Sept 28 (GN) Sri Lankans are known to enjoy good food, drink and cricket. So with Sri Lanka playing their Super Eight matches in the Twenty20 World Cup in Pallekele, all the pubs in Colombo are expected to do roaring trade. I was returning to the hotel after pre-match interviews with the India, Pakistan, Australia and South Africa captains on Thursday evening when I heard loud applause from inside the Dutch Hospital shopping precinct that hosts a number of pubs. more..

Sept 28 (SLN) Sri Lanka Navy intercepted 77 persons illegally bound for Australia in a multi-day trawler on 28th September 2012. The trawler named �Nirshani� was intercepted by a Fast Naval Patrol Craft attached to the Western Naval Command 20 nautical miles off Thoduwawa seas. Among the arrested persons are 61 Tamils, 14 Sinhalese and 02 Muslims that included 75 males, a woman and a child. They are residents of Jaffna, more..

Sept 28 (CT) Higher Education Deputy Minister Nandamithra Ekanayake, charged the FUTA of being highly politicized and having personal political agendas. He also alleged that engaging in trade union action to fight for 6% GDP was not a trade union�s function, as trade unions are meant to fight for their rights and issues. �There are enough of politicians in Parliament that can speak up and fight for 6%. It does not concern the FUTA,� he said. more..

Sept 28 (CG) The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) has had fresh rounds of discussions with the South African govt regarding the situation in Sri Lanka, GTF said in a statement. A delegation led by Rev Father S J Emmanuel met with officials from the Republic of South Africa and Switzerland this week as part of the on-going engagement with international govts to highlight the enduring persecution of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. GTF emphasised that only an international, more..

Sept 28 (GDI) The first poppy flower was pinned on President Mahinda Rajapaksa on thursday at Temple Trees in view of World Poppy Day which falls on Nov13. The Poppy month is held in memory of gallant heroes who sacrificed their lives since World War I. In Sri Lanka, Ex-Servicemen's Association organises the sale of poppy flowers every year. The proceeds from the sales will be utilized for the benefit of the war heroes who served since the World War I, who are now retired or more..

Sept 28 (CG) The police say a post-mortem carried out on two students killed in Imbulgoda, Gampaha yesterday found that they had died as a result of a motor accident. Two students, both members of the Inter University Student�s Federation (IUSF), were found dead last morning near an electricity post and their motorbike was also found to be damaged. Initial investigations gave the impression the motorbike had crashed into more..

Sept 28 (GDI) Amana Takaful recently revamped its operations in Kalmunai in the East by relocating its office to a more spacious and modern office situated at to No. 32, Mallika Building, Main Street Kalmunai. The Branch was ceremoniously declared open by Fazal Ghaffoor, Chief Executive Officer, Amana Takaful PLC. Amana Takaful has created a strong presence in the East having gained strong acceptance of the Takaful way of insurance in the region. more..

Sept 28 (DM) The most venerable Mahanayakes of the Malwaththe and Asgiriya chapters in a statement to the Ministry of higher education today said that the govt has to take urgent measures to solve the impending deadlock between the Ministry of Higher education and University lecturers. �We are aggrieved at the current predicament faced by the students of this country who are the torchbearers of the country�s future. It is indeed very disheartening to note that despite more..

Sept 28 (DM) The FUTA yesterday charged that the wage increase for university teachers that the govt announced yesterday was merely an agreed increase of basic salaries stipulated in a circular issued in January last year and that the govt was using it as leverage against the union. FUTA President Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri said the govt had agreed to provide an increase in salaries to all university teachers in two yearly installments in July and October. more..

Sept 28 (LBO) Japan will provide 120 million yen (180 million rupees) through the World Food program to provide meal at school to children in the former war zones in the North. "There is much concern about the nutritional needs of the resettled IDPs especially children in the North," the Japanese embassy said in a statement. "Good nutrition amongst children is of utmost importance since it has significant impact on their growth as well as their performance at school." more..

Sept 28 (WI) In what was seen as the first major upset of the tournament, an inspired Sri Lanka overcame the West Indies challenge by five runs, courtesy the Duckworth/Lewis method, to register their first win of the ICC Women�s World Twenty20 2012 in Galle on Friday (28). A good crowd came in, given the local interest, and was treated to some typical Sri Lankan flavour at the Galle International Stadium. The drums and trumpets were out in force, and those that turned up more..

Sept 28 (LBO) Consumer prices in Sri Lanka's capital rose 9.1% in the 12-months to Sept 2012 slowing from 9.5% in August, while the index fell in absolute terms in the month. The Colombo Consumer Price Index fell absolutely for the second month running to 165.5 points from 165.7 points a month earlier. In August the index fell 1.0 point. The food and beverages sub index (with alcohol excluded) fell 0.3 points to 185 points in more..

