Aug 12 (CT) An elderly farmer, who shot down the only wild tusker roaming in Hambantota, was hospitalized after consuming poison in the presence of policemen who tried to arrest him. The 70-year-old resident of Ilukwewa, Hambantota had shot the tusker which had arrived at the Ilukwewa tank in search of water. Police tracked arrested him on 9 August and recovered two guns in a shed close to the plantation. The suspect attempting to show the policemen another gun, more..

Aug 12 (Island) Wei Wei Ng, Head of International for HSBC�s Global Trade and Receivables Finance (GTRF) in Asia Pacific arrived in the country on a 2 day visit.  She is responsible for the GTRF business across nine markets in Asia Pacific, namely Taiwan, Korea, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, New Zealand, Brunei, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines. Prior to this role, Wei Wei was the Country Head of GTRF in Malaysia where she played an important role in the development of Malaysia GTRF franchise. more..

Aug 12 (CT) As a country, Sri Lanka needs to do more homework if it wants to get the most from the opportunities presented by the European market, an official from the European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (ECCSL) said recently. Attending the media launch of �Turning Point� � the international investor forum organized by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL), more..

Aug 12 (Island) Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena has called for a report from the Commissioner General of Examinations on how to prevent attempts to sabotage public examinations. Minister Gunawardena, contracted for comment, said that unnecessary criticism of an examination while it was on demoralised the candidates and action would be taken to stop that practice. Those critics were working according to a hidden agenda to further their political interests on the pretext more..

Aug 12 (BI) Jayasinghe was planning a career as a lawyer when she radically change course to become an opera singer. The decision was the right one: in 2006, the young soprano made history by becoming the first Sri Lankan opera singer to perform at the Royal Opera House, London, and her career has taken off internationally. Jayasinghe will be performing the Singapore Lyric Opera�s Gala Concert on August 2 at the Esplanade Concert Hall, with Filipino-American tenor, more..

Aug 12 (Island) President Rajapaksa will declare open the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) Secretariat at Hambanthota District Secretariat office complex today. National Youth Service Council (NYSC) Chairman Lalith Piyum Perera said that they had decided to open the secretariat today to also mark the International Youth Day which falls on August 12 every year. The theme of International Youth Day 2014 is �Youth and Mental Health� more..

Aug 12 (DM) Western Province Senior DIG Anura Senanayake on Monday told Court that going by the trust and confidence people had placed in him, he could easily be able to secure over 300,000 preferential votes from the Colombo district if he contested an election. He said the people would also endorse him to serve the Police Department even for 100 years if he lived to reach that age. He said he decided to refrain from conducting investigations into the BASL president�s complaint since more..

Aug 12 (FT) Minister Wimal Weerawansa alleged that a weak Ranil Wickremesinghe was finding a scapegoat for the forthcoming presidential election so that the veteran Opposition Leader could protect himself. According to Weerawansa, the Opposition Leader is secretly plotting to put forward a candidate who is weaker and more impotent than himself to compete in the upcoming presidential election. �Ranil Wickremesinghe is on a secret mission to protect the Opposition and party leadership. more..

Aug 12 (IL) Diyawadana Nilame Pradeep Nilanga Dela handed over the Sannasa this afternoon (11) to President Rajapaksa informing the successful completion of the Kandy Sri Dalada Esala Perahera-2014 at the President�s House, Kandy. The final Randoli Perahera of the annual Esala Perahera Festival that centres the Dalada Maligawa paraded the streets magnificently last night on Nikini Full Moon Poya Day. more..

Aug 12 (IBN) Former Pakistan fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar has said that the players in the present national team need to show more heart and courage if they are to bounce back against Sri Lanka in the ongoing series. Akhtar was critical of the team's performance in the first Test which Pakistan lost on Sunday after being bowled out cheaply within a day at Galle. "It was abject surrender and our players showed no heart, courage or a positive mindset. If they don't work on these things they can't more..

Aug 12 (Independent) With all the horrors taking place in Gaza, Ukraine, Iraq, and Syria, Sri Lanka has understandably fallen off the international radar. However, what you must know is that this suits Sri Lanka�s President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, just fine. Yet the brutal methods he has used to defeat the Tamil Tigers � which ignore the cost of civilian casualties and frequently trample on human rights � are very similar to the ones used by those currently fighting in the spotlight. more..

Aug 12 (Reuters) Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) is seeking a rare cargo of ultra-low sulphur diesel as it introduces environmentally cleaner fuel at its retail stations. Though volumes are still small, it could provide a new market for cleaner diesel which is produced by most refineries in Asia but only used in a handful of countries in the region, traders said. The state-owned company is also separately negotiating to secure more..

Aug 12 (DM) Authorities are investigating into reports that a bright light had been seen over the skies in the Anuradhapura district around 8 p.m. today accompanied by a loud sound, sources said. However, it was not yet clear whether it was a Meteorite or any other object. Meanwhile, the Disaster Management Centre said they received a large number of inquiries from residents from the Dambulla to Seruwila stretch about a mysterious light in the sky. more..

