July 24 (Xinhua) Sports Ministry said it will challenge the suspension of the Sri Lanka Badminton Association (SLBA) from the Badminton World Federation (BWF) at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. BWF recently suspended SLBA's membership, stating the constitution of the local body did not fall in line with that of the sports' world governing body. Suspension will lead to a total ban for national players from competing in more..

July 24 (CT) Officials of the Presidential Drugs Prevention Centre have discovered a place owned by a Officer's wife in Colombo Fort which had a licence only to sell beer, serving customers beer instead of selling it, violating excise conditions. Keerthi Bandara said, this venue was discovered while they were engaged in raising awareness in sales outlets in Fort and Pettah regarding prevention of drugs. The manager of this venue said, the beer sales outlet belonged to the wife of more..

July 24 (DM) Former MPs who wish to seize the Mace and run around parliament can do so at the Sooriyawewa Cricket Stadium in Hambantota instead, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe told those who had gathered for an election rally held in Bandaragama on Thursday. “Some have threatened to run around parliament carrying the Mace if they come to power. Instead, I request them to run around the Sooriyawewa Cricket Stadium built by former President Rajapaksa,” he said. more..

July 24 (ABC) The two men who died in a crash in Darwin on Wednesday night were Tamil asylum seekers from Sri Lanka who came to Australia for a better life, their friends have said. Close to a dozen friends of the Jesuraj Arulnasan and Emmanuel Reval returned to the area on Thursday night where the crash happened on Trower Road in Nakara, trying to make sense of the accident for themselves. more..

July 24 (CT) ITAK Digamadulla District candidate Ariyanayagam Raveenthran Kodeeswaran, said unlike the previous politicians, he will never be an opportunist or selfish, but shall always fight for the rights of the Tamils and also take all measures to safeguard the border villages of Tamils which have been an outstanding problem of Tamils in this area. "Records will reveal how I sacrificed my work and life for the sake of the TNA and its victories. I also revealed the death threats I faced during more..

July 24 (GDI) Sri Lankan scouts and leaders participating at the 23rd World Scout Jamboree which will be held in Yamaguchi, Japan met with President Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday. Scouts and leaders who arrived at the President’s official residence met with the President who is also the Patron of the SL Scouts Movement. President handed over the national flag to the scouts participating at the World Scout Jamboree. 30,000 scouts representing 162 countries are more..

July 24 (Xinhua) The Sri Lankan govt on Thursday said that there was an increase in the number of foreigners overstaying in the island country and authorities were in the process of identifying and arresting them. Minister Rajitha Senaratne told reporters that due to the increase in the numbers, the govt had decided to establish a center to keep these overstaying foreigners till actions are taken to deport them from Sri Lanka. more..

July 24 (GDI) Due to urgent maintenance works in Kalatuwawa Water Treatment Plant, water supply to the following areas will be interrupted from 8 Am on 25th July 2015 to 5 Am on Sunday 26th July 2015. The areas that will be affected are Hanwella, Kaluaggala, Meepe, Padukka, Godagama, Homagama, Kottawa, Pannipitiya, Rukmalgama, Pelanwatta, Mattegoda. In addition water will be supplied at low pressure to Maharagama, Colombo 08, 09 and 10 areas. more..

July 24 (DN) The information disclosed with regard to Lamborghini cars is not correct, Minister Ravi Karunanayake said. Previous govt leaders said Lamborghini cars were imported under an agreement where once used after an official function it would be exported. Such a thing did not happen and Lamborghini cars are still in the island, the minister said addressing the Cabinet press briefing yesterday. He said three Lamborghini cars were imported two and half years ago. more..

July 24 (EN) UNP said it will place all state owned enterprises under a holding company, whose trustees will be appointed with the agreement of political parties and civil society. "The govt owns the biggest commercial enterprises in the country and this ownership is maintained on behalf of the people," UNP said in its manifesto for the general elections. "Unfortunately, for the past 50 years these enterprises have not been managed properly more..

July 24 (EN) Business Management School (BMS), a UK affiliated college, and state-run Industrial Technology Institute, a research agency has forged a partnership to boost the scientific base in the country, officials said. BMS President W A Wijewardene said Sri Lanka had to move to higher technology products to earn higher salaries and to move beyond producing basic goods. "When we asked major pharmaceutical firms why they were not coming to Sri Lanka they said more..

July 24 (Island) All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) together with other Muslim organisations yesterday strongly condemned those backing the ISIS or any other extremist organisation. "We do not condone any person or organisation that engages in extremism in any form," ACJU President Mufthi M.I.M. Rizwie said. He said an awareness campaign would be launched today and all Sri Lankan mosques would address the issue of terrorism at the Jumma Prayers. more..

July 24 (LT) When the case on the Matale mass grave was heard today (24th) the Magistrate prepared to give a ruling that continuing hearing would not be necessary until it is clarified whether a directive by the Attorney General or a senior police officer would be sufficient for the continuation of the case. However, lawyers representing the aggrieved parties opposed the directive. Later, the case was put off till afternoon. more..

