Aug 12 (CT) Leader of the JHU Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thera has described the arrest of Kumaran Padmanathan in a foreign country as the most singular victory after the Anuradhapura era. In an interview with ‘Lakbima’, the prelate has said that history mentioned about a similar incident, in which a king in mid Anuradhapura era, had sent his agents abroad to capture an enemy in hiding. more..

Aug 12 (PSM) The Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) and the Letter of Intent (LoI) for the two strategic power projects between Sri Lanka and India are likely to be signed this month. These two vital projects that are to be located in Sampoor, in Trincomalee district were negotiated after the liberation of the Eastern province from terrorism in 2006. India has intimated to the Sri Lankan government that it wishes to accelerate the much-delayed 1,000 MW Sampur Coal Power Plant and more..

Aug 12 (DM) The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources yesterday said that it had completed a Forest Resources Management Project aimed at establishing and operating sustainable forest management for forest protection and conservation in Sri Lanka. The project which commenced in 2001 was implemented in 18 districts other than areas in the war-torn North and East, ministry officials said. more..

Aug 12 (DN) A depositor in the Golden Key Credit Company committed suicide by hanging himself as he was depressed over the loss of his hard-earned money. Gayathra Sandarenu Manamendra's sister Lakshi Niranjala testifying before Mount Lavinia Additional Magistrate Darshika Wimalasiri at the Magisterial inquiry said her brother had been in a severe state of mental distress since late. "This was evident from the many letters he had written to the Banks," more..

Aug 12 (TN) Unidentified persons shot and killed a Muslim person Tuesday night around 7:30 p.m in his house in Ea’raavoor in Batticaloa district. He is suspected to be the leader of an unidentified armed group operating in the eastern province, according to Batticaloa police. The man killed was identified as Abdul Samad alias “Kalu Samad, 41. He was also known to have links with certain leading underworld characters in Colombo including more..

Aug 12 (LBO) Dubai-based EZY Infotech said it has launched their first computer made in Sri Lanka, a slim desk-top machine powered by Intel Atom technology. EZY Infotech-Sri Lanka Chief Executive Shafraz Hamzadeen said they were aiming at the corporate, home and school markets with the EZY SlimTop which is 11 inches in height, three inches in width and weighs 1400 grammes. EZY intends to launch a range of computers and also launched a laptop weighing 900 grammes. more..

Aug 12 (TN) Police has given final warning to underworld criminals to surrender immediately with their arms. "Without waiting for another deadline, they should surrender themselves at the nearest police station," police media spokesman Ranjit Gunasekara said. He said action has been taken to eliminate underworld criminal activities with immediate effect to rid the country free from criminal activities, such as extortion, kidnapping, murder and intimidation. more..

Aug 12 (Island) Exporters are beginning to doubt the government’s stimulus package would materialise with applications submitted for the first quarter still being evaluated. A senior official told the Island that applications received from exporters seeking assistance through the Export Development Reward Scheme (EDRS) are still being evaluated and until this is done funds from the Treasury would not be released. more..

Aug 12 (Island) The Center for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) said that it had received a number of complaints of abuse of State resources by the ruling UPFA and in particular its chief ministerial candidate Sasheendra Rajapaksa, at Saturday’s Uva Provincial Council Election. The misuse of State resources at successive elections, reinforces the importance of speedily implementing the 17th Amendment to the constitution, which more..

Aug 12 (LBO) The head of Sri Lanka's defence establishment, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has been appointed to the board of Apollo hospital, a privately built hospital which is now controlled by a state-run insurer. Rajapaksa, a brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is the secretary to the defence ministry and seen as an architect of the military campaign that defeated the Tamil Tigers in May. more..

Aug 12 (DM) One can trace the origins of this title adage, which is now used to emphasize the need to speedy trial, to the Magna Carta or the Great Charter of Freedom of 1215. It is in clause 40 of this charter that one finds the line "To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice", the origin of the modern day cliché, ‘justice delayed is justice denied’. The point made in this one liner is that even the best judgment loses its value if it comes belatedly. more..

Aug 12 (Island) An influential section of the media stepped up pressure on President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government as the LTTE launched Eelam War IV with a massive attack on Trincomalee and the Jaffna frontline in August 2006 after almost succeeding in blasting troop carrier Jetliner as it approached the Trincomalee harbour carrying over 1000 officers and men. The August offensive marked the beginning of major ground battles after more..

