June 13 (DM) The Police Department has launched an awareness campaign via local newspapers informing the public that they would able to get details of detainees and those who are already released from detention by the Terrorist Investigation Division. Accordingly, “...a round-the-clock mechanism has been established in the following locations from 01.04.2011, to provide details of the detainees and those who are already released more..

June 13 (BBC) The majority of the Sri Lanka women's cricket squad have signed up for jobs in the armed services. It comes after attempts by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to find a sponsor for the women's team have failed so far to create much interest. The cricketers will not take part in any combat operations and can hone their sporting skills while in uniform. Captain Shashikala Siriwardene told the BBC she also expects to be recruited by the Sri Lanka navy soon. more..

June 13 (CI) Australia will play three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals when they tour Sri Lanka in August and September this year, the Sri Lanka board has announced. While the established centres at Galle and the SSC, Colombo, are set to host a Test each, Pallekele - situated just outside Kandy - has been awarded the second Test. Pallekele Stadium, situated which was constructed in the build up to the World Cup, more..

June 13 (DM) The Police Fraud Investigation Bureau is to bring to notice of several international and local banks operating in the country regarding certain bank practices that threaten the security of the deposits of the bank customers. “We have received a large number of complaints regarding frauds that had taken place using bank accounts. In several instances money which had been deposited under the complaints own name had gone missing due to more..

June 13 (ST) Several factory hands, mainly females have quit their jobs inside the Free Trade Zones (FTZs) at Katunayake and Biyagama following the recent protests that killed one person and injured hundreds of others, trade unionists claimed yesterday. They said most of those who have quit were new hands who had taken up employment inside the zones at the beginning of this year, or even later and nearly 90 per cent or more were young females. more..

June 13 (GDI) Sri Lanka govt has made the arrangement to give laptops to allstudents who will gain entry to Universities in the academic year2011/2012. The first batch of 12,000 students has just completed their leadership training conducted in 28 Centres Island wide. The training for the second batch will commence on Jun 17th and the students have been informed to report to their respective training centres on 16th evening. more..

June 14 (NN) People residing in Mohothuwarama, Kalpitiya are protesting moves to build a resort on land belonging to a Catholic church. The residents claim the land on a small island has been acquired by the authorities to build three resorts as part of a government initiative to make Kalpitiya a tourist destination. Approximately 200 residents are living on the Mohothuwarama islet in Kalpitiya and almost all the families depend on fishing to make a living. more..

June 14 (AD) It has been reported that 30 Sri Lankan migrant workers are currently engaged in a fast unto death in Iraq, demanding the management to pay their 19 months salary arrears. The SLBFE however states that it cannot directly interfere regarding the issues of the migrant workers in question as they have entered the Middle Eastern country illegally. We had discontinued sending any Lankans to the country a long time ago due to the prevailing volatile situation in Iraq, more..

June 14 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa arrived here Monday, and is expected to discuss the situation in Sri Lanka with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The chief minister is also likely to take up the worsening power crisis in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK sources told IANS. The meeting with the prime minister is expected Tuesday. This is her first visit to New Delhi after assuming office May 16 following a landslide electoral victory for the AIADMK. more..

June 14 (PTI) Sri Lanka on Monday said it was awaiting the release of at least 41 of its fishermen and eight boats by the Indian authorities. Fishermen of about five boats were arrested for allegedly poaching in Indian waters around Tamil Nadu while those in the remaining vessels had come under attack by Somali pirates and were later freed by Indian authorities, Sri Lankan fisheries ministry said. "We have been informed of them being freed by the Indian coastal guards. more..

June 14 (SL) Several trade unions have complained to the United Nations seeking an intervention against the restrictions imposed by the government on trade union activities. Trade unions from the apparel and health sectors have in a complaint to the International Labour Organization (ILO) said the fundamental rights of the workers have been violated by the government by suppressing their right to protest and by regularly intimidating trade union activities. more..

June 14 (Guardian) It is a moment that speaks volumes. While the Kfir combat jets of the Sri Lankan airforce scream overhead and the heavy artillery of the Sri Lankan army maintains a remorseless barrage on the ground below, a family of terrified Tamil civilians huddle in a shallow trench. It is January 2009, and the beginning of the end of the 25-year war for an independent state of Tamil Eelam. The increasingly battered remnants of the secessionist LTTE are on the run and more..

June 14 (LBO) An toll expressway to Sri Lanka's southern city of Galle is expected be completed by July 2011, but the pricing has not yet been decided. He said work on 31.6 kilometer stretch financed by the Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) and a 29.3 kilometer segment finance by the Asian Development Bank are being wrapped up. But about 20 percent of the work in the last stretch of the 95 kilometer expressway to Galle remains to be completed, more..

June 14 (IANS) Sri Lanka is treating people in its Tamil-majority northeast as 'aborigines', a Tamil delegation told a team of Indian officials in Colombo. 'It is very unfortunate that the (Sri Lankan) government does not allow people and officials of the north and east to manage their affairs as done in all other seven provinces,' they said in a memorandum given to National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao. more..

