Aug 13 (CT) A large scale distributor of drugs in the Colombo area, known as 'Parewi Suda', had immovable and movable property worth Rs 220 million. A senior police officer, who conducted the undercover operation, said information on the property was unearthed when the police arrested Parewi Suda's right hand man called 'Otha'. Investigations also revealed that 'Parewi Suda' had purchased a three-storey house for more..

Aug 13 (AT) On Wednesday, the British High Commissioner John Rankin, accompanied by Gary Leslie, Head of UK Trade and Investment, visited the headquarters of George Sri Lanka who source and export over US$210 million worth of apparel annually from Sri Lanka. At the headquarters, the High Commissioner was shown a selection of the variety of high quality clothing produced in over 60 factories across Sri Lanka which have helped make George the fastest-growing retail brand of more..

Aug 13 (Island) GMOA Spokesman Dr. Navin Soysa said that the GMOA had asked for a meeting with Health Minister, Maithripala Sirisena to discuss doctors� basic salaries, their service minute, the organisational structure of the health sector and annual transfers. Dr. Soysa said that there were also issues such as the chronic kidney disease of unknown aetiology and the Dicyandiamide issue. The GMOA had been forced into inactivity during a period of two months due to the action of more..

Aug 13 (FT) Leading civil society activists slammed the Govt�s use of monk-led mobs to disrupt their lawful meetings and accused President Rajapaksa of having forgotten his own civil society roots and heady days as a disappearances campaigner in 1989. Activists charged that their constitutional right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly was being violated by unruly mobs that were storming more..

Aug 13 (DM) Popular actress Rebecca Nirmalee who shot to fame with her iconic role as Veda Hamine, passed away this morning after losing a battle with cancer. Rebecca who was to celebrate her 50th birthday on November 27 this year, studied at Nivanthaka Chethiya Vidyalaya in Anuradhapura. The actress who played pivotal roles in more than 150 tele dramas and some films, started her acting career via stage plays like Lokaya Suddai and Sudu Samanalayo. Later she followed it up more..

Aug 13 (CT) The Chief Medical Officer of Health of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Dr. Ruwan Wijayamuni yesterday said following a number of complaints received a decision had been taken to inspect the sanitary conditions of all the cinema halls in Colombo. Dr. Wijayamuni said that the CMC wished to ensure the public a clean and hygienic environment. The assessment will commence from Monday next week. It will be based on the cleanliness of seats in the movie hall; more..

Aug 13 (CT) The COPE has raised concerns over several transactions where, the State owned, Housing Development Finance Corporation Bank, the NPLs of which stood at 20.2%, had paid higher interest to the CEB and waived off some of the fraudulent grants given in the form of loans. HDFC Bank has incurred a loss of Rs 69 million from paying CEB an interest rate of 22.5%, which was 450 percentage points more..

Aug 13 (ENS) Indian legal rights activist Avdhash Kaushal claimed that Indian govt had no role in his nomination to international advisory panel to Sri Lanka�s Presidential Commission probing disappearances and war crimes, even as he felt that there was �too much criticism� of Colombo which did not give space to reconciliation. Kaushal, who runs an NGO, Rural Litigation and Entitlement Nework, said that he had first met Mahinda Rajapaksa when the latter was Fisheries Minister in more..

Aug 13 (CT) The CEB will call for tenders, from international investors, for the proposed Sampur Coal Power Plant. CEB Chairman, W.B. Ganegala said the selected investor will bear 70% of the cost of the coal power plant, while the CEB and the Indian NPPC organization, will invest the balance. The new coal power plant named Coal Power Company will produce 500 Megawatts of electricity. The construction of this coal power unit will commence this year, while, the CEB is yet more..

Aug 13 (Island) Recollecting significant Israeli support to Sri Lanka�s successful war against terrorism, the BBS has warned that it would mount a counter protest campaign if Sri Lanka Thowheed Jamath (SLTJ) launched demonstrations in Colombo against the ongoing Israeli operations against Hamas. A senior BBS spokesperson said that the BBS was aware of SLTJ�s efforts to launch protests in Colombo most probably today more..

Aug 13 (DM) Colombo Magistrate�s Court yesterday issued restraining orders on the Thowheed Jamath, Bodu Bala Sena and Sihala Ravaya organisations preventing them from holding demonstrations and protests in Colombo and the Colombo Fort area today. �The court order was issued by the Colombo Magistrate�s Court following information given by the Colombo Fort police that demonstrations were planned for today by Thowheed Jamath, BBS and Sihala Ravaya� Police said. more..

Aug 13 (Island) A lady doctor serving at the Plastic Surgery unit of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital yesterday died following an IV given at a private beauty clinic on Visakha Road, Bambalapitiya. Medical sources said that the 47- year- old had gone to the clinic yesterday evening for beauty treatment. She had been administered an injection following which she died. She had died by the time an emergency team from the Durdens hospital had arrived on the scene. more..

