June 12 (CI) The Sri Lankans collapsed first, and then Essex wobbled. Ryan ten Doeschate rallied with a century, Tom Westley missed his by one run, and Suraj Randiv took a hat-trick. At the end of an eventful day at Chelmsford, the home side had secured a slender first-innings lead, and taken one Sri Lankan wicket without the advantage being erased. When the second day began, Sri Lanka had the comfort of 324 runs with six wickets in hand, and Kumar Sangakkara was batting on a century. more..

June 12 (SO) The Health Ministry has warned cordial and beverage manufacturers countrywide to be careful when printing the date of production, the date of expiry and the ingredients used in the beverage on the label of the product from July 1. New Food Act which will come into effect from July 1, all food manufacturers in the country should strictly adhere to the Health Ministry’s regulations when manufacturing, labelling, transporting and selling more..

June 12 (Island) War hero Gen. Sarath Fonseka Friday declared that he wouldn’t fight with sukarayo (pigs), though he successfully waged war against the Tigers. A smiling Fonseka said that he couldn’t accept a challenge by Sukarayo. The tough talking Sinha Regiment veteran, who had survived several LTTE attacks, including a suicide attempt on his life in April 2006 said that five of his men would be able to take on 500 on the opposing camp. The former Army Chief was responding to more..

June 12 (ST) President Mahinda Rajapaksa will leave for Russia on Tuesday to seek both Moscow’s support for Sri Lanka and brief world leaders on key issues facing the country. He is scheduled to have one-on-one talks with President Dmitry Medvedev. He will thank the Russian President for the support extended by Russia after the release of the UN Advisory Panel’s report on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa’s talks with other world leaders will take place when more..

June 12 (ST) President Mahinda Rajapaksa told a high-powered Indian delegation yesterday his govt was not able to concede land and police powers to provincial councils in accordance with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. The move, the Sunday Times learns, follows strong opposition from constituent partners of the UPFA. On Friday, President Rajapaksa drove to the parliamentary complex for a meeting with the leaders of political parties that constitute the UPFA. more..

June 12 (NS) Sri Lanka’s average life expectancy has increased by a decade over the past five years, according to a report released by the Ministry of Finance and Planning. The average Sri Lankan will now live up to be nearly 78, up from nearly 68 in 2005. Maternal mortality rate has also decreased from 0.45 to 0.39 per 1,000 live births, and infant mortality has decreased from 11.2 to 8.5 per 1,000 live births, compared to a South-Asia regional infant mortality rate of 71. more..

June 12 (SL) Six athletes, four different disciplines and all six have tested positive for banned substances in the last year. In light of this revelation, the Sports Ministry has decided to administer surprise dope tests in schools throughout the country. The Sports Ministry said that a special squad would be assembled to travel around the country administering these tests in hope of eradicating drug use amongst school athletes. Prop Forward Eranga Swarnatillek, more..

June 12 (ST) It was with a great sigh of relief that the govt saw through the turbulent events of last week. It had managed to act swiftly in defusing what could have been an explosive situation following the police shooting of the 22-year-old FTZ worker. To do this, the Army was sent in to stabilise the volatile situation in the FTZ area and an officer -- who had served with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Jaffna prior to Rajapaksa's retirement from more..

June 12 (SO) Minister and General Secretary of the EPDP, Douglas Devananda presented a proposal to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the visiting Indian delegation that a Parliamentary Select Committee be appointed to find a speedy solution to the national question in the country. Minister Devananda has proposed to President Rajapaksa and the Indian delegation that representatives from all political parties in Parliament should be appointed to the Select Committee as it would more..

June 12 (LBO) State-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority has lost 1.1 billion rupees in 2010 partly due foreign exchange losses on Yen loans and a rising wage bill despite revenues rising 19 percent to 28.2 billion rupees. The port's container terminal had handled 2.1 million containers in 2010, recovering from a low of 1.7 million during a global recession in 2009. Container volumes had grown despite a decline in ship arrivals to 4,657 from 5,162 a year earlier. more..

June 12 (ST) Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka’s Defence Counsel Nalin Ladduwahetti told the Trial-at-Bar hearing the 'White Flag' case that a torture charge against a CID officer in the High Court was withdrawn after he took over investigations against Mr. Fonseka, when the Supreme Court had found the officer guilty of inhuman cruelty and violating human rights. He was responding to objections by Deputy Solicitor General Buwaneka Aluvihare over more..

June 12 (Island) Fisheries Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne says Sri Lanka should initiate a fresh dialogue with Norway to explore the possibility of having the Nordic country’s support in the post-war era. He says the govt shouldn’t hesitate to work with Norway in spite of its failure to implement the CFA signed between then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the LTTE in Feb. 2002. more..

June 12 (ST) The Government’s decision to commemorate the killing of 600 unarmed policemen by the LTTE with two minutes silence at all police stations has not been welcomed by everyone. National List UNP MP R. Yogarajan is one of them. He feels that commemorating victories or such sad events only leads to arousing people’s passions and causing dissensions among communities. more..

