Aug 17 (Hindu) Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed arrived in Sri Lanka on Tuesday morning on a two-day visit. Mr. Nasheed would meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other senior govt officials and hold discussions on ways to further strengthen the close bilateral relations, said the Maldivian President's office in a release. “Discussions will also be held on important issues noted by both the countries, and matters to be discussed at the SAARC Summit to be held in November this year,” more..

Aug 17 (CI) Upul Tharanga's fourth one-day international century this year and a five-wicket haul from Lasith Malinga kept the series alive as Sri Lanka compiled a comfortable 78-run victory in Hambantota. After two substandard batting performances in the opening matches, Sri Lanka finally found their rhythm and their 286 was too tall a target for Australia, who lead 2-1 as the teams head to Colombo for the final two games in the series. more..

Aug 17 (LG) There have been many messages of various forms relating to India’s Independence which is officially celebrated on 15 August. To me it is a celebration of the life of Mahatma Gandhi. It is true that many others also fought for Independence. But Gandhi is the one I identify with as the form through which India’s Independence from the British was finally achieved. To me therefore Independence and Gandhi are one and the same. I believe that anyone who genuinely seeks Independence would identify with Gandhi and v.v. more..

Aug 17 (LG) Image released by Police Headquaters which was saved allegedly in the phone of a 16 year-old who was arrested for a number of robberies in the Uva Province. MP Vijitha Herath stated in Parliament that some are attempting to get female blood in order to obtain the legendary gold crown and sword from Dutugemunu and that there is a connection between the Govt and these incidents. At the same time there is another rumor spreading that a blood offering of 1000 young women is more..

Aug 17 (SO) Muslims world over are now observing fast following the command by Allah. Staying away from food and drink and hoping for reward from Allah. The fast is in order that the affluent may feel sympathy towards the poor and help them by way of donations and gifts to sort out their difficulties in life. The objectives of Ramazan is to purify the heart and behaviour of believers. During this month, Jib reel (alm) repeated the recital of the Holy Quran in full to Prophet Muhammad (Sal). more..

Aug 17 (LG) The non- Tamil and mainstream opposition appears to be taking a long term view of political change in the country. This may be why the UNP invited civil society groups to join with it in opposing the 18th Amendment when its first year anniversary comes on September 8 this year. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution has presented a roll back to the untrammeled power of the Executive Presidency, giving back to the incumbent the power to make unilateral appointments to all top positions in more..

Aug 17 (LG) I strongly condemn and vehemently protest against the conduct of a political party that faced defeat at the recently held Local Election. In-spite of the fact that the service personnel while obstructing candidates of other parties went all out to distribute leaflets, pasting posters and did house to house campaign for that political party it lost. The voters were prevented in large numbers from casting their votes. Now they are utilizing the services of the Forces to more..

Aug 17 (LB) Gilles Lordet, the Information Director of Reporters Sans Frontiers says the traditional media in Sri Lanka have cowed themselves into submission due to govt pressure. Ranga Jayasuriya spoke to Lordet in a phone interview. Q: What is Reporters Sans Frontieres’s (RSF) assessment on media freedom in Sri Lanka? A: Many journalists have fled the country, because their lives were at risk in Sri Lanka. It is a very difficult country to do the job in, more..

Aug 17 (TC) Godfrey Gunatilleke, one of Sri Lanka’s and South Asia’s most respected intellectuals, a distinguished former civil servant, and founder of the country’s oldest independent think-tank, the MARGA Institute, made a sharply critical evaluation of the UNSG’s advisory Panel Report in an extended analysis entitled “Truth and Accountability: the Last Stages of the War in Sri Lanka”. He concludes that: “A wise judge knows that in the imperfect domain of human knowledge there are more..

Aug 17 (TC) With the solitary, honourable exception of Sunday Times columnist Lasanda Kurukulasuriya, (‘Give a dog a bad name and hang him’, From the Sidelines, Sunday Times, Colombo, August 14, 2011), the Lankan media and Colombo’s commentariat completely missed the most important intellectual event in civil society in this post-war phase of our contemporary history. A media accustomed to lionising the less distinguished among our retired senior professionals and intelligentsia, was either more..

