Oct 17 (GN) A visitor who assaulted a driver at the latter’s home before pulling a knife and chasing him into the street has been jailed for one year. The Dubai Court of First Instance found P.K, 37, a Sri Lankan national, guilty of assaulting his 42-year-old countryman V.V. with a stick and threatening to slit the latter’s throat with a knife. Prosecutors charged P.K. with assaulting V.V. with a piece of wood and causing him 10% permanent disability. He was also charged with holding a knife against V.V’s more..

Oct 17 (SLN) Sri Lanka Navy arrested 35 persons illegally bound for Australia in a multi-day trawler in the early hours of 17th October 2012. The trawler named “Isuru Putha” was intercepted by a Fast Naval Patrol Craft attached to the Southern Naval Command off Gandara seas. All the arrested persons are Sinhalese who reside in Gandara and Dondra. They were brought to Galle Harbour to be handed over to the CID for further investigations.

Oct 17 (DM) Both SLC and ICC were aware of the approaches made by an Indian caller to umpires of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) to fix matches much before the Indian TV sting exposed the issue last week. SLC Umpires Committee chairman A.R.M. Aroos said that Sri Lanka’s International panel umpire Tyron Wijewardene had received a telephone call from an unknown Indian party before he was to officiate in the first SLPL semi-final more..

Oct 17 (PTI) Sri Lankan military today praised India for providing "excellent" training to its personnel in spite of opposition from the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa over the programme. "Training provided by India for our troops is excellent. It helps them to maintain high standards of professionalism with modern training methods," Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya said. He said the number of security personnel from Sri Lanka receiving training in India had seen an increase this year and more..

Oct 17 (DM) The JVP is planning to lodge a complaint with the Bribery Commission against former Chief Minister of the North Central Provincial Council, Berty Premalal Dissanayake regarding the alleged swindling of Rs.110 million meant for the development of 67 irrigation tanks in Anuradhapura. North Central Provincial Council JVP member Wasantha Samarasinghe said that the Presidential Investigation Unit (PIU) that conducted investigations into this more..

Oct 17 (BBC) When Sri Lanka's long civil came to an end in 2009, the town of Puthukudiyiruppu was left with a grim legacy. Landmines and other unexploded devices lie behind every tree, in every ditch, in houses, churches and temples. Many were randomly scattered by Tamil Tiger rebels in the final months before their defeat. Both the rebels and the army made extensive use of Pakistani-made P4 mines, which can take the foot off someone unfortunate enough to step on them. more..

Oct 17 (DM) The UNP lashed out at its Gampaha District MP Karu Jayasuriya yesterday and asked him not to bring the party into disrepute. In a strongly worded three-page letter addressed to Mr. Jayasuriya, UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said that there would not be a future for him (Mr. Jayasuriya) in the party unless he respected the party leadership and the collective decisions of the Working Committee. There is a difference of opinion between more..

Oct 17 (BT) In Karan's recurring nightmare, a great wave sweeps his teenage children overboard and he watches as they drown. He knows he should dive in after them, but he feels paralysed and all he can do is fumble with the straps and buckles of his life vest in a vain attempt to secure it. Before he can rescue them, he is awake and drenched in perspiration. Karan's eyes moisten as he recalls his nightmare. Thankfully, his children are alive and well and never even came close to drowning, more..

Oct 17 (IANS) Sri Lanka’s main Tamil political party says it feels cheated by Colombo over its failure to grant meaningful autonomy to Tamil areas in the island nation. A delegation of the TNA did some plain speaking when it met Indian officials late last week. According to the delegation, the Sri Lankan govt’s insincerity was evident in the way it was telling the TNA to present its views on autonomy and related issues to more..

Oct 18 (NS) He has a remedy. “The India of my dreams, though technologically keeping pace with the world and economically sound and self-sustaining, will be only an India of clay and mind if the foundations are not built a human character and honesty sustained by education which nurtures the human personality in its true sense”. Describing the nature of the elective process he says, “Today elections in India - and I have said this through the length and breadth of the country more..

Oct 18 (NS) We have to be thankful to the Supreme Court for their determination on the proposed “Divineguma Bill”. It exposed further inherent dangers of the 13th Amendment other than police and land powers. If only the Supreme Court had in 1987 taken such a stand when this draconian Amendment forced on us by India that it required the approval of the whole country through a Referendum, we may not have been in this pass today. The Supreme Court took a similar more..

Oct 18 (DM) Symbolically the bloom has faded away from the national flower (“Nil Manel”), which grows in the mud in shallow waters. Beside sits Sri Lanka, stranded in such sludge in troubled waters. Rajapakse pulled a patriotic genie out of an iron helmet during the war but it’s fast becoming a fading gnome - unless an intense heart massage can revive the spirit of patriotism, which is the last trump in his pack of card tricks. more..

Oct 18 (DBS) The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) views with very serious concern the appearance of posters in Sinhala on Monday, 15th October 2012 in the environs of Colombo, the English translation of the text of which states: “Let us save the pro-people Divineguma Act that builds the lives of fifteen lakhs of low income families from the Paikiasothy gang that aids and abets the separation of the country.” The chilling import of more..

