Aug 6 (MoD) Ninety seven houses situated in the security zone between Gurunagar and Ceynor jetties were handed over to their owners by the Security Forces-Jaffna (SF-J) and opened the New Beach Road in Gurunagar for the public use on Monday. Resettlement of those families in their own lands after about 14 years will give solutions to many problems of fishermen such as traveling, transporting products and storing fishing gears. more..

Aug 6 (MoD) The Colombo High Court yesterday served indictment on Danuna Tilakaratne, Wellington Dayhet and General retired Sarath Fonseka. The indictment on all three relates to the conspiracy between November and May 2009 to pretend that, Dayhet was an agent for British Banio Company Pvt Limited of Australia and submitting false documents claiming the right to be agent, without the permission of the British Banio Company Pvt Limited. more..

Aug 6 (MoD) A Mega Development Project to develop the City of Kandy has been launched, in order to eliminate the congestion prevalent in the City and make it the most beautiful city in the country. President Mahinda Rajapaksa held discussion with Parliamentarians, Provincial and other political representatives, and government officials during the last weekend and formulated this project which would make Kandy as the best and more..

Aug 6 (MoD) Hambantota District MP Namal Rajapaksa, along with a few other young MPs, visited the North to meet the people and get to know their problems. At a meeting held at Wannikulam Pali Nagar Vidyalaya, the young parliamentarians met the representatives of the people, most of whom were the newly resettled ones. The MPs listened to grievances of the people and assured them that what they wanted would be included in their development programme. more..

Aug 6 (MoD) I am pleased to contribute this message to the supplement which marks the "Galle Dialogue" Maritime Conference being organised by the Ministry of Defence. This Conference brings together distinguished participants from various countries to present papers and discuss matters of maritime security. Considering the military defeat of LTTE terrorism just over one year ago, more..

Aug 6 (GV) The story about Minister Mervyn Silva tying a Samurdhi Officer to a tree as punishment for not participating in a dengue prevention programme in the Kelaniya district was bad enough. The statement made by the UPFA General Secretary, Susil Premajayantha that the party or the government is not responsible for the actions of Minister Mervyn Silva opens up far more serious issues. more..

Aug 6 (MoD) The Defence Services Rugby Team, which consisted of Tri-Forces rugby players, won the President Rajapaksa Trophy in a rugby match, played against Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union Team at the Army Grounds in Colombo today (05th August 2010). Navy players rendered an excellent support for the combined victory which was achieved through a collective effort of the comrades-in-arms of the sister-forces. more..

Aug 6 (DN) UPFA MP Namal Rajapaksa told Parliament Wednesday that only one law should prevail in the country. �There should not be any permission to practise the law of the jungle in this country. The one and only law that should prevail in all corners of this nation, must be the laws passed by this August assembly,� Rajapaksa said. He said People have strong faith in the law and order of the country after the conclusion of war. more..

Aug 6 (GDI) The Government has taken measures to improve agriculture and dairy farming in the Sabaragamuwa province. Under this programme it is anticipated to increase the paddy yield per acre from the current level of 70 bushels per acre to 75 bushels. Governor of the Sabaragamuwa Province presented the policy statement in this regard, which covers the period from 2011-2013.The aim of this program is to grow necessary food items in the Kegalle and Ratnapura districts. more..

Aug 6 (LP) With the significant growth of the milk production, the Cabinet granted approval to expand the activities of Milco (Pvt.) Ltd. The expansion is targeted at supplying liquid milk with long shelf-life to the Sri Lankan consumer and accordingly 02 Ultra Heat Temperature Treated Milk Processing Plants, one in Colombo and other at Polonnaruwa. more..

Aug 6 (LP) The Grand Night Bazaar providing many items of entertainment and fun for children, youths and elders will be held at the Green Path today. The event is organized by the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) and is launched under the direction of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to create an environment for people to move freely and during the evening in the Colombo city. CMC is launching the first Night Bazaar for the citizens of Colombo after more..

Aug 6 (DM) Bandula Gunawardena is certainly not a bad Education Minister and Sri Jayewardenepura alumni S.B. Dissanayake too is generally known as a doer. However, the much-flawed education system in Sri Lanka which has failed to match the needs of the country has brought students, teachers and lecturers all on to the streets. And the government is happily mishandling all of them rather than addressing the core issue. more..

