July 15 (GDI) Transport Minister Dallas Alahapperuma said the UPFA’s election message has reached over 80 percent of the voters’ households in the Uva Province. He said the second stage of door-to-door campaign will begin later this month. Speaking at a press briefing at the Mahaweli Centre last morning, the minister said the president will meet various segments of society in the Uva Province shortly. more..

July 15 (GDI) The number of vehicle registration during the first half of this year appears a decrease compared to the figures of the corresponding period last year, according ro statistics from the Department of Motor Traffic. Only 91,021 vehicles have been registered in the first half of this year indicating a decrease of 45,571 vehicles over the number of that period in the previous year. more..

July 15 (AT) Is it possible? Could it well be that Sri Lanka has avoided shooting itself in the foot one last time because the present head of state is a decisive, if pragmatic fellow who is made of sterner stuff when it comes to the ethnic issue? The vast majority of Sri Lankans and the nation’s well-wishers must take comfort in the fact that President Mahinda Rajapakse nipped an incipient Sinhala chauvinist campaign in the bud recently when more..

July 15 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa will attend the 15th summit of Heads of State of the Non-Aligned Movement that opens in Sharm El-Sheikh today, which will focus on issues facing the developing countries due to the current word economic and financial crises caused mainly by the policies of the developed countries of the West. The gathering 117 nations from across the world will see the re-endorsement of the basic principles of the NAM. more..

July 15 (GDI) They were the souls who suffered at the hands of barbaric terrorism for a considerable length of time. The valiant efforts of our Armed Forces liberated these innocent people from the clutches of the LTTE. They are now free from terror. Now they are free from fear, hunger and pain. They now have a roof over their heads, a place to lie down and sleep peacefully. Even their health is being looked after properly. more..

July 15 (MoD) Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Vietnam, Pham Gia Khiem, remarked that " Sri Lanka's achievement in bringing an end to terrorism was commendable, and it was time that the country took forward the reconciliation process with confidence and resolve" when Foreign Minister Bogollagama met him at Sharm El Sheikh on 14 July 2009. He made this remarks on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Ministerial Meeting, more..

July 15 (MoD) On the sidelines of the 15th NAM Ministerial meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Foreign Minister Bogollagama met his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Anifah Aman, to discuss matters of mutual concern. Minister Bogollagama expressed his warm gratitude for the assistance and cooperation extended by Malaysia during recent times, when Sri Lanka was fighting terrorism. more..

July 15 (MoD) Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda bade farewell at a formal ceremony which was held at the Navy Headquarters in keeping with the Naval traditions today morning to take up his new appointment. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been pleased to appoint Admiral Karannagoda as the National Security Advisor with effect from the 15th of July 2009. Admiral Karannagoda was accorded a Guard of Honour and more..

July 15 (PSM) “Police powers need not be given to Provincial Council. It might create unnecessary problems and misunderstandings. We are happy with the present security arrangements. Land powers are already devolved to the Provincial Council in terms of the construction”, said MLAM. Hisbullah, Eastern Provincial Minister of Health. Meanwhile, National Unity Alliance (NUA) and All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC) have also expressed concern on more..

July 15 (SLA) MAJOR General Jagath Jayasuriya, the newly appointed Commander of the Army is to assume office on Wednesday as the 19th Commander of the Sri Lanka Army. President Mahinda Rajapakse handed over the appointment to Major General Jayasuriya on Sunday (12) where he made a few more similar appointments in the defence establishment including that of the Chief of Defence Staff and more..

July 15 (LP) Child pornography, any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving children under the age of 18, is not only a crime but child pornography is child abuse. It’s heartbreaking to hear children being lured away from their families by sexual predators using the Internet to disguise their intentions. Government intends taking stern action against child pornography. more..

July 15 (LP) Troops conducting search and clearing operations troops recovered more weapons and a suicide boat from several areas of Mullaittivu yesterday. Troops of the Task Force III recovered 51 anti personnel mines from the Alankulam area. In another search operations troops of the Task Force V recovered 0381mm Mortar bombs, 03 Pouches, 37 AP Mines, 41 60mm Mortar bombs, 1530 T-56 Ammunitions, a hand grenade, a Jacket, a pack, a Small water can and more..