Sept 28 (CI) Umar Gul and Umar Akmal pulled off a spectacular coup to bring Pakistan back from the brink to beat South Africa. The second round of the tournament started with two thrillers on Thursday and the fire carried over into Friday as the match swung three times. Pakistan put themselves in front with a strong performance in the field as their four frontline spinners wove a web around South Africa. But what should have been a straightforward more..

Sept 28 (SMH) Legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muthiah Muralidaran believes Australia's failure to produce a spinner who can perform outrageous tricks since Shane Warne's retirement can be attributed to the perfectionist attitude of the nation's coaches. So-called mystery spinners are all the rage at the World Twenty20, where Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis kicked off the event by claiming 6-8, the best figures in the format's international history. Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan off-spinner, makes a more..

Sept 28 (ANI) MDMK chief, V. Gopalsamy, popularly known as 'Vaiko', has argued before the tribunal court in Chennai that the ban imposed by the Central Govt on LTTE should be lifted. Vaiko informed media today that he has put forth documents to support his claim. "I placed the clarification through his lordship for which the director had no direct answer. I wanted to know how many cases have been framed against more..

Sept 28 (DM) A ten year old girl in Deraniyagala who had been born without arms and right leg excelled at the recently concluded Grade Five examination by writing her answer scripts using her left foot. This feat of courage and perseverance was performed by Rashmi Nimesha Gunawardene, a student of the Deloluwa Junior School in Deraniyagala. She obtained 153 marks, and was the only student from this school to have been successful at the Grade Five scholarship exams in the last ten years. more..

Sept 28 (DM) Sri Lanka�s High Commissioner to Australia, Thisara Samarasinghe, said that more Sri Lankans, who arrived in Australia seeking asylum, had applied to go home. Last week a group of 18 Sri Lankan men detained on Christmas Island chose to return home rather than be sent to Nauru for processing. Meanwhile, the SMH reported that a heavily laden boat of asylum seekers has been intercepted near Christmas Island as vessels continue to arrive despite Labor's embrace more..

Sept 28 (WA) The tiny slice he saw of it, the Cocos Islands and the immigration detention centre at Christmas Island - was heaven, Anthony Sujith says. "They were very nice to us, the food was very good, warm showers, and good houses to live in. We could play sport and take English lessons, it was like a heaven," he tells The Saturday Age, sitting outside his concrete bungalow in Thoduwawa, a Catholic fishing village more..

Sept 28 (AD) Dr. Nalaka Godahewa has resigned from his post as Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, exactly one month after being appointed as the new Chairman of the SEC. Godahewa was appointed as SEC Chairman on August 28 under highly controversial circumstances after two of his predecessors Indrani Sugathadasa and Thilak Karunaratne resigned within 12 months following a drastic drop of market performance during April 2011 to August 2012. more..

Sept 28 (CI) Australia's captain George Bailey doesn't think his side is over-dependent on Shane Watson. Who'd be able to tell? Watson has hardly given any of his team-mates a chance so far in this tournament, and that continued in Australia's first Super Eights match as they crushed India by nine wickets in Colombo. To be fair, David Warner was also outstanding and Pat Cummins played a key role with the ball. But Watson was again the stand-out performer, more..

Sept 29 (DBS) Ernest Macintyre is one of the most famous names in Sri Lanka�s golden era of theatre but having emigrated to Australia in 1973 to provide a better education for his children, he might not be so familiar a name to the generations that have come after. Acting and directing plays since his student days at the Peradeniya University, Macintyre has been into theatre for well over 50 years. As is the case for most creative artistes of Sri Lanka, Macintyre had to sideline his passion more..

Sept 29 (DBS) The death of yet another victim of a crocodile attack, has once again brought to the surface, the human-crocodile conflict, and the need to introduce stringent measures to protect the large aquatic reptiles, whose population is rapidly diminishing in the country. Crocodiles are strictly protected under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (FFPO) and are an important part of the environment. According to Environment lawyer, Jagath Gunawardena, the salt water more..

Sept 29 (DBS) (Text of the statement issued by Rajavarothayam Sampanthan the President of Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi after the Working Committee meeting of the ITAK held in Vavuniyaa on September 22nd 2012). The Working Committee of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) met at Vavuniya on 22 nd September 2012. The Elections to the Eastern provincial Council held on 8th September 2012 and its� results more..

Sept 29 (SL) Groucho Marx an outstanding comedian for about four decades of the last Century described �Military Intelligence� as a �contradiction in terms� Groucho�s perception can be appreciated. In his time the gentlemen in khaki were not considered to be blessed with much intelligence. And those with intelligence � �nerds� as we call them now � did not want to get into khaki. Times have changed. This is the age of the �Rana Viru� and those in military intelligence are considered the �top of the more..

Sept 29 (CT) A reader of the previous week�s My View titled �SL�s future: Convert the simple economy into a high-tech based complex economy� has taken up an important issue with this writer via email. He has said that it is unlikely that Sri Lanka could have a complex production structure in the country because Sri Lanka lacks the type of innovative and visionary entrepreneurs to take the country toward that goal. Instead, according to him, Sri Lanka has traders who are more..

