July 5 (AFP) A Sri Lankan soldier was shot dead by a Tamil rebel in the island's east, the first military fatality after the crushing of the guerrilla leadership in May, the army said on Sunday. A Tiger rebel grabbed the gun of a soldier and opened fire as he tried to search a suspicious boat in the eastern district of Batticaloa on Saturday. "An army soldier had spotted this suspicious boat with one man on board and tried to search it after talking to the boatman," more..

July 5 (LBO) Fresh attempts by Sri Lanka's government to muzzle the press and block the freedom speech of the people through a draconian law will hurt the economy and corporate sector, a senior lawmaker and commentators have warned. "Recently the Press Council bill was re-introduced, which prohibits freedom of speech, freedom of writing, which is a problem for the corporate sector too," more..

July 6 (CI) Mohammad Yousuf marked his return to official cricket with his first century in Sri Lanka, a serene innings that lifted Pakistan from a precarious 80 for 4, and put them two runs ahead of Sri Lanka's total by the time he finally got out. Consequently Pakistan were in considerable control of a match that see-sawed for the first four sessions, with neither team claiming clear ascendance. Yousuf got solid support from Misbah-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik, more..

July 6 (BBC) A survey has found that seventy per cent of the people in Sri Lanka are facing problems associated to land related issues. The survey conducted by the Praja Abhilasha and People to People Dialogue on Peace and Sustainable Development Network say land is becoming scarcer and is also the most important burning issue in Sri Lanka. The survey was carried out in eighteen districts including war affected areas. more..

July 6 (BBC) After being roundly criticised by some of its traditional Western friends over its conduct of the recently ended war, Sri Lanka is getting even closer to its allies within Asia such as India and China. Some economic analysts feel that Beijing may just have the edge over Delhi where business ties with the island nation are concerned. Sri Lanka's foreign minister concludes a four-day visit to China this weekend and more..

July 6 (GDI) As Tamilnadu Chief Minister, Muthuvel Karunanidhi ruled out an 'Eelam' in this island nation after Sri Lankan government troops totally crushed the LTTE and its' terrorism, the TNA which participated at the inaugural session of the Development & Reconciliation Committee(DRC) chaired by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, seems to have a change of heart for the urgent needs of the Tamils they represent, more..

July 6 (GDI) Sri Lanka has recorded 33,000 snake bites last year on a countrywide basis, statistics revealed. Most of these cases were envenoming nature - the venom delivered through a snake bite which could be fatal if neglected. An annual survey conducted by the University of Kelaniya state that snake bites are often neglected as victims do not seek treatment at hospitals where advanced medication is available. more..

July 6 (GDI) Trade between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be strengthened with a visit on cards to the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka by a delegation from the Sri Lanka Chamber of Small Industry. The visit is scheduled to take place in the third weel of this month (July), according to Aloy Jayawardene, President of the Chamber. The trade visit is arranged by the Sri Lanka High Commission in Dhaka headed by High Commissioner, V.Krishnamoorthy. more..

July 6 (GDI) A combined force with the participation of clergy and the people living in the area are essential to implement the development projects in those respective areas and, all these sectors should work together to achieve the expected development goals, said President Rajapaksa. President made these remarks while addressing the employees and the officials of the Norochcholai power plant during his inspection tour to more..

July 6 (GDI) The National Archeological Week will get underway from July 7-13 with a two day exhibition and a seminar at Mayurapada Vidyalaya, Narammala in the North Western Province (Wayamba). The national symposium of this event at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute will be patronised by the Minister of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene. All arrangements to have the National Archeological Week in a colorful manner more..

July 6 (GDI) The Rs.82 million Rest Hall (Vshrama Salawa), a three storeyed complex at Sanchi Viharaya, Bopal, India will enhance the existing cordial and friendly relations between the two countries. Urban Development and Sacred Area Development Minister, Dinesh Gunawardene said the work on this three storeyed project was nearing completion. This modern complex with all amenities include 24 double rooms will also have acess roads. more..

July 6 (LT) A fire had broken out at Saliyapura area in Anuradhapura in Yal Devi train that left Colombo Fort Railway Station today at 5.45 a.m. today (5th). The fire had broken out as a result of a LP gas cylinder exploding in the restaurant car. The train was travelling from Colombo fort to Thandikulam when the incident occurred near Saliyapura sub-station. The fire brigade of the Anuradhapura Municipal council has brought the fire under control. more..

