July 3 (EAR) The Lankan govt quite suddenly and quite unnecessarily dissolved three provincial councils a few days ago. Were you to search for a logical explanation you would find none, but seek for crafty motives and a game plan surfaces. The political climate is hotting up and the regime needs to distract the populace; what better than the drama of the hustings? But this is not explanation enough. The Rajapakse govt is panning out, probing options, searching for a survival strategy. more..

July 3 (CT) A recent survey carried out by UNHCR in India has revealed that Sri Lankans remain second to Tibetans in seeking refuge in India. Even the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama had sought refuge in India following the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Tibetans living in India have been numbered as 56 % and Sri Lankans in second place with 36.73%. The majority of Sri Lankan’s who have sought refuge in India, live in the State of Tamil Nadu. more..

July 3 (DM) UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has held talks with the JHU on the private member’s motion to be tabled in Parliament by UNP front-liner Wijedasa Rajapakse. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said the motion sought to ban the clergy of all religions from taking part in active politics. Mr. Attanayake said at Monday’s meeting, the JHU delegation led by Minister Patali Chamipka Ranawaka had requested that the motion be reconsidered and not tabled in Parliament. more..

July 3 (CT) “When reminded that both individuals had supported Mahinda Rajapaksa’s 2005 campaign for the presidency, Rambukwella laughed and speculated that the Defense Secretary might have summoned the two to thank them. ‘It shows that the gratitude for the duo has not been forgotten even after two years.’” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington. “Embassy considers the journalists’ accounts of the Defense more..

July 3 (DM) Sri Lanka is now being used as a transit point for human trafficking, the head of the country’s national counter trafficking unit said. “Sri Lanka has been identified as a transit point for Pakistani and Afghan nationals to go to Australia. That is the new trend,” Prabath Aluthge, Head of the Counter Trafficking Unit at the Department of Immigration and Emigration told a panel discussion on the prevention of human trafficking and smuggling. The event was organised by more..

July 3 (HRW) The Sri Lankan govt should immediately end harassment of media outlets and journalists in violation of the right to freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said today. In the three years since the end of the armed conflict with the LTTE, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s govt has expanded its efforts to silence critical views. On June 29, 2012, the CID, acting on a court order, raided the offices of the Sri Lanka Mirror, a news website, and Sri Lanka X News,a website of the opposition UNP. more..

July 3 (IRIN) Sri Lankan MPs in favour of acting on the recommendations in a report into the final stages of the country’s civil war by the LLRC are slowly gaining ground over those who are not, says a presidential peace process adviser. The govt’s initial reaction to the LLRC recommendations was positive, presidential adviser and MP Rajiva Wijesinha said, but others saw the report, released just over six months ago, more..

July 3 (CT) 'Librarians have an important role to play in the eSri Lanka initiative', says ICTA Chairman, Senior Presidential Advisor and Peradeniya University Chancellor Professor P.W. Epasinghe. The Professor said so while participating a as Chief Guest at the Sri Lanka Library Association's Conference and Award ceremony held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Colombo on 22nd instant. Driving home his message further the ICTA Chairman said: more..

July 3 (HN) Another company that processes stocks of cement that are expired has been found in Bandaragama based on information which led to an inquiry carried out by the consumer affairs authority. Speaking to our news team a senior spokesperson of the CAA stated that this company is located in the Kalutara - Bandaragama region. The CAA officials had raided this location while a lorry was being loaded with cement bags and nearly 1000 bags of expired cement were found inside the lorry. more..

July 3 (AAP) "At what time should I serve bed tea?" asks the butler. Bed tea? It's a quaint British-colonial pre-breakfast ritual surviving in Sri Lanka's tea-growing highlands. Tea and biscuits are served while you're in bed or stumbling about in sleepwear. Sri Lanka is one of the world's leading producers of tea (a beverage still commonly referred to as "Ceylon", the country's colonial-era moniker). Tourism, another key industry, has recovered strongly since civil war ended more..

July 3 (AD) The Commercial High Court today issued an interim injunction preventing MTV/MBC network from telecasting the 2012 London Olympics. The Court on May 17 had issued an enjoining order, after taking up a petition filed by Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), preventing the issuing of London Olympic TV rights to any Television station in Sri Lanka except Rupavahini. However, when the case was taken up against today Colombo Commercial High Court Judge more..

July 3 (CT) A couple from the Czech Republic who were arrested for attempting to smuggle indigenous insects, were fined a sum of Rs 1.06 million by the Elpitiya Magistrate. This was the second highest fine ever charged from a foreigner for attempting to smuggle indigenous species. The fine was issued after the foreign couple pleaded guilty before the Elpitiya Chief Magistrate Keshwara Samaradiwakara on Monday. Peter Martin and his wife were arrested by the officials when they were travelling on the southern highway, on 23 June. more..

