Aug 10 (SL) Army Commander, Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake maintains that the Sri Lankan Army did what no any other army in the world accomplished facing a ruthless organization and defeating without using heavy weapons. �The govt decided to stop using the heavy weapons during the last stages which was a huge sacrifice for us but it was the greatest sacrifice in order to protect the civilians. We did not even use large more..

Aug 10 (ST) The Indian state TN�s Chief Minister, a former actress of the silver-screen, has suddenly become oh so prudish that she takes offence at a cartoon illustrating an article posted on Sri Lanka�s Ministry of Defence (MoD) website that depicted her writing �love letters� to the Indian Prime Minister. The reference, she complained, was �highly objectionable� derogatory and disrespectful�. Yet this is the same Chief Minister who nearly lost her saree when she was manhandled as more..

Aug 10 (ST) My Dear Green Man, Uncle Karu and Sajith, I thought I must write to you to let you know that Mahinda maama has called for elections to the Uva Province. Of course, most people would assume that you would know about the elections but the manner in which the Greens are going about their work, I suspect that you may still be in the dark! You may think that the Uva Province is far away from the comforts of Colombo and has only a small population and therefore, not that important. more..

Aug 10 (SL) The TNA warns the Govt of a Tamil democratic uprising in the future to win the rights of Tamils in the country if the Government continues to fail addressing the burning issues of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. According to TNA MP Suresh Premachandran, people will not tolerate the policies practised by the Govt. He also told The Sunday Leader that the govt�s foreign policies are putting the country at a stake. more..

Aug 10 (NS) Last week�s sitting of Parliament was a lackluster affair except for Badulla District UNP MP Harin Fernando resigning and K. Velayuthan filling the vacancy. Fernando�s resignation and his party�s plans to field him as the chief ministerial candidate in the forthcoming elections to the Uva Provincial council had been announced some weeks ago, thus it was no hard news. On Aug 5, Harin made a speech with the permission from the chair. He said he was resigning responding to calls from more..

Aug 10 (NS) Elephants are majestic creatures. They are also beasts of burden. They give stature to pageants. Those who have tusks are especially valuable to the point that they are hunted, killed and divested of their prized �possessions�. They also enhance status of owners. Elephants are sought then for a variety of reasons. There are therefore laws about acquisition. Whether these are adequate is a moot point. What is clear is that enforcement is a joke. What�s worse is that more..

Aug 10 (CT) Former UNP strongman B. Sirisena Cooray, a controversial character in politics during the Premadasa regime, a virtual scapegoat where fingers always pointed at him whenever political murders were committed in the country, once again broke silence to respond to queries regarding the tragic killings of Lalith Athulathmudali and President Premadasa during an interview with Mawbima. more..

Aug 10 (CI) Pakistan bowled 163.1 overs in the first innings, with the spinners Abdur Rehman and Saeed Ajmal sharing a spell of 18 overs, the longest bowling partnership on the fourth day in Galle. They conceded 56 runs, dismissed Angelo Matehws, and almost had Kumar Sangakkara caught. Apart from that period, Rehman hardly got the chance to bowl with Ajmal. The chemistry between Rehman and Ajmal is no fluke. Over the last few years, Pakistan's fast bowlers have faded, allowing more..

Aug 10 (ST) The External Affairs Ministry (EAM) has become one of the most discussed ministries in Parliament in recent months, with the many mess-ups providing enough fodder for Opposition legislators to take the Govt to task. However, equally consistent has been the manner in which its Minister G.L. Peiris has managed to sidestep issues of concerns raised time and again in the House. This week, for example, instead of explaining why Sri Lanka�s overseas missions are flooded with more..

Aug 10 (SL) The Sunday Leader sought the views of various political parties on the story posted on the website of the Ministry of Defence, written by an independent journalist, the contents of which were purportedly detrimental to relations between SL and India, and the caricature that accompanied the said article. Ministry of Defence, while disassociating itself with the said article, tendered an apology to Govt of India. more..