Aug 13 (DM) The govt has invited US Secretary of State John Kerry to visit Sri Lanka and see for himself what the country has achieved on the ground since the war ended in 2009, Minister G.L. Peiris said. He is reported to have extended the invitation during talks he had with Mr. Kerry on the sidelines of the 21st ASEAN Regional Forum in Myanmar on Aug 11. Mr. Kerry headed the US delegation to the Forum. more..

Aug 13 (DM) Never before has Sri Lanka been in such a great need for professionalism in handling the country�s foreign affairs. Because never before has the country faced an international investigation on the conduct of the government during the last stages of the armed conflict. Already many local and international experts have predicted serious repercussions of the country�s handling of issues pertaining to foreign affairs. Some even have predicted possible economic sanctions on more..

Aug 13 (DM) Exaggerations of the truth are quite common in any human endeavor. When exaggerations are driven into fully-blown falsehoods, they tend to master the individual or society that willingly accepts the fallacy of falsehood as truth. It is a criminal act and when the casualty and society accept the criminal act in any way, shape or form, society�s will to survive diminishes and when it reaches a critical mass, it explodes, claiming everyone around as willing victims. more..

Aug 13 (DM) The country�s oldest community dates back to thousands of years. The Vedda community or the indigenous community held its annual Wariga Sabha (Council of the Clan) to take crucial decisions on behalf of its nearly 500,000 members. The Council held to coincide with the International Day of the World�s Indigenous People is usually organised with govt patronage. But this year it was held in Dambana with native community deciding not to accept more..

Aug 13 (SL) Several incidents occurred in the Sabaragamuwa University last week caused tension among its students. According to the University students, on August 3 a first year Tamil student was assaulted by an unidentified gang and was admitted to the hospital after receiving severe injuries. Hate posters also appeared in the university recently threatening Muslim and Tamil students to leave University premises immediately. Meantime, another Tamil student was arrested more..

Aug 13 (Island) Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne has sent a letter of demand to Ven. Galagodaththe Gnanasara Thera, demanding one billion rupees in damages for the abusive statements made against him at a press conference held in Colombo recently. A copy of the letter of demand released by the minister to the media said that Ven. Gnanasara Thera had held a press conference on August 5, in the presence of several more..

Aug 13 (CI) On the eve of Mahela Jayawardene's final Test, his team-mate, best friend and fellow batting superstar Kumar Sangakkara speaks about what made him, and them, tick. Q: Mahela was a very popular schoolboy cricket name. What had you heard before you came into the Sri Lanka side? A: His reputation was pretty solid, even at an Under-15 level. You read about him in the papers - him, Thilan Samaraweera and more..

Aug 13 (GDI) Sri Lanka will feature a rare international confab this November �and many top global fishery experts and exporters will gather together in one place for the first time in South Asia. �First ever International Ornamental Fish Conference to be held in Sri Lanka is taking place this November with EDB�s support. We thank Malaysia based INFOFISH for affording this opportunity to Sri Lanka� said more..

Aug 13 (AM) With the govts of the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka refusing to agree to the standard employment contract for domestic help drawn up by the UAE Ministry of the Interior recently, recruitment agents fear they will have to shut down. With this the foreign employment agencies in the country has suffered big blow. They claim that by rejecting the proposition the govt has boycotted the foreign inflow to more..

Aug 13 (CG) The Government has removed the names of three people who were among 424 people listed last March over alleged links with terrorism. Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya said that a Gazette notification has been issued removing the three individuals from the list. Those delisted under the amended Gazette notification are Karunanithi Thurairathnam a.k.a. Thurai, a Sri Lankan living in France, Sutharasan Kailayanathan more..

Aug 13 (Island) The Health Ministry�s Central Epidemiological Unit (CEU) Director, Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Paba Palihawadana said that no decision had been taken yet to bring back Sri Lankan migrant workers in West Africa. But, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) said that it had decided to bring back around 200 Sri Lankan migrant workers from Liberia with the World Health Organizsation (WHO) declaring more..

Aug 13 (ST) Forms seeking information about the occupants of households have been distributed in some areas of Colombo on the instructions of Police DIG Gamini Maturata. The forms are being circulated with the objective of updating records stored in the computers of the Community Policing Division, DIG Maturata, who is in charge of Colombo, said. He also claimed that such information was collected from more..

Aug 13 (CG) The Government has urged the diplomatic community to refrain from activity which may give rise to any perception of partisanship in respect of domestic matters. A statement by the External Affairs Ministry said that Minister G.L. Peiris had made this point when he met foreign diplomats based in Colombo last week. The Minister had stressed the need for foreign envoys to show sensitivity to local sentiments and more..

Aug 13 (CT) In terms of gender equality, Sri Lanka it would appear, for all ostensible purposes, is standing head and shoulders above other nations. After all, we did produce the first woman Prime Minister in the world and then several years later went on to elect a woman, albeit the daughter of the first woman Prime Minister, as an Executive President. Both created history by ousting some mercurial rulers of the time. Unfortunately, this glass ceiling shattering forward leap towards more..

Aug 13 (Island) People living close to the Lunawa lagoon undergo severe hardships as industrial effluents pumped into the waterbody illegally by the factories in the neighbourhood have made it a stinking mess. Many residents have complained of headache, nausea and skin diseases. They complain of a pungeant smell emanating from the canal. The lagoon was full of rotting fish, one resident said. Around 300 families eke out a living by fishing in the lagoon when they cannot more..