July 15 (LT) Tourism Minister Nandana Gunatileke, Parliamentarian of the NFF, said there was nothing wrong in anyone suspected of murder receiving a ministerial portfolio. He said the media should keep away from querying such appointments. Responding to queries at a press briefing yesterday Minister Gunatilleke said the appointment of Piyasiri Wijenayake should not be questioned by the media as a case was pending in Court. more..

July 15 (LT) Ten members of the JVP including Parliamentarians Vijithe Herath and Premasiri Manage left to China yesterday (14th) on a ten day study tour. A delegation from the party visits China every year on invitation by the Communist Party of China. The media unit states the members who undertake the tours are expected to study health, education, economic development and national consensus in China. more..

July 15 (LT) The International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement that Sri Lanka will host 12 of the 49 matches of the 2011 World Cup tournament. Sri Lanka's 12 matches which include a semi final will be played at three venues. 29 of the matches will be hosted by India at eight venues while Bangladesh will host eight matches at two venues. Pakistan, which is technically a host, was left out as a host nation due to security concerns in that country. more..

July 15 (LT) An audit investigation has revealed that Mr. Ashoka Jayasinghe, who functions as the Director of Education for North Western Province without a formal appointment has been paid Rs.1,25,000 as allowances for the last four months without any due approval. This includes fuel and telephone allowances. According to Deputy Head of Kurunegala Audit Department Mr. H.M. Karunaratne paying such an amount of money is against regulations of Public Service Commission and more..

July 15 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been pleased to appoint Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy with effect from today, the 15th of July 2009. Vice Admiral Samarasinghe is the 16th Navy Commander in the Sri Lanka Navy's illustrious history which spans over 59 years. Prior to being made the Navy Commander, he held the post of Chief of Staff of the Navy and more..

July 15 (LNP) We are not short of people both here and abroad who weep buckets for the displaced Tamil civilians living in welfare centres. Those unfortunate civilians were once used by the LTTE as a human shield to further its macabre interests. Now, it seems that the diasporic Tigers and their foreign backers reeling from their collective failure to rescue Prabhakaran and his cohorts as well as an ignominious defeat they suffered at the UNHRC special session more..

July 15 (CT) Mohamed Anfar, who is said to be a powerful underworld gang leader in Maligawatte, Colombo has been gunned down by an unidentified armed group which had abducted him previously. Biyagama police found his body last morning (July 14) in the Yabaraluwa area with gunshot injuries to his head. Anfar was said to be a close follower of Farji, another underworld gang leader in Maligawatte. more..

July 15 (CT) Former Mayor of Colombo, Omar Kamil has been appointed special commissioner for Colombo Municipal Council by President Mahinda Rajapaksa under the executive powers vested in him. The measure has been taken to increase the efficiency of the CMC, Western Province governor, Alavi Moulana has told the media. The gazette notification relating to Mr. Kamil’s appointment, more..

July 15 (CT) A man in Akmeemana, Galle, who attempted to rape his own daughter has been killed by his wife. The man, M. Logeshwaran (45) has threatened his wife and attempted to rape their daughter after returning home drunk on July 13. However, he was hit thrice on the head by his wife using a hoe, causing his death instantaneously. The wife has handed herself over to the police and further investigations are underway

July 15 (LNW) A JVP parliamentarian told Lanka News Web that the UNP’s Gamini Jayawickrema Perera report has stated that UNP National Organizer, S.B. Dissanayake has called on the party to publicly accept the country’s unitary status and to stand by the concept. The JVP parliamentarian also observed that it was clearly stated in the secret report prepared by the eight member committee headed by more..

July 15 (DM) Presidential Advisor Vasudeva Nanayakkara said yesterday that there are some Ministers in the present cabinet who should be summoned before a Presidential commission to probe the alleged Rs. 1000 billion frauds that had taken place for the last 20 years. he told the Daily Mirror that the one who is involved in the fraudulent Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation deal and the oil hedging deal is in the cabinet today and he should be summoned before a Presidential commission. more..

July 15 (DN) The Supreme Court yesterday directed former Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundara to notify the respondents in the Lanka Marine Services Ltd, (LMSL) rights application before supporting his motion seeking to relieve him from an affidavit. President’s Counsel Faiz Musthapa appearing for P.B. Jayasundara under took to notify the respondents and support the motion on August 3. more..

