July 31 (GDI) The Police have cracked down hard on underworld elements and nearly twenty leading gang leaders have been eliminated over the past few weeks. These criminal who offered resistance with the use of weapons were gunned down by the law enforcement authorities. Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa ordered the police to put a complete halt to under worls activity and commence investigations without fear or favour. more..

July 31 (wsws) The Sri Lankan Inter University Students Federation (IUSF), affiliated to the chauvinist JVP, held a public debate in Colombo earlier this month on the topic: �Private Universities: Are they good or bad?� The issue of private universities has come to the fore after the government and the Board of Investment (BOI) gave the go ahead for two privately-owned, fee-paying medical faculties. more..

July 31 (GDI) The night mail train from Colombo to Vavuniya made its historic journey after a long lull yesterday. The train service was earlier disrupted by LTTE terrorists on several occasions by causing damage to the rail track. Following the crushing of the LTTE, Transport Minister,Dallus Alahepperuma on the instructions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa repaired the track up to Thandikulam. more..

July 31 (LNW) Military sources reportedly say that although the security forces managed to defeat the LTTE and kill its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and several other senior leaders of the organization, its intelligence unit head, Pottu Amman, had managed to escape unharmed. One of LTTE�s Eastern leaders, Ram had telephoned Karuna Amman during the final stage of the war and more..

July 31 (LP) Those involved in the process of educating the future generation should treat all students without any prejudices mentioned President Mahinda Rajapaksa. President said that it is now the time to stand up for the children of this country. President made these observations while addressing the �Nena Guna Weduma� ceremony under the National Education Programme at Temple Trees to more..

July 31 (LT) It is reported that �Sri Lanka Cricket� is facing a grave financial crisis. It is said this is due to the inefficiency and corruption of the new administration. When the new administration was appointed there had been a bank balance of Rs.425 million. However, at present the financial affairs of �Sri Lanka Cricket� is carried out using a bank overdraft say these reports. more..

July 31 (LT) There are reports that a conspiracy is being hatched against Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Sarath Fonseka. According to the plot his position would be made a passive one by slashing the powers entitled for his position. Already, his staff and security have been reduced and the powers and facilities he had been promised when he was appointed to the position have not been given. No gazette has been issued announcing such authority or facilities. more..

July 31 (LT) The tusk of one of the baby tuskers removed from Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage has been broken, it was broken due to an ailment caused by worms and no treatment was necessary for such ailment says Diyawadana Nilame Nilanga Dela Bandara. He says the two baby tuskers were not removed from the orphanage by force and there would not be any legal problem regarding the removal of the baby tuskers as they made an entry at the gate of the orphanage. more..

July 31 (LT) Question papers arranged by various provincial councils for term tests being held now have brought more distress to students and inconvenience to teachers say reports coming from various parts of the country. The Minister of Education Susil Premajayanthe admitting that there had been weaknesses in holding the second term test has said the reason for such weaknesses is due to more..

July 31 (MoD) The People's Bank has opened its branches in Mullaittivu, Kilinochchi, Paranthan and Mankulam areas to cater the needs of the civilians to be resettled immediately after the de-mining and clearing operations underway. These activities took place under the supervision of the "Uthuru Wasanthaya" Task Force. Two branches of the People's Bank were opened at Pesalai and Settikulam in Mannar on 29th July. more..

July 31 (MoD) The Uthuru Vasanthaya task force in collaboration with the security forces and police has made elaborate arrangements to provide all facilities needed to cater to the pilgrims visiting the Madhu shrine to attend the annual feast, Administrator of the Madhu church Rev. Fr. Desmond Kulas said. Rev. Fr. Kulas said over 400,000 devotees are expected to attend the feast. He said LTTE terrorists had erected bunkers and placed land mines in the church compound more..

July 31 (PISL) On the eve of the closure of the Peace Secretariat, I had a call from the BBC to respond to an interview they conducted with Eric Schwarts, the American Assistant Secretary of State who had been in Sri Lanka recently. His comments generally made sense, and his stress on swift resettlement of the displaced was understandable, and in line with Government policy, which is to resettle them as soon as possible. more..

