Gampaha District Parliamentarian and popular actress Upeksha Swarnamali is to take up law, reports say.
She is currently reading for her LLB at the University of London.
Speaking to media, Upeksha has said that she intends to complete her degree as soon as possible and that it was one of her childhood dreams to become a LLB holder.
She has also said that as an actress she is not satisfied with the roles she has received recently.
However, she is adamant that she will not leave her profession as an actress despite being a parliamentarian or a lawyer.
Upeksha says that she would like to enjoy a prolonged acting career similar to that of actress Denawaka Haamine.
A few years earlier, Upeksha arrived from Kuwait with the intention of going overseas again for Human resources studies.
Soon afterwards, she captured the attention of teledrama fans through her role as ‘Paba’.
Upeksha entered politics by supporting Sarath Fonseka. Soon after, she contested for elections under the UNP ticket.
However, she crossed over to the government afterwards, expressing her support for the President.
Education Minister Bandula Gunawardene said today said he was ready for a public debate to prove that a family of three could survive with a monthly income of Rs.7500.
He told a news conference he would meet anyone with a sound knowledge of economics to disprove what he said.
Mr. Gunawardene said his argument was that a small family could survive on Rs.7,500 a month and pointed out that school hostels spend only Rs.2,500 to feed a student for a month.
The minister who used to be an economics teacher said a family spends only 41 per cent of the monthly income for food and the rest is spent on clothes and to pay utility bills.
He said this is what is computed by the Colombo Consumer Price Index which works out the average income of a family and their spending patterns.
The minister said his argument was based on sound economic principals and he could prove it any time.
‘Dinamina’, the flagship Sinhala daily of Lake House group has an acting editor appointed, following the promotion of the predecessor as the consultant editor for all publications.
Associate editor Gamini Jayalath, also an actor in tele dramas, has been posted to the position on an acting capacity, said editorial director Seelaratne Senarath.
However, a member of the ‘Dinamina’ editorial said they were unaware of Mr. Jayalath’s appointment to succeed Mahinda Abeysundara on a temporary basiss.
The editorial member also said she saw Mr. Abeysundara in the editor’s seat late into the night yesterday (Mar. 27).
According to Lake House sources, the consultant editor position given to Mr. Abeysundara is only a nominal one, and that the change in the post is due to recent trouble at the newspaper.
Udeshika Hettiarachchi of Visakha College became 1st in the GCE O/L –exam 2011while Anusha Perera of Science College, Matale became ranked second, Bharatha Madushanka of Darmaraja College, Kandy shared 3rd place with Dilmi Vamalarathne of Pinnawala Central College. Education Ministry said.
Eleven trade unions of the minor staff of Sri Lanka Health Department have organized as the Joint Trade Union Committee and decided to stage a strik.
The minor employees of all hospitals island wide will participate in the strike except the employees of Lady Ridgeway Children Hospital, De Soysa and Castle Street Maternity Hospitals and Cancer Hospital where they were to continue normal services due to humanitarian concerns, the trade union say.
The minor employees of the hospitals demand an increase in uniform allowance, a five-day work week, and payments for work on holidays among others.
This is Balumgala programme regarding the Health strike and The rights of people.
Addressing a religious function in Anuradhapura yesterday (Mar. 25) in view of his birthday, minister Mervyn Silva said his son Malaka will soon enter politics.
However, the minister’s son was absent at the function.
At a recent protest at Kiribathgoda town, the minister introduced Malaka as the future organizer of the Kelaniya electorate. It was the first function he had attended following a clash with a group of member of Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha.
“I am the one who chased Poddala Jayantha from Sri Lanka,” Minister Mervyn Silva declared in public today. He also warned Sunanda Deshapriya, Nimalka Fernando, Poddala Jayantha and Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, who he claimed were ‘traitors,’ that he would break their limbs in public.
Speaking during a protest in Kiribathgoda, against the UN resolution on Sri Lanka, the controversial Minister claimed that senior Journalist and prominent media rights activist Poddala Jayantha fled the country because of him.
He also accused Poddala Jayantha, Sunanda Deshapriya, Nimalka Fernando and Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu of going to Geneva and giving evidence against Sri Lanka.
“If you get caught to me in Sri Lanka, I will break your limbs in public. I say this responsibly. No matter who conspires against me,” he openly declared.
