Aug 11 (CI) A six-wicket haul from Mitchell Johnson put Australia in a strong position to take an early lead in the one-day series as they bowled Sri Lanka out for 191. Johnson finished with 6 for 31, the fourth-best figures by an Australia bowler in an ODI, and while pace was the key for the visitors, they will still need to handle the high-quality spin of Sri Lanka to capitalise on their work in the field. more..

Aug 11 (ST) A man was injured when residents and Police clashed in Ottamavadi, Valachchenai over the dispute regarding the arrest of man reportedly involved in the assault of woman in the area. Earlier in the day a man who had applied himself with grease had assaulted a woman, but villagers had arrested another man in the area. Villagers later claimed that police were trying to release the person arrested. The man arrested had been beaten by the people and admitted to hospital by the police. more..

Aug 11 (LBO) The International Labour Organization is helping a co-operative society in northern Sri Lanka rebuild a war-damaged rice mill, which will process paddy produced by 2,000 farmers in the area. The mill in Nadunkerni, Vavuniya, can process 4,000 metric tonnes of paddy (unhusked rice) a year, creating 20 jobs. The ILO said it is giving 10.7 million rupees to install new milling equipment at the facility operated by the Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society (MPCS) of Vavuniya North. more..

Aug 11 (AP) The roadblocks have been dismantled, the sandbags removed, and Sri Lanka is again a palm-fringed tourist paradise, the government says. But for ethnic Tamils living in the former war zone, it is still a hell of haunted memories, military occupation and missing loved ones. Hundreds of thousands remain homeless, and no effort has been made to reunite families separated two years ago during the final bloody months of the war between more..

Aug 11 (HN) A special discussion is scheduled to be held on the 15th of this month at the Elections Secretariat with regards to the Local Authorities for which dates for calling of nomination lists have been announced. This discussion will take place between the Commissioner of Elections and the Assistant Commissioners of the Districts in which the Local Authority Elections will be conducted. The discussions will mainly focus on the calling of nominations lists which more..

Aug 11 (LBO) Farmers in Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka are growing sea bass in cages as part of a larger aquaculture project involving 1,300 people who will also grow mussels and oyster, with help from the USAID. The US embassy in Colombo said over 50 percent of the fishers are women who will sell their sea bass, mussels and oysters at a guaranteed price to Aqua N' Green, a private firm. This week 30 farmers have been given fingerlings and cages to grow sea bass. more..

Aug 11 (Reuters) Hospitals, health care workers and ambulances are increasingly targeted in conflicts from Libya to Somalia, depriving millions of sick and wounded of treatment, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Wednesday. The independent aid agency, which delivers vital supplies and collects the wounded and dead from battlefields, called for a halt to deadly assaults on medical facilities and personnel. more..

Aug 11 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's bourse rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday as retail investors bought shares on hopes of a margin trading relaxation, while regional markets' gains knocked the Colombo Stock Exchange out of its seat as Asia's best performer. Main share index rose 1.03 percent or 69.71 points to 6,819.90, the highest close since Aug. 1. Sri Lanka's bourse was Asia's best performer in 2009 and 2010, nearly tripling in value after the end of a civil war. more..

Aug 11 (Reuters) Sri Lanka is unlikely to cut its already low monetary policy rates in the near term, but may gradually reduce them over the medium to long term to spur a pro-growth policy, the central bank governor said. "In the medium to long term, there is a possibility of a rate reduction, but it will be in a very, very gradual manner," Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal told Reuters. "In near term, I don't see too much scope for a rate reduction." more..

Aug 11 (Reuters) Sri Lanka on Wednesday said it would go ahead with its first-ever wild elephant census, with the help of the military and in spite of conservationist protests that it is a ploy to pluck the best ones for domesticated use in temples, tourism and labour. The Indian Ocean island nation on Thursday was due to begin a three-day census of all wild elephants. Naturalists estimate Sri Lanka has between 5,000 and 7,000. more..

Aug 11 (NN) Sri Lankan domestic Rizana Nafeek, who is on death row in Saudi Arabia, telephoned her mother who is in Muttur today. Rizana’s mother, Ahamadu Farina, said that her daughter urged her family to get her released from prison. She also said that Rizana had said she was saving a warm blanket for her mother and remained hopeful of an early release from prison. Rizana took the phone call home with the assistance of Doctor Mrs. Kifaiya Ifthikar, who meets Rizana in prison every month. more..

Aug 11 (DM) The Prisons and Rehabilitation Ministry is expecting to improve agricultural skills of prisoners by engaging them in cultivation of minor export crops in prison lands, the ministry said. These crops would be cultivated in lands close to prisons located in Pallekele, Boossa, Mahara and Meekirigala. The ministry said that cashew would be cultivated in a plot of land selected in the Anuradhapura prison area. Among the other crops earmarked to be more..

Aug 11 (RNW) Dutch lawyer Victor Koppe is representing the Europe-based political wing of the Tamil Tigers before the ECJ and has asked the court to annul the EU Council’s decision (Regulation 83/2011), reassigning the LTTE to the EU’s terrorism list. Koppe argues this decision is nul and void because the LTTE, as it is described in the decision, has ceased to exist. It has declared it will no longer engage in military strategies to further its political goals. more..