Sept 29 (CT) Someone who was at the wrong place at the wrong time was assaulted. Now let�s assume, as has been alleged, that Major Chandana Pradeep was not on duty at that moment. Let�s assume that he was engaged in some illegal activity. Let us assume that even though he was an Army Intelligence Officer who could have been carrying out duty-work in off-duty time due to an important development related to the particular brief, he was not doing anything of the sort. more..

Sept 29 (CT) When Malcolm Dias, asked me to address you today, I told him he might regret having ever made the request! That said, let me say at the outset that if you are expecting some truly inflammatory rhetoric that will bring a convoy of white vans to this place even before you reach your dessert, I hope you are going to be disappointed! Let me start with something totally unrelated to what is going to be the essence of what I have to say more..

Sept 29 (CT) To remember is a choice, a hard one. To remember is to hold in check those who wish to return to the horrors of the past. To not revisit policies that led to past horrors is to give Sri Lanka a greater chance of healing, and reconciliation. And yet, remembering is never easy, defined or settled. Why for example should a populist govt, such as we have today in Sri Lanka, seek to remember dead already forgotten by most of its core constituency? Electoral benefits accrue more..

Sept 29 (SO) You will be surprised to know that only two percent of women in our country wear gold jewellery. A recent research, carried out by a group of students from the Colombo University has revealed that 98% of Sri Lankan women prefer costume jewellery rather than the expensive gold jewellery. The research also found that 95% of young women adore costume jewellery, while a small percentage of older people love to wear costume jewellery. more..

Sept 29 (Island) India has issued two important media statements for the consumption of Sri Lankans during the last couple of days. One dismisses, as baseless, reports that India keeps some of its missiles aimed at strategic locations in Sri Lanka. Such reports are floated from time to time by vested interests and a section of the Sri Lankan media unfortunately falls for them hook, line and sinker. True, Indo-Sri Lanka relations have suffered a serious setback owing to India's diplomatic volte-face in Geneva early this year. more..

Sept 29 (Island) For centuries, Sri Lanka has placed great value on education. Buddhist Pirivena educators, theosophists, Hindu reformers, Christian missionaries and Muslim modernists have over the years helped to build institutions of great learning. Compulsory education was introduced in 1911 but it became effective only after the wide education reforms in the mid 1940s. The state provided free education from primary to tertiary levels and also established quality secondary schools in all the districts of the country more..

Sept 29 (Island) Lucky are those who have managed to purchase tickets for today�s double header of the ICC World T-20 where hosts Sri Lana will take on tournament favourites West Indies in their second Super Eight round fixture here at the Pallekele International Stadium. The game gets underway at 7:30 pm today after the New Zealand versus England clash. The two teams already have one win each in the Super Eight round following their wins on Thursday and amidst the big battle more..

Sept 29 (CI) Akila Dananjaya, the Sri Lanka spinner, is doubtful for the World Twenty20 Super Eights match against West Indies on Saturday after suffering an injury to his face during Thursday's game against New Zealand in Pallekele. The team management said that X-rays and MRI scans have revealed that Dananjaya had suffered a fracture on his left cheek bone as a result of the blow. "Akila is in pain and is on antibiotics at the moment," Sri Lanka media manager Rajith Fernando said. more..

Sept 29 (CI) Following the nerve-fraying finish and the drama of the final half hour of Sri Lanka's Super Eights encounter with New Zealand, Akila Dananjaya's four overs in New Zealand's innings seems an age ago. It was a quiet night for bowlers in general, but Dananjaya's performance deserves to be highlighted. It was not just that he was steady despite his inexperience, and that he kept his nerve against destructive Twenty20 batsmen intent on unsettling him, more..

Sept 29 (Island) Five youth, from Anamaduwa, Anuradhapura, Kandy, Puttalam and Matara, respectively, were recently appointed Elephant House Ice Cream dealers for their respective communities. These young people, who have become self-employed due to assistance provided by Elephant House, will now be operating Elephant House-branded mini ice cream trucks in their home locales. An initiative to help improve the livelihood of smaller communities, in this instance more..

Sept 29 (DN) On October 10, people from all over the globe will mark World Mental Health Day, which would raise public awareness about mental health issues on a global scale. The day promotes an open discussion about everyone's mental well-being. According to WHO, depression has been ranked as the third leading cause for the global burden of disease in 2004 and will move into first place by 2030. It is now estimated that 350 million people globally are affected by depression. more..

Sept 29 (Island) While the Chief Prelates of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters have offered to mediate in the crisis affecting the education sector, Minister S.B. Dissanayake claimed that there were more students in the protest march organised by the FUTA than teachers. "We counted the number of teachers in the procession and it was around 150," he said, adding that there were a large number of politicians and undergrads. more..