Aug 5 (Island) The govt’s aim to provide funding for maintenance of the existing national road network, running to some 11,000 kilometres, through the Road Maintenance Trust Fund (RMTF), in a strictly professional and efficient manner, appears to have run into a bureaucratic road block and the RMTF has been unable to take off the ground for the last several months. Each year, the government alone sets aside about Rs. 50 billion for road maintenance. more..

Aug 5 (Island) The govt said yesterday that it would take up the issue of some Sri Lankan pilgrims being assaulted by a group of persons in Dambadiva, with the Indian central government and not with Tamil Nadu, because it does not deal with State administrations. "We are pursuing the matter through diplomatic channels to ensure that there would not be a repetition of Wednesday’s incident," Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the more..

Aug 5 (Island) Student groups, of three universities, who had filed Writ Application against the submission of resignations letters by Heads of the University Departments, withdrew their Applications in view of the settlement of the issue in question. The students had complained that their academic studies were disrupted, due to the submission of resignations by Heads of Departments and the acceptance of the same by the Chancellors of the Universities more..

Aug 5 (Island) The Health Services Trade Union Alliance urged the Health Ministry to recall all substandard IV sets, used to administer saline to patients, from all government hospitals and health institutions. President of the HSTUA Saman Ratnapriya said yesterday the particular stock had been purchased and distributed to hospitals by the Medical Supplies Division in June. He urged Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena to more..

Aug 5 (USE) The Immigrant Visa section of the American Embassy in Colombo will be holding presentations on Diversity Visa lottery in Jaffna, Killinochchi and Anuradhapura. •Anuradhapura - August 05th 2011 at 4:30 pm Co-operative Society Hall, 352, Maithripala Senanayake Mw, Anuradhapura •Killinochchi - August 06th 2011 at 9:30 am National Youth Service Council Hall, Killinochchi •Jaffna - August 06th 2011 at 4:30 pm Veerasingam Hall, Jaffna more..

Aug 5 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa ceremonially opened the UPFA Gampaha District Head Office on an invitation extended by minister and the leader of UPFA of Gampaha Basil Rajapaksa Yesterday. The UPFA Headquarters of the Gampaha District, has been built under the guidance of Minister Basil Rajapaksa equipped with all facilities and in a village friendly environment, setting an example to the country. It consists of a fully equipped main Auditorium more..

Aug 5 (DN) Minister Champika Ranawaka said they have arranged to introduce the first main grid connected solar power plant in the Hambantota District. This will be the first step towards promoting solar energy in Sri Lanka, the minister said. The project will add 1.5 mega watts to the national grid, he said. Japan and Korea will fund the project under the Solar Power Park Project in Hambantota, , said Power and Energy Ministry sources. more..

Aug 5 (Island) Ceylon Electricity Board Trade Unions numbering 60 barring the CEB Engineers’ Union, said that they would give the Power and Energy Ministry another chance to settle their dues. CEB Joint Trade Alliance Convener Ananda Nimalaratne said that the govt could not keep on ignoring their demands. "Our salary arrears must be rectified. If they can’t clear the 10-month arrears in one go, they could do so in installments. more..

Aug 5 (DM) Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka supporting his writ application challenging the Court Martial decision against him on Wednesday stated that the Appeal Court could issue orders on the decision of the Court Martial. Appearing through senior Counsel Romesh de Silva PC, former Army Chief contended the Army Act was still existing which provides jurisdiction to the Court of Appeal to issue orders in the nature of Writs of Mandamus or more..

Aug 5 (IPS) The details would have done credit to the plot of a spy thriller, except they are chillingly real. A human rights activist is last seen stepping into a vehicle voluntarily. His family receives ransom demands from his mobile phone and some of his belongings are deposited in a mosque – enough leads for the police to act on. Pattani Razeek’s case would merely have added to the ranks of the ‘disappeared’ in Sri Lanka but for a more..

Aug 5 (DN) A record paddy harvest of over 390,000 metric tons was reaped during the past year by Northern farmers, and the yield is expected to be even higher this year, said Northern Province Governor, Maj Gen G A Chandrasiri in Vavuniya. Addressing farmers at the National Farmers Week and Agriculture Exhibition at the Vavuniya Seed Farm, Governor Chandrasiri said that he together with the farming community in the North are more..

Aug 5 (DN) Sri Lankan health authorities have assured Indian pharma industry that the recent issues concerning the supply of sub-standard drugs would be settled amicably and the govt will not resort to any harsh measures to ban the Indian companies. This assurance was given by Sri Lankan Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, while interacting with the select group of pharma companies here, under the aegis of the Pharmexcil. more..

Aug 5 (DM) The IUSF alleged yesterday that a student who was selected for the university had died soon after undergoing the govt leadership programme as a catarrhal problem of hers had worsened during the programme. ISUF Convener Sanjeewa Bandara said that this student who was from Thennakongama, Welimada had died on July 28, 2011 at the Badulla General Hospital due to severe respiratory problems according to the doctors who had treated her. more..

