Bellanwila Esala Perahera 2012

Niluka upset World No. 8 Kenichi Tago

Sri Lanka’s top shuttler Niluka Karunaratne defeated World Number 8 Kenichi Tago of Japan 21-18, 21-16 in Group C in the qualifying round at the London Olympics.

පෝරකෙන් බේරෙන්න අඟුලාන අයි.පී. උසාවි ඇවිත්

මහත් ආන්දෝලනයට ලක් වූ අඟුලාන ද්විත්ව මිනී මැරුමට වැරදිකරු වී මරණ දණ්ඩනයට නියම වූ අඟුලාන පොලිසියේ හිටපු ස්ථානාධිපති පොලිස් පරීක්‍ෂක තුඹේගෙදර විනී නිව්ටන් එම දඬුවම ලිහිල් කරන ලෙස ඉල්ලා ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයේ ගොනු කර තිබූ ඇපෑල සඳහා අද බන්ධනාගාර නිලධරයන් විසින් රැගෙන එනු ලැබීය.
විෂබීජයක් ශරීරගතවීමෙන් හා දියවැඩියා රෝගය උත්සන්න වීමෙන් ඔහුගේ දකුණු පාදයෙන් පහළ කොටසක්ම ඉවත් කර තිබීම හේතුවෙන් ඔහු ඉතා වේදනාවෙන් අනෙක් රැඳවියන්ගේ උදව්වෙන් ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයට පැමිණි අයුරු රැස්ව සිටි හැමගේ අවධානයට ලක්විය.

Massacre suspect spooked gun range manager

Aurora, Colorado (CNN) -- Colorado massacre suspect James Holmes applied to join a gun range in June, but the range's operator said Sunday that he was disturbed by the "weird and bizarre" message on Holmes' answering machine.

"It was weird," said Glenn Rotkovich, managing partner of the Lead Valley Range in Byers, Colorado. "I didn't know what kind of message was left by this idiot. We need to know if he's an idiot before we let him have access to our range."

Rotkovich told CNN that Holmes sent in an online application on June 25. Rotkovich said he called the number Holmes left on the form, only to get a message he said was largely unintelligible.

He said the voice was "guttural, freakish, maybe drunk. Just weird and bizarre -- a deep, guttural, forced voice."

 

Gun range: 'Weird' contact with suspect

 

Reporting on the Aurora shooting

CO Gov.: President Obama to visit Aurora

 

Remembering Colorado's shooting victims

 

Rotkovich said Holmes didn't call him back. He left another message, and said he was again disturbed by the voice on the machine.

"It bothered me so much I told my staff, 'If this guy shows up, he gets nothing until I meet him,' " Rotkovich said.

He said he tried calling Holmes a third time, again with no response, then quit. Holmes never called back, nor did he come to the range in Byers, about 40 miles east of Denver. But when news broke Friday of the bloodbath in a theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Rotkovich said one of his staffers remembered the name and saw that it matched reports of the suspect in the killings.

Holmes, a 24-year-old doctoral student in neuroscience, was arrested outside the Century 16 multiplex early Friday. He's accused of opening fire in the crowded theater during a midnight screening of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises."

Shooting survivors recount Colorado horror

Pictures obtained of Holmes show a tall, bright-eyed, dark-haired young man, in contrast to the man a law enforcement official said had dyed his hair red and identified himself as "the Joker" after his arrest. And authorities recovered a Batman poster and mask from the apartment, a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the investigation said Sunday.

It's an image difficult to reconcile for those who know him as a clean-cut, quiet graduate student.

He entered the University of California, Riverside, in 2006 on a scholarship and graduated with highest honors with a bachelor's degree in neuroscience in 2010.

"Academically, he was at the top of the top," Chancellor Timothy P. White said.

UC Riverside police have no record of any contact with Holmes, the university said. Neither did police at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where Holmes enrolled in 2011 as a doctoral candidate in its neuroscience program at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, university officials said in a statement released Sunday.