Aug 6 (LNP) According to the Sri Lanka Family Health Bureau around 1000 abortions are performed daily throughout Sri Lanka. The annual figure is estimated at around 300,000. What is shocking is the magnitude of the racket and the large numbers involved. This is in a situation where abortions are illegal and something that is still being frowned upon by Sri Lankan society. It shows that Sri Lankan women who earlier may have shuddered in horror at the thought have now become more liberal and emboldened. more..

Aug 6 (DN) The Government inched closer to securing a Two Thirds majority in Parliament yesterday after two UNP members crossed over to the ruling party. MPs Prabha Ganeshan and P Digambaram made the symbolic walk across the well of the House amidst howls of protest from UNP MPs and applause from Government members. The crossovers brought the total number of Government members to 145, just five short of the 150 needed for a Two Thirds majority in the 225 member Legislature. more..

Aug 6 (LP) Several protests took place today as well over the punishment meted out to a Samurdhi officer on Tuesday, August 03 at Kelaniya in connection with a dengue prevention programme. Several state employees including the Samurdhi and Agrarian Service officers of the Gampaha District engaged in the protest today. Meanwhile, several politicians expressed their views on the incident. more..

Aug 6 (DN) According to the Sri Lanka Family Health Bureau around 1000 abortions are performed daily throughout Sri Lanka. The annual figure is estimated at around 300,000. What is shocking is the magnitude of the racket and the large numbers involved. This is in a situation where abortions are illegal and something that is still being frowned upon by Sri Lankan society. It shows that Sri Lankan women who earlier may have shuddered in horror at more..

Aug 6 (SL) Two officers and 18 other military personnel were admitted to the Vavuniya hospital following a road accident. The bus was reportedly transporting troops from Elephant Pass to Anuradhapura. Gamage explained that the bus had been trying to overtake a bowser. The bowser had suddenly turned at the time of the accident. It was earlier reported that the military bus had run off the road and crashed into a tree. more..

Aug 6 (DN) The number of visitors to Kandy during the Esala Perahera season is expected to increase by over 50 percent this year due to the peaceful situation in the country. Kandy police have prepared a special security program to ensure security of the perahera and the people. On the instructions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, IGP Mahinda Balasuriya has appointed six DIGs in charge of different sectors of the program. more..

Aug 6 (Island) For want of effective monitoring by the government and Provincial Councils, some childcare centres are allegedly run like free labour camps. Although both government and provincial authorities have received numerous complaints over the years regarding irregularities and serious shortcomings, childcare authorities are yet to work out a cohesive action plan to tackle the situation. more..

Aug 6 (Island) The Elders (founded by Nelson Mandela), which has a distinguished membership including Rev. Desmond Tutu, former President Jimmy Carter and a number of retired United Nations officials has called on international governments to end their 'deafening silence' on Sri Lanka. The Elders wants the international governments to take up the 'persecution, intimidation, assassination and disappearance of government critics, more..

Aug 6 (Island) Ongoing talks between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe over proposed constitutional reforms, aimed at doing away with the executive presidency, suffered a major setback yesterday when two UNF MPs switched their allegiance to the President. Prabha Ganeshan (the DPF) and P. Digambaram (the NWF), who contested the August 8 parliamentary election on the UNF ticket from Colombo and Nuwara Eliya, more..

Aug 6 (DM) The country losses Rs. 20 billion-double the amount spent for the Samurdhi scheme- due to road accide nts, Deputy Min ister Lasantha Alagiya wanne said in Parliament yesterday. He said that drivers who were not medically fit were responsible to a considerable extent for fatal accidents. �This is a colossal sum. Yet, we cannot attach a price tag to the lives lost in accidents. Anyway, we lose such a large amount of money. more..

Aug 6 (SL) DNA parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake today (5) asked the government if senior LTTE member Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP is in the custody of the government on a court order or on a detention order by the Defence Secretary and if the government was planning on pardoning him. Dissanayake posed several questions to the government in parliament today under Clause 23/2 of the parliamentary Standing Orders. more..

Aug 6 (LT) The High Court of Colombo has decided to release Ms. Ashoka Tillekeratne, mother of Danuna Tillekeratne on bail. She has been accused of being connected to illegal financial dealings Danuna Tillekeratne, son-in-law of former Commander of the Army Parliamentarian Sarath Fonseka, is alleged to have committed. When the relevant case was heard the High Court of Colombo ordered to release her on more..

