June 30 (TOI) He believes in action rather than talks, and his batting has done it for him in international cricket. That's Sanath Jaysuriya, the legendary Sri Lankan cricketer for you. With an exceptionally great cricket career both in the test cricket and ODIs, Sanath has been a hot favourite of T20 cricket as well. And if that wasn't enough, he has been juggling between cricket and politics for two years now. more..

June 30 (CG) The nine employees of the Sri Lanka Mirror website, who were arrested yesterday, were released on police bail today. Among those arrested were journalists including women and girls. They were produced before the Hulftsdorp Magistrate this afternoon and given bail and were ordered to appear in court again on the 6th of July. Several employees of the Sri Lanka Mirror website including some journalists were arrested yesterday following a raid by the CID. more..

June 30 (CG) The United States has decided to continue with the GSP trade benefits for Sri Lanka, the US Embassy in Colombo said today. The Embassy said that United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk announced yesterday that USTR has closed the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) country practice review on worker rights in Sri Lanka without any change to Sri Lanka’s GSP trade benefits. The action follows an interagency review of a petition filed by more..

June 30 (DM) Most parents struggle and do what it takes to have children become achievers in the world. From excelling in the academic field to sports and other extracurricular activities, our attention focuses on these areas. If these are not monitored, controlled and limited, the result could be a burnout. There could be more damage than good. Our humanity was not made to take on such long-drawn pressures of performance and competition. The real need is to be creative. more..

June 30 (LT) It is reported that there exists a serious crisis within the government regarding the nominations for chief ministers portfolios in the North – Central and Eastern provincial councils. There is a three cornered struggle going on between the present chief minister for North – Central PC Berty Premalal Dissanayake, Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife S.M. Chandrasena and Minister of Health Maithripala Sirisena to get the chief minister’s post. more..

June 30 (CI) Sri Lanka ventured, but didn't gain. When they won the toss, they could have easily strapped their pads on and added to their already impressive records on the SSC sleeping beauty. However, they chose to try to exploit whatever juice there might have been in the first session and to put pressure on a batting line-up that has proved brittle on this tour. Milking rocks has proved easier. There was neither juice in the pitch nor more..

June 30 (GDI) A massive development programme is now underway in the Eastern Province and Polonnaruwa district in line with the 2013 Deyata Kirula National Exhibition. A sum of Rs.16528 million is to be allocated for the development projects in the Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa, Trincomalee & Ampara Districts parallel to Deyata Kirula 2013 National Exhibition. A preliminary discussion in this regard was held on June 28 under the patronage of Minister Basil Rajapaksa, more..

June 30 (CI) With the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka now less than three months away, this weekend's two-match Twenty20 series in Florida presents an opportunity for players fighting to be included in the squads for the tournament to present their case. For West Indies, these are their final two Twenty20 games before they head to Sri Lanka. New Zealand will play two more Twenty20s in India in the weeks leading up to their first matches in Pallekele. Both team's captains would like to see some players force their way into the squads picked for more..

June 30 (DM) The Defence Ministry said in its website that acting on a court order the CID officials, yesterday sealed an office in Rajagiriya where two websites involved in propagating false and unethical news on Sri Lanka were being operated from. It also said that “these two websites were continuously involved in publishing false and unethical news about celebrities and popular personalities, misleading the international and local communities.” more..

June 30 (DM) Sri Lanka Navy intercepted a multiday fishing trawler bound for Australia in the seas off Negambo yesterday. The trawler had 09 Sri Lankan nationals onboard who had intended to enter Australia illegally, the Navy headquarters said. Initial investigations carried out by the Navy revealed that more persons were to be taken onboard at different location for the illegal journey. The trawler was found by SLNS Fast Attack Craft with a large stock of food items, water bottles and personnel belongings more..

June 30 (NF) Farmers of the Girithale farming community engaged in a protest march yesterday morning. The protest was carried out to demand water for the paddy fields in their area. The farmers marched towards the Girithale tank from the Jayanthipura junction in Polonnaruwa. Our correspondent reported that more than one thousand farmers took part in the protest. The farmers lament that even though water was promised for farming activities at the beginning of the season, more..

June 30 (AD) The US in a statement claimed to be closely following the case of the Sri Lanka Mirror and Lankaxnews following a raid conducted by the CID yesterday in which nine persons were arrested. In a statement issued by the US Embassy in Sri Lanka, it was stated that the embassy had raised concerns regarding media suppression in the past and will continue to follow this case closely. The United States Embassy is closely following the case of more..

June 30 (PTI) The jail in the northern Sri Lankan town of Vavuniya was temporarily shut today after LTTE suspects took three prison guards hostage, officials said. P W Kodippily, the prison chief said that Vavuniya jail's 201 inmates were transferred to a jail in the north central town of Anuradhapura after police's special task force and the army jointly carried out a raid in the premises to free three jailor guards taken hostage by LTTE suspects. The LTTE suspects more..

