July 4 (Island) The Professions Supplementary to Medicine (PSM) warned they would launch a countrywide strike in two weeks if the Health Ministry did not settle the Class One and Special Grade promotions issue. PSM General Secretary, Saman Jayasekara said that Health Secretary, Mrs. Sudharma Karunarathna had pledged to settle the issue in two weeks following discussions with. Based on the promise the PSM union had decided to give the Ministry time till July 15, he said. more..

July 4 (ES) On Monday morning Australians learnt that two boats of Tamil asylum seekers had been intercepted off Christmas Island. Now there are unconfirmed reports that Australia is handing them over to the Sri Lankan navy without assessing their claims for protection. At least one of the vessels intercepted in high seas contained 153 Tamil asylum seekers, originally from Sri Lanka. These included 37 children, one of whom was only aged three months and was sick. more..

July 4 (CT) In light of govt higher-ups being held responsible by certain quarters for their apathetic responses to repeated overtures made public by concerned groups with regards to the wave of extremism in the country, Ven. Dr. Medagoda Abayatissa Thera of Uni of Sri J'pura lambasted PM and Minister of Buddha Sasana, D.M. Jayaratne, by holding responsible his buffoonish demeanour and ignorance with regards to more..

July 4 (GDI) Sri Lanka�s women biz are on the verge of a breakthrough on 02 July as Commonwealth said it has picked the country to be its pioneering training point for its int�l women entrepreneurship push. �What we are looking at is Sri Lanka to be the hub for face to face delivery of training-whether it�s a hub for South Asia or Asia. But this is the first time for C�Wealth Business training that a facility of this nature being established. There is a high level of interest about Sri Lanka being involved. more..

July 4 (CI) The last time South Africa played a Test match in Sri Lanka was the year bird flu flapped its way across East Asia, Italy won the World Cup and Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had the first of their three biological children. But perhaps more tellingly, the civil war was still raging in Sri Lanka in 2006. There would be cricket but it was on a collision course with real life. South African team would have to concern themselves with both those things. Naturally, first was their main focus initially. more..

July 4 (IPS) U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the Sri Lankan govt to �take necessary measures� to prevent any further attacks against minority Muslims in the country. Asked to respond to reports of violence there, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told IPS �the secretary-general is concerned about reported attacks against Muslim communities in southern Sri Lanka�. more..

July 4 (CT) According to the minister 25 families currently residing in the area would be relocated to a 15 acre land not far from where the families now live. Valuation Department has re-valued the buildings and cultivation on the 250 acre land, and the report is expected to reach Board of Investment by 10 July. So far 21 families have agreed to be relocated and construct their own facilities at the new location on condition that compensation would be paid by BoI stage by stage. more..

July 4 (FT) Three student leaders of the Rajarata University senior student association have been arrested for taking the university�s Vice Chancellor and several others staffers hostage last week. The student leaders were arrested on charges of unruly conduct and wrongful confinement of the Vice Chancellor and other academic staff of the Rajarata University, SSP Ajith Rohana said. A further 37 connected with the incident have been identified and that statements have been recorded more..

July 4 (Island) Power and Energy Ministry would recommend to the govt to bring down the electricity tariffs once power from the third phase of the first coal fired power plant at Norochcholai was added to the national grid. Power and Energy Ministry, Secretary, M.M.C. Ferdinando said that a CEB team was working hard to make sure that power from third phase of the project would be added to the grid in September. more..

July 4 (ET) Security experts have expressed serious concerns over recent riots in SL, and have stressed the need for Colombo to take steps to control the situation, fearing that riots may be exploited by 'foreign elements' wanting to carry out a terror strikes in southern states of India. Delhi is equally apprehensive the riots may have been encouraged by elements wanting to create a situation whereby the affected Muslims in SL get marginalised & thereby offer a breeding ground. more..

July 4 (Island) A 36-year-old lawyer from Werellagama delivered quintuplets at the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital yesterday. A caesarean section had been performed by a team headed by Specialist Gynaecologist, Dr. Ranaraja. The couple had been without children for ten years. Now they have four boys and one girl. While the mother was in the surgical ICU, all five babies were in new incubators provided to the hospital by the Health Ministry recently. more..

July 4 (DM) Sri Lanka�s chief cricket selector Sanath Jayasuriya who had received treatment for a heart ailment at Nawaloka Hospital for the past few days has been released from the hospital after a successful minor surgery to install a stent into one of the coronary arteries to clear a blockade, a spokesman for the legendary former cricketer told Daily Mirror. Former star player who is now a deputy minister, turned 45 on Monday. more..

July 4 (DN) Arrangements are in place to hold 46th Asia Pacific Coconut Community COCOTECH Conference & Coconut Festival 2014 in SL under the theme 'Policies, programs and technologies towards a resilient and sustainable coconut sector', Minister Jagath Pushpakumara said. Event will be hosted from July 7 to 11 with participation of over 150 experts from 27 countries including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Kenya, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Vietnam and Tongo. more..