Holmes' sole brush with the law in Colorado appears to have been a 2011 summons for speeding from Aurora police.

 

Family, friends honor shooting victims

 

Wounded survivor recalls carnage

 

Military men among shooting victims

 

Obama: Colorado shooting 'an evil act'

 

 

Holmes attended Colorado with the aid of a grant from the National Institutes of Health, which allowed the university to pay him a $26,000-a-year stipend for living expenses, university spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery said.

A syllabus that lists Holmes as a student at the medical school shows that he may have taken a class in which he studied topics as diverse as substance abuse, schizophrenia, depression and other disorders. According to the document, he was to have delivered a presentation in May about microRNA biomarkers.

But there are indications that something may have been amiss in Holmes' life in recent months. He withdrew from the program in June 2012, though "he gave no reason for his withdrawal from the graduate school," said Jacque Montgomery, spokeswoman for the University of Colorado.

It is not immediately clear if Holmes, who also worked in a paid position in the university's neuroscience research program, was still employed there after withdrawing from the program.

He received a large volume of deliveries over the past four months to both his home and work addresses, which police believe begins to explain how he got his hands on some of the materials used in the rampage and the subsequent discovery of his booby-trapped apartment, Aurora Police Chief Paul Oates told reporters Saturday. Holmes purchased four weapons and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition in recent months, Oates said.

Police: Evidence of 'calculation,' 'deliberation' in Colorado shooting

Police haven't disclosed any motive for the attack or explained Holmes' appearance at the time of his arrest, citing an ongoing investigation.

Holmes was dressed in black, wearing a ballistic helmet, a tactical ballistic vest, protective leggings, a throat and groin protector, and a gas mask during the attack, police said, and witnesses say they did not see his face because of the mask.

Unlike most people his age, Holmes does not appear to have a social media footprint -- no accounts with Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr, though authorities are investigating whether he posted a profile on the sex website Adult Friend Finder.

The profile contains a picture of a man with fiery red hair, a law enforcement source said. Police believe it may be a picture of Holmes, said the source, who was not authorized to speak to the media. The profile said it was created by a 24-year-old man from Aurora and has since been taken down.

Adult Friend Finder said Sunday that it "values the privacy of its members" and would not confirm the identity of any users. The site will respond to police inquiries "as may be required by law," company spokesman Lindsay Trivento said in a written statement.

It's a profile that contrasts with news that Holmes worked as a counselor at a summer camp for needy children in 2008.

Camp Max Straus caters to needy children ages 7-14, and is run by Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles, which confirmed his employment but would not offer further details or comment.

The man who grew up in the upscale northwest San Diego neighborhood of Rancho Peñasquitos was renting an apartment in Aurora, according to police and realty records. Tom Mai, a neighbor of the Holmes family in San Diego, described Holmes as "clean-cut, quiet, responsible."

At the time of his arrest, Holmes was living in a small, three-story brick building on Paris Street in Aurora, in Apartment 10, within walking distance to the university.

"Neighbors report he lived alone and he kept to himself," Oates said.

Jackie Mitchell, who lives close to Holmes, had a beer with him on Tuesday.

Mitchell was stunned at news of Holmes' alleged involvement in the attack.

"You would never guess he was a violent guy," Mitchell said, describing Holmes as "nerdish" and "a book-smart type guy."

Massacre suspect's neighbor: 'I'm counting my lucky stars'

Holmes told police during his arrest he had booby-trapped the third-floor apartment, prompting investigators to evacuate the building and four others nearby and Friday and Saturday trying to disarm and get rid of a variety of explosive devices left behind.

Kaitlyn Fonzi, a 20-year-old grad student and neighbor, said she heard techno music blasting from his apartment around the time of the shooting and had nearly opened Holmes' unlocked apartment door to complain -- unaware that the unit was wired to explode.