Aug 11 (LT) The Ministry of Health states the govt has earned Rs. 3,915,000by fines when legal action was taken against people alleging they had spread dengue. This money has been earned during a period of 7 months this year. During this period legal action regarding spread of dengue was taken agasint12,461 people. However, the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health recently stated that dengue fever is rapidly spreading in the country in a new round. more..

Aug 11 (NF) The Govt Analyst’’s Department has confirmed that the fire that destroyed two railway carriages parked at the Kandy Railway Station had been caused by an inflammable substance that had been introduced to the carriages. Railway Transport Superintendent L.R. Rathnayake said that he has received a copy of the Govt Analyst’’s Report which has been sent to the Police. According to the report the fire had ignited from three specific places in these carriages. more..

Aug 11 (HN) The founder of the Nawaloka Group of Companies Deshamanya H.K. Dharmadasa has passed away this morning at the age of 92. When contacted by our news team the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Cricket Interim Committee confirmed that his father had passed away this morning. He further stated that the founder of the Nawaloka Group Deshamanya H.K. Dharmadasa had passed away this morning while staying at his residence.

Aug 11 (DM) The students of the Jayawardenapura University have taken the Vice Chancellor Dr. N.L.A. Karunaratne under house arrest a short while ago following a protest held at the university premises. The students had been protesting against the VC’s decision on rejecting Mahapola scholarships and they are claiming they plan to hold the VC under house arrest until he decides to approve the scholarships. The Mirihana police stated that several teams have been dispatched to more..

Aug 11 (NN) Sri Lanka Telecom unions suspended a token strike following discussions held with the labor commission today. SLT staff attached to the ‘All Employees Union of Information and Telecommunications’ had been on a token strike urging the authorities to meet 10 of their demands. The SLT unions presented their demands to the government early this week for consideration. Among the key demands were, eradicating corrupt practices within the company. more..

Aug 11 (AD) Chinthana Vidanage has been banned for 4 years with effect from May 13, 2011 by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) for using banned stimulants, Vice President of the Sri Lanka Weightlifting Federation stated. Sri Lanka’s Commonwealth Games gold medallist weightlifter Chinthana Vidanage was tested positive for methylhexaneamine at the Asian Championships. Vidanage won the gold medal in the men’s 62 kg category weightlifting, more..

Aug 11 (GDI) President, Mahinda Rajapaksa who is on a four day official tour in China inspected the infinit tea centre in Beijing , which is a premier tea institute in the capital, today (10). The institute only imports tea from Sri Lanka and has 22 centres throughout China. The infinit centre purchases 50 tons of tea annually. The quantity is expected to exceed one hundred tons by next year. External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peris, MP Sajin Vass Gunawardena, more..

Aug 11 (CI) Mitchell Johnson produced the fourth-best figures in Australia's one-day history to set his team on the path to a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Pallekele. After losing the Twenty20s, Australia found a new spark with the arrival of the 50-over captain Michael Clarke, who attacked in the field and then helped steer the side home with Ricky Ponting after Shane Watson set up the chase. more..

Aug 11 (DM) This piece is inspired by a speech made by TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran in London, during an interview with Jayantha Dhanapala in a Weekly interpretation of the results of the recent local council elections and the recent Arab spring. We have a former combat commander in govt while ex combatants are identified as beneficiaries. Several international bodies though doubt our competency to deal with our issues fairly. If for example every Judge and Commissioner is sought to be screened and more..

Aug 11 (DM) It should not surprise anyone that the talks between the Government and the TNA are deadlocked on basic issues, where the ethnic issues began taking a political turn decades ago. Where progress had been made, it was about the very process of negotiations on this score, post-war, and the political message emanating from the local-government polls only weeks earlier. In a way, the TNA is justified in seeking clarity on the Government’s thinking on devolution-related issues. more..

Aug 11 (DM) Major General Shavendra Silva, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, tells Daily Mirror that despite repeated attempts by paid activists of the LTTE failing to discredit the government and the forces, the agenda will continue to block the path of development and peace on the ground.‘Channel-4 or another LTTE funded media outlet may conceive similar fabrications. It’s latest film is not the answer to my questions. I would be seeking more..

Aug 11 (DM) Uthayan News Editor, Gkanasundaram Kuganathan, is not the first of his kind to end up on a hospital bed -- nor will he be the last. Like his predecessors who had to go beyond the boundaries of hospitals and into their graves, and even go missing without a trace, Mr. Kuganathan would soon be just another number in the county’s media casualty records. However much protests are called, vigils are organized and candles are lit, the freedom to write and report the truth has been a long lost more..

Aug 11 (DM) The State of Emergency has plagued the country for over twenty eight years allowing for the govt to suspend some of the public's general freedoms. A Minister who wished to remain anonymous told the Daily Mirror that the state of emergency would remain for the rest of this month. However, he was hopeful that after the scheduled debate in Parliament tomorrow, Emergency would "most likely not be extended to the next month." In April Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne for the first time spoke about a more..

