June 29 (Island) The govt was bound by the Constitution to foster and promote Buddhism. But, former Cultural Affairs Minister T. B. Ekanayake had been questioned by the present govt for releasing funds for conservation of Buddhist places of worship, including Malwatte and Asgiriya Vihares, for President Rajapaksa said. "On what basis is this govt doing so?" he asked while speaking to the media at the Sri Dalada Maligawa, where he had come to pay homage to screed Tooth Relic. more..

June 29 (AM) Merely days after the announcement of the general election, one thousand TNA members in the Ampara District joined the UNP. They accepted membership of the party from its National Organizer Daya Gamage. Accordingly, 400 TNA members joined the UNP at a function in Thirukkovil and 600 others joined at a function in Vinayagapuram. The election will be held on August 17. The TNA will contest alone from the electoral districts in Northern and Eastern Provinces. more..

June 29 (CT) 15 years is a long time, it was going on for so long but we are thankful to God that justice is finally served, said Gnanachandran Parameswari, the wife of Kathiran Gnanachandran and mother of Gnanachandran Santhan. Kathiran and Santhan along with Gnanapalan Raviveeran, Sellamuttu Theivakulasingham, Vilvarajah Pratheepan, Sinniah Vilvarajah, Nadesu Jeyachandran, and Vilvarajah Prasath were more..

June 29 (CG) Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga says she has no intention of returning to politics. Kumaratunga said that she is not mad to return to politics like some others who are attempting to return to power. Kumaratunga said that she went home after 12 years in politics on her own free will. �I have no intention to get back to power,� she asserted. She claimed that those who are attempting to return to power are those who have things to hide and want to use more..

June 29 (PSL) Retiring Sri Lankan Consul Dr Thomas Cheung called on President Maithripala Sirisena today to bid farewell. President thanks Dr Cheung for the services rendered during his 29 year long tenure as SL Consul in Hong Kong. He made a special mention about assisting a housing project in Kolonnawa and providing generous grants to Nikaweratiya Hospital and to the Housing Development Authority for construction of small houses for the homeless. more..

June 29 (PSL) President Maithripala Sirisena says the Govt expects to increase per capita income to US$ 6000, within next five years. He said a comprehensive development will be formed in every field including investments and industries on this regard. The President was speaking at the occasion to deliver the benefits of Consolidated Gem Mining Projects of Seethawaka River, among the people in the area. more..

June 29 (CG) Minister of Resettlement, Reconstruction and Hindu Religious Affairs D M Swaminathan was today briefed on some issues over land freed by the army in Valikamam north in Jaffna. The Minister was told that in some areas people cannot access the land returned to them by the army as access roads are still being occupied by the military. Swaminathan was also told that some areas reported to have been freed by the army are still being occupied. more..

June 29 (Island) Housing and Samurdhi Minister Sajith Premadasa says that he will emulate Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrabadu Naidu and create jobs for unemployed youth in the Hambantota District. Addressing a ceremony held at the Debaravewa Menik Raja Maha Vihara in the Tissamaharama electorate to distribute land deeds among landless people on Saturday, Minister Premadasa said that he had a plan to convert Hambantota into a knowledge hub. more..

June 29 (DM) I will resign from politics if President Maithripala Sirisena joins former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Uva Chief Minister Harin Fernando said. �I firmly believe that President Maithripala Sirisena will never stoop to second class political activities. The former president is attempting to come to power so that he could take revenge from the people and his opponents and not to develop the country,� he said at a meeting in Badulla. more..

June 29 (AD) Attorney General on Monday yet again halted the arrest of MP Tiran Alles until the Fundamental Rights petition filed by the MP at the Supreme Court is heard again. Alles filed the FR petition seeking an order to prevent his arrest in connection with an alleged financial misappropriation amounting to approximate Rs. 640 million at the Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA). The police on April 9 also recorded a statement from the MP in this regard. more..

