May 10 (DN) The Far eastern region is regarded as the birthplace of modern broadband. Much enthusiasm took place in this region in the recent past due to the introduction of high speed broadband Internet. The speed that is coexistent in broadband had virtually shortened the distance between countries and people. Data started to flow right across the world at lightning speed by connecting millions of people living in different parts of the world. more..

May 10 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa expressed his disagreement with the proposal to re-open the main road by the Sri Dalada Maligawa for vehicles. Calling on the Mahanayake Thero of Asgiriya Chapter, the most Venerable Udugama Sri Buddharakkitha Thero, the President said that numerous requests were made to him for the re-opening of the road passing the Sri Dalada Maligawa to vehicles. more..

May 10 (LB) Health authorities were of the view that there was a dengue epidemic in the island, as health authorities have not taken necessary measures to combat the epidemic. During the last four months 13,000 people were infected with dengue fever and 75 of them have died. Meanwhile, recently officials of the dengue eradicating programme met Dr.P.B.Jayasundara, secretary to the treasury and requested for Rs.200 million to eradicate the dengue menace. more..

May 10 (Island) The Central Bank is engaging commercial banks that are charging high rates of interest on loans, much too high compared to the low interest rate environment in the economy, while depositors are being offered much lower rates for their deposits as they continue to maintain their profitability and interest margins at high levels. more..

May 10 (LT) The report presented by the Central Bank for the year 2009 carries errors and statistics that cannot be accepted says Dr. Anula Dias, a former senior head of the Bank. Participating in an interview with a private TV channel Ms. Dias said despite stating there was a 5.6% development in the construction sector, the import of raw material necessary for construction sector has been reduced by 24% and local production of such material too has been reduced. more..

May 10 (LP) The police have begun to crack down on vehicles that have any kind of tinted glass in the side windows. Tinting of the rear or hatch window would be allowed. Regulations were sent by the Defence Ministry to inform vehicle owners and drivers that only pure white glass should appear in the front left and right glasses. Most of the vehicle owners have questioned the move as the security situation in the country had improved dramatically since the war ended a year ago. more..

May 10 (NF) The Colombo Fort Magistrate ordered the police to arrest all the suspects identified using the video footage of the attack on the head office of the Sirasa Media Network and produce them before court. Fort Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne issued this order when the police produced 14 of the suspects in the case to ocurt today. more..

May 10 (LNP) Books are inspiring as is well known. As much as the spoken word that has changed the history of mankind, the written word has made epoch-making changes in human civilisation. Adolf Hitler employed his fierce oratory replete with febrile intensity to electrify his audiences and inspired war ravaged Germany to regain its economic prowess and military might, though subsequently his megalomania plunged that country into a disastrous conflagration and chaos. more..

May 10 (LNP) Sri Lanka being selected to host the upcoming International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards is one of the major successes of the country with the restoration of peace. India, with the world s largest film industry, produces over 1,000 films per annum. This would be an excellent opportunity for Sri Lanka to promote its tourism at an optimal level. more..

May 10 (Island) The JVP yesterday alleged that the country’s situation had taken a turn for the worse since the appointment of a new Cabinet of ministers. JVP parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayaka said President Mahinda Rajapaksa had retained the five most important ministries and the Defence Ministry had taken over the Urban Development Authority for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history. more..

May 10 (DN) UNESCO has pledged to provide technical assistance for establishing an Irrigation and Water Resources Museum, which would depict the ancient hydraulic civilization of Sri Lanka. A delegation of UNESCO New Delhi had discussions with Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva recently on matters of bilateral interest. more..

May 10 (MoD) The Resettlement Ministry will resettle 80 Sinhala families chased from their homes by the LTTE on August 17,1985 in the Madhu area, Mannar district, Minister Milroy Fernando said. A new Divisional Secretariat to bring back civil administration to Madhu was established and opened by the Minister Friday. All families were living opposite the Madhu Road, Railway station over a long period and more..

