July 8 (LT) It is reported that government goons attacked an agitation held on Wednesday (6th) opposite the Kurunegala Branch of the Education Department Cooperative Society (EDCS) to protest against the illegal removal of formally elected interim Committee to EDCS and appointing government henchmen instead. 3 teachers who were participating at the agitation were seriously injured and had to be admitted to Kurunegala Hospital. more..

July 8 (DM) Sri Lanka’s former cricket captain and star batsman Kumar Sangakkara is no stranger to making forthright statements. Few if any Sri Lankan national cricketers have made such bold comments about cricket administration though not surprising because analysts and columnists have spoken of it in the past few months and years. Speaking at the prestigious Colin Cowdrey Lecture on the Spirit of Cricket at the MCC in Lord’s on Monday Kumar Sangakkara castigated more..

July 8 (SL) Well, neighbourhood worries me a great deal, quite frankly. You have a situation in Sri Lanka. The decimation of the LTTE was something which is good. But the Tamil problem does not disappear with the defeat of the LTTE. The Tamil population has legitimate grievances. They feel they have been reduced over the years to second-class citizens. And our emphasis has been to persuade the Sri Lankan govt that we must move towards a new system of more..

July 8 (Island) A survey carried out by the Medical Research Institute has revealed that four million people in Sri Lanka are anemic. The spokesman for the Health Ministry said yesterday that this was due to the method of food preparation and the dietary pattern. Many people are either vegetarian or avoid including meat and fish which contains the necessary iron in their diet. The Nutrition Unit of the MRI in Collaboration with the Health Ministry has more..

July 8 (Island) External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris says there are 97 vacancies in the Sri Lanka Foreign Service. He says the SLFS comprised 237 persons and his ministry wants to recruit 97 more competent persons. He said though the Department of Examinations had held an examination in February this year to fill vacancies, the results were yet to be released. Of the 20 appointments made in the recent past, 19 appointees were degree holders, he said. more..

July 8 (DN) SLBFE sleuths busted a forged passport racket with the arrest of an employment agent who tried to send two females abroad to work as domestic aides, with the use of fake travel documents. “The suspect had altered information on the two females’ passports in his possession, to include details of two other women. The passports which were altered belonged to women with previous work experience abroad while the other two who were to be sent with more..

July 8 (Island) A section of the 100-year-old Colombo Municipal Council owned pubic toilet complex at Kochikade, close to St. Anthony’s Shrine, used by hundreds of devotees who throng the Church daily, was taken over by a former Municipal Councillor and converted into a garage to park his vehicle. The toilets built for the use of both males and females have not been renovated since 1996. The entrance is blocked by weeds and a garbage dump. Its water supply was more..

July 8 (Island) The Sri Lankan government expects the international community to take a fresh look at the post-war recovery projects in the Northern and Eastern Provinces as resettlement of the war displaced as well as the rehabilitation of ex-LTTE cadres gather momentum. Defence and External Ministry sources told The Island that the Colombo-based embassies should evaluate the ground situation on their own without depending on NGOs and the LTTE rump. more..

July 8 (USE) Guest bands from Matara and Anuradhapura joined bands from rural schools to display their musical prowess before a live audience of over 1,500 people at the recently reopened Weber stadium in Batticaloa. The school bands were among 40 others formed and taught by young musicians from rural areas in Batticaloa who received training from the USAID and the Children's Emergency Relief International (CERI). more..

July 8 (Island) The main Opposition in Parliament, the UNP, on Thursday alleged that the govt had created the impression among the international community that Sri Lanka was a military State by packing the Sri Lanka Foreign Service with military personnel. UNP MP John Amaratunge alleged that SLFS was rapidly deteriorating due to inclusion of military personnel. The Gampaha District MP claimed that the govt policy had caused anger and frustration among career diplomats. more..

July 8 (IC) It has become quite fashionable these days to pin everything on the all powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). But let’s face it; the failure of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL), which has been postponed less than two weeks before the start of the T20 tournament, was destined to fail. Since the announcement in July last year, that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had handed the tournament over to Somerset Entertainment Ventures (SEV), more..

July 8 (IL) A cross section of academics, journalists, opinion makers and members of the Sri Lankan Diaspora in the UK met at the Sri Lanka High Commission in London on July 5th with Adviser to the President on Reconciliation Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha. In his opening remarks, Prof Wijesinha noted that the Darusman Report, as well as the selective coverage by Channel 4 of what they had termed ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’ had contributed to polarization more..

