July 22 (AD) Police have begun investigations to apprehend a group including a Biyagama Pradeshiya Sabha member over the assault of a construction site worker in Sapugaskanda. The PS member and five others had visited a construction site on Samurdhi Mawatha in Sapugaskanda yesterday where they had demanded the construction permits from the workers. One of the bulldozer drivers had then had a heated exchange of words with the group after which he was more..

July 22 (Island) The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has launched an inquiry into a complaint by the Angunakolapelessa Magistrate that a one thousand rupee note he got from a state bank in the area was counterfeit. The Magistrate has lodged the complaint with the Homagama police after the fake note was detected at the Southern Expressway’s Kottawa exit point when the judge tendered it to pay the toll on Friday night. He was proceeding from Galle. more..

July 22 (CI) The lack of consistency in the Sri Lankan middle order has been a concern for some time and head coach Graham Ford believes it is one area they need to keep improving on to become a successful one-day side. "There have been some good moments and we have beaten some really good teams but we are not quite consistent enough," Ford said. "Sometimes we haven't finished off our batting innings more..

July 22 (CI) South Africa sunk to their second-heaviest defeat ever, in terms of runs, on Saturday, but AB de Villiers said he would seek to employ a similar strategy against Sri Lanka in the second ODI. South Africa's bowlers were largely to blame for the loss, conceding 320 for 5, and 137 in the last 12 overs, but de Villiers was particularly enamoured of the prospect of fielding two frontline spinners. Robin Peterson and Aaron Phangiso bowled only 14 overs collectively in the first match, more..

July 22 (CG) TULF leader V. Anandasangaree has been included in the list of candidates of the TNA to contest the provincial council elections in the north. According to reports from the north, Anandasangaree will contest the elections from the Killinochchi district. Anandasangaree was once a strong critic of the LTTE, even at the time when the TNA was accused of being the political voice of the LTTE. Meanwhile media reports also said that PLOTE leader Dharmalingham Sidharthan more..

July 22 (Xinhua) A British parliament delegation began a one week visit to Sri Lanka on Monday amidst concerns being raised in Britain over human rights issues in Sri Lanka. The British all party delegation will visit the north of the country which suffered the brunt of the 30 year war between the army and the Tamil Tiger rebels, British MP Simon Danczuk, who is part of the delegation, told Xinhua. He said that the delegation will also more..

July 22 (Age) It has become a depressing ritual of Australian politics that as an election approaches the two major parties compete with each other for the crudest, harshest policy on asylum seekers. The government's recently announced approach - that no one arriving by boat, regardless of origins or circumstances, will be allowed to settle in Australia - is now seen to match the opposition's unshakeable determination to return all boats to their origins. Neither side discusses the huge expense of more..

July 22 (CWN) At a recent liturgical conference in Rome, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Sri Lanka “underlined the importance of Latin in the liturgy and did this, interestingly, as the bishop of a diocese whose native language has no Latin roots,” said Dom Alcuin Reid, the conference’s principal organizer. “Yet even for such a people, he pointed out, it serves to enhance people’s connection with Christ in the liturgy.” In his keynote address, Cardinal Ranjith, the former Secretary of more..

July 22 (LT) The school children in Killinochchi, where a large number of people have been killed and eh who area has been battered by the war, have been made to fall from the pan to the hearth due to disconnection of electricity says the National Organizer of Socialist Youth Union (SYU) Bimal Rathnayaka. He also said the government is slashing allocations for education. Electricity in many of these schools in more..

July 22 (CG) The JVP says Hambantota has gone into the history books for all the wrong reasons. JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe said today that Hambantota is now known to have a port with no ships, a cricket ground with little or no cricket and an international airport with no airplanes. He said that it will not be an issue if it was not the public money that was used to build these places. “This must be punished. People are paying for this through taxes and wasting those taxes is a crime,” more..

July 22 (AD) An elderly man working at the residence of the Wattala Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman, Rathna Alwis was stabbed to death last evening police stated. The victim was the 75 year old Matara Arachchige Jayaman, a resident of Kerawalapitiya, who was employed by the PS Chairman at his residence. The PS Chairman had left his residence last night along with his wife at around 9.30pm to attend a function when Jayaman had gone to the house next door to ask for a more..

July 22 (PTI) DMK MPs will stage a protest in front of the Parliament complex on August eight pressing the Centre to boycott the CHOGM meeting in Colombo in November, insisting the implementation of 13th amendment of the Sri Lankan Constitution, among other demands. The protest would be led by DMK parliamentary leader T R Baalu, a party release said. Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) meeting more..

July 22 (TN) 16 people have died of HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka this year so far. Pregnant women in the country are being asked to take up HIV tests. It has been found that over 90 people in the country have been identified with the infection. Of the infected ones, seven are children which are suspected to have caught the disease from their mothers. Under a pilot project in 2012, 14,095 antenatal mothers were screened for HIV. Among them two tested positive. According to the figures by the National more..

