Minister Mervyn Silva says he is ready to face legal action to clear his name from charges made against him over the recent attack on the chairman of the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabah Prasanna Ranaweera. Minister Mervyn Silva refutes all claims that he is a media antagonist and that the media in Sri Lanka is being suppressed by various elements. The Minister of Labor also counters the allegations that he is connected to certain undesirable rudiments of society. Source by: Daily mirror With Video.Current news from Sri Lanka, Cricket Match news, Entertainment news and much much more....
International Cricket update
Monday, July 27, 2009
Mervyn ready to face legal action (Video)
Minister Mervyn Silva says he is ready to face legal action to clear his name from charges made against him over the recent attack on the chairman of the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabah Prasanna Ranaweera. Minister Mervyn Silva refutes all claims that he is a media antagonist and that the media in Sri Lanka is being suppressed by various elements. The Minister of Labor also counters the allegations that he is connected to certain undesirable rudiments of society. Source by: Daily mirror With Video.Saudi court frees insolvent Lanka driver
A Sri Lankan driver who has been in jail for four years for not paying the compensation in a traffic accident was released by a court in Qatif, Saudi Arabia on the grounds he is insolvent. Source by: daily mirrorIMF defends Sri Lanka loan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund defended a $2.6 billion loan to Sri Lanka on Monday saying it is aware of human rights concerns by donors but the funding is needed to prevent a devastating balance of payments crisis.
The loan was approved by the IMF board on Friday with opposition from several countries including the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Argentina, which expressed concern at human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.
"In Sri Lanka's case they have been hit by the global crisis and the IMF's mandate is to address and ward off balance of payments crises," IMF mission chief to Sri Lanka, Brian Aitken told reporters on a conference call.
"The balance of payments crisis sounds rather dry but it really would have a devastating impact on the economy and on the people, particularly the most vulnerable," he added.
Aitken said the IMF was in regular contact with humanitarian groups and diplomats over human rights worries.
Months after the end of the civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Sri Lankan government continues to hold thousands of Tamils displaced by the fighting in detention camps, according to Human Rights Watch.
Aitken said none of the IMF funding would be directed through the government budget. Instead, the entire loan is going toward rebuilding the central banks currency reserves, which have been drained by the collapse in global trade that has affected the country's mainstay garment industry.
"The hope is that the loan provides a framework in which multilateral and bilateral donors can support the reconstruction effort directly," he added.
He also said it was important that Sri Lanka's foreign exchange policy remained flexible to meet targets for rebuilding international reserves to at least 3.5 months of imports by the end of the 20-month program.
"The program is targeted to increase reserves and the exchange rate under those circumstances needs to be flexible to respond to changes in foreign exchange flowing into the country," Aitken said.
Aitken said as the global crisis dissipates, Sri Lanka's growth should rebound quickly on the back of post-war rebuilding. He said the IMF agreed with the central banks' forecast for economic growth of 3 percent for 2009. Source by : Daily mirror
Heshan Unamboowe sets new record
Heshan Unamboowa set a new 100m backstroke Sri Lankan record timing of 59.47 seconds at the the 13th FINA world swimming championships which was worked off in Italy today.Source by : daily mirrorAir link between Lanka and Nepal to be resumed
Indo-Sri Lankan Economic Cooperation: Contemporary Scenario
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Local bacterium to fight mosquitoes introduced
Dr. Ms. Radhika Samarasingha of a Sri Lankan institute has successfully cultured a bacterium which can control the breeding of mosquitoes. The Sri Lanka Institute of Technology today handed over the bacterium to a local private company for distribution to the public.
The Baccillus turengensis or BT is endemic to
Interpol wanted criminal KP gains limelight courtesy ‘notorious’ Channel 4
Taxes, budget cuts to meet IMF conditions -Dr. Harsha de Silva
Summary of Cabinet Decisions -23rd July 2009
Full Pension Benefits to Disabled Military Personnel
Cabinet granted approval to a memorandum submitted by President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Minister of Defence, Public Security, Law and Order allowing provisions of full pension benefits to the service personnel who have been medically boarded out due to disability caused as a result of operational duties, terrorist activities and law enforcement duties. S.B: lankaenews
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Presidential pardon for 1800 deserters
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Displaced will remain in camps till Tigers are filtered out
Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe told Parliament today that some LTTE cadres had infiltrated the ranks of IDP, and until they were filtered out, the displaced people would be kept within the welfare camps. Fresh after a tour in the welfare camps and villages in villages, Minister Samarasinghe was delivering the conclusion speech on the debate on the displaced civilians. He said that the government was determined, as far as possible, to provide shelter, water, sanitation, food, healthcare, education and other ancillary services for these people. The Minister said that he was particularly concerned that human rights were adequately catered for. Source by : daily mirrorU.S. officials raid Jackson doctor's office
Officials with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday raided a Houston clinic owned by Conrad Murray, the doctor who was with pop icon Michael Jackson when he died, according to local news reports. Jackson, 50, died of cardiac arrest at his rented Los Angeles home on June 25, just a few weeks before a planned string of 50 comeback concerts in London. Source by : daily mirrorSLAF turns to tourist flights
Sri Lanka’s air force announced Wednesday it would run domestic flights to meet an expected surge in tourism following the end of nearly four decades of fighting with the LTTE.
Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said fixed-wing aircraft would operate from the capital
A helicopter service will also operate to Sigiriya, a 5th century rock fortress declared a world heritage site by Unesco.
Air fares from Rathmalana;
Sigiriya Rs. 9,000
Rathmalana Trincomalee Rs. 15,100
“Initially we will operate a thrice-weekly service,” Nanayakkara said, adding the flights would start within a week.
Sri Lanka’s air force has a fleet of transport helicopters and aircraft that played a key role in the military’s victory against Tamil Tiger rebels in mid- May.
Military officials said the air force was gearing up for a peace time role serving an expected increase in tourists visiting the island nation. At the height of fighting, the government banned all domestic commercial flights fearing that Tamil rebels could use a hijacked aircraft to carry out attacks. Source by: ada derana AFP
Air Force conducting defence exercise
The Air Force is conducting an air defence exercise using low flying craft in Rathmala, Colombo and Katunayake from 7pm to 9.30pm. ada derana
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Dilshan doubtful for ODI series
Sri Lankan batsman T.M. Dilshan is doubtful for the five-match ODI series against Pakistan after fracturing his right index finger and having several stitches above his left eye on the second day at the SSC. Dilshan has been keeping wicket in the series in Prasanna Jayawardene’s absence. Source by: ada derana
Solar eclipse begins in Sri Lanka
The partial total solar eclipse began in Sri Lanka early this morning even as thousands of sky gazers from India to China thronged major sites to catch a glimpse of a total eclipse which was visible in those countries.. Source by : Daily mirror SEE PICS INSIDE
Maoist leader warns of LTTE-style attack on Singh, Sonia
A Maoist leader in Jharkhand has warned that his group could resort to LTTE-style attacks against Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the wake of the offensive against naxals. After the CPI (Maoist)’s call for a bandh in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and Chhattisgarh on Wednesday in protest against the rise in prices of essential commodities, a handwritten pamphlet has surfaced warning of LTTE-style attacks against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The pamphlet signed by one Anupamji, who claims to be a member of the state’s Ghatshila Sub Zonal Committee has asked the Congress’s members in Parliament and the Assembly to quit within a week. The provocation for the letter seems to be the Centre declaring the CPI (Maoist) a terrorist organisation. “P Chidambaram not only talks about finishing Naxalites in Jharkhand but in the whole country. If he has the guts, he should come to Jharkhand. Naxalites are no toys that they can be broken by playing games. He should give up his end Naxalite plan. Otherwise, the outfit will sentence him to death,” it says. (Indian Express)
Galle MC Opposition Leader killed
EXCLUSIVE: Drama unfolds at Colombo Uni; students carry knives instead of pens
Clashes erupted today at the Colombo University that resulted in the first and third year Arts faculty studies being suspended until further notice. This exclusive video shows the events that unfolded today at the campus premises. The Ada Derana cameraman was there to capture police discover a knife from one of the raucous students. Source by : ada derana
Video
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Chaminda Vaas to retire from Test cricket
CSE trading floor reopened
SLMC member’s house attacked in Valaichchenai
The house of a Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Valaichchenai Predeshiya Sabah Member located in Meeraodai, Valaichchenai came under a grenade attack early this morning. The house was badly damaged and no one was hurt in this incident.Source by : Daily mirrorLanka says accepts IMF loan in LOI- Minister
Sri Lanka has sent a letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund to accept a $1.9 billion loan, Deputy Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said today. When asked to confirm that the letter had been sent, Siyambalapitiya said: "Yes."
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Satellites can spot tsunamis, US study finds
WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) - Satellites can spot the leading edge of a tsunami, U.S. government researchers said on Wednesday in a study that might lead to better ways of detecting the giant waves and get people out of their way.
They went back and looked at satellite images in the Indian Ocean as the December 2004 tsunami raced across to destroy coastlines in Thailand, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. They found clear patterns in the water.
