Feb 27 (CI) A-team tours can seem a strange sporting environment. The teams are ostensibly a national 2nd XI, but, as is the case for the sides playing in Colombo, proven men with years of first-class refinement are omitted for youthful cricketers with porous records and raw techniques. Demoted international players may view unofficial Tests an easy hunting ground - a means of overcoming a crisis of confidence - but for others, it is the greatest test of their career to date. more..

Feb 27 (MoD) The Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development (MoD&UD) Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mrs. Ioma Rajapaksa visited the "Deyata Kirula" Exhibition today. Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya was also present during the visit. Meanwhile, Mr. Rajapaksa visited all the projects, sections and organizations which performs under the purview of the MoD&UD including UDA, more..

Feb 27 (GDI) President Rajapaksa visited Sri Jayewardenapura, Kotte on Wednesday to inspect the construction of the fist stage of the Sri Jayawardenepura Colombo highway including the Polduwa new bridge already completed. President Rajapaksa who observed the stretch constructed from the Parliament Roundabout towards Colombo along the Sri Jayawardenapura-Colombo highway, gave instructions to the relevant officials to open it for traffic with immediate effect. more..

Feb 27 (DM) A horrific tale of alleged torture on a school-girl from Horowpathana was reported recently. Ranjani Kumari (17) of Suwa Udana village, Morakawa, Horowpathana alleged that she had to face severe cruelty at the hands of a teacher at school who had allegedly also dabbled in black magic and exorcism for a living at a �Devale� that he owned along with his wife who was also said to engage in fortune telling. This incident had remained a secret for more than a month. more..

Feb 27 (CG) National Peace Council (NPC) has called on the international community and the Sri Lankan govt to resolve their differences over calls for an international investigation by agreeing to a joint inquiry into alleged human rights abuses with a report back mechanism to the UN. NPC says a joint probe could avoid the weaknesses of a previous joint effort to investigate human rights violations that led to the setting up of an Independent more..

Feb 27 (CG) The police have denied reports that there is an attempt to arrest UNP MP Harsha de Silva. The MP had said that some websites had reported that orders had been given to arrest him over some comments he had made recently against the Govt. However police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana said that there is no investigation underway into the comments made by the UNP MP. �He had said that the orders were given by the Defense Secretary. There is no truth in that statement. more..

Feb 27 (CI) Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka's Twenty20 captain, has been promoted to the top category of Sri Lanka Cricket's central contracts, for 2014-15. SLC announced that it will be centrally contracting 17 players in all for the season. Lahiru Thirimanne was the other big gainer, moving up from category 3 to category 2. Kusal Perera and Kaushal Silva gained promotions as well. SLC also announced a new category, the 'special category', which includes three players: more..

Feb 27 (CI) The Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) has been scrapped in favour of a short domestic Twenty20 tournament for the second consecutive year, after SLC failed to attract meaningful commercial interest in the tournament. The SLPL has failed to materialise in three of the four years since it had been announced, crashing most dramatically in 2013, when each franchise was terminated after failing to pay participation fee more..

Feb 28 (CT) There is a right way and a wrong way to resist Navi Pillay �and Jayalalithaa� and the Sri Lankan regime, I fear, is almost certain to do it the wrong way, which is also the way that is least likely to succeed. The difference between Navi Pillay and Jayalalithaa is that the former is wrong on the most important thing but right on some things while the latter is wrong on everything she says about Sri Lanka. The way to respond to Navi Pillay is to pull the props or scaffolding from under her more..

Feb 28 (CT) This week we remember Dr. Colvin R. de Silva, on the 25th anniversary of his death on 27 Feb 1989. The country lost a brilliant lawyer, a fine orator and an exemplary parliamentarian. Hardly a week passes without a newspaper article lamenting the absence of leaders of his ilk. It was the Left that spearheaded the campaign against the introduction of the executive presidency in 1978 and today we remember Colvin when the country is feeling the full force of the executive presidency, more..

