Sept 26 (Island) The Attorney General yesterday indicted in the Colombo High Court three LTTE cadres for the attempted murder of General Sarath Fonseka, in collaboration with LTTE suicide bomber. Altogether 23 charges were filed, including the major charges of attempted murder, and aiding and abetting in the same offence. The offence was committed between January 1 and April 25, 2006, at the Army Headquarters, Colombo. The General had been followed by the suicide cadre at more..

Sept 26 (MoD) Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa accompanied the President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a visit to Mullaitivu today (25). The President was there to attend to a series of functions organized to coincide with the final resettlement of the remaining IDPs in the Mullaitivu district. The President attended a meeting at Vellamullivaikkal in Pudukkudiruppu where a large number of resettled people had gathered to pay their gratitude more..

Sept 26 (DM) As usual I went to the Colombo Book Fair this time. Characteristically the place was packed with book lovers and all sorts of lovers. The organizers had done a great job and I was able to find a number of books that I was looking for, for some time. But the thing that struck me was the sheer number of people who came to the BMICH premises to buy books. Though I have no official data, I figure more than 20,000 people visited the book fair per day. more..

Sept 26 (EAR) Despite protests from fringe groups in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited India from 19 to 22 September 2012. Anti-Sri Lankan sentiments were on the rise in the southern Indian state ever since the holding of Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) in August 2012. These were followed by protests against training of Sri Lankan defence personnel, threats to Sri Lankan pilgrims touring more..

Sept 26 (LB) PNM leader Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera expressed his regrets in view of the govt bowing down to the demands of the SLMC to form the Eastern Provincial Council and warned that the govt will be in severe danger if the SLMC demands that the 13th Amendment be fully implemented in the Eastern Province under its chief minister. He said that the SLMC will influence the govt with the support of India and western more..

Sept 26 (SL) K. Mudalige who is now residing in the UK is unable to come back to his motherland as he had been an eyewitness to a murder that took place in 2009 in a Colombo suburb and attempts had been made to abduct him in a white van when he was holidaying in Sri Lanka recently. Speaking from the UK, Mudalige said that he had to leave the country after receiving threats from the time the murderers identified him as an more..

Sept 26 (ST) Nineteen Sri Lankan domestic workers, currently in a detention centre in Jordan after running away from their workplace, are being freed and returning home on Tuesday under an agreement between a legal aid group and the govt. Linda al-Kalash, director at Tamkeen, a Jordanian legal aid group, told the Sunday Times that the 19 workers, who have been in Jordan for up to five years, were leaving on Monday and would arrive in Colombo on last Tuesday more..

Sept 26 (DM) Q: What is the exact reason behind the resolution passed by the BASL? A: There were two incidents; one is that the Secretary to the Judicial Services Commission issued a press release stating that the executive has interfered or tried to influence the JSC and its members. In the affairs of the Judicial Services Commission and in response to that when we had the monthly meeting of the Bar Council more..

Sept 26 (Island) The UNP called on the SLMC to reveal its stand on the Divi Neguma Bill, which seeks to grab powers vested in the Provincial Councils. UNP MP Kabir Hashim said that the SLMC which has been clamouring for devolution, should tell the voters if it would once again cheat them by helping the UPFA govt enact the Divi Neguma Bill, which has proposed the establishment of a Department to take over more..

Sept 26 (DM) The controversial �Divi Neguma Bill�, which the Supreme Court said must be referred to the provincial councils for approval contains a clause gagging officials from divulging information about the activities of the institutions to be brought under the Divi Neguma Department. According to clauses 39 and 40 in the Bill, employees are required to sign declarations of responsibility not to disclose information, unless required by a court of law. more..

Sept 26 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka is launching its first ever think tank for the tourism industry to sustain its post-war boom of foreign tourist arrivals, an official said here on Wednesday. The new establishment, the Center for Research and Sustainability Studies in Tourism (CRST), will gather information, analyze and disseminate data for better decision making in the industry, co-founder of the center Dileep Mudadeniya said. more..

Sept 26 (DN) 11,500 ex-LTTE combatants out of the 12,000 surrendered or in the custody of the state have been reunited with their families after rehabilitation, Military Spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya said. He said that out of the 500 that remained around 320 would be reunited with their families soon. Brigadier Wanigasuriya said that the main reason for the delay to reunite them with their families is that more..

Sept 26 (DN) Minister Maithripala Sirisena appointed an Advisory Council on transplanting human organs and tissues. The Human Tissue Transplant Act number 48 was passed in Parliament in 1987 but arrangements were not made to appoint the council required by the act. The newly appointed council will assist to methodically carry out human organs and tissue transplant activities in hospitals. Health services Director General is the chairman of the council. more..

Sept 26 (CG) A Sri Lankan delegation is scheduled to visit India in the coming months to discuss safety issues on the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said. The High Commission said that there have been a series of news reports raising fears of the dangers to Sri Lanka arising from the commissioning of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in southern India. �It bears repetition that the Govt of India assigns utmost attention to nuclear and radiation safety, including more..