A timer had turned the music on so that it would blare in his apartment after he left for the Aurora multiplex, according to a law enforcement source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

Sri Dalada Perahera 2012 (Kandy)

Date	Event
2012-07-19	Kapsituvima (Planting of the 'Kapa')
2012-07-19 to 2012-07-22	Internal Perahera of Four Devales
2012-07-23	1st Kumbal Perahera
2012-07-24	2nd Kumbal Perahera
2012-07-25	3rd Kumbal Perahera
2012-07-26	4th Kumbal Perahera
2012-07-27	5th Kumbal Perahera
2012-07-28	1st Randoli Perahera
2012-07-29	2nd Randoli Perahera
2012-07-30	3rd Randoli Perahera
2012-07-31	4th Randoli Perahera
2012-08-01	5th Randoli Perahera
2012-08-02	Day Perahera (Water Cutting Ceremony "Diya Kepeema")

Terror, tragedy mark ‘Batman’ on screen and off

With a fixation on random violence, Gotham City dysfunction and the death of a star, the “Batman” movies have long been consumed with tragedy and terror.

Now an unfathomable horror is forever linked to the series.

After the deadly shooting rampage at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater where hundreds had gathered to see the area premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises,” it’s hard not to wonder whether the gunman was in any way inspired by the characters or chaos that are the hallmark of the lucrative movie franchise.

No one yet knows exactly why a black-clad man wearing a gas mask and full body armor burst into a theater with several weapons, and there is no proof that the horrific deed has a direct connection to the Batman saga.

But there is connection by default, and the film’s red-carpet premiere in Paris -- where stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway and Morgan Freeman had been due to attend -- was canceled Friday.

New York City police announced security was being stepped up at cinemas, in part “as a precaution against copycats.”

And Batman studio Warner Brothers said it was “deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident” and extended its sympathies to families of the victims.

Even before the shooting, tragedy, loss and controversy haunted the Batman landscape, notably when Heath Ledger, the Hollywood star whose devilish portrayal of The Joker in the 2008 blockbuster “The Dark Knight” won him an Oscar, died months before that film’s release.

Director Chris Nolan has won plaudits for the ambitious finale of his brooding super-hero trilogy, which details the full breadth from childhood trauma -- protagonist Bruce Wayne saw his parents murdered -- his vow for revenge and his status as loner and eccentric billionaire crime-fighter, through to whatever awaits viewers at the end of the latest movie.

Its portrayal of terrorist attacks, anti-government uprisings and martyrdom in what clearly resembles New York is unsettling in the post-9/11 era.

Nolan’s reprisal of arch-villain Bane, a beast of a man who wears a mask and unleashes horrific attacks, caused a stir on American talk radio when a prominent conservative broadcaster savaged Hollywood for what he said were the film’s liberal political undercurrents.

Rush Limbaugh pointed out that Bane sounds just like Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by Mitt Romney, the Republican who is challenging President Barack Obama for the White House.

When “Obama and the Democrats keep talking about Bain, not Bain Capital, but Bain, Romney and Bain... these people will think back to the Batman movie -- ‘Oh yeah, I know who that is,’” Limbaugh argued.

Comic book writer Chuck Dixon, who created the Bane character in 1993, dismissed the comparison as “ridiculous.”

Political posturing aside, a debate has simmered for years about whether movies like “Batman” are the projector or the reflector of a culture of violence.

Hollywood and other popular culture staples, like rap and heavy metal music, are trotted out as scapegoats in the wake of tragedy, and some films have indeed inspired extreme acts.

John Hinckley Jr, who shot US president Ronald Reagan in 1981, had sent love letters to Jodi Foster, the child star of 1976 classic “Taxi Driver,” about a mentally unstable man who tries to kill a presidential candidate.

And Oliver Stone’s 1994 movie “Natural Born Killers” is believed by some to have inspired deadly shootings.

After Aurora, the veteran movie critic Roger Ebert rushed to the defense of film.

“I’m not sure there is an easy link between movies and gun violence. I think the link is between the violence and the publicity,” Ebert wrote in The New York Times.

