July 13 (LG) The world economic crisis is still continuing in spite of various measures taken globally to arrest the process. One news item dated July 05, 2009 said “the Federal Reserve has said is ‘slowing’ but the economy is likely to remain weak. ...The Fed also said it would continue its present level of purchasing long-term government debt to expand money supply. It expects inflation to stay ‘subdued for sometime’ even though energy and commodity prices have risen recently. more..

July 13 (AT) Appapillai Amirthalingam, who became the torch-bearer of the Sri Lankan Tamils’ struggle for equal rights with Sinahalese and later separation after the passing of Eelam Gandhi S J V Chelvanayagam, was unlike his mentor, a victim of a Frankenstein’s monster he himself fostered like Mrs Indira Gandhi. If Binderanwale proved to be her nemesis, Velupillai Prabhakaran of the LTTE sealed the fate of Amirthalingam. more..

July 13 (Age) Many women and children are among more than 70 Sri Lankan asylum seekers now on Christmas Island after they were picked up at sea on Saturday. A fishing boat carrying the group was spotted by a Customs and Border Protection aircraft about 80 nautical miles from Christmas Island and was intercepted by the navy patrol boat HMAS Armidale. It has been anticipated that many Sri Lankans would try to reach Australia and other countries after more..

July 13 (CI) Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has asked for better contributions from his batsmen in the second Test at the P Sara Stadium in Colombo as his team look to record their first ever home series win against Pakistan. Sri Lanka staged a sensational turnaround on the fourth day in Galle to take a 1-0 lead in the series but the team failed to cross 300 in either innings. Sangakkara was quite aware of his team's failings despite the victory. more..

July 13 (LG) In utter despair I am writing this appeal to you to convince you that your intervention at this stage is indispensable, if the country is to maintain its dignity and honour. The country’s credibility lies in your decision to order the immediate release of certain categories of IDPs and to follow it up soon by re-viewing the problem of the remaining IDPs. At present, they are virtually kept under compulsion without any justification, giving them the feeling that they are kept in an open prison more..

July 13 (EB) The 13th Amendment of the Sri Lankan constitution is not implemented fully because it provides for devolution of power to the provinces in regard to sensitive subjects such as land and the police. Sri Lankan nationalists, especially those belonging to the majority Sinhalese community, fear that giving power over land and the police to a Tamil-majority province would lay the ground for separatism. Full implementation of the 13th Amendment is anathema to them. more..

July 13 (DBS) Various persons in different capacities have attempted to analyse and comment on the tragic post-independence history of deteriorating ethnic relations in Sri Lanka. I happened to read an interesting and informative lecture on Sri Lankan ethnic relations by a brilliant left-leaning intellectual of Sri Lankan origin now domiciled in Britain. Many of the younger generation may not have heard of this octogenarian who more..

July 13 (TC) Almost everyone who crossed the path of Cyril Ranatunga in his long and illustrious career in the army, or at least those of us who have survived, are here today. That in itself is a celebration and thanksgiving for the life of this great man. When he enlisted in the Ceylon Army, as it then was in 1950, the regular army was just a year old. In his memoirs he tells us why he enlisted. more..

July 13 (TC) Why do we sign as ‘Concerned Tamils of Sri Lanka’? It is not for lack of endorsement by very many non-Tamil Sri Lankans of every clause of each of our statements. Elsewhere, Tamil voices are heard loud and clear on our problems, but within our island, independent Tamil voices have been progressively stilled. In this crisis situation, we have a right and a duty to express our concerns collectively as Tamils of Sri Lanka. more..

July 13 (TN) Six medical officers from Colombo are scheduled to visit IDP camps which are described as internment camps by human rights agencies in Vavuniya tomorrow to investigate a suspected outbreak of meningitis and encephalitis, reported from the Vavuniyaa General Hospital. Meanwhile the GMOA has charged that a severe shortage of nurses and pharmacists in the Vavuniyaa camps is compounding health problems there. more..

July 13 (TN) “The ruling UPFA and its allied parties using great number of vehicles in election campaign in Jaffna and that too guarded by Sri Lanka Army and the police is an obvious breach of election regulations,” Mudiyappu Remedias, the chief contestant of TNA, said in a meeting held Sunday morning at Vembadi Girls’ College in Jaffna by SLA and police authorities with the representatives of the parties contesting more..

July 13 (GDI) The Education Ministry stated that the number of government teachers had increased during the past three years. In 2005 there was one teacher for 21 students and in 2008 the figure stood as one teacher for 19 students. Over 3,580 were recruited to the teacher service last year. 3,800 Tamil medium teachers have been recruited for schools in the estate sector. Tamil medium teachers have also been recruited for schools in the eastern province. more..

