Sept 21 (DM) Any world body generally prefers to keep their dealings in sport with autonomous bodies rather than dabbling with government-run institutions. In cricket it is not different. Countries with their respective cricket bodies controlled by governments have been a cause of worry for the International Cricket Council. As a result, at the last executive committee meeting, the ICC stipulated that cricket governing bodies should become autonomous entities without political interference. more..

Sept 21 (DM) The FUTA that had earlier abandoned their trade union action after negotiations with the govt was now hopeful of getting a 20% salary increase for all university academic staff in the 2012 budget. University lecturers went on strike and later threatened to resign from their posts in May this year as their demands for a salary hike and other demands were not met by the govt. The conflict ended after President Mahinda Rajapaksa agreed to some of their demands. more..

Sept 21 (DN) A national project will be launched for the expeditious processing and passage of cases of child abuse by the criminal justice system of Sri Lanka and for the prevention of secondary victimization of victims of child abuse. The programme is carried out by the Justice Ministry, the Attorney General's Dept, Dept of Police and the Health Ministry with the technical assistance and support of UNICEF. It is launched to give priority to child abuse cases in the several phases of more..

Sept 21 (DN) Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) will add 20 new super luxury buses to its fleet shortly. SLTB's chairman M.D. Bandusena said that a new super luxury city bus services will be launched as a solution to ease the traffic congestion created due to the increasing number of private vehicles entering the Colombo city limits daily. He said this new luxury service will be implemented initially in the Colombo City. It will be operative for the convenience of office workers and those entering more..

Sept 21 (DM) The Sri Lanka Cement Corporation suffered a loss amounting to Rs.1,229 million due to management inefficiencies and uneconomic transactions, Parliament was informed today. The Auditor General report for 2009, revealed that the Corporation had invested Rs.1,083 million in the Lanka Cement Limited with no returns for the Corporation right from the beginning. In reply to the audit query in this regard, the Corporation has said this company ceased operations in 1990 due to more..

Sept 21 (Island) The Elections Department has commenced holding special workshops for over 9,000 members, who have been picked for polls duty on October 08, Additional Commissioner (Provincial and Local) W. P. Sumanasiri said yesterday. He said the Postal Department had commenced delivering 1.5 million polling cards and 4,405 Postal voting packets. Sumanasiri said that the October 8 Elections to 23 Local councils, which includes 17 MCs, 5 PSs and one Urban council, in 17 districts. more..

Sept 21 (Island) The UNP called for a probe into the assets of Mohammed Maharoof, who defected to the govt recently. General Secretary of the UNP Tissa Attanayake said that if Maharoof�s claim of having given the Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe one billion rupees for election purposes was to be believed, then his (Maharoof�s) assets should be investigated. The voters, especially those in Colombo would like to know from where Maharoof had obtained such a large sum of money, he said. more..

Sept 21 (TC) Now that I have been entrusted with leading the campaign for the Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Municipal Council (SJKMC) election I have had the opportunity to visit the homes of many people in the administrative capital of Sri Lanka. The first thing that struck me was that not only does �the proud city of Jayawardene� as mentioned in the Salalihini Sandesa have a rich history it is rich in its diversity of people. I also realized that the concerns of more..

Sept 21 (Island) Nearly 500 unemployed people will be given 500 Dimo �Batta� Trucks, under the initiative of Economic Development Ministry. The Ministry of Finance has allocated Rs. 500 million for this project. Loans will be given through the People�s Bank and the Bank of Ceylon for the unemployed to obtain mini trucks. At the first stagem loans will be given for 250 vehicles. Selling of consumer items by using Mobile commercial Dimo Batta Truck is picking up rapidly as it has become popular more..

Sept 21 (Island) UPFA member Anura Fernando disrupted the sittings of the Central Provincial Council by demanding an immediate investigation into financial irregularities at St. Anthony�s Girls� school. Fernando stood on a table and inquired from presiding Chairman Saliya Bandara Dissanayake what action he intended to take against the principal of the school. In spite of numerous complaints against the principal regarding irregularities in new admissions and money transactions, action hadn�t more..