Oct 18 (DBS) From Zimbabwe, not the safest of places by all accounts, especially for women, we hear of an interesting and unusual story of a private security firm headed by a woman. Securico was started in 1999 by Divine Ndhlukula. It is currently one of Zimbabwe’s top three security companies. The firm started out just providing guards, but today has branched out into supplying alarm systems, rapid response teams, CCTV and undercover investigations. Now that Zimbabwe has dollarised its economy, more..

Oct 18 (CT) Is there a deeper problem at the heart of this society apart from its Government (according to some) and western conspiracies (according to others)? If there is a deeper set of causes will we ever identify them as a society? In this country where there are many Buddhists we must ask if there are Buddhist ways of looking at these problems. Since Buddhism ought to be a democratic and not authoritarian religion there must be many Buddhist ways of doing this. more..

Oct 18 (CT) President Mahinda Rajapaksa, addressing the first Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit in Kuwait, outlined his vision for the region in the following terms: ‘This continent of Asia cannot be the playground of other forces, who seek our wealth, our assets of nature and human resources. Our progress must draw from the best of our own cultures and while learning from the best of others who come with genuine friendship. We are seeing the dawn of the Age of Asia. more..

Oct 18 (CT) It overtly appears innocuous; just to create a Department called Divineguma Development. But it intends to amalgamate three authorities and not departments. The authorities are Samurdhi, Southern Development and Udarata (up-country) Development. This is not the way the govt departments are usually created. For example, in 1955, the Department of Elections was more..

Oct 18 (Island) UNP rebels' repeated appeals that they be permitted to attend today's political rally at Hyde Park have fallen on the stony deaf ears of the party leadership which views the event as an attempt to re-launch Gen. Sarath Fonseka's political career. The JVP, too, will not attend it, we are told. Both the UNP and the JVP have ditched Gen. Fonseka. They have apparently done to him what they think he would have done to them if he had won the presidency in 2010. more..

Oct 18 (ST) Corruption not only results in underperforming economies, especially in developing countries, but it is also a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and development efforts, according to Sri Lankan public interest activist and main corruption-buster Nihal Sri Ameresekere. He made these comments as a part of a presentation entitled “On Corruption & Integrity; Codes of Conduct & Enforcement”, at the annual conference of the International Association of more..

Oct 18 (FT) ‘The Ray’ award, a lifetime award for innovation given in memory of the late Ray Wijewardene was won by inventor Indresri Karunathilaka yesterday. The award was presented by the Ray Wijewardene Charitable Trust (RWCT) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission and support of the Commercial Bank. Senior Minister of Scientific Affairs Prof. Tissa Vitarana was the Chief Guest. Karunathilaka more..

Oct 18 (FT) Warning that the forthcoming 2013 Budget will impose severe hardships on people already battered by bad governance, UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake yesterday renewed his call for a united Opposition to salvage the deteriorating nation. This appeal came via a statement issued by Karunanayake. Following are excerpts: In just over three weeks, the UPFA Govt will present its next Budget. For most Sri Lankans, this is an event they look forward to with anticipation but more..

Oct 18 (Island) In a brief span of four years, St. Eugene’s Trophy inter-club basketball tournament has enjoyed unprecedented success and this year the organizers have promised an even better show as the event is scheduled on the 26th, 27th and 28th of October at Police Park basketball courts at Bambalapitiya. Four years ago when St. Eugene’s Basketball tournament was initiated, many observers felt that this was going to be yet another five-a-side basketball tournament but more..

Oct 18 (Island) A new study shows that the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) has helped narrow the trade gap between the two South Asian neighbours in favour of Sri Lanka while attracting more Indian investments into the country. "An FTA in the region that has experienced significant benefits of trade creation for both parties involved is the FTA between India and Sri Lanka, which was an early experiment towards more..

Oct 18 (Island) Taking a further step to facilitate the corporate clients in settling their EPF payments, Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and Bank of Ceylon (BOC) signed an Agreement to provide "BOC on-line Payment Facility" at Central Bank of Sri Lanka on September 13, 2012. BOC & CBSL have developed this system , in order to facilitate employers to make their monthly EPF payments and to send the member details electronically. Accordingly, employers can make their EPF more..

Oct 18 (DN) Transport Minister Kumara Welgama said seven new power sets (S12) imported from China recently will operate on the Upcountry Line. The seven power-sets consist of one luxury carriage, three class two and four class three carriages,in addition to a restaurant, adjustable seats and facilities to dump litter. Minister Welgama participating in a test run of new power set (S.12) from Colombo Fort to Badulla said SLR has ordered 13 high tech power sets from China under more..

Oct 18 (Island) The FUTA is unhappy with the Higher Education Ministry’s decision to commence the leadership training programme, for university freshers, on Nov. 15 without consulting the faculty boards and the university senates. FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri said that according to the assurance given by the Minister Basil Rajapaksa for them to end the recent strike, the higher education authorities would more..