The shooting suspect’s “inner terror expressed itself, as it often does these days, in a link between pop culture and firearms,” he said.

While the Batman effect on Holmes is not clear, the Caped Crusader has been swathed in violence since he was brought to life in a 1939 comic book, and observers turned to Batman Friday for possible clues to the Colorado tragedy.

Recent Batman films portray ineffective politicians, a corrupt police force under pressure from crime lords and terrorists, and a broken legal system, the embodiment of modern dysfunction in a fallen age.

Corey Graves, a wrestler in Florida, tapped into the incomprehension people expressed on social media over how someone could take so many innocent lives, with authorities powerless to stop the slaughter.

“Kinda makes you wish Batman was real, doesn’t it?” he posted on Twitter. - AFP

Sri Lanka players agree on central contracts

July 17, 2012

 

	A settlement over players' central contracts was key to Sri Lanka players playing in the SLPL, Mahela Jayawardene had said

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and its players have agreed in principle to the terms of the central contracts for the next year, bringing to an end almost five months of negotiations and avoiding a potential stand-off over Sri Lanka's top players participating in the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL).

The new contracts, which will run from March 1, 2012 to February 28, 2013, will bear the existing retainer and match fees, ESPNcricinfo understands.

On Monday, Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, had said the country's cricketers might decide against taking part in the SLPL if the Sri Lankan board didn't "settle" the players' central contracts. The agreement between the two sides means the players no longer have any objections to taking part in the Twenty20 tournament.

"Player contracts will be signed tomorrow or the day after," Nishantha Ranatunga, the SLC secretary, told ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday. "It has been agreed upon by the players and the board." Sri Lanka host India for five ODIs and one Twenty20 game from July 21, and Ranatunga was confident the contracts would be in place for the series.

There was a discussion about requiring the players to seek prior permission from SLC before speaking to the media, but that clause did not make it in to the final version of the contract. However, if a player does make comments considered detrimental to SLC, he could face a disciplinary committee hearing.

The contract issue follows a year in which SLC ran into financial problems after running up debts of close to $70 million to finance the building of two international stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele, and to renovate the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, for the 2011 World Cup. As a result the players were not initially paid their salaries for eight months. In December 2011, 42.36% of the fees due to the players from the World Cup to September 30, 2011 were paid. The payment of US$2 million was made directly into the players' bank accounts, instead of routing it through Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), on December 16.

SLC claimed to have paid the remaining dues in March 2012 after the state-owned Bank of Ceylon agreed to release 600 million rupees (approx US$5.07 million) to the board, following discussions with sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage. However, the players have not been paid since the previous contracts expired, as the new contracts are yet to be signed.

The SLPL starts on August 11, with the final to be played on August 31. SLC had released a list of 112 local players and 56 overseas players who will take part in the event. The tournament, which features seven franchises this year, will have two more the next year, covering all nine provinces.

Jayawardene, who is the icon player for the Wayamba franchise, said the focus of the tournament should be on developing the game in Sri Lanka. "While we say all good things about the tournament, let me caution everyone … While we are making financial gains, the commitment of the people involved should be to harness the talent, develop the game in the outstations, get every possible youngster involved and let them realise their dream of playing for Sri Lanka one day."

Tatenda Taibu quits cricket for church aged 29

	Tatenda Taibu has retired hours after being named in Zimbabwe's provisional squad for the World Twenty20
:

Zimbabwe wicketkeeper-batsman, has announced his retirement, stating that he wants to focus on working for the church. Taibu played 28 Tests and 150 ODIs for Zimbabwe and has quit aged only 29, usually a cricketer's prime. 

The decision comes as even more of a surprise as, earlier in the day, he was named in Zimbabwe's provisional squad for September's World Twenty20. It ends an 11-year international career, during which he became the youngest Test captain in history. A finger injury kept him out of top-flight cricket since the tour of New Zealand early this year.

"I just feel that my true calling now lies in doing the Lord's work," Taibu said, "and although I am fortunate and proud to have played for my country, the time has come for me to put my entire focus on that part of my life."

