July 13 (CI) Reeza Hendricks and Justin Ontong hit rapid half-centuries before South Africa A's bowlers tore through the Sri Lanka A line-up to record a 161-run victory in the first match of their tri-series with Zimbabwe A. Wayne Parnell took 3 for 10 and Rory Kleinveldt 3 for 15 as Sri Lanka limped to 108 all out in 28.2 overs. It could have been worse for Sri Lanka, who were 61 for 8 before No. 10 Kanishka Alvitigala hit 27 from 29 balls - the top score of more..

July 13 (AD) The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) says it today filed a motion with the Supreme Court against the failure of relevant authorities to put into effect the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding the results of 2011 GCE A/L exam. The judgment on the Fundamental Rights petition filed by a group of A/L students and the Ceylon Teachers’ Union, against the formulation of the Z-Score for the 2011 A/L exam, was delivered by Supreme Court on June 25. more..

July 13 (TC) On December 26, 1995, Muttaiah Muralitharan was humiliated at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The Sri Lanka offspinner was no-balled several times by umpire Darrell Hair in front of a crowd in excess of 55,000. That is history now. Cut to the present, Muralitharan signs for an Australian team, Melbourne Renegades in the Twenty20 Big Bash League and could well be hearing fans signing his praises at the same ground by the same home fans. more..

July 13 (TC) Sri Lanka will start operations at the 82,000 tonne capacity fuel bunkering terminal of its new southern Hambantota port in October, 16 months later than the original schedule, the ports authority said. The state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority had originally planned to open the facility for full operational bunkering in May 2011. It contains eight tanks of bunkering oil and six tanks of aviation fuel and LPG in the initial stage. more..

July 13 (PTI) Renewing her demand that Sri Lankan airmen should not be trained anywhere in India, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Friday lambasted her arch rival and DMK president M Karunanidhi for not “exerting pressure” on the Centre on the issue despite being a key ally of the UPA. “If Karunanidhi who claims himself to be the leader of Tamils has any real concern for the welfare of Tamils, he should have pressurised the central govt to send back more..

July 13 (DM) The Ministry of Economic Development together with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) is planning to lease a land belonging to Milco Private Limited in Colombo, to be developed as a mixed development project. The 13.5 acre land bordering Kirimandela Mawatha in Nawala will be available on a long-term lease base for the prospective investor who should submit a sound business proposal. An official at the BOI confirmed to Mirror Business that the lease is more..

July 13 (MoD) Sri Lanka is a committed partner for UN peacekeeping operations with a total of 1,215 men from the three Armed Forces and the Police serving in seven different Peacekeeping Missions. Following the defeat of Tamil Tiger terrorists in May 2009, Sri Lanka says its Armed Forces and the Police are now in a position to enhance their contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Forces. Earlier this year the Sri Lankan Cabinet approved a proposal to sign a MoU more..

July 13 (LT) It is reported that ‘MV Lanka Mahapola’, the ship belonging to the Ceylon Shipping Corporation Ltd has been secretly registered under Zanzibar flag. The ship had been given on rent to Bareboat Charterers Triple ‘S’ Shipping (Pvt.) Ltd belonging to a Presidential adviser Sedara Senarath from October, 2011 at US$1100 a day. The amount compared with shipping rentals is far below and despite the agreement was to pay the rent at more..

July 13 (AD) Prices of both varieties of domestic gas cylinders will be reduced by 150 rupees by midnight today. Accordingly, the price of a 12.5kg Laugfs and Litro Gas Cylinder has been reduced. Thereby the new price of a domestic gas cylinder will be 2280 rupees. Meanwhile, Special Commodity Levies on key essential consumer goods such as Fish, Dry Fish, Sprats, Potato, B onion, Canned Fish will also been reduced. The decision has been taken after the Cost of Living committee more..

July 13 (BBC) Former Tamil Tiger snipers have been selected to represent Sri Lanka in shooting sports at national level. They are among 16 picked at a talent-spotting camp held for ex-fighters last month. Others will represent Sri Lanka in swimming, athletics and cricket. Some had even been trained as suicide bombers, a sports ministry spokesman said. The top swimmers picked were with the rebel's naval wing, he added. Sri Lanka's army defeated Tamil rebels in 2009, more..

July 13 (CG) The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances examined cases of missing people including urgent cases in Sri Lanka during its 97th session in Geneva which ended today, the working group said in a statement. The working group said that it studied 13 reported cases of enforced disappearance under its urgent action procedure, as well as information on more than 200 cases, including newly-submitted cases and more..

July 14 (Island) The resolution on Sri Lanka at the recently held UNHRC secessions in Geneva has caused Sri Lanka to reassess the effectiveness of its investment in the deployment of diplomatic capital - its soft power. A direct consequence of this assessment has been to summon Heads of Sri Lankan Mission for a briefing by the President who emphasized the need to focus on Public Diplomacy and to realign its missions abroad. This has resulted in opening new diplomatic more..