Uproar reigned in courts today (Mar. 23) when suspects in the double murder at Kotte Rajamaha Vihara were brought for a hearing.
A gathering of around 100 people who were gathered at the Gangodawila magistrate’s court threatened and cursed the two suspects. They asked lawyers not to represent the suspects in the killing of two resident monks at the temple early this week.
According to a complaint received by Mirihana Police, the lawyer for the suspects, Sumith Silva, was manhandled by the angry crowds.
The police spokesman said an investigation was underway into the incident.
A disrobed monk, identified as M.A. Suresh, and Basnayake Nilame of a Galgamuwa temple Harsha Manju Sri Manikeerthi are the accused in the double murder.
They were ordered to be remanded until April 05 by chief magistrate Ajith M. Masinghe.
They are due to be produced for an identification parade on April 19.
Around 90,000 Sri Lankan men on average are in the habit of having unsafe sex with prostitutes, STD prevention unit’s Dr. Chandrika Wickramasuriya said.
According to her, around 63 per cent use condoms in sexual relationships at lodges, while the figure stands 70 pc and 82 pc at massage clinics and with street prostitutes respectively.
Dr. Wickramasuriya says that most men exposed to STDs are in the age group 30 to 44 years, while there have also been cases involving youths as young as 15 years.
Sri Lanka Cricket today said that it will stand by its cricketer Tillakaratne Dilshan over media stories linking him to a Bollywood actress.
A story in a local newspaper, ‘Daily Mirror’, has claimed that the little known Bollywood actress, Nupur Mehta, whose name surfaced in match fixing allegations, has claimed to have been dating Sri Lankan batsman Dilshan.
According to the daily, the starlet had admitted to have met some international cricketers in a casino during Twenty World Cup in England in 2009.
But SLC said that it condemns all the accusations made in the article of the newspaper.
“We have read with concern the recent media reports pertaining to a Sri Lankan national cricketer, T M Dilshan and regret to note that during a period, such as this, where T M Dilshan is performing to the best of his abilities, representing Sri Lanka in all formats of the game, with a Test series against England about to commence on March 26th 2012, such a story has been given wide publicity in the media,” SLC statement said.
“Sri Lanka Cricket stands by T M Dilshan at this critical time and condemns the accusations/comments made in the said article,” the statement further stated.
British newspaper ‘The Sunday Times’ in its sting operation on a bookmaker had alleged that bookies used Bollywood starlets as honey traps to lure players into match-fixing. The said starlet was later revealed to be Mehta.
The Consumer Affairs Authority yesterday said it would consider the requests by the two leading LP gas companies for the increase of gas prices soon.
CAA Chief Rumy Marzook said the matter was being discussed now and the new prices would be gazetted when the matter was finalized.
In the wake of fuel price hikes last month Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando said gas companies would not be permitted to increase prices saying the people should not be burdened any further.
However Laugfs and Litro had requested the CAA to increase the price of a 12.3kg gas cylinder by Rs.209 and Rs.175 respectively.
Little known Bollywood actress Nupur Mehta, whose name surfaced in match fixing allegations, has claimed to have been dating Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan.
The starlet has admitted to have met some international cricketers in a casino during T20 world cup in England in 2009. However, she has vehemently denied having anything to do with match fixing and even threatened to sue the English daily that had carried her blurred image along with the damning report on fixing.
Speaking to Mail Today, she said, “`I was seeing Dilshan and went to the casino with him but that does not suggest I am involved with match-fixing in cricket.”
“That is my personal life and my relationship cannot be made the basis of such a big allegation. I am a single, attractive girl and have the liberty to move around in any part of the world and interact with whoever I want to,` she was quoted as saying.
Nupur's new revelation comes in the wake of her recently admitting to The Sunday Times, London, that she met some international cricketers by chance at a London casino during the T20 tournament. Before that, she had denied knowing any cricketer and had even threatened to sue the daily for carrying her blurred image with a match-fixing report.
"I was seeing Dilshan and went to the casino with him but that does not suggest I am involved with match-fixing in cricket. That is my personal life and my relationship cannot be made the basis of such a big allegation. I am a single, attractive girl and have the liberty to move around in any part of the world and interact with whoever I want to," Nupur told Mail Today over the phone from Mumbai on Tuesday.