Aug 12 (AM) A Fire broke out at a storage facility on Dawson Street, Colombo 02, a commercial area in the heart of the capital city, Police told Asian Mirror. The exact reason for the fire, Police said, is yet to be found out. Right now, more than 10 fire engines have been deployed by the Fire Brigade to douse the fire, a spokesman of the fire brigade told reporters. Several other adjacent buildings have also been damaged due to the fire, eye-witness reports said. more..

Aug 12 (FT) A group of UNP MPs continuing fact finding tours of state run institutions ran into familiar problems Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) yesterday, finding senior officials unwilling to meet with them and large crowds protesting against their visit. Opposition MPs Eran Wickremaratne, Dr. Harsha De Silva, Ajith Perera, Ajith Mannapperuma and R. Yogarajan commenced the latest installment of the UNP Gaveshana Charika more..

Aug 12 (FT) Former Finance Minister and Secretary of State for Finance of Netherlands Jan Kees de Jager will speak at at Miloda, Academy of Financial Studies, the training Institute of the Ministry of Finance and Planning on Wednesday, 13th Aug at 4 pm. He will share his thoughts on �A world in turmoil: from subprime crisis and sovereign debt crisis to a new world order driven by global trends that are propelled by technology, civil empowerment and demographic shift.� more..

Aug 12 (CBC) A P.E.I. company over-billed and misled the Canadian govt while working on a multi-million dollar contract overseas to provide aid to Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami, P.E.I. Supreme Court has ruled. Canadian Agro Sustainability Partnership won a contract from the Canadian International Development Agency to provide aid to Sri Lanka after the tsunami. CASP is an umbrella group representing about 50 Island firms and organizations on a not-for-profit basis, more..

Aug 12 (CT) Prime Minister DM Jayaratne has spent nearly Rs 20 million on entertainment and gifts in 2013, the performance report of the PM's Office revealed. However the report does not specify what comes under 'entertainment.' His office has also spent a total of Rs 6,679,032 on stationery. Report also revealed that Prime Minister's office in 2013, authorized 6,156 overseas trips for public servants. more..

Aug 12 (DM) Sri Lanka is facing its worst ever international crisis today and many independent analysts believe it is largely because of the mishandling of foreign policy by unprofessional and unqualified High Commissioners or Ambassadors. This reality is clear to most people though scriptwriters for the myths of royal party legends in the �kept press� describe the foreign service as the most professional and uncompromising service since independence. more..

Aug 12 (DM) A recent news item stated that a new network of elevated roads on concrete columns is going to be constructed in and around Colombo to ease traffic congestion. This is on top of the enormous investments that the country has already made in the roads sector. As is well known, the construction of new roads and the improvement of existing roads have been going on in this country over the past few decades, in particular over the past ten years. more..

Aug 12 (DM) Landscape in the district of Badulla fits an archetypical UPFA groove. Yet, Ranil Wickremesinghe emerged a comfortable winner in eight of the nine constituencies in the Badulla district --Mahiyanganaya, Passara, Badulla, Hali Ella, Uva Paranagama, Welimada, Bandarawela and Haputale -- at an election where Mahinda Rajapaksa scaled the required barrier by a thin 0.2% margin in 2005. After 9 years as the leader of more..

Aug 12 (SL) The thermal Independent Power Producers (IPPs) of Sri Lanka has brought CEB into mere bankruptcy, charges the Advisor to the National Electricity Consumers Movement (NECM) Bandula Chandrasekara. He said that the CEB has paid over Rs. 60 billion to purchase power from IPPs in year 2013. The average cost of electricity from IPPs have cost over Rs. 30 per kWh, whereas CEB is selling more..

Aug 12 (CNN) By tradition, Drama is represented by two masks: the happy face of the comic muse Thalia and her sad counterpart, the tragic muse Melpomene. If Drama were Robin Williams, you'd need a million more. He was a mask of howling laughter, a mask of wide-eyed innocence. A sneer. A frown. Even, at times, a blank. Comedic actor Robin Williams died at his Northern California home Monday, more..

Aug 12 (Island) The govt had spent USD 350 million on the first stage of the Mattala International Airport (MIA) which serviced fewer than 50 passengers a day, but it had failed to raise the same amount of funds needed for laying an additional railway line for the benefit of around 40,000 commuters on the costal and main lines during peak hours, the UNP charged. MP R. Yogarajan, who was part of a five-member team of UNP MPs who more..

Aug 12 (Island) On a complaint to DIG, Badulla and Monaragala, Roshan Fernando by Chief Returning Officer for Badulla, Rohana Ratnayake that five contestants at Uva PC Election violated election laws, SSP in charge of the area, S. C. Galappatty has launched a full investigation into the matter, according to Police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana. He said that those who allegedly violated election laws were more..

Aug 12 (ST) The JMO of Chilaw returned an open verdict on the death of a witness in the case where an ex � PC Member ordered a school teacher to kneel down. Punyasena Bandara, the man who gave crucial evidence in the teacher�s court case was found dead in a well on August 1. The body was found by his nephew Chandrasena Bandara. Magistrate ordered Police to hand over the body to the JMO for identification. more..