July 4 (DM) Colombo High Court today directed the parties in the trial into the killing of British tourist Khuram Sheik to conclude their cases and to conclude their submissions by next Friday because it intended to deliver judgment within two weeks. Defense Counsel Jayantha Weerasinghe PC, who appeared for the accused, told High Court Judge Rohini Walgama that they had received the last set of extracts of the evidence only on Thursday and needed time to study the documents more..

July 4 (AAP) The UN refugee agency has expressed "profound concern" about reports that refugees seeking Australia's protection are being intercepted and processed at sea. The Abbott govt has refused to confirm or deny Tamil asylum seekers were intercepted trying to reach Australia by boat and reportedly have been or would be sent back to Sri Lanka. There are also reports that Australia is screening Tamil asylum seekers more..

July 4 (Island) A former seaman, who allegedly set himself on fire yesterday on the Bristol Street in Colombo and had been rushed to the Colombo National Hospital by some onlookers after throwing water on him, is in a critical condition. Colombo National Hospital Director, Dr. Anil Jasinghe said that the man who had received very serious burn injuries on 95% of his skin was being treated at the Accident ward. The man was identified as Nimal Hapuarachchi of Grandpass more..

July 4 (AM) Kurunegala Mayor Gamini Peramunage has allegedly forced a Deputy Principal of Kurunegala Maliyadeva College to kneel down inside the Mayor�s office for punishing a student. It was reported that the Mayor has summoned the Deputy Principal to his office after he got to know that a student had been punished by Deputy Principal. The punished student, reportedly, is the son of the Mayor. Asian Mirror also learns that the Mayor had ordered the school principal to more..

July 4 (FT) Taking a new path to boost rural employment, the Investment Promotion Ministry will spearhead smaller industrial zones in outlying areas. Under this new measure proposed by President Rajapaksa, fresh land is being acquired around the country including Kalladi, Puttalam, Kilinochchi, Matara, Hakmana and large tracts of land in Hambantota, Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said. more..

July 4 (LBO) Sri Lanka will upgrade and maintain roads connecting more than 1,000 villages to the highways and expressways in a US$ 906 million project with US$ 800 million coming from the Asian Development Bank. Minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said US$ 106 million will come from the govt and the cabinet of ministers had given the nod to go ahead with loan. The first 100 million tranche ADB loan is expected October 2014 improving and maintaining 560 kilometres of rural access roads more..

July 4 (DC) The answer to TN fishermen�s problem could lie in the Netherlands. TNFIDET (TN fishermen development trust) believes so. The fishermen�s collective has submitted a memorandum to CM Jayalalithaa urging her to persuade the Indian govt to move the international court to retrieve Katchatheevu islet, which India ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974. TNFIDET cited the cause celebre of Palmas in which the Netherlands retrieved Palmas Island (Miangas) near the Philippines more..

July 4 (FT) Govt has reiterated its contempt for the UN investigation into alleged rights abuses committed by Sri Lankan troops and the LTTE in the last phase of the war, announcing that it was �not interested� in holding former Tiger leaders accountable for past crimes. �Our policy is rehabilitation and it has been a success for us,� Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told journalists. He said the UNHRC Resolution calling for more..

July 4 (DM) With another dengue epidemic raging and this year�s number of victims being the highest ever, Govt needs to act immediately on some practical and concrete proposals made by a leading chartered architect and town planner to curb the dengue menace where the victims are mainly children. The chartered architect Elmo De Silva points out that one of the favourite areas for dengue mosquitoes to breed are roof gutters. He says roof gutters need to be cleaned and more..

July 4 (DM) Buddhism existed in Sri Lanka even before the arrival of Mihindu Thera says Professor Raj Somadeva an eminent Archaeologist. He also says he has concrete evidence to prove that the history of Sri Lanka goes beyond the period of Vijaya and Kuveni. He was also involved with the excavations on the mass grave in Matale. In an interview with the Professor Somadeva said it was sad that Sri Lanka did not give much attention to the development of Archaeology. more..

July 4 (SMH) Australian govt officials launched a campaign in June last year warning would-be asylum seekers living in Tamil Nadu that they would be sent back to their Sri Lankan homeland if they tried to enter Australia without a valid visa. "This has been a brilliantly organised campaign," said S.C. Chandrahasan, a leading Tamil refugee advocate who has worked closely with the Australian govt over the past 12 months. more..

July 4 (LBO) Sri Lanka's police acquired its largest fleet of high-speed patrol motorcycles this week, but even before they could be unleashed to tame errant motorists, traffic police demonstrated their skills in... err running. At a highly publicised ceremony, the aggressive Yamaha machines were to be distributed after a picture-perfect formation of man and machine, but a monsoon shower saw constables bolting and more..

July 4 (SL) Canadian law enforcement authorities and intelligence services are concerned about the LTTE�s penetration of their political establishment. A number of Sri Lankan Tamils tainted by their support for the Tigers seeks to infiltrate the spectrum of Canadian political parties � the New Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. After Rathika Sitsabaiesan, the first Canadian of Tamil heritage, more..

July 4 (ST) South Korean job seekers protesting outside the SL Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) accused Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera and SLBFE Deputy General Manager Mangala Randeniya of verbal abuse directed at them for protesting. Job seekers have been protesting since March and �gabout 12�� of them were given an audience with the Minister last Wednesday. more..