Aug 17 (TC) For the past couple of weeks, there has been much excitement in our Sri Lankan neighbourhood (near Badulla). For some time there have been rumours about women being attacked. Villagers are convinced that there is a serial killer on the rampage. The elderly ladies, Tewanee and Meenaachi, who work for us have been telling us that they know for a fact that women have been raped and killed in this vicinity, their breasts bitten off, their hearts torn out. more..

Aug 17 (Island) Close on the heels of a much advertised meeting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa had with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the other day comes the news that the former has blown a fuse over some disparaging remarks an American diplomat has made of Indians. US Vice-Consul Maureen Chao was quoted as having told a group of Indian students on Friday that a long train ride had left her skin 'dark and dirty like the Tamilians'. Jayalalithaa's consternation is understandable and more..

Aug 17 (DM) Last week there were some ripples in cricketing circles with the incident of Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) junior coaches being deployed to man the ticketing counters for the ongoing Sri Lanka-Australia series. The cries came from within the cricket headquarters where it was reported that a section of the field operators were unhappy about the junior cricketers who are the next in line to the national grid being deprived of practice. They say it is practice that makes the difference between more..

Aug 17 (BBC) In a rare public demonstration in northern Sri Lanka, once torn apart by war, hundreds of people have held a protest against what they say are attacks on freedom of expression there. Seven media organisations from the south joined the protest held in front of the Jaffna Bus Stand. Former LTTE media spokes person Daya Master was also among the protesters. Head of the FMETU Dharmasiri Lankapeli said “ govt or its thugs cannot curtail the press freedom by attacking journalists. more..

Aug 17 (SO) The word Grease Yaka (ghost) mentioned in both the Print and Electronic Media has created fear in the minds of people in many parts of the country although such a ghost or an apparition does not exist in reality, according to police. True, several criminals masquerading as Grease Yakas have been caught by the police since the uproar in Kahawatte just a few weeks ago. The agitation erupted at Kahawatte following the unsolved murders of seven elderly women in the area. more..

Aug 17 (GV) The idea of writing this note came to mind after watching the recent interview between an Indian media personality and Sri Lanka’s Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law and Order. A lot has been said about the information exchanged during this relatively short interview. A surface look at comments made by readers on articles on this interview, especially in places like Transcurrents, amply demonstrate what members of the Tamil community (especially the Tamil diaspora) more..

Aug 17 (Island) We have heard a lot about the consequences of smoking. We have read and seen almost everything there is to know about the ill affects of smoking on a person’s health. But we have not heard much about the economic consequences of smoking. According to Dr. Samadhi Rajapaksa of President of the Cancer Care Association, the ‘cigarette devil’ is a massive economic murderer, not only causing damage to ones health and family savings, but it destroys a country’s economy as well. more..

Aug 17 (Island) Sri Lanka, over the years, has had its share of excellent radio and TV cricket commentators. And now we have another one. He is Russel Premakumaran Arnold, who in my opinion, ranks among the best in the world. He is witty, knowledgeable and so easy on the ear. An unbiased observer will state that he is very much on par with the likes of Michael Holding, Ian Bishop, Tony Greig, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ian Chappell and our own Roshan Abeysinghe. Russel Arnold retired from international cricket after more..

Aug 17 (Island) The Ceylon Cement Corporation (CCC) says that they would import 200,000 bags of cement within the next fortnight to address the cement shortage that has currently affected the construction industry. "The SLS certification will be awarded for the cement and the constructors will not have to be concerned about the quality," Chairman CCC, Sisira Paranagama said. The CCC will establish a 294-dealer network countrywide to distribute the cement to the contractors. more..

Aug 17 (Reuters) Rising levels of corruption in Sri Lanka will scare off foreign investors who have poured funds into the country since the end of its three-decade war, the nation's former chief justice said on Tuesday. Sarath N. Silva, a well known critic of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, told an opposition forum the country's anti-graft laws were "ineffective", and accused government officials of handing out contracts without going to tender. more..

