Jan 6 (Telegraph) Two Tests against Sri Lanka at Lord�s and Headingley, perhaps under cloud cover, with the ball darting around for England�s four seamers, versus a team with their moderate seam attack, who have not won a Test in England except by means of Muttiah Muralitharan, and then only twice. What better way could there be for England to bounce back, provided they do not indulge in mass panic and change for the sake of being seen to change? more..

Jan 6 (Island) Some govt politicians who are big time drug dealers are now using the international network established by the LTTE, the UNP alleges. WPC UNP Member Nirsohan Padukka, said that prior to May 2009, Kilinochchi had been Sri Lanka�s narcotics hub, but following the defeat of the LTTE, it had shifted to Colombo. The workings of the LTTE�s worldwide drug ring were known to its chief arms procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP). more..

Jan 6 (DM) We are often told that we should not eat to live, but live to eat. The situation seems to have turned a full vicious circle and today�despite all the marvels of modern medicine--most of us are often unknowingly forced to eat to die. On New Year�s day a senior minister made a shocking revelation on television. He revealed that two gunny bags loaded with normally lushes Karatha Kolombu had been brought to the canteen at the Parliamentary complex for dessert. more..

Jan 6 (DM) India�s TV channel, NDTV, in association with the country�s largest industrial conglomerate, TATA sponsored a national event recently at the Indian President�s official residence, Rashtrapathi Bhavan in Delhi. The event was organized to honour what the sponsors called �the greatest living legends� of India. The lineup of twenty five individuals drawn from diverse fields such as business, arts, sports, science, civil society and education was truly remarkable in so many ways. more..

Jan 6 (DM) NFF member Piyasiri Wijenayake said the push to remove army camps in the Northern Province by its Chief Minister, when he was receiving mail about the revival of the LTTE, was a redundant move. Wijenayake further warned the Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswarana that continuously bringing the issue to light ahead of the UNHRC session in Geneva, would only fulfill the needs of the more..

Jan 6 (DN) A special survey will be carried out by the Irrigation and Water Resources Management Ministry including the Mahaweli and Irrigation Department to find out if farmers who seek ministry assistance leave satisfied or disgruntled, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said. He made this observation at a special meeting held to set out his views for the New Year on the implementation of development projects. more..

Jan 6 (ST) An agriculture specialist expressed disappointment over the authorities� failure to take action against unethical practices such as spraying agro-chemicals on vegetables. Head of the Food Research Unit in Gannoruwa, Peradeniya, Dr K.H. Sarananda said there was no law to take legal action against those using methods of pesticide spraying and chemical ripening that are harmful to humans. more..

Jan 6 (DM) The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) said today it would no longer issue Halal certificates and that a separate company would take over the operations with regard to audits and compliance. In a media release issued today the body of Muslim clerics said it had taken this decision, �to facilitate the national need for contributing towards social cohesion and Sri Lanka's economic development.� more..

Jan 6 (SL) While the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption looks to enforce the law against corrupt officials, the Chairman of the Commission has been accused of misusing his position for personal gain. The accusations stem from claims made in Parliament by UNP MP Sujeewa Senasinghe followed by a complaint lodged with the Bribery Commission by JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti. more..

Jan 6 (Island) UNP MP and former Deputy Leader of the party Sajith Premadasa and Ratnapura District MP Thalatha Athukorale will be given an ultimatum to join the Leadership Council (LC) when the Working Committee (WC) meets on Wednesday at Sirikotha. Sources close to the party hierarchy said that unless both Sajith Premadasa and Thalatha Athukorale decided to change their mind they would be replaced by two others. more..

Jan 6 (Island) Counterfeiting of money commenced in Sri Lanka some two thousand years ago with the advent of the use of coins, according to world renowned numismatist and veteran archaeologist Prof. Osmund Bopearachchi. Prof. Bopearachchi delivering the first of PGIAR Public Lecture Series for 2014 titled Ancient Sri Lanka as a Centre of global economy: Archaeological evidence at the Post Graduate Institute of Archaeological more..