Aug 10 (SL) Minister Rajitha Senaratne a few days ago sought legal advice to sue BBS General Secretary Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera over the slanderous statements the latter made against him while addressing a press conference. He made this remark while responding to allegations made by the BBS General Secretary who dubbed Senaratne as an anti-Sinhala politician. Gnanasara Thera also added that certain politicians were transporting �kerala ganja� in their BMW vehicles. more..

Aug 10 (SO) Buddhism is respected throughout the world as a religion which advises people to �live and let live�. Buddhists do not regard the existence of other religions as a hindrance to worldly progress and peace. Instead of converting the followers of other religions into their religion, Buddhists encourage others to practise their own religions, provided they promote the well-being of all living beings. Ample evidence proves that, for the past 2,500 years, Buddhists have never ill-treated more..

Aug 10 (CI) Years of keeping wicket to Muralitharan and plain good vibes have been behind Sangakkara's ability to mute Saeed Ajmal and succeed against the Pakistan attack, the batsman said after hitting his 10th double-hundred. Ajmal has been the most penetrative spin bowler in the world for some years, counting the doosra made famous by Murali among his chief weapons. But Sangakkara has played him better than most, more..

Aug 10 (CI) New Zealand A pulled off their second win in as many days, an emphatic dismantling of Sri Lanka A to follow victory over England Lions, giving them control of the triangular series. Their bowlers were again impressive, with Doug Bracewell and Ish Sodhi sharing seven wickets, before rattling through the chase with more than 30 overs to spare. The Sri Lanka A innings got off to a solid start, reaching 43 before Bracewell took the first of his three wickets. Hamish Bennett removed the other opener, more..

Aug 10 (ST) The govt is now preparing the 2015 budget curtailing tax concessions and subsidies and ensuring development by creating more livelihood and employment opportunities, food and energy security with particular emphasis on low income and poor families. Several new taxes will be introduced to raise revenue and restrict imports promoting protectionism, setting an ambitious state revenue target of around Rs.1700 billion and expenditure of around Rs.1600 billion, more..

Aug 10 (ST) Crucial facts about the disastrous oil hedging deals of the CPC have been withheld from the COPE which presented its latest report to Parliament last week, top anti-corruption buster and public interest activist alleged this week. �(I observe that) the COPE Interim Report does not disclose the totality of the facts, whereby the reality of what had transpired had been suppressed from COPE, Parliament & the public,� more..

Aug 10 (DM) �I think everyone is second to Don (Bradman),� said Sri Lanka�s star batsman Kumar Sangakkara after getting his tenth double century during the first test match against visiting Pakistan today. The prolific left-hander made 221 as the hosts declared their first innings at 9-533 shortly before stumps, a lead of 82 runs over Pakistan's total of 451. "I think everyone is second to the Don. I am pretty happy that I am two double tons behind him because that is probably the only more..

Aug 10 (GDI) The final Randoli Perahera of Sri Lanka's premier Buddhist procession, the historic Esala Perahera in the hill capital of Kandy will parade the streets tonight. The Esala festival will be concluded with the traditional water cutting rituals in the Mahaweli River at the Gatambay Thotupola on Monday morning. The historic Esala Festival, a tradition being carried from the eras of Kings, attracts thousands of devotees, pilgrims and foreign visitors to the hill capital of Kandy more..

Aug 10 (SL) Due to an artificial rice shortage in the market Rs. 6,000 million has been spent to import 150,000 metric tons of rice to the country since June, K. Palaniandy, President of the Colombo Traders� Association said. Certain interested parties are accused for creating an artificial rice shortage in the country, which has cost the nation dearly, This is the first time in 5 years, SL imported rice to overcome a shortage. more..

Aug 10 (ST) A group of independent minority shareholders at plantation stock Bukit Darah (part of the giant Carsons Group) has complained to the SEC that a Carsons� director had threatened a shareholder. The hand-written complaint to Harshana Suriyapperuma, SEC Director of Corporate Affairs, claimed that Mano Selvanathan, Director Bukit Darah, had threatened shareholder S. Jegatheeswaran pointing the finger at the latter and telling him, �You be careful, I�m warning you�. more..

