What women eatwhile they are in theearly stages of preg-nancy influences thesex and health of theirunborn baby, newresearch suggests.

Women who eat a full breakfastand a high fat diet at the time ofconception are more likely to have aboy, scientists claim.

A low fat diet with periods of longfasts favours girls, the researchershave found. The findings seem togive some credence to to old wives’tales such as eat “bacon for boys”.

See full story on page 01 inLEISURELAND

`Vol. 29 No. 99 Wednesday 10th March, 2010, 40 Pages Rs. 20 Registered in Sri Lanka as a Newspaper – Late City Edition

15

Navaneetham Pillay:Fairplay

Condom debatebrought to Philippine bishops’ doorstep

A Godamannashow, onceagain

7 12 Today atWatersEdge

6.30 pmonwards

by Shamindra Ferdinandoand Norman Palihawadana

The police investigatingcovert LTTE operations inthe city and its suburbs have

arrested two Customs officers fortheir alleged involvement withLTTE intelligence chiefShanmugalingam Sivashankaralias Pottu Amman.

Acting on information elicitedfrom an LTTE operative, theTerrorist Investigation Division(TID) took them into custody.Government sources told TheIsland last night that the suspectshad met Pottu Amman in the Vanniin 2004, during a ceasefire agree-ment arranged by the Norwegiangovernment. Sources alleged thatthe suspects had cooperated with

the LTTE to facilitate ‘transfer’ ofspecific items needed by the LTTEthrough the Colombo harbour.

Sources said that the LTTE had‘agents’ both at the BandaranaikeInternational Airport and theColombo Harbour to help bring incontraband.

One of the suspects now beinginterrogated is from a very affluentfamily.

The Defence Ministry said thata section of the Customs hadstrongly opposed some of the secu-rity measures proposed by the gov-ernment to stop the LTTE usingthe Colombo Harbour as a transitpoint. A senior ministryspokesman said that they expectedto make a breakthrough in theirinvestigations into covert LTTEoperations during the war.

Customs officials who workedfor Pottu Amman arrested

This picture taken by our staff photographer Saranapala Pamunuwa yesterday shows three boats filled with illegally mined sand right under the Kelaniya Bridge. (See story below)

by Ifham Nizam

While two powerful stateinstitutions keep passing thebuck, illegal sand miningcontinues unabated in theKelani River, right under theKelani Bridge.

Geological Survey andMines Bureau (GS&MB) sen-ior officials say that the areacomes under the CoastConservation Department,while the latter says it is notresponsible for the said area.

Last week,The Islandexposed ille-gal sand min-ing under theKelaniBridge.

“We haveonly 250 offi-cers to cover13 regionsincludingHambantotaand Ampara.The police

should cooper-ate with us insuch instancesand help us tonab the cul-prits,” he said.

He said that atwo-kilometrearea from theRiver Mouthcame under theCoastConservationDepartment.

Dr.

Wijayananda said that todate they had never comeunder political pressure asEnvironment and NaturalResources Minister PataliChampika Ranawaka hadgiven strict instructions notto succumb to political pres-sure.

He said he had to getinformation from DeputyDirector Anil Peiris on thesituation. When contacted,

Sand miners make merry asauthorities pass the buck

Want a baby boy?Eat breakfast

by Saman Indrajith

Jathika Hela Urumaya MP Ven.Udawatte Nanda Thera yesterday toldParliament that his party could notserve the cause of Buddhism because ithad become a boon to some politicians.

Udawatte Thera, participating inthe Emergency Debate, said the peoplehad heeded their call at the last generalelection and elected nine Bhikkhus toParliament.

by Don Asoka Wijewardena

The Lanka Private Bus OwnersAssociation has decided to take legalaction against the Western Province RoadPassenger Transport Authority for notissuing bus timetables.

LPBOA president Gemunu Wijeratneyesterday said the failure to issue timeta-bles had led to fatal accidents and amount-ed to a violation of commuters’ fundamen-tal rights.

Two passengers had died when aColombo bound Matugama bus collidedwith another bus recently and six persons

had sustained serious injuries. TheLPBOA attributed the incident to a rushon the part of the drivers to catch up withthe bus ahead of them. Such a situationwould not occur if buses were to runaccording to timetables, Wijeratne said.

Addressing a media conference inColombo he pointed out that LPBOA wouldhave no alternative but to take recourse tothe law. Several requests for timetableshad fallen on deaf ears. The SupremeCourt had ordered that private buses beoperated according to a time table, he said.

by Ifham Nizam

The Ceylon Electricity Board(CEB) Engineers Union has accusedthe Sustainable Energy Authority ofinvolving technically unqualifiedcompanies in an ambitious projectto produce wind power.

Engineers told The Island thatthe CEB had come under heavypressure to finalise agreements withthose companies and carry out neces-sary changes to ‘take in’ wind power.

They said that their representativeshad raised that issue with Power and

Energy Minister W D JSeneviratne.

Sources said the minister hadbeen asked to look into the proposaland take immediate steps to pre-vent interested parties from cash-ing in on the project.

Sources said the governmentshould allow the CEB to launch a

long-term multifaceted project to pro-duce wind power depending on its finan-cial position.

Sources said that the launch of newprojects shouldn’t be at the expense ofthe existing system.

Uproar over wind power schemeBus owners to sue transport authority

Thera regretsJHU’s decline

Labour MinisterMervyn Silva requested allparliamentarians yesterdayto abstain from taking thismonth’s salary as theHouse met only for a sin-gle day.

Participating in thedebate on the extension of Emergency,Minister Silva, said that it was unfairfor MPs to draw this month’s salaryafter attending a single debate and hewould not draw his salary.

MPs urged to skipMarch salary

Continued on page 6

Continued on page 6

His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Malcolm Ranjith, theArchbishop of Colombo worships St.Anthony’s Holy Relic. (Picture Courtesy –Colombo Archdiocese)

by Rex Clementine

St. Anthony’s Church,Kochchikade, will receive a section ofSt. Anthony’s Holy Relics from St.Anthony’s Basilica, Padua, to mark the175th anniversary of the Church thisyear.

Rev. Bro. Joseph Jayakanthan,F.S.C, a member of the organizing com-mittee told ‘The Island’ that a sectionSt. Anthony’s skeleton would be keptin Colombo.

He said St. Anthony’s Church hadto be kept open all night on Monday(March 8) due to a large number ofdevotees from several parts of thecountry converging at Kockchikadeseeking blessings. Earlier, the Churchwas scheduled to close at 11.00 p.m.

Yesterday’s crowd was even biggerand stretched beyond the St. John’sfish market in Pettah.

Lanka to receive a section ofSt.Anthony’s Relics

Continued on page 6

Seneviratne

Mervyn

GS&MB ChairmanDr. N. P.Wijayananda toldThe Island yester-day that his outfitwas not in a positionto probe complaintsowing to a shortageof staff.

”

Continued on page 6

Pottu Amman