July 24 (DN) United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) including the UNP presented a new programme aiming the upcoming general election, National Movement for Justice Convener and Naga Viharaya, Kotte Chief Incumbent Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera said. He was speaking at the launch of the UNFGG election manifesto at Vihara Mahadevi Park, Colombo yesterday. Only two parties - the SLFP and the UNP - governed the country since independence, he said. more..

July 24 (AD) Nuwara-Eliya High Court today sentenced five persons to death after they were found guilty of committing murder in the Lindula area in 2000. Chandrasekaran Pelupillai, Perumal Lechman, Perumal Mylevaganam, Perumal Parker and Rajendran Gunasekaran of Great Western Estate in Lindula were sentenced to death by High Court Judge Lalith Ekanayake. Charges were filed against 8 suspects over the murder of Suppayya Marimuttu, a father of 3 from the same area more..

July 24 (CT) Former minister Dullas Alahapperuma claimed that national security is at stake and that separatism is raising its head once again. PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and the present govt will be held responsible if something was to happen to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, he said. "Sri Lanka's most powerful ally the United States' Department of State says, LTTE is once again collecting money & arms according to more..

July 24 (DM) National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) Task Force has arrested a 27-year-old man on charges of distributing obscene pictures of a 16-year-old girl using his mobile phone. NCPA said the man had taken nude photos of the girl when they were having an affair and had distributed the photos among friends after marrying another girl. The girl had complained to the NCPA regarding the incident. NCPA Chairperson Natasha Balendra said the man residing in Colombo was remanded more..

July 24 (AD) Police have initiated an investigation after live ammunition was recovered from a weapon of a cadet at the Gampaha Bandaranayake Vidyalaya today right before President Maithripala Sirisena was scheduled to be the Chief Guest at the school’s prize giving. The police media unit stated that the live bullet was discovered during the routine security check up carried out by the Presidential Security Division (PSD) before the President graced the occasion. more..

July 24 (Reuters) Sri Lanka is investigating a Chinese firm on suspicion of offering a bribe to Mahinda Rajapaksa's failed presidential re-election campaign, a source close to the investigation said, weeks before he seeks to pull off a comeback in a general election. Ousted by erstwhile ally Maithripala Sirisena in January, Rajapaksa is now seeking to turn the tables at the Aug. 17 parliamentary polls but more..

July 25 (CT) A commonly heard phrase during the period of elections is election law violations. Elections Commissioner and the Elections Department, along with the Police and other election monitoring bodies are putting a great deal of effort and have taken various steps to minimize election violence. However, there has regrettably been no interest shown towards this by the general public, nor the politicians, both of whom are the main constituents of a representative democracy. more..

July 25 (CT) The death of a Sri Lankan in Syria, fighting with the IS (Islamic State or Caliphate) also known as ISIS has opened up a new front for extremist elements to target the Muslim community as terrorists or sympathizers of terrorism. Islam forbids taking of innocent lives, and the violence perpetrated by terrorists in the name of Islam is neither Islamic nor humane. Thus the irresponsible action of an individual should not be a reflection of a whole community, in Sri Lanka during more..

July 25 (IC) Colombo Telegraph, Sri Lanka’s most iconoclastic investigative news website, is gearing up for this year’s second national election. And once again they face the threat of censorship — despite a presidential promise to bring it to an end. January’s polls saw the website blocked to domestic voters by order of authoritarian incumbent president Rajapaksa. Unseated by shock winner Maithripala Sirisena, one of the victor’s more..

July 25 (CT) The web-site tamiltigerwomen.com contains material, both poems and prose-sketches, selected and translated from the original Tamil into English by Dr N. Malathy: my thanks to her for sending me a copy. The documents are rare in that they are the writings of women (many were teenagers or in their early 20s) who were Tiger combatants. Presumably most, if not all, are now dead, killed in action. I may be mistaken but think their names as given are nom du guerre. more..

July 25 (GV) This essay was presented at the 9th International Convention of Asian Scholars held in Adelaide from 5-9th July 2015 and was therefore designed as a 15-minute presentation. Hyperlinks, maps, citations and bibliographical references have been inserted in this version, while pictorial illustrations are a supplementary appendix. Footnotes have been kept to a minimum. The emergence and sharpening of Tamil nationalism from the 1940s to the 1980s is a complex tale more..

July 25 (FT) With restoring the rule of law and forming a clean administration by the Maithripala Sirisena Govt, Sri Lanka is now on the radar of some top foreign investors, who had abandoned the idea of investing in the country during the previous regime, Deputy Minister Eran Wickramaratne said. He said that investors like Volkswagen, a German car manufacturer, which didn’t invest in SL as the previous Govt more..

July 25 (CT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said recently that he brought about a revolution. He has not done any revolution. What he has done is the tie-coat revolution. The candidate of the UPFA from the Badulla district, former Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala De Silva questioned what kind of revolution is being launched together with foreigners from America and England. He made these comments at a propaganda rally of the SLFP held in Haputale. Today's newspapers will show who is more..