July 31 (PISL) A publication summarising the work of the Peace Secretariat in recent years can be found at the following. At the end of this month, the Peace Secretariat is closing down, in recognition of the new situation in the country. The Peace Secretariat has been through many different incarnations since its establishment in 2002. Initially, we were supposed to facilitate negotiations with the LTTE, while more..

July 31 (GV) At a recent discussion on; �Free schooling in Sri Lanka- A successful model then but a myth now?�, the subject of English language education in Sri Lanka came up for discussion once again. Most, if not all, of the participants and panelists agreed that there is a pressing need for English language standards to improve especially in the state schools and a lack of quality English language teachers was the main reason for more..

July 31 (PSM) The Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) is ending its tenure today as per directive issued by the govt. last month. The APRC which was assisted and facilitated by the SCOPP also had its last session this week. Heads of APRC and SCOPP have thanked all the stake holders and political parties for their contributions and services in ending the war and achieving cremarkable concensus on the peace process. more..

July 31 (UNP) The govt. which earlier emphatically stated that it will not kowtow to the IMF in regard to its request for the loan and will not yield to its conditions, finally, in desperation abjectly surrendered and agreed to all the 12 conditions (those made known) imposed by the IMF. Some of the conditions are impracticable, yet the Govt. which is in a dire financial muddle had only a Hobson�s choice like a bad businessman who having bungled all the ventures robs Peter to pay Paul. more..

July 31 (CT) The LTTE member who had assembled explosives to the lorry that was used in the suicide attack on a naval convoy in Digampathana, Dambulla three years ago has been arrested in Vavuniya. The 48-yar-old suspect has been arrested while attempting to evade the police. The attack left 101 unarmed navy personnel dead. Investigations have revealed that the suspect has worked as a mechanic in several garages owned by the LTTE, more..

July 31 (LNP) Our collective memory as a nation is said to be notoriously short. Perhaps, that is something we unconsciously developed by way of a survival tactic as part of the evolutionary process during the past three decades of brutal violence. But for our remarkable adeptness at putting things behind us in record time, we would not have been able to survive the scourge of terrorism. Our resilience may have resulted from our ability to forget tragic incidents as fast as they occurred. more..

July 31 (UNP) The election monitoring NGO , the Campaign for Free and fair elections (CAFFE), said the Rajapakse regime�s every action is directed not to help the people , but to help itself to a Dictatorial rule. The staggered Provincial councils elections is part of this strategy in order to deny the people of a fair and free opportunity to exercise their franchise, and effect a change of Govt. more..

July 31 (CT) After more than a decade of trial into a murder case, courts have found a leading politician in the south guilty and sentenced him to death yesterday (July 30). Winnie Kariyawasam, chairman of Hikkaduwa Pradeshiya Sabha, and another suspect, were convicted by Balapitiya High Court. The two were accused of shooting to death businessman Jayaratne de Silva more than 15 years ago.

July 31 (AT) Speaking at the launch of the US-Sri Lankan Chamber of Commerce (USCC) in New York, the Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Anura Priyadharshana Yapa promised American entrepreneurs their investments will be free of any restrictions permitting them to repatriate all profits, fees and capital. more..

July 31 (LT) Arrangements are being made in Kandy town with the mediation of Diyawadana Nilame Pradeep Nilanga Dela to give preference to people with means to view the Kandy procession in comfort. Mr. Dela Bandara is supervising constructions that would deny those who are not of affluent classes access to better vantage places to view the pageant. The �Mahamaluwa� (The ceremonial terrace) of the Temple of the Tooth has been already partitioned and would be available only for the affluent class. more..

July 31 (LP) A private bus which was transporting School children and teachers to the school crashed into a road side mountain projection and over turned yesterday due to a technical fault at Nagasena, Lindula. Nearly 54 were injured and two children were reported to be in critical condition. The injured were rushed to Lindula Hospital. At the time of accident bus was plying from Talawakelle to Rahanwatte. more..