July 8 (Island) Upeksha Swarnamali (Paba), Member of Parliament and teledrama actress, yesterday filed a divorce plaint in the District Court of Colombo, seeking to annul her two-year-old marriage with Mahesh Charminda. Upeksha aged 25 years had alleged cruelty committed by her 23-year-old husband. They had married in June 2009, after a romance of four years. The plaint said that the defendant had assaulted her even prior to the marriage, while she was acting in a more..

July 8 (DM) The preliminary objections filed by 75 UNP working committee members including that of the party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe were dismissed by a Colombo Court. In the case filed by Southern Provincial Council Member Maithree Gunaratna challenging the appointment of UNP national organizer and some members of the working committee, District Judge Champa Janaki Rajaratna directed both parties to file objections and answers on the enjoining order before July 28. more..

July 8 (CI) The Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) has been postponed to August 2012 after facing a series of problems, including the unexpected withdrawal of Indian players from the tournament. In its place Sri Lanka Cricket, the league's owners, will conduct the regular inter-provincial Twenty20 tournament featuring five domestic sides without involving foreign players. An official announcement is awaited, though South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs, more..

July 8 (DN) The Economic Development Ministry has launched an islandwide project of provincial road development aimed at securing an excellent road network on all rural territories of the country on the directions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Under the programme, a stretch of over 3,740 kms of road will be developed and carpeted in all districts with an estimated expenditure of Rs 22,000 million. The proposed development project activities include carpeting of roads, more..

July 8 (DM) Minister S.B. Dissanayake said yesterday the admission of foreign students to local universities would in no way affect the intake of local students. The minister told a news conference some 23,000 local students would be admitted to universities this year and pointed out that the number of students admitted to universities last year was 21,000. He said if the local universities are to be developed to international standards, they should open their doors to foreign students. more..

Part 2 : Part 3 : Part 4 : Part 5 : Part 6 : Part 7

July 8 (DM) Another suspect who was allegedly involved in two of the seven killings (of women) in Kahawatta was taken into custody last evening by the police. The suspect is a resident of the area. Police said that the suspect had been hiding in the area following the deployment of a large number of policemen ad soldiers after the killings. A special team from the CID is also in the area to probe the seven killings which took place in Dimbulwela village in Kahawatta. more..

July 8 (ICP) The UN confirmed that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon “discussed the report of the Panel of Experts on accountability in Sri Lanka in his meeting on Tuesday with Ranil Wikremesinghe” -- but refused to say if Ban's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar, involved in the so called White Flag killings of surrenderees in Sri Lanka in May 2009, was present at the meeting. “We don’t have to give lists of all the senior officials who were present at different meetings,” more..

July 8 (Island) In this country world class sportspersons usually get under the thick skin of third class political cretins by condemning corruption and maladministration plaguing sports institutions. Some remarks classy cricketer Kumar Sangakkara made in the MCC's annual Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey lecture the other day has prompted Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage to call for a report on that address, which doubtlessly struck a responsive chord with more..

July 8 (DM) The Government is contemplating the construction of a large super market complex on the land along Jawatte road where the ‘Salusala’ outlet was formerly situated, Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardene said. Mr. Gunawardene who was responding to an oral question raised by UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera in the House yesterday said the entire land from the Mahaweli Ministry up to Thimbirigasyaya belonged to the govt. more..

July 8 (Island) Colombo District Judge T. D. Gunasekera on Tuesday (5) directed Leader Publications (Pvt) Limited and Sunday Leader editor Frederica Jansz not to publish any article or news item defamatory of attorney-at-law Nalin Ruchira Ladduwahetty. Paul Ratnayake Associates moved the Court on behalf of Ladduwahetty, who is the Defence Counsel for defeated presidential election candidate, Gen. Sarath Fonseka, indicted in the Colombo High Court for more..

July 8 (DM) Two UPFA govt allies warned yesterday the gazette notification on the maximum permissible limit of Arsenic in pesticides would have a negative impact on Sri Lanka’s food exports. The criticism was made by JHU and the PNM leaders at a joint media conference. JHU leader the Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera said no other country in the world had laid down a maximum permissible limit on arsenic, which was known to react differently on different people and more..

July 8 (DM) Cabinet spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella yesterday admitted to there being black sheep in government ranks and said the police narcotics bureau would investigate and take action against anyone who was involved in the narcotics trade. When asked about Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne’s statement in parliament that there were one or two government politicians who were involved in drug peddling, the minister said it was a known fact. more..

July 8 (DM) The Govt has painstakingly managed to change the attitude of many countries with regard to the Darusman Report, Minister G.L. Peiris told Parliament yesterday. He said even the then Japanese peace envoy Yasushi Akashi had questioned the accuracy of the report. The minister said 22 non-aligned nations had also expressed negative sentiments on the report and they maintained that more..