"We've found that roughness of the surface water provides a good measure of the true strength of the tsunami along its entire leading edge," Oleg Godin of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colorado, said in a statement.
Source By: © Thomson Reuters 2009
Sri Lanka's new Army Chief vows to re-focus military
(Lanka-e-News 15.July.2009 8.15PM) Sri Lanka's new army chief took up his post Wednesday vowing to "re-motivate" his 200,000-strong force and build a peacetime military following the crushing of Tamil Tiger rebels.Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, 50, said his first priority would be the military's new role in supporting a massive reconstruction effort in areas once held by Tiger separatists. "We have to transform them from fighting to other things," he said at the tightly guarded army headquarters here. "We have to re-motivate them." Source by: Lankaenews |
Harry Potter works box office magic
US interested in India’s role in Sri Lanka
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the US Council on Foreign Relations, Wednesday, the US was very interested in the role that India sees for itself in Sri Lanka. “We believe India has a tremendous opportunity and a growing responsibility, which they acknowledge, to play not just a regional role but a global one as well,” she said.
“How they choose to define, that we will explore in-depth during the course of our discussion,” Clinton said ahead of what she described as a “very broad, comprehensive dialogue” with India during her five-day visit starting Friday.
“It’s the most wide-ranging that I think has ever been put on the table between India and the United States,” Clinton said. Source by : Daily mirror
Strong winds lash Kurunegala
Pakistan, Sri Lanka agree on Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Pakistan and Sri Lanka have agreed on the need to transforming the existing Free Trade Agreement between the two countries to a Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said. The agreement was reached between the Pakistani Premier and President Mahinda Rajapaksa during talks on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Egypt on Wednesday, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. Prime Minister Gilani also said Sri Lanka was the largest recipient of free military training from Pakistan with a large number of training courses annually offered by Pakistan Armed Forces. He said Pakistan was willing to further assist Sri Lanka in enhancing the capacity of its armed forces. Source by Daily mirror
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Murali fit to play third Test: Doc
Ace off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is fit to play the third Test against Pakistan commencing on July 20 at Colombo's SSC ground, Dr David Young, an Australian Orthopaedic surgeon, who examined the spinner said. Speaking from Galle on Tuesday, Young said, “I examined Muralitharan’s knee injury in Colombo and he is now fit enough to play the next Test. If coach (Trevor Bayliss) and selectors want him, he can play now. He is as fit as ever.” Source by:daily mirrorSri Lanka wins 3 Test series against Pakistan (Watch Highlights Video)
UK committed to help Sri Lanka- Mike Foster
Britain has committed to help rebuild the lives and livelihoods of the 284,000 Sri Lankans who were forced to flee their homes during the recent fighting, British International Development Minister Mike Foster said.Mike Foster allocated £3 million to help support the first stages of recovery from the conflict and prepare for displaced civilians to return home from the camps.
Conditions in the camps are improving, but are still basic. As humanitarian access has increased, aid agencies have been able to set up emergency health services and deliver urgently needed medicines and food. Source by: Daily mirror
Second largest asylum seekers to Switzerland from Sri Lanka
While claiming that there has been a sharp rise in the number of people applying for asylum in
No firing on Indian fishermen since Jan - Chidambaram
The Indian Government today confirmed that the Sri Lankan Navy has not shot any Indian fishermen after various arrangements were put in place since January this year. Replying to a question on coastal security by the T K S Elangovan, North Chennai MP, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, however, conceded that fishermen were being arrested. “They are arrested, and I have conceded it earlier. Thereafter, there is an arrangement by which we secure their release,” said Chidambaram. Source By: Ada derana
Monday, July 13, 2009
Moves to bring back CBK to Parliament?
There are moves to bring back former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga back to Parliament, political sources indicated today (July 13). While stating that the news is nothing new, they pointed out that it was initially mooted prior to the voting of the 2008 budget in 2007.
Sources close to Mangala Samaraweera’s Ape Jathika Peramuna (AJP) said though initially it was agreed to bring back Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (CBK) to Parliament, the decision was deferred after the Supreme Court (SC) rulings against her in certain cases and in one such case by the SC ordering her to pay compensation.