Aug 12 (LNW) Expenses incurred by Sri Lanka Cricket for wage payments has seen an increase of Rs. 5 million per month due to the decision of the Cricket Interim Committee to employ 18 new employees. Sources from Sri Lanka Cricket said that while Interim Committee Chairman D.S. de Silva has requested for the allocation of a sum of Rs. 300,000 as payment for a third party every month, more..

Aug 12 (Xinhua) Sri Lankan police officers regret that they have not been supplied with their quota of shoes during the past five years. The police have to perform official duties in worn out shoes and walk several miles daily in remote villages. They request authorities to supply them with shoes at least once a year. Even the 10 month salary advance given to government servants has been difficult for police officers to obtain, the newspaper said. more..

Aug 12 (IPS) These days, the front pages of mainstream Sri Lankan newspapers are dominated by reports of clashes between two Muslim groups, the drama of two baby elephants separated from their mothers and government efforts to ban porn sites and curb adult-only movies. This shift in news focus is a radical departure from the days when newspapers were choked with war coverage. "I think the clashes between two Muslim factions have been overplayed, maybe because there is no other news," more..

Aug 12 (Island) An agreement between Iran and Sri Lanka for the expansion of Sapugaskanda oil refinery has been altered due to Sri Lanka’s inability to meet the stipulated conditions. Sri Lanka will now pay its share of the project in instalments over the period of construction. Authoritative sources said though in the original agreement the Sri Lankan government had made a commitment of 30 per cent of USD 1.47 billion project upfront, more..

Aug 12 (DM) A plot to carry out a suicide attack on President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his hometown Madamulana with the involvement of a suspect arrested in connection with the killing of Southern Provincial Councilor, Danny Hiththetiyage, came to light at the Mount Lavinia Magistrates court yesterday. The Attorney General made a special request to the Magistrate to order the prison authorities to hand over the suspect Madusha Lakshan to more..

Aug 12 (IANS) Internationally renowned Indian agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan has put off plans to visit Sri Lanka to help it revive its farm sector until the Tamils there get their due. But New Delhi is determined to help Colombo. Swaminathan, who visited Sri Lanka and met President Mahinda Rajapaksa in June, said he now felt that there should be a political settlement of the Tamil grievances in the island nation first. more..

Aug 13 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's capture of a van packed with explosives by Tamil Tiger rebels gave a glimpse into the intelligence war the government is waging against the remnant operatives of a group finally defeated on the battlefield in May. The military on Wednesday said a tipoff from a captured rebel led it to recover the van filled with 20 5-kg claymore antipersonnel mines in the northeastern city of Mannar, and arrest three LTTE operatives. more..

Aug 13 (LBO) An international boat show to be held in the Maldive islands offers opportunities for Sri Lankan boat builders to cater to the archipelago's transport requirements, officials said. Maldivian high commissioner Ali Hassen Didi said the water transport requirements of the country with 1,190 islands, almost 200 of them inhabited, were growing. "Some of the boat builders will be interested in exploring opportunities of building boats that will facilitate that transport system," more..

Aug 13 (GDI) A five year expedited development project covering the Yapahuwa electorate will be launched giving priority to the agricultural development programmes in the area. The project designed at the request of Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Governments, Janaka Bandara Thennakoon will be launched by the Sri Lanka Institute of Local Governance on the directives of Minister of Highways and Road Development, T.B. Ekanayake. more..

Aug 13 (LT) Sri Lankans will be treated to a rare opportunity of viewing the spectacle of a Meteor Shower tomorrow (13th) morning states Arthur C. Clerk Centre. Mr. Saraj Gunasekera, Scientist at Arthur C. Clerk Centre says the annual ‘Perseid’ meteor shower could be viewed from many countries. Mr. Gunasekera says this spectacle could be seen in Sri Lanka from 4.00 a.m. to 5.00 a.m. today. more..

Aug 13 (LBO) Sri Lanka's Dialog Telekom has activated the first phase of a network expansion into former war-torn areas in the north of the island, which may cost up to 10 million US dollars, officials said."We have connected the first six sites, and we will build 60 more towers in tandem with re-settlement," Dialog chief executive Hans Wijayasuriya told reporters Wednesday. more..

Aug 13 (BBC) The police in Colombo say they aim to round up all the street children in the city in the next few days and have them brought to magistrates’ courts to ensure they go to school. If parents or guardians can be traced, they too will be summoned. This decision by the police to take action follows an order from a Juvenile Court magistrate. The magistrate has ordered that the Colombo police detect all children not in school. more..

Aug 13 (LP) General G.D.G.N (Nalin) Seneviratne VSV, the former Commander of the Army (1985-1988) who passed away this morning (12) said Military Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara. General G.D.G.N (Nalin) Seneviratne was the 10th Commander of the Army. He was seventy-eight years of age at the time of his demise. His funeral with full military honours is to take place on Saturday more..

