July 20 (SL) The 23 Sri Lankan fishermen and four boats taken into custody by the Indian authorities in Andra Pradesh will only be released after being produced in court, media spokesman of the ministry of fisheries and aquatic resources Narendra Rajapaksa said. He said that there were 12 Sri Lankan fishermen and four boats in Indian custody in Tamil Nadu but since the law in that state does not require them to be produced in court, they were released earlier. more..

July 20 (NS) Ante LECO Metering Company, a joint venture between Lanka Electric Company (LECO) and Ante Meter Company of China have started manufacturing energy meters with the first batch of production completing in June, the company announced. The new digital meters will provide Sri Lanka’s electricity consumers an array of enhanced user-facilities such as remote metering, pre-paid facility, proximity meter reading and even checking energy consumption through the Internet. more..

July 20 (CT) Minister Navin Dissanayake admitted President Rajapaksa having asked him to join hands with Karu Jayasuriya if he wanted to do so. "President never asked me to leave the Cabinet, but he simply said if Karu Jayasuriya were to contest as the next Presidential candidate, I was free to go and work for him" the minister said. He added that if the President were to get rid of him, he could simply remove him more..

July 20 (ST) Standard Chartered joins hands with Sri Lanka Cricket to continue its efforts to raise funds and awareness for the SL Visually Handicapped XI and its bid at this year’s World Cup in South Africa in November. Inspired by Standard Chartered’s community investment platform addressing curable blindness globally, Seeing is Believing, the two organisations will drive three very unique fund raising activities around the current tour of South Africa – a money-can’t-buy experience, more..

July 20 (NS) UNP would ensure that all of its candidates given nominations to contest the upcoming Uva PC election were men and women of excellent character, and not ‘thugs and drug dealers,’ the party’s Leadership Council Chairman and MP Karu Jayasuriya said. Speaking further on the criteria that the party’s nomination committee, which is expected to be appointed this week, would be using to determine who was fit to contest, Jayasuriya said they would obviously look for more..

July 20 (SL) Controversy surrounds the CPC decision to bypass Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) recommendations and purchase a Rs. 4 million inferior quality undersea buoy hose, which eventually ruptured on May 23 resulting in CPC incurring a huge financial loss. As of today the demurrage charges the CPC has to bear for the three fuel vessels from May 23, June 14 and June 29 are Rs 322.1 million. more..

July 20 (SO) Several pharmacies in Colombo were found to be selling medical drugs to enhance sexual virility in men. "In our latest raid on June 17 we found four pharmacies in Pitakotte selling Sildenafil (generic term) without prescriptions. This is dangerous as it should be taken only on doctor's advice", Chief Food and Drugs Inspector, CDDRA Amith Perera said. He said the pharmacies raided were registered and the customers were mainly males in their early twenties or even younger. more..

July 20 (NS) The Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka has called for changes in the law which would give more powers to the commission. The commission has already forwarded a set of proposals to the Ministry of Justice that is now being studied by the Ministry before being sent to Parliament. Commissioner, HRCSL, Dr. Prathiba Mahanamahewa said that the current mandate only allows the HRC to submit recommendations to the respondents after investigations. more..

July 20 (NS) The allegation that doctors are being bribed by various pharmaceutical companies to prescribe their branded product is no secret. In fact, the sham which has been around for years has neither been rejected by doctors nor denied by the companies, which makes one ponder all the more. A letter dated July 8, addressed to the Minister of Health under the letterhead of the Pharma Promoters Association laid bare more..

July 20 (GDI) Fruit Crop Research and Development Centre (FCRDC) has planned for the first time to establish a Fruit Association. Fruit Crop Research and Development Centre as an initial step appointed as a first step for establishing a Fruit Association A committee under the patronage of Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena was appointed to proceed with the establishment of a Fruit Association during Gram 200 Fruit Carnival. Committee consists of 2 research officers more..

July 20 (ST) While grappling to meet revenue targets, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) is embroiled in a crisis over the appointment of the next Commissioner General. Cabinet of Ministers has requested a five-member interview board chaired by Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga to pick the new Tax Chief. It has been tasked to pick a suitable officer who could serve a minimum of three years. He or she should be selected on the basis of seniority and merit. more..

July 20 (CG) The US says it hopes the experts chosen to advise the Commission on Missing Persons can provide the assistance needed to help it meet international standards for credibility and independence. A Spokesperson at the US Embassy said US has long said it strongly supports a credible domestic Sri Lankan process to ensure meaningful national reconciliation and resolve outstanding concerns from the conflict, more..

July 20 (CG) Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe today called for a change at the next Presidential elections saying only a UNP Govt can meet the needs of the people. Speaking in Gampola today the UNP leader said that President Rajapaksa is not showing the urgency in addressing the pressing issues faced by the people. “At an election all the Govt does is come and repair roads and go,” Wickremesinghe said at a public event in the area. more..