July 6 (Hindu) Sri Lankan military on Sunday announced that “factions of Islamic militants” — who took to arms for various reasons — delivered them to police on Saturday evening in Kathankudi town in Batticaloa district in response to the government’s appeal even as a soldier died in clash with a group of suspected Tiger cadres in the same district. The death of the soldier is the first military loss of life since troops on May 19 more..

July 6 (LG) My friend Dayan Jayatilleka, who I believe should be more of the academic that he can be and less of the politician he is, after his excellent work in countering anti-Sri Lanka moves in the international arena, has now focused his entire energy to defending and justifying the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Dayan has not exactly written profusely on the 13th Amendment, for more..

July 6 (Hindu) President Mahinda Rajapaksa highlighted his determination to re-settle “as soon as possible” the close to 300,000 Tamil civilians displaced by the conflict with the LTTE. In an extended interview given to The Hindu in Colombo, he laid out his road map of what needed to be put in place to ensure the safety and meet the basic needs of those who are to be sent back to their villages. more..

July 6 (Hindu) The human drama of some 300,000 Tamils fleeing the LTTE in the weeks before its elimination as a military force moved the world as it watched in shock, awe, and eventually great relief. What is their present condition in the Vavuniya IDP camps and what will be their future? And what is the nature of the political solution Sri Lanka’s government has in mind? more..

July 6 (DK) Carla Browne came to Sri Lanka from the U.K. to help following the Tsunami of 2004. She has lived here ever since. With her director, Subodha Liyanage -- and the support of the local community association -- Carla runs a home and school for the hearing and visually challenged. The project is known as Children’s Hope. With 60 live-in children and 14 day-students, the organization has matured enormously since Carla discovered it following the Tsunami. more..

July 6 (AT) The country is expected an economic revival and with that revival if the travel trade picks up its lost tempo, the country’s travel trade could also catch up with the existing hotel capacity, with travellers from India, China, Middle East and the tradition European market, said Chandra Wickremasinghe, President, Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) at a press conference held at Hotel Galadari last week. more..

July 6 (AT) Sri Lankan born Professor Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, renowned for his work advancing women’s health and maternity care, was honored in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honors List announced recently in June 2009. Professor Arulkumaran, Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at St George’s, University of London and clinician at St George’s Hospital has been appointed a Knights Bachelor of England for services to medicine. more..

July 6 (LG) Sri Lanka went to China for arms, and is now going to Cuba for dengue eradication larvae. To the total naval gazing recluse, even, that should say something. This is while the United States of America is stalling an IMF loan facility to Sri Lanka with the able guidance of ex-colonial power Britain, and we have to perhaps look to some other longstanding friends for some succour in the post war hour of need. more..

July 6 (Times) Sri Lanka has always had a tricky relationship with the foreign aid groups that have helped it through natural disasters and 26 years of civil war with the Tamil Tigers. The hostility has been rooted in suspicions that aid groups secretly backed the Tigers, because most of them worked in rebel territory. Those suspicions were compounded by the corruption and inefficiency of some NGOs after the tsunami on Boxing Day 2004. more..

July 6 (Times) The Sri Lankan Government is trying to siphon off millions of pounds of humanitarian aid by imposing a 0.9 per cent tax on all funding for aid groups, including the British charities Oxfam and Save the Children Fund, The Times has learnt. Aid workers said that Burma was the only other country that they could remember imposing such a tax — one of several new measures hampering their efforts to help victims of Sri Lanka’s recent civil war. more..

July 6 (CI) For a good majority of his six-year international career Nuwan Kulasekara has been identified as a match-winning one-day bowler. He has lived up to that reputation by being ranked no. 1 currently in the one-day bowling. In the absence of Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga, Kulasekara found himself elevated to be the position of key fast bowler for Sri Lanka in the first Test against Pakistan and he did not disappoint those who had kept faith in his ability. more..

July 6 (TC) My article, "Defining moments of living with the Sinhala Buddhist guilt" generated a heavy spurt of anger perhaps from the Sinhala Diaspora living in the comfort zone of the West, which does not surprise me. On 3rd July evening (SL time) when I logged into "transcurrents" site there were 37 comments and 17 of them stood for all that's happening in the North and said the government is right. more..

