July 5 (UCAN) Religious leaders visiting displacement camps and a former war zone to check on the progress of refugee resettlement efforts say progress is slow but the government is doing the best it can under difficult circumstances. The Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Catholic representatives were visiting camps around Kilinochchi and Mulative in northern Sri Lanka, June 28-30. “We heard that progress resettling these people is slow, but if you visited these areas, you would more..

July 5 (DN) Colombo district recorded the highest number of dengue cases - 3,745 and the highest number of deaths – 27 during the first half of this year. Gampaha district recorded 1,263 cases and 11 deaths while over 10,000 dengue cases were reported from all parts of the country by July 1. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry is in the process of collecting data from ministries and institutions to strengthen the National Strategic Plan on Mosquito Eradication, more..

July 5 (LB) Veteran political commentator Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera says that recent allegations made against the govt by the TNA that one of their political rallies had been attacked by security forces in the North, could be far from the truth. Speaking to LAKBIMAnEWS he said that the TNA was indulging in a gross misrepresentation of facts and charged that the party was trying to gain petty political mileage, being in a political limbo, domestically. more..

July 5 (Island) Despite two splendid performances in the last two ODIs, the Sri Lankan cricket team has been unfairly criticised by their English counterparts after they took a 2-1 lead in the five match series with a six wicket win at Lord’s on Sunday in front of a capacity crowd. On a placid Lord’s track, England’s Ashes winning side failed to put up a competitive total and were stunned by the little known Dinesh Chandimal, a 21-year-old right-handed batsman, more..

July 5 (TN) A gang of SLFP ministers and MPs, including presidential sibling Basil Rajapaksa were camping in Jaffna last weekend to plan and campaign for the forthcoming civic elections to the town and village councils scheduled to take place in the north on 23 July. Their meetings were also participated by occupying Sri Lanka’s colonial governor Maj. Gen. Chandrasri. The SLFP campaign in Jaffna takes place after occupying SL Army brutally attacking the participants of more..

July 5 (FT) SriLankan Airlines has announced an attractive, flexible air fare plan to provide a more competitive range of fares for flights from Colombo to many of its destinations in its global network. SriLankan currently operates approximately 175 flights a week, out of Colombo to destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Far East and the Sub-continent. The fare structures have been constructed to suit a variety of passenger needs and more..

July 5 (GDI) When the govt's highly prioritized policy program of transforming the country as the hub of knowledge become a reality northern Jaffna would be the main city for dissemination of knowledge in the country said the Minister Basil Rajapaksa. He was speaking at a special workshop held at Jaffna Weerasingham Hall for the candidates contesting the forthcoming Local Govt elections due on July 23, for 19 such institutions in the northern Jaffna and Kilinochchi districts. more..

July 5 (Island) A much disappointed co-organizer of the SLFP for the Jaffna District Dr. Velmurugu Thangarajah on Monday (4) accused EPDP Leader and Minister Douglas Devananda for denying the UPFA of victory in 10 of the 16 local bodies at the forthcoming local elections in the Jaffna district scheduled for July 23. Several attempts to contact EPDP Leader and Minister Douglas Devananda at his Party Headquarters in Jaffna or his mobile phone which was ringing failed. more..

July 5 (DM) UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa warned that an era of the jungle law would come into effect if the UNP Constitution is not implemented soon. Addressing a commemorative meeting of Late President R. Premadasa held in Matara Sunday, Mr. Premadasa said the time had come to safe guard the UNP members whose ruling power had been lost for about 17 years. "If we can't implement the UNP Constitution, the era of the jungle law will come into effect. more..

July 5 (ABC) Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd says new information about atrocities against Sri Lankan civilians at the end of the civil war is appalling. A new British television documentary has shown evidence of civilians being killed by govt troops. The 26-year war, which ended in 2009, was waged between Tamils seeking to create their own state and the Sri Lankan government and military. Last year, a United Nations panel of experts found there was credible evidence that more..

July 5 (DM) President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said several senior public officials and even police officers often failed to give due respect to the National Anthem. Addressing a programme on promoting social values and children’s rights at the President’s House in Kandy he said patriotism and social values should be inculcated in children during their formative years. The President said “We experience the impact of the Western Culture through television. more..

July 5 (Island) Another batch of 552 former LTTE cadres, who had completed their term of rehabilitation, were reintegrated into the mainstream of society at a function presided over by the Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Chandrasiri Gajadeera at Punthottam Tamil Vidyalaya in Vavuniya on Monday (4). The remaining 2,950 youths would be successfully rehabilitated and reintegrated into civil society before the end of this year. more..

July 5 (LBO) Sri Lanka's state-run national carrier SriLankan Airlines has sought a quote from US-based Boeing aircraft to replace its ageing long-haul Airbus fleet, but the European aircraft maker is also in the running, an official said. SriLankan Airlines chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe said the supplier of its new long haul fleet will also have to arrange the sale of "three or four" of its older A340 aircraft. The airline was looking at acquiring Boeing 777 aircraft. more..