Jan 6 (CG) A US based hip hop duo have created controversy by going on stage in Sydney, Australia, waving the LTTE flag and speaking in support of the rebels. Dead Prez, stylized as dead prez, is a hip hop duo known for their confrontational style, combined with socialist lyrics focused on both militant social justice and Pan-Africanism. The duo, during a New Year concert, started speaking about the LTTE while one performer had the more..

Jan 6 (IL) President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is on an official tour of Middle East, has begun bilateral discussions with the King of Jordan on Sunday afternoon (5) at the Royal Hashemite Court in Amman. President Rajapaksa was received with a warm welcome by the King of Jordan His Majesty King Abdulla II Ibn Al Hussein at the Royal Court where bilateral discussions took place between Sri Lanka and Jordan. more..

Jan 6 (AD) The group of prisoners who had climbed a prison roof at the Bogambara prison in Kandy, called off their protest following talks with MP Namal Rajapaksa. A group of inmates who have been sentenced to death and several other who are serving life sentences had launched the protest on Friday, demanding that their sentences be reduced or that they be pardoned. The protesters say that 5 inmates who were acquaintances of more..

Jan 6 (CT) The Norochcholai Coal Power Plant has been constantly in the news since it was commissioned in March 2011, all for the wrong reasons. It is said to have broken down over two dozen times, with 20 of them being major breakdowns. The latest breakdown occurred on 14 December last year, and the plant remained non functional for over two weeks. According to the authorities, the plant is now functioning at full swing and generating its full capacity, though more..

Jan 6 (CT) Once upon a nearly-forgotten-time, there was a corporate colossus in America called Enron. Courted by politicians and feted by the Wall Street, Enron was named �America�s most innovative company� by the Fortune magazine for 6 consecutive years. But Enron�s greatest feat of innovation was also its most closely guarded secret: creative book-keeping. Enron habitually fudged accounts to grossly exaggerate its profits. When the elaborate hoax began unravelling, more..

Jan 6 (CI) It is a rare match in which a Sri Lanka fast bowler delivers more than 40 overs, but the intensity of Shaminda Eranga and Suranga Lakmal's toil in the first Test has moved Mahela Jayawardene to mark them out as future matchwinners for Sri Lanka. Eranga and Lakmal bowled 41 and 46 overs respectively, sharing six wickets evenly between them. Each bowler delivered several spells without success, but more..

Jan 6 (LBO) Stocks close down 0.48% Monday with diversified stocks losing ground amid net foreign buying. All Share Price Index closed 28.81 points lower at 5,944.99, down 0.48%. The S&P SL20 closed 12.45 points lower at 3,282.37, down 0.38%. Turnover was 462.20 million rupees, up from 349.63 million rupees last Friday, with stocks of 150 firms closing in the red against 52 gainers. JKH topped the market turnover list with transactions of 46.67 million rupees contributing to 10% of turnover more..

Jan 6 (Island) GMOA President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya said that 86% of the Doctors� Annual Transfer Scheme had been satisfactorily implemented with the assistance of the online service for the first time in SL. He said that the Annual Transfer Scheme had previously been done through paper work costing approximately Rs. 10 million. But the online transfer scheme had cost only Rs. 100,000. It was a remarkable achievement. Govt had been able to save a great deal of money, more..

Jan 6 (CT) Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa provided a strong clue about a major election in early 2015, when he told a contractor engaged to construct the second phase of a low income housing scheme to house former shanty dwellers in Dematagoda yesterday. On an inspection tour of the Mihindu Senpura second phase construction site, the Defence Secretary asked the contractor how long it would more..