Sept 21 (DM) Amidst the continuous harassment faced by motorists on the roads by apparent VIP vehicle convoys that travel beeping horns and flashing head lights, IGP N.K Illangakoon said that motorists can complaint on 119 about vehicle convoys that interrupt the traffic flow and cause a nuisance to other road users. �Day or night using head lights and causing trouble to other motorists is a traffic offence as it is in the Motor Traffic Act. more..

Sept 21 (Island) Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena called for a Global Fund to help prevent and control Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Quoting the Health Minister who addressed the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly on the �Prevention and controlling NCDs,� the spokesman said that Sri Lanka aimed to reduce pre-mature mortality due to chronic NCDs by two percent annually over the next ten years. However, a Global Fund would assist countries battle NCDs. more..

Sept 21 (Island) The Supreme Court issued notice on the Attorney General with regard to a fundamental rights violation application, filed by some residents of Jayantha Mawatha, Kelaniya, citing as the first respondent, Mervin Silva, non-Cabinet Minister of Labour and the SLFP Organiser for the Kelaniya electorate. The petition said that the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha had decided to demolish the boundary walls of the houses of some residents of Jayanthi Mawatha, who supported the UNP. more..

Sept 21 (Island) Democratic People's Front (DPF) candidate Mano Ganesan says that if he is elected as the Mayor of Colombo he will transform the city into a multi-ethnic model for the rest of Sri Lanka by assuring equality to all the residents. "We will see that the real national reconciliation begins from the national commercial capitol of the country. This will not be another false promise like those made by many past mayors and administrators on this subject," he said. more..

Sept 21 (DM) A father and a step-mother were taken into custody by the police for allegedly causing grievous injuries to a five-year-old child. Police who carried out a raid on a house at Megodawewa area on information from the public arrested the suspect and took charge of the child. The boy alleged that he would be tied to a post and beaten if the step-mother found any dirt on his clothes when he returned from school. During the inquiries the child showed the injuries caused to him by the suspects. more..

Sept 21 (DN) In response to a request made by the Alawwa Police, court directed Railway Department officials that the engine of the recently collided train should not be removed on any grounds till investigations are over. The Govt Analyst is also due to check the engine and the location to ascertain whether the train crash was a result of human or technical failure. IGP N.K. Ilangakoon ordered an indepth inquiry into the train mishap which occurred near the Alawwa railway station where more..

Sept 21 (Island) The Sri Lankan govt alleged that a recent debate in the House of Commons on �human rights in the Indian sub-continent� had exposed some of those propagating lies in support of a move to set up an international war crimes inquiry targeting Sri Lanka. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said now that the British parliament had been told of 100,000 deaths during the last 5 months of the battle on the Vanni front, the UK should reveal how it reached that conclusion. more..

Sept 21 (DM) DNA Parliamentary Group Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday in Parliament charged that the decision made by the ministry of health to ban more than 31 kinds of medicine and medical equipment had not brought any results as they had already been used on the sick. Speaking during the debate on the new regulations imposed under the Food Act in the House, Mr. Dissanayake said the circulars banning these medicines and equipment had come too late as the damage had already been done. more..

Sept 21 (DM) The TNA says it hopes for a political solution through negotiations with the Government and is not interested in the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee. TNA MP R. Sambanthan, while denying reports that the negotiations between the govt and TNA was to be held in stages said that nothing was said about phase-out negotiations in their joint statement with the Govt. �We negotiate with the govt to find a solution to the problems of the Tamil people. But some people distort our intentions� more..

Sept 21 (Island) A group of JVP heavyweights has broken away from the Marxist outfit's Central Committee to form a new political party. The decision of the breakaway group to sever links with the party was officially announced at a Central Committee meeting on Monday. The new party is expected to be registered with the Elections Commissioner shortly. The dissidents led by (Ms) Dimuthu Atygala (JVP Politburo member and leader of the Women's Wing), more..