Aug 10 (ST) Sri Lanka needs to do more work on its own country branding, according to Chris Thomas, Chairman for the Asian, Middle Eastern and African regions of international advertising powerhouse BBDO. Elaborating further, he explained that one of BBDO�s most successful campaigns of last year, which won at regional advertising awards show Spikes Singapore, was �It�s more fun in the Philippines�. Categorising it as less of an advertising concept, and more of a widely accepted more..

Aug 10 (NS) Despite officials describing it as a routine �reshuffle�, Deputy Auditor General, AHML Ambanwela, responsible for compiling the audit query on �illegal� licenses for elephants has been transferred one day prior to the stipulated time of two weeks given to the Department of Wildlife Conservation to respond. Spokespersons for the AG�s Department have described it as a �routine reshuffle�. more..

Aug 10 (CG) If the Indian Navy �continues to fail to protect� Tamil Nadu fishermen from attacks by the Sri Lankan navy, the State govt should then impart weapons training to fishermen to defend themselves from being hunted down on the high seas, Tamil Nationalist Movement leader, Nedumaran has said. Speaking to reporters, Nedumaran said the transfer of �Katchatheevu� to Sri Lanka did not have legal backing as the then govt failed to get Parliament�s consent for this transfer. more..

Aug 10 (ST) Security has been beefed up for Sri Lankan interests in Tamil Nadu in view of continuing protests against an article and cartoon that appeared on the official website of Sri Lanka�s Ministry of Defence. Sri Lanka�s Deputy High Commissioner Sabrullah Khan who is based in Chennai said that protests had continued throughout the week. On August 2, a SriLankan Airlines office and a Sri Lankan-owned furniture shop were attacked by crowds protesting over more..

Aug 10 (CT) There are 2,500 illegal massage parlours in the island but the Ayurveda Act does not give the relevant authorities enough power to take action against these establishments. Although 143 massage parlours have been registered in the recent past, the Ayurveda Act does not give the necessary legal powers to register such establishments. And, registrations have now been halted. more..

Aug 10 (ST) The lack of a proper bathing space for the elephants that take part in the Kandy Esala Perahera still remains a shortcoming.Since the famous Katugastota elephant bathing place went into disuse after the flooding of Polgolla Dam under the Mahaweli project, no proper bathing place for elephants has been made available. This is the unfortunate plight of the animals during the time of this annual historic event. The bureaucracy seems to have forgotten one of the principal tenets more..

Aug 10 (ST) �What is clear to me however, from a policy implementation perspective is that the present Sri Lankan economic story is under- told, often distorted and down played,� a top govt official told a gathering of business elite at the inauguration of th Sri Lanka Economic Summit organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) on Tuesday. Dr. P.B. Jayasundera, Secretary to the Treasury in his keynote address said that the CCC theme for this year �Sri Lanka 2020: Towards more..

Aug 10 (ST) New laws prohibiting the transfer of land to foreigners will allow non-citizen children or non-citizen next of kin of Sri Lankans to inherit property through intestacy or gift, a Cabinet paper states. In 2013, the Finance Ministry issued instructions barring all transfers of land to foreigners and throwing a cloud of uncertainty over inheritance rights. While the law allowed individuals to transfer property by gift or testamentary disposition more..

Aug 10 (ST) CID took an office aide in the Security Mail Exchange of the Ministry of External Affairs into custody yesterday in connection with the jewellery that went missing from a diplomatic bag sent from the Sri Lankan embassy in Seoul, South Korea. The Sunday Times reported last week that the CID was called in to investigate the loss of jewellery that belonged to a Sri Lankan worker who had died in South Korea and had been sent to her family in Sri Lanka through the diplomatic pouch. more..