July 20 (ST) Postal charges are to be increased from August 1 – with the normal letter postage charge going up from Rs. 5 to Rs. 10 and the business mail (20 gram) rate from Rs. 5 to Rs. 15, Post Master General Rohana Abeysinha said yesterday. He said the postal rates had been not been revised for the past six years and the Government had therefore decided to increase them now. The rates for parcel post would be increased from the Rs. 50 for 500 grams to Rs. 90. more..

July 20 (ST) Trade unions are accusing the Govt of trying to grab more taxes from employees through a gazette notification which directed that state and private sector employees receiving interest-free loans or loans at concessionary rates would be made liable to pay taxes retrospectively. In terms of the notification, employees will have to pay taxes on profit sharing schemes, govt grants, assistance and subsidies & short-term employment benefits. more..

July 20 (SO) The Govt welcomes the TNA’s undertaking to the Supreme Court that they will tender an affidavit affirming the unitary status of the country, Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva said. This means that they would recognise the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country, desisting from Eelam or separatism, he said. Asked whether the Govt would hold direct talks with the TNA, as desired by them, on evolving a solution to the Tamils’ problems, the Minister said that more..

July 20 (CT) On 8 May 2014, Sanjeewa having received a call from his mother on 4 May left his home at 164, Heenagara, Medagama, Panirendawa, with the intention of visiting his father who had been brought home after a stint in hospital. He arrived in Ampara (two kilometres from Priyangala, to Rajiwelathenna) at 6.30 p.m. Then Sunil, the owner of the cycle repair shop at which Sanjeewa works, called him at around 7.30 p.m. and inquired whether eight university friends of his could stay at more..

July 20 (ST) After resisting for almost five years, UPFA Govt has eventually capitulated to the relentless Western spearheaded international pressure to conduct a domestic inquiry into alleged war crimes during the final stages of the separatist war in May 2009. Move came this week as President Rajapaksa trained his guns on three of his ministers at their weekly meeting on Thursday. This was over their different actions. more..

July 20 (Island) There will undoubtedly be a sense of satisfaction among most that those responsible for the murder of a British national and the rape of his girl friend at a hotel in Tangalle on Christmas Eve three years ago have got their just desserts. The main accused was the Chairman of the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha and readers may remember how he was driven in a prison’s vehicle from remand custody to chair meetings of that local body. It took a long time for indictment to more..

July 20 (Island) Facing serious pressure on the Western front from the high profile UN international inquiry, the Tamil Diaspora secessionists, the international human rights movement and Western public and political opinion, SL needs a buffer zone in the world system. Japan, India and South Africa are crucial to that buffer zone. By its nativistic foreign policy/external relations (surely a paradox if not an oxymoron) the Sri Lankan govt has consistently undermined its own buffer zone. more..

July 20 (ST) A Sri Lankan diplomat who served in a foreign capital has been strongly admonished over allegations of financial misconduct. He was ordered to pay back Rs. 45 million he has helped himself after a building was bought outright to house the mission. Suspicions had earlier centred on the accountant who was involved in the transaction. He had spilled the beans to exculpate himself. The diplomat’s plea had been that more..

July 20 (ST) The Govt yesterday started repatriating at state expense Afghan nationals who had claimed asylum in Sri Lanka, the Immigration Controller said. Controller Chulananda Perera said five Afghans were ‘voluntarily repatriated’ to their own country with more to follow. However, a spokesperson at the Colombo office of the UNHRC said they were not aware of the repatriation of any arrested asylum seekers but were discussing more..

July 20 (GDI) A National Nutrition Walk and an Exhibition was held under the patronage of President Rajapaksa on Saturday. The Walk was organized by the National Nutrition Secretariat and Industrial Technology Institute in line with the national nutrition month to raise awareness among the general public on improving nutrition for better health. President Rajapaksa joined the walk at Bauddhaloka Mawatha. more..

July 20 (Island) The LSSP (Lanka Sama Samaja Party) has also agreed to discuss the proposals forwarded by the convener of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ), Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera, the party’s General Secretary, Minister Tissa Vitharana said. Asked whether the NMSJ proposals were acceptable to the LSSP politburo, he said, "We studied them and found the proposal calling for the scrapping of more..

July 20 (Island) The enjoining order against the office bearers elected at the June 28 GMOA annual election was further extended until July 24,, 2014 by Mt. Lavinia District Judge Gihan Ranawaka, when the case was taken up for hearing last week. Counsel for the defendants, Romesh de Silva, PC, sought the vacation of the enjoining order which, he said, was hampering the routine functions of the GMOA. Representing the petitioners, more..

July 20 (ST) Water safety education should be made a priority in schools, a life saving official has pointed out as drowning continues to claim more young lives especially in inland waters. On July 6, 14 year-old Sandan Praveen and 15 year-old Selvathamby Selvarani from Eravur, were among a group of friends who were blissfully collecting conch shells near Lagoon Island close to Palaminmadu lighthouse in Batticaloa, more..

July 20 (Island) The UNFPA (UN Population Fund) held a conference on the importance of investing in youth to mark World Population Day on July 11. Young people are statistically defined by the UN as being between 15 and 24 years of age. They account for 1.8 billion people in the world. Most of them live in developing countries and are still way too vulnerable, especially adolescent girls subject to forced marriage. more..

