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The police are unable to remove all the political posters, cut outs and banners before the General Elections as there are well over 7000 candidates who have decorated the roads with campaign materials, IGP Mahinda Balasuriya said today.

Sri Lanka says the human rights report released by the US last week consists of vague, non-specific and unverifiable information on Sri Lanka and would appear to fall short of the high standards that the State Department professes to uphold

The Health Ministry has warned that dengue cases are likely to rise due to the strong showers in the coming weeks and has urged the public to take pre cautionary measures. Over 9000 dengue cases have already been reported islandwide.

A team of British experts are currently negotiating with Somali pirates for the release of the Sri Lankan crew members aboard the hijacked Saudi vessel ‘Al-Nisr Al Saudi’ and the negotiations are expected to go on for over a month, sources said.

Former Chief Justice Sarath N. Siva charged today that Sri Lanka had become an undemocratic country by betraying all its human rights principles which it had signed with the international community over the years.

 

 President Mahinda Rajapakse has ordered the General Secretaries of the UPFA and SLFP to take tough action against UPFA candidates who are fighting against each other while campaigning for the upcoming polls, the government said.

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck close to Sri Lanka early this morning but did not cause any damages nor was there a threat of a tsunami. The earthquake at 02.33 a.m. was centered about 1,151 kilometers south-southeast of Colombo

Residents near the Sigiriya rock fortress complain that cruel methods are being used to get rid of some of the insects, whose colonies have lived there for hundreds of years. Fire and chemicals are being used to destroy some of the bees
 

The department of meteorology has warned of severe lightning over the next two days as the country begins to experience heavy rain following days of drought. The public have been advised to take precautionary measures.

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) alleges that there is discrepancy in the funds allocation by the World Bank (WB) to Sri Lanka. The SLMC has notified the WB about the issue and will lodge an official complaint soon if no action is taken.

A woman who was alleged to have thrown her three-year-old youngest son to the Kalu Ganga was arrested by the Kalutara police Women’s and Children’s Bureau and remanded till March 26 by the Kalutara Additional Magistrate Namal Perera

The Foreign Ministry has launched an inquiry into the alleged episode of a Sri Lankan diplomat who served in Japan having shipped back to Colombo his landlord’s personal belongings including an expensive wall painting, a piano and an antique clock.
 

The DNA today requested people to stage protests in every town on March 16th when its Leader Sarath Fonseka is produced before a Court Martial.  The party also urged people to conduct Bodhi Poojas and other religious ceremonies islandwide.

With fears of an increase in violence prior to the upcoming General elections, polls monitoring bodies have urged party leaders to arrest the trend with clashes among supporters of the same political party among the reported incidents
 

UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon may rethink moves to appoint a panel of experts to advise him on Sri Lanka following stiff opposition expressed by the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) this week, UN sources told Daily Mirror online.

LTTE suicide bombers who moved to Colombo during the war do not pose a threat anymore but the Terrorist Investigations Department (TID) and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) are probing their whereabouts, officials said

Elections Chief Dayananda Dissanayaka will allow international monitors to be present in all counting centers at the upcoming polls after the main opposition UNP made a request to the Commissioner to ensure that the accurate results are released, the UNP said.

The government shrugged off allegations by the US that it committed human rights violations during and after the war, stating that the US should focus its attention on progress made in the north and east rather than criticizing Sri Lanka all the time.

Shantidevi (name changed), a Sri Lankan refugee, committed self-immolation after a Indian police Sub Inspector allegedly outraged her modesty inside the police station in Karur, Tamil Nadu on March 7, the Times of India reported today.

Former TNA MP M.K. Shivajilingam, told Daily Mirror, he has made arrangements to send the mother of slain LTTE Leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran to Canada where her daughter Vinothini Rajendran lives.