - but a little far back. Lowering her head, she turned towards me. I shot again. More >>

KABUL — A crew of suicide bombers attacked a central commercial area dotted with guesthouses frequented by foreigners, setting off an hours-long gunbattle with Afghan police early Friday and killing at least 17 people. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the dramatic raid, which began around daybreak and wounded at least 32 people. The assault was the latest in a string of attacks to rock the capital city, whose residents generally feel a world away from the raging rural insurgency that U.S.-led forces are seeking to contain in a new push in southern Afghanistan. More >>

Press reaction to the talks has been far from positive.
Indian newspapers have extensively covered the first formal official talks between India and Pakistan since the Mumbai (Bombay) attacks of 2008.
No breakthrough was expected from the talks in Delhi between Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir.
And there was none, the papers said.
“New round, old story”, headlined the Hindustan Times newspaper.
“India and Pakistan fell short of bridging the post-Mumbai divide on Thursday,” the newspaper wrote. More >>

The IMF (International Monetary Fund) team that visited Sri Lanka last week said it is ready to consider the grant of $330 million of $2.6 billion loan package after completing a series of review on the government’s plans for a full-year 2010 budget, including tax reform measures.
One of the criteria, the tax reform measures, according to a CB official is the tax structure where one person pays many taxes, and the ad hoc tax measures the government considers with the prevailing situation of the country being seriously looked into. More >>

United Arab Emirate’s telecom giant launched its Etisalat brand in the local market last week with the expertise and specialized proficiency of the Tigo Pvt Ltd, as the management team and employee force remain unchanged.
Etisalat, the United Arab Emirates-based telecom firm, acquired 100 percent of the Sri Lanka operation called Tigo from Millicom International in October 2009 and has renamed it Etisalat Lanka.
The new entry will bring in experience and expertise from three continents, More >>

Like humans, dogs and wolves have families. In the case of wolves and dogs, these families are called packs. In these packs, there is always a leader and several followers. When a dog lives in your house, your family becomes his family, or ‘pack’. It is important that you let your dog know who the leader is. If he doesn’t know, he will try to become the leader. When this happens, a dog may appear pushy and disobedient. By teaching the dog obedience and keeping him occupied, he will realize that a human being is the leader and he will follow, More >>

Early life
Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was born to a family with an interest in speech and hearing. Both his grandfather and father were teachers of correct speech. His father had developed “visible speech”, a method of helping the deaf and hearing impaired to learn how to speak. From his mother, who was a portrait painter and an accomplished musician, he inherited a talent for music. More >>