Aug 13 (CI) And here is the first update from Sri Lanka ... Oh, and for the record, it’s hot. Honest! Sweating is probably the easiest thing to do here. We all arrived here a week ago yesterday. So eight days here to acclimatise, train and play some warm-up games. We had three days before the first warm-up match to try, as much as possible, to get used to the heat and humidity. We all struggled to a certain extent with overheating, some more than others. more..

Aug 13 (GV) “We used to live very close to the Madhu Shrine and we long to go and pray at the feat of Our Lady of Madhu as we used to. But we are prisoners in this camp, and not allowed to go out freely” is what a father of two children, the youngest of whom is an infant of about one month, told me, when I met the family at the Sirukkandal camp, in Mannar last week. This family is from Pandivirichan, the parish adjoining Madhu Shrine. more..

Aug 13 (LeN) Transport Minister, Dallas Alahaperuma addressing a media briefing today (12 Jul), at the UPFA propaganda Headquarters, while vehemently condemning the attack on the student Nipuna Ramanayake ,said ,this attack allegedly committed by the Police Officers is a very grave ominous precedent. The Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse has also informed the IGP to take immediate action, he added. more..

Aug 13 (LT) The president has no moral right to hold a presidential election as he had promised that executive presidency would be abolished before the 6th term of the presidency ends says the JVP. A letter sent to President by the General Secretary of the JVP Tilvin Silva states the attempt to hold a presidential election even when two more years of the President’s term remains and casting aside the MoU signed with the JVP more..

Aug 13 (TC) The Hartal which was launched on the August 12, 1953, spearheaded by the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the Communist Party led by Dr. N. M. Perera and Dr. S. A. Wickremasinghe respectively, flanked by the likes of Philip Gunawardena, Dr. Colvin R. de Silva, Leslie Goonewardena and his brother Robert, Bernard Soysa, Edmond Samarakkodi of the LSSP and Pieter Keuneman of the CP and other frontline leftists, more..

Aug 13 (TC) The most ignored of all elections in the North came to a close with different view points and the EPDP boss accepting he has not fared as well as he should have. The Uva provincial council elections concluded as expected with the latest Rajapaksa entrant to politics though a novice, hoisted to the top post of Chief Minister of Uva. The next in the offing is the Southern provincial council elections that more..

Aug 13 (CI) Pakistan will want to take the Premadasa Stadium with them wherever they go. After groping in the darkness for the better part of the tour, they finally unearthed gold when they landed here for the last two one-dayers and tonight they signed off in style with a comprehensive 52-run win in the one-off Twenty20. It was touted as the rematch after the World Twenty20 final in June but Sri Lanka failed to even the score. more..

Aug 13 (IL) Sri Lanka Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya Wednesday welcomed Patricia Butenis, the United States’ newly-confirmed Ambassador-designate to Sri Lanka, as she prepares to take charge of the U.S. Embassy in Colombo. Ambassador Wickramasuriya and Ambassador-designate Butenis spoke cordially and extensively about the post-conflict situation in Sri Lanka during a meeting at the Embassy of Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 13 (LG) Chandani Sudasinghe of Meegoda, has petitioned the Supreme Court that her son Jeewantha Ranasinghe, was brutally assaulted, while in police custody, between July 7 and 9, 2009. Jeewantha was arrested by officers of the Nawagamuwa police station on a complaint made by a relative of a Pradeshya Sabha member named Suresh Priyadarshana of Kaduwela. The petition explained that Jeewantha had been arrested first on June 22, 2009. more..

Aug 13 (LG) The Sri Lankan elephant is the largest among the Asian elephants. It is also the darkest and has patches of depigmentation (an area without colour) on their ears, face, trunk and belly. The African Savannah elephant is the largest living land animal. It is Africa’s true king of beasts. Asian elephants live in fragmented forests in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Borneo. more..

Aug 13 (LG) Nanayakkarapathirage Martin Perera,or the late Dr. N. M. Perera, an intellectual, a renowned economist, a Trotskyite, a trade union leader who steadfastly fought to advance the interests of the working class, a freedom fighter in South Asia, a cricketer, statesman, political legend, an icon of Ananda College, a mayor, a Member of Parliament and a minister, breathed his last on August 14, 1979, exactly 30 years ago today. more..