June 30 (AD) Police last night arrested a suspect in connection with the shooting that occurred in Katuwana on June 15 following a JVP rally which claimed the lives of two people, the Police Media Spokesman’s office stated. The CID arrested the suspect along with a T-56 weapon, three T-56 magazines, 49 bullets and eight 9mm caliber bullets, police stated. Two persons including a female were killed when a group of individuals on motorbikes had opened fire at a JVP rally at Katuwana, more..

June 30 (DM) The UNP is to present a Bill outlining new policies of grade one school admissions and university selection procedures to Parliament shortly, MP Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said. Mr. Kariyawasam told a news conference yesterday that he had obtained the party’s approval to present a private members’ motion to the House. He said the policies in this Bill were carefully formulated by consulting educational experts, parents and students. more..

June 30 (DM) Graduates who are unemployed will be filing a human rights violation petition at the Supreme Court during the next fortnight as they have not been employed by the government as promised. The Combined Association of Unemployed Graduates (CAUG) yesterday said the government had been irregular in employing new graduates and there was no proper work even for those who had been employed on a temporary basis. Convener, Munasinghe said there were more..

June 30 (DN) The govt has taken urgent steps to desilt tanks which have dried up and have them ready to be filled to capacity when the rains arrive, said Minister Maitripala Sirisena. He was addressing a farmers meeting in the Polonnaruwa district recently, where he distributed water pumps and other farming equipment. The North Central Province Agriculture Ministry funded this project. Minister said the govt will implement a comprehensive programme to assist farmers more..

June 30 (NS) The breakaway group of the JVP, newly formed Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) has decided to stay clear from the upcoming provincial polls to Eastern,North Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces but engage in campaigns. FSP General Secretary, Senadheera Gunatilleke told a news conference in Colombo today that the FSP would use the opportunity to address the people during the polls period of campaign to educate the masses on the current situation in the country. more..

June 30 (NS) With applications called in by the SLFP from suitable candidates for nominations for the upcoming provincial elections to the North Central,Sabaragamuwa and East, interviews for such candidates have been fixed for July 6,SLFP sources disclosed to the The Nation a short while ago. They said the interviews will be held at the Mahaweli Center and a senior party panel appointed by party leader, President Mahinda Rajapaksa will conduct the interviews. more..

June 30 (NS) UNP MP Karu Jayasuriya has issued a statement condemning the arrest of nine staffers attached to ‘Sri Lanka Mirror’ and ‘Lanka X News’ websites and the Police raid on the building where the two web sites were operated, calling it 'a deadly blow to democracy, freedom of expression and right to information'. He points out that there has been a string of incidents where media institutions were more..

June 30 (CI) Taufeeq Umar got Pakistan rolling with meaty drives against the seamers, but the most elegant shot came off Mohammad Hafeez's bat. In need of runs, Hafeez extinguished all self-doubt with a punch through mid-off off Nuwan Pradeep, using the pace of the ball to send it to the boundary. His placement couldn't have been better. The fielder at mid-off merely turned and watched the ball race away without budging. On a flat pitch, the best hope of getting a more..

June 30 (DNA) NGOs and human rights groups on Friday demanded the shutting down of a detention camp at Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu where 28 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees have been lodged. Members of the Tamil Solidarity Campaign, May 17th Movement, PUCL - Karnataka, SICHREM, Visual Search, Pedestrian Pictures, LESBiT, New Socialist Alternative (CWI-India) and the progressive sections of Karnataka on Friday said that the Tamil Nadu Q branch police are running an illegal more..

June 30 (DM) The Jathika Hela Urumaya yesterday challenged UNP MP Wijedasa Rajapakse yesterday for a public debate on the private members bill, he is to present in the Parliament calling for the proscription of all members of the clergy from active politics in the country. JHU WPC Minister Udaya Gammanpila said his party would take on the bill head on and challenge Rajapakshe on the bill on all fronts. more..

June 30 (NS) The recent water cuts that were experienced within and around Colombo are due to renovations being made to the pipelines that supply water, and not due to water shortages, the Minister of Water Supply and Drainage, Dinesh Gunawardana, told The Nation. The old pipelines than run beneath the city and suburbs are nearly 75 years old, and are in dire need of replacement, he explained. The water cuts are planned in a way that creates the least amount more..

June 30 (CT) An innovative group of Sri Lankan youth – Team V360, has come forward with an innovative solution to help make our planet sustainable - Back2Earth. Malin De Silva, Rukshan Dangalla and Thurupathan, three students from the Faculty of Information Technology, University of Moratuwa are the masterminds behind this venture. “Decades ago, 14% of land was covered by rain forests. Today it’s merely six per cent and 0% is inevitable in 40 years. more..

June 30 (CI) Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford has said that his team got it wrong by inviting Pakistan to bat after winning the toss on the first day of the second Test at the SSC. "The score tells it very clearly that we got it wrong," said Ford at the end of the day after Pakistan had amassed 334 for 1. "The thought behind it was that there are a lot of experienced men in our group and they know this surface pretty well. more..