July 3 (DM) Sri Lanka stood to lose the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) benefit awarded by the United States, if the government did not revise labour laws in the country, the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union (FTZGSEU) said yesterday. The Union said the country had been awarded the continued benefit despite labour laws not being conducive for freedom of association and collective bargaining. more..

July 4 (NS) With the absence of war and extremist groups, clashes among communities living in Batticaloa have been reducing. The number of checkpoints has been reduced except at strategic places and people move freely with little fear of their safety. The development activities are in full swing and people are involved peacefully in their traditional livelihood activities. No restriction in fishing and agriculture sector has shown a rapid growth. Many who were involved in more..

July 4 (NS) Every Archaeological artifact, which necessarily is a product of human art and craftsmanship, is of special value to collectors of antiquities; and every artifact large or small has a story to tell which can be deciphered only by the antiquarian scholar. It is these artifacts that have brought before our eyes the great civilizations of the past. The crude manner in which these are dug out today by treasure hunters causing damage to the object as well as more..

July 4 (NS) News suddenly appears in the media that a group of workers in a garment factory have been admitted to the hospital after a meal. Why? Food poisoning! The causative agent of food poisoning cannot be seen by the naked eye. These small bugs, which can only be seen by magnifying them thousands of times, are called microorganisms. They produce toxins when growing on raw food that causes food poisoning. more..

July 4 (CT) On June 26th, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, a colleague asked me as to why so much criticism was being made of the Sri Lankan Govt’s lack of commitment towards eradicating practices of torture in the country. After all, I was asked, is there not an Action Plan in place which focuses on the same objective specifically, are not constitutional and statutory provisions in place that prohibit torture, do not Sri Lankan courts entertain more..

July 4 (CT) In the context of shifts in the global balance of power and the new emphasis on the Indian Ocean as a region of strategic importance, there has been an urgent need for broader discourse in Sri Lanka on the impact of these developments, particularly in relation to foreign policy formulation. The unfortunate consequences of the lack of such discussion have been keenly felt in recent times, with policy being shaped in an ad hoc manner, in reaction to situations more..

July 4 (LB) The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) views all Tamil parties in Sri Lanka as partners working for the same cause and having the same objectives, and in many ways working together as any family that is doing its best under the circumstances. GTF spokesperson, Suren Surendiran said that the Tamil Diaspora should be approached for talks by Sri Lanka, because it is they who have felt insecure, been victimized, more..

July 4 (DBS) The provincial elections–the ones scheduled to be held as well as the one that isn’t—are the subject of political comment. Three are to be held ahead of schedule, resulting in a dual criticism. One is that they are untimely and the other that they serve solely the interests of the ruling bloc. In the USA, elections are held on a predictable schedule; predictable since they have been ordained, inscribed in the System. In the UK and Europe, for the most part it is not so, more..

July 4 (DBS) The perennial question posed by chauvinists, morbid racists and even moderates, who do not subscribe to the views of the other two groups, is ‘ what are the rights the Tamils are denied as against Sinhalese?’ Even I am sometimes dumb founded by such remarks as a ready answer is not available. During the tenure of President Chandrika Kumaratunga the Sinhala lobbyists said ‘we have a Tamil Chief Justice, IGP and a Foreign Minister, can anyone else, unless he is an Eelamist, more..

July 4 (ST) Another male bastion falls. For the first time ever, in 112 years, the Department of Irrigation will be headed by a woman. Engineer Badra Kamaladasa, 57, signed the book at 7.40 in the morning on Friday and reported to the Secretary of the Irrigation and Water Resources Management Ministry, Ivan de Silva, that she is taking up duties as Director-General (DG). Portraying her well-grounded values which have helped thousands of farmers across the more..

July 4 (SL) At the very inception of this column let me explain why I have apostrophized the first word in its title: it is because it has been misused more than any of the other of the terms of division in that title, denigrating groups of people deliberately and with malice. Recently, in the course of an exchange of emails, a friend inquired whether attempts were not made during the last Presidential election to identify Sarath Fonseka as belonging to the Karava caste, thereby suggesting more..

July 4 (SL) An Extraordinary Meeting of the Alumni of the Forward School for Backward Boys was on with Nodath Pandithaya in the Chair. Addressing a packed crowd of agitated parents Nodath declared: Never in the history of public examinations have students who have failed last year be deemed to have passed this year and those who had passed last year would be deemed to have failed. Needless to say in our time such things would not have happened, added Nodath. more..

July 4 (AT) In May 2008, the State voluntarily submitted that, “Sri Lanka will take measures for the effective implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution,” but so far the implementation of this important issue which would almost solve the major part of the ethnic issue in this country is yet to be implemented. Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne expressed frustration over inaction over this issue. more..

July 4 (Island) The govt has drawn heavy flak for the recent police raids on two websites affiliated to the Opposition. Anyone's right to oppose those in power and/or propagate news and views considered anti-govt must be safeguarded. After all, that is the raison d'être of the Opposition. But, it should be stressed that no one has a right to defame anyone. The SLFP, while it was in the political wilderness for 17 years from 1977 to 1994, acted in a similar manner, benefiting as it did from more..