Aug 11 (SO) Strong winds and dry weather made the fire spread faster. Officers of the Forest Conservation Department did their best to douse the fire at the Laggala mountain range with the assistance from the Bell 212s of the Sri Lanka Air Force. The mana grasslands of the Knuckles Mountain Range in Laggala caught fire destroying a large strip of the forest reserve. Officers of the Forest Conservation Department and the airmen of the Bell 212s battled for several hours to save more..

Aug 11 (LG) The so-called scientific method, which is long term politics, can take a back seat as we are already lagging behind issues raised by elections to the local govt bodies in the northern province. In both case the hand of western Christian colonialism is clear but we will first concentrate on elections in the Northern Province. The TNA, the TULF and the UPFA won in the respective areas of the leaders conforming to the voting patterns of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka in general. more..

Aug 11 (LG) Monday Aug 8, I arrive very early in the morning at the so-called Bandaranaike International Airport, the one and only international airport in a land like no other, to board a SriLankan flight scheduled to depart at 0720. There is a big traffic jam at the vehicle disembarking area, with vehicles all over and drivers trying their level best to get as close to the curb to let off passengers. As true Sri Lankans, there is always a rush to get there, but no rush to get out. more..

Aug 11 (SO) Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Dr. Rajitha Senaratne spoke on the Govt’s position in relation to the fishermen’s cross-border issue that has now taken centre stage with India expressing a desire for a Common Fishing Zone in the Palk Strait and the Mannar Gulf. He also spoke about the facilities provided to the Northern fishermen to boost the industry and improve their standard of living. more..

Aug 11 (LG) There is a concerted propaganda effort by the scattered and battered but still evil and scheming remnants of the terrorist LTTE like the GTF and their despised British mercenaries (political and media elements) to attempt to frighten SL with R2P(ee) (Western intervention/isolation. Like the scattered Nazi war criminals who lived in South America they have been granted havens in countries that have been brain washed to believe the LTTE are the innocent victims and not the more..

Aug 11 (LG) The Twelfth Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial Lecture was delivered last Sunday by Professor Ramachandra Huha, the Indian environmentalist. The theme of his lecture was on ‘Making South Asian Cities Habitable’ was so relevant to us in Sri Lanka where extensive changes are being made to the demography of Colombo City in particular. In his lecture, Guha quoted from the writings of Patrick Geddes and Lewis Mumfortd, two scholars who have made a more..

Aug 11 (Island) Sri Lanka’s youth seem to prefer working overseas as long as they had better wages and higher incomes as underemployment remains a problem in the country and despite being educated, many are willing to take up manual labour in more affluent countries. Over 4,000 youth had queued-up outside the Police Field Force Headquarters earlier this week seeking to fill 3,500 vacancies for jobs in South Korea, and the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) conducted a more..

Aug 11 (BL) Dr Harsha De Silva MP has said that the interest rate on the Chinese loan for constructing the port has been raised from the original terms. “We should have been paying 1.3 percent on credit line offered for the development of the Hambantota port, but instead, the country is being charged 6.3 percent interest on the loan," Dr De Silva has told The Island Financial Review. He has added that new evidence suggests that the amount could have been much lower; almost 80 percent lower, more..

Aug 11 (DM) The confusion that occurred when a mass of youth from mainly rural areas converged onto Havelock Road euphemistically renamed Sambuddhathva Jayanthi Mawata and were hurriedly accommodated at the Police Park grounds made many a person wonder what had caused this sudden migration of rural youth. In fact residents of the area were rather perturbed and as per usual Sri Lankan curiosity saw many who heard of this situation just pass by to see what was happening, this made more..

Aug 11 (Island) Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal says the govt would support the establishment of new banks in Sri Lanka if they supported infrastructure development, the inflow of remittances and provided finance and expertise to the country’s SME sector. Speaking at the recent inauguration of Amana Bank, the first new bank to begin operations in his tenure as governor of the Central Bank, Cabraal said, "We have set out the areas in which we are particularly looking to more..

Aug 11 (FT) The anxious Colombo stock market will have to wait a little longer for relaxed credit rule as Commissioners of the SEC who met yesterday deferred a final decision for want of more facts and further study. The much-awaited SEC Commissioners’ meeting took place yesterday and proposals from the Colombo Stock Brokers Association (CSBA) were part of an exhaustive agenda. The deliberations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which took a long time, did consider the pros and cons for more..

Aug 11 (TC) At the time of writing, it appears that the talks between the UPFA government and the Tamil National Alliance are on the verge of collapse. It has been reported that the TNA wants the government to address some issues if the latter is willing to continue talks. The government’s argument varies. Some Ministers have said that the issues raised by the TNA are fundamental so that 10 days period is not adequate to take a decision on the issues of such importance. more..

Aug 11 (LB) Sri Lanka’s defence establishment last week modified its implausible ‘zero civilian casualties’ stance to admit in a new report that it had been impossible to avoid civilian deaths in a battle of such magnitude. This admission, although restricted to one sentence in the book ‘Humanitarian Operation-Factual Analysis’, was analysed positively by some Sri Lankan civil society activists as a step in the right direction. more..