July 28 (AM) Media reports have stated that within 24 hours over 200 000 complaints have been lodged with the Facebook administration against BBS General Secretary Galagodaaththe Gnanasara thera and Minister Champika Ranawaka. A majority of these complaints have been lodged from the Asian region and a collection of 5 Million complaints have been lodged against the BBS fan page. Commenting on this incident Gnanasara thera told media that the BBS has recently come to knowledge of more..

July 28 (CI) After a riveting, un-Youtubeable day of cricket, South Africa are back at the top of the Test rankings. The settings were dramatic - leaden skies for most of the day, four or more men poised round the bat, the indefatigable spinners rifling through their overs and some of the world's most flamboyant batsmen in the middle. And the batsmen dead-batted virtually everything to hang on for the draw that they were seemingly more..

July 28 (Island) Nittambuwa police have decided to felicitate and present mementos to members of the pubic responsible for apprehending four members of a robber gang who entered a jewellery shop in the area on July 23. When the robbers got inside the shop its owner had slipped away through the backdoor after locking the doors and alerted the neighbours. They surrounded the shop and caught two members of the gang who were trapped inside and handed them over to the police. more..

July 28 (CG) Britain today urged Sri Lanka to respect differences of faith or opinion as Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr. The British High Commissioner to Colombo John Rankin, in a message to mark Eid-ul-Fitr, said that it is a time of celebration, marking the end of a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and charity – all of which embodies the true spirit of Islam. “I hope that the people of Sri Lanka will come together at this time of celebration, respecting differences of faith or opinion,” he said. more..

July 28 (CG) The United States says it is deeply concerned by the circumstances surrounding the cancellation of a journalism training session in Colombo over the weekend. The eventual cancellation of this training, which was focused on digital security for Jaffna-based journalists and financially supported by the U.S. govt, was accompanied by a series of threats and intimidation of training participants and other journalists more..

July 28 (GDI) We had our own traditional medicine system which has proven its own capability of healing diseases throughout the history. It’s the bitter truth that the aforesaid medicine system is going to be disappeared with many reasons. Therefore, we must look forward to refine and protect that system with the corporation of respective authorities and responsible schools for the future generation. I’m pretty sure that this occasion will be an effective platform for more..

July 28 (GDI) World Chancellors and Vice Chancellors Congress at Mumbai, India has recently recognized 'the strategic and iconic position' of Major General Milinda Peiris, Vice Chancellor, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) by presenting the 'Award for Outstanding Contribution To Education'. The award was in recognition of the strategic and iconic position, occupied by Major General Milinda Peiris in the fraternity of Vice Chancellors as an more..

July 28 (ICRC) After nearly a decade, the ICRC is phasing out its support to the Jaffna Jaipur Centre for Disability Rehabilitation. Felix Trottman, an ortho-prosthetist who has worked for the ICRC’s Physical Rehabilitation Programme in various contexts since 1990, reflects on the expertise he has provided to the country’s disability programme, in particular to the Jaffna Jaipur Centre. Q: Jaffna Jaipur Centre for Disability more..

July 28 (Island) Finding of a piece of coal from a layer of Sigiriya frescoes has kindled hopes among archaeologists that it could help them find answers to many hitherto unsolved mysteries of the ancient marvel. Director General of the Department of Archaeology Dr Senarath Dissanayake said that they were considering the option of sending the piece of coal for carbon dating abroad so that it could produce scientific data to determine the time period the frescoes belonged to. more..

July 28 (Xinhua) A Chinese company engaged in one of the largest projects in Sri Lanka has organized an all-island art competition in the country involving over 200 students. China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) launched the activity called "Better Tomorrow" in an attempt to promote its corporate social responsibility. The final 50 students displayed their talents at a ceremony on Saturday, painting on reusable bags that were handmade by women in southern Sri Lanka, more..

July 28 (AM) UPFA has still not responded to the 12 proposals presented by NFF Leader Wimal Weerawansa on strengthening good governance and economic development in the country. Weerawansa, while presenting the proposals said that the NFF’s support to the govt would rely on the govt’s response to the proposals. Ruling party appointed a committee headed by Ministers Basil Rajapaksa and Dullas more..

July 28 (AAP) Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says most of the 157 asylum seekers brought to the Australian mainland are economic migrants, and Indian officials are preparing to establish their identities. The asylum seekers, who were detained at sea on a Customs ship for weeks, are now at the Curtin detention centre in Western Australia after being flown from Cocos Island on Sunday. They are now undergoing initial checks and assessments. Consular officials from India, more..

July 28 (AM) Leader of JVP Anura Kumara Disanayake was admitted to Ratnapura Hospital after meeting with an accident. The accident had taken place at Holipitiya on Ratnapura-Panadura road at 1 pm today. JVP leader’s vehicle had collided with a truck that was transporting sand. Hospital sources said that the JVP Leader had complained of a minor chest pain following the accident. However the doctors confirmed that his condition was not critical. more..

