July 31 (Island) The six suspects arrested over the killing of the popular Principal of the Munuwandeniya Junior School, Yakkalamulla in Galle and injuring his son, were remanded for 14 days, the Police spokesman told The Island yesterday. Superintendent Ajith Rohana said that the main suspect was an ex-army man known as ‘Wambotta’, not the notorious criminal by the same name killed a few years back. They were produced before the Baddegama Magistrate’s Court. more..

July 31 (Island) UNP and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had no right to speak about the dictatorial regime of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, as under his (RW) leadership the UNP had permitted democracy to erode, a party reformist said. Spokesman for the Society to Protect the UNP and its Trade Unions Lal Perera said yesterday that under Wickremesinghe the UNP had no democracy at all and he had packed more..

July 31 (Island) Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena yesterday asserted that the draft legislation on the Senaka Bibile National Drug Policy, which was being prepared, would be submitted to the Cabinet and then to parliament for approval. But the Policy wouldn’t be implemented according to the whims and fancies of any group. Minister Sirisena said that the implementation of the drug policy had been long delayed due to the actions of vested interests. more..

July 31 (LBO) Sri Lankan smokers had coughed-up 31.2 billion rupees in taxes through cigarettes sales during the six-months of this year, the island’s sole legal tobacco maker Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC said. A unit of British American Tobacco Holdings, Ceylon Tobacco Company said it paid eight percent more in taxes during the six-months to June this year, over the same period a year earlier. more..

July 31 (SL) Factory workers attached to the HEMAS plant within the MANISHA (Pvt) Ltd in Haldanduwana-Dankotuwa have been sacked following an attack on a neighbour’s house. Oliver Jahnel, and his wife Sabrina, were in their home on July 23 at 2.45 pm when three workers from the neighbouring factory attacked the house with sticks and stones. It lasted for over 30 minutes. Despite calling the emergency police number it took 20 minutes before more..

July 31 (Island) A call went out to expatriates and the Tamil Diaspora, on Saturday, seeking their help to rebuild the North and East as the country was now enjoying peace after the scourge of the 30-year war. Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who is also the Urban Development Ministry Secretary, said "Sri Lanka is enjoying peace in this country and 300,000 IDPs have been resettled in three years." Addressing the villagers of Kaththankulum in Mannar, more..

July 31 (LB) Subuddhika Ilukkumbura who made his second attempt at the A/L exam at Dharmaraja College, Kandy was day-dreamin about entering the Sri Lanka Medical College (SLMC) and becoming a doctor – until last week that is. When the Z-score results were issued initially he had received 1.9572 and his district rank had been 74. As per the district quota, 45 students were eligible to enter SLMC from the Kandy district, more..

July 31 (Island) The Controller of Immigration and Emigration Chulananda Perera yesterday said that a new national stolen and lost travel document data base had been established and according to the new system arrangements had been made to collect details of all such passports and they would be cancelled forthwith and such details will be shared with the Interpol to prevent their misuse. more..

July 31 (DM) Another crisis in the energy sector was emerging as a large number of vehicles, including five locomotive engines and SLTB and private buses had been stalled due to pumping alleged substandard diesel, sources said. However, the Chairman, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) D. Vidanagamachchi said that they were receiving complaints for the last few days about engine troubles of buses and stalling of gantries at the Colombo Port. more..

July 31 (GDI) Austria has granted a 100 million U.S.Dollars financial assistance package for economic development in Sri Lanka. The package is in the form of a grant and a soft loan. The 65 million U.S.Dollars soft loan portion will carry a 2% interest and have to be repaid over a period of 30 years. The balance 35 million U.S.Dollars will be a grant. This has been disclosed at a meeting held betweenthe Minister Basil Rajapaksa and more..