July 13 (TC) Nearly 22 years have elapsed since the 13th Amendment to the Constitution has been passed in Parliament. It envisaged power devolution at the province level while keeping to the unitary nature of the state. Since the Amendment became part of the country’s supreme law, it has been subjected to various criticisms by diverse groups; some even claimed that it ultimately leads to separatism. more..

July 13 (GDI) Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy M.M.C. Ferdinando said the government plans to provide electricity countrywide by 2012. Electricity is supplied to 83 percent of the entire population. A number of electricity projects are now underway to meet the future demand for electricity. The secretary said these projects are being carried out with the financial assistance of several international agencies including the Asian Development Bank. more..

July 13 (GDI) Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare Hon Douglas Devananda praised the Sri Lanka Navy for facilitating the transportation of school children who are taking part in the Provincial Sports Competition being held at Mannar. Sri Lanka Navy’s Passenger Craft A 543 ferried a group of students, teachers and administrative staff totaling 302 from Kankasanthurei to Thalaimannar for the second consecutive time on the 12th of July 2009. more..

July 13 (GDI) Sri Lanka received a massive foreign aid of US dollars 1005 million in 2008, Finance Ministry statistics revealed. Among that total were special aid commitments form Iran (US$ 450 million), Denmark (US$ 155 millions) in the first half of 2008, a total of US$ 605 million. The balance US$ 400 million and been channeled by usual donors. However, the pace of aid flow had slowed at the beginning of 2009 due to the global economic recession, more..

July 13 (GDI) The number of local and foreign tourists who visit the park are now increasing ,claimed the Caretaker of the Wasgamuwa National Wildlife Park Ashoka Rajapakse. He attributed this development to the prevailing peaceful environment in the country following the defeat of terrorism. Accordingly, facilities for visitors including tour guides in the park have been increased. more..

July 13 (CT) Major General G.A. Chandrasiri has been appointed governor of northern province. The senior military official took oaths in his new office before President Mahinda Rajapaksa this morning (July 12). Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri was previously competent authority for affairs of internally displaced persons. He succeeds Dixon Dela, who has been posted as Sri Lanka’s high commissioner in the Maldives.

July 13 (GDI) “The Vocational and Technical Training University in Ratmalana is open 24 hours, seven days a week. This university is not like other universities in the country. We give priority for practical and student based education”, Minister of Vocational and Technical Training Piyasena Gamage said at the graduation ceremony of the Orugodawatte Automobile Engineering Training Institute held recently at the RatmalanaVocational Technology University auditorium. more..

July 13 (LP) Malaka Padmasiri, a third year undergraduate of Engineering Faculty of Peradeniya University died of dengue fever at the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital yesterday. He was a resident in Ulapane, Gampola. It is reported that there are several mosquito breeding places at the Medical and Agriculture Faculties of the university and medical officer attached to Peradeniya University has been unable to pay attention to more..

July 13 (LP) “Immunology bears upon every branch of medicine and upon the performance of every organ in the body”, Professor Tissa Vitarana, Minister of Science & Technology, quoted an extract from a speech delivered by Sir Peter Medawar in 1974 in addressing the Royal Society of Medicine. He said that with the passage of time and growth of knowledge this statement had been further vindicated. more..

July 13 (LT) A head of a private advertisement firm in Kribathgoda area is to get a top post in the Ministry of Port and Aviation. According to information received by ‘Lankatruth’ the head of the private advertisement firm has prepared a large number of cutouts and hoardings for the propaganda campaign of the UPFA for the Uva PC election. The top post in the ministry is to compensate him for the support he gives to the government party at the elections say sources. more..

July 13 (LT) The long distance bus fares would have to be increased by 5.3% as a result of the daily loss to private bus owners due to banning the use of Galle road for buses that come from outstations to Colombo and diverting them on an alternative route says President of Private Bus Owners Union Gamunu Wijeratne. He said the annual 3.87% increase recommended by the government according to annual amendment of bus fares would be added to the increase in the price of fuel and more..

July 13 (LT) The UNP has decided to vehemently oppose any act brought in the Parliament to restrict media freedom says UNP media spokesman Parliamentarian Gayanthe Karunatilleke. He revealed that the government is taking measures to get several acts that deprive freedom of journalists who don’t tow the line of the government. He said his party deplores ministers who evade answering questions in Parliament but more..