July 28 (C2H) A southside convenience store clerk turned the tables on a pair of accused robbers on July 10 on South Wayside near Interstate 45. Mayura Dissanyake works at a Fuel Depot, but he's also a semi-professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was behind the counter when he noticed his co-worker returning to the store after a run to the bank. Dissanyake saw two men jump out of an SUV and attack his co-worker. more..

July 28 (SM) A southside convenience store clerk turned the tables on a pair of accused robbers on July 10 on South Wayside near Interstate 45. Mayura Dissanyake works at a Fuel Depot, but he's also a semi-professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was behind the counter when he noticed his co-worker returning to the store after a run to the bank. Dissanyake saw two men jump out of an SUV and attack his co-worker. They were trying to grab the bank bag he was carrying. more..

July 28 (DM) Supreme Court today reserved its order for July 30 on the fundamental rights petition filed by Northern Province Chief Secretary challenging CM C.V. Wigneswaran. The petition which alleged interference with her employment and his bid to remove her from office came up before the Bench comprising CJ Mohan Peiris, Justices Rohini Marasinghe and B.P. Aluwihare. When the case was resumed today, the SC observed that the right to appoint or remove the NP Chief Secretary more..

July 28 (CG) Japan says President Rajapaksa’s visit to Japan in March of last year and discussions between the President and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe made it possible for the two countries to renew their relations with each other and work towards further strengthening those bilateral ties. Views were expressed when Japan’s State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kazuyoshi Akaba called on President more..

July 29 (ST) If the Ceylon Petroleum Corporations’ top officials successfully managed to foil all attempts by the visiting UNP fact finding parliamentary team to enter its oil refinery at Sapugaskanda on July 17 and make any important discovery embedded therein, they succeeded even more in displaying to the entire nation the complete absence of transparency in the running of govt institutions. From the very top, from the office of the chairman of the corporation itself came the blunt negative more..

July 29 (CT) I was privileged last month to attend the Oslo Forum, an annual gathering of those engaged in mediation and conflict resolution. I had been invited, along with Mr Sumanthiran, to debate on whether it was correct to talk to extremists. The concept paper referred in some detail to recent developments in Nigeria and Afghanistan, but we were in fact the only participants in the debate from a country which had recently been in grave danger from extremists. more..

July 29 (SO) Like in the present era, the govt that was in power in 1955 had wanted to create an industry to usher in economic prosperity to the North East. Looking at the resources available the then govt decided to construct a paper mill since there was an abundance of saw dust available. Putting this thought into deed, the country’s first paper factory which was established in 1955 was commissioned for commercial more..

July 29 (GV) If the Rajapaksa administration wanted to mislead and confuse the mainstream opposition and lead it to an electoral dead-end, it could hardly do better than the opposition has itself done, and done unto itself. The main Opposition candidate remains Ranil Wickremesinghe who has no rural resonance. As Mervyn de Silva wrote, “the road to Temple Trees runs through the paddy fields”. Meanwhile there is the project of a common opposition candidate on the single issue more..

July 29 (CT) The feud between Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem and the govt top brass first started at the time when a section of the ruling coalition launched a battle against the halal certification some time ago. Hakeem incurred the wrath of the govt hierarchy when he took steps to make representations to the Heads of Muslim nations in West Asia instead of making any effort to get the issue resolved in consultation with the authorities here. Differences between Minister Hakeem more..

July 29 (CT) Sri Lanka's boatbuilding capability for international markets will be further showcased when the Boat Show and Fisheries Exhibition 2014 will be held at the Dickowita Fisheries Harbour from 10-12 October. Also coinciding with this event will be the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA) regional parley, which will be held at the Pegasus Reef Hotel, also from 10-12 October. more..

July 29 (ST) For most of the post-war years, the Rajapaksa Govt’s actions have been informed by a strange and intensely contradictory mixture of the classic classroom bully as well as its exact opposite, the sniveling skinny kid who gets picked on in the playground. So on the one hand, it blustered and roared to the world that its handling of the Wanni war was beyond reproach. Unbelievably we were told very early on that there were ‘zero’ civilian casualties. more..

July 29 (CT) Yet another election is looming ahead. The Uva PC has been dissolved and nominations for the forthcoming elections have been announced. Twenty years’ scourge needs to be eradicated and it should be done now, not next year or year after, let’s show that the people of this country are sick and tired of this corrupt and incompetent Familiocracy, that we are distressed and despaired that unless and until this unbelievably fraudulent administration that is prowling in the dark for more..

July 29 (DNA) BJP-led govt of PM Narendra Modi seems determined to press the reset button on India’s policy towards Sri Lanka. Equally perceptible is the displeasure of the Dravidian parties from the ruling AIADMK to the DMK as well as the Kazhagams that constitute the BJP’s NDA in the state. Although it is certain that a re-set of bilateral ties is underway, there is no clarity on the emerging policy outline and its direction. more..

July 29 (Island) The disruption of two media training programmes for Tamil journalists from the former war zones of the North in quick order makes it appear that they have become a target for suppression. In the space of less than six weeks there have been at least two attempts to prevent Tamil journalists from interacting with the larger civil society, to share their experiences and to benefit from the latest advances in methods of news investigation and dissemination. more..