July 8 (Island) Minister S.B. Dissanayake said yesterday that the salaries problem of the university teachers would be solved within two weeks. He appreciated university teachers contribution to the leadership training programme despite their submitting resignation letters to vacate their posts. He said that there are no funds to increase university teachers’ salaries as the budget did not allocate funds, but more..

July 8 (DN) “The govt was able to usher significant improvement in the productivity of livestock and agriculture, leading to improvement in the socio-economic status of the beneficiary families and the country as a whole,” President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday. “I would call it an agricultural revolution. We would soon achieve self-sufficiency in both sectors. “Our aim is a healthy nation which is not indebted to anyone,” more..

July 8 (LBO) Sri Lanka's central bank held its policy rate at which excess money is withdrawn from the market at 7.0 percent in July saying credit growth was slowing and inflation would ease further. In June 12-month inflation fell to 7.1 percent from 8.1 percent in May, measured by the widely watched Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) in which the basket was changed to a new base period from June, reducing the food share. more..

July 8 (DM) Advance voting or pre-voting is to be introduced in Sri Lanka to enable voters who are unable to cast their votes on polling day but do not qualify for postal voting, to vote, Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said. He said the department intended to propose to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms that they incorporate in their recommendations that the election laws be amended to more..

July 8 (Island) The TNA said in Parliament, on Thursday, that the Tamil people are willing to live as equal citizens within a united and undivided Sri Lanka. TNA Group Leader R. Sampanthan, moving an adjournment motion on the current situation in the Northern and Eastern provinces, said that two years have lapsed since the armed struggle, demanding the right of self-determination, had been defeated and the time had now come for the government to more..

July 8 (DN) “The govt arrested 7,000 hardcore LTTE cadres who were well armed and killed people. The govt has already rehabilitated a section of them, provided them vocational training with some sort of income generating avenues and integrated them into society,” Cabinet spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said. “Therefore why did the govt want to kill only six or seven of them at that time? The govt had the chance of killing all 7,000,” he said. more..

July 8 (PTI) The govet is opposed to federalism to devolve power to the Tamil community in Sri Lanka in a bid to address the political aspirations of the minority ethnic community in the country. The govt would not offer a federal solution to the country's ethnic problem, senior minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told parliament. He said the government stands opposed to federalism as a form of devolving political power to Tamil minority. more..

July 9 (LT) Continuing obstructions are aimed at the opposition parties which contest the Provincial Council elections in Jaffna. A deplorable revenge has taken place opposite Mr C Sivakumar's house who is contesting as a TNA candidate. The dog in his house has been killed and its head hanged on his gate on 06th night instant after locking the gate from outside. On a recent date a body of a dead dog had been wrapped in a parcel and left in the well of Dr City Rambalam who is another candidate. more..

July 9 (LT) The Colombo Municipal Council warns public to be cautious when buying turmeric which is not in packets. The Chief Medical Officer of CMC Mr Pradeep Kariyawasam points out that 'methylin yellow'which is a cancerous substance is mixed with wheat flour and sold as 'turmeric' powder. Even low quality chillie powder is also sold mixed with salt, it is found. This has been revealed when examining about 10 spice trade centres in the city. more..

July 9 (CI) Australia's tour of Sri Lanka is going ahead as scheduled, but the tourists are becoming acutely aware of the significance of their visit. Players and officials were equally moved by the footage shown in the Channel 4 documentary about the closing days of the Sri Lankan civil war and its aftermath, aired on Four Corners in Australia this week, but are resolved to carry on with their first Test series in the island nation since 2004. more..

July 9 (GV) There is a new Sinhala nationalist political trend that now throws out a completely novel discourse, which ties up mythical gods as superior to “Jewish Christian Western Science” and claims, the entire Sri Lankan agriculture needs revamping. The Christian Jewish based MNCs have been providing us pesticides and fertiliser with “Arsenic”, these patriots claim. This has created many conflicts within this regime, that prompted the Agrarian Services Minister more..

July 9 (DM) High ranking Iraqi Govt officials had given a firm assurance that the salary issues of the over thirty Sri Lankan workers who were on a hunger strike in mid June in Iraq will be settled, External Affairs Ministry officials said. The officials added that the high ranking officials from the Iraqi Government had intervened in the matter and assisted the Sri Lankan in coming to a settlement regarding the back wages owed to them by the security company they worked for. more..

July 9 (AN) Sri Lanka is planning to raise the minimum age of a housemaid leaving for foreign employment to 30 years, the Foreign Employment Minister Dilan Perera told Arab News from Colombo on Wednesday. "This is being done considering the problems faced by these women both in Sri Lanka and in the host countries," Perera said, adding that complaints are minimal compared to the housemaid population working abroad. more..