July 31 (Island) Sri Lankan officials, at the ongoing London Olympics, should be given gold medals for being the highest contingent at the games, percentage wise, the UNP said yesterday. Only seven athletes were representing the country, but thirty officials had accompanied them, the UNP MP Gayantha Karunathillaka said. He said that the fiasco being enacted in London was nothing but an extension of the ‘Mahinda Chintana’ more..

July 31 (DM) It was Henry David Thoreau, who said, “I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavour.” Each is called to be open to that inner silence within. Therein, one’s open to the voice without words; promptings within, which when obeyed could uplift society. It’s privy only for those who yearn to elevate themselves. That voice comes from realms beyond oneself, touching frontiers lost in eternity. more..

July 31 (LBO) Stocks was flat on Tuesday, with a turnover of over a billion rupees driven by strategic deals in conglomerate John Keells Holdings PLC and clothing retailer Odel PLC. The broader All Share Price Index closed up 9.35 points to 4,944.86, while the liquid Milanka Price Index dipped 19.69 points or 0.26 percent to end at 4,357.02. Tuesday’s turnover was 1.94 billion rupees. Fashion retailer Odel dominated trading, accounting for 1.44 billion rupees worth of trades. more..

July 31 (DM) Strong action will be taken against those who sabotage the power supply at CEB power stations, disrupt the power supply or engage in corruption in the institution, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday. Addressing the print and electronic media editors at Temple Trees President Rajapaksa said he was awaiting a report from Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka before initiating charges against the saboteurs. more..

July 31 (LBO) Sri Lanka will inevitably be drawn in to power struggle for dominance in the Indian ocean as China increasingly seeks to extend its clout beyond its "traditional areas of operation into the Indian ocean," a top US political scientist told a gathering in Colombo. Professor Sumit Ganguly, a renowned US scholar and expert on south Asian affairs said Sri Lanka will have to decide up to what extent they are willing to cooperate with the US to counter a more..

July 31 (AP) Sri Lanka's navy says it has arrested 103 men who were attempting to migrate to Australia illegally in three fishing trawlers. A navy statement said on Tuesday that two trawlers were intercepted on Monday off the island's western coast and another detained off the eastern coast. It says those arrested were Sri Lankan men. They have been handed over to police who are investigating. It is an offense under Sri Lankan law to leave the country more..

July 31 (AD) Measures will be taken to switch off 50 per cent of all street lamps across the country starting from August 01, the Ministry of Power and Energy said today. The decision was taken following a special discussion held today between Minister Champika Ranawaka, Secretary to Local Govt Ministry and representatives of LG bodies. Over 800,000 street lamps have been placed across the island while less than half of them have been authorized by the CEB more..

July 31 (LT) The govt is preparing to follow the process proposed by the JVP to avoid the distortion that has occurred in A/L results reveal a very reliable source. The JVP proposed that all students selected to various faculties on district and all island merits issued in last December should be taken in and also take in the students who were qualified in the list issued on 22nd July after the results were amended. It has been revealed now that about 3500 more..

July 31 (AD) Information or statements pertaining to the Ceylon Petroleum Cooperation cannot be issued without the authorization of its chairman, the CPC said today. A notice issued by the managing director of the Petroleum Corporation states that, this was informed to all employees of the CPC in the letter CPC/CH/39 signed by the chairman. It further states that information regarding the Petroleum Corporation is being publicized by the media more..

July 31 (CG) There were reports of abuses of religious freedom in Sri Lanka last year, the International Religious Freedom Report for 2011 released by the U.S State Department yesterday has said. Released by U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the report said that although the govt publicly endorsed religious freedom, in practice there were problems in some areas. U.S. embassy officials in Colombo conveyed U.S. govt concerns about religious freedom issues, particularly more..

July 31 (CT) The police have taken the parents of a 15-year-old girl into custody on the charge of allowing her to be raped by two youths. Father Karunasinghe Gedera Jayalath (48) and mother R.M.H. Premalatha, residents of Kokaweva, Gatalawa, were produced before Anuradhapura Magistrate and Additional District Judge, Ruwandika Marapana, who ordered them to be remanded until 9 August. The two youths were ordered to be released on cash bail. Accordingly, Lahiru Udaya Kumara (19), more..