June 29 (CT) Several foot pilgrims from the Eastern Province have begun their pilgrimage to the Kataragama shrine. All preparations are being made by the Trustees of the Uhanda Murugan Aalayam located in jungle path for the convenience of pilgrims on foot to Katargama who are scheduled to participate at the annual Katargama Festival which will commence with the flag hoisting ceremony on July 17. Meanwhile, a meeting of the trustees attended by the Ampara Government Agent more..

June 29 (DM) The UNP today accused COPE Chairman D.E.W. Gunasekera of politicising the parliamentary probe into the sale of Central Bank bonds. Deputy Justice Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe urged that the controversy should be investigated by parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises which would be set up by the future Parliament. He said this probe should be much broader and should include a number of other more..

June 30 (CT) In a single line cryptic and exquisite, a great Tamil poet, grammarian and scholar Tholkaapiar said �The world is of the learned�. For over two thousand years several generations have attested to the truism of the statement. With critical thought and reflection for three decades after the passing away of Principal St. John�s College, Jaffna, we have realised what a void men of eminence have left by their demise. Among those few was Mr. Anandarajan. more..

June 30 (CT) Rendering unto Caesar has been the title of the acclaimed autobiography of the top civil servant Bradman Weerakoon who had served nine Prime Ministers during his long career. The message delivered by the title is that the bureaucracy which wields so much of administrative powers has a tendency to pass the responsibility for all mishaps unto Caesar, a collective title used for their political masters. The political masters too have created a situation to get the full blame by more..

June 30 (SO) The dissolution of Parliament may have been long-awaited, but some major and minor political parties are not so happy about it. The SLFP is unhappy, according to one party senior, because of the failure by the govt to ensure the 20th Amendment is passed into law during this Parliament. Among the small parties, the JHU is also unhappy over the failure to legislate the 20th Amendment. more..

June 30 (NS) Behavior: Children love dolls. We have seen how childish they are when they play with beautiful dolls. It�s the same thing with politicians. Only thing is, with them the doll is called patriotism. Plaything: Patriotism has become everyone�s plaything. Balagiri: This dissolution is like balagiri. Not today, but tomorrow. Quoted from The History of Don Quixote �� wherein we are commanded to do good to our enemies and to love them that hate us; a command which, though it seems more..

June 30 (NS) 1: Queue and wait your turn without rushing forward en masse and revealing that regressive buffalo gene. 2: Don�t spit/blow your snot in public � if you must share your TB and other pulmonary diseases, do it at home and cough and/or blow mucus in your loved ones� faces. Same goes for betel chewers. 3: Don�t rouse the neighborhood at all hours of the night � your bad taste in music, your bad choices in relationships, your need to use the loo and resulting impatience more..

June 30 (CT) Today Trade Union Talk focuses on an important trade union which was not highlighted much. CT interviewed General Secretary of All Ceylon Midwifery Union (ACMU), Kusuma Dias, regarding the issues faced by midwives. She noted that the midwives' cadre in the country is not sufficient. Midwives are attached to the hospitals as well as they are doing field visits in Medical Officer of Health (MOH) areas. more..

June 30 (ST) Many reasons account for the growing anxiety about the economy. The stoppage of several large foreign-funded construction projects has slowed down the construction sector. The mismanagement of the Treasury bond issue and the interim govt�s economic management have not helped improve business confidence. The downward trend in stocks and low turnover reflects the depressed investment climate. And above all political controversies have created more..

June 30 (EN) Sri Lanka's Textured Jersey Lanka (TJL) said it will acquire an Indian knit fabric manufacturer, owned by one of its main shareholders, Brandix Lanka, for US$ 15 million. TJL will pay half the price in cash and the balance through a share swap by issuing new Textured Jersey Lanka shares valued at 28.50 rupees each. Textured Jersey Lanka, said the acquisition was part of its regional expansion and capacity enhancement strategy. more..

