July 30 (SS) Chaminda Vaas was a skilful Test match bowler; he also had the heart of a lion. The left-armer would bound in over after over, all sweat and commitment, always giving it his best shot. The champion paceman has now drifted into the ‘Test’ sunset. He will be missed as much for his wicket-taking ability as his inspirational qualities. Vaas’ Test record illustrates his quality — has 355 victims at 29.58 in 111 Tests in a career of miles and milestones. more..

July 30 (LBO) Sri Lanka's tea exports fell in June from a year ago with earnings for the first half buoyed by the rupee's depreciation against the dollar, brokers said. Prices at this week's Colombo auction also fell from the week before, mainly on lower quality. Shipments of tea in June fell eight percent to 26.7 million kilos from a year ago while export earnings also fell marginally to 12.05 billion rupees, Forbes & Walker Tea Brokers said. more..

July 30 (LBO) Sri Lanka's wireline telephone connections dropped by 60,000 to 876,064 in the first quarter of 2009, the latest official data showed, though fixed wireless phone use continued to grow. "The decline of fixed connections started around 2000 in Finland, where now over 40 percent of homes are mobile-only," says Rohan Samarajiva, head of LirneAsia, a regional policy research body. more..

July 30 (YN) A single candle was lit amid a bed of roses on July 23 in the Chamber room at Centrepointe Theatre to commemorate Black July 1983. “The black colour marks our pain, sorrow and fear,” said Ruban Santhiralingam, the master of ceremonies. Black July refers to the massacre of 3,000 Tamil people and the destruction of 250,000 businesses and homes owned by Tamils that took place in Columbo, Sri Lanka between July 23 and July 26, 1983. more..

July 30 (PTI) The LTTE operative who carried out the daring attack on the Anuradhapura air base in 2007 that destroyed 10 aircraft and killed 12 personnel was promoted to the rank of 'lieutenant colonel' for successfully planning and carrying out the attack by Prabakaran, who also gifted him a valuable clock with his photo. The deadly attack carried out in the north-central town in October 2007 had led to the destruction of 10 aircraft besides damaging 16 others. more..

July 30 (PTI) Asserting it does not believe in "poking" in others' affairs, Pakistan has expressed support to Sri Lanka in deciding on the course of peace moves and resettlement of the displaced Tamils in the island's north. Stating that it will not dictate Sri Lanka on pursuing its own policy with regard to the post LTTE war solutions, a senior Pakistan Foreign ministry official told a group of Sri Lankan journalists in Islamabad that his country had confidence in the island government and its people. more..

July 30 (CI) Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, believes the five-match ODI series against Pakistan starting in Dambulla on Thursday will be the first step towards their preparations for the 2011 World Cup. "We are trying to build as strong a side as we possibly can going forward, and looking at one-and-a-half years of cricket towards the World Cup," Sangakkara said. more..

July 30 (LT) As the two elephant calves ‘Raju’ and Sindhu’ that were forcefully removed by Diyawadana Nilame Nilanga Dela Bandara a few days ago are to be handed over to Malwaththe and Asgiriya temples ceremoniously by the President on the 7th of next month the two calves had been punished with poles to tame them say reports. They have also been burnt with heated iron bars state these reports. more..

July 30 (NP) Bob Rae wastes no time in setting to the annoying habit of posing and then arguing against fictitious straw men. No one asserted that the Liberal party is responsible for "causing" the war in Sri Lanka, nor did anyone claim that the Liberals are "the source of all the world's ills." For nearly 10 years, the Chretien and Martin Liberals stalled on recognizing the LTTE as a banned terrorist group. more..

July 30 (CI) Yawar Saeed, Pakistan's manager in Sri Lanka, has denied reports that the players were "approached by suspicious characters" at their team hotel during the two Colombo Tests earlier this month. Saeed was quoted by Express, an Urdu daily, saying that some of the players had complained to him about the presence of undesirable people in the team hotel. "No such thing happened," Saeed told Cricinfo. more..

July 30 (CI) The Tests delivered the promise of riveting cricket, at a time when the game's traditional format was under threat. Now save your appetite for the one-dayers. The selling point of the series comes from the visitor's camp. It marks the return of two exciting players from the ICL, who have been in heavy demand from loyal Pakistan followers to give the team a facelift - Imran Nazir and Naved-ul-Hasan. more..

July 30 (hindu) President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday invited investors from Bahrain to set up a large refinery and establish an oil storage facility with 100-200 tanks for supplying oil to Far East. In the course of bilateral talks with visiting Bahrain Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa here, Mr. Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka’s strategic position and the availability of deep sea port facilities in Colombo, Trincomalee and Hambantota, more..

