Aug 4 (LeN) The Govt. has decided to appoint an outsider even this time to the post of Auditor General which post is falling vacant after the 20th of August this year. It is the Auditor General who is in charge of the auditing and accounting of the Ministries, Govt. Depts., the three Forces, the Police and State Corporations. He is also responsible for controlling the State’s monetary matters and for conducting investigations into audit and more..

Aug 4 (Island) DNA Leader Gen. (retd) Sarath Fonseka told Parliament yesterday that the country was in chaos due to complete breakdown of law and order. Participating in the Emergency debate, Fonseka alleged that the Rajapaksa administration had even ignored directives given by Courts. Referring to the Army preventing him from attending Consultative Committee meetings in Parliament, he said that that the government had ignored specific orders from Court to more..

Aug 4 (LNP) The Colombo Crimes Division has uncovered a parallel Registrar of Motor Vehicles Department that had been operating a mobile service on the sly from a van right near the RMV in Narahenpita. The racket had been going on for the past 10 years. Officers of the CCD have taken into custody three persons together with a host of vehicle registration documents including vehicle licences, receipts and sum of Rs 200,000. more..

Aug 4 (IPS) Dusk creeps over Konweva like a black shroud slowly draping over the village. The edges of its paddy fields, where the agricultural plains meet the surrounding thick shrubs, are first to be blanketed in the darkness. Already, there are signs that the night will not be peaceful. Villagers in Konweva, located in Kurunegala district, eye one another anxiously as loud booms are heard across the fields. more..

Aug 4 (DN) The Industrial Technology Institute (ITI), the company involved in the production of BTI and Registrar of Pesticides appear to have got entangled in a debate over the label to introduce them to the local market. The ITI and the company involved in the production of BTI bacteria is yet to receive permission for the label from the Registrar of Pesticide to introduce them to the local market. more..

Aug 4 (NF) A certain group has abducted a man and a woman who attempted to get into their vehicle down Kotte Road in Borella around 11 last night. Meanwhile, the abductees have been identified as Indika Sandaruwan and Ruwan Sandamali who are residents of Magazine Road in Borella. According to an eyewitness, around seven to eight persons who arrived in a white van had dragged the man away first. more..

Aug 4 (DM) The ruling UPFA today distanced itself from the conduct of Deputy Minister Mervyn Silva saying his behaviour yesterday where he had tied a Samurdhi officer to a tree did not reflect the position of the party. UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayanth speaking to Daily Mirror online said that Deputy Minister Silva’s actions yesterday were merely his own and did not have anything to do with the party or the government. more..

Aug 4 (WP) An estimated 200 asylum seekers from Sri Lanka, including some believed to be members of a group the United States has labeled a terrorist organization, are aboard a ship in the Pacific Ocean heading toward North America, according to U.S. government officials and other sources. The MV Sun Sea had been destined for Australia but changed course after its captain determined that more..

Aug 4 (SL) The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) has organized a protest outside the Colombo Zonal Education Office today demanding the payment of salary arrears. CTU convener, Joseph Stalyn said that teachers would protest outside the Colombo Zonal Education Office at 2 p.m. demanding the payment of arrears in their salaries for the past five years. Stalyn said that although numerous requests had been made from authorities to pay the salary arrears for five years. more..

Aug 4 (DM) More than 100 acres of the Sri Pada forest reserve has been destroyed by a massive fire raging in the area, the Forest Conservation Department said. Range Forest Officer in Balangoda, Ajith J Kayasinghe said the fire that broke out in the Rathanagolla are in the Walawe valley was spreading to the Balangoda section of the forest reserve. A request has been sent to the relevant authorities including the Disaster Management Centre to help more..

Aug 4 (Island) The UNP yesterday charged that none of the 42 Consultative Committees had met, even though three and half months had elapsed since the seventh Parliament held its inaugural session. Senior UNP Vice President John Ameratunga told The Island that it was the duty of ministers to summon the respective Consultative Committees. But, they had failed in their duty. more..

Aug 4 (TC) ‘On 29th July 2010 MPs of the TNA, Suresh Premachandran, M A Sumanthiran and S Shritharan visited Santhapuram and met with the original inhabitants now living in a transit camp at Santhapuram. On the same day Suresh Premachandran, M A Sumanthiran and Sivasakthy Anandan also met the original inhabitants of Indupuram and Thiru Murikandy who are still at the ‘Welfare Centres’ in Chettikulam. more..

