June 30 (NS) Sri Lanka has earned itself the discreditable distinction of being home to some of the most reckless drivers on earth. The reality that this country has recorded one of the highest rates of death and injury from road accidents in the World serves to reinforce the statement to a large degree. But its capital, Colombo and bigger townships in particular seem to have established another all-time record for its disproportionate number of home-grown hare-brained jaywalkers and pedestrians, who push bravado to the very limits of more..

June 30 (CT) Well-intentioned commentators argue that we should ignore the latent—and even episodically manifest—secessionism in Tamil nationalist discourse and give it the benefit of the doubt. They simplistically urge the speedy holding of elections to the Northern provincial council. These commentators have turned their backs not only on the Realist tradition but also on the best of the radical tradition. They are oblivious to the Leninist injunction of the concrete analysis of concrete conditions. more..

June 30 (DBS) The opening ceremony of the Olympics is always a glittering tableau which hundreds of thousands of people tune in to watch. The idea is to showcase the culture of the host country; but the real highlight is the symbolic lighting of the Olympic torch. A single, burning flame travels a great distance across the country until it finally reaches the Olympic stadium. While all eyes are on the fire, which signals more..

June 30 (CT) There have been two clearly discernible dimensions to the ‘national question’ in Sri Lanka in modern times. By modern times, I mean the period beginning with colonialism particularly under the British (1815) and the awakening of various ethnic communities into national consciousness under capitalism or print capitalism. The first dimension of the national question signified or still signifies the independence from colonialism and after independence (1948), the freedom from post-colonialism or what is more..

June 30 (CT) A leading adviser on Islam, Ameer Ali, has attacked Muslims who “blindly” follow their faith and fail to question the veracity of the Koran, saying that even Mohammed had “flaws”. The chairman of John Howard’s Muslim advisory board yesterday warned that Islamists would continue to breed jihadis unless the Koran was “reinterpreted” for today’s society. He also said mosques were increasingly being used by imams to deliver sermons that were not open to discussion. more..

June 30 (SL) Sevannan Viralasingham has been separated from his family for over 10 years. In a bid to rejoin with them he sought the assistance of human smugglers. After nearly two years of raising the funds and attempting the journey, Viralasingham is still no closer to his family than when he started. Viralasingham, who lived in Kilinochchi his entire life, owned a small shop in the main town, until in early 2000. “The LTTE forced me to shut down my shop claiming more..

June 30 (DBS) It did not require rocket science to decipher what Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was referring to when he addressed the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), Rio+20, at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “A cardinal principle governing the behaviour of nations in the modern world should be recognition of the principle that the resources of a country, whether on land or in the oceans, belong to the people of that country,” he said, referring to Sri Lanka’s more..

June 30 (Island) Ministers in charge of education and higher education are nursing their derriere following a humiliating pratfall at Hulftsdorp on Monday. They are bellowing empty rhetoric and trotting out ludicrous excuses to save face but the Z-score has manifestly boomeranged on them. Having defended the formula used for the 2011 GCE (A/L) exam Z-score calculation, in public and in Parliament, they cannot absolve themselves of the blame for its application and the attendant mess-up. more..

June 30 (DBS) Subramaniam Sivakamy alias Thamilini was transferred from the Colombo Remand Prison (CRP) in Welikade to the Protective Accommodation and Rehabilitation Centre (PARC) at Poonthottam in Vavuniya on June 26th. The former woman political commissar of the LTTE was transferred on an order to that effect issued by Colombo chief magistrate Rashmi Singappuli on June 22nd. more..

June 30 (Island) The first elected Islamist President in the Arab world will soon be taking office in Egypt. Mohamed Mursi was elected in a democratic election following the people’s revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak from power. But that revolution did not come about as a result of a military coup or a powerful opposition group ‘capturing’ power. The revolution began as a protest movement led by young activists. more..

June 30 (Island) ICTA, the co-hosts of FutureGov SAARC Summit 2012, signed on Intel as the Knowledge Partner for the forum. As the longest running e-Governance conference in the region, FutureGov SAARC Summit 2012 takes a comprehensive look at the issues at the heart of information management for the Sri Lankan public sector. "Intel has time and again helped us in our e-governance initiatives with their expertise and valuable global experiences. more..

June 30 (FT) The Police reaffirmed its focused determination to protect intellectual property rights, when it carried out yet another copyright enforcement raid. This time, the Colombo Crimes Division raided an established corporate entity in the banking and financial sector suspected of using pirated and unlicensed software. The raid took place in Colombo last week, with the inspection and identification of suspected pirated software taking over five hours. more..

June 30 (CT) The Colombo District Court refused to issue an enjoining order preventing the office bearers’ elections election of the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA), scheduled to take place today, Association’s Secretary Dr. Chandika Epitakaduwa said. Addressing a press conference yesterday (29), he said two separate parties of the GMOA had filed a petition at the District Court attempting to block the Association’s annual election of office bearers. “Drs. Jayantha Balawardena and Upul Gunasekara had more..