July 22 (E24|7) A 23-year-old Sri Lankan woman is recovering in a govt hospital in Srinivaspur near Kolar in the southern Indian state of Karnataka after consuming poison in front of her lover’s house on Saturday. Daughter of a mason in Sri Lanka, the young woman went to Kuwait five years ago to take up work as a tailor in a garment factory. She met Pasha, a native of Srinivasapur, in Kuwait where he was a driver. Pasha promised to marry her but returned home about a year ago. more..

July 22 (MED) The Govt has taken steps to provide rural schools with all facilities available in urban schools to prevent rural children from trying to seek admission in city schools. Accordingly 1000 secondary schools and 5000 primary schools island-wide have been developed to make them popular schools. Minister Basil Rajapaksa made the above observation when he opened the Yasabhimani 2013 Exhibition more..

July 22 (CT) The electoral organizer of the UNP Thushara Hemachandra has been arrested for allegedly assaulting and biting the nose of an individual at a hotel in the Attanagalla area last evening, the Police said. UNPer Thushara Hemachandra had assaulted and bitten the nose of an employee of the SLBC during a dispute at a wedding function held at the hotel. The assaulted victim was admitted to the Wathupitiwala Hospital following the incident. more..

July 22 (ST) Two Sri Lankans domiciled in Germany and France, led a gang in Vavuniya to secretly collect and transmit credit card data of Vavuniya residents, to duplicate those credit cards, CID investigations revealed. The breakthrough came following a complaint to the CID last month by a private bank in Vavuniya, that some of its customers had claimed unauthorised withdrawals against their credit cards. An analysis of the CCTV camera footage revealed that at least two persons more..

July 22 (MED) Minister Basil Rajapaksa said recently that the govt had taken steps to provide every graduate with an opportunity to find a job according to his / her qualifications without having to go behind various people to find employment. The govt is spending massive amounts annually for free education under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s leadership, according to the Minister. He was addressing those who attended more..

July 22 (CT) Fifteen foreigners who have been staying in Sri Lanka without valid visas have been taken into custody in raids conducted in Kandy and Matale, by the Intelligence Unit of the Department of Immigration and Emigration, in the past week. Certain foreigners who have been surreptitiously staying in Sri Lanka have actually been engaged in covert operations against the govt or ensconced with several international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in shady activities, more..

July 22 (CT) The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said the recent tariff increase for electricity has enabled the Board to pay its debts in instalments and to buy fuel on a day-to-day basis for its operation. Reportedly, the CEB, consequent to an ultimatum given by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), stating ‘no fuel without cash’ is paying up its fuel bills on a daily basis beginning last month. Additional General Manager, CEB, Bandula Thilakasena, told Ceylon Today, more..

July 22 (DM) The UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake speaks to Daily Mirror about the ongoing political scenario of the country. Having served as a MP for 19 years he also expressed his views regarding the controversies which have arisen within the opposition. Q: The UNP has been quite silent about the 13th Amendment. What is the party’s stance on this hot topic? A: We brought the 13th Amendment in. Now we believe from more..

July 22 (ST) Nayana Karunaratne, member of the Board of Governors and a Trustee of the NGO “Sri Lanka Unites”, recently conducted a day’s training programme for 50 young unemployed women and students in the Mullaitivu district. Being a region where unemployment is high, Ms. Karunaratne’s Image Academy of Hair and Beauty (IHB) company targeted these women to introduce the beauty and hairdressing skills to check the interest and the talent available to further training. more..

July 22 (GDI) Young people from four Commonwealth Pacific countries have completed a one week Training of Trainers’ course in human rights and democracy. The training conducted by the Commonwealth Secretariat’s human rights and youth affairs programmes took place in Port Vila, Vanuatu from 8 to 12 July 2013 and drew twenty-four participants from Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Fiji Islands. Speaking at the closing of the training, Vanuatu’s more..

July 23 (NS) In her reply dated 14th July 2013, Dr Angela de Silva has stated that she gave a telephone interview after a meeting with the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) Subcommittee for Non Communicable Diseases NCDs in late March/April 2013. This implies that that the above activity was an official task of the SLMA NCD subcommittee. The original article titled ‘Anlene’s calcium myth’ based on a number of interviews including that of Dr Angela’s has been more..

July 23 (NS) Controversy surrounding the film ‘Flying Fish’ (Igillena Maaluwo) continued to drag on throughout last week, with questions on whether it was ‘banned’ in Sri Lanka, and if so, on what grounds, remaining unanswered. Negative reaction to the film after it was shown at the French Film Festival, organized by the French Embassy, led to the cancellation of the entire festival last week. State media blasted the film for allegedly ‘insulting’ the country’s armed forces and more..

July 23 (SO) The necessity for alternative power generation has been felt with the increasing demand for electricity in the country. Several alternative power generation projects have been implemented including coal and wind power plants to cater to the increasing demand. The power crisis is a major issue in the world especially in Third World countries. Alternative power generation is not an easy task for poorer countries due to more..