June 14 (MoD) The new Channel 4 video of alleged extra-judicial killings in Sri lanka which the new UN Rapporteur, Prof. Christof Heyns claimed as being authentic after having same tested by three US forensic experts at the Geneva sessions of the UNHRC in June 2011, has once again been determined as a fake by Mr. Siri Hewavitharana of Australia, who is one of the world's leading experts on digital video systems and former head of Cisco's Global Broadcast and Digital Video Practice division. more..

June 14 (Reuters) Stock market fell on Monday to near three-month closing lows led by blue chips and financials due to a technical correction after heavy speculative trading in the past few days, while the rupee edged up on stocks-related inflows. Share index closed 0.62 percent or 45.06 points weaker at 7,186.86, its lowest since March 21. "This is a correction after several penny stocks boosting the index in heavy speculative trading," more..

June 14 (GDI) The Teleconference Workshop to enlighten school students to improve their knowledge on the use of Multi-Media technology and to develop their talents on the use of technological skills commenced this morning at the auditorium of the Department of Information in Colombo. Approximately 450 students and 200 teachers participated in this one day workshop. Students of the Colombo schools attended the function in Colombo and more..

June 14 (NF) The Federation of University Teachers Association stated that the country's political leadership has failed to note the difference between the Ministry Officials and University Lecturers. Spokesperson of the Federation Dr. Mahim Mendis stated that through this it appears that the country is led by unwise leaders. He added that it is due to this reason that they have not yet received a solution to their salary crisis. Dr. Mendis went on to state that more..

June 14 (NN) A Sri Lankan maid in Lebanon has been forced to drink nails mixed with salad by her employer and she has now been hospitalized, her husband told News Now.lk today. The maid, identified as Indika Malkanthi, is a mother of a 3 ½ year old child and is receiving treatment at a hospital in Lebanon. Malkanthi had spoken to her husband who is living with their child in Galle yesterday, and related her ordeal and is looking for a way to return home. more..

June 14 (NN) Britain today announced it will contribute a total of £500,000 to assist former LTTE cadres who have been rehabilitated and released into society. Deputy British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Mark Gooding made the announcement after visiting Jaffna today. Gooding visited a resettled community in Kollankalladdy and a group of reintegrated ex-combatants at the Thellipalai Rehabilitation Centre. He also met the Security Forces Commander in Jaffna, more..

June 14 (LG) Dr. Saman Kelegama was absolutely right when he argued with reference to Argentina and Thailand that some economies might be trapped eventually in for a prolonged period in the state of middle income countries. Sri Lanka has reached according to the data released the status of a middle income country and expects to double its per capita income by the end of 2016. As Dr. Kelegama has pointed out, this also in itself is a herculean task as it needs a rate of capital formation in more..

June 14 (LG) I write in response to the article ‘The UPFA Govt. Responsible for killing Roshen’ by Dr . Vickramabahu Karunaratne, published in the Sri Lanka Guardian. I read the article before leaving to join our community at the Sydney Murugan Temple, Westmead, to honor our mate Thambipillai Thangavel, whose mother passed away in Sri Lanka recently. Thangavel, like Dr. Vickramabahu, is also an Engineer (Sri Lanka). During the Memorial Ceremony, I thought about Roshen for whose family, more..

June 14 (SO) The Hingurana Sugar Factory which was closed for almost 15 years will commence producing sugar from next September. The factory which was built as one of the largest sugar factories in the region with state-of-the-art British machinery started operations in 1959. It was also one of the most capital intensive factories in the region. The factory functioned smoothly until the mid 1980 s when it was privatised and given to a single owner. more..

June 14 (TC) Excerpt of the letter handed over to the UN High Commission for Human Rights – Ms. Navaneetham Pillai. As an organization which consistently pays careful attention to realities in Sri Lanka, we would like to present our observations below for your kind consideration. During the 16th session of the Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka Minister, Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe stated in his speech that “11,696 ex combatants (who) submitted to custody at the more..

June 14 (TC) First came the words, tough, unequivocal and uncompromising, the new chief minister keeping a promise to her electorate. Jayalalitha Jeyaram piloted a needle-sharp resolution through the Tamil Nadu regional assembly demanding that the Centre impose economic sanctions on Sri Lanka. The resolution passed unanimously. Recent election results had shown that Sri Lanka still matters across the Palk Straits; the DMK and the Tamil Nadu Congress, more..

June 14 (ST) There is a strange excitement on the seventh day of every month in this sleepy village set in a beautiful pastoral environment. Posh vehicles make their way from Warakapola and instead of taking the high road, come sliding down the low, to a rustic shed. Away from the madding crowd sharp at 3 in the afternoon bids are opened and tiny slips of paper with a figure written on them thrown down. It is an auction. It is about 65 km from Colombo and more..

June 14 (DM) Tamil Nadu, the southern most State of India is heating up once again with sentiments against Sri Lankan leaders in respect of alleged human rights violations by the Sri Lankan security forces during the war against the LTTE. The sentiments of the people of the State are normally whipped up by their politicians on the eve of national or State elections, but this time it is an exception. There is no election in the offing. Soon after her election as the Chief Minister of more..