June 30 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said the loans taken by the government are not meant to only feed the people, but are invested in various development projects in the country. The President said these development projects, including airports, harbours and expressways, would increase in value day by day, while being added to the assets of the country. He made these observations at a ceremony at more..

June 30 (FT) The Colombo Fort Magistrate yesterday issued summons on the Director of the National Zoological Garden to appear in Court on 7 September to give evidence in connection with the case filed against Rosemary Felicia Perera alias ‘Jeena madam’ for allegedly possessing a leopard’s skin without a valid permit. The Divisional Vice Squad had filed a case against Perera, the main suspect who allegedly managed a brothel at the Kollupitiya Liberty Plaza complex and more..

June 30 (DN) External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris and Hambantota district MP and Hambantota District Development Committee chairman Namal Rajapaksa participated in an employment generation programme in Hambantota recently. Eighty youths received appointment letters as trainees of Shangri-La Hotels, embarking on a challenging career. They are to receive four months’ residential training in Sri Lanka, followed by 18 months training overseas in Shangri-La Hotels abroad. more..

June 30 (FT) The Board of Investment (BOI) this week signed an agreement with a Saudi Arabian investor who will set up a project to carry out yacht, boat and pleasure craft repairs at the Galle Harbour. The project will be a state-of-the-art marine venture and will result in benefits for Sri Lanka such as technology transfers, increase in foreign exchange and creating 1,500 direct employment opportunities. more..

June 30 (Independent) Sri Lanka go into today's second Test against Pakistan in Colombo emerging from a long shadow, while Pakistan go into it having been cast back into one. The hosts at the Sinhalese Sports Club, who are 1-0 up after a thumping 209-run win in the first Test at Galle, are beginning at last to emerge from their decades-long dependence on Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan. For Pakistan, the re-emergence of Salman Butt and Danish Kaneria is a more..

June 30 (FMT) Two men on a motorcycle attacked a PKR man during a fund-raising gathering for Sri Lankan refugees in Brickfields here today. Kepong PKR information chief MS Arjunan was slashed several times on his face by one of the assailants who escaped with the other youth on the motorcycle. “My father received four stitches on his face at a clinic in Bangsar,” said his son Kalaimughilan. Arjunan and his son are expected to lodge a report at the Travers police station in Bangsar. more..

June 30 (CI) A team that has not won any of its previous eight Test series, following the retirement of its greatest bowler, against a team that has been unbeaten in its previous seven. No contest? Recent history suggested so but current form prevailed in the first Test. Like they had in the ODIs, Pakistan's batsmen proved brittle again, against Nuwan Kulasekara and Rangana Herath, and against umpires Steve Davis more..

June 30 (Island) A retired teacher, who taught at St. Peter’s College, Colombo for years and lived in London for 20 years, was terrorised and robbed of his gold chain by an intruder who broke into his house. The victim did not get any help from the Mirihana police even after a few days, but finally he got results in a matter of hours when he sought the assistance of the Mirihana DIG. The complainant, 70-year-old J. D. Samaranayake, who lives with his wife in more..

June 30 (Island) Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) would take immediate legal action against state or private errant traders who were violating the consumer protection Act, Minister Johnston Fernando said yesterday. CAA chairman Rumi Marzook said that CAA had nabbed 40 Lanka Sathosa retail outlets during raids conducted countrywide on June 26 and 27. He said that the traders had violated Act had by failing to exhibits the price tag on goods on display. more..

June 30 (DM) Bio-anthropologists from the Cambridge University will arrive in Sri Lanka today to conduct further research on the pre historic skeleton found at Pahiyangala, Archeology Department Excavation Director Nimal Perera said. “The anthropologists from Britain will conduct high technology research on the fossils like DNA residues,” Dr. Perera said and added that carbon samples of the soil around the discovery area more..

June 30 (DN) “The Gajaba Regiment has contributed immensely towards eliminating terrorism from the country. I admire their dedication, determination and the rigorous training that they underwent to not only bring peace to the country but to also uplift sports. They are a shining example to the nation,” said Defence and Urban Development Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. He was speaking at the first Gajaba Colours Night at Musaeus College auditorium, Colombo on Thursday. more..

June 30 (Island) The Colombo District Judge Dhammika Ganepola yesterday refused to issue an enjoining order restraining the Government Medical Officers’ Association from holding its election of Office Bearers on June 30, 2012. The District Judge said that the plaint, filed by seven medical officers, who are members of the GMOA, was not substantial to grant an enjoining order.The plaintiff were Dr. Jayantha Balawardene, Dr. Upul Guneratne and five other. They had alleged that irregularities had occurred during postal voting. more..

June 30 (CT) Environmentalists are protesting over a decision allegedly taken by the President to release a confiscated consignment of rare birds back to the importer. According to reliable sources it is alleged the birds were released back to importer Hiran Jayasekera yesterday, on a directive by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The birds were detected by the Bio-Diversity Unit (BPU) of the Sri Lanka Customs on 2 February, when an attempt was made to more..

