Aug 27 (CT) One does not go to a share market merely to get dividends, where a company distributes a proportion of its annual earnings to the shareholders. Dividends at all times are distributed as a percentage of the nominal/par value of a share. In a sense there is no need of an organised share market for redistribution of shares of an establish company. Hence the real purpose of a share market is capital gains-this is where an investor makes a gain by buying at a lower price and more..

Aug 27 (SO) Following is an interview with Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, on how Sri Lanka is bracing itself to meet the challenges of the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the UNHRC, in November. Minister Samarasinghe explaining how the UPR will be held this year, shrugged off Opposition Leader’s call for tabling the UPR country report in Parliament adding, “I am sure he is anxious to find out what more..

Aug 27 (DBS) As expected, the Bar Association made a fortuitous turn for the better and to the relief of those who sincerely believe that the real freedom of the people lies not in their political leaders, but in an independent un-politicized judiciary. It was not very long ago that the members of the public signed and submitted, to the Speaker, an impeachment motion, requesting the parliament to remove the then Chief Justice. One of the main protagonists of this historic motion was a prominent more..

Aug 27 (CT) In Sri Lanka, academics in the island’s state-run universities (except those in the faculties of Medicine) have been on strike for over a month. They call for better salaries and working conditions, demands that visibly fall on completely deaf ears. Their plight is shared by the remainder of dissenting fringes in Sri Lankan society, together with segments of school leavers, senior school students and their parents. The latter groups’ willingness to support the academics stems from more..

Aug 27 (ST) Museums are repositories of knowledge and a window to the past. Sri Lanka has many museums but there was none to showcase wildlife history until recently. It was in December last year that the Department of Wildlife Conservation opened the first Wildlife Museum at the Wildlife Training Centre at Giritale. This museum will be a novel experience for Sri Lankans although a natural history section is part of the more..

Aug 27 (SO) It was around noon last Saturday (18) when someone telephoned the Wellawatte police and informed them of an awful stench emanating from a flat below their's which had been closed for nearly a week. The caller identified himself as a person residing in the same block at Ramakrishna Road, Wellawatte. On hearing the news a team of police officers rushed there to investigate the complaint. After arriving at the spot the police got a stench coming from the direction of more..

Aug 27 (ST) The rise of China is one of the most momentous transformations in modern world history. According to Prof. Premachandra Autukorala, the Chinese economy is likely to overtake the US economy in terms of GDP within this decade, would be the world’s biggest economy in size and be a dominant trading and investment source in the coming decade. Since 2008 China has been the world’s largest exporter, followed by the US, Germany and Japan, in that order. more..

Aug 27 (CT) The recent crisis in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the official regulator of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), speaks volumes of how the affairs of the country are managed or rather mismanaged by the present regime and its highest authority, the President. It was not one crisis, but one crisis after the other. On the issue of the recent resignation of Tilak Karunaratna, the outgoing Chairperson more..

Aug 27 (Island) Things that King Midas touched turned into gold. And anything our politicians touch turns into a mess. The Z-score dispute is a case in point. They have messed it up in such a way that people are beginning to lose faith in public examinations. It is speculated in political circles that moves are underway to scrap the Z-score method. The current university admission imbroglio is due to bungling on the part of the Education Ministry and the UGC, but the govt is apparently trying to more..

Aug 27 (CI) Ruhuna Royals crashed out of the SLPL with a 14-run loss to Wayamba United, after Dinesh Chandimal shook off a poor run of form with a 54-ball 75. The loss means Nagenahira Nagas will join the three teams already qualified for the semi finals, and Nagenahira's match tomorrow night against Uva Next will simply decide who will face top-placed Wayamba in the semis. 

Chandimal played in Tamim Iqbal's slipstream in the opening overs, as Tamim supplied the start Wayamba more..

Aug 27 (Island) It is the team at the North Colombo Hospital at Ragama which pioneered living donor liver transplants in Sri Lanka. There are two teams in both the Ragama and the Colombo National Hospitals which perform liver transplants. There are two methods of doing liver transplants which means that one living donor could donate a liver to another. The second mode is the cadaveric liver transplant where the liver of a more..

Aug 27 (FT) Dr. Nalaka Godahewa has resigned as the Chairman of Divasa Finance Ltd. last week. Analysts widely believe the move as a precursor to the impending appointment of Dr. Godahewa as the new Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which the Daily FT reported on Saturday. Godahewa however remains as Chairman of Colombo Land and Development Plc, biggest shareholders of which are Singapore investors holding over 30%. UDA holds17.5% and more..

Aug 27 (Island) Sri Lanka were not at their full strength at some stages and were at a low gear during most of the 60-minute match but still they could record a huge 85-29 victory over India as they banked on tall netballers to win their second match of the 8th Asian Netball Championship which was witnessed by a sparse crowd at the Sugathadasa Stadium on Sunday. The hosts banked more on their towering netballer Tharjini Sivalingam to score 53 out of 62 points they earned during more..