July 30 (AN) The government of Sri Lanka has asked Caritas Sri Lanka for assistance in helping 10,000 more refugees living in camps located in the northern part of the island. The secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Relief Services made the request for emergency assistance to the Catholic charity in order to provide immediate help for IDPs concentrated in camps in Jaffna, Vavuniya and Trincomalee. more..

July 30 (CT) Bakamuna Police have arrested six persons for allegedly selling a four-month old baby boy to a couple in Kekirawa for Rs. 5,000. The mother, a resident of Giriulla, has sold her child with the assistance of one of her friends to whom she had said that she cannot raise the child. The ‘transaction’ has taken place at this friend’s place and police received an anonymous tipoff while the couple turned back to return the child due to its constant crying. more..

July 30 (IANS) India should hold talks with Sri Lanka to bring back around 40 Indian prisoners from there, a Kerala MP demanded in the Lok Sabha Wednesday. 'India should hold discussions with the Sri Lankan government to bring back the Indian prisoners, who have been lodged there for more than 16 years,' Muslim League MP E.T. Mohammed Basheer said. IANS had reported that Some 40 Indian prisoners languishing in Sri Lanka's prisons are seeking humane treatment. more..

July 30 (LG) A petition seeking a court order declaring illegal the actions of the Commissioner of Buddhist Affairs preventing Buddhist monks from obtaining driving licences was taken up in the Supreme Court today. The file has been filed by the Venerable Professor Paragoda Wimalawansa Thero. The petition has cited the Commissioner of Motor Traffic, the Commissioner of Buddhist Affairs and others as respondents. more..

July 30 (LG) The proud father announced to all his friends and relatives that his lawyer son was getting married and that the son was joining him in his legal practice which he had successfully carried on for a number of years. On his son’s first day at the law firm, the father assigned him to a case that he had been involved in. This particular case had been going through the law courts at Hulftsdorp for quite a number of years. more..

July 30 (LG) The death of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran, circa May 18, 2009 remains an enigma wrapped in mystery. The exact details of what happened, we may never know. Things have never been what they appeared on surface. Colombo’s media management techniques are a legion. Therefore, peering through a looking glass into the future of Sri Lanka becomes quite problematic. more..

July 30 (Himal) The defeat of the LTTE as a military force has not made the ethnic question in Sri Lanka go away. If anything, the need for a political solution has become ever more urgent. The euphoria over the military victory must not allow the debate on power sharing and devolution to die. While these discussions take place, it is useful to go back to power-sharing arrangements already in place, and examine where they fall short. more..

July 30 (LG) J.R. Jayewardene was the first wannabe king of modern Sri Lanka, the man who claimed the only thing that he could not do was to make woman a man or vice versa, lucky he was not a surgeon, he could have ended up like Dr. Shipman. Frequently he got up on the Paththirippuwa to address the nation in his somewhat strange Sinhalese. His choice of Paththirippuwa was deliberate so as to impress the nation that he was the king or more..

July 30 (LG) What is the President of Sri Lanka going to read? Will he get some embassy guy to email him all the good articles appearing on Sri Lanka Guardian daily? Well, he has to do something like that if he has been in the habit of reading something worthwhile, factual, balanced and intellectually stimulating. He must know that reading the ministry of defence website or the Asian Tribune would not educate him on the current issues. more..

July 30 (LBO) Telecom firms racing to set up networks in Sri Lanka's war-torn north and east, are being encouraged to share infrastructure under a new rebuilding plan, a top official said. The masterplan includes making it mandatory for at least three operators to share the cost of installing and running network towers, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) Director General, Priyantha Kariyapperuma said. more..

July 30 (Himal) The US government, which wields considerable influence at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has sought to delay Sri Lanka’s USD 1.9 billion loan appeal. Washington’s hesitance is tied to the context of the humanitarian crisis that preceded the defeat and destruction of the LTTE and the killing of its leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran. Sri Lanka needs the IMF loan to service its external debt, more..

July 30 (AT) The present educational system of Sri Lanka derives from the British educational system, which was introduced by the British colonial masters in the 19th century. The British colonial government established colleges for boys and girls separately. These colleges consisted of Primary Schools, Lower Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools. Today primary education lasts six years, after which the pupils sit a scholarship examination. more..

July 30 (AT) It was the dark hours on July 14, 2009. A six member squad clad in Police-like uniforms stopped a security vehicle transporting cash to Colombo from few private bank branches in Kurunegala zone. The outlook of the check point displayed the authentic hallmarks and thus the cash vehicle complied sans hesitation. Little they realized that it was a crafty criminal trap. more..

