June 5 (AD) While court ordered today that the controversial reforestation company Touchwood be liquidated, the current Chief Executive Officer of the company says that they would appeal against this verdict. A group of investors had filed legal action before the Commercial High Court No. 3 claiming that Touchwood had failed to pay any dividends to its depositors and that several cheques from the company have been not honoured and hence the company be closed down. more..

June 5 (AM) TNA has decided to seek public support and the involvement of Tamil Diaspora to formulate a solution to the Tamil problem in Sri Lanka. The solution, the TNA says, would e submitted to the Parliamentary Select Committee as a written submission, although the party will not take part in its proceedings. TNA MP Suresh Premachandra said suggestions could be mailed them to tnaproposal@gmail.com . "Or else, one can visit the TNA office and present suggestions," more..

June 5 (DN) Number of families displaced by flash floods in the Kalutara, Ratnapura, Galle, Colombo and Gampaha districts have decreased to 684 by yesterday evening as the adverse weather conditions began receding. The displaced families have been provided accommodation at 21 camps in these districts. More families returned to their homes as the heavy rains experienced in many districts ceased. more..

June 5 (LT) Teachers and parents of students of Ashoka College in Colombo engaged in an agitation today protesting against the arbitrary appointment of a principal to the school by the chief minister for WPC. Principal who served the school earlier has been transferred to Mahanama College. Meanwhile, a person who was injured in the incident has been admitted to Colombo National Hospital. Among those who assaulted the agitators were supporters of certain politicians say the injured. more..

June 5 (DM) The name of veteran cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya should be removed from the name of Matara Cricket ground as Sanath Jayasuriya had led the attack on the students of the Ruhuna University, the UNP demanded today. “I will make a request to the Matara Municipal Council to change the name of Sanath Jayasuriya sports ground into its previous name St. Servasious because Deputy Minister Jayasuriya had assaulted University Students- an act unsuitable for a Minister,” more..

June 5 (AM) Sri Lanka has confirmed its fullest support to Uganda's candidature of Sam Kutesa for the President for UN General Assembly. President Rajapaksa have this assurance when he met Uganda's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Okello Oryem at the Presidential House on June 3. Sri Lanka and Uganda developed strong bilateral relations, especially after the end of Sri Lanka's civil war. more..

June 5 (Island) UNP rejected TN Chief Minister Jayalaithaa’s call for a referendum among Tamils in Sri Lanka including those currently living abroad to decide on the establishment of a separate state (Eelam). UNP MP Eran Wickremeratne told a news conference that UNP was committed to preserving the unitary status and territorial integrity of the country and there could be no compromise on that score. "We totally reject Jayalalitha’s call for the formation of a separate state in Sri Lanka. more..

June 5 (DM) Minister Keheliya Rambukwella while stating that a January 2015 Presidential election was “possible,” noted that astrologers had given different auspicious dates and the President would choose the best date. He said that President Rajapaksa was constitutionally empowered to call a Presidential election after the completion of four years of his six year tenure on Nov 19 and therefore he has the prerogative to call a Presidential election after that day. Asked whether it would be in January, more..

June 5 (DM) Deputy Minister Hemal Gunasekara was today questioned over the allegations of assault on Police Constable (PC) Suminda Saman on May 30 in Dodangoda. “The Special Investigations Unit of Mirihana Police questioned Deputy Minister and recorded a statement over the incident where a PC was attacked,” SSP Ajith Rohana said. PC Suminda Saman, who issued a fine to Deputy Minister more..

June 6 (CT) The story of the current political drama in the UNP described as the worst in its history was discussed at an emergency meeting in the 'Land of No Return' as former President and UNP leader J.R. Jayewardene was being blamed for introducing his nephew Ranil Wickremesinghe into UNP politics as Ranil stands accused of destroying the party founded by the Father of the Nation, D.S. Senanayake. Wijayapala Mendis, one of the last UNP stalwarts who entered that more..