Aug 27 (Island) When he urged that sangha should not be recruited to posts in govt departments held by laymen and that the sangha should be appointed as teachers in schools and Pirivenas, he had been scolded in unparliamentarily language, the Most. Venerable Mahanyaka of Asgiriya Udugama Sri Budharakkitha Thera told the 161st sessions of the Priviena Education Board held in Kandy. The Mahanayaka Thera jointly more..

Aug 27 (Island) Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne assures that Sri Lankan fishermen will not accidentally or by design, enter waters of another country as the ministry has taken steps to install vessel monitoring units capable of tracing their movements. He stressed that the system would cost nearly nine million Euro for around 3,200 multi-day boats, at the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Global Fisheries Leaders Forum––‘The sustainable use of fisheries products more..

Aug 27 (Island) In a newspaper article, Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka has described Samanalawewa leak as a serious engineering blunder in Sri Lankan history. However, this leak provides a continuous supply of water to a downstream community dependent on agriculture for centuries and for the, the leak is indeed a blessing. Samanalawewa is a reservoir built during 1986-91 across the Walawe Ganga flowing to the south of the central hills in Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 27 (Island) UNP MP John Amaratunge yesterday said that the party’s Kurunegala District MP Jayasekera, who was served with notice to explain why he had criticized the party leadership recently, would not be punished. Amaratunge said that Jayasekera would be warned and pardoned. The govt was attempting to take advantage of the internal squabbles of the UNP and hence the party would not take any more..

Aug 27 (Hindu) At 74, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, wrestler-turned-stenographer-turned flautist, may have found it difficult to climb the few steps at India House in Colombo, but he is nowhere near putting down his bansuri. His two institutions of music, his hectic tour schedule and his occasional film music keep his calendar overflowing. “I will play till my last breath… Hum tho sangeeth ke poojari hain. Sangeeth hamara jeevan hai. Hamara dharam hai [I am a worshipper of music. more..

Aug 27 (Hindu) A public interest litigation petition has been filed in the Madras High Court Bench here seeking a direction to the Centre and State Govt to take effective steps for the release of five Tamil fishermen who were languishing in a prison at Jaffna since November on charges of being involved in various offences on high seas. Abul Kalam Asad (30) of Kanyakumari had filed the case claiming to be a social activist. According to him, the fishermen P. Emerson, P. Augustus, more..

Aug 27 (ST) The govt is now looking specifically at promoting Sri Lanka Tourism in a joint effort with related industries in India, Russia and China. Discussions commenced two weeks back with Minister Basil Rajapaksa meeting with state institutions and the private sector as part of a preliminary round to plan the promotional campaign in these identified emerging markets. Funding for this campaign is set to also be provided more..

Aug 27 (DS) It was reported that a group of experts had recently met in Dhaka to discuss the pros and cons of a bilateral trade agreement with India. According to the report the consensus was against an agreement. One speaker had referred to the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ILFTA), saying it had been a failure. This is contrary to the facts. The ILFTA has been a great success, increasing the volume and diversity of Sri Lanka's exports to India. The overall imbalance remains, more..

Aug 27 (Island) The govt has asked Minister Kumara Welgama to go ahead with his plan to import 13 more high-tech power-sets from China shortly. The Sri Lanka Railways has already received five such power-sets. The cost of the 13 S-12 category trains is US $ 101 million. Minister said that the five power-sets recently brought down were undergoing test runs at the Dematagoda shed. The railway engineers and he were satisfied with the finish, technology and facilities in the power-sets. more..

Aug 27 (LB) Thilak Karunaratne who resigned under pressure as chairman of the SEC, said he would keep talking publicly about issues in the Colombo bourse till the govt is forced to act against members of the ‘stock market mafia.’ Q: Have members of the so-called ‘stock market mafia’ reached out to you since your resignation? A: No. Q: What really happened? A: This pressure had been there for some time. more..

Aug 27 (CG) The police said that eight people were arrested in Borella with heroin in their possession. Among those arrested were three women. Following a day long raid along Magazine road in Borella on Friday the police arrested the suspects and seized the heroin. All those arrested are residents of the area. The police are conducting further investigations. Over the last few weeks the police have managed to arrest people from several areas with heroin in their possession. more..

Aug 27 (Island) Excellency, You don’t know me. Even I did not know you till few weeks ago. I am one like the hundreds ofgirls you see when you drive in and out of the airport. You see some of us walking to the shifts or going home after work in the garment factories near the airport. You may know us as the "Juki Girls". Or you may not have seen us as you drive very fast. So, I could even remain nameless. Actually, I thought I was luckier than most other Juki Girls. more..

Aug 27 (Island) The UNP yesterday alleged that the Elections Secretariat had failed to implement its guidelines, as regards media coverage given to political parties, in the run-up to the forthcoming Provincial Council elections. Friday’s live telecast of ‘Janapathi Janahamuwa’, by both State-run and privately owned television stations, violated a key guideline, UNP MP Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena said in an interview with The Island. more..