June 30 (CT) Global Tamil Forum (GTF) Director Suren Surendiran said his organization urges the Tamil people in Sri Lanka to support the TNA in the upcoming parliamentary elections by casting their votes in to, also by and large all Sri Lankans to reject chauvinistic forces in the country. Q: Sri Lankan Diaspora organizations including the GTF and the BTF are propagated among the Sinhalese in the South as separatists' forces more..

June 30 (Island) Cricketer par excellence, Kumar Sangakkara, has recently scotched off rumours that he is mulling over a career in politics. His fans must have heaved a huge sigh of relief. (Who wants his or her favourite player to plunge into a cesspit?) �Even the ranks of Tuscany could scarce forbid to cheer� when he announced that he would not take to politics. Sanga is said to have graduated from racquet sports to cricket. Despicable racket sport aka politics is certainly not for him. more..

June 30 (Island) The Govt is faced with a multi-headed Hydra in its attempt to resolve the Wilpattu encroachment problem. The biggest danger involved is the possibility of a communal confrontation. Such a calamity on the eve of an election would cause irreparable damage to the Govt in power. The Wilpattu settlement is supposed to have been undertaken to settle people who were displaced from the area under the LTTE. Majority of the settlers are reported to be Muslims. more..

June 30 (DN) Anjalee is a baby elephant � eight years old. She was flown to New Zealand on March 13, this year, amidst appeals from conservationists and animal rights activists to stop her relocation, in the interests of conservation and animal welfare. Anjalee�s departure to New Zealand was the latest in a series of burning issues relating to Sri Lanka�s elephants - abduction of baby elephants from the wilds, illegal capture and detention, more..

June 30 (DN) A combined schools cricket team from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) schools will start a 12-day cricket tour in Sri Lanka today. The tour marks the first official visit of a schools cricket team from Canada - a country beyond cricket's traditional boundaries. The Sri Lanka cricket tour is part of a larger Toronto youth initiative titled Cricket Across the Pond (CAP) aimed at introducing cricket as a vehicle to reach out to youth and enhance social cohesion & interaction among young people. more..

June 30 (ST) An interim member of a leading sports body has told close associates that a considerable sum of money is being spent on two players and that money could be utilised to groom future players. �The money spent on these two players is colossal. What�s more these two players will not be in this particular sports scene for long as they are on the verge of retiring. So why not channel the money spent on these two be spent on several youngsters in order to groom future stars,� more..

June 30 (CT) Wonderful middle distance runner from Sooriyawewa, Nimali Liyanarachchi completed a hat trick as she won the 800m, while Sri Lanka sealed 7 podium finishes at the third leg of the Asian Grand Prix held at Chanthaburi, Thailand yesterday. After two wins in the earlier two editions, Nimali was favourite to complete a hat trick, which she did with a 2 minutes 06.73 seconds performance. more..

June 30 (ST) The proposed 20th Amendment was not the first box on the people�s tick list that demanded the nation�s foremost attention. Given the increasing instability of this govt as it depended on the whim and fancy of an incongruous majority opposition for day to day survival, the pressing need for an immediate general election outranked all else. Thankfully the 20th Amendment Waiting for Godot is at long last over. Friday night�s announcement that Parliament stood dissolved must be more..

June 30 (Island) Dr. Saman Kelegama, Executive Director of the Institute of Policy Studies making a strong case for sensible liberalization of professional services recently said import of high quality Knowledge Workers is an option available for Sri Lanka, to deal with its current skills gap and to readily supply the talent pool today�s businesses need. Kelegama made this remark addressing leading professional figures from diverse sectors who come together to share more..

June 30 (Island) Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science (FVMAS) at the University of Peradeniya opened its newly established Veterinary skills laboratory for the utility of students on June 23. With this opening, the university now owns a first-of-its-kind lab in the South Asian region. The purpose of this lab is to offer novice veterinary undergraduates the opportunity to master day-one clinical skills in more..