May 10 (LNP) The Police Headquarters Crime Division arrested over 25 suspects who allegedly used President Mahinda Rajapaksa s family members names and had collected millions of rupees on the pretext of sending them for employment abroad and providing jobs in the Government sector. Crimes DIG Anura Senanayake who is directing investigations said those taken into custody had no connection to the President s family. more..

May 10 (PTI) The Centre has allowed slain LTTE leader Prabakaran’s mother Parvathi Ammal to visit Tamil Nadu for medical treatment on certain conditions, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said on Monday. The Union Government’s decision has been conveyed through a letter to the Indian Mission in Kuala Lumpur where she is staying at present, Mr. Karunanidhi said more..

May 10 (TC) Q: We have obviously arrived at a crucial juncture, where the government appears to be ready to fully implement the 13th Amendment, but, for there to be an honest and honourable settlement, there must also be some give and take from the Tamil side as well. A: Honesty must come from both sides. The Sri Lankan State also has a responsibility to be honest. more..

May 10 (Island) Kandy District UNF MP, Abdul Cader yesterday said that he was not scared of any disciplinary inquiry by the UNP for voting to extend Emergency in Parliament on Wednesday. Cader was the only UNF MP to vote for the Emergency. UNF’s Nuwara-Eliya District MP, Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam of the Citizens Front and UNF’s Jaffna District Parliamentarian, Mrs. Maheswaran, too, were present in Parliament, though they did not vote. more..

May 10 (DM) UNP MP for the Hambantota district Sajith Premadasa has started a programme called ‘Jathika Jeewaya’ on a similar line to Puravesi Peramuna programme launched in 1970s by his father the late President R.Premadasa, to give a new lease of life to the party at grassroots level by reorganizing the party. MP Premadasa said that, in 1970s, the idea was that the UNP represented the social and economic elites of Sri Lanka, more..

May 10 (LNP) Sitting times of the House of Representatives would soon be changed from morning to evening sessions following a government proposal to that effect taken at Party Leaders meeting last Friday. Party sources told The Island that according to the government s proposal which had been agreed to by other party leaders the time of commencement of the sittings would be changed from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm. more..

May 10 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa told the Mahanayake of the Asgiriya Chapter the Most Ven Sri Udugama Bhuddarakkitha Thera that certain local elements with vested interests were engaged in an attempt to tarnish his and the country’s image by spreading canards abroad. The President said that details of such a conspiracy had surfaced in Venezuela recently. more..

May 10 (DN) Puttalam District Secretary M. Kingsley Fernando warned of the danger of an insect called ‘wax scale’ spreading in several districts. This insect is harmful to horticulture and banana cultivation in Katuneriya and Wennappuwa in the Puttalam District. This insect emits a liquid which affects banana plants. Fernando said using pesticide is not required at the first stage. more..

May 10 (Island) Tens of thousands of pilgrims who flocked to Polonnaruwa on Saturday to worship the historical Somawathiya Chaitiya were stranded by floods. Air Force spokesman Group Captain Janka Nanayakkara said four persons including two women in critical condition due to dehydration had been air lifted from Somawathiya to Polonnaruwa Hospital. more..

May 10 (DM) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has instructed new Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake to take initiatives to establish ‘university parks’ in the country for reputed foreign universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Monash to open their campuses here. Minister Dissanayake told Daily Mirror yesterday the government would start private universities in the country. more..

May 10 (LP) Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena has sought the help of Sri Lanka Air Force to airlift a number of essential drugs from abroad to meet a severe drug shortage at the State-run hospitals under the directions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. State-run hospitals did not have enough stocks of several essential drugs, surgical equipment and medical equipment. more..

May 10 (DM) The government has further delayed a trip by UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe to Sri Lanka after the UN sought permission to facilitate a visit by Pascoe in May to discuss the developments in the country, Daily Mirror online learns. The United Nations had sought permission from the Sri Lankan government to facilitate a visit by Pascoe mid this month more..