July 4 (Scoop) In a previous article, SRI LANKA: The Supremacy of the national security apparatus, we discussed the issue of the Ministry of Defence being the most important institution in Sri Lanka, after the institution of the Executive President. This implies that the ministry is more important than the parliament and the judiciary within the new order brought about by the 1978 Constitution. Any institution has a public system of rules which defines offices and positions, with duties and rights, more..

July 4 (DM) At least 63 families have been affected due to bad weather conditions in the country during the past few days, the Disaster Management Centre said. DMC Deputy Director Lal Kumara said among the victims were families from the Gampaha, Nuwara Eliya, Colombo, Matale, Batticaloa and Kurunegala districts. It is reported that 20 houses from Gampaha, 8 from Nuwara Eliya, 3 from Colombo, 8 from Matale, 15 from Batticaloa and 34 from Kurunegala were affected by the adverse weather conditions which also more..

July 4 (CT) A person who attempted to offer a bribe to policeman after he was caught with cannabis weighing 7.5 kilograms was issued a detention order by the Thanamalwila Magistrate. The suspect was arrested by a special police team attached to the Thanamalwila police, while he was transporting cannabis hidden inside his car on Monday (2) afternoon. The suspect had offered the policemen a Rs. 30 000 bribe if they would not take legal action against him. more..

July 4 (FT) Several young politicians and professionals will next week share their key insights to positioning Sri Lanka in the global economy at a platform convened by the premier private sector lobby Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. The young leaders will include MP Vasantha Senanayake, MP (Dr.) Harsha De Silva, MP Bimal Ratnayake, MP Sunil Handunnetti, MP M.A. Sumanthiran and Udaya Gammanpila. more..

July 4 (Island) The Citizens Peace Award for 2011 of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka has been awarded to Dr Nimalka Fernando, President of the International Movement Against all Forms of Discrimination and Racism. In making this award to her, the National Peace Council considered the courage, commitment and leadership she has demonstrated in a consistent manner over a long period in working for human rights, people’s empowerment and justice for sustainable more..

July 4 (CI) Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, who remained unbeaten on 144 at the end of the fourth day in Colombo, has said Pakistan 'shifted the momentum their way' by taking late wickets. The loss of Mahela Jayawardene forced Sri Lanka to go on the defensive, he said, allowing Pakistan to regain control. "Junaid Khan bowled a pretty good spell and he made the difference at the end of the day," Sangakkara said. "By getting Mahela out … I thought that was quite an important wicket, especially with about 12 overs to go. more..

July 4 (Island) Attempts by the govt to allow those involved in the illegal importation of birds to get away would demoralise those who had done their duty by the country, Environmental Lawyer/Activist Jagath Gunawardena said. He said that law abiding people were being victimised while those who had been involved in illegal activities were going scot free. He stressed that such a move by the govt would encourage smugglers to bring in whatever they wanted. more..

July 4 (DN) It will be ideal to set up a green forest in each village under the Divi Neguma and Gama Neguma programmes, Minister Basil Rajapaksa said. He said, “We have promoted love towards forests and adopted the use of forest friendly words such as Kotuwel Kelle and Kevita in the past. In line with this tradition we hope to create a forest in each village so that future generations would stand to benefit”. He was addressing an awareness workshop on climate change organized by the UNDP for state officials more..

July 4 (DM) The special cells or “Mora Wards” in which high profile individuals serve their jail terms have now come under the surveillance of authorities after raids were carried out in prisons countrywide. Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera said these special cells would be raided regularly though for years they have not been checked. He said the prisons were usually raided to look for drugs of mobile phones but with the high tech equipment that would be purchased soon, a prisoner could be easily body searched. more..

July 4 (CT) The JVP demanded former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka to clarify his stance on the existence of military camps in the North and East. JVP politburo member K.D. Lal Kantha said this, referring to Fonseka’s recent remarks that military camps should be removed from the N&E. “Earlier, British High Commissioner John Rankin demanded the govt should take steps to remove military camps from the North, which is completely out of his mandate. more..

July 4 (GT) A major haul of weapons and ammunition belonging to the LTTE has been discovered by the Sri Lankan police in the terror group’s former stronghold of Kilinochchi. Over 250,000 rounds of live T56 bullets, over 190,000 rounds of MPMP bullets, anti-aircraft gun bullets, 81mm mortars and claymore bombs were among the cache found hidden in an abandoned water well, the Kilinochchi police said. Kilinochchi was the seat of the LTTE’s parallel administration in more..

July 4 (CI) For the first time since the IPL was inaugurated, India have had a significant break between the tournament and their subsequent international series. They will have had a break exactly as long as IPL 2012 before they play the first of five ODIs against Sri Lanka on July 21, and this has ensured players like Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag, who are prone to injury, have had sufficient time to rest and recover. All India's first-choice players are expected to be available for more..