MP Mohamad Muzamil who made a startling revelation last Friday (Jan 15), of an alleged bribe being offered by the Opposition to buy him over handing him rupees 30 million, is set to go before the Bribery Commission to bring the matter to their notice officially, said a spokesman of the media unit of the National Freedom Front (NFF) Jathika Nidahas Peramuna..
The NFF media unit spokesman speaking to LAKBIMAnEWS stated that MP Mohamad Muzamil -- More >>

In a bizarre turn in the tragic death of the 64- year- old victim of election violence, Kusumawathi Kuruppuarachchi, who was shot dead when gunmen fired on a bus carrying the UNP supporters to a rally, her family says that the deceased was a supporter of President Rajapaksa. She has gone to the UNP rally, ostensibly to collect welfare items issued at the rally, says her husband, 70- year- old Martin.
Martin says, “We have always been working for the Rajapaksas. We are their men. It was the president who gave a job for my son- in- law. More >>

Douglas Devananda once likened Tamil nationalism to cholesterol, saying just as there is good and bad cholesterol, there is good and bad Tamil nationalism, and just as you need good cholesterol, you need the good Tamil nationalism. Certainly the history of Tamil nationalism shows plenty of examples of “bad cholesterol”. Elite Tamil nationalism opposed the abolition of communal suffrage and the introduction of the far more progressive territorial representation, demanding instead a Tamil seat in the Western Province. More >>

This writer is presently in the so-called Sinhala heartland, where the presidential stakes 2010, could potentially be decided. Make no mistake. The visibility of the Mahinda Rajapaksa juggernaut fades the Fonseka campaign’s visibility by far, by comparison in these districts. On a scale, say if the Rajapaksa campaign can be given 10 visibility points in these areas, the Fonseka campaign can be given 1 visibility point. The difference in scale of the propaganda machinery is that big. The grassroots sentiment may be a different matter altogether, however, and that’s another story. More >>

Ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will have three more additional Test matches ahead of his planned retirement at the end of the West Indies tour to reach the magical figures of 800 wickets, as India has tentatively agreed for a three-match Test series in July. Muralitharan, who is scheduled to retire from the longer version at the end of the three-match home series against West Indies in November, is eight wickets short of 800 wickets and the tour added would give the ace-spinner renewed hopes of reaching it earlier than expected. More >>

Roshan Mahanama, the ICC match referee, has insisted that Daryl Harper did everything right when he controversially ruled Graeme Smith not out to a reviewed caught behind appeal on the second day against England at the Wanderers which led to the visitors to lodge a complaint with ICC.
Smith was on 15 when he slashed at Ryan Sidebottom and England were convinced they heard an edge. Tony Hill, the on-field official, turned down the appeal and Andrew Strauss asked for a review. Harper upheld Hill’s decision because he could not hear a sound on the replay, More >>

As the final act is played out on the electoral stage, Galle Fort is putting the last touches in place for a literary feast that in 2007 was dubbed by Harpers Bazaar as the ‘No. 1 Literary Festival in the World’. A five-day, action-packed programme is available to download at www.galleliteraryfestival.com and is sure to inspire the writer in all of us to have a go at, or at the very least understand, what it takes to create legendary characters -- and take a more novel approach to tried and tested formulas.
Since the first Buddhist monks came to the island, Galle has long been a stopover for storytelling merchant traders, More >>

Seeing the brightly lit fish tanks in the aquarium while walking through dark passages adds a different flavour to your zoo experience. Giant catfish, ghost fish, neon tetras and differently coloured sea fish will definitely grab your attention. But the real gem in the zoo aquarium is its endemic freshwater fish section. These endemic fish species are put on display at the final section of the aquarium, perhaps to emphasize their importance. The group of Barred Danio that actively swim through its freshwater habitat replicated with decaying logs and water plants in the glass tank bed are the stars in this section that will demand your attention, with their beauty. More >>

Like a thick fog, the stench of death curdles the air in the streets of this shattered city. It comes from trundling trucks, where corpses are piled up and covered by bloodstained sheets, while young men with scarves on their faces warn onlookers to stand aside. It is expelled from pyres of burning tires that incinerate cadavers that have remained unattended too long in the dust and heat, lit by residents afraid that the carrion will attract prowling dogs and endanger children. More >>

To many in Silicon Valley, the world is divided into two kinds of people: those who “get it,” and those who don’t. The people who get it are the ones who understand that the Internet is the biggest thing that has ever happened in the history of the human race, a wave so huge and so powerful that the only way to cope with it is to jump on and hope to make money building a new world once the tsunami has laid waste to the old one. Those who don’t get it are the ones who try to fight the Internet wave, More >>

“The average prices of consumer products are on the increase at an average rate of 11 percent,” former Deputy Governor Central Bank, W. A Wijewardene said a forum in Colombo.
“Sri Lanka’s Central Bank has created an average inflation of 11. percent and should take the blame for impoverishing the people. Being a part of the Central Bank, we have to take the blame for reducing the peoples’ real wealth. More >>

The Colombo Stock Exchange had another eventful weekend with turnover and indices on purchases as well as corporate activity. The indices closed the week higher mainly on high retail activity driving up mid cap stocks. The ASI, which tracks the movements of all the stocks in the market, closed up 49 points or 1.4 percent to end the week at 3,563. The MPI, which tracks the movements of the 25 most liquid stocks, closed up by 60 points (1.5%) to end the week at 4,099. More >>

Stonehenge is one of Britain’s greatest national icons symbolizing mystery, power and endurance. Its original purpose is unclear, but some have speculated that it was a temple made for the worship of ancient earth deities. It has been called an astronomical observatory for making significant events on the prehistoric calendar. Others claim that it was a sacred site for the burial of high-ranking citizens from the societies of long ago. While we can’t say with any degree of certainty what it was for, we can say that it wasn’t constructed for any casual purpose. More >>

Do you remember Sherlock Holms, the greatest detective in the history lived at 221B, Baker Street in London? Then you might be familiar with the name, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle too for he is the creator of that famous fictional character. Apart from Sherlock Holms, his works consist of science fiction, history, romance, poetry, drama and non-fiction. Another one of his famous novels is ‘The Lost World’. The Scottish-physician and author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22nd of May 1859, in Edinburgh,
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