She also refuted having shared a room with anyone at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, where the casino in question is located. The Sunday Times report had claimed that during the T20 tournament she was living at the hotel with a certain businessman who could have been a bookie.
"I was living at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington around the time but I wasn't sharing a room with anyone. I stayed at the hotel for a few days and paid my own bill at the rate o£500 per day. I have bills to prove my claim," Nupur said.
"All I knew is that several cricketers were living in the same hotel but I did not know who they were. There was no way for me to know even if Sachin Tendulkar was living in the room next to mine," she claimed.
Asked about the international cricketers she met at the London casino, Nupur categorically refused to take names. "I can mention Dilshan's name because I was seeing him at the time. Why should I drag the names of other cricketers in the whole issue? I had just met them socially," she countered.
She ALSO took a jibe at The Sunday Times report, saying: "I have been told they plan to do another story on me and my lifestyle, which is not right. I think this journalist Mazhar Mahmood (who broke the match-fixing story) is in love with me. He has made me famous in more than 16 countries with his report and I have been getting calls from places in South Africa, New Zealand and other countries.
"I have no fear because I am clean. That is the reason I am freely talking to the media. If I was involved, I would have fled the country just like the two bookies whose names have cropped up. Still, it's amazing how a journalist has cooked up the story."
One would, of course, be curious as to why Nupur was staying in London - that too at the very hotel where the cricketers were putting up - at the time of the matches?
"My brother lives in the UK and I often visit the country to meet him. I have worked as a model in several European countries and I often visit London for shopping," she said.
Nupur, a little-known Bollywood starlet - who did a forgettable role in the 2005 Sunny Deol dud Jo Bole So Nihaal, shot to fame last week after the London daily ran a photo of hers from the film with the face pixellated alongside a story about match-fixing during the 2011 India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final and the English county matches.
"My question to the British newspaper is, so what if I was in theLondon casino mentioned, and so what if I met cricketers there? This does not prove I was involved with fixing matches in any way," Nupur said.
"They (The Sunday Times) should back their claim with substantial proof. If they claim I was interacting with cricketers to fix matches, why don't they at least produce my pictures with cricketers as evidence? Why did they use a blurred film still of mine in their report? The picture they used is freely available on Google," Nupur said.
The starlet has hired two lawyers to file a defamation case against the British paper. Delhi-based Gaurang Kant and Associates will file a case while a Londonbased lawyer will sue the daily in the Civil Court of London for character assault.
"Their allegations only strengthen my legal case against the paper. They have been discussing my personal life in print despite the fact that it has nothing to do with match-fixing. I will be filing a case because the newspaper has used my picture not once but twice after lifting it off the net," she said. Meanwhile, Nupur has come up with a conspiracy theory on why the British daily carried such as report.
"The truth is that England, the country that invented cricket, is ashamed of the fact that it could not perform well in the World Cup. The country lost miserably and now they are cooking up these match-fixing theories," she claimed.
The main suspect in the murder of two monks at Kotte Rajamaha Vihara was arrested in the early hours of this morning (Mar. 22), said police spokesman SP Ajith Rohana.
The man has been identified as a disrobed monk living in Embilipitiya.
On the day prior to the killings, he had arrived at a construction site at Boralesgamuwa to obtain a job with the intention of entering the temple in the night.
Another suspect in the double murder on March 20 was arrested by Maharagama police on the following day. He is a 26-year-old man employed at an insurance firm and also a Basnayake Nilame of a temple in Galgamuwa.
Upon being questioned, he has first told police the two monks were killed over an Embilipitiya land dispute.
Later, he has claimed murder had to be committed as the two monks had identified him when he had gone to the temple to steal a gem-studded golden sword belonging to the temple.
A frequent visitor to the Kotte Rajamaha Vihara, he had arrivedthere around 9.45 pm on the day of the murders, while the main suspect had already been in hiding.
The main suspect had knifed Pitigala Jinasiri Thera in the lavatory, and then struck Boralesgamuwe Gunaratana Thera, and both assailants had then fled the scene.
One monk was already dead when area residents arrived, and the other was pronounced dead upon admission to hospital.
Senior DIG in charge of the north western province Pujith Jayasundara has been immediately transferred to the Police Headquarters in Colombo.
He will be in charge of training in the traffic crime division, said police spokesman SP Ajith Rohana.
His transfer will be effective from today (Mar. 22) on the orders of IGP N.K. Illangakoon.