Aug 6 (DM) Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga said yesterday that the country could not be developed with the help of casino owners, racketeers and murderers. �Although the war has ended, the country is overflowing with corruption,� said Mrs. Kumaratunga at a meting held at the Municipal Council of Puttalam. more..

Aug 6 (MO) After a 30-year battle blighted parts of Sri Lanka, leaving them closed off to travellers, the Foreign Office has finally lifted the last of the country's travel restrictions. The island nation, popular among British visitors for its beautiful beaches, tropical forests and colonial history, has declared itself fully open for business as the last of its security warnings are removed. more..

Aug 6 (GDI) The Commission, appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa under Section 2 of the Commission of Inquiry Act, functions independently in keeping with the wide mandate issued to it.The eight-member Commission has already met several times to discuss modalities of work and it was decided to hold sittings in the affected areas in the North and East to enable the public to have easy access to the Commission and enhance awareness of its work. more..

Aug 6 (Island) The government yesterday declined to answer several questions raised by an Opposition MP regarding LTTE heavyweight Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP held by the government. "What you are asking is sensitive and will compromise national security," Leader of the House, Irrigation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said in reply to questions raised by DNA MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake. more..

Aug 6 (DM) The Municipal Council Act, Town Council Act and the Pradeshiya Sabha Act would be amended to give more legal teeth to local government authorities and officials to control dengue, said the Local Government Ministry secretary Dr. Nihal Jayatilaka. He said offenders who contributed to the spread of dengue and mosquito breeding grounds were only liable for a fine of Rs. 650 right now. more..

Aug 6 (Island) The government said yesterday that the law would take its course, if the Samurdhi officer, who was tied to a tree and abused by Deputy Minister Mervyn Silva, for not attending a dengue control programme, made a complaint to the police. Minister Keheliya Rambukwalle, when questioned, what action the government had taken against the errant Minister said, more..

Aug 6 (CI) Thilan Samaraweera followed up an unbeaten century in the first innings with a resolute effort in the second to keep the Indian bowlers at bay for much of the day and engineer another twist in a gripping Test. Just as the Indian tail had given their team the edge on the third day, Ajantha Mendis supported Samaraweera in a fighting century stand that revived Sri Lanka's chances on a more..

Aug 6 (PTI) Over a year after Sri Lanka won the war against LTTE, the US still suspects that the international financial support network of the Tamil Tigers remains largely intact. However, the State Department, noted that the network likely suffered a serious blow with the arrest of Kumaran Padmanathan, who is alleged to have controlled the arms network of the now vanquished terror outfit. more..

Aug 6 (DM) The most wanted fraudster Sakvithi Ranasinghe and his wife have been arrested and are now in police custody in Sri Lanka. Intelligence sources told Daily Mirror online that Sakvithi had altered his appearance and was using a Tamil name at the time he was arrested by the Mirihana Police and had in his possession monies worth more than Rs. 150,000. He was arrested in Kaduwela following information provided by more..

Aug 7 (BBC) A security assessment carried out by the British High Commission in Sri Lanka has concluded that the whole country is now safe for travellers. It is the first time in about 30 years that travel restriction advice has been completely lifted. The British government had previously warned against travelling to northern areas, principally because of the danger of unexploded mines. The Sri Lankan army defeated Tamil Tiger rebels in May last year. more..

Aug 7 (LBO) The government said it has got Asian Development Bank funding to start work on an expressway between Colombo and Kandy in the central hills that will cut travel time to less than an hour. Transport ministry secretary Wasantha Karannagoda said the ADB had promised 500 million dollars over the next three years for the first phase of the project. "Land acquisition studies and detailed designs have been done and we hope to start the civil works from next year," more..

Aug 7 (CI) Get the erasers out and start removing the asterisk against Thilan Samaraweera's record. Two days ago his century in difficult conditions was being belittled by critics, who find him boring, a flat-track bully, or a fair-weather batsman, or all of them. He laughed at the suggestion that most of his centuries have come after the top order has scored heavily, and then disagreed. "I have got some hundreds at crucial moments," more..

Aug 7 (LG) Foreign Policy of a country is a set of rules that seems to outline the behaviour of a particular country and how it interacts with other countries and international organizations. This mainly depends on internal, external political and the �global, economic and political considerations�. Foreign Policy should be compatible with all forms of internal, political and economic considerations therefore special emphasis is given in the area of foreign policy in any form of Government. more..

