Merkel wins, Germans opt for center-right coalition

Merkel wins, Germans opt for center-right coalition

By Noah Barkin and Madeline ChambersBERLIN (Reuters) - German voters gave Chancellor Angela Merkel a second term in an election on Sunday and a mandate to form a new government with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) that is expected to cut taxes to boost growth.
The conservative Merkel has ruled for the past four years in an awkward "grand coalition" with her main rivals, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).
The election result frees her from the shackles of that partnership and allows her to form the center-right coalition she has argued is best placed to nurture Europe's largest economy back to health following its worst post-war recession.
The next government faces major economic challenges. It will have to get a surging budget deficit under control, cope with rising unemployment and ward off a credit crunch as fragile banks rein in lending.
Together with the FDP, Merkel is expected to pare back the role of the state in the economy and extend the lifespan of German nuclear plants that are scheduled to be phased out over the next decade.
The parties, which last ruled Germany between 1982 and 1998 when Helmut Kohl was chancellor, will have to overcome differences on the size and timing of tax cuts in coalition talks over the coming weeks. Some analysts say, given budget constraints, such cuts will likely have to wait at least a year.
"We can really celebrate tonight, but afterwards we have a hard job ahead of us," Merkel, wearing a bright red suit, told cheering supporters.
Projections from ARD and ZDF public television showed Merkel's conservative bloc -- the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) -- on 33.6 percent, down from their score of 35.2 percent in 2005, and their second-worst result in the post-war era.
But the FDP, a party which saw its support rise in the wake of the financial crisis, compensated for those losses, surging to a record high of 14.6 percent and putting the center-right over the top.(More)

Carson’s Group negotiates $ 109 mn. in Singapore to expand plantations

Refinances existing term loan, gets revolving credit

Carson’s Group negotiates $ 109 mn. in Singapore to expand plantationsThe Sri Lanka incorporated plantation companies of the Carson’s Group with oil palm interests in Malaysia said in a Stock Exchange filing last week that they have negotiated a term loan facility of USD 109 million from Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), Singapore, ``for further expansion of current plantation projects.’’
Carson’s has in recent years been expanding its oil palm holdings in Indonesia and the majority holdings of the group’s oil palm companies were acquired earlier this year by a fully owned subsidiary, Goodhope Asia Holdings Ltd. (GAHL) incorporated in Singapore.
In addition to the USD 109 million term loan, refinancing an existing USD 81 million term loan facility outstanding and a revolving credit facility of USD 10 million has also been negotiated with SCB Singapore by GAHL set up to smoothen the group’s credit-raising ability among others.
Carson’s Chairman Tilak de Zoysa said in the company’s annual report for 2008/09 that ``the consolidation of plantation assets within the holding company would enable the business to command a more competitive position in this industry.’’
Carson’s shareholders have been told that it is important for the group to continue to expanding plantation extent when the industry is profitable. It would then be possible maximize profitability when palm oil prices peak in the next cycle.
The group also owns an undeveloped land bank available for expansion ``when resources for expansion gets priced higher.’’
``As rich nations rush to secure valuable developing country land banks for ensuring food security for their nations, investing in agriculture appears to be a healthy long term opportunity,’’ Carson’s said.
The group’s Malaysian interests, Shalimar Malay, Indo Malay, Selinsing and Good Hope all have investments in the two big plantation projects in Indonesia – PT Agro Indomas and PT Agro Bukit.

10,000 Tiger suspects: Govt. seeks US help

10,000 Tiger suspects: Govt. seeks US help
AG in Washington for talks
By Our Diplomatic Editor The Sunday Times lk Sunday September 27, 2009
Special tribunal likely
By Chandani Kirinde
The government is exploring the possibility of setting up a special tribunal to try LTTE suspects who have been involved in grave crimes such as murder and abductions.

The tribunal is likely to be set up on the lines of a Special Presidential Commission or the Criminal Justice Commission which tried the JVP suspects after the 1971 insurrection.
Government sources said the suspects would be put into three categories – those to be indicted for grave crimes, those who could be released on supervisory bail and those who could be rehabilitated.

The Sunday Times learns that Justice Minister Milinda Moragoda is studying the options before presenting his proposals to the government.