May 10 (UNP) In the newly formed Cabinet, four vital Ministries and 78 Institutions coming under it have been grabbed by the President. The four Ministries are the Finance, Defense, planning and Highways, and Ports and aviation services. Some important Institutions where there is a lot of money flow like the TRC which was earlier under more..

May 10 (BT) A year has passed since the end of the Humanitarian Operations, where the Sri Lanka Military defeated the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world. The Defence establishment was given the correct guidance and support, a military strategy was developed that had no room for failure. The Sri Lanka Army, Navy, Air Force, Police and Civil Defence Force all worked together as a team under the leadership of more..

May 11 (BN) Sri Lanka’s exports recovered in February amid investor concern that a sovereign-debt crisis in Europe may damp demand for the nation’s tea and rubber. Overseas sales gained 20 percent to $629 million in February from a year earlier, after falling 3.9 percent in January, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said today. “Sri Lanka will be vulnerable to the situation in Europe and the Euro’s decline,” more..

May 11 (TG) The cricketer’s cricketer performs to the highest levels, with integrity and fairness, being as aggressive as ever, providing inspiration to those who also play at that high level, or want to play there. He must also be approachable, by anyone. Extremely few qualify. Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya does as he talks to Colin Croft in this interview. more..

May 11 (F2F) Combined measures will be taken to meet with the fabric requirements of the country’s textile industry. Thereby, apart from being one of the leading garment producers and exporters, Sri Lanka will also be producing its own fabric to meet its industry’s needs. The government has decided to make Sri Lanka non-dependent on other nations for its fabric requirements. More so, the government also thinks that, meeting the country’s textile industry’s cloth requirements is more..

May 11 (CI) It all points to a final between two high-scoring teams after Basnahira South ran up the highest total in the tournament, 720, to trounce Ruhuna by a massive margin of 449 runs at the Colombo Colts grounds and qualify to meet Basnahira North for the Inter-provincial four-day title beginning at the SSC on May 13. In their run up to the final, Basnahira North had passed the 500-run mark on three of their four outings, more..

May 11 (CI) Sri Lanka's captain Kumar Sangakkara refused to admit that his team were overwhelmed by pace and bounce generated by Australia's fast bowlers on the Kensington Oval pitch, and put down the 81-run defeat to the inability to build partnerships. "We accepted bounce and pace and we are pretty adept at playing that, but unfortunately we didn't build any partnerships," Sangakkara said. more..

May 11 (SLN) Sri Lanka Navy repatriated 16 Sri Lankan fishermen who were released by the Indian authorities,along with three boats of them namely “Thegena”, “Thimina” and “Malintha Putha”at the Indo-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line on 9th May 2010. Sri Lanka Naval Ship Edithara II attached to the Northern Naval Command was dispatched from Kankasanthurai harbour for the repatriation of the fishermen who were accompanied by the more..

May 11 (RTL) A French deminer was killed Monday in Sri Lanka where some 1.5 million mines are still present in the former war zone, said an official of the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD). Dominique Morine, 55, succumbed to his injuries after an explosive device at Iranaiillupaikulam in the northern district of Vavuniya, said Nigel Robinson, program director of the FSD. more..

May 11 (LBO) Sri Lankan Airlines will launch a four-times a week service to Shanghai in July 2010, the third Chinese city in its global route network, the airline said in a statement. The new service will expand the airline's cargo carrying capacity between China and Sri Lanka, with rapid connections in Colombo to Sri Lankan’s global route network, it said. "Sri Lankan’s services to Chinese cities are tailored to pamper Chinese travelers, more..

May 11 (IE) The Tamil Nadu government on Monday said that Nalini, serving life term in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, had made several calls from the mobile phone recovered from her cell in the high-security Vellore prison including to her daughter and the call records are being probed. Law Minister Duraimurugan said the 'Q' branch wing of state police, which is analysing call records of the phone, was further probing into the calls made and received. more..

May 11 (IANS) To stay in the hunt in the World T20 here, India will not only have to beat last year's finalists Sri Lanka by 20 runs in their last Group F match of the Super Eights but also hope that the West Indies lose to Australia. India's chances were virtually over after their loss against the West Indies, but Sri Lanka's 81-run loss against Australia, more..