June 14 (DM) Amnesty International had in the past been scrupulous about the manner in which it conducted itself. Nationals were not employed to report on home countries. Evidence was precise and to the point. On Friday the 3rd, Amnesty hosted a session on Sri Lanka in Geneva. In a two hour session, 53 minutes was devoted to a documentary ostensibly on the last phases of the war by Channel 4 narrated by John Snow previously of BBC which included pure propaganda more..

June 14 (Island) Ford recently announced the appointment of Future Automobiles as the exclusive Ford Dealer in Sri Lanka. This announcement is concurrent with the introduction of five class-leading models into the Sri Lankan market to reinforce Ford’s financial and commercial commitment into the region, a statement said. "We are excited to partner Future Automobiles with Ford’s product line up in Sri Lanka. more..

June 14 (Island) It was only a few moons ago that the government hauled UNSG Ban Ki-moon over the coals for the appointment of an advisory committee on the so-called accountability issues in Sri Lanka. Some of our brave government worthies tucked up their sarongs in typical Sri Lankan style and hurled abuse at the UNSG venting as they did their spleens on him generously. They were frothing at the mouth and their frenzy was so menacing that one may have thought that more..

June 14 (DM) The right of dissent or the right to be wrong – according to what any govt presumes what’s right and wrong – is fundamental to the growth of a democratic society with time-tested checks and balances among the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and the free media. The right of disent was the right that first went wrong in every nation, which stumbled down the trail towards disastrous totalitarianism, as we are seeing now in nation after nation in the Middle East. more..

June 14 (SL) Two policemen have been arrested and at least 3 inquiries are underway into the shooting incident that took place at the Free Trade Zone in Katunayake on Monday, May 30. In a court hearing on Friday, the CID said that the police had shot at civilians from three directions. Seeduwa OIC R. M. Ratnayake and OIC of the Environmental Unit, Inspector K.L. Ranasinghe were remanded until June 13 to wait charges on three counts. more..

June 14 (DM) Pettah Police told the Colombo Chief Magistrate that they were on the lookout for a swindler who had swindled thousands of rupees from a victim by requesting him to reload money to a given mobile number in order to pay tax on a car, which he claimed the victim had won in a raffle draw. Sergeant (492670) Nama Siriratna of the Pettah Police, filing a report in court, told Colombo Chief Magistrate Rashmi Singappuli that the complainant, Subramanium Dinesh Kumar, more..

June 14 (DM) Sri Lanka says it would assist the Maldives in their efforts to provide quality primary, secondary and tertiary education and vocational training. During a meeting with Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed in Male yesterday, Minister Bandula Gunawardena who was on a visit to the country said that many Sri Lankan companies and institutions wanted to enter Maldives to provide training programmes there and promised that his govt would help facilitate these programmes. more..

June 14 (NS) The hills that were alive with picketing, protests and pocket meetings demanding a wage hike last week, have now calmed down following a pledge by the employers of a daily wage of Rs. 515. The Employers Federation that discussed matters with the plantation unions that were signatory to the Collective Agreement (CA) for nearly three months, finally agreed to grant the workers a considerable raise. more..

June 14 (UCAN) Clergy and rights activists have called for public support in the fight against a tourism development. The project as proposed by the government will affect 14 islands in the northwestern coastal area of Kalpitiya and more than 10,000 people there who depend on fishing for their livelihood. Catholic fishing families on a western island are threatened with beach developments. “People in the Kalpitiya Tourism Zone are living with fear due to the threat to their livelihoods,” more..

June 14 (TN) The Tamil Nadu State Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution to legally associate the Tamil Nadu govt with a case already pending in the Supreme Court of India on Kachchatheevu. The petition in the Supreme Court filed in 2008, by AIADMK General Secretary and present Chief Minister Ms. Jayalalitha, seeks the Supreme Court to declare India’s ceding of Kachchatheevu to Sri Lanka as unconstitutional. According to the CM and some Indian policy planning writers, more..

June 14 (TN) Announcing a donation of 5,00,000 pound sterling, and entirely accompanied by the occupying Sri Lanka Army, the British Deputy High Commissioner in Colombo, Mark Gooding, visited a detention camp run for ‘reintegration’ of ex-LTTE combatants by the SL military at the High Security Zone part of Thellippazhai in Valikaamam North, Jaffna, on Monday. The British government policy of accepting a genocidal military accused of more..

June 14 (Island) Security personnel had to be deployed to control large crowds of shoppers eager to purchase international brands of clothes confiscated by the Customs and being sold at unbeatable prices at the Lak Salu Sala showrooms. Shorts, shirts, sarees, frocks, skirts, blouses, baby suits, underwear, shoes etc valued at millions of rupees were being retailed. Salu Sala had been re-named Lak Salu Sala turned into a profit making venture that retailed textiles, clothing at competitive prices. more..