Aug 17 (DN) It has come to the notice of the authorities that there are areas in the country where the postal services has not reached at all for over 50 years. The people at Bloemendhal Railway avenue within the Colombo Municipal limits is one such area where the mailman has not been sighted for 50 years. According to Postal Service Ministry sources, the postal service, including letter distribution, commenced only recently here. There are other areas in the country where no postal service was in operation. more..

Aug 17 (DN) The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) is currently studying the fluctuation of gas prices in the world market and a final decision whether to allow a gas price increase will be taken only by the end of this month after a careful evaluation of the situation. Laugfs Gas has already requested for a price hike of a 12.5 kg domestic LP gas cylinder by Rs 570 from the CAA. The company has already made an application to the CAA for a price hike due to gas price increases in the world market. more..

Aug 17 (DN) Immediate steps have been taken to conduct vehicle emission tests on all vehicles in govt institutions, said Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa. He said that a team of Environment Ministry officials will be deployed to inspect these tests. These tests will be initiated from the ministry's own vehicles. He was addressing an awareness programme on "Environment, Vehicle Emission Tests and Air Pollution" for countrywide Traffic and Environment Police Units more..

Aug 17 (CI) James Taylor's century and Ben Stokes's fifty set up a series-clinching 135-run victory for England Lions over Sri Lanka A at Northampton. It was Taylor's second hundred in three games and helped the Lions bounce back emphatically from their 10-wicket drubbing the game before. Taylor and Stokes helped the Lions recover from 38 for 3 to post 282 before the bowlers finished the job in style, skittling Sri Lanka A for 147 with over 20 overs to spare. It was a captain's innings in more..

Aug 17 (CI) Roy Dias, the former Sri Lanka batsman, has confirmed he will take over as the Oman's coach. Dias, who played 20 Tests and 58 ODIs in the eighties, has plenty of experience supervising upcoming nations, having spent the past decade in charge of the Nepal team. "I am eagerly waiting to take charge of the Oman national team. The exact terms [of the agreement with Oman Cricket] are being worked out. But as of now, my immediate assignment is to get the team ready for the ACC Twenty20 Cup, more..

Aug 17 (Island) Rogue policemen are making a killing from vehicles plying between Jaffna and Colombo at night especially along lonely jungle stretches between Chilaw and Medawachchiya and Kurunegala and Medawachchiya via Anuradhapura. A female journalist of this newspaper, who took these routes to and from Jaffna, was eyewitness to such extortions last week as the vehicle she and her family were travelling in was stopped several times on these two routes by corrupt cops. more..

Aug 17 (TN) All people of the north and east who cannot confirm ownership of their land through supporting documents are to be given a two-month period to furnish details of such land through a special application to the respective Divisional Secretaries, reports SL state-owned Daily News. “A special procedure is to be followed in cases where state land has been claimed by the people,” the report says, meaning that ‘state’ lands distributed to Tamils during British rule more..

Aug 17 (DM) All unauthorized structures allegedly put up by tenants at National Housing Development Authority housing schemes will be surveyed by the ministry and if necessary they will be demolished, Minister Wimal Weerawansa said yesterday. He gave the warning when he spoke to journalists after an observation tour of the Sinhapura Housing Project at Vanathamulla in Borella. This housing scheme meant for low income families consists of 60 housing units built at an estimated cost of Rs.175 million. more..

Aug 17 (Island) There once was a young man – with all the correct pedigree and breeding. His grandfather was the pre-eminent media baron of the time – his father, a graduate of The London school of Economics with a strong political ideology. His uncle was to become the President of the country and so after attending the right school of the time and taking oaths as a lawyer, he was seen to be the quintessential political protégé of the Colombo middle classes. more..

Aug 17 (DM) A man and wife and their child of two years were killed when the car they were travelling in collided with a bus at Bogamuwa, Aluthgama in Yakkala last morning at about 5.45 am. At the time of the accident there had been six people in the car. They had been on their way to Anuradhapura from Colombo. The accident had occurred while the car was overtaking a van; an oncoming private bus had struck the car which had then been projected onto the van. The dead persons have been identified as more..