July 30 (AT) The day I heard of the kidnapping of the two baby elephants and the cruel treatment that was inflicted on them I was sure that the Mahanayake Theros would order them to be returned to their mothers but I received a shock when I saw the Daily News reporting on Wednesday that the two Mahanayake Theros have denied that the two tuskers taken from the elephant orphanage was a bio-theft because more..

July 30 (AT) The Diyawadena Nilame of Asgiriya and Malwatte did not have the physical strength to snatch two baby elephants to please his masters the Mahanayakas of Asgiriya and Malwatte because the parents though their legs have been chained have resisted with all they can to prevent the abduction of their loved ones. These are babies that have not been weaned and still depended on their mothers’ milk. more..

July 30 (wsws) The Sri Lankan government deployed Navy nurses to the Cancer Hospital in Maharagama, on July 28 to undermine protest action by nurses. The campaign was in support of their colleagues in the chemotherapy unit who have been demanding improvements to basic safety. The nurses took strike action on July 22 and 27 for their demands. Chemotherapy involves the use of powerful drugs that can have harmful effects on those involved in their preparation and administration. more..

July 30 (TN) A group of Tamil political prisoners currently being detained in Welikada prison for many years without any inquiry and not being produced in court began fast unto death campaign Wednesday demanding their release or to indict them in court. The campaign is being conducted in the Welikada prison complex. However Sri Lankan prison authorities denied that no such fasting is held inside the prison complex. more..

July 30 (LG) Has the terrible abomination, which was Black July, now ceased to exist? This is the question which the conscience-stricken among us need to ask ourselves. Whereas in former times, Black July was consistently commemorated every year by the state and progressive, humanistically-oriented sections of the Lankan polity, July 2009 has almost ended with hardly a murmur in the most relevant quarters about the ignominious outrage of 1983, more..

July 30 (LG) The second oil crisis of 1979 had just ended when the Government of Sri Lanka decided in 1982 to place energy efficiency and demand management as the top priority, with the energy ministry functioning directly under the President. By 1983, burdened with a severe drought requiring more thermal power generation as well, Sri Lanka spent 45% of her export earnings to buy oil, and the situation was getting worse. more..

July 30 (LG) The Sri Lanka Guardian has come under calculated and determined campaign of threats and intimidation for upholding the fundamental democratic right of media freedom. The SLG is playing an important role of creating a forum for wider views to be expressed without fear, despite the fearful climate prevailing for media in the centralized politics in Sri Lanka. Within the parameters of media ethics, we give fair chance to reflect wide range of views more..

July 30 (LG) At the sports festival held in Vavuniya Town Council grounds on the last 26th under “Uthuru Vasanthaya” (Northern Spring) programme where the final encounters of Cricket and Football were to take place, Hon. Douglas Devananda, Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare, graced the occasion in attending the festival as the Chief Guest of Honour on an invitation extended by the organizing committee. more..

July 30 (LG) Sri Lanka is one of the oldest democracies in Asia. It is of historic importance that the Sri Lankan Armed Forces systematically and completely eliminated from its soil, the Tamil Tiger infrastructure, violence, and its three decades of terrorism. The Sri Lankan Armed Forces was successful in overcoming both internal and external terrorism; thus, thirty years of carnage by the Tamil Tiger terrorism was finally over. more..

July 30 (LG) The Government handed over 54 reconditioned buses to the Northern Sri Lanka Transport Board on the last 23rd for strengthening and streamlining the transport service in the peninsula. The handing over of these additional buses to the General Manager of the Northern SLTB took place at a ceremony chaired by Douglas Devananda, Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare, held at the Jaffna Central College grounds. more..

July 30 (GDI) The electronic money order service facility by the Postal Department commenced today said M. K. B. Dissanayake, Post Master General. The aim of this new measure is to make money transactions fast and convenient to increase efficiency. Therefore, postal money transactions will be carried out through the internet facility in future. Up to Rs. 25,000 could be sent at a time using this facility, he observed. more..

July 30 (GDI) The budget for next year will be based on a medium term economic plan aimed at achieving an economic growth of 7 percent. The budget targets to increase the overall income next year to 15.7 percent of the GDP, the Ministry of Finance disclosed. According to the Ministry, It also targets to increase tax revenue to 14.3 percent of the GDP. The budget also targets to reduce budget deficit next year to 6.6 percent. more..

July 30 (LP) Police has received information on 09 underworld gang leaders operating on a large scale. Senior Police officers have been instructed by the Police Head Quarters to take all possible action in the chase and take them into custody. Police HQ has released all available information in the areas they operate loiter in and any links to others in the locality. Police HQ is also concerned about rounding up their followers and those in modus operendi. more..