July 20 (CI) Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel bowled South Africa to only their third Test win in Sri Lanka with 16 wickets in Galle, including seven on the final day. SA's lone specialist spinner Imran Tahir went wicketless in the final innings, but that did not prevent them from wrapping up proceedings before tea to start Hashim Amla's captaincy tenure on a high in a country where they last lost an away Test series, in 2006. more..

July 20 (NS) Over one month after the unrest in Dharga Town, renovation of several buildings that were damaged are yet to commence as the GA’s Department is yet to complete its tests. The Nation team which visited the area last week noticed several buildings that were burnt during the unrest being completely unattended. GA’s Department says it had already commenced tests on its findings in the affected areas but more..

July 20 (Island) While the Sri Lankan govt officials remain tight-lipped on President Rajapaksa’s participation at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow, Scotland on July 23, pro-LTTE Tamils in the UK are busy organising a demonstration opposite the Stadium. The Tamil Youth Organisation in UK has asked Tamils to gather at Barrowfield Street, Glasgow on at 3.30pm on the day of the opening. more..

July 20 (CT) The punishment might not be commensurate with the crimes – murder and gang rape. The sentence might get commuted; there might be an outright presidential pardon; an appeal might produce a more unjust outcome. But at least for now Sampath Chandrapushpa Vidanapathirana is behind bars. True he may receive most favoured treatment in jail or spend his time comfortably in the prison hospital. But the main thing is that he was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned. more..

July 20 (Island) Elephants have earned the attention of the world community, sadly not because they are such marvelous creatures but because the fear of their extinction is looming threateningly, not due to evolutionary selection or any such natural cause but because of the utter disregard for them by human beings. Driving their decimation is desire: in Africa for ivory, most of which ends up in China, fetching $1500 a pound. We have been part of this illegal trade; a huge amount of trafficked more..

July 20 (Island) I was lucky. He didn’t have anything else in his diary for the remainder of the day. Upstairs and over a cup of tea we began. It’s been three and half years and one report. What is happening at the Public Accounts Committee? "Let me be very honest", he says. "In real democracies the PACs are not headed by the executive arm of the govt. It is always headed by by an opposition member. more..

July 20 (PTI) NDA Govt would not accept or tolerate any activity by Sri Lanka which would amount to treating Tamils there as slaves, Union Minister and senior BJP leader from TN Pon Radhakrishnan said today. The handling of Sri Lankan Tamils issue by the previous Congress-led UPA Govt was against the interests of Tamils. However, the NDA Govt was taking necessary steps, taking into account the interests and welfare of Tamils, he told reporters at the airport here. more..

July 20 (Island) Colombo Land & Development Company, owners of the Liberty Plaza in Kollupitiya, has grown revenue 20% in the year ended Dec 31, 2013 to Rs.125.5 million and posted a group profit after-tax of Rs.61.1 million, up from a loss of Rs.90 million the previous year, according to the company’s annual report. The company’s Chairman, Prof. Krishan Deheragoda, described the year under review as "exciting and eventful" in terms of the progress and accomplishment of more..

July 20 (ST) Is all-rounder Thisara Perera who opted out of the Sri Lanka ‘A’ tour of England and Ireland contemplating retirement from international cricket? Left-handed bowling all-rounder who has played six tests, 76 ODIs and 38 T-20s had been down thumbed by the selectors at national level and suddenly pulled out of the national squad during the present ODI series against South Africa citing mental stress. more..

July 20 (NS) The Education Ministry yesterday said it fully supports the efforts of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) to clamp down on errant school canteen operators as the CAA continued to carry out inspections countrywide. Education Ministry Secretary Anura Dissanayake said that while there is a canteen policy governing schools, the ministry does not have a mechanism to enforce it properly. As such, the efforts of the CAA should be appreciated, he added. more..

July 20 (Island) National Intellectuals’ and Professionals’ Organisation (NIPO) presented a book on Dengue to Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. Sinhala publication titled "Dengue, Maranaya Wenuwata Jeewithaya", covers almost all aspects of the dreaded disease including virus, mosquito, disease, treatment, control methodologies developed the world over, how other countries faced the challenge, socio-economic impact, and the reasons for the failure to control dengue. more..

July 20 (CT) A project to develop the Oluvil Harbour, carried out by the Rajapaksa Govt, has not entirely borne fruit like the govt may have originally planned. This is evident from a study conducted by the COPE in Parliament. The study conducted by COPE had revealed that ever since the improvised harbour was opened in Sept 2013, not a single ship or large trawler had entered it. Member of COPE, Ravi Karunanayake, more..

July 20 (AD) A 19-year-old Buddhist monk has committed suicide at the Godella Dhammikarama Viharaya in Aluthgama. Police said the monk had used a rope to hang himself from the ceiling fan in his room at around 11.30pm last night. Nuwara Eliye Sudewa Thero, 19, who had been residing at a temple in Walapana, Beruwala, only arrived at the Dhammikarama Viharaya last evening to attend a ‘Bakthi Gee’ programme. Police have also discovered a letter written by the monk more..