Feb 28 (NS) It is that time of year again when our country becomes afflicted with polls madness. Over the last few decades, perpetual political drama seems to relentlessly plague our nation, without exception and without letup. As was expected since campaigning for the PC polls got off the blocks election laws were being flouted with impunity. Not surprisingly the local election watchdogs, CaFFE and PAFFREL revealed, more..

Feb 28 (NS) It was the year 1994. It happened days after the People�s Alliance, led by SLFP, assumed power after 17 long years in the political wilderness. In one of the first acts of the newly elected Govt headed by Chandrika Kumaratunga, a man called Sunil Sarath Perera was removed from the post of Chairman at Rupavahini. He was replaced by a man called Wasantha Raja whose associations with the LTTE didn�t take long to surface. Immediately afterwards there appeared in more..

Feb 28 (NS) Thamasha Jayasuriya is not just another student awaiting university admission. She doesn�t while away her time like most her age. Instead of spending her days waiting for university to begin, Thamasha is organizing the show, �Shadow of Love.�Choreographing the dance she learnt on her own, Thamasha is the first to introduce shadow dancing in this form to Sri Lanka. Her first show �Circle of Love� which at one hour three seconds is the longest shadow dance show in Sri Lanka more..

Feb 28 (SO) Having passed lush greenery along Wellawaya to Lahugala on the A4 Road a strange landscape accosts you when passing Sengamuwa. About 10 km beyond Pottuvil, on the A4 Road, a stretch of barren paddy field dotted with small houses and herds of white goats and cows lazily grazing could be seen. Most villagers ply the road on push bicycles, a popular and cost-effective mode of transport. Here fishing and farming is the more..

Feb 28 (CT) Emergence of a politician to the position of a 'party leader' is no mean event. As in almost all human enterprises, politics too is infested with jealousies, envy, cut-throatisms, fierce competition, intra-party rivalries, caste and class differences and so forth and they all have contributed to a plethora of news-worthy snippets, historical innuendos and fascinating biographies. Election of Anura Kumara Dissanayake to the leadership of the JVP is one such event. more..

Feb 28 (ST) Both smoking and non-smoking members of Parliament crossed partisan borders this week and united to vote for the Govt�s decision to plaster the face of cigarette packets with gruesome pictures of the tragic consequences of smoking. The anti-smoking lobby having successfully campaigned to achieve this notable goal as followed in western countries is already inhaling the purified air of euphoria and predicting with confidence that this would be a major more..

Feb 28 (Island) Afghanistan Under-19s beat Sri Lanka Under-19s by five wickets after reducing the fancied team to just 114 runs in the ICC Youth World Cup 7th place playoff match played in Dubai yesterday. St. Sebastian�s College speedster Anuk Fernando struck thrice early during Afghanistan�s chase to place them at 42 for three wickets in the seventh over but they managed to reach the target for the loss of five wickets with 28 overs to spare. Fernando picked up four wickets for 50 runs. more..

Feb 28 (CT) Last week, the Opposition lawmakers were up in arms against the Colombo Port City project, an ambitious development plan to build a mini city in 233 hectares of newly reclaimed land off the Galle Face Green. US$ 1.4 billion project, financed by China Communication and Construction Company (CCCC), is expected to house 100,000 residents and will have a Formula One race track, residential apartments, commercial and recreational facilities, when completed. more..

Feb 28 (FT) �I am a UNPer, I will stand with the UNP� Mayor of Colombo A.J.M. Muzammil, who locked horns with UNP following his wife�s nominations being denied, said he will not get actively involved in helping the party win at the upcoming PC elections. �I was not wanted. If I was not wanted, why should I go and get involved?�. �I am the Mayor of Colombo. They never consulted me for the nomination process. more..

Feb 28 (Island) World Vision and Kotagala Plantations PLC recently inaugurated two modern pre-schools in Hatton and Pathana. The schools which would benefit 68 children from the plantation communities address a much felt need for a standard preschool to bridge the gap between cr�che and primary school. Chief guest minister Arumugam Thondaman, declared open the schools in separate ceremonies held at Mayfield Estate in Hatton and Bogahawatte Estate in Pathana. more..