Sept 26 (GDI) The Director of the Social Service Department Hemachandra Hewage said that disabled persons are getting many facilities under the Mahinda Chintana. He said that accordingly 3% of the disabled people are being provided employment in govt institutions and vocational training centres. In addition to this separate health care activities are also being carried out for these persons. Hewage made these comments addressing a media conference held at more..

Sept 26 (LBO) Fonda Global Engineering, a Singapore based construction firm is setting up a training centre in Sri Lanka to provide qualified workers for domestic and foreign markets, the state investment promotion agency said. Sri Lanka's Board of Investment said Fonda Global Engineering Lanka (Pvt) Ltd has an agreement to start the facility in its export processing zone in Katunayake, north of the capital Colombo. It will be given 11,000 square meters of land in the zone with more..

Sept 26 (ST) Miss World Canada - Tara Teng will be visiting Sri Lanka as an ambassador for World Vision to help raise funds for its work in Sri Lanka. In January 2011, Tara was crowned as Miss Canada and is continuing to use her platform to amplify the voice of the marginalized. In June 2011, Tara travelled to Thailand and Cambodia to partner with anti-human trafficking organizations in the red light districts of major cities and slums of rural villages, offering hope to more..

Sept 26 (DM) The Sri Lanka has expressed its deep concern about the hardships faced by the Palestinians, at the 21st session of the Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Sri Lanka�s permanent mission in Geneva said. Participating in the Session on 'Human Rights Situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories', Sri Lanka expressed its deep concern about the hardships faced by the Palestinian people. Noting that it had long advocated the recognition of more..

Sept 26 (Island) The Colombo Fort Magistrate yesterday turned down a request by the Colombo Crimes Division to issue an order to prevent the march and protest in Colombo organized by the Inter University Students Federation on Friday. The CCD told the court that intelligence reports had revealed that the march, which began from Kandy on Monday, would reach the Kelaniya University on Friday and from there they were planning to march to Temple Trees. more..

Sept 26 (CG) A group of 31 US lawmakers have, in a letter to U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, urged continued engagement with Sri Lanka based on the recently adopted UNHRC resolution. The U.S lawmakers say despite the initial steps towards reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, they remain concerned that the Govt of Sri Lanka still objects to taking the good faith steps necessary to implement both its obligations under the UNHRC Resolution more..

Sept 26 (Island) Standard Chartered, in furtherance of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed with Youth Business Sri Lanka (YBSL), a project of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), handed out micro-financing facilities to 29 young men and women of Jaffna who had been affected by the war to start up businesses, on Friday, 21 September 2012. Nine entrepreneurs received cheques from Standard Chartered�s Chief Executive Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar, and 20 others received more..

Sept 26 (DM) Former North-Central Province Chief Minister Berty Premalal Dissanayake said he had instructed the 120 provincial councillors who were prepared to support him for the post of chief minister to withdraw their affidavits. �They are all quite young and have a long way to go in the field of politics. I do not wish to abandon them by encouraging them to resign over this issue which I consider is a grave injustice done upon them,� Dissanayake said more..

Sept 26 (WI) The murmurs have been around for a while, and they�ve now finally come to the surface. Sri Lanka�s players and team management are far from pleased that they have been forced to play first in Hambantota and then Pallekele, and will only get to their beloved Premadasa Stadium in Colombo if they get past the Super Eights. Even given that this is an ICC tournament and not a bilateral home series more..

Sept 26 (CT) Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo, Prof. Kshanika Hirimburegama, charged the Federation of University Teachers� Associations (FUTA) is in the wrong hands and said she feels ashamed and guilty about university students being deprived of the opportunity to complete their education. She said all the university students in the country are made to suffer, due to the actions of some FUTA members. �FUTA is in the wrong hands, and it is the actions of some FUTA members. more..

Sept 26 (NF) Hailstorms were experienced in Diyatalawa, Bandarawela and surrounding areas on Tuesday. Hailstorms were experienced in Diyatalawa, Kahagolla and surrounding areas. The hailstorm which commenced at about 12:45 Tuesday afternoon, lasted for approximately one hour. The Assistant Director of the Badulla District Disaster Management Centre, said that this was the third time in the recent past that a hailstorm was experienced in the Badulla District. more..

Sept 26 (LBO) Unilever Sri Lanka launched three new black tea flavoures to the market under the Lipton brand amid a shift in youth consumption towards other instant beverages. The latest flavoured teas to enter the Lipton brand portfolio were Earl Grey tea, Lemon tea and English Breakfast tea. The firm also gave a make-over to its popular Lipton Clear Green range flavours, Pure, Mint, Jasmine and Citrus. Unilever says more..

Sept 26 (Reuters) Stocks ended slightly firmer on Wednesday as investors picked up banking and diversified shares while block deals pushed turnovers to an eight-month high, while the rupee firmed as banks sold dollars. The Colombo Stock Exchange's main index, or all share price index, ended 0.29%, or 17.47 points, higher at 5,943.76. Conglomerate Aitken Spence PLC accounted for 72% of the day's turnover on a block deal and closed 0.39% firmer at 130 rupees a share. more..

