Aug 6 (ENS) 'This can happen only in Kerala' - that was Sri Lankan filmmaker S Someetharan reacting to his film ‘Mullaitivu Saga’ receiving the special mention from the jury of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala for making a film under extremely difficult conditions and strife. Just hours before he was warmly greeted by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Minister of Films Ganesh Kumar, Someetharan was being tracked by intelligence officials more..

Aug 6 (Island) Strict disciplinary and legal action will be taken against Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Unionists if they are found guilty of sabotage. A spokesman for the Ministry said that if any CEB employee is found guilty of sabotage his services would be terminated. He said that the trade union action of the CEB employees had gone beyond the limit with some groups engaged in sabotage activities. more..

Aug 6 (SL) The Colombo District Court has issued an enjoining order preventing trade unions affiliated to Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) from getting employees to take part in future trade union actions. The court has issued an enjoining order preventing 21 SLT trade unions from influencing and interfering with employees who are not involved in the ongoing trade union action. The court has issued the directive following a civil suit filed by SLT. more..

Aug 6 (DM) The Central Government of India had asked the Tamil Nadu state govt to take up the incident, in which some Sri Lankan nationals were threatened by a gang in Chennai, with due seriousness and bring the perpetrators to book, informed sources said yesterday. A group of 84 Sri Lankan pilgrims were threatened by some persons at the hotel they were staying in. Later, these gang members had apparently used threatening language and more..

Aug 6 (PTI) A fleeting ambition of taking a phenomenal 1,000 Test wickets led Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan to think about postponing his retirement last year but injury concerns in an ageing body prompted him to drop the idea. Muralitharan, who retired from Test cricket after taking his 800th wicket last July, said he had developed second thoughts about his retirement as he wanted to set a record which no other cricketer could surpass. more..

Aug 6 (DM) Former LTTE senior K Pathmanathan, speaks to Daily Mirror and Tamil Mirror on issues of rehabilitation, reconstruction and future peace. Q: You are engaged in social services through your organisation NERDO. Can you explain the functions and aims of this organisation and the Anpu Illam (Kind home) under it? A: NERDO is providing humanitarian support. Anpu Illam is one of the projects of NERDO. Our goal is to help the people affected by the 30-year-long war. more..

Aug 6 (DN) The leadership training programme introduced to new university entrants would be extended to the students of the Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technology (SLIATE) and other higher educational institutions. The Higher Education Ministry has decided to extend this programme to higher educational institutions with the successful completion of leadership training programme for university entrants. more..

Aug 6 (Island) The govt of Sri Lanka has spent a staggering Rs. 2.5 bn on the rehabilitation of ex-LTTE cadres since the conclusion of the conflict in May 2009. Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe said that in spite of constraints, the govt had provided the funds needed for post-war rehabilitation process. He said that the first year (May 2009 to May 2010) had cost the Sri Lankan taxpayer Rs. 1.8 bn and about Rs. 700 mn since then. more..

Aug 7 (DM) UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya who is being proposed by the party reformists as the next leader yesterday pledged to unite the party and rid it of divisive forces and form a UNP govt in the future. He told the gathering at the swearing-in ceremony of the party’s newly elected local councillors that many including party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, co deputy leader Sajith Premadasa and religious leaders had requested him to unite the party and it was the need of the hour. more..

Aug 7 (SL) Four newly elected council members in the Jaffna Municipal Council affiliated to the governing UPFA have threatened to boycott sessions. The four Jaffna Municipal Councilors representing the All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC) led by Industrial Development Minister Rishad Bathiutheen have said they would boycott sessions calling for better facilities for the Muslims resettled inJaffna. One of the councilors, M.M. Ramees has told the media that the four members of his more..

Aug 7 (NN) Sri Lanka began exploring for oil in the Mannar basin today, Minister Basil Rajapaksa told reporters in Puttalam. He said that if Sri Lanka is successful in locating oil then it will no longer have to depend on importing oil from other countries. However he warned that some western countries may pose threats to Sri Lanka like it has done in the Middle East if Sri Lanka is successful in locating oil. Cairn India had been awarded rights to drill three more..

Aug 7 (PTI) The body of a Tamil Nadu fisherman was found washed ashore in Talaimannar coast off Sri Lanka on Saturday, fisheries department said. The deceased has been identified as A Leen from Kanyakumari district's Melamuttom coastal village, U Arulanandham, President of the 'Tamil Nadu Innocent Fishermen's Welfare Association', said. He said he had received the information from Jaffna Bishop Risqus. Leen had put to sea on July 20 and was missing since then. more..

Aug 7 (NN) Minister Janaka Bandara Tenakoon and his son Pramith Tenakoon raided an illegal brewery in Dambulla last night. Pramith Tenakoon confirmed that he and his father carried out the raid and later informed the police. He said that based on information obtained by him and his father, the two of them together with the Mayor of Dambulla raided the brewery located in Galewala, Dambulla. The brewery was said to be in operation from 6am to 1am the next day more..