Feb 28 (Island) Singer, Dialog and People�s Bank received top honours at the SLIM-Nielsen Peoples Awards 2014 grand finale held at a glittering gala ceremony at Waters Edge on Feb 26. People all over the country selected Singer Sri Lanka as 'People's Brand of the Year', as well as the 'People's Durable Brand of the Year' and it was also joint winner of the 'People's Youth Brand of the Year' along with Dialog Axiata. In addition, 'People's Telecom Service Provider of the Year' and more..

Feb 28 (CT) Sri Lanka Telecom received a US$ 100 million 5-year loan facility from Sampath Bank and HSBC to upgrade its telecommunication infrastructure. HSBC acted as Lead Arranger and together with Sampath Bank participated in raising this loan. Patrick Gallagher, CEO HSBC Sri Lanka said, "This further demonstrates HSBC's capability in structuring and arranging deals of this nature. more..

Feb 28 (CI) Playing only their third ODI against a Test-playing team, Afghanistan had Pakistan in serious danger of being bowled out for under 200. But Umar Akmal averted that fate with his second ODI hundred, his unbeaten 89-ball 102 steering Pakistan from a precarious 117 for 6 to a relatively safe total of 248 for 8, which proved enough to give them a 72-run win. Afghanistan got their chase off to a steady start, and only lost one wicket in the first 15 overs. more..

Feb 28 (Island) JVP has questioned the legitimacy of the present parliament, where, it says, the govt has mustered a 2/3 majority by luring Opposition MPs to the UPFA with ministerial posts etc. One cannot but agree with the Rathu Sahodarayas that crossovers make a mockery of people�s verdict at an election. Sadly, defections have become the order of the day owing to the Proportional Representation system which usually brings about weak govts desperate for numbers-but, more..

Feb 28 (FT) Defending development projects started with unsolicited proposals, including the controversial Port City, that have recently come under fire from the Opposition, Ports Authority Chairman Dr. Priyath Bandu Wickrama early this week insisted the US$ 1.4 billion deal was competitive. Explaining several points of concern, Dr. Wickrama responding to a question at the seminar on the five hubs, more..

Feb 28 (CI) India and Sri Lanka have been guilty of indulging each other in the past, they are the most frequently paired-up opponents in ODI cricket, but this one promises to be different. For starters it has been seven months since they played against each other. More importantly they are playing in a tournament whose every match is crucial by the way of a difficult qualification for the final. Only two teams out of five progress, and there is no way any game can be taken lightly. more..

Feb 28 (FT) Hatton National Bank (HNB) said yesterday, it has succeeded in being resilient in 2013 despite the year being one of most challenging for the financial services industry. �The year 2013 was one of the most challenging years faced by the financial services industry with demand for credit remaining low, margins coming under pressure, asset quality continuing to deteriorate and declining gold prices affecting the pawning business,� HNB said in a statement. more..

Feb 28 (FDM) Colombo Mayor A.J.M. Muzammil today alleged the ruling UPFA wanted to field his wife Feroza Muzammil as one of its Colombo District candidates for the WPC or to stop her from contesting from the UNP. He said the UNPers who prevented her from contesting the election by forcing the UNP leadership not to give her the ticket actually worked according to the UPFA agenda. Colombo Mayor therefore alleged more..

Feb 28 (CT) Acting Chairman of state banking giant Bank of Ceylon (BOC) Raju Sivaraman said the bank had adequate funds locally and there was no necessity to raise funds from the international market, as it aims to generate more credit to the private sector. "We haven't planned anything, but when the need arises, we will go for debentures and international funds. At the moment we have adequate funds, we have enough dollars and we have enough of local funds," Sivaraman said. more..