July 31 (Xinhua) The number of Dengue deaths has risen to 224 while more than 20,576 cases have been reported in Sri lanka so far, the Epidemiological Unit of the Ministry Health said on Friday. The Epidemiological Unit said in its latest statistics that of the 20,576 cases the highest number of patients was reported from June totaling 7,005. This represents a sharp increase as 4,156 Dengue cases and 85 deaths were reported for the whole year of 2008. more..

July 31 (DN) Heat emanating from the bed of embers is unbearable even from afar. Flames darting up occasionally light up the large crowd gathered to witness the event. Attendants stir up the fire with long poles to keep the embers alive. Frenzied devotees dance incessantly to the beating of nathasawaram revving up to participate in the all important event. The traditional fire-walking ceremony at the Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Devale is about to begin. more..

July 31 (DN) Hindus say that in ancient Sri Lanka there were five sacred Hindu temples dedicated to Siva. They were Munnesvaram, Kataragama, Kailayanatar kovil in Nallur, Tirukketisvaram in Mantota and Tirukkonesvaram in Trincomalee. However, it is not easy to find information which confirms this. The earliest available reference to Munneswaram says that Parakrama babu VI (1412-1467) renovated Munneswaram. more..

July 31 (DN) Questions have been raised whether the Tobacco industry has resorted to distributing free cigarettes in order to promote the habit of smoking among youth. The Chairman of the National Authority on Tobacco & Alcohol (NATA) Prof. Carlo Fonseka in a letter to Daily News refers to an incident which took place in front of a restaurant in Colombo as an example, which was personally witnessed by NATA officials, and more..

July 31 (DN) �However the public, State sector and private sector employees too should reciprocate in the same manner by committing themselves to become active stakeholders of the country�s development process. Taxpayers should honour their commitment and State sector employees too should provide a viable and vibrant service as paid servants of the public,� he added. more..

July 31 (Island) The rupee market held a surplus of about Rs. 21 billion Thursday morning and the Central Bank used its Open Market Operations in an attempt to mop up about Rs. 7 billion from the excess liquidity. Dealers said the Central Bank continued to buy-up dollars which resulted in the market holding a rupee surplus of about 21 billion. At the time of writing, the Central Bank was auctioning off short term bonds in a bid to mop up Rs. 7 billion. more..

July 31 (PTI) Holidaymakers to Sri Lanka from the Middle East have surged 85 per cent following the end of the civil war between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels, which ended in May this year after 25 years. According to SLTPB, travellers from Saudi Arabia and the UAE are leading the travel resurgence from the region. Qatar, Oman, Lebanon and Egypt also contributing significantly to the overall growth in tourist numbers. more..

July 31 (DM) The government has promised the IMF to resettle 70 to 80 percent of the displaced civilians by the end of the year in the letter of intent signed by Deputy Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, to obtain the Stand by Arrangement of US $ 2.6 billion. �The immediate priority is addressing the humanitarian needs of 280,000 internally displaced people. more..

July 31 (ANN) Sri Lankan citizens are facing increasing difficulties in gaining a visa for the UK, which is having a knock on effect on the Lankan outbound tourism industry. A long established Colombo based travel agency reported that during the peak time for UK travel July and August (British summer) this year that numbers were down by 20 per cent. "We are talking about simple tourist visas not residency. more..

July 31 (HP) Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam was slated to be a visiting professor at Harvard Law School in the fall of 1999. A renowned constitutional lawyer from Sri Lanka, Neelan was better known to me as a leading Tamil human rights activist who had thrown his hat into the political ring. As a scholar he had helped establish think-tanks to address social issues in a country beset by communal strife. more..

July 31 (DM) Forcibly taking away the young from their mothers is a sin. Undoubtedly such stories have the potential to evoke the motherly instincts of a nation and result in people reacting strongly against the perpetrators. With ahimsa or non-violence continuing to be a widely propagated concept in Sri Lanka for more than two millennia, reports of violence towards animals more often than not make headline news in the media. more..

July 31 (DM) More spelling, factual and printing errors surfaced in school term test question papers yesterday from various parts of the country inconveniencing students and teachers.In Balangoda, in the Grade Five paper, a letter had been left out of a word � giving it an obscene meaning. The Educational Professionals� Association Secretary Wasantha Dharmasiri told Daily Mirror yesterday that he had had come across many errors in more..

