News in brief

Apology to Minister Mangala Samaraweera

WE sincerely apologise to Ports, Aviation and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera for the publication of a Letter to the Editor on page 3 of yesterday's Daily News under his name.

The letter was in fact sent by Mr. Mangala Samarasekara of Colombo. We are inquiring into this mischievous act.

Amunugama to deliver lecture

FINANCE Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama will deliver the Sarath Muttetuwegama commemoration lecture at the Ratnapura Town Hall on Sunday at 3 p.m.

The subject of his lecture will be 'The Way Forward for the People's Alliance - The Theory and Practice'. This lecture commemorates Communist Party MP Muttetuwegama who died in a motor accident about 19 years ago.

Dr. Amunugama is expected to align the economic theories guiding the People's Alliance with the successful experiments made in the economies of India, China and Vietnam.

He will argue that the true inheritors of these innovative economic models are the constituent parties of the People's Alliance and not free marketers or closed economy advocates.

Proposed amendments to Teachers Service Act approved

THE proposed amendments to the Teachers Service Act to streamline promotions in the service and fresh absorptions to the cadre was approved by the Public Service Commission (PSC).

The Education Ministry will in the future be able to effect all promotions satisfactorily without a delay, an Education Ministry spokesperson said.

Due to shortcomings in the Act, introduced in 1994 hoping to elevate the standard of teachers' service with a 50 per cent immediate salary increase, teachers have not been able to enjoy its full benefits.

The President who proposed amendments to the Act following irregularities and heeding to the voices of Teacher Trade Unions presented it before the Cabinet in January this year.

Following Cabinet approval, it was submitted to the PSC in February and the green light was given on Wednesday. The spokesperson said the ministry has issued a corresponding circular to provincial education authorities with the amendments to promotion and absorption clauses that would assure their effective implementation.

Khalid

Today Top Story

Vesak is always a special time for children. Amazing pandals, beautiful lanterns and colourful illuminations, Vesak is a time of wonderment for young minds. These two children lend a hand to put the finishing touches to a couple of lanterns which will adorn their home on Vesak Day.

News Today

President Clinton to visit Sri Lanka on the 27th.

Former US President Bill Clinton will be in Sri Lanka from 27 to 28 of this month. President Clinton will be visiting Sri Lanka primarily in his capacity as the United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery. His deputy and former chief of staff Erskine Bowles was here as his representative attending the Development Forum in Kandy. A special taped video message from Clinton was screened at the conference. Clinton's first visit to Sri Lanka along with George Bush (snr) was as a Special Representative of US President George Bush early this year.

Tamil Tiger rebels have recruited 137 children since the December tsunami; nine from relief camps, UNICEF says

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have recruited 137 children into their ranks since the Indian Ocean tsunami, nine of whom were taken directly from relief camps, the U.N. children's agency said Friday.

Geoffrey Keel, UNICEF spokesman in Colombo, said however the rate of child recruitment by the rebels, accused of enlisting youngsters throughout their two-decade insurgency, appeared to be falling.

``But any recruit is one too many,'' he said, adding the children who have joined Tiger ranks in recent weeks were between 14 and 18 years of age.

``There have been 137 cases of child recruitment since the December tsunami,'' he said, adding that nine of the youths had been taken from tsunami relief camps in Sri Lanka's Tamil-majority north and east, parts of which are under guerrilla control.

There was no immediate response from the rebels, though the Tigers have repeatedly denied actively recruiting children to bolster their ranks. They say any minors who volunteer to join them because of poverty or the loss of parents are sent back home.

Sri Lanka's civil war has killed 65,000 people since 1983, but government troops and the rebels have been observing a cease-fire since February 2002.

In 2003, the rebels agreed with both UNICEF and the Sri Lankan government to discharge all child fighters to rehabilitation centers, where they could receive care and counseling to help them rejoin society.

But the U.N. agency has accused the insurgents of reneging on their promise and says that since the agreement the rebels have recruited more than 1,500 children.

Keel said the latest figures indicate recruitment of children is waning.

``It's a positive sign,'' he said. ``We are happy to see the downward trend and hope it will continue.''

Children accounted for a staggering 40 percent, or 12,000, of Sri Lanka's tsunami death toll of at least 31,000. Nearly 1 million people have been left homeless.