Jan 6 (CI) An ankle injury has ruled Lahiru Thirimanne out of the remainder of the three-Test series against Pakistan. Thirimanne, who twisted his right ankle, joined seam bowler Nuwan Kulasekara, who suffered an injured hamstring, on the flight back to Sri Lanka. Neither Thirimanne nor Kulasekara had played the first Test in Abu Dhabi. "The decision to send Thirimanne home was taken yesterday as his injured ankle is not responding to treatment," said Sri Lanka team manager Michael de Zoysa. more..

Jan 6 (Island) National Cancer Control Programme Director Dr. Mrs. Dr. Neelamani Paranagama yesterday revealed that the number of cancer patients in Sri Lanka had more than doubled in the last two decades. She pointed out that twenty years bac, around 5,000 to 6,000 cancer patients had been detected annually, but the number had increased to 15,000. Around 65.3% of deaths in the country were due to non-communicable diseases. Cancers accounted for 9.4% of them, more..

Jan 6 (Island) Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Nihal Jayathilaka stressed that due to the existing monopoly maintained by some drug companies, with the assistance of their local agents, the govt had been losing a great deal of money annually. On the instructions of Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena he had instructed the Drug Regulatory Authority to break the monopoly. He pointed out that he had instructed the more..

Jan 6 (AD) A gazette extraordinary on terminal handling and other charges by shipping agents as well as freight forwarders, was issued and enforced from today, the Finance Ministry stated. The Extraordinary Gazette on Terminal Handling and Other Charges by Shipping Agents, Freight Forwarders, Non-Vessel Operating Common Carriers, Container Operators and Consolidators of Cargo was published by the President, who is also the Minister of Highways, Ports and Shipping. more..

Jan 6 (CG) Minister and NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa claims the US Govt is working towards pushing for a change in the Govt in Sri Lanka. Weerawansa said that it is clear the US will submit a resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC in March this year. He said that if the resolution is passed then the US Govt will attempt to use that to impose sanctions on Sri Lanka. �The chances of the resolution being passed is high since they have a bigger influence on other countries,� he said. more..

Jan 6 (DM) Criminal activities such as the killings at Kotakethana in Kahawatta and the incident where a container carrying 261 kg of heroin was detected by Customs are known to be backed by politicians, the JVP alleged today. �A mother and a daughter were killed at Kotakethana in a case involving the peddling of heroin. But Minister John Seneviratne�s Coordinating Secretary who is alleged to have been engaged in peddling heroin more..

Jan 6 (Island) A monk accused a UPFA Colombo Municipal Councillor of abducting a female pavement vendor in Pettah, on a personal vendetta and removing seven of her teeth using a mechanical device. The victim had been threatened by the politician with death and told not go to police or divulge his name as the person responsible for the dastardly act, alleged Ven. Uvatenne Sumana Thera, Chief Incumbent of Bodhirajaramaya, Maligawatte at a news conference more..

Jan 6 (GDI) Sri Lanka�s first safari park at Ridiyagama in Hambantota will be declared open in April this year. Construction work at the Safari Park started in 2008 under the direction of The National Zoological Department. Park covers a land extent of about 500 acres and it contains a public entertainment zone extending to about 69 acres. Four of the park's six zones will be reserved for carnivorous animals while the remaining two zones will be set apart for the herbivores. more..

Jan 6 (MT) When it comes to exporting workers to foreign countries, Sri Lanka looks up to the Philippines as the model. Sri Lanka�s Minister Dilan Perera said that he and Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz will sign a memorandum of agreement for training Sri Lankan workers in the Philippines. Perera, who is on a three-day visit, said that their workers need to be trained because there is a boom in the hotel industry in his country. more..

Jan 6 (Island) Asia Siyaka Tea Market report last week quoted the Indian Tea Association�s (ITA) chairman as saying at the Annual General Meeting of the Association that Sri Lanka�s monopoly of the Russian market should be broken. Chairman ITA Arun A. Singh said, �It is time to break the Sri Lanka monopoly of the Russian market. Exports to Russia (of Indian teas) should increase in the days to come�. The report further said an industry delegation led by the ITA and backed by more..