July 31 (CI) Paul Farbrace has announced that he will be quitting his post as Sri Lanka's assistant coach when his contract ends on August 20 to take up the position of head coach of Kent. Farbrace explained that he was leaving because he got a better offer from Kent. "I was head of the academy and assistant coach of Kent when I joined the Sri Lanka team two years ago," Farbrace told Cricinfo. more..

July 31 (Xinhua) Sri Lankan health authorities said on Friday that two more A/H1N1 flu cases were confirmed on Thursday, bringing the total number of A/H1N1 flu cases in the country to 55. The Epidemiological Unit of the Ministry of Health said in its latest report that the new patients have arrived from Singapore and Malaysia. The first confirmed case of A/H1N1 flu in the island was reported on June 16. more..

July 31 (Island) Criticizing a recent Government declaration that screening of �Adults Only� movies would be banned, Mangala Samaraweera, MP said that the Rajapaksa Government was now acting like the Taliban. He said at a press conference in Colombo yesterday,he said that nothing could be as ridiculous as this as the majority of previous award winning movies in the country had adult only themes. more..

July 31 (DM) President Mahinda Rajapaksa while sympathizing over the unfortunate incidents that took place in a leading private girl school in Colombo and at a public school in Nuwara Eliya involving mobile phones, made an open appeal to school teachers yesterday to refrain from using mobile phones in schools. �I have heard that the Nuwara Eliya incident had taken place involving a teacher and the other incident was connected to a female student. more..

July 31 (Island) Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena yesterday said at a press conference that a group of UNP politicians including members of the Southern Provincial Council and local bodies in the Southern Province would shortly join the SLFP. He said that 18 UNP councillors would switch their allegiance to the SLFP-led coalition. Some of them would pledge their support to President Mahinda Rajapaksa next week. more..

July 31 (Island) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided that two baby elephants Diyawadana Nilame of Sri Dalada Maligawa forcibly brought to Kandy last Saturday from the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage be returned to their mothers, according to highly placed sources. The President had taken serious note of media reports on severe suffering inflicted on the elephant calves and their mothers faced with a serious health risk as more..

July 31 (LBO) Sri Lanka's government has not agreed to cut subsidies such as for fertiliser to get a 2.6 billion dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund, media minister Anura Yapa said. He told reporters the main aim of the IMF loan was to strengthen the country's foreign reserves and to support government economic policies designed to accelerate growth. "There will be no reduction in subsidies," more..

July 31 (NP) During the recent military campaign in Sri Lanka, this newspaper was broadly sympathetic to the Sri Lankan government's goal of confronting and subduing the LTTE, the guerilla-cum-terrorist force seeking to carve out a Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. As in any war, there were civilian casualties -- but we urged our readers to keep in mind the fact that the LTTE was using hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians as human shields, and more..

July 31 (LBO) Sri Lanka plans to raise 500 million dollars from foreign investors through a bond or syndicated loan, with an International Monetary Fund endorsement under its belt, a media report said. "We will take a decision in the next few weeks," Sri Lanka�s central bank Governor Nivard Cabraal was quoted as saying in Bloomberg newswires Friday, in Mumbai where he was meeting investors in one leg of a worldwide road show. more..

July 31 (NYT) It was just after dawn and the fish market beneath this port city�s clock tower was humming. Fishermen shouldering baskets laden with the night�s catch tipped their Spanish mackerel, tuna and prawns onto the slick concrete floor for buyers. Sweaty men with clipboards and wads of cash leaned in close to inspect with crinkled noses, squinting eyes and prodding fingers. more..

July 31 (AFP) The Sri Lankan government's gift of two baby elephants to a Buddhist temple has sparked protests from animal lovers who demanded Friday that the calves be reunited with their mothers. Officials ordered last week that the youngsters be separated from their mothers at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage in central Sri Lanka and sent them to the nearby Temple of the Tooth. The two-and-half-year-old elephants were still suckling when they were taken away, more..