Aug 17 (Island) Additional troops are now deployed in Kinniya to meet any eventuality. Navy headquarters strengthened its isolated detachment in the wake of Monday’s clashes triggered by a large group of unruly residents in a bid to compel the govt to shift the base. Military sources said that the SLN detachment would not be pulled out under any circumstances. SLN spokesman alleged that an attempt was being made to trigger protests against those deployed at Kinniya by an interested party. more..

Aug 17 (TC) Sri Lanka stands poised at a strange and dangerous juncture of her history, this has now become glaringly apparent to all those of us who live here. There is a serious absence of accountability and transparency in matters of governance that have effectively sidelined the vast majority of the citizens in the decision-making process. Whether it is the management of factors essential to daily life, rampant corruption and unprecedented nepotism, more..

Aug 17 (LBO) Sri Lanka is on track to get about ten foreign international universities under an initiative to expand tertiary education with Bangkok based Asian Institute Technology among them, an official said. The AIT is expected to set up a campus in Hambantota in Southern Sri Lanka, higher education ministry secretary Sunil Jayantha Navaratne said. India's Manipal University is to set up a campus near Negombo, north of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo. more..

Aug 17 (Hindu) Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa's remarks that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's call for economic sanctions against Sri Lanka were politically motivated, has once again brought the question of sanctions back into public consciousness — unfortunately. Tamil Nadu's politicians, — the likes of Vaiko, who, though shrewd, are not famous for their economic reasoning — would probably pick up the thread from her, in order to keep the call alive. While it is evident that more..

Aug 17 (Island) Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, giving evidence yesterday before Mt. Lavinia District Judge M.C.B.S. Moraes, said that during the war only India and no other nation could have militarily intervened. The Defence Secretary’s evidence was led by Attorney-at-Law Ali Shibry at the hearing of the private plaint filed, against the Leader Publications and the Editor of the Sunday Leader, by him in connection with an article published in the Sunday Leader more..

Aug 17 (DM) Market research companies have become the latest victims of the alleged ‘Grease Devil’ phenomenon after it was found that a number of door-to-door research representatives were subjected to harassment by residents who suspected them to be grease devils. Shaheen Cader, CEO of AC Nielsen said that company research representatives had faced a number of issuesand have been unable to carry out their work due to the ‘Grease Devil’ phobia. more..

Aug 17 (DM) UNP reformists called on all party members to participate in a Satyagraha at the Party headquarters this afternoon, while questioning the legality of the working committee meeting scheduled for today. UNP Reformists group MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara said that the proposed Satyagraha would be a first step towards putting the party on the winning track. The Satyagraha is to be held at 2 pm today near the Sirikotha. Mr. Madduma Bandara said unity within the party was the most essential factor more..

Aug 17 (AD) The Maharajas have been directing fire at the UNP and to me personally after their request to appoint two people to the party National List was denied, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe revealed. He said that the UNP Working Committee will meet today (17) to appoint the Nomination Board to select candidates and to decide on how the party conducts the elections for October while the organization programme will be approved tomorrow. more..

Aug 17 (Island) Nearly 400 unauthorised timber depots were raided and the operators grilled by the Forest Department officials and the Special Squads working with the State Timber Corporation. Environment Ministry spokesman Kelum Gunathilake told The Island yesterday that majority of the offenders had been punished while there were few court cases still pending. He said last year, the Ministry had recorded 1,183 offences such as encroachment and clearing of forests. more..

Aug 17 (Island) A Vietnamese delegation, on coconut cultivation research, arrived in Sri Lanka, on a 5-day visit, to exchange cultivation methods used by both countries, the Ministry of Coconut Development & Janatha Estate Development said. The Vietnam delegation, comprising 12 members, was received on arrival by Coconut Development Authority Chairman Sudath Hadunge. He said that during their stay they would observe the on going cultivation activities. more..