Aug 12 (CG) The UN says a new report published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will serve as a platform for strengthening collaboration between the Govt and non-governmental actors. The Sri Lanka National Human Development Report (NHDR) 2014 published by the UNDP was launched this morning at the BMICH. Speaking at the event, Subinay Nandy, UN Resident Coordinator and more..

Aug 12 (DM) Counsel appearing for 13 women including two Thai nationals informed Colombo Additional Magistrate that his clients were stripped naked and checked by non-prison guards in the remand prisons. The women were remanded on charges of having engaged in prostitution at a massage clinic in Sagara Road, Bambalapitiya. Counsel said massage clinic was operating on a licence issued by Ayrurvedic more..

Aug 12 (DM) Four NGOs have come under scrutiny by the NGOs National Secretariat functioning under the Defence Ministry, officials said yesterday. The NGOs, registered with this Secretariat, are required to submit their action plans and annual project proposals. NGOs that do not comply with the mandates approved by the National Secretariat will be subjected to scrutiny. Earlier, the Secretariat headed by Saman Dissanayake more..

Aug 12 (PTI) A SL govt-appointed panel, probing cases of missing persons during the country�s civil war, claimed that the numbers cited by groups on alleged disappearance of individuals have been grossly exaggerated. �We have seen figures presented by various organisations which claimed that over 3,300 had disappeared from the northern province. But the number of complaints received by us does not confirm such claims,� more..

Aug 12 (CT) Lead story in the Sunday edition of this paper highlighted an inconvenient reality about the Sri Lankan culture � dissipation is fast gaining a toehold in a society that once held moral rectitude in high esteem. We could be wrong, but how else should one interpret a story that says there are more than 2500 illegal massage parlours operating in the country, especially in the context of the routine raids on such parlours by the police and the accompanying arrests of sex workers? more..

Aug 12 (Island) The 300 MW Kerawalapitiya Combined Cycle Thermal Power Plant or West Coast Plant yesterday commenced test running for the first time using locally refined low sulphur heavy fuel. A senior engineer of the CEB said that Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) had adhered to the parameters recommended by the West Coast Plant officials. Sri Lanka can now cut down on its low sulphur heavy fuel imports costing about Rs. 15 billion annually, accordig to CPC officials. more..

Aug 12 (LBO) Shares closed in a positive territory on Tuesday with index heavy tobacco stocks gaining amid net foreign buying. All Share Price Index closed 4.98 points higher at 6,947.90, up 0.07%. The S&P SL20 closed 1.02 points lower at 3,817.52, down 0.03%. Turnover was 1.20 billion rupees, up from 1.15 billion rupees a day earlier with 66 stocks closed positive against 125 negative. Nations Trust Bank closed 70 cents higher at 82.10 rupees with two off-market transactions more..

Aug 12 (CT) Engaging his incisive powers of intellect with deadly effect, Jayaweera has brought forth a work to make a lasting impression on readers. The clarity with which his discernments are crafted, the passion with which his convictions are canvassed and the limpid style in which they are presented are strikingly remarkable. In ethnic relations, reaching back to millennia past and telescoping his mind to ages hence, the real as he sees it is painted with rare honesty. more..

Aug 12 (FOX) The man behind Australia�s pace bowling renaissance has emphatically denied reports he has applied to take charge of Sri Lanka�s national team. Craig McDermott was one of three Australians named in a cricinfo.com story about the group of applicants for the Sri Lanka role, which was vacated by Englishman Paul Farbrace in April. However the former Test paceman, who played a pivotal more..

Aug 12 (Island) The United States of America had emerged as Sri Lanka�s single biggest export market, Minister Douglas Devananda said. The minister observed that the US had become an important stakeholder in Sri Lanka�s economic development by emerging as its single largest export market. "We have also continued to benefit from trade concessions under the Generalised System of Preferences and from technical assistance in various fields including scholarships. more..

Aug 12 (FT) Asiri Central Hospitals announced it has entered into an agreement to sell and transfer the 293 perch land and premises at Horton Place, Colombo 7 for Rs. 2.6 billion. As per the deal the price works out to Rs. 9 million per perch. The transaction is subject to Asiri Central obtaining shareholder approval at a General Meeting since this amount to a major transaction as per Section 185 of the Companies Act of 2007. Asiri said in terms of the agreement, more..

Aug 12 (CT) The Presidential Commission to Investigate complaints regarding Missing Persons is an eyewash and would not be of any benefit to the affected persons, the Bishop of Mannar Rayappu Joseph said. Commenting on the increasing number of observers on the commission, the Bishop said, he had no trust in the representatives from India, Pakistan and Japan, and that increasing the number of observers on more..

Aug 12 (Island) Three galleries of the National Museum in Colombo would be closed from next Friday for renovation and repairing purposes. Pre and Proto Historic Period gallery, Anuradhapura Period Gallery and the Arms and armament gallery would temporarily be closed. The buildings housing those galleries were more than 140 years old and there was an urgent need for repairing them, sources said, noting that other galleries would be kept open for the visitors. more..