June 6 (CT) I’ve had friends ask about my recent relative silence in the matter of writing to either the print media or on-line publications and I expect I owe them something of an explanation. As many of you know I have, at one time or another since my return to the land of my birth, contributed to pretty well all the English-language newspapers of this country, sometimes – for obvious reasons – under a pseudonym and sometimes using the name my parents bestowed on me. more..

June 6 (SO) Today (1) is Children's Day. Although various countries recognise it on various dates through out the calendar year, the largest group of countries, 49 countries observe Children's Day on June 1. In Sri Lanka we mark World Children's Day on Oct 1. Universal Children's Day proclaimed by the UN is commemorated on Nov 20 observed by ten countries together. On all these days including today children around the more..

June 6 (NS) Medical researchers concluded years ago that antibiotics don’t cure acute bronchitis. The drugs might reduce your coughing symptoms slightly, but the antibiotics also increase your risk of side effects such as diarrhea and nausea. And overuse of antibiotics breeds bacteria resistant to the current cures. Yet patients who show up to clinics or emergency rooms with bronchitis still receive antibiotics about 70% of the time, according to a new review of prescribing data more..

June 6 (SL) ‘Modi Wave’ resulted in much euphoria in this island. He invited ‘Ape Mahinda’ (Our Mahinda) to his swearing-in ceremony and the siren of TN, Jeyalalithaa, boycotted the event in protest of the invitation. This was a grand development hailed by sons and daughters of the soil in the Southern Lanka. Whatever the astrological predictions may have been, the political predictions seemed propitious. Modi, it was said, was a macho politician of the right who believed in centrist rule more..

June 6 (ST) Dr. Janaka Wijesundara remembers the marshy lands, the paddy fields and the incredibly dusty and uneven planes of the terrain he was presented with. “You couldn’t imagine building anything there,” he says. Tasked with designing the toll gate plazas and office buildings of the Southern Expressway, starting from Kottawa and replicating this 26 more times all the way up to Matara, architect found himself more..

June 6 (NS) Samahan, which earned itself a household name over the years as an effective herbal cure for cold and cold-related symptoms is remedying a different kind of problem for the past few days. Samahan is marketed by Link Natural which developed the formula and to date cites that its 100% authentic herbal formulation purely comprised extracts of medicinal plants. To add to its accolades, Link Samahan achieved Super-brand status in 2007 for being a leading and trusted more..

June 6 (CT) I was pleased that Laksiri Fernando had picked up on my publication of documentation with regard to the negotiations between the govt and the TNA way back in 2011. I suspect he is right in saying that some might think this is betrayal, given that even my efforts to defend the Secretary of Defence against Sarath Fonseka’s allegations in 2009 were described as betrayal. But this was by those such as Wimal Weerawans who wanted to take political advantage of those allegations more..

June 6 (FT) A 25-member high-profiled business delegation led by Daya Weththasinghe, President of the Sri Lanka-Japan Business Co-operation Committee of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will be visiting Japan on 8 June to promote trade, investment and tourism. The mission is organised to coincide with the 18th Joint Committee Meeting of the Sri Lanka-Japan and Japan-Sri Lanka Business Co-operation Committees, scheduled to be held in Tokyo on 10 June. more..

June 6 (Island) Taking a landmark step in achieving the best in healthcare treatment at national level, Asiri Group of Hospitals opened Sri Lanka's first Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at their Central Hospital facility. The new unit raises hope for several patients, particularly with haemotological disorders such as thalassemia, who now receive treatment abroad at phenomenal expenses. In a goodwill gesture, the hospital will perform the first six procedures, free of charge. more..

June 6 (NS) Students are the future of this country and the responsibility to ensure a stable future for them rests with the entire country. Every citizen in this country is entitled to ensure that these children are provided with the foundation that they need to build a strong future for themselves, and for the country. The education system does the role of molding them to be proper citizens of the country. But there are other aspects that more..

