Sept 1 (DM) The main opposition UNP today warned of an impending power crisis as a result of US$300 million scam at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) in the importation of low sulphur oil needed for thermal power generation. UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera told a news conference today that the CPC is in the process of purchasing low sulphur oil at a rate of US$90 per metric ton instead of the usual price which ranges from US$27 to 33 by a black listed foreign company. more..

Sept 1 (NN) The Urban Development Authority is to remove all unauthorized dwellers from Anuradhapura. Ministry of Construction & Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities announced today, the government has taken measures to provide alternative accommodations to the affected families. The Ministry further said, 800 families affected by the development programme in Anuradhapura will be given permanent residencies in Lowlagaswatte Town, Anuradhapura. more..

Sept 1 (LP) Adele, who introduced the cyanide capsule to LTTE child soldiers, also the wife of late LTTE Theoretician, Anton Balasingham has deserted the LTTE and is yet to massive funds of the LTTE that were lying to the credit of her husband in banks (joint accounts with her) in several banks in the West,reports from London said. Millions of US dollars collected as ransom and LTTE businesses in Canada, Germany, London, Switzerland and Sweden have more..

Sept 1 (AN) “Only Jesus is our answer. Only Jesus can heal our mental and physical ailments. As Catholics, always seek the sacraments of confession and communion! They are the privileges, God gave us,” said Card Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, in his homily to thousands disabled people, both Catholic and non-Catholic, who attended the blessing of the sick. Card Bernard Francis Law, archpriest at Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, more..

Sep 1 (LBO) Sri Lanka's Colombo Dockyard said it has won an order to build two passenger ferries for India's Laskshadweep island administration, on the wake of an earlier delivery to the same customer. The contract comes a year after delivery of two passenger vessels, Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep Sea, for the Administration of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India. The vessels ordered will have the capacity to carry 400 passengers and 250 tonnes of cargo. more..

Sep 1 (CI) There is a recipe for success against Australia's batsmen. As England have discovered, it involves a generous portion of quality spin bowling and a dollop of reverse swing, while a pinch of variable bounce doesn't hurt, either. On the first day of the series Rangana Herath and Suranga Lakmal followed the proven formula to put Sri Lanka on top, but by stumps the Australians had found a stabilising ingredient, Michael Hussey, whose 95 kept them in the game. more..

Sep 1 (Island) Chaminda Wijekoon established a new Sri Lanka record when he returned a time of three minutes 39 seconds to qualify for the semi-finals of the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Daegu, Korea on Monday. Competing in the first heat in the men’s 1,500 metres, which eventually was the fastest of the three heats, Wijekoon was placed seventh in a time of 3:39.61 seconds. Incidentally, his performance was ranked seventh after the completion of the three heats, more..

Sep 1 (LT) As a result of irrepressible driving of SB’s escort vehicle a man has died on the spot while another woman has been seriously injured last morning (30). A couple drove on a motor cycle has been met with this accident at Rodney Place, Cotta Road, Borella. The victim was 61 year old Sunila Upali, an engineer served in Water Supply Board. His 58 year old wife is under treatment at the Intensive Care Unit of the National Hospital at present. more..

Sep 1 (DNA) A 100-strong international gang of credit card fraudsters, who hacked into bank accounts across the globe through the internet from Malaysia and used the details thus obtained to swipe fake credit and debit cards in India, has been busted by the Bangalore police. The gang is believed to have links with LTTE, which allegedly received some cash payments from the operatives. Two people have been arrested by Sampigehalli police and more..

Sep 1 (LT) Students who sat for the Drama and Acting at R/Udagama Central College at Pinnawala, Balangoda, on the 27th instant had to go through a new experience when they had to answer the paper within two hours while the duration of the question paper was 3 hours. A student, Bhathiya said the Supervisor of the Examination Hall Mr Premaratne who is the Principal of R/Udagama Junior School has stated around 9.30 a.m. they will be allowed only 2 hours to answer the relevant more..

Sep 1 (BBC) Australia's High Court has ruled that a government plan for a refugee "swap" with Malaysia is unlawful. Under the deal, Australia would have sent 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia and would have received 4,000 refugees in return over four years. But the High Court ruled that Malaysia did not offer adequate protection for refugees in law, in what correspondents called a "huge blow" to the government. Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said he was deeply disappointed. more..

Sep 1 (SL) Trade unionists and human rights activists have called on the government to reveal the findings of the Mahanama Tilakaratne Investigation Report on the industrial unrest at the Katunayake free trade zone (FTZ). The Trade Union Alliance (TUA) and the Marxist JVP affiliated Inter Company Employees’ Union (ICEU) held two separate protests yesterday evening against the killing of FTZ employee Roshen Chanaka during a clash between more..

Sep 1 (AD) Due to the dry weather conditions prevailing in the hill country and areas surrounding the water tanks, levels of water at many of the reservoirs have drastically reduced. Water levels at Kotmale have reduced to 24% which has in turn reduced the water level used for power generation to 13%, Chief Engineer of the hydropower plant, T.M.S.K. Tillekeratne stated. He explained that Kotmale generates around 455 million units of power each year and more..