Aug 10 (AM) Leader of the NFF, Minister Wimal Weerawansa has proposed to introduce a code of ethics of print and electronic journalists. Weerawansa, who is the Minister of Housing, Engineering Services and Construction, has told the govt that time is ripe to introduce a code of ethics journalists to elevate what he termed as he "standards of journalism". Vernacular newspapers reported this weekend that the govt has responded favourably to Weerawansa's request. more..

Aug 10 (ST) UPFA Govt is hiring and firing public relations agencies in the US at its will and pleasure with enormous cost to the Sri Lankan taxpayer. The secret exercise costing millions of dollars appears to have become high priority, or so the UPFA leaders believe, due to the adverse fallout on Sri Lanka. It has been caused mainly by the successive US resolutions at the UNHRC sessions in Geneva. more..

Aug 10 (Island) JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake did not say anything new when he exposed the appointments the govt has been making to Sri Lanka�s overseas missions and listing the who�s who of those favoured with the jobs and all the perks they entail. This information has been published in bits and pieces as and when they were made or contemplated. In fact, one Sunday paper compiled a comprehensive list of these appointments not so long ago but for more..

Aug 10 (Island) There is speculation about what the BJP-Modi political line vis-�-vis the "Sri Lanka Issue" may be when the dust settles. It will take time to come into full view, but the writing is on the wall. There are two tendencies pulling in opposite directions; one is continuity with no big changes (tactics aside), the other is that the new govt should make a drastic policy shift. Protagonists of the second option call it "looking with new eyes and cutting loose from the past." more..

Aug 10 (ST) The final chapter to what India complained was an article derogatory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jeyaram Jeyalalithaa on the Defence Ministry�s website came this week. Soon after the matter was raised in the Rajya Sabha, India�s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj invited the new Sri Lanka High Commissioner to the External Affairs Ministry. more..

Aug 10 (CT) A separate Tamil Eelam or regrouping of LTTE is hard to achieve even though the Tamil Diaspora raises slogans and in TN, political parties use the Eelam issue as a vote catching device, said Former IPKF Intelligence Corps Head, Colonel Ramani Hariharan (79). Former intelligence chief said that the overseas remnants do not have a dynamic leader who can energize and lead them in a revival of LTTE. more..

Aug 10 (NS) Hours before the Dalada Perahera was to commence, crowds gathered along the routes the pageant was to take. They eagerly waited even though they had to stand in the hot sun. Seeing them made one wonder about the significance of the Esala Perahera. The pageant is held annually to honor the Temple of the Tooth Relic, thank the gods and please the �Rain God,� as it is believed that the Perahera is followed by more..

Aug 10 (MO) We love how Malaysians are passionate about good food and sharing where you can find it, like this particular Secret Eat which serves Sri Lankan Tamil food. You know you�re on to a good thing when your email inbox is flooded with multiple recommendations from readers all pointing to this place in Kuala Lumpur. Each email was peppered with various tips on what to eat there. I even discovered the origin of its more..

Aug 10 (ST) It�s no secret that the External Affairs Minister is someone who bends polices to suit the position of the side he is in. When he was in the UNP, he said we must go beyond 13 to 13 Plus, and now he says 13 is too much and we must go to 13 minus. This is a clever tactic. As the saying goes, �if you go to the bats wedding, you have to adapt accordingly�. He has shown clever ability for that. more..

Aug 10 (NS) The CAA attempts to crack down on fraudulent bottled water companies have been lackadaisical, the COPE has found. The committee has questioned the CAA regarding the �offensive activities in the trade of bottled drinking water including the re-filling of unpurified water in disposed empty bottles�. The committee also cites that action had not been taken to control the industry and standardize the quality of the products by more..

Aug 10 (Island) India provides 80% of the training requirements to Sri Lankan troops as part of the close cooperation between the two nations, Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Daya Ratnayake said. "We are working closely with the Indian Army", he stressed. "India is very supportive and extends the most assistance in terms of fulfilling the need for advanced foreign training to our officers and men". In continuing regional cooperation efforts, more..