July 29 (Island) Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena is believed to have won the hearts and minds of women, especially mothers and wives, with his sustained campaign against alcohol and smoking. He has, to his credit, adopted some measures to prevent sexual harassment in the public health sector, we are told. He also generously appreciates women’s contribution to national development. But, he is said to have made a strange wish. At a recent meeting of female SLFP members, he has, more..

July 29 (CI) Traditions are the ties that connect groups of people even when individuals change. It is also how sports teams define a philosophy. An hour-and-a-half after play in Colombo, once the presentation, media engagements and autograph signing was done, the South Africa team walked down the changeroom stairs to applause from a small group of people still hanging around. more..

July 29 (CI) The day the Netherlands lift the football World Cup, Sergio Garcia triumphs in a golf major or David Ferrer is crowned Grand Slam champion, they will have a supporter in all of us. All three have been top competitors for significant periods but have not pushed on to the big prize. When they do, we will acknowledge that this time, after all that trying, they 'deserved' it. Deserve - To earn something; to have a claim over it; to warrant calling it your own. In sport, we often use word 'deserve' incorrectly more..

July 29 (FT) The Commercial Bank yesterday announced the appointment of Dharma Dheerasinghe and Preethi Jayawardena as Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the bank, effective 29 July. Dheerasinghe, formerly Deputy Chairman of the Bank, succeeds Dinesh Weerakkody on the latter’s retirement after two-and-a-half years as Chairman. An eminent economist with a distinguished career of over 40 years in the banking industry, Dharma Dheerasinghe more..

July 29 (CI) Sports teams like to make clean breaks from bad results - to forget failure and renew focus on the future. But as in life, mistakes have clear consequences in cricket. As he reflected on Sri Lanka's series loss, it was the poor outing in Galle that Angelo Mathews kept returning to. 1-0 lead that South Africa had won there allowed the visitors to pull the shutters down and pursue a draw at SSC from as early as the 2nd day. more..

July 29 (CT) The Sri Lanka tourism industry is threatened by the over dependence on destination management companies, shortage of skilled labour and minimum room rates. International market research firm, Amba, said that Sri Lanka was lagging behind Asia, and was facing threats of losing competitiveness due to the minimum room rate. In 2012 Sri Lanka received more than 1 million tourists, whilst competitor nations such as Philippines recorded 4.3 million tourist arrivals, more..

July 29 (CI) 2: Number of Test series won by South Africa in Sri Lanka. Monday's draw secured South Africa their second series win in five visits to the country. The only other time South Africa won here was in the first ever series between the teams in 1993, when the hosts were beaten 0-1. 541: Deliveries that Hashim Amla faced in the match, which is the fourth highest a South Africa batsman has ever faced in a Test. Given that Amla was required to anchor South Africa's first innings more..

July 29 (FT) CodeGen International, an innovative IT company catering to the global travel tourism industry software solution market, ceremoniously opened its 30,000sqft modern office premises at the Trace Expert City Colombo. The launch was held under the patronage of Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa, UDA Chairman Nimal Perera, dignitaries from the SL Army and the management of CodeGen. more..

July 29 (FT) Senior Japanese Vice Minister of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry [METI] Kazuyoshi Akaba, who is heading a senior delegation to Sri Lanka, called on Minister Basil Rajapaksa yesterday. Following a warm welcome, matters of mutual interests and future development programs were discussed during the meeting between Rajapaksa and Japanese envoy. The key objectives of the visit are to enhance commercial activity between the two countries, more..

July 29 (DN) Cuba has been able to stand on its own feet by successfully overcoming the challenges posed by various inimical countries after the “Moncada Attack” 61 years ago, setting an example to the whole world, said Minister Dinesh Gunawardena yesterday. He said that when the country was freed from the Batista dictatorship, which allowed the imperialists to destroy the country’s resources, 36 percent of the population was illiterate, unemployment rate was 34% more..

July 29 (DM) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials held a discussion on Saturday to considerably increase the SLC money they are going to distribute among their own clubs while National chief selector and cricket legend Sanath Jayasuriya has commended the earlier money disbursement plan drawn up by SLC President Jayantha Dharmadasa saying it would provide a strong foundation to nurture the game in Sri Lanka. more..

July 29 (Island) SLASSCOM ,the IT and Knowledge Services Industry Trade Chamber in Sri Lanka launched its first ever IT/BPM Industry Review at a simple ceremony held under the patronage of Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Planning and Treasury Secretary, Dr. P. B. Jayasundera recently. Welcoming the audience SLASSCOM Chairman, Jayantha de Silva said that the industry with strong support of the government has shown tremendous growth in the last few years from more..

July 29 (DN) The so-called UN 'probe' is only a big show. This is because the whole world knows that the conclusion and the report are already prepared and ready, Minister Dilan Perera said. He said what V Prabhakaran could not do through terrorism, Navaneetham Pillai was trying to do in other ways. "We have to completely ignore this one sided probe and we have to use our own mechanisms. This is the only way to defeat Navaneetham Pillai's efforts to make Prabhakaran's dreams a reality," more..