June 6 (Island) NM was for us young Trotskyites of the time our only hero. Why? Many medicated, colourful intellectuals led the then left movement. Philip Gunawardena, Dr. S. A. Wickramasinhe, Colvin R. De Silva, Leslie Gunawardena, Bernard Soysa, Peter Keuneman, V. Kandaiah, V. Karlasingham, to name a few, were among them. It is not only the left that had such leaders. Dudley Senanayake, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, M.D. Banda, U.B. Wanniyanayake, G.G. Ponnambalam, more..

June 6 (Island) Egregious errors in exam papers are legion in this country. We have reported during the past few years many instances where some students broke down in tears and fainted, unable to make head or tail of some questions in their exam papers. A group of Cambridge students taking an English literature practical criticism test had a crude shock the other day; they were asked to critically evaluate a poem that was not there; or, in other words, it had no words but more..

June 6 (BBC) Ocean 12 are sporting warriors like no other. Padded up and steeled for action in a suburban league in Sydney, the team is made up of Tamil asylum seekers competing for a place in the finals of a global cricket competition. The young men arrived in Australia by boat. They have been released from immigration detention on temporary visas and are waiting anxiously to hear if their refugee claims have been successful. more..

June 6 (Island) Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau bagged the "Best Booth Design Award" at Korea's largest international travel fair, Korea World Travel Fair (KOTFA) held last week in Seoul from 29th May to June 1st. Sri Lanka Tourism stall stood elegant at the exhibition, with grand décor of culture, beaches, wild life, festivals, water sports, Buddhist attractions of Sri Lanka. Among the crowd of visitors that attracted the stall were the representatives from national tourist organizations, more..

June 6 (Island) This event will be a combination of fun, exploration, competition and a number of other exhilarating factors. Its name tag is ‘Commando 4X4 Expedition’, and is scheduled to be held from Aug 3 to 9, in eastern Sri Lanka. Diminutive in stature, but a true life hero and highly articulate, Maj. Gen. Prasanna de Silva, the ‘Head Honcho’ of Sri Lanka’s elite Army Commandos, said that the motor rally will culminate with an extreme event, at the Commando Regiment Training School, in Uva Kudaoya. more..

June 6 (FT) In what analysts described as a landmark and emphatic move, Commercial High Court yesterday ruled that Touchwood Investments (TWOD) be wound up and subject to liquidation to settle dues to creditors. The much awaited order of the case No. 31/2013/CO filed by F.J. & G de Saram the Attorneys-at-Law for the Petitioner K.A.D.L.P. Nanayakkara on 24 July 2013 to wind-up TWOD was delivered on more..

June 6 (DM) Sri Lanka’s only male Olympic shuttler Niluka Karunaratne led the home team’s charges at the Yonex-Sunrise Badminton Challenge beating Malaysia’s Shahzan Shah Misfahul in straight sets 21-6,21-13, as all but two Sri Lankans qualified for the second round of the singles events, on the first day of the main tournament played at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium yesterday. The home team’s contingent in the men’s and women’s singles draws were dwindled to just eight after more..

June 6 (ST) Prawn farms were thriving in the vast marshes along the Puttalam lagoon when they first started in the mid-1980s and reached a climax in 1994 with owners making huge profits. However, with the 1994 elections some of these farms were attacked and supporters of the new govt set up prawn farms along the buffer zones and even govt reserves. Due to this haphazard creation of farms and with the emergence of the ‘White Spot’ disease, the total prawn industry collapsed more..

June 6 (DM) Misusing a facility that is solely for national team cricketers, Sri Lanka’s team manager had allegedly acted out of protocol on the recent tour of UAE by using a credit card reserved for player-related expenses to pay for the accommodation of certain Ex-Co members. On that tour, played in Dec 2013 and Jan 2014 against Pakistan, the manager is said to have paid in excess of Rs. 400,000 for hotel accommodation more..