July 15 (DN) The spread of Dengue fever has been on the decline since last week. The sharp decline is due to the successful implementation of the National Dengue Control Program. The decline is gradual when it is due to natural reasons. Only 6 dengue deaths were reported last week. The total number of dengue cases reported so far is 17,218 and the number of deaths is 175. But still the public need to be vigilant, more..

July 15 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the step taken by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) for the removal of language barriers in computer applications is highly commendable. The first copy of the new local language interface software was presented to the President at Temple trees on Monday. The President said that it was the intention of the Government to more..

July 15 (DM) A racket involving the sale of complimentary tickets issued by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board to VIPs to witness the second Test Cricket match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at Saravanamuttu Stadium, Borella was revealed by the Borella Police before the Colombo Chief Magistrate Court yesterday. Sergeant Sirisena (2568) produced the suspect Sunil Priyantha Wanigasinghe of Vihara Mawatha, Wellawatte before more..

July 15 (DM) Colombo High Court yesterday sentenced a person who had prepared a forged pilot’s log book and obtained a commercial pilot licence from the Civil Aviation Department to 11 years rigorous imprisonment. High Court judge Sunil Rajapaksa convicted the accused B. S. S. Saman de Fernando of St Rita Rd, Mount Lavinia who was tried in absentia. In addition to the jail term the court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 in default one year’s RI. more..

July 15 (AFP) Kumar Sangakkara on Wednesday celebrated victory over Pakistan in his first series as Sri Lanka's captain with a warning to team-mates to guard against future setbacks. "It's true you have got to enjoy the good times, but you need to make sure that the team is prepared to face the bad times and those bad times don?t last long," said Sangakkara. more..

July 15 (DM) A group of animal rights activists have complained to the police seeking an investigation about reports that animals at the National Zoo at Dehiwala are not being fed regularly. Dehiwala police said a lady member of an NGO had complained to the police charging that the physical condition of animals at the zoo was deteriorating. Police later recorded statements from the Zoological Garden authorities more..

July 15 (Island) A United Kingdom Research Paper dated June 5,2009 revealed an account of developments conflict between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE when a ceasefire was agreed and hopes raised and rapidly dashed since 2002 when there might have been a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The paper also provided a brief historical and social survey of Sri Lanka including the origins of the conflict between the Government and the LTTE. more..

July 15 (Island) The Tamil Diaspora living in Europe are scheduled to convene a meeting in Germany on July 18and 19, to discuss the main issues of how they could contribute to the Sri Lankan Government’s efforts to commence the healing process to resettle the IDPs and rehabilitate the LTTE cadres who have surrendered, Tamil Diaspora sources said yesterday. The Sources said that the meeting was to be held in Stuggart, Germany and more..

July 15 (Island) Over 100 food suppliers are preparing to sue the government over the non payment of their dues totalling over Rs. 500 million for the food supplied to nearly 300,000 internally displaced persons housed in welfare camps. The suppliers who earlier staged a protest opposite the District Secretariat demanding payment and had met the District Secretary six times but had not received any payment. more..

July 15 (DN) Transport Minister Dullas Allahapperuma on behalf of the Government yesterday stressed that the Sinhalese will not be settled in earlier Tamil dominated areas when displaced persons are resettled in the North. The Minister emphasised that no Sinhala colonies will be established in the areas where only Tamil people were living during the resettlement process. more..

July 15 (Island) Four senior superintendents of Police have filed two fundamental rights applications in the Supreme Court alleging that the recent promotions effected to the posts of DIG of Police were irregular and as such they, the petitioners, were penalized. They prayed court to nullify the interviews and declare it illegal. Messrs R.A.D.P.Ranaweera, B.A.D.Ayupala, L.A.Lugoda and N.C.Kudahetty were the petitioners. more..

July 15 (LBO) An Indian political activist has urged Sri Lankans to be more demanding of their right to information, saying that was how the public in India won greater access to information and more government accountability. "The right to information campaign started with a peasant movement asking for the Panchayati (village assembly) records," Aruna Roy, a renowned Indian social and political activist and a former Noble Prize for peace nominee said. more..

July 15 (PTI) In a startling revelation, the Pakistan Interior Ministry investigation into the Lahore terror attack claims that the militants had planned to strike on the Sri Lankan cricket team on March 1 instead of March 3. The militants wanted to strike on the first day of the Lahore Test on March 1, but had to do away with their plan as the Sri Lankan team bus had already left the liberty roundabout near the Gaddafi stadium, the place of the attack. more..