July 31 (AD) UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake says agreements similar to the CPC’s oil hedging deal are signed in every part of the world, but such unfavorable deals are not signed anywhere. Sri Lanka’s state-run oil company has been ordered to pay nearly $162 million plus interest for non-payment of dues to Standard Chartered Bank by a London court. The losses suffered by the CPC due to the annulment of the hedging deal are not limited to this, more..

July 31 (ES) Scotland Yard was today monitoring a protest by Tamil activists close to the Olympic park where a demonstrator is staging a hunger strike. Gobi Sivanthan, 32, has a tent in Burford Road near the Olympic stadium and has refused food for nine days. He plans to fast until the Olympics are over in protest against Sri Lanka’s participation, claiming the country should be banned for war crimes against Tamils in its long civil war. About 200 Tamils were dispersed after trying to gather more..

July 31 (AD) Police today said that reports of a female student committing suicide due to the change in z-score results, which had sparked an agitation in the Dehiattakandiya town on Sunday, are completely untrue. It was reported by certain media that a female student from Dehiattakandiya who had sat the GCE A/L exam in 2011 and was depressed after the re-release of z-score results had consumed poison. However, police today said that investigations into the death more..

July 31 (ST) A shortage of personnel and vehicles is hampering the work of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIAOBC), its chairman Justice D.J.de S. Balapatabendi said. He said the commission had only 18 legal officers to carry out prosecutions in court; attend to other legal matters and assist some 120 police officers. The commission also has only 26 vehicles for its official work. more..

July 31 (AF) The Australian government finds itself in something of a crossfire today with news that the authorities have reduced their travel advice with regards to northern Sri Lanka which had previously been seen as a high risk journey by the authorities. Previously the authorities had issued a “do not travel” notice to Australian citizens although this has now been downgraded to “exercise a high degree of caution in northern Sri Lanka”. more..

July 31 (DN) The construction work of the country's first dendro power plant in the Labunoruwa area in Thirappane Divisional Secretariat in the Anuradhapura district has been completed. The Project Development Engineer P R Wijewardane said that the Dendro (gliricidia plant) based power plant began feeding 500 kw to the national grid since last week. The project is invested by Helios Thirappane Bio Power Project (Pvt) Ltd through Helios Renewable Energy (Pvt) Ltd and more..

July 31 (CI) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has appointed Haroon Lorgat, the former ICC chief executive, as a special advisor to help the board revamp its domestic cricket structure and improve the administration of cricket in the country. Lorgat will work with SLC until Oct 31. "Mr Lorgat has a wealth of knowledge and experience, and we are delighted that he has agreed to work with us to improve the governance and administration of our more..

July 31 (DN) Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena ordered health officials to strictly implement amendments to the Food Act number 26 of 1980 from Nov 1 this year. The main objective is ensuring the safety of food available in hotels, restaurants and food outlets countrywide, the spokesman said. After Nov 1, all hotel, restaurant and food outlet employees should wear pocketless dresses and aprons while serving food. more..

July 31 (DM) The TNA said it had no faith in the govt’s national action plan to implement recommendations made by the LLRC as it did not address the volatile ground situation. It charged that the action plan did not resolve issues that needed immediate attention by the govt and made only for the consumption of the international community. TNA MP Suresh Premachandran, said plan stipulated unrealistic time periods to implement recommendations made by the LLRC. more..

July 31 (CI) Virat Kohli was once again the architect of a successful Indian chase, one that clinched the ODI series for India, who took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. Kohli anchored India's response to 251, and was helped along by Suresh Raina, who struck his third half-century of the series, each of them in an Indian win. Both had their moments of fortune, just when Sri Lanka had fought their way back, but once set, they approached the target confidently, more..