Oct 18 (AT) Sri Lanka’s ‘Bodu Bala Sena’ organization (Buddhists Power Force) – a Buddhists group led also by Buddhists monks that fight against anti-fundamental conversion groups said it will continue to carry its activities to safeguard the religious interest of people who are Buddhists and will not let other fundamental groups to convert Buddhists in the country. Earlier Asian Tribune reported that Bodu Bala Sena had caught more..

Oct 18 (IC) When Mahela Jayawardene announced that he was stepping down as captain of Sri Lanka's Twenty20 side, after losing the final of the Twenty20 World Cup earlier this month, both the media and the fans seemed to accept it without much of a fuss. Many consider Jayawardene to be the best Sri Lankan captain ever, but at the same time, Sri Lanka needed to move on. The Twenty20 format is an excellent platform to give upcoming players exposure, and it would suit more..

Oct 18 (DN) The implementation of the Urban Transport System Development project for the Colombo Metropolitan Region and suburbs (COMTrans) will result in the rapid development in urban goods and passenger transport sector in Colombo city and the suburbs, Transport Minister Kumara Welgama said. He was addressing a workshop for creating an awareness among key stakeholder agencies about the more..

Oct 18 (TT) The stink is rising in Sri Lanka. Already in the eye of the storm for its human rights abuses during the 2009 war against the Tamil rebels, the Mahinda Rajapaksa govt is now facing a fresh battery of charges for its indiscretions, but this time from the country’s judiciary. The recent assault of the secretary of the judicial service commission, apparently by thugs, has brought matters to a head. But even before the incident, the judiciary was seething over the unwarranted intrusion of more..

Oct 18 (Island) The GMOA’s Colombo District Branch called off the strike it launched last morning by 4.00 p.m. but gave Provincial Health Director Dr. Amal Harsha de Silva and to the Western Province Govenor Alavi Moulana 48 hours to issue an impartial report on the assault of Lunawa district Hospital DMO Dr. A.Chandrapala and his wife on Sept 9 by a nurse and her husband. The GMOA Colombo branch Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge said that on Sept 9, a nurse attached to more..

Oct 18 (Island) More than 1,000 private buses, in the Western Province were scheduled to launch a 24-hour strike from midnight yesterday demanding that Western Province Transport Minister Upali Kodikara be removed. The routes on which the private buses will go on strike are Avisswella–Pettah (122) Ihalabope–Maharagama (124), Padukka–Pettah (125), Ingiriya–Pettah (125), Maharagama–Pettah (138), Homagama–Pettah (138), more..

Oct 18 (CT) The General Secretary of the Movement to Protect UNP and its Trade Unions Lal Perera announced that his movement would take the UNPers to the streets if the party prevents members from participating at the rally to be held in Hydepark today. He said that the UNP was trying to mislead the people by saying that the rally was arranged to create a new political party. Lal Perera said that there was no such move and the rally had been organized by Buddhist monks to urge the more..

Oct 18 (Island) Sri Lanka’s National Pastry team excelled at the recent Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt winning the National Pastry team award with six golds. The golds shared by Sri Lanka’s young culinary wizard Dimuthu Kumarasinghe and his apprentice Srimal Kulatunge. Sri Lanka also won a silver at the Regional Event competing with 54 countries. Kumarasinghe also holds the world record for the highest number of individual golds at both Culinary Olympics and more..

Oct 18 (CT) The Ministry of Education has come forward to prohibit classes, seminars, and lectures a week before major State exams and the ban on last minute revision classes before the exams will come into effect from the O/L exam this year according to Minister of Education, Bandula Gunawardena. He said that tuition classes distributing model papers and past question papers of examinations and seminars organized by tuition masters cannot be conducted when more..

Oct 18 (DM) Police are checking out more than 600,000 telephone calls in an effort to trace the suspects involved in the attack on Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Secretary Manjula Tillekaratne, the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) informed Court yesterday. The case was taken up for hearing by Mount Lavinia Chief Magistrate Nirosha Fernando. Filing a report on the attack and the theft of the JSC Secretary’s mobile phone worth Rs.40,000 CCD ASP Dharmadasa Pathirana said the more..

Oct 18 (Island) UNP MP Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena has urged Health Secretary Dr. Nihal jayatillake to take tangible action to implement a National Health Policy in the wake of the recent controversy over Corex and Corex D syrup. He said that the temporary suspension of Corex and Corex D syrup, following the deaths of six young men, due to the excessive consumption wouldn’t be sufficient to tackle the problem. He has also requested more..

Oct 18 (Island) Sri Lanka will have its first partly owned satellite in the space soon. A private company, SupremeSAT, has taken every possible step to make this a reality and is expected to deploy the first Sri Lankan satellite at 87.5E, in the Geo-Stationary orbit, on November 22 from Xi-Chang in China. Addressing the media yesterday, to break the news of this novel joint venture, Chairman of the SupremeSAT (Pvt) Ltd., R.M. Manivannan more..

Oct 18 (DN) The “Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards” is a regional recognition programme for outstanding entrepreneurs across Asia. It is also a platform for Asian business leaders and entrepreneurs to network, share information and form lifetime acquaintances and alliances. There are 14 ASEAN nations in this programme. Sri Lanka was invited to join the elite group from 2012. Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards 2013 will be held in Sri Lanka for the second consecutive year on more..