Aug 6 (GDI) It is being alleged that the JVP is once again resorting to damaging and destroying State properties as they did in the latter part of 1980s. A statement issued by the CEB says that the Trade Union action of the Electricity Board employees has gone beyond its strike level to some groups indulging in sabotage activities. It says that on the night of 3rd August, 5 powerful fuses of a transformer in the Hapugala Area in Kegalle has been removed forcing the people to be more..

Aug 6 (NN) The LLRC is investigating the latest video aired by Channel 4 on Sri Lanka and will include it in the final report of the commission. LLRC media coordinator Lakshman Wickramasinghe told our sister radio station Shree FM that the name of the experts involved in the investigation will not be revealed. He said that an expert who was involved in investigating the previous video by Channel 4 had faced some problems after his identity was revealed to the media. more..

Aug 6 (DM) The UNP reformists’ group expressed confidence today that they would be able to secure a sufficient number of votes in the party’s Working Committee to appoint a new leader through a secret ballot if the need arose. Addressing a press conference, UNP reformists and southern provincial council member Maithri Gunaratne said that co-deputy leader Sajith Premadasa had proposed the name of deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya as the next leader of the party. more..

Aug 6 (GDI) A meeting of the Technology and Advisory Committee on Pesticides will be held today for the first time after the appointment of office bearers to the committee. The minister of agriculture has appointed 5 officers for the committee for the period of 3 years. The committee comprise of intellectuals who have a thorough knowledge on pesticides. The Registrar of Pesticides, Secretary to the Ministry of Health, Directors of Tea, Rubber and more..

Aug 6 (LT) As indicated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs sources, a sum of nearly Rs 6 million had been spent for the inauguration of the Youth Parliament. For the maiden session of the Youth Parliament which was held on 16th July, more than Rs 65 lakhs had been spent on the model of Parliament which was made of wood including Rs 30 lakhs for refreshments on the participants. This expenditure has been made with the allocations for the Ministry for 2011. more..

Aug 6 (Island) A new disciplinary inquiry against the Executive Director of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) Rajith Kirthi Tennekoon has been initiated by the administration of the University of Kelaniya. Five days after the end of the local government elections, Vice Chancellor Sarath Amunugama had said that a new inquiry will be held against Tennekoon for his actions as the Media Coordinator for CAFFE. more..

Aug 6 (LBO) Sri Lanka's Dialog Television, a top pay TV operator which is a unit of telecom operators Dialog Axiata said subscribers grew 16 percent in the June 2011 quarter to 184,000 from a year earlier and its cash flows strengthened. The firm said revenues rose 11 percent to 1.1 billion rupees in the first half of 2011. At the end of the March 2011 quarter the firm said it had notched up 181,000 customers after taking in 13,000 new subscribers. more..

Aug 6 (LBO) Calzedonia Finanziaria of Luxembourg has built an apparel factory in Sri Lanka's northern Vavuniya expected to start in October that will employ 1,500 people when it reaches full capacity. The garment manufacturing factory in Vinayagapuram, Vavuniya, an area affected b y the 30-year ethnic war that ended in 2009, was set up with initial investment of 20 million US dollars, the Minister of Industry and Commerce said in a statement. It is operated by Omega Line, more..

Aug 6 (DM) The newly-arrived chief of the United Nations in Sri Lanka is making his second familiarisation visit to the north of the country and says that there are many encouraging and notable signs of progress but substantial challenges remain ahead to improve the lives of those affected by the conflict. The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Subinay Nandy, arrived in Jaffna on Wednesday, visited Mullaitivu District on Thursday and more..

Aug 6 (NN) The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is looking into reports of corruption in the Sri Lanka Standards (SLS) branding process of cement imported to Sri Lanka. The ministry had received information that there is corruption going on in the branding of cement shipments which arrive at the Colombo port. However he said that the details were not available as no official complaint has been made regarding the allegations. The allegations come in the wake of a nationwide shortage of cement. more..

Aug 6 (DM) The Lanka Private Bus Owners Association is scheduled to lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Commission today on the govt proposal to provide free transport in SLTB and private buses to Advance Level students who are sitting for their exams. Gamunu Wijeratne, the President of the Lanka Private Bus Owners Association (LPBOA) stated that Advance Level students who will be sitting for their exams will be inconvenienced due to this move and that they will take steps to more..

Aug 6 (LT) In an interview with 'Lanka' newspaper Media Minister, Mr Keheliya Rambukwella has said that the continuous assaults on media men are only minor incidents. The following are the excerpts of the interview with the Minister: 'What were the steps taken by you as the Media Minister on the assault on 'Udayan' news editor Mr Kuganadan? ' 'What could be done? I can't do anything. This is something natural in this world. more..

Aug 6 (GDI) The Commissioner General of Examination Anura Edirisinghe said that the system of the question papers of the G.C.E Advanced Level Examination of the new syllabus has been changed. The purpose of this, he said, is to solve certain problems existed under the old syllabus and to make the papers more students friendly. The A/L Examination will commence on 8th of August. The number of students sitting for the examination this year amounts to nearly 295,000. more..