Jan 6 (PTI) A Sri Lankan court on Monday extended till January 20 the remand of 111 Nagapattinam fishermen arrested by the Lankan Navy last month and lodged in a jail there. The fishermen were produced before a Trincomalee magistrate court which extended their remand, S. Amstrong Fernando, Pamban Nesakarangal Trust, president of the fishermen, told PTI from Sri Lanka over phone. The fishermen were arrested on December 11 when they were fishing near Kodiyakarai. more..

Jan 6 (DM) Traffic Police DIG Amarasiri Senarathne has ordered all vehicle stickers bearing the letters VIP or VVIP be removed with effect, police said today. They said the police had received information about persons using vehicles with tinted glasses to transport drugs and other nefarious acts. Legal action will be taken against those driving vehicles with labels or stickers on windscreens, the police said. more..

Jan 6 (CT) A 100,000 kg of sugar which had expired but had been re-labelled with new dates of expiry in order to mislead the public was confiscated by the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) today. The stash was stored at a warehouse in Pagnananda Mawatha, Modera, where there were thousands of kilos of sugar stored in sacks, prior to being re-labelled. According to the CAA Act, it is an offence to re-label information on a product. If it has to be done, the approval of the CAA has to be more..

Jan 6 (LT) The UPFA member of Mahara Pradeshiya Sabha D.R. Ajith Kumara who is also the co-coordinating secretary for Religious Affairs of the Minister Basil Rajapaksa has been instrumental in getting a ransom of Rs. 2.5 million to expedite a contract of removing scrap iron form a factory in Wathupitiwala investment zone. The coordinating secretary has told the businessman that won the contract to remove scrap iron that all business affairs in the area is being carried out with more..

Jan 6 (CG) The remains of those killed in the Lion Air flight which was believed to have been shot down in 1998, will be placed on display in Jaffna for relatives to identify the victims. The remains of the victims including clothing and skeletal remains will be placed on display at the Jaffna Municipal Council grounds on January 11 and 12. Wreckage of Lionair Flight 602 was salvaged off Iranaitivu by the Navy last May, more..

Jan 6 (Reuters) Fitch Ratings has assigned Sri Lanka's forthcoming US dollar-denominated global bonds due 2019 an expected rating of 'BB-(EXP)'. The final rating is contingent on the receipt of final documentation conforming to information already received. The expected rating is in line with Sri Lanka's Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'BB-' with Stable Outlook. The sovereign's Long-Term Local Currency IDR is also 'BB-' with Stable Outlook. more..

Jan 6 (IANS) The latest ICC Test players' rankings have changed following the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Abu Dhabi. The Test may have ended in a draw but there were a number of performers who were rewarded with jumps. Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews, who struck 91 and an unbeaten career-best 157, has moved up 16 places to a best-ever 13th spot in the ICC Test batsmen rankings while Kumar Sangakkara has slid a position to 6th, but remains the more..

Jan 6 (DM) The GMOA today threatened island wide trade union action, unless the Public Service Commission (PSC) took steps to implement the much delayed Service Minute of govt doctors before the end of January. General Committee member of the GMOA, Dr. Navin De Soyza singled out an official of the PSC for allegedly sabotaging implementation of the service minute that has been delayed for more than more..

Jan 7 (NS) The government may be grappling with matters such as human rights inquiries and provincial council elections but it could be a different issue that will test its popularity: the grade five scholarship examination. This has raised a storm of controversy since Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena announced recently that the examination will be scrapped with effect from 2016 and that the examinations scheduled for the next two years will have a shorter, simpler format. more..

Jan 7 (CT) Before I write my thoughts on this topic, I want to emphasize that all these articles that I have written are just my opinions that are based on my profound pondering and constant reflections. These conversations and exchange of ideas with my readers have only one purpose: As the Buddha explained, �To liberate my mind from clinging.� I want all of you to know that I have borrowed the phrase �God Buddha� from Sharmini Serasinghe. Sharmini�s and Tisaranee Gunasekara�s more..