Aug 4 (GDI) Construction of the Matara-Colombo Expressway is nearing completion and will be vested for public use in April next year. The government has given the highest priority to this project Deputy Minister of Highways Dr. Mervyn Silva revealed the details of this project yesterday. He pointed out that the travel time from Matara to Colombo will be drastically reduced with the opening of this road and the travel time will amount to about 2 hours. more..

Aug 4 (Island) The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday cracked a whip imposing a trading halt on some of the most popular stocks traded on the Colombo bourse "until further notice" placing a pall of uncertainty over the Colombo share market. Trades were imposed on Dankotuwa Porcelain, Blue Diamonds, Environment Resources Investments (ERI) warrants of four maturities and Touchwood with the SEC attributing its action to more..

Aug 4 (CI) Thilan Samaraweera was unshakeable during his 12th Test century that steered Sri Lanka to a position of control in the deciding Test at the P Sara Oval. He thwarted India's quest for some early wickets with solidity amid testing spells from Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha, and helped the hosts post a formidable score on a competitive pitch. Samaraweera's innings displayed an excellent grasp of the pitch that more..

Aug 4 (DM) The government extracts work from LTTE’s main arms procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP) by holding him in detention, Wimal Weerawansa MP said in Parliament yesterday. Delivering the conclusion speech on the Emergency extension, he said, that the government was not looking after him with all kinds of luxuries like a pet as alleged by certain sections within the Opposition. more..

Aug 4 (DM) SLMC Leader Rauff Hakeem told Parliament yesterday that Muslim families evicted from the Machchikuda area in Kilinochchi had been denied access to their original lands now.Mr. Hakeem said 1,750 Muslim families evicted by the LTTE now lived in welfare camps in Puttalam. However, he said their lands in Nachchikuda were now being occupied by others. “Therefore, these Muslim families cannot return to their original lands,” he said. more..

Aug 4 (LT) ‘People’s economy’ could find solutions for the crises the country is confronted at present says General Secretary of the JVP Tilvin Silva. Addressing a gathering at Viharamahadevi open air theatre held yesterday on the theme ‘A new path for Motherland,’ Mr. Silva said, “At present the country is confronted with a serious economic crisis. Only a ‘People’s economy’ could find answers to this crisis. more..

Aug 4 (CT) The government should hold an investigation in to the incident of Deputy Minister Mervyn Silva manhandling a Samurdhi officer and reveal the government’s response to the public, Deputy Leader of the UNP, Karu Jayasuriya says. Speaking at a media briefing in Colombo today, he said that this conduct of the deputy minister affronted the entire state sector and that the UNP condemned the action. more..

Aug 4 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said the consumers can get electricity at cheaper rates by promoting environment friendly power generation in Sri Lanka. He said the Government has paid special focus on the environment friendly power generation sector which could bring more benefits to the consumers. President Rajapaksa was speaking at the energy efficiency awards ceremony organized by more..

Aug 5 (EB) The BJP here on Monday termed the Indian special envoy’s visit to Sri Lanka to assess the progress of rehabilitation of Tamils living in refugee camps as a mere eyewash. Flaying Home Minister P Chidambaram for claiming that the initiative was taken at the behest of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s effort, BJP State president Pon. Radhakrishnan said the decision to send a special envoy was taken when more..

Aug 5 (BBC) The opposition leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has condemned the actions of a government minister who tied a public official to a tree. Government workers have also expressed outrage and say they will launch a nationwide protest campaign on Thursday. The controversial deputy minister, Mervyn Silva, punished the man for not attending a programme on controlling the mosquito-borne disease, dengue fever, which has killed scores of Sri Lankans this year. more..

Aug 5 (BBC) Nearly 350 Sri Lankan housemaids are in a jail in Saudi Arabia waiting for the help of authorities to go home, a Sri Lankan worker said. The housemaids, most of whom have fled their masters in Saudi Arabia as a result of physical and sexual abuse, the worker told BBC Sandeshaya from Olaya Security camp in the capital Riyadh. Workers are sent to the camp by Sri Lanka embassy officials after keeping them in transit for few days. more..

Aug 5 (AIR) Prime Minister told Parliament that the Government has taken measures to confiscate all assets of the defeated terror outfit the LTTE in the future. Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne speaking at the debate in the legislature on the motion to extend the period of emergency by another month said that these assets included houses, plots of land and business establishments that were run by the LTTE in Colombo and the suburbs. more..

Aug 5 (NJ) Sri Lanka Day was established 35 years ago as a way to introduce township residents to the Sri Lankan culture — an opportunity for locals to sample exotic cuisine, learn cultural dances and play a match of cricket. Now, the annual event, which returns Saturday, has become a staple heritage festival for the New York region’s Sri Lankan community, more..