Since making his debut at the age of 18 in 2001, Taibu was an automatic pick for Zimbabwe, except for the times when he clashed with his country's cricket board. He had stepped down as captain and quit the national side back in 2005 following threats against his family. Taibu moved to South Africa in 2006 with the intention of going through the four-year qualification process to be eligible for international cricket for them. However, he reappeared for Zimbabwe in 2007.

One of the highlights of his career was his Man-of-the-Match performance in 2005 against Bangladesh, when he made 85* and 153 to help Zimbabwe draw the Test. His only other Test victory was against Bangladesh last year, when Zimbabwe returned to the format after a six-year exile. Taibu's outspoken nature was highlighted before that match as he slammed the board for not doing enough to promote cricket in the country.

He was picked while still in his teens as a potential long-term successor as wicketkeeper-batsman to Andy Flower, and while he didn't reach the heights Flower did, he forged a solid career. He finishes as the country's fourth-highest run-getter in ODIs, and only Flower has effected more dismissals than him as a one-day wicketkeeper for Zimbabwe.

Local Politician donates his monthly salary for a better cause (ප‍්‍රා. මන්ත‍්‍රී හොඳ වැඩක් කරයි)

ප‍්‍රා. මන්ත‍්‍රී හොඳ වැඩක් කරයි

2012 ජූලි මස 09

මස් දියවීමේ රෝගයකට ලක්වී සිටින ගලේවෙල ගලපාවුල ඇම්.ඞී. කරුණාවතී (60) මහත්මියට තම මන්ත‍්‍රී වැටුප මාස් පතා පරිත්‍යාග කළ ගලේවෙල ප‍්‍රාදේශීය සභා එජාප මන්ත‍්‍රී දුමින්ද බණ්ඩාර මහතා මාස් පතා එම පරිත්‍යාගය කරන බව ද කියයි.
ඇගේ පුත් සුසන්ත අමරසිංහ මහතා මේ මව රැකබලා ගනී.

Rise in Child Abuse cases in Sri Lanka...

 

Around three cases of child molestation or rape are reported every day according to the police while authorities believe that many more go unreported around the island. Are authorities doing enough to curb this growing problem in order to protect children from sexual predators? What in your opinion can be done to reduce these crimes against the innocent?

 

The US State Department which released its annual report into human trafficking claimed that in Sri Lanka women and children are subjected to sex trafficking in brothels and that boys are more likely than girls to be forced into prostitution in coastal areas for domestic child sex tourism.

Some child domestic workers in Colombo, generally from the Tamil tea-estate sector of the country, are subjected to physical, sexual, and mental abuse, nonpayment of wages, and restrictions of their movement.

Over the past two months, Ada Derana has reported on numerous child molestation and rape cases but authorities claim that this is only a fraction of the number of incidents that go unreported.

As carried on Ada Derana, an underage girl was raped inside the Bandaranaike memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) while the suspect was alleged to be a cashier there.

On June 17 a suspect was arrested over the raping of an underage girl in the Vakaneri area in the Valaichchenai Police Division. Police said the crime was uncovered after the victim in question had given birth at the Batticaloa Hospital on June 01.

Earlier this week Police discovered the body of a 7-year-old girl from Kirulapone who is suspected to have been raped by two teenagers and dumped in a drainage canal.

The Chairman of the Akuressa Pradeshiya Sabha was arrested over allegations of molesting a 14 year old girl in an incident which allegedly took place between March 23 and 30, police stated.

Meanwhile, a school van driver suspected of sexually molesting a four-and-a-half year old child was arrested by police earlier this week.

The 55-year-old suspect is the driver of the school van in which the girl travels to a preschool in Wennappuwa, police stated.

These are only a few among the numerous complaints that reach the police.

 

Are authorities doing enough to stamp down on these incidents? Is the Children and Women Bureau taking the necessary steps to curb this situation? What in your opinion can be done about the prevailing trend? How can we protect our children from these predators?