July 5 (Island) Former Chairman of the Kaduwela Pradeshiya Sabha G. H. Buddadasa lashed out at his rivals in the UPFA ranks, who have got into open clashes with his supporters in recent days. He called them ungrateful newcomers, who had been surviving on leftovers of the party kitchen. The ex- Chairman said he was not a parachutist to the SLFP, but had a long history in the party and the newcomers should not try to test his patience. "Some who joined only yesterday were trying to be overnight heroes," more..

July 5 (DM) Minister Susill Premajayantha yesterday suspended payment for the 20,000 metric tonnes of allegedly contaminated petrol imported from Dubai last month. The consignment of 90 octane petrol worth US$11.5 million or Rs.1.17 billion was imported from the Emirates National Oil Company in Dubai to prevent a possible fuel shortage after a 10-day breakdown at the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery (SOR). “I suspended the payments for the consignment and more..

July 5 (DM) Archaeological Officers complained that the flower table which gave fashion and beauty to the Black Water pond at Mihintale Sacred Area has been lost. The watcher attached to the Department of Archaeology who came to watch the black pond had reported about the missing flower table to the officer in charge attached to the Mihintale Archaeological site. A craving of a lotus flower was made coming out of the middle of the flower table was two and half feet long and one and half feet tall. more..

July 5 (DM) The Court of Appeal yesterday fixed for hearing on July 11 the Writ application filed by a Peradeniya University student challenging the purported resignation tendered by the Heads of Department of the University. The Writ petition came up before Justice S. Sriskandarajah. The Petitioner W.A.Y. Ekadeera is seeking the Court to issue a Writ of Prohibition restraining the Vice Chancellor and Members of the University Council from accepting the letters of resignation more..

July 5 (CI) In an extraordinary address at the MCC Spirit of Cricket Lecture at Lord's, Kumar Sangakkara has launched a scathing attack on the "partisan cronies" at Sri Lanka Cricket who blight the sport in his country, and who led him to resign the captaincy after only two years in charge, in the wake of the World Cup final in April. In an hour-long speech that earned him a standing ovation, Sangakkara charted the unique history of cricket in his country, and more..

July 5 (Island) The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) yesterday warned that depriving the telephone allowance to doctors could result in total collapse of the medical service. The GMOA points out that in accordance with the government circular No 446 issued in September 2010, Treasury has granted telephone allowance to high officials of the public service. It was a great injustice meted out to doctors as they had not been included in it. more..

July 5 (Island) Maharagama police recently produced Lalith Welivitigoda, a professional photographer in the Nugegoda Magistrate’s Court on a charge of assaulting a public servant. The Court granted him bail pending further investigations. The police moved swiftly after an irate Healthcare Minister Maithripala Sirisena had berated the police for failing to act on a complaint lodged by a Public Health Inspector (PHI) against Welivitigoda. more..

July 5 (Island) The Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms has decided to construct a new prison complex in the Jaffna district. "The new prison complex will be constructed in the Pannai area on a 1.5-acre block of land," Secretary to the ministry, A. Dissanayaka said. The ministry has already received Cabinet approval for the construction and Rs. 272 million has been allocated. more..

July 5 (DM) The main opposition UNP yesterday asked the government to take immediate action against Petroleum Industries Ministry officials who were responsible for importing inferior quality petrol. Party spokesman Gayantha Karunatilleke told a news conference the inferior quality petrol had been imported from a company which was not registered with the ministry and it had been done outside the tender procedure. more..

July 5 (Island) Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) Joseph Stalin alleges that material for school uniforms for this year (2011) have not been distributed to about 1.5 million students in schools island wide though six months have already elapsed. Stalin told The Island that uniform material, for over 3.86 million students, costing Rs. 1,260 million was set apart by the Education Ministry. more..

July 5 (DM) The CID was yesterday directed to investigate an allegation that former LTTE political division leader Subramaniun Sivagami alias Kamalini had been removed from prison custody to that of the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID). Lawyer Manjula Pathiraja instructed by Dusith Johndasan appearing for Ms. Kamalini said she had surrendered to the forces when the war ended in 2009. more..

July 5 (LB) Sri Lanka has become the collection and distribution centre of illegal marine species trade in South Asia due to the lack of regulations and inter-departmental coordination. In the last few weeks, Indian authorities made several arrests confiscating large quantities of marine animals -- mainly dried sea horses and sea cucumbers which were destined for Sri Lanka. more..

July 5 (Island) The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment has launched an island wide crackdown on illegal foreign employment agencies who dupe Sri Lankans, mostly women, by promising them employment in the Middle East countries and forcing them to part with their monies. This racket had been going on for several years and that their special Investigative Unit has been raiding many such Illegal agencies and prosecuting them. more..