Sept 21 (Hindu) �Handing over a refugee to Sri Lanka where he fears persecution will make us nothing short of abettors,� a magistrate court here said on Tuesday. It turned down the Centre's plea to deport a Tamil refugee, who has been in India for the past 20 years. In his order, Arul Varma, Metropolitan Magistrate, said: �It is unfortunate that in spite of [our] having an impressive record of welcoming refugees, we do not have a national law in place to cater for the specific needs of this class.� more..

Sept 21 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka has urged the United States to renew a key trade concession which remains suspended since late last year, the Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday. The Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States Jaliya Wickramasuriya, has in a letter to the US Senate, said that imports of products from Sri Lanka to the US have seen a drastic drop since the trade concession was suspended. The US Generalized System of Preference, also known as GSP, is a trade concession given to more..

Sept 21 (IL) President Mahinda Rajapaksa attended the Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative- 2011 (CGI- 2011) at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers in New York Tuesday on 20 September. President Rajapaksa, who is in New York to attend the 66th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly, also participated the Seventh Annual Meeting of the CGI which is being held from 20th to 22nd September in New York. more..

Sept 21 (DM) Two fundamental rights violation petitions were filed in the Supreme Court yesterday in connection with alleged reprisals on Navanthurai residents by the military and the police in the aftermath of the grease devil phenomenon. The FR petitions were filed by counsel Mohan Balendra on behalf of Iruthayanathan Regi and Wilfred Hildar of Navanthurai in Jaffna.Mr. Regi in his petition cited Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya, more..

Sept 21 (FT) Burdened with an overall tea production dip of 400,000 kgs during the period up to August when compared with 2010 and increased wages, plantation companies are facing losses, industry data showed yesterday. Sri Lanka has recorded a lower crop of 23.9 million kgs for August, 2011, which shows a drop of two million kgs over the same month last year, a Lanka Commodity report quoting Sri Lanka Tea Board data stated. Brokers insist that there is no indication that more..

Sept 21 (SL) A leaked US diplomatic cable says both the ICRC and the Indian High Commissioner had reported that their medical teams treating wounded have come across no evidence of chemical weapons or phosphorous use in Sri Lanka. The cable had originated from the US Ambassador Robert O. Blake on April 10, 2011. This is a serious challenge to the theory that Ekneligoda was abducted because of his investigation regarding the use of chemical weapons by more..

Sept 21 (Island) Around 4,000 Sri Lankans take their own lives each year, according to Sri Lanka Sumithrayo, an organization set up to prevent suicide in Sri Lanka. The rate of teen suicide had dropped from 47 per 100,000 in 2005 to 20 per 100,000 in 2008. In 2009, January to June, 2,074 suicides had been reported among the age groups of between eighteen years and 71, according to the Police Department statistics. more..

Sept 21 (DM) The main suspect, who is believed to have supplied the forged passport and documents for Rizana Nafeek to travel to Saudi Arabia (where she is now under a sentence of death) and obtain employment there, had been apprehended by the CID in Beruwala yesterday. On information received from the several suspects taken into custody, many abortive attempts had been made earlier to arrest this suspect who had left Beruwala. more..

Sept 21 (TO) Shining a spotlight on injustice, a sea of yellow t-shirts flooded Thompson Memorial Park as hundreds of Tamil Canadians walked in the third annual Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) walk-a-thon. On Sept. 18 David Poopalapillai, National Spokesperson of the CTC, and hundreds of walkers, donors, business groups, community leaders, Tamil Canadians and friends tied their shoes for the five-kilometre walk. more..

Sept 21 (LB) Why was Sri Lanka the last to know that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was sending the report of his panel of experts to the Human Rights Council? �In a surprising turn of events, Sri Lanka was confronted with some information in the most peculiar circumstances,� remarked Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, head of the Sri Lankan delegation, before the HRC on Sept 12. On Sept 9, he said, the Sri Lankan team learnt during a lunch briefing that more..