Aug 5 (IRIN) The decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka ended more than a year ago, but emergency powers are still in place, sending the wrong message, Amnesty International says. "With the Sri Lankan military's defeat of the LTTE as a military force there were high hopes and every reason to expect a loosening of some of the highly restrictive laws and abusive practices that had characterized life in Sri Lanka for the past years," more..

Aug 5 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday imposed a 10 percent price change limit on most stocks, a day after it suspended trading in four stocks because of unusually large gains amid heavy trading. Under the new directive, orders in the normal and odd lot boards 10 percent above or below the previous day's closing price will not be accepted, the SEC said in a directive made public by more..

Aug 5 (DM) A police complaint has been lodged by Singer/Actor Dushyanth Weeraman after the celebrity's vehicle was attacked along Bauddhaloka Mawatha this evening. When Daily Mirror online spoke to the singer, he stated that the incident occurred while he was driving down Bauddhaloka Mawatha and was refused the right of way by a vehicle emerging from Wijerama Road. more..

Aug 5 (CI) Thilan Samaraweera's record, his average of 53.34, is often seen with an asterisk next to it. Only one of his 12 centuries has been scored out of the subcontinent. He usually seems to be one of three or four centurions in an innings. Except for the centuries in Faisalabad when he came in at 9 for 3, and at Queen's Park Oval when he scored a second-innings 125 from 35 for 4, Samaraweera is usually perceived to be more..

Aug 5 (CI) New Zealanders endured poor passages of play in the latter stages of either innings, but did enough to seal victory against Sri Lanka Board President's XI in their first match on tour. The win was easier than suggested by the eventual three-wicket margin, as Ross Taylor and Scott Styris struck fluent fifties before the visitors crossed the line with 72 balls to spare. BP XI elected to bat first, but more..

Aug 5 (CI) A health warning: anyone still clinging stubbornly to the conviction that Muttiah Muralitharan's action disqualifies him from universal appreciation, admiration and heartfelt gratitude - i.e. those who see fit to ignore the fact that his success, in physical terms, owes everything to an elasticated right wrist and almost equally freakish right shoulder - may find it wisest to read no further. more..

Aug 5 (UCAN) Journalists in northern Sri Lanka have told their southern counterparts they are unable to do their jobs effectively because of ongoing post-war reporting restrictions. They raised the issue during a seminar organized by the National Peace Council (NPC) called Bridging North and South. Some 50 journalists, including several Catholics and two priests, attended the event at the Church-run Center for Society and Religion on July 30. more..

Aug 5 (UCAN) Tamil refugees who are unable to return to Sri Lanka despite the end of the civil war are going to India for their weddings. Nathan, who was accepted as a refugee in the United Kingdom, had to marry his Sri Lankan fiancé in India as she was unable to obtain a visa for the UK. “If my son Nathan came to Sri Lanka to marry, he might be in more trouble,” said his 59-year-old mother, Parimalam Jeyaratnam. more..

Aug 5 (AFP) The United States and Canada said Wednesday they are monitoring a ship said to be packed with Tamil refugees bound for Canada as they flee post-war persecution in Sri Lanka. David Poopalapillai, a spokesman for Canadian Tamils, dismissed what he called mere allegations that the asylum seekers included members of the separatist Tamil Tigers, outlawed as terrorists by both Ottawa and Washington. more..

Aug 5 (LR) With deep sorrow and regret the editor and the staff of the Sri Lanka Reporter announced the passing away of veteran journalist Vilma Wimaladasa last month. According to reports reaching from Colombo Vilma was attacked by a burglar at her Terrence Avenue residence in Mount Lavinia and was rushed to hospital with a hip injury where she died few hours later. She was 80. Vilma commenced her journalism career at the former Times of Ceylon in 1953. more..

Aug 5 (TC) A recent seminar that was hosted by the Eelam Tamil Association of Victoria, has created a media frenzy sprouted with various sections choosing to quote and misquote what was said. In particular the talk given by Dr Maheswaran triggered some excitement within the Tamil community as well as in the Sri Lankan and web based media. I have here attempted to give my own version of what was said to rest the confusion that has ensued. more..

Aug 5 (DM) By declaring that they would be willing to consider working with the multi-member Tamil Parties Forum, the TNA may have moved a notch closer to reality than earlier. However, by adding that they would want the TPF should come out public on what all they have discussed so far other than the TNA, the latter may have also given expression to the kind of diffidence that has guided its course in the past year after the war. more..