July 13 (LT) The z-score cut off marks systems used by the Ministry of Higher Education to select students for admission to universities does not suit Sri Lanka says Minister Nimal Sirpala de Silva. He said a system to award marks for various talents displayed by students should be adopted to select students for universities and he would present a cabinet paper asking more..

July 13 (LNP) Nawaloka Hospital has today evolved to become the country s premier private sector healthcare provider, recently opened its new facility of luxury rooms and OPD. It has a total floor area of 300,000 sq.ft., a bed capacity of 400 and a host of new facilities and amenities designed to make ill health and recuperation as comfortable and hassle free as possible for its patients. more..

July 13 (LNP) The inauguration by President Mahinda Rajapaksa of the Weheragala reservoir project on Saturday in the far-flung Uva must have jogged one`s memory of an incident which had occurred nearly three years back in the East. In August 2006, the government forcibly opened the Mavil Aru sluice gates which the LTTE had grabbed and closed denying over 10,000 families access to water even for drinking. more..

July 13 (LNP) The 94th Colombo Tennis Championships, organised and conducted by the playing section of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association, will be held from July 18 to August 09 at the SLTA Courts Green Path. This forthcoming tournament is being sponsored by Ceylon Cold Stores and Colonial Hardware Stores with the active support of Vision Care and United Sports. Being an `A` grade tournament that drew around 500 entries last year more..

July 13 (CT) SLFP Mahajana Wing leader Mangala Samaraweera has said that the government has failed to win peace for the country even after defeating 30 years of terrorism. Mr. Samaraweera was speaking at a public meeting organized by ‘Platform for Freedom’ in Talawakele yesterday. Describing the now defeated LTTE as just a symptom of a deadly ailment, he warned that it would be fatal not to give it a strong medication by being satisfied with the heading of a minor wound. more..

July 13 (AT) When Europeans and non-Buddhists monopolized top positions in Sri Lanka’s private sector in the British colonial era and the immediate post-independence years, one of the first Sinhala Buddhists to rise to senior executive level in the country’s corporate world – D.S. Bandarage – passed away recently. He was the son of Bandarage Don Baron Gunawardena a fiery orator and strong advocate of freedom from colonial rule. more..

July 13 (DN) The Kurunegala Pradeshiya Sabha in accordance to the Mahinda Chinthana agricultural concept "Api Wawamu - Rata Nagamu" will launch a massive agricultural development program covering the 121 Grama Niladari Divisions under the purview of the Kurunegala PS to be completed within three years (2009-2012) at an estimated cost of Rs. 35.1 million. The organisation with overall responsibilities the implementation of this program will be done by more..

July 13 (Island) A dispute between the Ministry of Social Services and Social Welfare and the Parliamentary Select Committee for the investigation of the operations of Non-Governmental Organisations and their impact, over drafting an act to deal with NGOs, the PSC has not yet been able to finalise its recommendations, The Island learns. Sources said the delay was in spite of the submission of an interim report to Parliament and President Mahinda Rajapaksa by more..

July 13 (DN) The production activities of the Elephant Pass Salterns would be started quickly as an accelerated program has been made under the “Uthuru Vasanthaya” to accelerate production of all factories as the terrorism in North has now wiped out, said Industrial Development Minister Kumara Welgama. The Minister stated so, when a group of old employees arrived at the Ministry to request the Minister to re-open the Elephant Pass Salterns, more..

July 13 (Island) Examination Commissioner General Anura Edirisinghe yesterday challenged anyone opposed to the outcome of the re-correction of the 2008 G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination results to take recourse to law. He said proper procedure had been followed in recrutinising results. He said the JVP was making a hullabaloo over the issue unnecessarily. "The JVP is adept at making a mountain out of a molehill," he said. more..

July 13 (DN) The Japanese Government has provided a grant aid of Japanese Yen 630.314 million for the improvement of meteorological observation network in Sri Lanka. The genesis of this project can be traced back to discussions that the Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe had with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on his visit to Tokyo and emphasised that this project should be afforded the highest priority. more..

July 13 (DN) In an interview with the Daily News Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Felix Perera speaks about the Government’s proposed plans to develop the fisheries industry in the North and development taken place in the fisheries and aquatic resources sectors under the Mahinda Chintana. Q: Fish production in the North is expected to increase with the lifting of fishing restrictions in the North. more..

July 13 (Island) Kelaniya Pradeshya Sabha Chairman Prasanna Ranaweera yesterday urged President Mahinda Rajapaksa and SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena to put an end to political violence in the Kelaniya electorate. He has said: "My house was attacked by an unidentified gang in the wee hours of yesterday and our lives are in danger and people in the area live in fear and are under constant threat." more..