Aug 27 (Island) Chairman of Master Divers, Ariyaseela Wickramanayake said that the cargo vessel, ‘Thermophile Sierra’, which sank close to Panadura could be salvaged only in January. At the time the vessel sank it was carrying a cargo weighing 15,612 tonnes, including a cement making plant and iron pipes. The ship was 155 metres long and 127 metres wide. Wickrananayake said that when the vessel was anchored in more..

Aug 27 (IC) Ruhuna's defeat to Wayamba today at the R. Premadasa Stadium has decided the four teams to qualify for the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL). Ruhuna had managed to keep alive their hopes of qualifying with a win against Basnahira on Saturday evening, but their 14-run loss to Wayamba has allowed Nagenahira to qualify. The semi-final fixtures will be decided after the Uva vs Nagenahira clash tomorrow. more..

Aug 27 (DM) The Norochcholai coal Power Plant, which had been at a standstill for the past few days, due to a technical fault started functioning again yesterday giving rise to hopes that the power cuts would end soon. CEB Chairman Wimaladharma Abeywickrema said that the power plant started functioning today. He said its exact power generating capacity would be assessed today. more..

Aug 27 (Island) Postal voting for the Sept. 8 North-Central, Eastern and Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council elections will be held today and tomorrow. There were 100,818 voters eligible for postal voting. Of the seven districts coming under the three provinces, Anuradhapura tops the list with the highest number of postal voters numbering 35,000. Special elections officials would be present at the postal voting centres where more than 50 voters were to cast their votes, more..

Aug 27 (DN) At least 2,800 devotees are said to have surged through the inner sanctum of the Jayanthi Viharaya in Anuradhapura within one hour to pay homage to the Sacred Kapilavasthu Relics while around 600,000 devotees worshipped the Relics at Jayanthi Viharaya by noon yesterday braving the scorching sun as well as sudden rains. As the Relics were about to leave Anuradhapura on their next journey to Kantale, thousands of devotees were seen standing in unwinding queues more..

Aug 27 (FT) UNP MP Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday claimed that most of the Central Bank’s 2012 Roadmap targets were likely to be missed, based on below par performance on the external trade front during the first half. He said that the revised 2012 Roadmap envisaged full-year export proceeds of $ 11.7 billion but in the first half the figure was only $ 4.96 billion and when averaged out, the full year performance is likely to be $ 9.9 billion. more..

Aug 27 (Island) The Justice Ministry Secretary has ordered that 47 persons be stripped of their Justice of the Peace (JP) appointments for certifying as true false information provided by candidates who contested the local government elections in March this year. On the orders of Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya, candidates, when submitting their nominations were required to attach an affidavit each attested by a JP.

Aug 27 (Island) UNP Southern Provincial Councillor Maithri Gunaratne, commenting on the party leadership’s decision to prohibit any UNP politician against whom disciplinary inquiries were pending from addressing propaganda meetings connected with the September 8 Provincial Council elections, said that if it was correct they (the aggrieved parties) would have to go to Courts and obtain an injunction. Gunaratne said that, to his knowledge, about more..

Aug 27 (Island) The Health Ministry has appointed a two-member Committee to probe the incident at the Peradeniya Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Children’s Hospital, where a nurse in the Special Baby Care Unit allegedly cut off the link of a seven-day-old baby’s finger while removing a canula from the infant’s right hand. The paediatric surgeon in the hospital performed an emergency operation to graft the link. more..

Aug 27 (LB) Countrywide, power cuts of three hours of duration are currently in force. The Minister for Power and Energy claims the power cuts were necessitated by the breakdown of the Lakvijaya coal power plant in Norochcholai. However, the Chinese chief engineer at the Lakvijaya power plant says that the plant needs to rest intermittently and cannot generate power throughout the year. The reactions of more..

Aug 27 (Island) The CAFFE yesterday accused the ruling UPFA of violating election laws at will. CAFFE Executive Director Rajith Kirthi Tennakoon alleged that Minister A.L.M. Athaulla had been occupying a circuit bungalow belonging to the National Water Supply and Drainage Board at Akkaraipattu for electioneering purposes. He said that the Elections Commissioner and the Chairman of the NWSDB had been informed that more..

Aug 27 (SL) The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) says that the suspects in the rape of an under-aged girl in Tangalle were given very stringent bail conditions. This was ordered by the Magistrate of Tangalle Justice Uresha de Silva on August 18. The bail conditions included Rs. 25,000 cash bail and two sureties for Rs. 1 million each. The suspects were asked to surrender their passports to court whilst more..

Aug 27 (DM) The UNP said today, that the govt is just like the Norochcholai power plant which was built with low quality spare parts and also that the govt comprises of Ministers who do low quality work. “If this Norochcholai power plant was operational for one day it remained closed down for a month. Today, power cuts are imposed throughout the country. What the govt said when power plants were opened is contradictory to what they say today. more..

Aug 27 (Island) A teacher trade union, affiliated to the JVP, alleged last night that questions of yesterday’s Grade Five Scholarship Examination had been leaked to candidates in several places in the country. General Secretary of the Ceylon Teacher Service Union Mahinda Jayasinghe said that candidates in four classes of the Anura Vidyalaya, in Yakkala, had been given some questions in the Second Paper of the examination in advance. more..