July 5 (DM) The government yesterday said its defence expenditure has dropped to three percent of the Gross Domestic Product. According to Finance and Planning Ministry Secretary Dr P B Jayasundara, the government has managed to reduce the defence expenditure systematically. He was delivering the keynote speech at the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2011, held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel yesterday. Minister Basil Rajapaksa was the chief guest. more..

July 5 (DM) The law and democratic principles sometimes hamper development but a pinch of dictatorship can expedite the expected target at the expected time as witnessed in many Asian Tiger countries, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said. He was on an inspection tour of the ‘Deduru Oya Multi–Purpose Development Project’ (DMDP) during which he laid the foundation stone for the 1.5 MW hydro power plant at Tummodara. more..

July 5 (AFP) Sri Lanka's cash-strapped cricket governing body is likely to scale down its inaugural Twenty20 league and go ahead without foreign players, a source close to the process said on Tuesday. The Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) was scheduled to kick off on July 19 with players from Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and the West Indies, but foreigners demanding hefty fees are now unlikely to be included. more..

July 5 (Island) With water levels at less than 25 per cent in the major reservoirs, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) on Monday decided to impose power cuts during daytime in most parts of the country. The CEB has been imposing unannounced power at night for several weeks due to insufficient generation capacity to meet the peak hour demand. According to senior CEB engineers, this situation has been brought about by several factors. more..

July 6 (CI) We're a happy and confident team at the moment, now that we've taken a 2-1 lead in the one-day series. Mind you, I have to admit we were a little bit anxious up on the balcony in the closing overs at Lord's, when Angelo Mathews was slowing the scoring down to help Dinesh Chandimal reach a hugely deserved hundred. We would probably have finished the game off with five or six overs to spare if Chandi hadn't been going for his hundred, so we certainly didn't want it to more..

July 6 (NN) The police say a new traffic plan will be rehearsed tomorrow between 11am-7pm along Galle road from Dickman’s road traffic lights to the Bambalapitiya junction. Accordingly the road between the Dickman’s road traffic lights and Bambalapitiya junction will be one way and only for vehicles heading into Colombo. Meanwhile Duplication road, between Vajira road and Dickman’s road will also be one way for traffic heading out of Colombo. There will be connecting lanes for vehicles to more..

July 6 (WSJ) There is no need for urgent Sri Lankan monetary policy action, central bank governor has said, just days before officials hold their next policy review meeting. In a telephone interview, Ajith Nivard Cabraal said policy makers will remain watchful. But absent a major global upheaval in prices--which he described as not very likely--he said he felt confident the central bank was on track to achieve its expected inflation path. more..

July 6 (LBO) Sri Lanka has appealed to the public to reduce consumption during peak hours, saying hydro-power reservoirs were running dry and several thermal plants had broken down but no power cuts will be imposed. The power ministry said in a statement no power cuts will be imposed despite reports of unofficial power cuts. The state power utility Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) was meeting current demand for power with difficulty, having to rely mainly on more..

July 6 (GDI) A botanical garden is being established in Mirijjawila in the Hambantota district. This is the first botanical garden to be established in the dry zone in Sri Lanka. It has an extent of 300 acres. The objective of establishing this botanical garden is for the conservation of dwindling trees and shrubs in the dry zone, popularizing of unpopular trees, conservation of medicinal herbs, promotion of tourism and providing botanical knowledge to the younger generation. more..

July 6 (GDI) The International Covention Centre is being constructed in a 28 acre land in Siribopura, in the Hambantota District in Sri Lanka at a cost of U.S.$ 15.3 Million. The Complex has a main hall with 1500 seating capacity, 3 more halls with 250 seat capacity each and 10 other small halls. The complex has restaurant facilities, exhibition halls, modern sound and recording facilities, and also an open air theatre. This two storied complex has a helipad and more..

July 6 (NN) The Human Rights Commission (HRC) says it will investigate the incident involving sub standard fuel being sold by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) if a complaint is lodged. The HRC says selling sub standard fuel to the people which resulted in the people having to face severe hardships and difficulties is a violation of their rights. According to the HRC it has a mandate to investigate human rights violations and so will investigate any complaints that more..

July 6 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's sports minister has ordered a probe into former captain Kumar Sangakkara's comments about the island nation's cricket administrators and political meddling during his speech to Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) members at Lord's on Monday. Sangakkara was given a standing ovation after delivering the annual Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture in which he recounted the history of cricket in Sri Lanka, more..

July 6 (CI) Sri Lanka Cricket's new interim committee will meet with Somerset Entertainment Ventures on Friday to discuss the future of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL). The previous committee, which created the tournament, was dissolved last week by Sri Lanka's sports ministry and a new panel was appointed in its place. ESPNcricinfo understands that the new committee is still getting up to speed on the tournament and will decide how to go ahead with it once they have met Somerset. more..