May 11 (AD) The UNP reforms committee wants more time to formulate their proposals and the final report will be issued on Monday (17), UNP spokesman Gayantha Karunaratillake told reporters today. The UNP reforms committee is headed by UNP MP Joseph Michael Perera. UNP Western Provincemember Mujibur Rahman speaking at the same press conference said that the alleged ‘illegal’ dwellings brought down in Slave Island more..

May 11 (AN) Like the rest of the world, Sri Lankans yesterday celebrated ‘Mother’s Day” with gifts, flowers, cards, visits and dinners. However, in some parts of the country, especially in the Eastern Province, it was a day of mourning for many widows. About 49,000 widows in the province were affected by the civil war, 25,000 are under the age of 25 and at least 12,000 have three children or more. more..

May 11 (IL) The annual research symposium of the University of Colombo will be conducted this year under the theme, "Knowledge Economy and Higher Education." The opening session of the Symposium will be held on the 12th of May, 2010 at the V.K. Samaranayake Auditorium, University of Colombo School of Computing, starting at 08.30 a.m. with registration. more..

May 11 (GDI) The full text of the address to the diplomatic corps by the President of Sri Lanka released by the Presidential Secretariat today (May 10) follows; Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for your presence this afternoon which I value very much. Let me at the outset also thank you for the messages of felicitation sent on behalf of your countries and more..

May 11 (TA) FIVE Australia-bound asylum-seekers who perished at sea set themselves adrift in a fatal attempt to find a passing ship after their wooden fishing boat ran out of fuel, food and drinking water. As the remaining 59 Sri Lankans from the boat arrived yesterday at Christmas Island after being rescued and the Australian Federal Police began investigating the incident, new details emerged about the tragedy. more..

May 11 (TN) Jaffna magistrate Mr. Anantharajah ordered Monday the second suspect Ilango alias Regan, Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) Deputy Mayor of Jaffna, for alleged involvement in threatening Chaavakachcheari magistrate K. Pirabakaran, to be placed in Jaffna remand prison until 24 May, when he was arrested and produced in Jaffna magistrate court, sources in Jaffna said. more..

May 11 (TN) Suresh Premachandran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district parliamentarian, accused Sri Lanka Government for purposely encouraging crimes in Jaffna peninsula such as abduction and killing for ransom, robbery, sexual abuse of lonely women so that it could continue to hold the peninsula in its authority, in a press meet held Monday at his Jaffna office. more..

May 11 (LT) The parents of students of Sidhartha National School at Weligama have complained to the police asking them to mediate in getting a solution to the acute shortage of teachers at the school. They have mentioned in their complaint that authorities have not taken any measures to solve this issue. The parents lodged this complaint at Weligama Police Station and the OIC, acting on the complaint by the parents, more..

May 11 (CI) India's women booked their place in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 by surging past Sri Lanka in their winner-takes-all Group B encounter in Basseterre. Chasing 145 for victory after fifties from Sulakshana Naik and Mithali Raj, Sri Lanka stumbled to 73 for 9 in their 20 overs, with Diana David claiming 4 for 12 with her offspin. With a victory apiece against Pakistan and a defeat to the in-form New Zealand, more..

May 11 (LG) Now that the government faces such embarrassment regarding the disaaperance of Prageeth Ekneliyagoda , it is making certain persons from the governments propaganda unit to come out, not with any factual information about the incident but only some “theories.” This is just about as ridiculous as it can get. Faced with this embarrassment and being without any defence against the accusations levelled against itk, more..

May 11 (LG) During his Thimpu powwow with the Indian Premier, President Mahinda Rajapakse promised to appoint an experts panel to study the underlying reasons for the Eelam War. Will India take this latest, somewhat nebulous, pledge seriously, despite the many preceding broken promises? Post-war, Delhi has little ability to push Sri Lanka towards a devolution-based political solution. more..