Aug 30 (DM) A Veddah from Mahiyangana was taken into police custody after he allegedly shot an arrow at a security guard attached to the Kandy Hospital and injured him yesterday when he was prevented from entering the hospital premises, police said. The seriously injured security guard was immediately hospitalsed. The suspect, who was arrested by the Hospital police unit was handed over to the Kandy Police with his belongings, including a bow and some arrows. more..

Aug 30 (Island) Dealers said the rupee was facing severe pressure to depreciate but the Central Bank was seen in the market intervening to prevent sharp volatility. In July the Central Bank sold US$ 416 million to keep the rupee stable, where as foreign direct investment into the country up to end July amounted to US$ 413 million. Analysts have warned that Sri Lanka would have rethink its export strategy, and fast, in order to keep up with the growing import growth and widening trade deficit. more..

Aug 30 (UCAN) Despite repeated assurances by government officials and religious leaders that it is a myth, a bizarre phenomenon known as the grease-devil is wreaking havoc in Sri Lanka. At least five people have been killed in recent days and many more injured, as vigilante mobs of frightened citizens set upon people they suspect of being grease-devils. The dead include a police officer who was lynched for trying to save a suspect and a chronic epileptic who had escaped from hospital and more..

Aug 30 (DM) Minister Champika Ranawaka appealed to all electricity consumers to brace themselves to face the challenge and use electricity sparingly. The minister said the failure of the south-west monsoon had created a crisis situation in hydro power generation with the reservoirs drying up. “The other contributory factor that led to this situation was the failure of previous regimes to carry out a sustainable power generation policy. more..

Aug 30 (DM) UNP Co-Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday called on the voters in the Colombo municipal area not to get disappointed with the party’s internal rifts and vote for it at the coming local govt election. Mr. Premadasa who was speaking at the opening of an election office of the UNP candidate Ariyaratne Santiyago in Grandpass yesterday said people should not hesitate to vote for the UNP at the coming local government elections. He said he would play a major role in more..

Aug 30 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa was yesterday honoured with the title Voharapathi on the occasion of the 137th anniversary of the Colombo Law College at a function at the Colombo Law College premises. The President who reached the highest position of the country was a student of its 100th batch. President Rajapaksa was conferred the Voharapathi honorary award for bringing honour to the College. Law College Principal W.d. Rodrigo presented the award to the President. more..

Aug 30 (DM) The present censorship on the telecasting of television programmes showing the use of alcohol or cigarettes will be removed and instead from Thursday a complete ban will be imposed on the telecasting of such programmes, the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol said yesterday. These new rules will be introduced in accordance with the provisions of the NATA Act. NATA Chairman Carlo Fonseka said in the case of programmes which were more..

Aug 30 (Island) An end to the so-called cement crisis would be possible if the discussions scheduled for today (30) among the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI), Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) and cement industry, including the importers, manufacturers and traders, yielded intended results, sources said. Chairman of the SLSI Kanchana Ratwatte said that a discussion had been scheduled for today among all the stake holders and that he felt a compromise more..

Aug 30 (DM) The dilapidated buildings of the Ahungalla Model School in the Balapitiya electorate have created a death trap for more than 100 students from low income families of the area, a resident said.“The 130 year old building complex had not been maintained for about 50 years,” the residents of the area pointed out. The model school was established by amalgamating the Galwehera Boys’ school and the Galvehera Girls’school in 2003 on a request of the then Provincial more..

Aug 30 (LB) A rmoured vehicles were parked at vantage points in town. Soldiers stood on guard, their eyes straying on the nervous passers-by. Puttalam has changed overnight - from the sleepy coastal town it was known for, to a garrison town. But without soldiers, it could have been much worse. On Thursday, as the slain police constable, Bandara, was buried in his home town, Nochchiyagama, a group of protestors led by more..

Aug 30 (SL) In a shocking revelation, a former army intelligence officer Kandegedara Priyawansa told the Mount Lavinia Magistrate on May 12, 2011 that he was instructed by the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Terrorist Investigations Department (TID) to claim that a top army official was involved in the killing of former Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge. more..

Aug 30 (DM) A group of grassroots level UNP members who are said to be loyalists of UNP Co Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa said yesterday that they had sent in their nomination papers to contest the Colombo Municipal Council elections as members of an independent group. Vijitha Kadiragonna, a former member of the CMC, said that these persons had decided to contest as an independent group under the ‘tea plant‘ symbol as more..

Aug 30 (CI) Australia's last series in Sri Lanka, in 2004, turned out to be the most unlikely of 3-0 sweeps for the visitors. In Ricky Ponting's first series as captain, the Australians trailed on first innings in each Test, and had to contend with Muttiah Muralitharan at close to his best on spinning pitches. Darren Lehmann, now the coach of Queensland, was a key figure in the victory as an aggressive batsman, left-arm spinner, and confidante of Ponting. more..