July 4 (AM) While the National Water Supply and Drainage Board brag about island-wide drinking water facilities and million dollar projects to expand the water supply, villagers in Chillaw area are now seen digging graveyards in search of drinking water! This situation has occurred due to depletion of drinking water resources in Karukupane, a village in chillaw area. This made the whole village to go in search of water, more..

July 4 (LBO) Sri Lanka's state-run power utility will sell fly ash from two 300MegaWall coal power plants to five companies with Fuji Cement Lanka to get the bulk of it. Minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said each plant is expected to generate 75,000 tonnes of fly ash a year. Fly ash can be used to produce several goods including a type of extra-strong cement. Fuji Cement Company (Lanka), a part of listed Tokyo Cement group more..

July 4 (DN) Sri Lanka's foreign policy is being geared to ensure maximum benefits for the country by building relationships with extensive areas of the globe which have been neglected, and economic diplomacy is fast emerging as the major component of the nation's foreign relations, Minister G.L. Peiris said in Colombo yesterday. He was delivering the keynote address, as Chief Guest, at the inauguration of international conference more..

July 4 (Island) Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has directed that senior military officers as well as heads of those institutions coming under him meet US ambassador Michele J. Sison or her representatives only in his presence. Decision was taken consequent to Ambassador Sison refusing to allow the head of USAID in Colombo to meet Defence Secretary Gotabhaya unless she, too, was invited to the same meeting. more..

July 4 (ENS) A leading Muslim organization in SL is conducting a campaign to persuade Muslim women to abjure the black abaya, loose outer garment worn as a cloak to cover the body from the shoulders to the feet and wear coloured ones in order to make the Islamic sartorial custom acceptable to the Sinhalese majority in the country. �Bring your black abayas, we will give you coloured abayas,� says an announcement more..

July 4 (CG) Britain�s House of Lords was informed by the British Govt that Sri Lanka�s domestic mechanism to address issues related to the war, had failed to meet expectations. Senior Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in UK, Baroness Warsi, during a debate on Sri Lanka at the House of Lords on Wednesday said that UK remains concerned that Sri Lankan Govt�s national plan of action to implement LLRC more..

July 4 (CT) The Deputy President of South Africa (SA) and Pretoria's Special Envoy on the Sri Lankan peace process, Cyril Ramaphosa, will arrive in Colombo on 7 July. He will be accompanied by a four-member delegation to hold preliminary talks on initiating the talks, between the govt and the TNA, on reconciliation. Ramaphosa and his entourage will travel to Jaffna on 8 July to hold talks with Chief Minister of the North, C.V. Wigneswaran and to see the situation there. more..

July 4 (CT) Today we Sri Lankans have a government that badly failed within in many things including building and sustaining economic growth and stability and answering the national demands. In fact all the post-colonial govts of Sri Lanka badly failed the country. The ruling Mahinda family together with JHU and BBS are victim of their own poverty of wisdom and lack of neutral thinking and driven by jealousy and inferiority are attempting to address distorted meaning to Buddhism by more..

July 4 (AHRC) There have been several news reports recently about a surge of instances of baby elephants taken illegally from the wild and held in captivity by private individuals. Environmentalists and members of the public have expressed their concern. The Friday Forum joins these citizens in calling for a full investigation into the allegations, and if found correct, for necessary action to bring those responsible to book. more..

July 4 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's economy can achieve its growth target this year without risk of overheating, central bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said, despite interest rates at multi-year lows. Central bank has been maintaining low interest rates since January and yields in govt treasuries have also dropped to multi-year lows. The island nation's economy expanded 7.6% in the first quarter of this year, slowing from 8.2% in the previous quarter. CB has estimated growth of 7.8% for 2014, more..

July 4 (DM) Balendra Sathisseran, found guilty of the charge of murdering Peradeniya University Undergraduate Selva Varagpragas on October 6, 1997, was today sentenced to death in absentia by Kandy High Court Judge Manilal Waidyatilleke. The convict, who is said to be living abroad, was also sentenced to ten years rigorous imprisonment on one of the charges and a warrant for his arrest issued to Interpol. Initially, two accused were indicted on five charges of more..

July 4 (SM) The ICC Cricket World Cup trophy will visit countries that will participate in next year�s extravaganza to be staged in Australia and NZ from 14 Feb to 29 March, the ICC announced today. The prestigious silverware has already arrived in Colombo today on a three-day tour. This is the first stopover of the trophy tour. During its stay, the trophy will feature at a number of events and will also be on display more..

July 4(LBO) Sri Lanka's stocks closed 0.16% higher ending a week on a positive note with telco and diversified stocks gaining despite net foreign selling. All Share Price Index closed 10.23 points higher at 6,477.51, up 0.16%. The S&P SL20 closed 2.26 points higher at 3,610.68, up 0.06%. Turnover was 1.38 billion rupees, down from 1.51 billion rupees a day earlier with 102 stocks closed positive against 74 negative. Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings closed 2.90 rupees higher at 79.90 rupees more..