The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) is under pressure to join the May 21 token strike, organised by the Co–ordination Committee of the Trade Union Alliance (CCUTA), against the recent electricity tariff hike, ‘The Island’ learns.

Its crucial executive committee meeting held to decide whether to participate in the strike ended at the Colombo University Arts Faculty’s Board Room, leaving it to FUTA sister unions to approve the final decision.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday said that twenty eight years ago 146 innocent civilians were massacred by terrorists in the vicinity of Sri Maha Bodhi and there was no human rights organization then to speak against such killings.

Delivering the keynote address at the Commonwealth Local Government Conference (CLGC) 2013 held in Kampala, Uganda, under the theme “Developmental Local Government: Putting Local Government at the Heart of Development,’ the President also said, “The twin pillars of durable pe

Tamil National Alliance Member of Parliament Sinnathamby Yogeswaran all governments have very shrewdly pilfered the lands belonging to the Tamil people over a period of long time. This prevented the Tamil people from owning their lands by allowing building army camps

He added this issue at a speech he made at Batticaloa.

He stated that all governments although gave promises they never made as realities.

The government informed the European Parliament today (Tuesday) that irrespective of Sri Lanka’s categorical rejection of the Channel-4 footage in the “Killing Fields” documentary and its authenticity, Sri Lanka nevertheless, is in the process of investigating the allegations.

The Head of Mission of Sri Lanka to the EU, Ambassador P.M. Amza also reiterated Sri Lanka’s request to Channel-4 to provide original materials available with them to help the investigation process rather than pleading for Pounds

Canada and the Bahamas have had discussions on the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Sri Lanka.

The Bahamas Foreign Ministry said that Bahamas Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell discussed the Sri Lanka summit with visiting Canadian Minister of State of Foreign Affairs Diane Ablonczy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the weekend.

“We are fellow Commonwealth countries and have been working in a spirit of friendly cooperation since The Bahamas attained its independence almost

The cyclone that impacted on various coastal areas in the island had devastated several make-shift houses put up by the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Tellipalai area in the Jaffna Peninsula. It has also completely damaged a Catholic church at the fishing hamlet, Gurunagar in Jaffna.


According to the Jaffna Government Agent, Suntharam Arumainayagam, 42 internally displaced families who had been affected by the extreme weather conditions, are now temporarily housed in a temple in Tellipalai.

Bell-PhotoThe JVP has called on the government to expedite the probe on the Matale mass grave where skeletal remains of over 150 people were found. JVP parliamentary group leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that it was the government's duty to carry out a successful probe on the mass grave. He noted that been unearthed from the mass grave and experts have determined the time period of the grave to be between 1986 and 1990.

The Matale Magistrate's Court has ordered the CID to conduct a full s

Amnesty International has written to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) ahead of its 23rd session beginning on May 27, calling for a credible and independent international investigation into allegations of crimes under international law committed by Sri Lankan government forces and allied armed groups as well as the LTTE.

The human rights group says investigation should be conducted in accordance with international standards and, where sufficient admissible evidence is found, lead to the criminal prosecution of individuals fo

The Criminal Investigations Department will begin investigations today, in Matale, into the mass grave found within the Matale hospital premises.

This is sequel to Matale Magistrate and Additional District Judge Ms. Chathurika de Silva’s order to the CID last Friday (10) based on evidence presented to Court that the bones and skulls unearthed in November last year from the grave date to the 1987-‘90 period.

 The Federation of University Teachers (FUTA) will not take part in the strike the Co–ordination Committee of the Trade Union Alliance (CCTUA) will hold on May the electricity tariff increases, The Island learns. It has, however, pledged solidarity with CCTUA.

FUTA sources said yesterday that university teachers were not in a position take part in the planned trade union action because of their 100–day–long strike last year over several demands.