News in brief

Rs. 7 m to repair Buddhist religious sites

The Government has allocated seven million rupees to rehabilitate Buddhist religious sites which were damaged in the North and East. According to the Minister of Religious Affairs Pandu Bandaranayake, it has been planned to complete restoration and repair work within 180 days.

LTTE cadres killed

Three LTTE cadres were killed during confrontations with the troops on Friday at Ethawetunuwewa, Welioya, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said. MCNS said the LTTE communication intercepts revealed that a Tiger leader named Kalivanan was also killed in the clash along the de-facto border. No soldiers were injured in the confrontations.

Indian boats returned

The Sri Lankan Navy returned two Indian fishing boats seized by the Lankan authorities on September 11, the Hindu reported. Ten fishermen of Rameswaram were arrested for straying into Sri Lankan territorial waters. Indian Coast Guard sources were quoted as saying that Assistant Commandant J. Yadav took control of fishing boats TN-10 MFB 744 and TN-10 MFB 763 from the Sri Lankan Navy.

Two Lankan dons win Swiss HR prize

Two university professors from Sri Lanka and a policeman from Central Africa have been selected for this year's Swiss Human Rights Prize. The Martin Ennals award for Human Rights Defenders will be shared by Rajan Hoole and Kopalasingham Sritharan of Sri Lanka with Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, a former policeman turned human rights activist in Burundi.

Lankan delegation for Canada

A Sri Lankan delegation comprising members of the Sri Lanka-Canada Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian High Commission in Sri Lanka will visit Canada in November. The delegation will attend Canada's largest annual trade exposition of products, services and technologies which will be held from November 28 to 30 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building concurrently with PM Expo, 'Concrete Canada'.

Poppy Day program

The 89th Remembrance Day will be held at the War Memorial at the Viharamahadevi Park, Colombo with the tri - services and war veterans march on November 11 from 8.00 a.m. To mark the event the Sri Lanka Naval Association has organised a Poppy Campaign from October 16-24 to raise funds for the patriotic service personnel said its President Lieutenant Commander Siri Sudasinghe. The Poppy Yathra launching ceremony and motorcades selling poppy flowers will leave the Sri Lanka Ex Servicemen's Association headquarters on October 16.

Ja-Ela to get more water

Several water supply schemes will be set up to cater to the needs of people in the Ja-ela electorate said, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Felix Perera at the commissioning of the Batalandawatte new water supply scheme recently. The Minister said within of one-and a half years the Government has repaired 280 roads and launched several projects in the Ja-Ela Pradeshiya Sabha area. The previous regime left only Rs. 4 lakhs for the purpose. "We have implemented development projects at a cost of over Rs. 20 billion up to now in Ja-Ela".

Imbulana to be feted A felicitation ceremony will be held for P. C. Imbulana, former MP of Ruwanwella and Governor of the Central Province in honour of his six decades long service to the electorate, district, Sabaragamuwa Province and to the country. The felicitation ceremony will be held with the participation of Speaker W. J. M. Lokubandare at Anguruwella today. Imbulana started his political career as the VC Chairman of Ruwanwella in 1944 and served as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture under Premier Dudley Senanayake, as the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing and Construction under President J. R. Jayewardene.