Mr. Jayasundara’s place as the DIG of the NWP will be taken by senior DIG Gamini Nawaratne.
An area politician and a three wheeler driver have been arrested for having abducted and raped an 18-year-old girl in Pujapitiya.
The victim of the nightlong ordeal complained to Ankumbura police, after which the arrests were made.
The suspects are Nalinda Rajanayake, a UPFA member of Pujapitiya Pradeshiya Sabha and Chameera Jayasanka alias Kalu Malli.
According to police, the girl was kidnapped on March 19 and kept at a house belonging to the politician at Keppetipola.
There are more suspects due to be arrested over the incident.
Kandy ( Maha Nuvara ) is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka.
It is both an administrative and religious city. It is the capital of the Central Province (which encompasses the districts of Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya) and also of Kandy District. Kandy is the home of The Temple of the Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa) one of the most venerable places for the Buddhist community of Sri Lanka and all around the world. It was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1988.
These are some photos of Kandy city and Dalada Maligawa taken 100 years ago.
Balumgala Team busted a multi-million rupee scam involving the sale of doctorates by a group of monks and a layman at a Temple in Kandy earlier this week. The head of this scam is idetified as S.AKariyawasam has been doing this for sometime.
Neth team has used a Balumgala team member to do the business with his. So when the day was set the correspondent drove to Kandy where he was directed to a studio. There he was handed over the cloak and other garments that are worn before receiving a doctorate. Later he was photographed.
Thereafter the journalist was taken to another location in the Kandy town where he met a layman identified as S. A. Kariyawasam who directed him to keep the cash in six separate envelopes to be given to the Buddhist Monks.
Later he was taken to a Buddhist Temple in Mahaiyawa. There he met the chief incumbent who identified himself as Ven. Indrajothi Wansanlankara Maldeniya Vajirana who later handed over the certificate.
This came despite an assurance by the Higher Education Ministry that it was preparing a policy framework that would prevent bogus education institutions from granting qualifications.
The Ministry also banned 10 such education institutions from giving bogus doctorates and degrees. The decision to ban the institutions was taken following recommendations by a Cabinet sub-committee appointed to look into the matter.
They were the
Sri Lanka Vishwa Samadhi Foundation Jathika Sammaana Upadhi Sarasavi Aayathanaya Sri Jayawardenapura Commemoration Foundation (Battaramulla) Dharmapala Olcott Commemoration Foundation International University for Alternative Medicine Sri Jayawardenapura Lanka National Cultural Foundation Multi National Peace Organisation All Communities United Organisation Samaja Subha Saadhana Acharya Upadhi Aayathanaya and Saamadhaana Vinishvayakara Maanava Himikam Sanvidhaanaya
Popular Sri Lankan actor Anton Jude had passed away due to a heart attack. He made his debut on stage and went on to play unforgettable characters in films like Bahubuthayo, Rankewita, Numba Nadan Apata Pissu, Sikuru Hathe, Rosa Kele, Ethumai Methumai and several other popular movies.
He acted in tele dramas Punchi Rala, Sabanda Pabilis, Sakisanda Elias and others. His song ‘Ais Amma Gundu (Una Puruke Balu Walige) was also a popular hit among the masses.
Two Buddhist monks of the Kotte Rajamaha Viharaya were murdered by unidentified gang inside the Rajamaha Viharaya, Kotte yesterday night.
The two monks were identified as Ven.Pitigala Jinasiri thero and Borelasgamuwe Gunarathana thero.
Meanwhile, four suspects were arrested in connection with the double murder while they were hiding in the area, police said. One monk had died on the spot while the other succumbed to his injuries on the way to Kalubovila Hospital.
The incident shocked the Kotte area and people upon hearing of the incident had rushed to the temple in their hundreds. There was a tense situation near the temple as a result. Police said grievous injuries had been caused to the two monks who had been residing in the temple for a long time. The incident had taken place at around 10.00 pm.
According to initial police investigations, the assailant had come in a van, entered the temple premises, committed the crime and fled the scene.
Police inquiries were underway at the time this edition went to press. The victims have been identified as the Ven.Boralesgamuwe Gunaratane Thera (65) and the Ven. Pitigala Dinasiri Thera (75). The Ven. Dinasiri had been found lying with bleeding wounds inside the washroom.
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