Aug 5 (13AF) Representatives from the United States Pacific Command will join Sri Lankan partners to provide humanitarian and civic assistance to civilians in central and western Sri Lanka as part of Operation Pacific Angel 2010 scheduled August 14 through 22. Operation Pacific Angel is a joint and combined humanitarian assistance operation conducted in more..

Aug 5 (LG) It is my distinct privilege to deliver the 13th Deshamanya Professor Nandadasa Kodagoda Oration this evening. Professor Kodagoda was an intellectual giant of our times. Born in Ahangama in the Galle District in 1929, he was educated at the Ahangama Village School, Nalanda Vidyalaya (till the onset of the 2nd World War) and at Mahinda College, Galle. He received his medical education at the Colombo Medical Faculty and became a doctor in 1954. more..

Aug 5 (LG) Underage drinking is a problem that should be taken seriously in that it can lead to early age alcoholism and drug use. The experimentation with 'soft' drugs such as marijuana can lead to dependence on the harder addictive narcotics such as cocaine and heroin, all of which are readily available to anyone who wants them and all of which kill. And so the Sri Lankan police have begun a probe into nightclubs that allow underage drinkers into their establishments. more..

Aug 5 (LG) A document purported to be the APRC report has been tabled in the Parliament by Mr. Yogarajan, who represented the CWC at the APRC. He has since then changed parties and is now apparently a member of the UNP. The other person involved with the so called report is Mr. Kariapper who represented the SLMC at the APRC. It is reported that copies of the so-called report would be sent to some embassies. more..

Aug 5 (wsws) A month after the July 4 mass arrest of more than 200 slum dwellers at Mattakkuliya Summitpura in northern Colombo, the Sri Lankan police are continuing to oppose the granting of bail for the 23 people who remain in custody. On July 28, Magistrate Lal Ranasinghe Bandara granted a police request to extend the prisoners’ detention until August 11. The court ordered more than 175 other “suspects”—who were bailed out earlier—to appear in court more..

Aug 5 (MoD) Tourism, Sri Lanka's sixth largest revenue earner last year recorded 490,000 tourist arrivals. Twenty years ago the figure was 480,000 and it was the second largest revenue earner of the country, Sri Lanka Tourist Board Chairman Nalaka Godahewa said. Addressing the media at the Tourist Board training Center Auditorium on Monday he said it was the local tourists who saved the hotel and tourism sector during the past few decades. more..

Aug 5 (MoD) The construction work to the Northern Provincial Council building Varodiya has been completed at Kilinochchi and all offices will be transferred to that building, Eastern Province Road Development, Housing and Construction, Irrigation, Rural Electrification and Water Supply Minister M S Uthumalebbe said. He said though the North - the Eastern Provincial Councils were separated in 2007, more..

Aug 5 (MoD) Sri Lanka Army War Heroes will shortly be able to receive Ayurvedic medical treatment at Ragama Ranaviru Sevana, following an initiative taken by Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army in response to the concerns of disable War Heroes. The initial concept for introduction of Ayurvedic medical system to the Army and disable War Heroes struck the Commander's mind when he, on an earlier occasion, more..

Aug 5 (LP) A Project to covering the sewerage and sanitary facilities in several areas in Colombo was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. The earlier project was covering the areas of Dehiwala, Ratmalana, Moratuwa, Kollonnawa, Ja-Ela and Ekala while the newly implemented project will be covering the areas not covered by the present project. more..

Aug 5 (GDI) Taking into consideration the anticipated growth of milk production as a result of the strategy implement for the development of livestock industry and the inadequacy of the existing processing capacity of (Milco (Pvt.) Ltd., Cabinet approval was granted to expand the activities of Milco (Pvt.) Ltd., to supply liquid milk with long shelf-life to the Sri Lankan consumer and for the purpose, to establish more..

Aug 5 (LP) Cabinet Minister of Youth Affairs Minister Dullas Alahapperuma seeks assistance from the Common Wealth for the benefit of the future of the Sri Lankan youths who experienced the brutality of the war. Addressing the Progress Review of the Common Wealth Youth Programme yesterday (04) at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel Colombo the minister assured that this will never take place again. more..

Aug 5 (LP) United National Party (UNP) Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara gave his views today (4th) in the Parliament about a Samurdi officer in Kelaniya area being tied to a tree. His idea was that if the tying-to-a-tree method is to be followed, there are more people in this country that should be on the list. Deputy Minister Mervyn Silva chose this moment to insist that the Kelaniya incident is irrelevant to the House. more..