July 14 (Island) In the wake of the GoSL obtaining the services of two retired senior Indian military personnel, Lt. Gen. Satish Nambiar and Vice Admiral, P. J. Jacob, one-time Chief of Naval Staff to advise the SL military on two crucial issues, namely the Jaffna High Security Zones (HSZ) and a special sea route for the Sea Tigers, the government of India distanced itself from the project. The then UNP-led UNF govt contacted former Indian Army Chief-of-Staff shortly after more..

July 14 (DM) The Bill to prevent Bhikkus from entering Parliament would have looked like just one of those heroic Bills by the opposition. Yet, the incidents that have come to light in the wake of the much anticipated debate go to show that the proposed provision is just the tip of the iceberg. A few weeks ago, during a ceremony to open a newly-built temple complex of a prominent Buddhist monk and a preacher, the presence of a more..

July 14 (DBS) The recent furore over the validity of Z-scores in the A-level examination is very symptomatic of the current malaise of Education in the country – the tip of the iceberg. So it is not surprising that the past few weeks have seen many articles in the newspapers expressing serious concerns about a number of issues in both school and university education. If there is no smoke without fire, what is burning in our education system? And how can we put out the fire? more..

July 14 (DBS) The traffic situation in Sri Lanka is becoming increasingly unsustainable. Fed up with congested, inefficient and uncomfortable public transport, more and more of the urban middle class are opting for private vehicles as soon as they can afford it. The city infrastructure to accommodate all those vehicles is not keeping up though. Commuters out and about during peak times such as office / school opening and closing times know all about the travails of travel more..

July 14 (CT) Continuing our series ‘On Foot’, documenting the spiritual journey from Jaffna to Katharagama, Shanmuga Priya commences her journey this week from Chavakachcheri. 25 May 2004 – Day 6: We proceeded from Ushan Kanthaswamy Temple in Chavakachcheri, which was celebrating the second day of its annual festival, towards Elephant Pass. The chief priest said the temple belonged to his family for over 150 years. It was said, “Devas” more..

July 14 (CT) The Sri Lankan govt may have won the war against the LTTE in the north-east of the country, but another protracted struggle is looming on the horizon, that of winning democracy and development back from the clutches of militarisation. In the meantime, for those in the north (and the east) struggling to recover socially, economically and psychologically from the war, the message for the moment at least is clear: reconcile, by keeping your head down, more..

July 14 (CT) It is time the Sri Lankan Govt came clean over what exactly is happening in the country in the aftermath of the brutal civil war that ended in May 2009. To the victor the spoils – that is inevitable – and for the Tamils, being on the losing side means a need to recognise their dream of a separate state on Sri Lankan soil will now never be realised, and that their best hope is to engage in reconciliation and partnership with the majority Sinhalese. That is what the Govt in Colombo would have us believe is the course being taken, but more..

July 14 (Island) The Minister of Child Development and Women’s Affairs has recently made a statement that currently there were 59,000 widows in the North and East of Sri Lanka. He had explained that of this total figure 42,565 war widows live in the East and a further 16,936 in the North. TNA Jaffna district MP Suresh Premachandran has contested these figures, claiming that in the East alone there were over 45,000 widows. more..

July 14 (Island) In the western countries the concept of so-called human rights was created when modernity was being established. The modernity fought against the Pope and the individual rights were made important in contrast to the rights of the European medieval feudal states that were ruled by the Pope or his agents. The pope represented the state and the individual was given prominence over the society or the state in contrast to the powers the state had over the individual in the feudal states within the dichotomy between the state and more..

July 14 (Island) The Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) arranged by the Norwegians in February 2002, gave the LTTE the opportunity to enhance its fighting power. In spite of repeated warnings by intelligence services and the armed forces, the UNP leadership turned a blind eye to the growing build-up. Within weeks of the signing of the CFA, the LTTE stepped-up recruitment of children. The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) only recorded complaints from parents. more..

July 14 (Island) Being a tiny island of 25000 square miles, driving on the existing roads, you can get from one end to the other in just a few hours. So, do we really need those environmentally destructive and expensive super expressways? Why not simply improve the existing excellent road network that we already have, with proper widening, carpeting, center overtaking lane, sidewalks, cycle lanes, parking lanes, bus stops and bus-bays, proper road signs, more..

July 14 (Island) The Prisons Department is desperate to hire a hangman, though judicial executions are no longer carried out. It says Sri Lankans who have passed Grade Eight in school and are mentally and physically sound could apply for the post. One may have thought that anyone could secure the job of releasing the lever of the gallows, but now it is clear that operating that deadly contraption is a task to be handled by a sane person with some education. more..

July 14 (Island) Lanka Orix Leasing Company Plc (LOLC) yesterday announced moves to get control of diversified blue chip Brown and Company Plc for Rs. 1.32 billion. LOLC’s fully-owned subsidiary LOLC Investments Ltd. has signed a share sale and purchase agreement to acquire the balance 50% stake in Diriya Investments Ltd., the ultimate holding company of Browns, with a 49.8% stake. Already LOLC directly holds a 4.7% stake in Browns. The stake in Diriya Investments is more..