July 15 (EB) China has a strong politico-economic presence in Sri Lanka but buys very little from the island country to balance the relationship. This is in contrast to India, which has balanced its relations with Sri Lanka by throwing open its market to Sri Lankan goods. China is building a major port in Humbantota, in the deep south of the island, at a cost of $ 360 million. more..

July 15 (Xinhua) The Sri Lankan government said that it has received international commitments for about 60 percent of the money needed to resettle the Tamil civilians displaced by the final battles between the government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels. Minister of Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe told reporters that firm commitments had already been secured. "We have received commitments for around 60 percent of the 155 million U.S. dollars we need," more..

July 15 (Reuters) Sri Lanka has cancelled a $200 million purchase of ammunition from Pakistan and China after the end of its war with the Tamil Tigers, the island nation's new top military commander said on Wednesday. General Sarath Fonseka, who as army commander was one of the chief architects of the campaign to destroy the separatist Tigers and end a 25-year war, on Sunday was named to the newly created post of chief of defence staff. more..

July 15 (EB) Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said “no” to ethnicity-based separate provinces, in an interview to the latest edition of the American magazine Time. Asked if he believed in some kind of self-governance for the Tamils, Rajapaksa said: “Don’t say Tamils. In this country you can’t give separate areas on an ethnic basis, you can’t have this.” more..

July 16 (AN) Catholics in Sri Lanka trust their prayers to Our Lady to achieve peace and prosperity in the country. The devotion of Tamil and Sinhalese faithful to the Virgin, is already well documented by the Madhu festival celebrated each August 15th in the shrine of the same name, for which preparation is already underway across the diocese of the country. But it is also attested to by the festival dedicated to the Mystic Rose, held on July 13th last, more..

July 16 (LBO) Sri Lanka's National Development Bank (NDB) said it has launched its Bangladesh joint venture investment bank, NDB Capital Limited, positioning the group to be able to expand in a bigger market. "It’s a virgin market where professional investment banking services are currently not available," Vajira Kulatilaka, chief executive of NDB Investment Bank (NDBIB), which will support the Bangladeshi business. more..

July 16 (LBO) The Sri Lankan unit of Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) said it has pledged to grant 4.1 million rupees to the UNHCR to assist refugees detained in camps in the North- East. "The funds will be utilized for the procurement of non-food relief items such as bed sheets, mosquito nets, jerry cans, towels, slippers and clothing for internally displaced persons in the North and East," more..

July 16 (GV) Those posts written with a heavy heart have a tendency to backfire on one, and I suspect that this would have quite negative consequences on my personal relations, when read by those who are supposed to read it. The Journalism Awards for Excellence organized by the Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka, and the Sri Lanka Press Institute was held in all its might and glory last night, as it should be. more..

July 16 (UPI) In May this year, when the Sri Lankan government was faced with the serious threat of an investigation by the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations, it made several promises to the international community that helped to sway the vote in its favor. These promises included moving forward without delay in healing the wounds of war in the country, specifically resettling the displaced persons and finding a political solution to the ethnic conflict. more..

July 16 (GDI) The project for uplifting living standards of communities living in 3 Divisional Secretary Divisions of Monaragala District will be implemented by the lower Uva development Center to renovate three roads, construct an anicut improve a fruit processing facility, promote fruit production and to facilitate a water scheme. The project for construction of Drinking wells and Toilets for resettled families more..

July 16 (LBO) Odel, a popular upmarket department store in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo has won an award at the 2009 Asia Pacific Commercial Awards, the company said. Odel said its main outlet in Colombo's Alexandra Place, located in a converted colonial-time mansion was the won the top award for the 'best retail development' in the country. "Just as much as the actual products we sell, it is the inimitable ambience of the property that makes ODEL one of Sri Lanka’s most popular shopping destinations," more..

July 16 (NYT) More than two months after declaring victory over Tamil Tiger guerillas, Sri Lanka’s government is continuing to hold hundreds of thousands of displaced Tamil civilians in what it calls “welfare villages,” but what increasingly look like military internment camps. The civilians, many of whom were held hostage by the guerrillas in the bloody last stage of the long war, are not being allowed out of the camps, and access by human-rights organizations or journalists is highly restricted. more..