July 6 (TC) If I remember correctly, in 1950 St Thomas’ College, Gurutalawa, had 214 pupils. Not only was it among the best of schools, it was also the most expensive boys’ boarding school in Ceylon. I was completely out of my financial and social class, the other boys being from wealthy families, parents who held well-paid jobs or had political position and power. more..

July 6 (TC) In the present-day context, the re-imaging of a person from a conscientious citizen to a traitor can be rapid. The transformation is not in real terms as in Kafka's Metamorphosis. The change is simply in the portrayal of the person by the intelligence agencies, with the backing of a section of media. The case of Shantha Fernando is an example of how easily this can happen. more..

July 6 (TC) While opinion remains deeply divided in the country about the full implementation of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, the recognition of Tamil alongside Sinhala as an official language guaranteed by the same constitutional amendment remains largely confined to paper with several key areas in the government sector lagging behind in executing the Official Language policy. more..

July 6 (LT) Chairman of All Party Representative Committee (APRC) Minister Tissa Vitharana said a new Constitution will be introduced as the solution for the national question. He said executive presidential system would be abolished to revert to the Westminster form of government. He said the problems that arose when implementing the 13th Amendment would not arise because more..

July 6 (LG) Where ‘advice’ does not produce results, an ‘advisory’ would help. Or, so seems the American logic this time round, for a travel advisory for US citizens visiting post-war Sri Lanka. In diplomatic parlance, ‘advice’ may have political significance.. An ‘advisory’ instead has economic consequences. The aim and goal are one and the same – of conveying to the targeting nation, ‘to behave’. Or, so seems to go the American thinking, here again. more..

July 6 (GDI) Fish prices which are reported to be beyond the reach of the consumer is expected to fall drastically in the next few days, with production increasing rapidly after the lifting of restrictions on fishing in the northern front. The Fisheries Ministry has geared itself to provide insulated trucks to bring excess production from Mannar and Jaffna to Colombo and other parts of the South. more..

July 6 (GDI) In view of the forthcoming Madhu feast, the Ministry of Defence will explore the possibility of facilitating access to devotees visiting the Madhu shrine via air route deploying Sri Lanka Air Force flights, according to newspaper reports. The Island reported today that Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has expressed hope the new move will ‘compel private sector airline operators to revise their existing fare structure.’ more..

July 6 (GDI) Local government institutions have been advised by the Health Ministry to take measures to remove garbage on schedule,clear drains,thickets and shrubs overgrown to eradicate the breeding of dengue mosquitoes. Health Ministry sources described that garbage was also a main cause that provides space for the breeding of dengue mosquito. The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry claimed that over 165 deaths and more..

July 6 (GDI) A group of Sri Lankans recently met Edward Davy MP; Shadow Foreign Secretary this week for the 2nd round of talks at the House of Parliament. At the follow-up meeting an update was given to the MP by the group with regard to the medical facilities and other help given to IDP’s by the Sri Lankans. In reply to a question Edward Davy said “All Sri Lankans should get in to each others shoes and must live in harmony as “LTTE’s Government in Exile is nonsense”. more..

July 6 (GDI) As the tea industry bounced back after a slump,the future of the rubber industry looks positive with the demand for Sri Lankan natural rubber gaining momentum from western countries, rubber industry sources revealed. Western countries like America, United Kingdom and Germany look for Sri Lankan natural rubber with immediate South Asian neighbors,India and Pakistan too indicating a keen interest in the product. more..

July 6 (GDI) LTTE's international network operated by the fugitive Kumaran Pathmanathan alias 'KP' has totally cracked with the Tamil diaspora overseas and former LTTE ransom Collectors withdrawing from the 'new found' LTTE of Pathmanathan, reports reaching Colombo from Canada said. The latest episode of the so called LTTE of Pathmanathan has being described by the Tamil diaspora overseas as the Shylock in 'Merchant of Venice', more..

July 6 (LG) Moragahakanda - Kalu Ganga Reservoir Project was launched two and a half years ago with the basic objective of solving the pressing problem of insufficient water for irrigation in the North Central Province. On completion, it will eventually increase the waters of the gigantic Kalawewa, Nachchaduwa, Nuwara Wewa, Hurulu Wewa, Mahakanadrawa, Manankattiya, Padaviya, Minneriya, Girithale, Kawdulla, Kantale, Vendrasankulam tanks, more..