Sept 26 (CI) As headlines go, you have to admit it had a certain resonance: 'ICC denies poisoning cricketers.' That is good to know. Cricket's governing body has been accused of many shortcomings in its time but, as far as anybody knows, they have always stopped short of attempted murder. Nobody has any proof that there was the slightest thing wrong with the bottled water supplied for World Twenty20. But to address the concerns of one team - believed to be Australia - the brand of water has been more..

Sept 26 (CI) Sri Lanka are expected to be one of the most settled sides in the World Twenty20 as they are the hosts and have held their domestic Twenty20 competition recently. Their approach to the Super Eights however, has been defined by uncertainty. Sri Lanka would have hoped to determine a team combination by the end of the group stage. But that hasn't happened as they were largely untested by Zimbabwe, and can more..

Sept 26 (PTI) South Africa hardly broke sweat as they cruised past hosts Sri Lanka by six wickets in the ICC Women's World Twenty20 opener here today. Set a target of 80 runs, South Africa achieved victory in 17.2 overs for the loss of four wickets. In the day's other match, West Indies defeated New Zealand by seven wickets to start their campaign on a winning note. For South Africa, wicketkeeper-batter Trisha Chetty (33) and Shandre Fritz more..

Sept 26 (SM) The son of former president Chandrika Kumaratunga and the late actor-politician Vijaya Kumaratunga is going to enter politics, according to political sources. As the first step, Vimukthi Kumaratunga paid floral tribute to the Bandaranaike Samadhi at Horagolla today (Sept. 26) on the 53rd death anniversary of his grandfather, prime minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. His mother and aunt Sunetra Bandaranaike also paid tributes to the Bandaranaike statue. more..

Sept 26 (DM) Former President Chandrika Kumaratunge said that she did not know the reason why the country�s President was for the past 7 years never present at the commemoration of SLFP founder S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike held at Horagolla. Former PM S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was assassinated on Sept 26, 1956 and a ceremony is held every year at the Bandaranaikes ancestral home in Horagolla. more..

Sept 26 (WI) On a bright Wednesday afternoon, New Zealand�s batsmen spent a long time hitting the ball far at the Asgiriya International Cricket Stadium in Kandy. Both Sri Lanka and New Zealand practiced at Asgiriya, though Thursday�s match is at Pallekele, and New Zealand didn�t seem worse for it. Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum, in particular, seemed to enjoy themselves, taking plenty of throw-downs with the sole aim of hitting sixes, more..

Sept 26 (GN) Sri Lanka�s star batsmen Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara are renowned for dishing out great knocks in cricket. Now the pair are also being celebrated for serving up some really tasty culinary dishes. The two icons of Sri Lankan cricket have joined forces to start a restaurant called Ministry of Crab in Colombo. A T20 World Cup volunteer guided me to the restaurant, declaring while giving me directions to it: �If you are a seafood lover, do not miss Jayawardene and more..

Sept 26 (DM) The Kandy Municipal Council unanimously passed a resolution banning the slaughter of cattle and goats within the Kandy municipal limits with effect from yesterday. This was the first such resolution since the council was established 147 years ago. The slaughterhouse is to be closed and the building is to be The WPC was the first provincial council to approve the Bill more..

Sept 26 (CI) Jacob Oram's Sri Lanka Premier League stint was a stroke of good fortune. He had made himself available for the draft, but none of the teams much liked the idea of an aging, fragile seam bowler on their payroll. Oram's batting had lost its lustre since his youth and though he had become a wily limited-overs operator since, he is hardly a cricketer that will daunt opponents - even in a domestic tournament. Thankfully for him, New Zealand teammate James Franklin more..

Sept 26 (AD) A minor explosion was reported near the home of SLMC Deputy Leader Abdul Majeed in Kalmunai at about 1.45 a.m. this morning (September 26), Police Spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana stated. Initial reports indicated that a petrol bomb had been thrown into the residence of the SLMC Deputy Leader. However, Police stated that the reported incident was caused by a bunch of firecrackers which had been thrown into the residence by an unknown group. more..

Sept 26 (DM) 80% of Sri Lankan migrant workers are mothers and the ambiguity of the policies relating to migrant workers� children, has created much difficulty in finding alternate care-giving for the children, a study has revealed. Terre des Homes, a non-governmental organisation focused on improving the living standards of children commissioned this study, of which the findings were revealed yesterday. more..

Sept 27 (NS) The East is the most diverse province in Sri Lanka in terms of ethnic and religious composition. According to the data (2007/1981) of the Department of Census and Statistics, ethnic and religious composition of the province is as follows: Tamil 40.39% Moors 37.64% Sinhalese 21.64% Other 0.33%. Hindu 38.19% Muslim 32.54% Buddhist 24.34% Catholic 4.07% Other 0.86%. Like in the North, the population in the East was heavily affected by the conflict. Some of the most gruesome massacres and ethnic cleansing by more..

Sept 27 (LB) The official language refers to the language in which records are maintained in official records. British colonial rulers used English as the Official Language, and Court proceedings were recorded in English even when witnesses spoke in Sinhala and Tamil. Lawyers too spoke in English. It was the same in govt offices � both at headquarters and in district and field offices. Govt employees knew English and were able to record their views in the form of minutes. more..