Aug 30 (LT) Our reporter was able to photograph Sudharman Radaliyagoda, the Deputy Chairman of ITN, who has been warranted by a Court, visiting Thalangama Police Station yesterday (29) to attend to one of his friend’s affairs. He has arrived at the police station in a VVIP Pajero bearing the reg. no. 64 -1727. On July 19th Colombo Fort Magistrates Court issued a warrant to arrest Sudharman Radaliyagoda on a charge of providing a forged document to two scrap iron traders to more..

Aug 30 (LBO) Sri Lanka could attract 750,000 tourists from India over the next decade, or six fold if Sri Lanka can capture just 2.4 percent of that country's outbound market, an equities research report said. Even if Sri Lanka maintains its current market share of 1.4 percent, the island could attract 440,000 Indians in 10 years, an equities research report by Capital Alliance, a Colombo broking house has said. more..

Aug 30 (DM) The owner of Torana Video Movies K.T.K. Kotelawala was released from the case filed against him over infringement of copyright after taking into consideration the services he rendered to the art. When the case came up before Colombo Fort Magistrate, Mr. Kotelawala pleaded guilty to all charges and defence counsel who appeared on behalf of him moved Court to act in accordance with Section 306 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act and more..

Aug 30 (Island) The govt has provided Rs. 2,000 million to the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) to purchase a minimum of 75,000 tonnes of paddy at the guaranteed price Rs. 28 for nadu, and Rs. 30 for samba. This is in order to protect the farmers from being exploited by unscrupulous private traders. Chairman of the PMB K. B. Jayasinghe said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had convened a meeting of government officials recently and instructed more..

Aug 30 (Island) The govt has found there is an urgent need to bring draft legislation for a National Policy on fire prevention in high rise buildings including condominiums and five star Hotels considering the many existing shortcomings in this aspect with risks to life. When contacted the Chief of the Colombo Fire Brigade Rohitha Fernando said that the govt had understood that their was an urgent need for such a Policy so that regular checks could be carried out more..

Aug 30 (DN) Despite challenges, the government has been able to achieve impressive and sustained progress in developing the former conflict-torn North, both socially and economically, Minister Prof. G.L.Peiris told the diplomatic community. “Most impressive here is the pace of development carried out during the short span of two and a half years since the Lankan conflict ended,” he said while giving a detailed report on the progress of development work in the area. more..

Aug 31 (GDI) Minister of Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa participated at Trincomalee District Coordinating Committee meeting held at District Secretariat Office in Trincomalee on Monday (29th). Progress made on current development projects in the district were evaluated at the meeting. It was observed that funds totaling to 227400 lakhs have been allocated by the Ministry of Economic Development for the year 2011f or the development of the district. more..

Aug 31 (NN) During an inspection tour of the Dayata Kirula exhibition site in Anuradhapura, Minister of Construction & Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities, Wimal Weerawansa instructed officials to inaugurate several housing project in the area. He instructed officials of his ministry to inaugurate a housing project for 21,600 families without permanent housing in the Anuradhapura district. The project is to be executed concurrently to the Dayata Kirula exhibition. more..

Aug 31 (ES) Mithun Perera tees off in the Aboitiz Invitational on Wednesday determined to maintain his steady progress on the Asian Development Tour (ADT). The 24-year-old finished tied 34th in his ADT debut at the Clearwater Masters in Malaysia and then improved with a solid 12th place outing at the Impian Classic, also in Malaysia in May. An appearance in the US$65,000 Aboitiz Invitational, the first event in the Philippines to feature on the ADT, more..

Aug 31 (DM) The opening of the southern expressway for motor traffic had been delayed due to incomplete work on signalling and access points, Deputy Minister Nirmala Kotalawala said. Earlier, the government had planned to open the stretch of the expressway between Galle and Colombo for motor traffic in September. However, the Minister said that some minor work had to be completed along the road, and therefore, the opening will be delayed. more..

Aug 31 (DM) An SSP and four others who were arrested on charges of having issued police clearance certificates to suspected terrorists were discharged by a Colombo Court today. Colombo Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne released SSP Baba Mahil Dole, M.S.M. Aslam, Jainudeen Kamaldeen, A. Wickremasinghe, and M. F. Pushpakaran on the instructions of the Attorney General who told Court he was not taking any legal action against the five suspects. The CID said it would submit a report more..

Aug 31 (NN) UNP Organizer for Dehiwela & Mt. Lavinia, Mohan Lal Grero will not be stepping down from his post, as discussions with the party leadership have resulted in a favorable response to his requests. At a media briefing held this morning, Grero had stated that after extensive discussions with the party leader Ranil Wickremasinghe, a decision was made to appoint a mayor with full authority for Ratmalana. more..

Aug 31 (LBO) Sri Lanka's securities watchdog has fined Environmental Resources Inc and several officers, over a disclosure related offence, market sources said. Sri Lanka's Securities and Exchange Commission earlier sent the firm a notice of action, over a disclosure related matter. Under Sri Lanka's securities law, a person charged with securities fraud can agree to pay a 'compound fee' and avoid going to court. Market sources said the company and more..