July 23 (DBS) Perhaps the clearest test of a pluralistic outlook amongst Sri Lankans, to say nothing of basic decency too, is their response to the events of July 1983. Anyone fit to pass the test sees it as an aberration in Sri Lankan history, an outrage in which defenceless Tamils were systematically persecuted. Those who offer excuses or play down the event seem to me morally repugnant. That is why, despite his comparative efficiency and honesty, I think Ranil Wickremesinghe more..

July 23 (DBS) Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani school girl who was shot by Taliban in October 2012 when she was 15 years old for the crime of fighting for the right of Muslim girls to education and thereby defying a Taliban order that girls should not go to schools, celebrated her 16th birthday on 12 July in a way that no other girl has ever done. She did so by delivering a very powerful and inspirational speech at the UN Youth Assembly in the presence of a large number of dignitaries including more..

July 23 (ST) After touring Ampara, Galle and Jaffna, the ‘Her Stories’ exhibition returns to Colombo this week. In the exhibition are 60 of the 220 stories that were collected from Tamil, Sinhala and Muslim mothers from across the country in Moneragala and Kurunegala, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi. In each narrative the women trace the arc of their lives so far – talking about their experiences during the war and more..

July 23 (CT) Stupidity is no stranger to academia. It lurks behind reputed and respected scholarly facades and waits for the owner of the façade to lower his or her guard. Then it comes out, so brazenly and without apology that one is struck speechless. Recently I had occasion to be entranced by the outing of (the stupidities of) Dennis MCGilvray and one other, who shall remain unnamed until it’s his turn for my attentions. Though American, MCGilvray is no stranger to more..

July 23 (CT) There are in Sri Lanka two main websites which give the opportunity for members of the reading public to participate in debate. Both publish high quality articles by distinguished contributors which shed light on many issues relating to Sri Lanka. Very often, great enlightenment is to be gained from a reading of the exchanges in the comment threads. Commenters are allowed to participate using pseudonyms. Many claim that they must use false names more..

July 23 (CT) Many people buying the newspaper on a daily basis or on a Sunday may do so at a newspaper vendor by the road. With a variety of newspapers to choose from, one could either place their order to reserve a copy for themselves or walk up to one in the morning and pick up their copy. Seventy-four-year-old David Silva is one such newspaper vendor. If you look beyond his cover, however, you will realize his amazing life as more..

July 23 (ST) Four years after the war in the North and East ended, Sri Lankans are very quickly losing rights not only relating to personal life and liberty but also basic entitlements to the very land on which they live. It is now a matter of practice for land owners to be informed that their lands are to be acquired through a single letter sent by a government ministry with minimal compensation nominated. Thereafter, use of this land may be for a variety of purposes quite different more..

July 23 (SL) The TNA having decided on the candidature of C. V. Wigneswaran, barring anything untoward – God forbid – he will be the Chief Minister of the Northern Province. Congratulations to him. Reports suggest that all constituent parties wanted Mavai Senathirajah. For anyone can walk into Senathirajah’s house expecting to be spoken to. I gratefully remember my own crisis with the LTTE when Senathirajah, joined by M.K. Sivajilingam, stood up for me and questioned the more..

July 23 (Island) Around 21 high-rise projects in Colombo with a total estimated investment of US$ 4,284 million are at various stages of planning and development. A report published by TKS Securities, ‘Colombo, a modern city in the making’, has highlighted 22 ongoing or planned high-rise mixed development, apartments, hotels, malls and office space related projects. Some of these projects include JKH’s more..

July 23 (FT) The abolition or curtailment of powers relating to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution would cause more political catastrophes and devastations compared to the holding of elections under the existing law, UNP MP Wijeyadasa Rajapakse said. Delivering the Dr. P.R. Anthonis memorial oration at Sasakawa Hall under the theme of ‘Humanity and Human Rights,’ President’s Counsel Rajapakse said though there was a serious dialogue among people as to whether the more..

July 23 (FT) Dr. Krishan Deheragoda was appointed the Chairman of Colombo Land and Development Company Plc on Friday after the incumbent Dr. Nalaka Godahewa stepped down. Previously, Deheragoda was the Deputy Chairman and Executive Director, and he also held the Chairmanship some time back. Dr. Godahewa had informed the Board he would step down to focus more on his role as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. more..

July 23 (CI) After Saturday's 180-run opening loss, South Africa captain AB de Villiers said his side would not spend time dissecting their performance, but would instead attempt to forget the match ever happened. With so many of their best players unavailable, perhaps that is not so bad a ploy. If South Africa's touring party did not seem outmatched in these conditions when they landed, they certainly do now. more..

July 23 (Island) After their 180 run defeat in the first ODI against Sri Lanka, the last thing the Proteas would want is to be told that they haven’t beaten Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in the last two decades. Proteas last ten games against the Sri Lankans here have resulted in defeat and if they need to look at a win they will have to go back to the tour of 1993 when Kepler Wessels’ side won by 124 runs at R. Premadasa Stadium. What will cheer up the Proteas is the expected return of more..