July 13 (Island) Lives of around 250,000 internally displaced people sheltered in welfare camps in Chittikulam and Vavuniya were at risk as the Health Ministry had failed to deploy enough nurses, pharmacists, family health workers and midwives in the welfare centres, the GMOA said. Although services of 300 nurses were required for the camps, only five to 10 nurses had been detailed but there were no pharmacists. more..

July 13 (DM) Two youth called ‘Grease Yakas’ by people in the area had been nabbed by the Gokarella police and produced before courts. These two youth had been prowling in Melsiripura, Ibbagamuwa, Gokarella and Dodamgaslanda areas for sometime peeping into houses in the night, spying on places where women bathe and harassing women and children. The Gokarella police had been on the watch out for these two youth for sometime following more..

July 13 (DM) A 14-year-old girl lost two of her front teeth when one of her classmates assaulted her with a bottle inside a classroom in a girl’s school in Katukurunda, Habaraduwa on Friday. The assaulted student had been studying in the classroom during a free period when a group of other students were singing. She had asked the others to stop singing inside the class as it disturbed her studies and had slapped one of the singing girls. more..

July 13 (DM) The government has planned to set up the country’s largest economic centre in Omanthai, to facilitate trade between the North and the South, said Trade and Consumer Services Minister Bandula Gunawardane. Mr. Gunawardane told Daily Mirror that a land 20 acres in extent was identified in the area on Saturday, close to both the northern railway line and the A9 road, to set up this economic centre. more..

July 13 (DM) In rebuilding Sri Lanka after three decades of destructive war, a vital area is healthcare the important dimension of rebuilding our fresh-milk industry and related aspects such as breast feeding. Clichés apart, to build a wealthy nation, the foundation needs to be a healthy nation flowing with the honey of fresh milk. We will then have not only a healthy nation but also provide tens of thousands of new job opportunities more..

July 13 (DNN) Sri Lanka’s external debt stock declined by US$250 million from the end of last year to $12.06 billion as at end May 2009, the Mid Year Fiscal Position Report of the Treasury said. "Total debt service payments up to May 31, 2009 amounted to $223.4 million, about 24.8 per cent of total estimated debt service payment for 2009 which is $900 million. Of this, $145.7 million was for principle payments and $77.7 million for interest payments," more..

July 13 (LBO) Central bank, which brought inflation down to 0.9 percent in June, warned of higher inflation raising the possibility that it may lag behind better performing dollar pegged peers in the region. Inflation fell to 0.9 percent in June, the lowest since February 2004, when consumer inflation in Colombo was measured at the same level. "This decline was supported by the stringent monetary policy stance exercised by the Central Bank in the recent months and lower international commodity prices," more..

July 13 (LBO) Sri Lanka's central bank is giving three billion rupees to several banks to lend to small and micro businesses in agriculture and fisheries and in the war-torn north of the island. State-run Bank of Ceylon and People's Bank; privately held Hatton National Bank, Commercial Bank and Seylan Bank, and Sanasa Development Bank, a bank based on the co-operative movement, which have branches in the area will get central bank re-finance. more..

July 13 (Xinhua) A 40-year-old Sri Lankan man who saved a squirrel from drowning lost his life on Saturday, an English newspaper reported on Monday. According to the Daily Mirror, Tilak Rajakaruna was climbing out after cleaning his 60-foot-deep (about 18.29 meters) garden well in a northern Colombo suburb called Kandana, when a squirrel fell into the well from an overhanging branch. more..

July 13 (CI) Pakistan made giant strides towards restoring the balance in the second Test after being completely outplayed on the first day. Led by outstanding performances by Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal, they skittled out seven Sri Lankan wickets for a mere 76 to restrict the first-innings difference to 150, and then continued the good work with the bat, reaching 61 without loss at tea. more..

July 13 (Time) Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war between the government and the separatist LTTE came to a dramatic end in May with a decisive military victory and the killing of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Tigers' fearsome leader. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is the man who tamed the Tigers. Now his task is to heal a nation still divided by tensions between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. more..

July 14 (LT) A thirty foot wide road starting from the 53rd mile post on the Mahiyangala – Padiyathalawa road and running across Maduru Oya nature reserve is being constructed says the chief of the indigenous community (Veddaha community) Uruvarige Vanniyaleththo. The reason to construct such a wide road connecting a small village is to cut the big trees in the Maduru Oya reserve said Vanniyaleththo. more..