June 12 (IC) Tillakaratne Dilshan's men have more than the English conditions to contend with on their 2011 tour to England. Chairman of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) interim committee Somachandra de Silva has influenced team selection during the recently concluded second Test match at Lord's, according to a report on a local newspaper. "The presence of Sri Lanka Cricket chairman DS de Silva in England we come to learn is more..

June 12 (LBO) A poll by Sri Lankan weekly newspaper has found that 82 percent of the respondents were against the creation of a state-controlled pension fund with private sector workers' money. Sri Lanka's ruling administration has temporarily withdrawn a bill to create the controversial pension fund, after protests left one worker dead from a police shooting. more..

June 12 (ST) The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage has suffered four losses so far this month – a two-month-old calf died by drowning, while three baby elephants were given out to private owners, according to reliable sources in the village of Pinnawala. The ill-fated calf, born to adult elephant Kanthi, drowned during its daily bath in the Ma Oya. Meanwhile, the orphanage has resumed its practice of giving out elephants in its care. more..

June 12 (Island) Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe says a section of foreign participants at the recently concluded military symposium was given an opportunity to visit Poonthottam Rehabilitation Centre for ex-LTTE combatants. Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Ranasinghe says retired Maj. Gen. Ashok K. Mehta of the Indian Army was among the group taken to Menik Farm relief village, de-mining and re-settlement sites. more..

June 12 (LB) lobal politics is notoriously skewed. Large, powerful, white governments get away with murder even when it is committed on the territories of other countries. Sri Lanka does not have this luxury. We already knew that. We are always bleating about it. But unless Sri Lanka has a formula up its sleeve that will cure the world of its lopsided obsession with international criminal justice, our sullen reaction to more..

June 12 (ST) What made homo-erectus stand up and walk away from the rest of the animal kingdom? What made them do that was, probably, their competitive ego and their unceasing endurance which came to them instinctively. Growing up in this manner their competitive instinct branched out into two sectors. The primary was their instinct to subjugate the rest of their kind and that led to lethal wars which became more and more cunning and more..

June 12 (PTI) Sri Lanka has told India it will not concede key land and police powers to provincial councils under a New Delhi-initiated political plan aimed at resolving the long-drawn Tamil issue, a media report said today, warning that it could bring the two sides on 'a collision course.' President Mahinda Rajapaksa told a visiting top Indian delegation yesterday that the key police powers and control over land cannot be given to more..

June 13 (HT) A Sri Lankan columnist on Sunday warned that India would be the loser if it imposed economic sanctions against Colombo in the wake of calls from politicians in Tamil Nadu. "India will be the net loser if the central government follows with economic sanctions against Sri Lanka," Bandula Sirimanna wrote in the Sunday Times. The warning followed a resolution the Tamil Nadu assembly passed, seeking imposition of economic sanctions for alleged war crimes, more..

June 13 (LBO) Sri Lanka has earned 22.1 billion rupees from taxes imposed on several basic foods imported in to country in 2009, with sugar and milk powder bringing in the most amount of money, a media report said. The Island newspaper said the information was tabled in parliament in response to a question from the opposition. Milk powder had generated 6,760 million rupees, sugar 7,410 million, onions 3,490 million and potatoes 2,210 million rupees in tax revenues. more..

June 13 (BBC) A high profile healer who describes himself as President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s personal physician is not a registered medical practitioner in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Medical Council’s Registrar Dr NJ Nonis told BBC Sinhala service: “The person named Eliyantha White is not registered in the Council either as a medical practitioner, dentist or an assistant medical practitioner.” Dr Nonis made the revelation when the BBC requested more..

June 13 (GDI) Buddhist teachings preach that, there are two types of friends. While, one is active as a friend, the other stand-by you in sorrow and happiness. Likewise the Russian Federation has stood by Sri Lanka throughout our history as a true friend, states the President of the Sri Lanka- Russia Friendship Association and the Minister of Petroleum Industries, Susil Premjayanth issuing a message for the national day of Russian Federation. more..

June 13 (IANS) Sri Lanka would place barriers at strategic locations in the island's northern seas to stop destructive fishing methods, a minister has said. The region includes some of the most extensive mangrove areas, and some of the world's least disturbed coral reefs, the Sunday Times quoted Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne as saying. These coastal ecosystems have been subjected to increasing exploitation, particularly over the last 20 years. more..

June 13 (USL) Sri Lanka has managed to do what no other South Asian nation is capable of doing. On May 18th 2009, the Sri Lankan armed forces defeated terrorism on their soil thereby ending a thirty-year long terrorist threat. On May 31 2011, Sri Lanka held a three-day international conference appropriately titled ‘Defeating Terrorism: The Sri Lanka Experience.’ Sponsored by the Sri Lankan Army and two Chinese firms, the conference drew in more than more..

June 13 (Wisden) Just days ahead of the Third Test against England, at the Rose Bowl, Stuart Law admits that he is still in limbo regarding his long-term future with Sri Lanka. The former Australian batsman, who spent 14 years in England playing for Essex, Lancashire and Derbyshire, says he is hoping to receive a decision within the next few weeks from the Sri Lanka Cricket Committee, in order that he can plan for the future – either to continue as a member of the Sri Lankan more..

