Lalith Seneviratne, a 38-year-old father of three, is confined to a wheelchair. But that has not deterred him from living independently, selling camphor balls and other items. With his three sons Tharindu, Ishara and Hirusha lending a helping hand, Seneviratne goes around the city to earn his livelihood.  

U.S. Immigrant Visa Lottery now open

THE 2007 Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery was formally declared open in Washington, DC on October 5, 2005. This program allows randomly selected applicants to immigrate to the United States on an expedited basis, provided they meet all the criteria.Individuals wishing to participate in the visa lottery are strongly urged to apply early to avoid any possible delays. 50,000 individuals will be selected for the lottery worldwide, states a US Embassy press release. The lottery registration period will run until December 4, 2005. For the third year in a row, the lottery will be conducted entirely by electronic means. Paper entries will no longer be accepted. The State Department has established a website for the submission of entries, which can be accessed at: www.dvlottery.state.gov Successfully registered entries will result in the display of a conformation screen containing the applicant's name, date of birth, country of chargeability (the country the applicant enters the lottery from), and a date and time stamp. This confirmation screen can be printed as proof of registration in the lottery. People selected for an interview to obtain an immigrant visa will be notified in April/May, 2006. If they qualify, they will then have a one-year window in which they may emigrate to the United States. Under the 2006 Diversity Visa program, 605 Sri Lankans qualified for immigrant visa interviews.

Does Mr. Rajapakse has a solution acceptable to the LTTE? Will the JVP agree to it? – Ranil

"Without the international assistance can Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse bring peace with Somanwansa Amarasinghe" asked, opposition leader and UNP's presidential candidate Ranil Wickremasinghe when he was addressing massive gathering in Vavuniya, yesterday. Mr. Wickremasinghe said that when he is elected as the president, he would unite with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and talk to the LTTE for a lasting solution to the ethnic crisis on the basis of devolution of power within a united Sri Lanka. "Without working together, we can not have peace. I am only for a united Sri Lanka and not for any division" he said. The campaign meeting organized by the SLMC's Vanni district organizer Noordeen Mashoor was held at the municipal grounds in Vavuniya yesterday. SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem, Dr. Jayalath Jayawardene, Uva Provincial councilor Welayutham also spoke and several other dignitaries took part in the rally. "We have a society divided as Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims ethnically, as Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and Islam religions, again the Sinhalese are divided regionally as up-country and low-country" he noted. ‘The same JVPers who protested against the provincial councils system are representing seven provincial councils as a party, if the provincial system divides the country, why do they become members in it? In the past we saw thousands of youth falling victims during the JVP's liberation drama. Could the Prime Minister who has no international support bring in peace with the support of this Somawanse Amarasinghe?' he queried. He also said that Premier Rajapakse should let the people know what solution he has for peace. ‘Premier Rajapakse has fallen into to the JVP's trap, it is Mahinda Rajapakse's short sightedness made him to be tapped. When they were struggling without a political direction he panicked and it is his panic that trapped him, had he maintained some patience he could have trapped them, instead' he said. ‘At the forthcoming presidential election you must elect a person who has the ability think long-term, and work with a clear vision. Vanni is an area which is very badly affected by the war and tsunami; I will create a separate ministry to rehabilitate this area. We did not have any link between the government controlled areas and areas not under the control of the forces, it is to change this situation that we singed the CFA. ‘President Kumaratunga, I and the Prime Minister were of the clear view that only a federal solution based on the Oslo declaration could bring about a lasting solution to the ethnic issue. But today the situation is different only myself and the President are un-changed on this. Can Mahinda Rajapakse put forward a solution which is acceptable to the LTTE? Will the JVP agree to it? He asked.

Muslims mourn quake victims at emotional Friday prayers

Muslims across South Asia on Friday held emotional prayers for the victims of the massive earthquake, both the tens of thousands killed and those survivors now suffering from cold and hunger.

Clerics honored the dead in crowded mosques across Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, urging the faithful — even those in the quake disaster zone — not to abandon their Muslim rituals, like fasting for Ramadan.

Across Pakistan, the country hardest hit by Saturday's massive 7.6-magnitude quake, the faithful heeded President Pervez Musharraf's call for special Friday prayers, with some spilling out of mosques to pray in streets and parks.

In the devastated city of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, dozens attended prayers at the three mosques that remain more or less intact following the quake.

Across the border in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where more than 1,300 people were killed in the quake, thousands attended a "solidarity prayer" service at the 17th-century Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, the region's summer capital.

Separatists launched a fund-raising drive and urged New Delhi and Islamabad to grant free passage across the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir in two.