Aug 13 (TC) The following is the full text of a statement issued by UNP deputy leader Mr.Karu Jayasuriya following the results of elections to the UVa Provincial Council, Jaffna Municipal council and Vavuniya urban council: At the very onset, let me issue a very big ‘thank you’ to UNP supporters who went to the polls last Saturday, for their unwavering trust and support in the UNP and more..

Aug 13 (LG) The local government system in Sri Lanka has a long history, extending to the period of Sinhalese kings, dating back to the fourth century. The most famous chronicle of Sri Lanka, Mahawamsa (sixth century) cites that local administration was carried out by the Nagara Guttika (city Mayor). Village level organizations called Gam Sabhas functioned under village leaders who enjoyed powers to administer local affairs and more..

Aug 13 (LG) Speaking in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly recently, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, pointed out that in the post-LTTE era, attaining the goal of Tamil Eelam was not a realistic goal. He advocated the pursuance of a “flexible policy”, where the Tamils should avoid critical comments about the Sinhalese “out of anger and hatred”, because it may have “adverse effect” on their well being. more..

Aug 13 (LG) Many Tamil who have been arrested on suspicion of LTTE connections are not offered legal representations and the situation for the confirmed LTTE members is said to be worse that neither the government has facilitated legal representation nor there is unwillingness on the part of independent legal practitioners to offer their services due to Defence Ministry pressures on the profession. more..

Aug 13 (LBO) Sri Lanka plans to set up boat building and training facilities in the east with the end of the ethnic war to provide employment and opportunities for export which were growing, an official said. Gamini Herath, project manager for boat building in Sri Lanka of GTZ, the German technical training institute, said most boat builders in the island lacked modern technology and skills. more..

Aug 13 (AAAS) Beside a green lagoon on Sri Lanka's northeastern coast, on a sandy spit of land less than 8 miles long, violence reportedly erupted 9-10 May as military soldiers clashed with rebel Tamil Tigers. Now, a detailed AAAS assessment of high-resolution satellite images seems to confirm descriptions of intense fighting within Sri Lanka's "no-fire zone"—revealing a landscape scarred by freshly dug graves and artillery explosions. more..

Aug 13 (TN) Fisheries Societies in Jaffna peninsula told Northern Province governor, former SLA Major Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri Wednesday that despite government announcement that the fishing ban in Jaffna peninsula had been completely lifted, in reality the ban continues, sources in Jaffna said. The governor, participating in the District Development Coordinating Committee, faced accusations raised against the fishing ban, the sources added. more..

Aug 13 (AT) Well-known former international Pakistani cricketer Rameez Raja signs up an investment agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) on 12 August in Colombo. Former Pakistan cricketer who presently works as an international cricket commentator has come to an agreement with Agro Farm Lanka Limited for a project to cultivate fruits and vegetables for the local market. more..

Aug 13 (AT) Media Minister Laxman Yapa Abeywardena yesterday counter-attacked some reports that the Sri Lanka’s Intelligence units and security personnel had violated the international laws when they arrested the LTTE’s self proclaimed leader Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP last week. “No violation of any international laws took place in the arrest of the LTTE’s arms smuggler”, Minister Abeywardena firmly told the media more..

Aug 13 (GV) There is no getting away from it; the scale of abstention in the Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) elections has sent an unambiguous message. The people of Jaffna have rejected the UPFA controlled Sinhala State and its procedures and practices, have rebuffed the war victory, and distanced themselves from the jubilation in the South. The offer of reconstruction and investment, the peace dividend, as an alternative to more..

Aug 13 (GDI) Health authorities today claimed there was a marginal drop in dengue cases reported to hospitals around the country. They said no deaths have been recorded over the past week and the death toll which stood at 223 earlier remained the same. The number of dengue inflicted cases reported to hospitals for treatment too had declined, sources disclosed. A fortnight ago the number of dengue patients admitted to state hospitals were just over 20,000. more..

Aug 13 (GDI) In an increasing phenomenon causing damage to life, the cigarette and the 'bottle of spirits' take away 40,000 Lankan lives to be sent up in smoke in crematoriums,statistics reveal. Tobacco and liquor are main causes for those deaths despite all efforts to combat the growing menace that affects family and social life at large. However, medical authorities said the efforts by the government to stop the menace looked satisfactory as more..

Aug 13 (GDI) It has cost the Ceylon Electricity Board a staggering Rs. six million to light up the road leading to the Madhu Church in the state assistance program for the current annual feat of the church. The CEB has lit up the road from the Madhu Road,Madhu Road Junction to the Madhu Church, the most important area for devotees to travel after dusk. This scheme was initiated by Power and Energy Minister, WDJ Seneviratne more..