Aug 7 (PTI) Security has been tightened at places frequented by tourists following the reported attack on a group of Sri Lankans here recently, a top police official said on Saturday. “We have increased the security following the attack,” Police Commissioner J.K. Tripathy said. Three activists belonging to Naam Thamizhar, a pro-Eeelam outfit, were arrested under various IPC sections, in connection with the incident more..

Aug 7 (AD) Several trade unions of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board have resorted to trade union action in protest to revoking a circular that had been issued regarding promotions to engineer assistants. Upali Ratnayake, committee member of the Diploma Engineers Association of the Water Board says that they will pull out from overtime duties and repairing services shifts today (6) and tomorrow, through this trade union action. He further added that more..

Aug 7 ((ANI) Australian batsman Ricky Ponting is likely to abandon the tour of Sri Lanka during the ODI series or the Test matches if the birth of his second child comes sooner than expected. Ponting's wife Rianna is due to give birth just a week after the third and last Test match late next month. With his three-year-old daughter Emmy born more than a month early, the 36-year-old, who reached Colombo with the national team last Thursday, expects more..

Aug 7 (BBC) The TNA says that it has reached to a situation where they are unable to continue further talks with the govt on political reforms. TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said that they are awaiting a response to three issues; the structure of governance, the subjects and functions allocated to the central govt and the provincial councils and issues pertaining to fiscal and financial devolution that it had presented to the govt. more..

Aug 7 (PTI) Foreign minister S M Krishna on Friday served a legal notice on Press Trust of India (PTI) for reporting that he appeared to be absent-minded when called upon to make a statement by the Lok Sabha Speaker. PTI had reported that when Speaker Meira Kumar called Krishna to make a statement yesterday on the the situation in Sri Lanka, he was not in his seat and was engaged in conversation with some members in the aisle. more..

Aug 7 (ST) One person was killed and two others seriously injured, including a Japanese woman and a child when their DPL vehicle hit an oncoming army truck and was thrown off the road into a nearby stream at Warakapola a short while ago, police said. The dead person was described as the driver of the DPL vehicle that belongs to the Japanese Embassy in Colombo. The injured persons were rushed to the Warakapola hospital, police said. more..

Aug 7 (CI) Sri Lanka's captain Tillakaratne Dilshan lifted the hosts to 198-3 against Australia with a startling century in the first Twenty20 international in Kandy. Sent in to bat at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, the hosts seemed likely to be held to a total of about 150 before Dilshan (104, 57 balls) and the allrounder Jeevan Mendis (29, 19 balls) combined for a stand of 104 runs in a mere 45 balls. more..

Aug 7 (IVP) Breivik, the Norwegian terrorist proved what we were attempting to establish for a long period that is that terror is a method which can be utilized by either the left or the right. There are many including Kumar the cricketer, who believe that any terror action should be connected to some sort of communism. Sure, Breivik thought himself to be a revolutionary, but he is a committed anti-communist. He thought it was gruesome having to commit these terrorist acts, more..

Aug 7 (SL) A few weeks ago I appeared on Al Jazeera’s The Stream. The subject was Sri Lankan Tamils and they introduced the programme with all the usual war footage from years ago. Before my connection kicked I think I managed to make one point – that I am not defined by my race or the war, and that I am Sri Lankan. That while ethnic conflict may be the problem, unity is the solution. It’s amazing how controversial saying ‘I’m Sri Lankan’ turned out to be. This kicked up a bit of a storm online, more..

Aug 7 (LP) Police have arrested two men and women leaders of a ring who provides abandoned houses for teenaged school children for sex activities in the outskirts of Colombo, top police sources disclosed. Police said the suspects were arrested at Piliyandala while enjoying liquor with two student couples of a school in Maharagama. On being questioned, the female students had confessed that they had their school uniforms inside the school bags and more..

Aug 7 (LG) Palitha Kumara Thevarapperuma, 51 years old married with 02 children, is a MP representing voters of Kalutara District. On 02.08.2011, he made written complaints to Human Rights Commission, IGP, the National Police Commission and to the SSP, Kalutara. He requests to protect him from harassments made by Mathugama Police who violated his fundamental rights. According to his statement, the Mathugama Police attempted several times to fabricate charges on him and more..

Aug 7 (LG) Mr. Pattani Razeek died of a heart attack. Only if it were that simple. The 54 year old managing trustee of Community Trust Fund had only just then returned from Norway with a large amount of money for his NGO when he was joined by two of his co-directors. These two had then kept him on watch at all times until they took him to Batticaloa and demanded they give them the funds. Mr Razeek became agitated and shocked when they started to threaten him. more..

Aug 7 (GV) 9.30am Saturday morning. I was walking on the pavement in Bambalapitiya when I found myself in the midst of the Adi Vel festival. I had passed it earlier near the Kovil in Kirullapone and had found myself feeling slightly unsettled after seeing men being hung on hooks and suspended from trucks in order to ask for help from a higher God. But I was there and seeing the hundreds of people involved in the Vel festival in different ways more..

Aug 7 (DM) Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s recent remarks on the Channel- 4 video film on the final days of the war did not turn out to be a bombshell as it deserves to be. At a time when the government is struggling to avert the possible pitfalls of the allegations of war crimes, Kumaratunga stated that her son Vimukthi, was ashamed to call himself a Sinhalese and a Lankan, after he saw Channel-4’s documentary called “Killing Fields of Sri Lanka.” more..