July 6 (LNW) The failure of senior SLFP members and electoral organizers in the Moneragala District to support the campaign of the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the Uva Province, Shasheendra Rajapakse has prompted the President to decide on attending four key rallies in the district to boost the party’s campaign. It is learnt that the SLFP membership in the Uva Province is disgruntled over the decision to appoint a person living in the Southern Province as the paty’s chief ministerial candidate for Uva. more..

July 6 (CT) Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe left last night (Jul. 05) for the United Kingdom to participate in a meeting of the International Democratic Union. According to a statement by the Office of the Opposition Leader, Mr. Wickremesinghe would be spending one week in the UK. He is deputy chairman of the IDU as well as chairman of the Asia-Pacific region of IDU. more..

July 6 (LNP) Welcome to Colombo: Hold your nose! This is an ideal welcome note that the CMC should have prominently displayed at the entry points to the city, which is more often than not waist-deep in rotting garbage. The fetor is unbearable! There have been numerous public complaints but there seems to be solution in sight. Presidential Advisor and Colombo Municipal Councillor Vasudeva Nanayakkara, has told a weekend newspaper the CMC must be held responsible for the mess. more..

July 6 (CT) Police have arrested the wives of two LTTE leaders from a welfare camp in Vavuniya on July 03, said police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekara. They are the wives of LTTE military wing leader Swarnam and Trincomalee military leader Thevan. Swarnam had died in fighting in the Wanni, while Thevan had fled the battle and is in hiding in eastern province, police said. Their wives had been arrested on information provided by more..

July 6 (LNW) A key ally in the present administration, the JHU, is split over its stance on the full implementation of the 13th amendment, political sources said. JHU members and Environment Minister Champika Ranawaka is of the view that supporting the full implementation of the 13th amendment would be a betrayal of the Sinhalese Buddhists in the country, the party’s parliamentary group leader, Ven. Athuraliya Ratana Thero and more..

July 6 (DN) New Governor of Sabaragamuwa Province J.M. Janaka Bandara took oaths before President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday. Janaka Bandara is the seventh Governor who fills the vacancy created by the death of Governor Mohan Saliya Ellawala. He is an old boy of S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia and also a graduate from the University of Colombo. He began his legal career in 1995 as an Attorney-at-Law and served in the Embilipitiya Court for seven years more..

July 6 (DN) The Government is to unveil an economic relief package shortly for workers affected by the world economic crisis, according to a proposal mooted by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He has instructed the Minister Athauda Seneviratne to prepare a draft relief package and present it to him soon. According to the new package, named Unemployment Benefit Insurance Scheme(UBIS), workers who have lost their jobs are to be given a monthly compensation package which more..

July 6 (DN) Elderly persons living among the IDPs housed in welfare villages in Vavuniya are being released following a decision of the government. Of 16,408 Internally Displaced Persons of over 60 years of age identified by them in Vavuniya, the Social Welfare Ministry has already released 5271 to their relatives since it took over the maintenance and care of the IDPs, said Social Services and Social Welfare Ministry Secretary V. Jegarajasingam yesterday. more..

July 6 (LG) Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka on Saturday asserted that Sri Lanka's Security Forces in the future would play a key role in the country's development drive following their success in defeating terrorism. He noted that the Forces would play a pivotal role in the future rebuilding efforts of the conflict ravaged North and East. more..

July 6 (Island) The Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Udayasri Kariyawasam said the commission has sought an opinion from the Attorney General’s department before commencing investigations into the sale of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation. "Being a state organisation, we decided to seek an opinion form the Attorney General before we commence investigations in to the privatisation of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC)," more..

July 6 (DN) The first ever large scale education exhibition Jaffna Education Fair (JEF) organized by Pico Events will be held from September 15 to16 at the Jaffna Central College. This event will showcase exhibitors who will provide students of the North the opportunity to advance their studies by obtaining internationally recognized qualifications within the country and overseas. more..

July 6 (Island) Close on the heels of the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) busting a gang of extortionists targeting politicians, public servants and businessmen, the police have apprehended three state employees who masquerading as middlemen of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, MP and Transport Minister Dallas Alahapperuma demanded bribes to facilitate a mega transaction. more..

July 6 (Island) Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has assured UNP MP Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena that he would explore the possibility of launching SLAF commercial flights between Ratmalana and Palaly. The launch of SLAF flights would compel private sector airline operators to revise their existing fare structure, the MP has been told. Jayawardena told The Island yesterday that he had had a one-to-one meeting with Mr. Rajapaksa at more..