Sri Lanka is seeking help from the United States in its efforts to formulate procedures to cope with more than 10,000 Tiger guerrilla suspects now in custody. The aim is to study how the US handled terrorist suspects, particularly thousands from the outlawed al-Qaeda, after the 9/11 attacks in New York.

Attorney General Mohan Peiris will arrive in Washington tomorrow for talks in this regard with officials in the US Attorney General’s Department. According to diplomatic sources, the visit has been arranged in consultation with the United States embassy in Colombo.

At present there are more than 10,000 suspected members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Government custody. There has been a slight increase in the numbers as more guerrilla suspects are being rounded up.

This is both through interrogations in IDP camps as well as search operations in other areas. While a sizeable number against whom there is evidence will face prosecution, the Government is yet to finalise the legal procedures they are to be put through. Those against whom there is no evidence are to be sent for rehabilitation.

Key suspects involved in acts of terrorism have been interrogated. In some instances, revelations made by them have led to arrests of others. The profiling of the suspects is now under way.

நிலவில் நீர் மூலக்கூறுகள் கண்டுபிடிப்பு

NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper, or M3, instrument reported the observations. M3 was carried into space on Oct. 22, 2008, aboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. Data from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, or VIMS, on NASA's Cassini spacecraft, and the High-Resolution Infrared Imaging Spectrometer on NASA's Epoxi spacecraft contributed to confirmation of the finding. The spacecraft imaging spectrometers made it possible to map lunar water more effectively than ever before. (More)

TEXT: Obama's Speech to the UN Sept 23, 2009

Obama’s Speech to the United Nations General Assembly September 24, 2009
Text (Note: This copy is for your personal, noncommercial use only)
Obama’s Speech to the United Nations General Assembly Following is a text of President Obama's prepared speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, as released by the White House.
============== ( Highlights)

Responsibility and leadership in the 21st century demand more. In an era when our destiny is shared, power is no longer a zero sum game. No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold. The traditional division between nations of the south and north makes no sense in an interconnected world. Nor do alignments of nations rooted in the cleavages of a long gone Cold War.
The time has come to realize that the old habits and arguments are irrelevant to the challenges faced by our people. They lead nations to act in opposition to the very goals that they claim to pursue, and to vote – often in this body – against the interests of their own people. They build up walls between us and the future that our people seek, and the time has come for those walls to come down.
Together, we must build new coalitions that bridge old divides – coalitions of different faiths and creeds; of north and south, east and west; black, white, and brown.
The choice is ours. We can be remembered as a generation that chose to drag the arguments of the 20th century into the 21st; that put off hard choices, refused to look ahead, and failed to keep pace because we defined ourselves by what we were against instead of what we were for. Or, we can be a generation that chooses to see the shoreline beyond the rough waters ahead; that comes together to serve the common interests of human beings, and finally gives meaning to the promise embedded in the name given to this institution: the United Nations.
That is the future America wants – a future of peace and prosperity that we can only reach if we recognize that all nations have rights, but all nations have responsibilities as well. That is the bargain that makes this work. That must be the guiding principle of international cooperation.

Today, I put forward four pillars that are fundamental to the future that we want for our children: 1) Non-proliferation and disarmament; 2) The promotion of peace and security; 3) The preservation of our planet; 4) and a Global economy that advances opportunity for all people.(Read the full text)

தமிழீழ விவாதம்: Tamil Net Vs ENB

தமிழீழ தேசிய விடுதலைக்கான தொலை நோக்குத்திட்டம்

1) இன்றைய இலங்கை அரசு சிங்கள தமிழ் தேசிய இனங்களின் சம உரிமையை அங்கீகரித்த ஒன்றியமல்ல.இந்த கட்டாய இணைப்பை உருவாக்கியது சிங்களவர்களும் அல்ல.இது பிரித்தானிய ஏகாதிபத்தியவாதிகள் தமிழ்மக்களின் சம்மதம் இன்றி ஏற்படுத்திய பலாத்கார பிணைப்பாகும்- கட்டாய இணைப்பாகும்.

2) 1947 இல் நேரடியான ஏகாதிபத்திய அதிகாரம் உள்நாட்டு தரகர்களுக்கு கைமாற்றப்பட்டு இலங்கை போலிச்சுதந்திரம் அடைந்த நாள் முதல் இலங்கையில் தமிழ்த் தேசிய இனம், மற்றும் இன மத சிறுபான்மை மக்கள் மீது இலங்கை அரசு தொடர்ந்து வன்முறையைக் கட்டவிழ்த்து வந்துள்ளது.