Aug 7 (GV) In an interview Professor Rajiva Wijesinha gave The Sunday Leader concerning government responses to international pressure, he remarks that “people believe what they want to believe”. Wijesinha’s ironically astute observation sheds light on why government responses to war crimes allegations during the final stage of the Eelam War are not being rallied against locally. Leaving aside the lack of press freedom, the fear psychosis and the problem of discontent more..

Aug 7 (SO) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva is heading the Govt side at the Talks with TNA as a precursor to the effort to reach a consensus between the South and North on a fitting framework for devolution. On Thursday the talks took a sudden turn, following its 9th round, when the TNA submitted three conditions to the Govt to carry forward the ongoing negotiations which Minister de Silva said were not conducive to the goodwill of the two parties. more..

Aug 7 (SO) The bogus claims, allegations and sinister campaigns carried out by certain organisations with vested interests, local and international, were debunked in toto with the release of the Factual Analysis report by Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa last Monday. The report was indeed an apposite reply with conclusive proof to counter the concocted stories churned out by the West. Each and every allegation levelled against Sri Lanka and its valiant Security Forces by more..

Aug 7 (SL) The Defence Ministry has finally admitted civilian casualties in the latter phase of our civil war. This is a welcome move. Less welcoming, however, is their posture. Their broad perspective is ‘trust us, everything is fine.’ To that end, they trot out multiple Tamil spokespersons touting this government line. In that, they go a bit too far. Years after the end of war we still live under Emergency Law. The last man who dared run against the President is in jail. more..

Aug 7 (LB) Q: You have been made a target by the international media, most notably by the Channel 4 for alleged war crimes committed during the final phase of the war. How do you cope with the negative publicity associated with you? A: I was the commander of the division which actually achieved the most number of victories during the humanitarian operation and now I am countering allegations against the country and our professional army. more..

Aug 7 (LB) In these pages we carry today the Defence Secretary’s speech at the release of the ‘factual analysis’ document published by the Defence Ministry, and also we carry an interview with Gen. Shavendra Silva, the ground commander in the final onslaught against the LTTE, and now our country’s permanent representative to the United Nations. We do not have to underscore the fact in the circumstances that defence issues are still very much in the national crosshairs and more..

Aug 7 (NS) At a time when India is looked upon with a jaundiced eye by many in Sri Lanka, there was an object lesson on Indo-Lanka relations last week: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rejecting a call for trade sanctions on Sri Lanka and Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa’s delegation being heckled while on a visit to the Indian Lok Sabha. By themselves, these events may not be sensational; nevertheless, they highlight the delicate nature of our relations with our giant neighbour more..

Aug 7 (SL) The police, while investigating the prostitution ring involving tele-drama actresses, have now discovered that it is operating as a large scale network that caters to the ‘upper middle and the affluent classes in Colombo, the Lankapuvath news agency reported Teledrama actresses in the age group of 18-26 years are involved in this racket and the police said many of them were ‘young girls’ who are yet to gain popularity. more..

Aug 7 (NS) If the results of the local govt elections were tremors that shook the foundations of the UNP, the events that followed last week were a virtual earthquake that appeared to reduce the grand old party to rubble. The sequence of events was unleashed when co-deputy leader of the UNP, Sajith Premadasa announced at a media briefing that his ‘reformist’ group had invited his other co-deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya to lead the party and claimed that Jayasuriya had accepted. more..

Aug 7 (NS) The UNP’s internal crisis appears to be deepening with no settlement in sight following Karu Jayasuriya’s announcement that he was prepared to accept the party leadership if it was the wish of the majority of the party. Soon after making this sensational announcement Karu Jayasuriya left for India on a private visit along with his wife Dr Ms.Vasantha Jayasuriya. By this time, party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who was in UK issued a statement saying that he entrusted more..

Aug 7 (SL) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has been slapped with the unexpected bill of over four million two hundred thousand rupees (Rs. 4,279,393 to be exact) courtesy of the former Interim Committee’s mismanagement. The fee is to pay off the shipping liner charges that have been incurred due to SLC’s failure to clear 6,100 chairs that had been ordered for the World Cup. The Board ordered 6,100 chairs for the World Cup held earlier in the year. more..

Aug 7 (Island) The issue that continued to make waves last week as well was the leadership challenge in the UNP, with Karu throwing his hat into the ring at the invitation of Sajith Premadasa and the UNP reformists. Even though Karu’s entry into would appear to strengthen the hand of the reformists, there is good cause to be careful. Does his entry into the fray really strengthen the reformists or does it weaken them? The Sajith faction should not fritter away what more..

Aug 7 (LB) Details of a racket that had been carried out in the Puttalam district where thousands of coconut lands were sold via the Internet has been unearthed by the Special Presidential Unit that conducts investigations, LAKBIMAnEWS reliably learns. Those involved in this master-racket had been selling coconut lands by dividing them into lots, and then marketing the same through a website. The Special Presidential Unit conducting investigations is said to have received information that more..