Sep 1 (CI) So much of Australia's preparation for the first Test revolved around the perceived threat of Ajantha Mendis that the tourists were given something of a shock when they heard he was not part of the team. Alongside Lasith Malinga, who has retired from Tests, Mendis had been responsible for much of the most panicky Australian batting in the limited-overs portion of the tour, and there was still some trepidation on the way to the ground on match morning. more..

Sep 1 (LP) Sri Lanka will commence the construction of the country’s tallest telecom tower in the capital Colombo before end of this year at a cost US $ 108 million, Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Director General Anusha Palpita told Lankapuvath. The basic construction of the re-located Lotus Tower will commence in November after the Attorney General’s approval, Palpita said. Construction work will be handled by a Chinese state owned company and more..

Sep 1 (LBO) Post-war business opportunities and the transition to new global accounting rules will be among the topics to be discussed at a conference organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. It will be a forum not only for professional accountants but also for the public and policymakers as well with the deliberations contributing to government policymaking, said Arjuna Herath, chairman of the ICASL's conference organising committee. more..

Sep 1 (DM) Farmers and traders will obliged to use plastic crates when transporting vegetables and fruits from today so as to maintain the quality of the goods in transit, the Cooperatives and Internal Trade Ministry said. Minister Johnston Fernando said at least 40 per cent of the damage to perishable food items will be prevented by transporting them in crates and it would also greatly reduce the economic losses incurred by farmers and traders. more..

Sept 1 (LG) Although some members of the UPFA government indicated vaguely a few months ago that Emergency would be lifted fully at the end of this year, the President’s announcement that he and his government had decided to do so with immediate effect and depend on normal laws to maintain law and order came at an unexpected moment and as a result, it has received a mixed response. In my opinion, the lifting of Emergency regulation in itself is a commendable and more..

Sept 1 (LG) The Tamil Information Centre (TIC) welcomes the 25 August announcement of President Mahinda Rajapaksa that the State of Emergency will not be extended when it comes up for renewal before the Sri Lankan Parliament in September 2011, resulting in the termination of all Emergency Regulations. The TIC, along with several civil and human rights agencies within and outside Sri Lanka, has been campaigning against this draconian national security legislation which more..

Sept 1 (SO) A major part of the northern Sri Lanka was devastated by a high magnitude cyclone. Thousands of people living North of Puttalam were displaced and living in camps. Hundreds of children were falling sick and medicine was short in supply. Five C 130 aircrafts from countries of the Pacific rim, including Sri Lanka were carrying loads of food, water and medicine to required locations in the affected areas. more..

Sept 1 (LG) The repeated warnings to the people against taking the law into their hands and appeals to respect the rule of law seem to be the silver lining in the cloud of the current grease devil syndrome. The authorities led by Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, while assuring the people of full protection and security keep warning of dire consequences for people who choose to take the law into their hands. The tendency for people to assume the role of dispensers of more..

Sept 1 (LG) Dr N M Perera was born on 6th June 1905 at No. 36 St Josephs Street Grandpass to the family of Mr. Abraham Perera and Mrs Johana Perera. He was the fifth in a family of nine children. Two of the nine children, the 4th a boy and the 8th a girl died in their infancy. NM, as he came to be popularly known, had his early education at St Thomas College under Warden Stone. Later he was moved into Ananda College when P.D.S.Kularanta was Principle. In 1925 he captained the more..

Sept 1 (SO) The existing laws on "child abuse and harassment of women" are being implemented in a very lenient manner, Attorney-at-Law, Kalyananda Thiranagama said. If the existing laws and regulations were properly implemented child abuse and harassment of women could be reduced or controlled to a certain extent, he said. Under the prevailing law, ten years or eighteen years rigorous imprisonment could be given for an accused in more..

Sept 1 (LG) The purpose of this article is to establish that in trying to get out of our ethnic imbroglio one factor, and only one, really counts: the gun. By "gun" I refer to power in the political realm, meaning the whole range of hard power and soft power that can be deployed by antagonists. The crucial question at the present juncture is this: can the "international community" which in the present context really means the US, the EU, their allied powers, and India, more..

Sept 1 (NS) President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday revoked the state of emergency declared under the Prevention of Terrorism Act after more than 27 years. The emergency regulations 36 out of 73 were also revoked after the complete defeat of the LTTE in May 2009. The state of emergency declared at different times ran for a total of nearly 27 years during the past 63 years since independence. Since independence from British colonial rule the emergency laws were promulgated first in more..

Sept 1 (LG) The meaning of life is in meeting and learning from those we meet. All kinds of people cross one's path in one's life time. While small people make other people small, great people, magnanimous people, make others truly great and magnanimous. When we bring the best out of other people, we also bring the best out of ourselves. Whatever we withhold from others, we also withhold it from ourselves. Whatever we truly give, we also receive thirtyfold, more..