With her popularity at low ebb, the move to bring her back to parliament was shelved. With Mangala Samaraweera forming his new party and calling for a broader alliance against the Rajapaksa government, the move has been renewed with the UNP leadership too agreeing for such an alliance. Mr. Samaraweera’s AJP has not faced any real test to identify its voter base and many were curious as to who or what his trump card was. Now, according to sources close to these two parties, the trump card may well be former President CBK. Source By : Ada derana
Michael Jackson ‘had two gay lovers’, new book claims
Michael Jackson had at least two gay lovers and would go out disguised as a woman for secret liaisons in motel rooms, according to a new book. The star was allegedly “madly in love” with a half-Asian construction worker and had another fling with a Hollywood waiter. Writer Ian Halperin claims in his unauthorised biography that “virtually everybody” around Jackson knew that the singer was gay.Jackson’s affair with the builder, who was in his early 20s, began in Las Vegas in 2007, according to Halperin. “He rarely left his residence, but when he did, according to one of Jackson’s closest confidants, it was to meet a boyfriend at a run-down motel.
“Michael would leave the house in disguise, often dressed as a woman, and would go to meet his boyfriend at a motel that was one of Vegas’ grungiest dives. Michael was broke. He struggled to put food on the table for his children. It was all he could afford then.”
Halperin added: “A close aide of Jackson who confirmed the affair to me said that he had no knowledge of what went on behind closed doors at the motel. But the aide said Jackson would dress as a woman after midnight to meet a worker employed by the city of Las Vegas.”
The second man was an aspiring actor, working as a waiter, who visited Jackson’s Hollywood Hills home almost every night for three weeks during a short but passionate affair, Halperin said.
The author’s claims, in the book Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, were reported by The Sun. (The Telegraph) Source By : Daily Mirror
The Man Who Tamed the Tamil Tigers
| -Time Mag. interview with President Rajapaksha |
(Lanka-e-News 13.July.2009 5.30PM) Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war between the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) came to a dramatic end in May with a decisive military victory and the killing of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Tigers' fearsome leader. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is the man who tamed the Tigers. Now his task is to heal a nation still divided by tensions between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. In a rare, wide-ranging interview, Rajapaksa, 63, talked with TIME's Jyoti Thottam at the President's official compound in Colombo on July 10.Source By : Lankaenews interview with President Rajapaksha |
Canadian Tiger suspect to appeal against extradition
A Sri Lankan man who has been ordered extradited to the U.S. from Canada for his alleged connection to a North American network that provided weapons to the LTTE is attempting to appeal the extradition ruling. Justice Canada has confirmed that Ramanan Mylvaganam, 30, is attempting to appeal the extradition ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada. The country's top court is now deciding whether it will hear the case. It would be Mylvaganam's last chance to stay in Canada. The Ontario Court of Appeal recently ruled that Mylvaganam likely knew he was helping the "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) for the prohibited purposes," and upheld the extradition order imposed by a Federal court judge last fall. Source by: Daily mirrorUpdated @ 13/07/2009 09:22 PM
Sri Lanka turns to microfinance to rebuild war zone
Updated @ 13/07/2009 06:23 PM
Sunday, July 12, 2009
LIOC dismisses price increase claims
LIOC Managing Director K.R. Suresh Kumar this morning vehemently denied having told that weekly newspaper that he sought a price revision. “Neither did I ever propose a committee of such nature. I have not made any such demand or proposal after the recent fuel price increase effected by the Government”, he added.
He further said that he had not met Petroleum Minister A.H.M. Fowzie after the recent fuel price hike nor the Ministry Secretary, W.P. Ganegala to discuss any issue as claimed in the media. Source by: Daily mirror
Jackson murdered for his 1 billion pound fortune - sister
In a new twist to the controversy surrounding Michael Jackson’s death, his sister La Toya has claimed that the ‘King of Pop’ was murdered for his 1 billion pound fortune as “he was worth more dead than alive”.
Her claim comes just two days after the chief of
La Toya said she and the family are convinced her brother’s apparent drugs overdose was “foul play” by a shadowy group out to get their hands on his 1 billion pounds fortune, the News of the World reported.
“Michael was murdered. And we don’t think just one person was involved. Rather, it was a conspiracy of people. I feel it was all about money. Michael was worth well over a billion pounds in music publishing assets and somebody killed him for that. He was worth more dead than alive,” the newspaper quoted La Toya as saying.
The 53-year-old claimed that the pop icon, who died at the age of 50 on June 25, was fed a series of addictive drugs to keep him submissive and controlled.
“Michael had many needle marks on his neck and on his arms, and more about those will emerge in the next few weeks. But nothing has changed my mind that this was murder and I won’t give up until I find out what killed my brother,” she said.
