Sri Lankan former president's brother dies

Former Parliament Speaker Anura Bandaranaike, the younger brother of Sri Lanka's former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, died of heart attack on Sunday, officials said.

Extracted from,
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/16/content_7801483.htm

Remove Mervin or strike on Monday! Rupavahin employees tell President

The employees of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini (SLRC) Corporation have asked President Mahinda Rajapakse to take immediate action to arrest those responsible for brutal attacks on Rupavahini employees and take legal action against them. They have demanded that Minister of Labour Mervin Silva should be removed from his ministerial post and all those who have been victimized should be compensated.

They have warned that if their demands are not met they would resort to strike action from Monday (tomorrow). Five employees of Rupavahini Corporation have been attacked by thugs since Minister Mervin Silva broke into the corporation with his team of thugs to intimidate a news director and were detained and treated to an ink bath by the employees of the corporation.

The latest attack was on Anurasiri Hettige, a SLRC trade union leader, who was beaten by an unidentified gang using iron rods. Mr. Hettige is undergoing treatment in Intensive Care Unit of the Colombo National Hospital.

Extracted from,
http://www.lankatruth.com/index.php?

India-Sri Lanka power transfer project feasibility report soon

The feasibility study for the proposed $450-million mega undersea power transmission link between India and Sri Lanka is slated to be ready shortly.

The 200-km submarine cable would enable India to export electricity to the island nation and is likely to be set up with a capacity to wheel around 1,000 MW of electricity, government officials involved in the exercise said.

The report on the HVDC (high voltage direct current) link between the two countries is being prepared by State-owned transmission major Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), which had earlier estimated that it can set up the link in around 40 months once all clearances are in place, officials said.

The link is likely to connect Madurai in Tamil Nadu and Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka’s North Central Province.

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http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/03/16/stories/