June 30 (DN) Sri Lanka's Agriculture Department and Australian Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Department signed a MoU on Co-operative Bio Security initiatives. Participating in the MOU signing held at Hilton Hotel, Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane said that MOU would facilitate the training of quarantine officers of the Ministry of Agriculture and treatment providers of the private sector, by providing the required skills on methyl bromide fumigation to prevent the more..

June 30 (CT) In a case of serial paedophilia, Divulapitiya Police has arrested the acting principal of a primary school in the area for molesting 11 underage children. Police said the suspect had molested 10 girls and one boy between the ages of five and 10 years, who are students at the primary school. The suspect was arrested on Thursday after the Divulapitiya Police received information from the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) of the said school principal being involved in more..

June 30 (Island) An alleged attempt to make a killing in the purchase of four air quality testing machines urgently needed by the country, in the guise of making the purchase through a govt-to- govt deal, has become the talking point in the Central Environment Authority and the Environment Ministry. CEA Chairman Charitha Herath however claimed that the offer from the Czech govt was a package of proposals and it had nothing to more..

June 30 (TN) Police investigators in the notorious 4th floor at the Colombo Police Headquarters on Thursday interrogated TNA MP Sivagnanam Sritharan, who has been behind the recent protest at Thirumu'rika'ndi against Colombo's genocidal land grab undertaken through occupying SL military in Vanni. The CIDs interrogated Mr Sritharan for three hours confronting him with questions about an interview to a diaspora radio in Tamil, an alleged interview in English in Tamil Nadu, his interactions with the Tamil diaspora in more..

June 30 (Island) All Ceylon Health Services Union (ACHSU) General Secretary Gamini Kumarasinghe alleged that Sabaragamuwa Province Health Minister Banu Munipriya had appointed more than 200 of his supporters three days prior to the dissolution of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council. The appointments were illegal because some had been appointed as casual attendants, though there was no such post in the Health Ministry’s cadre. The governor of the Sabaragamuwa Province, more..

June 30 (DM) The presidential secretariat has decided to intervene in trying to resolve the Z-score crisis following the Supreme Court ruling that the UGC recalculates the rankings on the basis that the two syllabuses are different, informed sources said. Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga has invited Professor R.O. Thattil for a meeting next week to sort out this matter. It was Prof. Thattil who had introduced the Z-score more..

June 30 (Island) The Higher Education Ministry Secretary in a letter addressed to academic staff members of all universities yesterday said that the latter’s struggle for salary increases did not have the element of social justice, as during the last two years, the salaries of academic staff members had been increased by an average of 66 percent. Dr Sunil Jayantha Navaratne says in his letter: "I request you to ask yourself how you could justify your demand for another salary hike so soon. more..

June 30 (Island) The biggest players in the construction industry will show off their latest innovations at Sri Lanka’s largest construction exhibition, ‘Construct 2012’. The grand event is set to take place on the 10th, 11th, 12th August 2012 at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Exhibition Centre. Customers, enthusiasts and industry stakeholders alike, will come to witness a display of the construction industry’s more..

June 30 (Island) TMVP leader former Eastern Province Chief Minister, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan (Pilleyan) is pushing for the lion’s share of UPFA nominations in the Batticaloa District. Political sources said that talks with its partners, including Chandrakanthan were at an early stage. The SLFP-led coalition was also exploring the possibility of allocating at least six slots to UPFA constituent, the SLMC, ACMC and another Muslim political faction in the coalition. more..

June 30 (Island) Drug Trafficking was one of the main sources of finance for the LTTE terrorists as reflected in the World Drug Report 2012, says Dr. Palitha Kohona, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations. He was addressing at the UN General Assembly Thematic Debate on ‘Drug and Crime as a Threat to Development’ in New York on June 26. Terrorist groups in many countries have engaged more..

June 30 (AT) Only after the dialogue, and actions taken through democratic means exhaust, the TNA will resort to satyagraha campaign. It will be a peaceful nonviolent struggle based on the principles ahimsa. “If the Sri Lankan Govt does not deliver a political solution and does not resolve the problems we are presently confronted with, particularly on the questions of lands, militarization, so on and so forth, then we will at the appropriate more..

June 30 (Island) The private sector trade unions, spearheaded by the JVP–led Inter Company Employees Union, will shortly seek Supreme Court intervention to force the govt to audit the investments of the EPF in the Colombo Stock Exchange. "This must be done at the earliest possible time as EPF investments in the Colombo Stock Market, amounting to Rs. 60 billion, has resulted in a Rs. 12 billion capital loss and more..

June 30 (SL) Jokers are very much alive in this land of Serendib. We have so much going on around us that we have become a nation of jokers. Anura Bandaranaike said he did not want to be party to a nation of clowns but he has taken the easy way out and has not had to put up with the “Sitch”. And what a “sitch” we are in. Many people indeed think that dying is the easy way out! For starters we have a man wanted for questioning more..