PTI
Kelaniya PS Chairman’s house attacked
Friday, July 10, 2009
Microsoft, Windows Vista goes Sinhala
Basil to oversee Madhu Feast to a grand scale in August
Sri Lanka names unchanged squad for 2nd Test
Sri Lanka named an unchanged squad for the second cricket test against Pakistan starting on Sunday at the P. Sara Stadium. The selectors have told ex-captain Mahela Jayawardena to supervise proceedings in the event Kumar Sangakkara is indisposed. Sri Lanka team: Kumar Sangakkara (Captain), Tharanga Paranavithana, Malintha Warnapura, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Angelo Matthews, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilina Thushara Mirando. Source by : Daily mirrorUpdated @ 10/07/2009 03:59 PM
Ravi indicted in case
UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake was served indictment by the Colombo High Court today for violating the Exchange Control Act.Updated @ 10/07/2009 11:23 AM
Sri Lanka's former rebels undergo retraining
(Lanka-e-News 10.July.2009 2.15PM) They begin each day saluting the national flag of the country they had vowed to defeat or die trying. Gone are the cyanide capsules that, like all Tamil Tiger rebels, they had worn around their necks for use if captured by the Sri Lankan military.In their place hang religious symbols -- a substitution that perfectly reflects the image Sri Lanka wants the world to see: Its former enemies on the path to redemption and rehabilitation. More than 300 former members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) -- including children forcibly recruited by the rebels -- are undergoing rehabilitation in tightly-guarded, state-run camps. |
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Lions led by lions can win any war, says Army Commander
If any persons disputes or ridicules the victory of the
The General was speaking while attending the launch of Tissa Ravindra Perera’s book ‘Vanni Avasan Maha Satana’ – The final great battle of Vanni, this evening (July 09).
Adding further, General Fonseka, quoting an Arabian saying, said, “If an army leader is a camel and the soldiers are lions, a war cannot be won. If all are camels too, a war cannot be won. If the army commander is a lion and the soldiers are camels, there is a possibility, but if the army commander is a lion and the soldiers too are lions, any war can definitely be won.”
Sri Lanka bars tea promotion board from talking to media
Sri Lanka's Tea Board, responsible for promoting the nation's trademark export worldwide, on Thursday said the government had barred its officials from speaking to the media.The Tea Board seems among the least likely institutions to fall under a government campaign to control the free flow of information, which increased at the Defence Ministry's direction during the final years of a 25-year civil war that ended in May. Source by : daily mirrorShoaib targets Sri Lanka
Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar wants to return to international cricket in the one-day series against Sri Lanka.Shoaib was withdrawn from the squad a week before the start of the Twenty20, after a doctor said the player was suffering from viral infection. "It was a heartbreak missing out on 


Some 1815 Army deserters including 50 officers, who have been convicted by a Military Tribunal and are serving prison terms for desertion, will be released on Monday on a special pardon given by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Source by : daily news


(Lanka-e-News 15.July.2009 8.15PM) Sri Lanka's new army chief took up his post Wednesday vowing to "re-motivate" his 200,000-strong force and build a peacetime military following the crushing of Tamil Tiger rebels.
British boy wizard Harry Potter conjured his magic at box offices again, as the sixth film in the highly popular movie series earned a record $22.2 million at Wednesday midnight showings in the United States.
Strong winds hit parts of Kurunegala early this morning damaging several houses and disrupting electricity in the area. Similar gale force winds hit Chilaw on Tuesday night causing considerable damage. Source Daily mirror
Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 7 wickets in the second Test match played in Colombo today and secured the 3 Test series 2-0. This is Sri Lanka’s first series win against Pakistan at home. Source by: daily mirror
(Lanka-e-News 13.July.2009 5.30PM) Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war between the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) came to a dramatic end in May with a decisive military victory and the killing of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Tigers' fearsome leader. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is the man who tamed the Tigers. Now his task is to heal a nation still divided by tensions between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. In a rare, wide-ranging interview, Rajapaksa, 63, talked with TIME's Jyoti Thottam at the President's official compound in Colombo on July 10.
The residence of the Chairman of the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) Prassana Ranaweera was attacked by an unidentified gang early this morning. His wife and child were injured in the attack and admitted to hospital. source by : Daily mirror
Microsoft Sri Lanka launched Windows Vista and Microsoft 2007 in Sinhala at a ceremony held In Colombo this evening. The software was devoloped in collaboration with ICTA, a local information technology company. Source by: Daily mirror
(Lanka-e-News 10.July.2009 2.15PM) They begin each day saluting the national flag of the country they had vowed to defeat or die trying. Gone are the cyanide capsules that, like all Tamil Tiger rebels, they had worn around their necks for use if captured by the Sri Lankan military.