Feb 28 (Island) One-year and four-months-old toddler of Galle had died after clothes and saris in the almirah had fallen on him on Wednesday afternoon, while his mother had gone to take a wash. The victim, Maneesha Hansa, had been fed by his mother that day and she had kept the baby on the bed in the upper floor of the two storey house on Wakwella road, Galle as he had fallen asleep. The incident had occurred around 5.50 p.m. when the mother and the child were alone at home. more..

Feb 28 (Hindu) Chandrika Kumaratunga, the former President of Sri Lanka, has among her photographs a collector�s item taken when she was an 11-year-old girl. Crowded into the frame are no less than five South Asian PMs who served at different times over five decades in the 20th Century: her father S.W.R.D., mother Sirimavo, herself (she was Prime Minister before she went on to win presidential election in 1994), more..

Feb 28 (DN) A new housing loan scheme with low interest rates will be introduced to fishing communities in the island, Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne. The Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Ministry will hold mobile services to grant these housing loans with the assistance of the Bank of Ceylon (BoC). Rs 500,000 will be provided for each fishing family under the loan scheme, he said. He was addressing a meeting on the Diyawara Diriya loan scheme at the BoC Headquarters. more..

Feb 28 (DN) Minister Basil Rajapaksa said the mobile service extension of the Deyata Kirula National Development Exhibition received 1.1 million public complaints and of them, over 80% were resolved while the rest are being attended to. The mobile services began in 2,731 Grama Niladari Divisions of 57 Divisional Secretariats in the Kurunegala, Kegalle and Puttalam districts aiming to coincide with the eighth Deyata Kirula exhibition. Under the service, successful solutions were more..

Feb 28 (Island) Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara claimed that a no- faith motion moved by the Opposition UNP against the govt alleging its complicity in the narcotics trade was aimed at facilitating a US intervention here. Minister Nanayakkara said that the UNP�s project should be examined against the backdrop of the US moving a resolution against Sri Lanka at the forthcoming Geneva-based UNHRC session. more..

Feb 28 (CT) Over 30 third-year students have been suspended from Peradeniya University for allegedly ragging younger undergraduates. However, the students who had been suspended claim, they are innocent of the charges levelled against them. Peradeniya University Students' Union said the undergraduates had been approached by the Dean of the Medical Faculty, and Heads of other departments when they were in the canteen, and had been requested to hand over more..

Feb 28 (FT) UNP MP Dr. Harsha de Silva said that the EPF has still not submitted its audited accounts for 2011 and not returned to restart abruptly adjourned COPA investigation for over one year. Full statement: Proving how politicisation has ruined all aspects of governance in the trillion-rupee fund belonging to the millions of workers in the private sector, the Employers Provident Fund (EPF) has still not submitted to Parliament its audited accounts for the year 2011. more..

Feb 28 (Island) Govt Medical Officers� Association (GMOA) said that the Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown origin was no longer a mystery. It had now been named as Chronic Kidney Disease of Agro-chemical origin. GMOA General Committee member Dr. Navin de Soyza pointed out that the root cause of kidney failure had been caused by a chemical compound called �Glyphosate� mixed with pesticides and weedicides. more..

Feb 28 (CG) President Rajapaksa played down the resolution on Sri Lanka expected to be submitted to the UNHRC in Geneva next month. Speaking at an event in Moratuwa, the President said that countries like Cuba had faced so many resolutions and were yet not shaken while Sri Lanka has faced just three resolutions. He said that while the Geneva issue is not something to be concerned about, it is still a headache. He recalled that during a visit to Cuba the Cuban President had told him that more..

Feb 28 (NYM) Shortly after 2 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon, Lucky Abeysekara grips the wheel of his taxi cab with both hands, racing through the Midtown Tunnel toward Manhattan. The hunt for fares has yet to start, and he�s already $165 in the hole from the daily cost of leasing a medallion, buying gas, and paying the toll. As soon as he enters Manhattan, he switches on the light atop his roof. Then he zooms up Third Avenue. �I like to stay on the East Side,� he says. �I�m an East Side man.� more..