Sept 1 (Island) The late LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran chose to have his erstwhile mentor and former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi blown to bits in 1991 by way of punishment for what he called atrocities committed by the Indian army in the North and the East of Sri Lanka in the late 1980s. But, the Tamil Nadu politicians are all out to pervert the course of justice and thwart the implementation of the judicially determined punishment for the LTTE cadres involved in the assassination of Rajiv. more..

Sept 1 (DM) Being a youth in a country such as ours, that is recovering from the woes of a three-decade war against terrorism, is indeed a challenge. However, the same challenge demands the Sri Lankan youth to come out of their egg-shell comforts and venture out to meet the more winnable trials head on. Apart from climbing up the ladder of higher education and seeking employment in the hope of enjoying the comforts of a decent lifestyle, theirs is the responsibility to more..

Sept 1 (Island) Chinese companies were called on to increase direct investment in Sri Lanka, Brazil, Malaysia and the US by the country’s top think tank the China Centre for International Economic Exchange. "Using the nation’s foreign exchange reserves to accelerate direct investment in the US will help China to limit losses from the depreciation of the dollar and may reduce the risk of a global economic recession, said Wei Jianguo, more..

Sept 1 (DN) Environment friendly industries and services were recognized for their contribution in environmental conservation at the first National Green Awards ceremony organized by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) held at the BMICH recently. 25 winners received their awards from chief guest President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The event was organized to mark the 30th anniversary of the CEA. A special award was granted to Geocycle for its contribution to hazardous waste management. more..

Sept 1 (DN) The newly opened footwear factory in Muthiyammagama is a good avenue for foreign revenue with the opening of the Hambantota port and Mattala airport, as products can be easily and speedily exported, said Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa at the opening ceremony of the new footwear factory at Muthiyammagama in Tissamaharama recently. It is the duty of all factory workers to execute orders on time so that more income can be generated and avoid closure of their factory, he said. more..

Sept 1 (Island) Chairman of Cricket Selectors Duleep Mendis says that Lasith Malinga was hard to convince not to give up Test cricket. Responding to his predecessor Aravinda de Silva’s comments that he wouldn’t have let Malinga to retire from Test cricket had he remained a selector, Mendis says his panel tried hard to convince the bowler, but Malinga was adamant. "I quite agree with Aravinda. But Malinga was adamant that he should retire from Test cricket," more..

Sept 1 (Island) I refer to the above story published on the Sports page of The Island of August 31. You have stated quote "The Island learns that the Interim Committee officials were acting on the instructions of their political bosses" unquote. For Sri Lanka Cricket the Political head is the sports Minister and he has not given a ruling banning any players from talking to the media. We refused a "one on one interview" based on fact that it was the penultimate day of the Test match. more..

Sept 1 (FT) Following Monday’s Daily FTs exposure on the pathetic state of cartelised and limited transport options at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), tourist industry experts joined the fray saying a more organised and freely available taxi service was a solution. “Easily recognisable and efficient taxi service with fare metres and uniformed drivers will certainly enhance the confidence level of a tourist on his first local contact point and journey,” more..

Sept 1 (Island) Opposition lawmaker, Dr. Harsha De Silva, issued the following statement urging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to commence legal action against Environment Resources Investment PLC, saying compounding offences only compounded the problem. "We understand that the SEC is planning to compound offences of securities fraud by some alleged white-collar criminals who have taken a large number of innocent investors as well as more..

Sept 1 (Island) The govt is planning to allocate over Rs. 100 billion to the public health sector as part of its efforts to strengthen health services. The Health Ministry spokesman described the current allocation as the highest ever received by the health sector from the State. The proposed budgetary allocation would help revitalise the public health sector. The Health Ministry and Ministry of Indigenous Medicine had met President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday for discussions on more..

Sept 1 (DM) The Samastha Lanka Palath Palana Podu Sevaka Sangamaya (All Ceylon Local Govt Workers Union) yesterday charged that nearly 40 persons had been employed by the Colombo Municipal Council after the local government election was announced. The Union said these persons have been employed despite the election rules stating otherwise. They claim that the new recruits had been hired on a casual basis to be deployed at several district offices. more..

Sept 1 (Island) The Private Medical College (PMC) in Malabe, (South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine - SAITM), yesterday denied the Government Medical Officers’ Association’s claim that it had not been recognized by the Sri Lanka Medical Council. They also denied that the University Grants Commission’s approval was obtained through personal intervention. The GMOA’s accusations were published on the front page in The Island newspaper on Tuesday (Aug. 30). more..

Sept 1 (DM) Three army corporals, who had been travelling in a three-wheeler with a bullet said to be of immense archeological value, that they had allegedly stolen from the Panagoda Army Camp, were arrested by police. A Senior Police Officer attached to Panagoda Police said that these three corporals were attached to the Mechanical Engineering Section of the Panagoda Army Camp. He said that they had been apprehended at the Homagama Galawilawatte Junction by a police team acting on a tip-off. more..