July 30 (LP) The troops of Task Force VIII conducting search and clearing operations in Mullaittuvu recovered more military items yesterday (29). According to the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS), troops recovered 02 T-56 Weapons, 400 MPMG Rounds, 03 RPG Rounds, 10 T-56 Magazines, 85 12.7 Ammunitions, a 9mm Pistol Magazines, 22 Unidentified Magazines, 17 60mm Mortar rounds, a Radio Set, 02 Hand mikes, 500g C4 Explosives, more..

July 30 (LP) The Rail Bus project is an excellent example for the cooperation between Sri Lanka and India said Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad. Mr Alok Prasad stated Sri Lanka made the rail bus service possible where it was impossible in India. The Indian High Commissioner made this comments speaking at the launch of the Rail Bus service in Batticaloa yesterday. more..

July 30 (LP) About 500 children living in IDP camps are to be brought to the Ratmalana Hindu College for education which has been reconstructed at a cost of Rs.20 million, The Hindu College was badly damaged during the July 1983 communal riots and it was not functioning till 1992 when educational activities were resumed using the few buildings that remained intact. Later the school buildings were reconstructed to normal standards. more..

July 30 (MoD) The South Eastern University should be a center of excellence within the next few years, Higher Education Minister Prof. Wiswa Warnapala told administrators and academics of the Oluvil University, at a meeting at the UGC auditorium to discuss development projects under the 'Nagenahira Nawodaya'. The Minister said that under the 'Nagenahira Nawodaya' Programme, the government had allocated Rs. 420,147,022 for infrastructure development of the South Eastern University. more..

July 30 (LBO) Telecom firms racing to set up networks in Sri Lanka's war-torn north and east, are being encouraged to share infrastructure under a new rebuilding plan, a top official said. The masterplan includes making it mandatory for at least three operators to share the cost of installing and running network towers, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) Director General, Priyantha Kariyapperuma said. more..

July 30 (LT) The Patriotic National Movement (PNM) had attempted to sack Ven. Dhambara Amila Thero and four other members of its Executive Committee a year ago. Dr. Gunadasa Amarsekera filed a case against them seeking an order to prevent them from acting on behalf of PNM. The case was heard at Colombo High Court today and the counsel for petitioners S.L. Gunasekera told Court that they were withdrawing the case. more..

July 30 (LT) Colombo Fort Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya yesterday(29th) ordered that chairman of Ceylinco Shriram Limited Lalith Kotelawala and four of its directors who have been accused of defrauding Rs.7 million deposited by 400 depositors and the interest for the amount to be remanded till 10th August. The accused are Lalith Kotelawala, H. K. de Silva. P.K. Karunanayake, A.D. Jayatissa and A.D. Jegadosi. more..

July 30 (LT) There is condemnation from all quarters regarding forcefully removing very young tusker elephant calves from Pinnawala elephant Orphanage and inhumanly torturing them. It was ‘Lankatruth’ that reveled this vile act carried out claiming it was an offer for the Temple of the Tooth first. By now the incident has been reported by all media and the elephant thieves, scared of the public outcry, more..

July 30 (CT) Minister of National Heritage, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has ordered Director General of Archeology, Dr. Senerath Dissanayake immediately inquire into the destruction of an ancient stone art that had been unearthed in the Galle Fort. The minister has directed the Department of Archeology to halt the renovation process immediately and to preserve any artifacts that have been damaged already. more..

July 30 (TC) Text of the tenth Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial Lecture delivered by Prof. Upendra Baxi, Professor of Law, University of Warwick at the BMICH: Beloved Neelan-san, poignantly I may not converse with you any longer in ways we used to; yet, I insist on doing so today in the spirit of a great metaphysical poet, John Donne. Addressing the ‘mighty death’ not to be ‘proud,’ Donne reminds Death: ‘One Short sleepe past ‘wee wake eternally/ more..

July 30 (PISL) The Peace Secretariat deeply regrets the recent intervention by yet another British Minister in what seems a resumption of the campaign by some elements in British public life to harass Sri Lanka and its people. Mr Stephen Timms, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, is reported to have written to Members of Parliament to the effect that ‘The UK did not support the IMF’s proposed Stand-By Arrangement. more..

July 30 (DN) Sri Lanka exported a variety of items in the ancient and medieval periods. Gems were a valued export. Gems were mined at Ridiyagama, near Ambalantota in the Anuradhapura period. The dark red garnet, much in demand in the west, was detected in this area in 2004. Those found in European graves of the early mediaeval period came from Sri Lanka. 16th century writers provide information on Sri Lankan gems. more..