Aug 7 (CI) The Sri Lankan team management's efforts to improve the batting of their tailenders have paid rich dividends during the Test series against India, with No. 10 Ajantha Mendis making a potentially match-winning 78 on the fourth day at the P Sara Oval. His effort followed half-centuries by Rangana Herath and Lasith Malinga in the first Test in Galle. more..

Aug 7 (DM) Vidulka, the first ever State-sponsored power and energy week and exhibition and the National Energy Efficiency Award Presentation organized by the Sustainable Energy Authority and the Ministry of Power and Energy began on the 3rd of August and will continue till Sunday at the BMICH. The project is aimed at creating awareness on pollution free power generation and tapping of green energy through more..

Aug 7 (DM) On the eve of the anniversary of his being captured last year in August, the infamous T.S. Pathmanathan, alias KP, known to us all as the man who succeeded the erstwhile leader of the LTTE, gave an unprecedented interview to a daily newspaper, citing his support to the Government of Sri Lanka in helping to rebuild the war devastated regions in the North and the East of the country. more..

Aug 7 (DBS) It was one year ago on August 5th 2009 that Thambiaiya Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias �KP� was taken into custody in Kuala Lumpur at First Tune Hotel on 316 Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman road. The former chief arms procurer of the LTTE was brought to Colombo the following day. KP�s capture was hailed as a significant breakthrough because the senior tiger operative was at that time the nominal chief of the re-structured LTTE. more..

Aug 7 (LG) By the middle of the 17th century, the Portuguese were driven out of Sri Lanka (and southern India) by the Dutch East India Company, which governed for more than 100 years, introduced plantation agriculture, developed trade, and left a legacy that includes Roman-Dutch law. But they too found themselves displaced. Having won their struggle with France for mastery in India (and in North America), the British laid claim to Sri Lanka, more..

Aug 7 (CI) England's Under-19 cricketers were taught a lesson in big-hitting in the first Twenty20 against Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street, as they were thrashed by nine wickets with more than six overs of the contest to spare. Chasing a meagre total of 108, after Chathura Peiris had claimed 3 for 20 in a consistently dominant bowling display, Sri Lanka were given a flying start by their opener Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who cracked three fours and five sixes in an unbeaten 54 more..

Aug 7 (DM) The Flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet the Guard missile cruiser �Moskva� will arrive in the port of Colombo on August 13 for a friendly visit. The �Moskva� will be at the port till August 15 with 41 officers and 464 non-commissioned officers and seamen. The 187 metre long �Moskva� is a Slava (Glory) class guided missile cruiser. These missile cruisers are powerful units intended for actions against surface fleets. more..

Aug 7 (Island) Living in a welfare state we enjoy, among other things, free healthcare and free education. However, there is much that we as citizens are obliged to do to complement or supplement these services. Unless we thus collaborate with the state the whole community will be negatively affected. The current dengue epidemic has created a situation that illustrates the importance of public awareness and more..

Aug 7 (LB) Chairperson of the Golden Key Depositors Society Anusha Emmert charged that disgraced head honcho of the Ceylinco Group of Companies Lalith Kotelawala, has urged the government and the Supreme Courts to clear his name from the Golden Key financial scandal -- for him to pay the debt he owns to the thousands of harassed and depressed depositors. She took umbrage on purported overtures made by Kotelawala to the Central Bank and the Lakshman R Watawala Committee more..

Aug 7 (LB) Principals say that the school syllabus is too cumbersome for students, and teachers are in a big hurry to cover it. As a result schools do not have time to turn out good citizens with moral values. Principals in leading schools are also of the view that as the syllabi are too large the students fail to absorb their contents. L.M.D.Dharmasena, Principal, Ananda College, said that the students and the teachers often �chase after� the syllabus. more..

Aug 7 (CD) Rifqa Bary might have an easier time staying in the United States thanks to a magistrate's ruling yesterday that she will not be reunited with her parents by her 18th birthday Tuesday. Rifqa's attorneys have been concerned about her immigration status once she reaches adulthood. They requested two "special findings" of Franklin County Juvenile Court Magistrate Mary Goodrich that would allow Rifqa to apply for "special immigrant juvenile status," more..