Nominations begin on dull note

Acceptance of nominations from recognized political parties and independent groups for 301 Local Government bodies began yesterday at District Secretariats islandwide. According to Elections Department sources, not a single nomination paper was received by the district returning officers except in Colombo and a few other districts. Janasetha Peramuna General Secretary Ven Battaramulle Seelarathana Thera handed over nominations of candidates in respect of the Kesbewa and Homagama Pradeshiya Sabhas under his party.

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[Parliament]

This country belongs to all -PM

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Govt encourages expats to return home

Prime Minister D M Jayaratne has decided to develop a scheme to attract Sri Lankan expatriate professionals back to their homeland. The scheme will initially focussed on the professionals in finance, commerce, medicine, engineering, agriculture, geology and environment who are expected to share their expertise in the manufacturing and service sectors of the economy. The scheme’s finer details are being discussed.

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UNP bred imbibers

Finance and Planning Deputy Minister Githanjana Gunawardena told Parliament yesterday the people were given the opportunity for easy access to liquor resulting in an increase in liquor consumption following a gazette notification issued in 2003 during the UNP regime.

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