Aug 31 (Reuters) Pakistan and Sri Lanka will play a three Test series, five one-day internationals and a T20 match in the United Arab Emirates from Oct. 18 to Nov. 26 this year, the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Tuesday. The series will also see the revival of Test cricket at the Sharjah stadium after 11 years after Pakistan and Australia last played Tests at the desert venue in 2002. Pakistan has been forced to play its home series against Sri Lanka in the UAE after more..

Aug 31 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's annual inflation slowed to a lower-than-expected 7.0 percent in August from a year earlier, down from 7.5 percent in July, according to a new consumer price index. Annual average inflation, measured by a 12-month moving average, accelerated to 7.1 percent this month, its highest in the new index, from 7.0 percent in July. A Reuters poll by 14 analysts had expected annual inflation to stabilise at 7.5 percent and the annual average to hit 7.2 percent. more..

Aug 31 (LBO) Sri Lanka's stock market closed higher Tuesday with heavy trading in a hotel share and continued interest in a newly listed tea exporter boosting turnover, brokers said. The main All Share Price Index closed at 6,879.29, up 0.61 percent while the more liquid Milanka index rose 0.17 percent to close at 6,233.82. Turnover was 4.9 billion rupees. Trading in shares of Ceylon Hotels Corporation generated the day's highest turnover of 1.1 billion rupees. more..

Aug 31 (Hindu) PMK founder S. Ramadoss on Sunday warned that the PMK and VCK would organise a motor rally towards Vellore from all parts of the State from September 6 if the State govt failed to come to the rescue of three men facing the death penalty in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Announcing this at a conference held at Maraimalai Nagar to demand the abolition of the death penalty, the PMK founder said the fate of the three Tamils hinged on more..

Aug 31 (Island) The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) will celebrate its 60th anniversary on a grand scale at Temple Trees on Friday from 4:00pm, Administrative Secretary of the SLFP S. H. Ariyasena said yesterday (29). He said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa is scheduled to preside over the anniversary celebrations as the Leader of the Party and General Secretary Minister Maithripala Sirisena, Party Treasurer Minister Dulles Alahapperuma and all senior members too will participate. more..

Aug 31 (VD) Sri Lanka, the South Asian island nation is leading the way in the telecom technology amongst Saarc nations because of the state-of-the-art technology being implemented by the operators. The launch of the 4th generation LTE network bestowing a gigantic speed of 100 Mbps in the capital, Colombo, is a classic example of how the telecom technology has reached dizzy heights in the country. The strict norms being adopted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of more..

Aug 31 (DM) Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) which earlier refused SLS certification to Lucky cement from Pakistan on the basis that the cement was of substandard quality yesterday lifted the ban on the cement aftersamples tests conducted in the UK showed that the cement was not of inferior quality, the Ministry of Cooperatives and Internal Trade said yesterday. Ministry sources said SLSI had immediately removed the ban after more..

Aug 31 (SL) Trade unions in the railway sector in Sri Lanka say the government stands to lose millions of rupees due to the closure of railway line. The JVP affiliated Organization for the Protection of the Railway Properties and the Rights of Railway Employees issuing a statement said the govt would lose up to Rs. 80 million due to the closure of the railway line between Aluthgama and Galle for a period of six months. The railway line between Aluthgama and Galle is to more..

Aug 31 (SL) The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) says a people centered view is adopted when relocating persons in the Colombo area. However, the CMC maintains that it has not evicted any of the persons who are currently being relocated in some Colombo suburbs. According to the CMC, the evictions are being carried out by the Urban Development Authority and the Land Reclamations Board. CMC’s Special Commissioner Omar Kamil said the Council had not evicted anyone for more..

Aug 31 (LP) An LTTE diary in the hands of a Tiger cadre in Germany has revealed that slain LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabakaran ordered the massacre of 300 cadres loyal to his one time deputy leader, Mahendrarajah alias Mahattaya. Notes pertaining to threats on Anton Balasingham not to talk 'peace moves' issued by Prabakaran are also included in that diary,reports from Berlin said. Prabakaran who fell out with Mahattaya over the latter's stand to more..

Aug 31 (LG) Sri Lanka; the politics of Grease devils and the lame duck Rajapaksa. Grease devils are not a class or a family or a genera or a species of animals, these are corrupt and criminal people who are disguised as fear mongers and trouble makers with the blessing of the Rajapaksa siblings. If the grease devils are of local and ordinary civilians in origin the law enforcement would have definitely brought them under control. more..

Aug 31 (LG) According to the information that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) received around 150 men from Navanthurai, a village in the Jaffna District in Northern Province, were illegally arrested and detained in an operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army at around 1.15 am on 23 August 2011. The villagers were severely beaten by the army and dragged to the main road near the Navanthurai Army Detachment located around 300 meters from the village. more..

Aug 31 (SO) Looking back on her trailblazing career in Sri Lankan music scene, a striking feature which makes Neela Wickramasinghe’s voice unique among the plethora of singers is her signature Sri Lankan female voice which is manifested in almost all of her repertoire of songs irrespective of the fact whether they derived their music motifs from Western and Eastern traditions of music. Although trained and steeped in the tradition of more..