July 25 (Island) The focus has shifted from Medamulana to Mirihana. It was expected that Kurunegala, and the many other important towns in that district, would draw the larger interest with the parachute leap of Mahinda Rajapaksa from Hambantota to Kurunegala, in the search for an easier path to be prime minister. But Mirihana, where he mostly lives in today, just as his brother Gotabaya, has become the focus of UPFA campaign. Guess why? It is White Van Saga. more..

July 25 (NS) Center for Environmental and Nature Studies (CENS) alleges that illegal constructions and other illegal activities were taking place within the boundaries of Yala National Park and its buffer zone. Authorities though, are adamant that no illegal constructions exist inside the park. The matter though, has now been referred to the President, with court action also being contemplated. more..

July 25 (Island) The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is said to be for good men to do nothing. It is also true that evil triumphs in societies that are too civilized to adopt brutal methods to deal with savages who pose a serious threat to them. Nobody dares commit even petty larceny in some countries where swift justice is meted out in record time and thieves have their limbs lopped off in public. But, in most other parts of the world, especially in the West, more..

July 25 (NS) Power sector experts have stated that the govt would be compelled to go back to Independent Power Producers (IPP) in the event the country fails to cater to the demand and if Sampur plant remained defunct in the coming years. Govt recently announced that it was in the process of retiring IPPs in Sri Lanka with a view to cut down on unwanted expenditure. Minister Champika Ranawaka, said that govt would save up to Rs.3000 million by stopping power consumption more..

July 25 (Island) Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva expressed concern over the lack of an ethical code of conduct in the country’s investment sector, claiming that numerous allegations were made to the effect that stockbrokers and complicit investors had manipulated the market to further covert agendas. The deputy minister made these remarks recently while making the keynote speech at a diploma presentation organized by SEC. more..

July 25 (FT) The Cabinet this week approved two separate initiatives to further bolster expressway development in the country. The Govt said that the Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal made by Minister Kabir Hashim, to obtain a treasury guarantee for the Bank of Ceylon and to authorise the RDA to enter into a loan agreement with the Bank of Ceylon to obtain consultancy services for construction supervision of civil works for Northern Section II comprising more..

July 25 (NS) President Maithripala Sirisena said that religious places all over the country will be further developed as a major step to heal the ailing society which lack of moral values. He made these observations participating in the unveiling ceremony of the newly constructed Samadhi Buddha Statue and opening of the new Buddha Mandiraya at the Sri Nigrodarama Viharaya in Mawanella. “A Temple in a village reflects the religious and cultural values of the people living there,” he said. more..

July 25 (CT) Talking to Ceylon Today Shammi Silva said that he was shocked to see that certain media organizations had reported he was banned from entering the club premises. "I was absolutely stunned to see a newspaper report which said that I was banned from entering the Club which is untrue. The only thing which was mentioned in the Enjoining Order was that the AGM couldn't be held on 29 July," he said. more..

July 25 (EN) Sri Lankan companies can reduce manufacturing costs and improve efficiency by switching to ‘green’ procurement and supply chain methods now adopted by top global firms, a supply chain expert said. “The linear economy is not a sustainable way of managing the economy,” said Gayani de Alwis, vice president of the Institute of Supply and Materials Managemen. “The present way – where you ‘take stuff, make stuff, throw stuff – you cannot continue. more..

July 25 (CT) National record holder of the High Jump, Manjula Kumara Wijesekara had to face a sad situation yesterday as he had to jump in the dark due to an organizing blunder at the 93rd National Athletics Championship 2015 which started yesterday at Diyagama. High Jump final was schedule to start at 3:30 p.m, but could not start on time due to late finish of the Pole Vault event. Equipment for the Pole Vault event which was sent by Sugathadasa Stadium in the morning was more..

July 25 (CT) Army Woman Nilani Rathnayake stole the show on the opening day of the 93rd National Athletics Championship as she set a new SL record in the 3,000m Steeple Chase yesterday at Diyagama. Rathnayake clocked 10:09.49 seconds and erased the previous record set by Eranga Dulaksi (10:11.72 sec) in 2012 at the National Championship. Rathnayake hailing from Ratnapura Sumana BV, is now training under more..

July 25 (DM) President Maithripala Sirisena today said he would appoint a committee headed by a retired judge to investigate fraud related to the Golden Key case. Speaking at a function to refund Golden Key depositors, Mr. Sirisena said the depositors had to suffer due to financial companies failing to follow stipulated govt guidelines. "The injustice done to Golden Key depositors was one of the worst disasters in country’s financial sector, and govt at that time must take responsibility more..

July 25 (Island) Mihin Lanka launched its all-new Business Class cabin and service to provide passengers with added comfort and luxury on the airline’s short to medium haul flights. New cabin offers a variety of comfortable features, which ensure that passengers enjoy a relaxed and enhanced experience on board their flight. Introducing the new Business Class service is also part of Mihin Lanka’s strategic long-term plan to capture greater market of corporate travellers, more..

July 25 (DM) In an emphatic response to UPFA MP Bandula Gunawardena, Minister Ravi Karunanayake said there was no attempt at all to privatize Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. He said that rather than privatizing Litro Gas, govt in fact had reduced the price of gas and brought it down even below tendered prices, but that some bankrupt politicians were making baseless allegations to score political brownie points. more..