June 30 (ST) An unhappy Golden Key (GK) depositor suffered a heart attack soon after the hearing in the case in the Supreme Court on Thursday. After hearing the state submissions in the case which further delays the payment plan, President of the G.K. Depositors Society Wasanatha Gunathilaka had collapsed in the court premises and was admitted to a private hospital for treatment of a sudden heart attack, Dushanathi Hapugoda, President, GK Depositors� Association said. more..

June 30 (CT) Sampath Bank, Sri Lanka's third�biggest privately owned lender by assets, is looking to invest and lend in Southeast Asia's developing economies like Myanmar, CEO Aravinda Perera revealed. "We wish to start our Myanmar operations with a representative office. Sampath is the first Sri Lankan bank applied for the Myanmar banking licence. We wish, we will get it soon," he said. Myanmar is a virgin market. Firstly, we have to study the situation, he said. more..

June 30 (NPR) Sri Lanka, a palm-fringed island in the Indian Ocean, is in the sixth year of peace. But as the country prepares for elections in August, the legacy of its long civil war still casts a shadow. The intervening years have been especially painful for the families of the thousands who disappeared in three decades of conflict and remain unaccounted for. The trauma endures in the fishing village of Mannar in the Northern Province, more..

June 30 (DM) Bieco Link�s activated carbon factory, renamed Adam Carbons (Pvt) Ltd. after Adam Investments bought out previous owners PCHH, commenced production after a brief period of inactivity, the company announced at a media conference recently. The opening and re-commissioning of its activated carbon factory was graced by Minister Ravi Karunanayake. The factory, once SL�s second biggest exporter of activated carbon has seen its fortunes revive since more..

June 30 (EN) Yields at a Sri Lanka auction 5, 6 and 8-year bond diverged sharply from the secondary market, data from the state debt office showed, as foreign selling and deficit spending put pressure on bond and forex trading. The debt office said it sold 3,700 million rupees of 4-year 11-month bonds maturing on 01.06.2020 to yield 8.16%, compared to a 01.05.2020 bond sold at auction on June 09 at 8.11%. But in the secondary market 01.05.2020 bonds were quoted at 8.20/35%. more..

June 30 (DN) Sri Lankan economy expanded by 6.4% in the first quarter of 2015, with positive contributions from all three key sectors of the economy. The Services sector and the Industry sector grew by 7.5% and 6.5%, respectively, while the Agriculture sector displayed strong signs of recovery. Going forward, the prospects of improved performance in advanced economies along with low inflation and more..

June 30 (Island) An actor was stabbed to death during a brawl at a restaurant in Maharagama during the wee hours of yesterday. Deceased Indika Ratnayake (44) of Ranawana Road in Pannipitiya had acted in several teledramas and movies. He was a father of two. He had been stabbed in the mouth and chest, police said. The actor visited the restaurant in Maharagama around 4.15 am with two of his friends who got involved in an argument with a woman who had come there. more..

June 30 (DN) The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, too has introduced an amendment to their constitution similar to SL�s constitution. This too is to limit the number of times the Chamber President can hold office. Chamber�s former Chairman, Suresh Shah, said they have decided to restrict the term of its Chairman. �We want to give more autonomy to our secretariat,� he said. Traditionally the outgoing Chairperson was also offered a post, but this clause has been taken off. more..

June 30 (FT) In the backdrop of frantic negotiations to unite warring factions of the SLFP, 36 MPs loyal to the incumbent President have strongly urged him to refrain from joining forces with his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa at the forthcoming parliamentary poll. The group, many of whom hold ministerial portfolios in the now caretaker Govt established after the presidential election, met President last Friday to put their case across. more..

June 30 (AT) The 2-day Asia Pacific Yachting Conference, which coincided with the Singapore Yacht Show, was attended by a delegation from the Sri Lanka Govt. A prominent speaker at the conference, and at the Asia Boating Forum that followed, was Simon Arrol, Managing Director of Marina Lanka (Pvt) Limited. Theme of the conference was how to develop yachting and nautical tourism across the region. Although SL is at the extreme west of Asia Pacific Region, more..