Aug 13 (LBO) Sri Lanka's stocks closed in the green on Wednesday with beverage stocks gaining while tobacco stocks losing ground. All Share Price Index closed 6.24 points higher at 6,954.14, up 0.09%. The S&P SL20 closed 2.74 points higher at 3,820.26, up 0.07%. Turnover was 1.82 billion rupees, up from 1.20 billion rupees a day earlier with 114 stocks closed positive against 84 negative. Access Engineering closed 20 cents lower at 27.30 rupees with two off-market transactions more..

Aug 13 (CT) Not in this isle of ours and not in our lifetime, at least as per our cowardice upbringing. We have seen it all� the levels of corruption, winning wars at great human costs, abuse of the judiciary/law enforcement institutions, state sponsored killings & disappearances and the not-so-suited-for-times constitution being exploited among others. And every government in power has been complicit or directly involved since the time of independence. more..

Aug 13 (CI) Every Mahela Jayawardene innings had its own persona. Every Jayawardene stroke was self-expression. This was true when he played a rasping square cut against the turn to fetch his first Test boundary in 1997. It was true when he hit a searing reverse-sweep off Saeed Ajmal at Galle, on Sunday. His batting has filled grounds since he was 15. He has won Tests off his own blade, and saved a more..

Aug 13 (DM) Consumers could pay their utility bills to the postman when he comes to deliver your mail from Sept 1, Postmaster General D.L.P. Rohana Abeyaratne said. �Cabinet approval has been granted to increase the amount of money a postman could hold during his hours of duty to Rs.20,000,� he said and added that this would authorise postmen to accept cash for payments of utility bills such as electricity and telephone and insurance.� Mr. Abeyaratne said the Postal Department was more..

Aug 13 (Reuters) Sri Lankan rupee edged down to near two-week lows on Wednesday as dollar demand from importers and banks picked up, while some dealers said an outflow of foreign funds also weighed on the local currency. One of the two state banks, through which the central bank usually intervenes in the market, sold dollars at 130.26 to limit downward pressure and volatility. The rupee, which rose to a high of 130.26 per dollar early in the day, fetched 130.23/26 its lowest since Aug 1 more..

Aug 13 (Xinhua) A severe drought has hit an estimated 1.5 million Sri Lankans with 768,000 in urgent need of basic food and livelihood requirements, the latest report from the World Food Programme (WFP) said Wednesday. Three consecutive years of natural disasters have undermined household resilience: populations in affected areas have built up unsustainable levels of debts, have insufficient access to water for more..

Aug 13 (GDI) Mihin Lanka, Sri Lanka's national low-cost carrier is proud of the excellent progress made by its third batch of cadets inducted in July 2013. The airline fulfilled its commitment to clear all 11 Trainee First Officers (TFOs) to fly as fully-fledged pilots within a mere 12 months of their training as planned. Mihin Lanka is now preparing to recruit its fourth batch of trainees. Capt. Pujitha Jayakody, Director Flight Operations, Mihin Lanka said, �This achievement has been made possible by more..

Aug 13 (AM) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has so far failed to take action on its female secretary who allegedly walked into national player Kithruwan Vithanage�s hotel room during the first test match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Galle. When contacted by a reporter of Asian Mirror, a spokesman of Sri Lanka Cricket who wished to remain anonymous said the SLC was not in a position to take action in this regard without observing CCTV footage of the incident. more..

Aug 13 (CG) The Indian Govt says it remains committed to assist Sri Lanka in its endeavours of rehabilitation, reconstruction and reconciliation. India�s High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha thanked Sri Lanka for the support extended by the Govt of Sri Lanka in ensuring the smooth implementation of Indian projects in Sri Lanka. He noted that while India has always extended its hand of friendship and cooperation more..

Aug 13 (Island) A person sexually abused his paramour�s underage daughter was taken into custody by the Cinnamon Gardens police recently. It was revealed the mother of had covered up the offence for fear of her lover being arrested. Children�s and Women�s Bureau of Galaha police acted on a complaint lodged by the victim�s aunt and commenced investigations. Suspect hearing that police were looking for him had fled the area and worked as a domestic in a house at more..

Aug 13 (Island) Undergraduates in all universities were currently on a protest campaign demanding an increase in Mahapola stipend from Rs. 2500 to Rs. 5000 in view of high cost of living the Inter University Students� Federation (IUSF) said. IUSF Convener Najith Indika said that the Mahapola stipend had not been increased for nine years and it had forced more than 60% of university students to do pat time jobs while studying. He said that the govt was not paying Mahapola payments on time. more..

Aug 13 (AM) Police Constable who issued a speeding ticket o the Deputy Minister Hemal Gunasekara on the Southern Expressway has been indicted before Colombo High Court by Bribery Commission regarding an allegation that he accepted a bribe of Rs.1000 from a businesswoman who was involved in producing illegal liquor on May 25, 2009. The bribery commission charged that Police Constable more..