Army headquarters yesterday announced that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had appointed three new army officers to the second court martial that is expected to hear charges against General Sarath Fonseka.
A media communique‚ issued by army headquarters stated that the second court martial which was adjourned indefinitely would be reconvened in the afternoon of April 6. More >>

Dengue is raging again and is spreading fast. All steps taken by health authorities to combat dengue have failed as the epidemic escalated three- fold this year when compared with figures of last year. Though, the health ministry, local government institutions and other institutions have launched a number of programmes to battle dengue, 67 deaths and 11163 dengue patients have been reported from around the whole country during the last three months despite the dry weather conditions. More >>

The government juggernaut moves for a total annihilation of the opposition, no matter whether it’s Champika Ranawaka or Wimal Weerawansa who are the ideologues behind the signature pro-nationalist stance, now adopted to optimum stretch at these elections.
The UNP, still the main opposition party, had mounted a rear-guard last week with Ranil Wickremesinghe conceding that at the worst of times the UNP got 86 seats, which means that along with 19 seats for the TNA and 10 seats for the DNA, he would be able to form a government. More >>

Ggovernment claims that the April 08 election will be held under tight security. 59,000 police officers and 20,000 soldiers are set to provide security. The election will be monitored by some 30,000 election monitors. Despite all this, the people’s faith in elections is at an all time low due to the actions of the elections commissioner who has engaged in a systematic campaign to sideline journalists, civil society organizations and election monitors.
“The elections commissioner in the last few months has done irrevocable damage to the peoples’ faith in elections. More >>

Sri Lanka will pursue its Commonwealth Games bid in an effort to win the much needed recognition in the post-war era and it will make the bidding payment of 60,000 Euros next week. Though, the logic of bidding for such a massive event is hard to understand with no proper infra-structure facilities in place, the organizers said a successful bid will help Sri Lanka go the extra mile. Sri Lanka has never been a force to reckon with at the Commonwealth Games except for the odd medals that Sri Lanka managed to win. More >>

The Interim Committee (IC) administering rugby in the country is in the process of firing an official letter to the International Rugby Board (IRB) asking for a grace period of two months to hold a fresh election of office bearers after its March 30 AGM, ended in a anti-climax for want of a quorum, its Chairman Dr. Maiya Gunsekera told LAKBIMAnEWS.
According to Dr. Gunasekera the IRB representative for Asia Jarrad Gallagher had told him to forward a written request to the sport’s world controlling body to grant a grace period so that an AGM could be held before end of May this year. More >>

I’m standing against a car, somewhat further out from the outer periphery of the group that has gathered in a circle. Everyone’s smiling, laughing, reminiscing -- they’re just after sharing a freshly rolled joint between themselves -- of times they worked on projects while they or others were high [on marijuana]. Anyone passing by would have simply seen a bunch of ordinary young people chatting away the evening. ‘Remember that time at S___?’ asks one. Almost everyone nods. ‘Man was that fun, niyama aathal eke. Everything was in slow motion. More >>

Theertha Red Dot Gallery has never dealt with the ordinary and always ‘went out of the box’ to show what art is. Beginning something new as always, now the Theertha Red Dot Gallery is alive with activity specifically focused on new media, video, photography and performances.
The Theertha International Artists’ Residency Exhibition 2009 which will be on till the 7 of April this year deals with new art forms which are a result of technological influences in art --- and includes an interesting mixture of work by both local and international artists. More >>

Sorrow and condemnation are the right responses to the deaths of innocent people at the hands of terrorists, whether in London and New York or in Madrid and Moscow. This week’s terrorist bombings on the Moscow metro killed at least 39 people and injured many more.
For all its problems, the Russian capital held together. There was no panic, medical help was swift and the work of the emergency services was better co-ordinated than in the past. Moscow, which has lived through a theatre siege in 2002 and several previous bombings, More >>

The 17-year-old widow of a North Caucasus militant is suspected of being one of the suicide bombers who attacked the Moscow metro on Monday.
Police in southern Russia confirmed to the BBC that they had given Moscow colleagues information about Dzhennet Abdurakhmanova, from Dagestan.
The morning rush-hour bombings killed 39 people and injured more than 70, most of whom are still in hospital. Dagestan, like nearby Chechnya, is struggling to quell militant violence. A police spokesman said Abdurakhmanova had been married to a leading Islamist militant, More >>

When key financial institutions such as the Golden Key were crashing last year, deposits at our bank reached Rs 72bn, which is a remarkable achievement, said Head of Finance, People’s Bank, Y A Soza.
The bank has also seen a Rs 1,040 million deposit growth in the North/East regions from June - December 2009 (Vanni - Rs. 40 million and Jaffna - Rs 1bn).
It was revealed during the Bank’s 2009 Annual Report release that, PB reached a highest ever profit before tax of Rs. 6.1bn for 2009. More >>

Sri Lanka Customs has a practice of charging import taxes on vehicles, based on a pre-determined value, which is about 200% higher than the actual value of a used vehicle imported from countries such as Japan, the Sri Lanka Customs Director General revealed.
He added that the practice is to curtail foreign exchange going out of the country and to discourage vehicles being imported to the country. “But the whole system is going to be revamped, since the country’s economy is speeding up,” he said.
At a time Sri Lanka is looking forward to be the Miracle of Asia, More >>

The road from Haputale of Central highlands to the lovely valley of Ratnapura (City of Gems) descends through abundantly beautiful scenery. Around 30km from Haputale, amidst the tea plantations, is the picturesque settlement of Belihul Oya by the side of River Belihul Oya. Paddy fields surrounding the settlement are fed by streams from the river. Belihul Oya is a fine example of Sri Lanka’s reputation of having the highest levels of species richness, per unit area of any country in Asia. Belihul Oya is home to 15 fish species, 50 reptile species, 150 bird species, 30 amphibian species, More >>

Charlotte, Emily, and Ann Bronte and their brother Branwell lived with their father, the Reverend Patrick Bronte, in a parsonage high above the village of Haworth in Yorkshire, England. Their mother had died when Ann was a year old. There were no other children nearby for the Brontes to play with. They walked on the moors, read books, and wrote stories about imaginary places called Angria, Gondal, and Gaaldine. The stories were more real to them than their own lives. More >>