Sept 21 (DM) The highly influential 'Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development' (OECD), which mainly comprises developed countries in the world and is a leading advocate of economic progress and world trade, had declined to reflect what the Sri Lankan government cited as the country's improved economic conditions in their ranking of countries. Since the OECD has rejected to raise the ranking of Sri Lanka, CB Governor Ajith Nivaard Cabraal said, more..

Sept 21 (Island) With the size and frequency of frauds increasing globally and here, KPMG Sri Lanka yesterday launched a fraud survey, a first of its kind in the country in an attempt to quantify and collect data on possible frauds which occur both in the public and private sectors. The web based survey with the help of a questionnaire would be opened to the public for KPMG to collect data and it hopes to issue its findings within the next few months. more..

Sept 21 (DM) Land and Land Development Minister Janaka Bandara said yesterday the requirement for fruits and vegetables to be transported in plastic crates had been introduced hurriedly and without a proper study and as such had inconvenienced farmers who also feel threatened by this move. He said new methods of packaging including the use of plastic crates was welcome but the move as discouraged farmers to the extent of resentment. more..

Sept 21 (CI) Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka captain, has admitted his side are finding it hard to deal with the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan and said it would take time for them to groom bowlers who could win them Tests. Dilshan also said he would continue batting at No. 5 in Tests, as he did in Colombo, since the additional responsibility of captaincy meant he had more to do in the field. "We've gone 11 Tests without a win but we have lost only two Tests; the other nine were drawn. more..

Sept 21 (Reuters) Post-war Sri Lanka will need another decade to clear the half million landmines which lie buried under swathes of agricultural and forest land and around villages in the north of the island nation, the head of a demining group said. The country is in its third year of peace after govt forces defeated the separatist Tamil Tigers in a civil war which lasted a quarter of a century, killing and injuring tens of thousands of people. more..

Sept 22 (LT) The first batch of medical students at Rajarata University is confronted with the grim task of spending 7 years to complete their degrees. The students who entered Sri Jayawardene University with them have already completed their degrees while students who entered Ragama, Colombo and Jaffna faculties the same year will complete their courses in December. Students in Rajarata University are confronted with this situation due to non availability of adequate facilities. more..

Sept 22 (DN) Serendib Horticulture Technologies Pvt Ltd, which is a prime plant bio technology company in Sri Lanka will expand its presence in Rwanda extending support to uplift its agriculture industry. Accordingly, the company will provide various fruit varieties produced through tissue culture technology to Rwanda. �This contract has been awarded to a American company named SAIM Africa by the Rwanda government and we have been selected by SAIM Africa to produce more..

Sept 22 (BBC) Just a few hundred metres from the clangour of the Temple of the Tooth - the holiest shrine for Sri Lankan Buddhists - lies a small Anglican graveyard that takes the visitor back in time. Walking up a short lane, you quickly leave the noise behind and have only the monkeys in the trees as company. Here lies the British Garrison Cemetery, established in 1817 for the British army just after the British takeover of Kandy. more..

Sept 22 (EM) The journalist who questioned Prime Minister Stephen Harper about Canada's silence during the past few months over alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka ran as a Conservative candidate in the last federal election. The story of Gavan Paranchothy, Canadian Multicultural Radio's director of public relations and journalist, blew up during the spring federal election campaign when it was revealed that after being nominated as the Tory candidate for Scarborough Southwest, more..

Sept 22 (LP) Students of St Joseph�s Engineering College in India have modeled a device which, if placed on fishing boats, can prevent Indian fishermen from straying into Sri Lankan waters. The device called the �maritime border indicator� gives out an alarm when the fishermen near the international maritime boundary between India and Sri Lanka. If the fishermen refuse to heed the alarm and reverse the boat, the device will stop the flow of petrol to the boat engine thereby more..