June 6 (Island) In response to a news report headlined Susil warns against CEB unilateral and cockeyed energy plans in The Island of May 22, the CEB has sent us the following statement: According to the aforesaid article calculation of electricity requirement is wrongful and further it questions about the addition of renewable energy sources to the power system. The observations of the CEB about the matters raised therein are given below: CEB prepares a Long Term Generation more..

June 6 (AM) An elderly female patient (87) who experienced an unexpected incident at the Oasis hospital in Narahenpita after she stepped on to the carpet which was loosely laid down over the manhole cover that causes fractures to her left knee, had filed a lawsuit against the private hospital claiming Rs. 10.22 million as loss and damages. 87-year-old plaintiff Winifred Aileen Perera a resident of Kirulapona filed this lawsuit before Colombo District Court stating that she was demanding more..

June 6 (FT) Lawmakers clashed yesterday unable to determine the control of finances, with opposition MP Buddhika Pathirana requesting the Govt to bring down taxes on three-wheelers and motorcycles making it more affordable to the common man. In response, Deputy Minister Sarath Amunugama confirmed that the permitting of “best possible tax reductions” for three-wheelers and motorcycles as well as for spare parts is at more..

June 6 (NF) Minister S.B. Dissanayake says that measures have been taken to address the issues faced by Allied Health Science students. He made this comment at an event held at the Kandy District Secretariat. “You need not take my word. We will not provide anything in writing to anyone of those persons. But, the students are calling us over the phone and are thanking us. The parents are thanking us. We will not provide answers to these foxes. We will answer to the children. more..

June 6 (CI) Wantage Road provided an atmosphere far removed from the tension that surrounded the end of the one-day series at Edgbaston as the Sri Lankans eased into Test preparation ahead of Lord's next week. They will have been highly satisfied by their day's work. Kaushal Silva, who will open in the Test series, batted compactly and confidently throughout the day during a 186-ball hundred, and Lahiru Thirimanne, leading the tourists in the absence of the rested Angelo Mathews, more..

June 6 (FT) President Rajapakse’s Chief of Staff Gamini Senarath came under spotlight yesterday in Palriament when the opposition members cried foul for him holding over five positions of high stature allegedly “with ordinary qualifications”, mainly because of the “trust placed by the executive President”. Apart from serving President Rajapakse as his Chief of Staff, Senarath also works as the Chairman of Peoples Bank, Litro Gas, more..

June 6 (AT) A Sri Lankan woman has been arrested for murdering an Egyptian expatriate in self-defense inside a flat in Hawally area. When the tenants of a residential building in Hawally area heard some loud noises coming from one of the flats, they checked to find an Arab man lying on the ground and bleeding profusely from his chest. They immediately notified Hawally securitymen who rushed to the location. They arrested a Sri Lankan woman who tried to run away and confiscated the weapon more..

June 6 (Island) Meteorology Department warns of more heavy rains and possible flooding in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces and Galle and Matara Districts. There would be showers or thundershowers at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces and in the Galle and Matara districts. Heavy rainfall of more than 100 mm was also likely at some places. Showers might also extend to Northwestern province. more..

June 6 (Island) UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament that some politicians including MPs had led a mob which attacked undergraduates of the Ruhuna University. He demanded an investigation into the incident. "We have seen JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva display some pictures of that incident. Some got politicians were captured in those photographs leading a mob that attacked the students and teachers of more..

June 6 (CT) The NFF said that Minister Basil Rajapaksa was definitely behind the attempts to bait NFF members to join the SLFP. They said that the SLFP, instead of discussing the 12 reforms put forward by the NFF, in order put the UPFA govt on the right track were putting pressure on the NFF by luring NFF members to the SLFP. Media Spokesman of NFF, Mohamed Muzammil said "SLFP is trying to take our attempt at an intelligent discourse towards a different direction. more..