3) இலங்கையின் அரைக்காலனித்துவ அரசு தமிழ்த் தேசம் மீதான ஒடுக்குமுறையை தனது இருப்புக்கு ஆதாரமாகக் கொண்டுள்ளது.இதனால் அதன் வீழ்ச்சிக்கும் சிங்கள மக்களின் விடுதலைக்கும் தமிழ் மக்களின் பிரிவினைக் கோரிக்கை வெற்றி பெறுவது முன் நிபந்தனையாகவுள்ளது.

4) சிங்கள பெரும் தேசிய இனத்தின் உழைக்கும் மக்கள், சிங்கள பவுத்த பேரினவாதத்துக்கு பலியாகி இருப்பதால் இரு இனமும் ஒன்று பட்டு இலங்கையில் ஜனநாயக குடியரசை அமைக்கப் போராடுவதற்கான வாய்ப்பு தடைப்பட்டுள்ளது.

5) இலங்கையில் வடக்கு கிழக்கு மாகாணங்களை தமது தாயகமாகக் கொண்ட தமிழ்மக்கள் ஒரு தேசிய இனமாகும். அவர்களது வட கிழக்கு மாகாணம் ஒரு தனித் தேசமாகும்.

6) இலங்கை வாழ் மலையகத் தமிழ் மக்கள் இனச் சிறுபான்மையினர் ஆவர்.

7) இஸ்லாமியத் தமிழர்கள், அல்லது முஸ்லிம் தமிழர்கள் மதச் சிறுபான்மையினராவர். (முழுமை அறிய)

Tamil Net Editorial Board: Comments on Tamil National aspirations

DEBATE

Tamil Net Editorial Board: Comments on Tamil national aspirations
It is with sadness most of the Eezham Tamils look at a few Marxists among them, especially of the former ‘Peking Wing’, who denounce separate nationalism for Eezham Tamils. The Marxist Communist Party of India also has adopted a similar line.It is hard to understand that if national liberation of Eezham Tamils oppressed on ethnic grounds and ‘Eezham’ as a political unit is not acceptable to them, in what way the united Sri Lankan nationalism and Sri Lanka as a political unit upheld by them is ideologically justifiable. While viewing Tamil national struggle as serving imperialism, they practically serve the very imperialism by weakening the struggle. (Read More)

சிலுவை சுமந்த திலீபன்

செய்தி:
இந்திய விஸ்தரிப்புவாத அரசின் 1987 இந்திய இலங்கை ஒப்பந்தத்தை எதிர்த்தும், இந்திய ஆக்கிரமிப்புப் படைகளை எதிர்த்தும் போராட, தமிழீழ மக்களை தட்டியெழுப்பும் பொருட்டு யாழ்-நல்லூரில் சாகும்வரை உண்ணாவிரதத்தை ஆரம்பித்து தன் இன்னுயிரை தமிழீழத்துக்காக அர்ப்பணித்த தியாக தீபம் திலீபனின் 22 ஆவது நினைவு தினம் வரும் 26-09-2009 ஆகும்.
இந்நாளை நினைவு கூருவதாகக் கூறி புதுவை இரத்தின துரையின் நினைவழியா நாட்கள் கவிதைத் தொகுதியில் இருந்து 'சிலுவை சுமந்த திலீபன்' எனும் கவிதையை தணிக்கை செய்து வெளியிட்டுள்ளது பதிவு இணையம்.அக் கவிதையில் பதிவு இணையம் தணிக்கை செய்த வரிகள் வருமாறு: (முழுமை அறிய)

“Colombo International Book Fair 2009”

19-09-2009

The annually awaited “Colombo International Book Fair 2009” will commence and be open to the public from tomorrow at the BMICH premises. The picture shows final preparations been made for the opening tomorrow. Pix by Indaratna Balasuriya.

25 வயது பிரித்தானியத் தமிழ்வாணியின் ஈழத்தமிழ் அநுபவம்

குறிப்பு: காணொளியைக் காண உருவப்படத்தில் இரு இடதழுத்தம் செய்க