June 13 (DM) Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA) today said that the Examinations Commissioner will be officially informed this week on the academics’ withdrawal from 2011 G.C.E. A/L evaluation process. FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri speaking to Daily Mirror Online said that a definitive decision on withdrawing from A/L evaluation process this year was taken at the executive meeting held last Friday. more..

June 13 (NN) Former IGP Mahinda Balasuriya says he will make a “special statement” regarding his retirement, at a press briefing scheduled for next Saturday (18). When contacted by The Sunday Leader and asked if all what was said regarding his retirement was true, the former IGP said he will explain everything in detail at the press briefing. Dr. Balasuriya, who was visiting a hospital for a medical checkup at the time The Sunday Leader contacted him, more..

June 13 (PTI) Tillakaratne Dilshan became the seventh cricketer from Sri Lanka, to feature in Lord’s Hounour’s Board, courtesy his big century in the drawn second Test against England. By slamming a majestic 193, the big-hitting opener not only surpassed Sidath Wettimuny’s long-standing record for the highest score by a Lankan at the hallowed cricket ground, but also joined the likes of Aravinda de Silva and Dileep Mendis, whose names also feature in the prestigious list. more..

June 13 (NN) A massive heroin ring operated by a millionaire businessman, who smuggles heroin to Colombo, has been busted and a house where he stored the heroin raided. The police said that the main suspect, the businessman, was arrested last week with just over 100 grams of heroin and cash to the value of 4096500.00 in Mulleriyawa. Following the arrest a major investigation was launched and the police obtained information of a house in Hangwella where heroin was being stored. more..

June 13 (BBC) A group of powerful trade union federations representing workers in the apparel industry and the health sector have complained to the United Nations seeking an intervention against the restrictions imposed by the government on trade union activity. In a complaint to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the unions allege that the fundamental right of the workers to strike has been curtailed and activists are regularly intimidated. more..

June 13 (DM) The commanding officer of the 13th National Cadet Corps, Lieutenant Colonel M.D Lenadora, who was also an instructor of the Leadership Training programme for University Students at the Rantambe camp, was found severely injured in Dambulla last night. It is suspected that Colonel M.D Lenadora might have been involved in a hit-and-run incident. He was on his way home after attending the passing out ceremony of University students, who underwent leadership training at the Rantambe camp. more..

June 13 (LT) The govt which is screaming against imperialism is carrying out the agenda of those imperialists and nothing else, charged Vijitha Herath propaganda secretary of JVP said. Addressing a seminar under the theme of “ hypocrisy of the govt when facing foreign forces” in Kurunegala he also said; “ what actually happening is govt carrying out the agenda of those imperialists and to cover-up that the govt is screaming against imperialism in political platforms. more..

June 13 (IPS) Even before 22-year-old Sri Lankan worker Roshen Chanaka was pronounced dead at the Hospital on Jun. 1, a large contingent of military personnel had moved in to secure the building. And to the small undertaker’s premises to which his body was later brought, the soldiers followed. And it continued till Chanaka, a worker from an industrial park, was laid to rest three days later, giving the funeral the appearance of a military drill. more..

June 13 (CI) Pakistan are considering the option of Zimbabwe as a potential 'host' for the home series against Sri Lanka later this year. The two sides are due to play a full Test and limited-overs series in October, scheduled in the FTP officially as a 'home' series for Pakistan. The board has intensified efforts to find a home for the series over the last few months. Sri Lanka itself is an option that has been considered, one Sri Lanka is probably happiest with; more..

June 13 (DM) JVP today charged that the govt is suppressing the rights of the opposition led trade union leaders. JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said that pro-govt forces have threatened some of its party members in Gampaha and its trade unions members in Colombo district forcing them to leave the union. Mr. Silva said the leading member of the JVP led Inter Company Workers Union branch named Prematilake had been threatened with death forcing him to leave the trade union. more..

June 13 (DM) Visiting Indian National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon said that it is up to the Sri Lankan govt to find a political solution which it is comfortable with and India is not interfering in the matter. Mr. Menon stated that India would refrain from interfering in the matter which was “up to the Sri Lankan Govt”. The Indian delegation in the country has expressed that although they hope for a speedy political solution for the Tamil Parties more..

June 13 (TC) During the war in Bosnia, the world was horrified by stories of war babies as women were the prime target of marauding soldiers who were out to change the demography of the land. A similar undercurrent with the aid of the Sri Lankan State is happening in northern Sri Lanka. Though the world has ignored this gross injustice committed on the Sri Lankan women, the report of the UN panel of experts released last month brought to light the failure of the Sri Lanka state to more..

June 13 (TC) Many decades ago in1947 June 5, comrade Velupillai Kandasamy a young member of the GCSU, was killed while participating in a demonstration. He was a clerical officer of the department of health and sanitary services and was killed by police firing ordered by the British police superintendent Robins. He was participating in an orderly march of the members of the Government Clerical Services Union (GCSU). more..