Bharti, China's Huawei signs deal for Sri Lanka operations

Bharti Airtel Ltd's Sri Lankan unit signed a $150 million contract with China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd to build and manage mobile infrastructure in the island nation over three years.

Bharti, India's largest mobile services provider, had in January received an offer from the Sri Lankan telecom regulator to provide 2G and 3G mobile services in the country, the company's first foreign venture.

The deal will help Bharti to reduce its total cost of ownership, and deploy its network faster and more cost-effectively, the company said in a statement.

Extracted from,
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/..

New Military Spokesman Assumes Office

New Military spokesman and Director, Directorate of Media, Sri Lanka Army Headquarters, Brigadier V.U.B. Nanayakkara USP Hdmc assumed duties this morning (18 September 2007) at his office after a brief ceremony.

Brigadier V.U.B. Nanayakkara, was the Commander Area Headquarters Kandy, before he took over as Military Spokesman cum Director, Directorate of Media Army Headquarters.

Photo and News,
http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=7908

Karunanidhi Insults Hindu God Rama

Furious about the Sethu Samudram project being put on hold by the New Delhi government over strong Hindu religious sentiments, Bharathiya Janatha Party Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi strongly came down on what he called communal forces and even neighboring Sri Lanka, which has raised environment concerns for stalling the project.

“Who is this Raman (as Lord Ram is referred to in Tamil)? In which engineering college did he study and become a civil engineer? When did he build this so-called bridge? Is there any evidence for this?” an apparently infuriated Karunanidhi asked at a function in Erode in Saturday night.

The leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazagam (DMK) rejects any belief in the myriad of Hindu gods as of Aryan and non Tamil origin and ridicules them in his party ideology.

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http://www.tothecenter.com/news.php?readmore=3141

JVP leader says elections should be held in the east

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is of the firm view that the Mahinda Rajapaksa government in Sri Lanka should hold elections to the provincial council in the east as soon as possible, under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, to consolidate the recent gains made by the military against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

In an interview to The Hindu, JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe said that though his party was opposed to the 13th Amendment, made as a follow up to the 1987 India-Sri Lanka Accord, it believed that elections in the east would encourage democracy and promote development....

...He said elections in the east would not only bring back democracy and equality, but also encourage people in the Wanni under the control of the LTTE to rise against the outfit and send the right signals for economic growth.

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http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/18/stories/2007091861211300.htm

JR-style satyagraha to topple government: Ranil

Opposition UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinge yesterday called on all parties including the JVP and the LSSP to join hands with the UNP in its struggle to establish the sovereignty of the people.

Speaking at a ceremony held at party headquarters to mark the 101st birth anniversary of late President J.R. Jayewardene, Mr. Wickremesinghe said the UNP would launch a J.R. Jayewardene-style sathyagraha to topple the government.

`Any party can join in the struggle to force the government to resign and then campaign on their own at a future general election,` he said. Mr. Wickremesinghe said an organized struggle could force a government out of power any time. Citing examples, he said the people`s struggle in Ukraine compelled the government to hold an election and Philippines former President Ferdinand Marcos had to run away during the uprising of the people in that country.

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http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2007/9/19502.html