Feb 04 (CP) Colombo- A Sri Lankan court has fined the Chief Technical Engineer of the railway yard of Sri Lanka Railways in Ratmalana for allowing dengue mosquito breeding areas in the site. One railway employee at the Ratmalana Railway Yard died due to dengue while 20 other employees were hospitalized after contracting dengue in the past few weeks.

Feb 04 (CP) Kandy- Sri Lanka Bribery or Corruption Investigation Commission officials arrested a head of a local government council yesterday on charges of soliciting bribes. The officials nabbed S. B. Rajanayake, the Chairman of the Pathahewaheta Pradeshiya Sabha in Kandy district inside the office of the local council while he was accepting a bribe.

Feb 04 (Island) Mother of the youth who was killed in an accident on the Southern Expressway in the early hours of yesterday appealed to all to advise youths to respect highway rules and be careful when driving. "Careless mistake would lead to fatal accidents," she said.

Feb 04 (DN) Investigations carried out by the Ceylon Electricity Board found that approximately 15 electricity consumers in Kurunegala have manipulated their metres. A spokesman attached to the investigation branch told the Daily News that these consumers have been tampering with metres and service wires for a long time.

Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka's state-owned Sinhala daily The Dinamina reported today that intelligence units have revealed information on a joint conspiracy by the country's major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) with the media right organization, Free Media Movement (FMM) to discredit Sri Lanka.

Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka's Sinhala daily The Divaina reported that the Easter Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan was engaged in a secret tour in Switzerland. The newspaper reported that the intelligence wing has focused on the Chief Minister's tour and have found the details of the persons the Chief Minister met and had discussions during his visit to the European country.

Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Officials from Sri Lanka Customs at the Katunayake International Airport have nabbed an Indian who was trying to smuggle over 150 kilos of big onion seeds to the country. The Indian national had carried 172 kilos of big onion seeds with him. He had tried to carry the big onion seeds into the country posing as a textile merchant.

Feb 03 (ABC) Sri Lanka's envoy to Australia says it fully supports the nomination of a controversial military officer to a UN body advising Ban Ki-moon. Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe says Major General Shavendra Silva is a man of "outstanding calibre" and an appropriate choice for the UN Advisory Group on Peacekeeping Operations, despite accusations his 58th Brigade was responsible for war crimes.

Feb 03 (Island) Lawyers of the Colombo Magistrate Courts, District Courts and High Courts yesterday launched a massive protest campaign against the government’s decision to relocate the 100-year-old Courts Complex out of Colombo. Moves were afoot to shift nine Magistrate Courts, Nine District Courts and Seven Magistrate Courts to be located in the suburbs.

Feb 04 (CP) Colombo- Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Minister of Sri Lanka Chandrasiri Gajadeera said that 1,600 prisoners would be released to mark the Independence Day this year. He has said the prisoners who were convicted of minor offences and jailed for not being able to pay fines would be released.

Feb 04 (SLN) Sri Lanka Navy took part in the 64th Independence Day celebrations held in the historic city of Anuradhapura on 04th February 2012. His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksha was the Chief Guest.

Feb 04 (DM) The body of a brutally murdered 17 year old schoolgirl and the body of her mother, were recovered from a rubber estate at Opatha in Kahawatta on Thursday (02). Police said the body of the girl was recovered in the morning and that of the mother late in the evening, on information from the public. The bodies were identified by relatives at the Ratnapura General Hospital.

Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- A Sri Lankan court today granted approval to proceed with the habeas corpus case filed by relatives of two missing members of the Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) dissident group. The Court of Appeal has said the case would be taken up for hearing on February 15th.

Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka Minister of Fisheries Rajitha Senaratne says his Ministry is working with an unnamed Somali person to save the six Sri Lankan fishermen who have been held for ransom by the Somali sea pirates. The group of six fishermen have left Negombo harbor six months ago and they were abducted by the Somali pirates as they had trespassed into Somalia territorial waters.

Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- The first fatal accident ton Sri Lanka's first ever expressway claimed the life of a 26-year-old man in pre-dawn hours of Friday, the police said. Police Media Spokesman Superintendent of Police Ajith Rohana said the motorist lost control of the vehicle due to the excessive speed and went off the road tumbling 50 feet down.

Feb 03 (BBC) The Appeal Court in Sri Lanka has issued notice to media minister, police chief and Jaffna military commander to appear before the court in connection with the disappearance of two human rights activists.

Feb 03 (DM) The Puttalam police nabbed the Registrar of the Puttalam District and Magistrate courts yesterday around 3.30pm in his office, for being under the influence of alcohol while on duty. The apprehended registrar is A.C. Gunasekara. He was produced at the Puttalam Base Hospital and after obtaining a medical report was released on a police bond.

Feb 03 (DN) A Sri Lankan man was arrested while trying to smuggle eight birds at the Bandaranaike International Airport yesterday. The birds brought from Thailand are valued at Rs 800,000. Four parakeets and four ducklings were found in the suspect's possession. The man was fined Rs 100.000.