Aug 6 (NN) All groups and individuals in the eastern province who have illegal weapons in their possession have been given a grace period after an amnesty to hand over such weapons came to an end last weekend. Security Forces Commander of the eastern province, Major General Boniface Perera said that a seven day grace period is now in force and will end on Sunday. He said that following the end of the grace period the police and army will arrest individuals who have illegal weapons more..

Aug 6 (GDI) In response to the demand made by the TNA yesterday, that the Sri Lanka Govt should forward within 10 days in writing its response to three demands being made by them, the govt has said that it is certainly not possible, nor is it consistent with the national interest at this stage, to make a final pronouncement on crucial issues, hastily and without wider consultation. The TNA said that they would not agree to set a date for the next round of talks with more..

Aug 6 (NN) Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse says former LTTE commander of the east, Ramesh, was not in military custody. Rajapakse said that Ramesh was a cold blooded killer and was involved in the murder of 650 policemen who had surrendered to the LTTE during the war in the east. "No he was not in custody. Ramesh the important thing to know about him was that he was responsible for killing 650 surrendered policemen. He was responsible for killing monks. more..

Aug 6 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's bourse ended weaker in thin volume on Friday, in a fourth straight fall as the global market downturn began to infect the usually insulated bourse, while the rupee weakened after the central bank raised its trading band, traders said. On Friday, world stocks sank for an eighth straight session, wiping $2.5 trillion off company values on the week, as concern ballooned over the slowing global economy and the spread of debt more..

Aug 6 (PTI) A criminal complaint filed in Switzerland against a top Sri Lankan diplomat and former Army general would not affect his diplomatic immunity, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Germany TB Maduwegedara has said. The Society for Threatened Peoples and Swiss Association against Impunity have filed a criminal complaint with the Public Ministry of Switzerland against Sri Lankan deputy envoy in Germany Maj-Gen Jagath Dias for alleged war crimes. more..

Aug 6 (BBC) The Sri Lankan govt has admitted that there have been delays to the completion of a massive Chinese-funded port in the south of the island. A huge rock on the seabed near the harbour entrance is impeding access to Hambantota, one of the government's showpiece development projects. Officials say the rock is being successfully blasted away. But the opposition says it has severely hampered the operation of the port, which was officially opened last year. more..

Aug 6 (NN) The Sports Ministry says it will take disciplinary action against sports personalities found to be using banned substances as well as the coach and sports association, if found guilty. The Ministry of Sports has taken steps to introduce strict rules and regulations to stop the usage of banned substance. This is in keeping with the signing of the Anti-Doping Conventions under the World Anti-Doping Agency [WADA], the Sports Ministry said today. more..

Aug 6 (LBO) A service station to repair and maintain hybrid cars in Sri Lanka, whose use has risen sharply after an import tax cut, has been set up in Colombo. About 2,000 hybrid electric vehicles, which combine an internal combustion engine with electric motors to drive them, are already on the roads, imported mainly from Japan. Azli Ismail, sales director and local partner of Hybrid Motors Lanka, a joint venture with Hybrid Motors Singapore set up with an more..

Aug 6 (BBC) A court in Colombo has issued notice to the Registrar of Pesticides (RP)and other authorities to show-cause why pesticides that include arsenic were not banned in Sri Lanka. The Court of Appeal has issued the notice after an environmental group filed a petition requesting the court to issue an order to ban such pesticides. The Environmental Justice Centre (EJC) in its petition argues that the RP has admitted that three pesticides and nine trade marks more..

Aug 6 (DC) In another attack on Sri Lankan nationals in the city, three men from the island nation were allegedly assaulted by members of a pro-Tamil group, their T-shirts ripped off and burnt in Perambur late Wednesday night. The police arrested three members of the Naam Tamzhilar movement, Raj Kumar, 40, an area secretary of Naam Tamzhilar at New Washermenpet, Mahendran, 25, and Karthikeyan, 38, of Vysarpadi, in connection with the incident. more..

Aug 6 (DM) New Maritime agreements have been signed with the Maldives to enable Sri Lankan fishermen to travel to the Arabian Sea via the Maldivian Maritime Territory. During his recent visit to the Maldives Deputy Minister of External Affairs Neomal Perera secured this agreement as well as others related to Maldives-Sri Lanka cooperation. Sri Lankan Fishermen, who journey to the Arabian Sea, generally have to take a longer route to avoid trespassing onto Maldivian waters. more..

Aug 6 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's annual and annual average inflation should settle to around 6 percent by the year's end despite demand pressure caused by resurgent economic growth two years after the island nation won a 25-year civil war, the central bank said on Friday. Sri Lanka's rupee will also keep appreciating due to strong remittances and investment, Central Bank Chief Economist K.D. Ranasinghe said. Exporters, particularly in the nation's core tea and more..

Aug 6 (RNW) Sri Lanka’s 30-year war is now more of words than of guns, but it is no less bitter. RNW’s team in the country met with fierce resistance from the Sri Lankan govt to the current calls for justice from the international community. But the problem is that the international community’s presence in the country is dwindling, a fact witnessed when travelling across the east of the island – where once there were distinctive white NGO vehicles on more..