July 14 (FT) Sri Lanka is truly emerging as the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’ with 5% consistent growth over the past few years backed by a boom of tourism and an increase in the value-added sector, SAARC CCI President Vikramjit Singh Sahney said yesterday. He was speaking at the inaugural session of the seminar on ‘Trade Facilitation in South Asia: Addressing Barriers to Foster Trade Chain’ organised by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “It really is a ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’ more..

July 14 (Island) Keeping up with the government’s ambitious plan to make Sri Lanka a regional hub by increasing IT literacy rate to 75 percent and bringing forward the country’s ranking in the Ease of Doing Business index to 30 from 89th position, the Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) has endeavoured in several initiatives. According to CSSL President Mahesh Perera who believes Information Communication Technology could drive the country to its targets by 2016, more..

July 14 (FT) In view of the undertakings given by the State, the Writ application filed in the Court of Appeal challenging the impugned controversial Land Circular on the management of land in North East withdrawn yesterday. A Writ petition had been filed by TNA MP M.S Sumanthiran challenging the said controversial Land Circular. The matter came up before the Bench comprising Justices S. Sriskandarajah (President) and more..

July 14 (Island) The Chief incumbent of a temple in Hiripitiya was arrested on Wednesday and remanded till July 19 by the Kurunegala Magistrate on Thursday over a series of offences. Superintendent Ajith Rohana said that the suspect monk had been in the temple for 12 years as chief incumbent and the special Crime Unit of the Wellawa Police in Kurunegala acting on a tip off, raided the IT centre of the temple and discovered it to be a centre for criminal activities. more..

July 14 (DT) Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara retained his number one position in the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after accumulating 490 runs in the series against Pakistan – a feat which earned him the award for Man of the Series. He now remains 36 points clear of West Indies Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who had been six ranking points clear of Sangakarra when the current series started. But his performances with the bat against Misbahul Haq’s team have again left him more..

July 14 (HCI) The High Commission of India signed agreements today to award work to four Implementing Agencies, UN-HABITAT, International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in partnership with Sri Lanka Red Cross, National Housing Development Agency (NHDA) and Habitat for Humanity, Sri Lanka signaling the launch of the next phase of the Indian Housing Project for 43,000 housing units in Northern and Eastern Provinces. more..

July 14 (Island) A raid on cells holding more than 150 LTTE suspects at the Magazine remand prison on Thursday night, yielded 36 satellite and other mobile phones buried in several places. Prison sources said that the phones had been recovered with the help of metal detectors. The operation which began at around 8.00 p.m. went on till about 10.00 pm. They suspect that the inmates may have received help from some prison officers. On June 29, when police commandos stormed the Vavuniya prison to rescue three guards held more..

July 14 (CT) The TNA is facing problems with its constituent political parties over choosing candidates for the forthcoming Eastern Provincial Council Elections, informed sources said. The prime Tamil party in the TNA, ITAK headed by R. Sampanthan, has been criticized by other constituent parties for taking the upper hand in giving priority to its own candidates, instead of looking into the candidates put forward by other constituent parties, sources said. more..

July 14 (AT) “We thank you for your cooperation too in bringing this issue to a successful conclusion. The GSP issue is a good example of how we, the two govts, can work together. The review was positive because the Ministry and other stakeholder Ministries of the govt of Sri Lanka were willing to work with the US. Now we see the results. Therefore I too want to thank you, and more importantly I see this as a success story.” more..

July 14 (PTI) The Pakistan Cricket Board has informed its Sri Lankan counterparts that all players signed up to play in the inaugural Sri Lankan Premier League next month have been given clearance to skip the training camp for the Australian tour to play in the league. A board official, however, said that players picked in the Pakistan team for the Australian series would not be given permission to play in any T20 tournament during the Ramazan. "As far as the Sri Lankan Premier League is more..

July 14 (DN) Visiting Indian Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh yesterday said the economic cooperation between Sri Lanka and India is at a peak level and the benefits should go to both countries. He said India is interested in setting up a modern IT park in Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan professionals' service can be obtained for it. Ramesh made these observations when he met Minister Basil Rajapaksa on Thursday. The two ministers reviewed the progress of the ongoing development projects more..

July 14 (DN) Colombo University Vice Chancellor Prof Kshanika Hirimburegama yesterday said the present strike by the Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) is not usual for FUTA. “They have never resorted to a strike action of this nature before,” Prof Hirimburegama said. “Besides they are persisting with their strike action while negotiations take place,” she said. Asked if their demands were more..

July 14 (TN) The govt is widely blamed for handling new and temporary appointments in the Northern province for electoral political purposes. Recent temporary appointments have been provided with the condition that the employees should extend support the UPFA govt in the provincial elections, unemployed graduates demanding justice said. On Thursday, a section of unemployed graduates, who have been sidelined in such appointments, demonstrated in front of the District Secretariat in Jaffna more..

July 14 (AT) Thangeswary Kathiraman, the former TNA MP said that she will be leading an independent group to contest in the forthcoming Eastern Provincial Council election. She said that her independent group will file candidate only for the Batticaloa district. Thangeswary Kathiraman contested in the 2010 April Parliamentary election as a UPFA candidate in the Batticaloa electoral district and failed to get elected. She said that for the last two years, she along with more..