May 13 (GDI) The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will be establishing the Sri Lanka – Vietnam Business Council in June 2010 as the 21st Business Council under its aegis. This initiative was proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a recommendation of the Second Session of the Sri Lanka – Vietnam Joint Commission held in August 2009 to further expand trade relationships between Sri Lanka and Vietnam. more..

May 13 (LP) Gold prices rose to the highest level for this year, in Colombo yesterday, in line with a sharp price increase in global markets. It was also reported that Gold prices in Colombo are likely to be in the range of Rs.34,000 (8 grams or one sovereign) to Rs.35,000 this week, at a prominent jewellery. Global gold prices shot up on Tuesday as investors sought a safe-haven investment amid more..

May 13 (LeN) It is learned through media of new appointments been made to key positions by removing the previous Board Directors and the Chairperson. A change is needed but it should be for the interest of SLT being a Key economic center which utilized the most advanced sophisticated Communications facilities with Information Technology for the nation and also being the Government own leading business enterprise today. more..

May 13 (DN) You can have the greatest batsman or the greatest bowler, you can have a Michael Jordon or a Kobe Bryant, but a great team will not only have a set of skilled athletes, but players with a good work ethic, with great heart and more than anything else endowed with the ability to work together for the betterment of the team. Turn to the sports section of any newspaper and you will find that the T-20 World Cup dominating the relevant page. more..

May 13 (LP) Board of Investment (BOI) Chairman Jayampathi Bandaranayake said the target for FDIs this year was US$ 1 billion. He says the biggest challenge facing the country is to harmonise the development activities of different ministries, public institutions and other agencies both in the public sector and private sector, including corporate entities, while ensuring that foreign investments continue to more..

May 13 (LG) This is not the outburst of a defeated candidate desperately looking out for convincing reasons for his defeat, that will satisfy his disappointed voters. This is the expression of genuine feelings of a man who had been devotedly serving his country and its people for more than half a century. This comes as an explanatory note to clear the prejudices created in the minds of the voters about me by false and malicious propaganda of the TNA more..

May 13 (LP) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered to appoint special commission to submit recommendation with the intention of including a special pension scheme for employees of Samurdhi Authority. The committee compromises of seven members and it is headed by Deputy Minister of Economic Development Ranjith Siyambalapitiya. Minister Basil Rajapaksa, on an observation visit to the Samurdhi Authority yesterday said that more..

May 13 (LeN) A top rung officer of the Police Dept. told Lanka e news that the appointment of 127 Police Inspectors as Assist. Superintendents of police (ASPs) by Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse is in violation of SII -5 of the Establishment code. Of the 127 promoted, 93 of the new ASPs are promoted on seniority with effect from 2010-05-09. This top rung Officer said, among them, some have very serious problems in regard to their seniority. more..

May 13 (LG) a. Duty of GOSL: This is a sine qua non! Never waver, dither or vacillate in what to do with the captured LTTE camps or complexes or what to do in the north and east. As far as the LTTE training camps and complexes are concerned; if it was an LTTE jungle training camp it should be developed to be next SLAF’s Morawewa camp or SLN’s Andankulam camp, to more..

May 13 (Island) The UNP headquarters has advised all Opposition UNP councillors in the Central Provincial Council to cooperate with the council’s newly appointed Opposition leader K. K. Piyadasa. Following protests by a section of the Opposition against the appointment of Piyadasa as Opposition Leader, all members of the council’s Opposition were summoned to Srikotha on Wednesday. more..

May 13 (LT) Work has begun on a construction of a row of lavatories at the lion feet of Sigiriya which is a world heritage. The residents in the area have opposed the move. The residents have asked with whose authority the construction was being carried out. The construction is being carried out by the ‘Central Cultural Fund’ with a Japanese firm. The Department of Archeology is supervising the work. more..

May 13 (LP) There is much speculation about the oncoming Constitutional Amendments. Discussions are underway and soon they’ll be before Parliament. A major change could be the establishment of a 2nd chamber in the manner the Senate performed, under the Soulbury Constitution (1948). The then Senate comprised 30 members 15 elected by nomination and 15 by the House. Eminent personalities and Minorities were represented in a fair manner in the House. more..

May 13 (LNP) Mega reforms needed to resurrect UNP The UNP is in need of urgent oxygen to stop its downward slide in its electoral fortunes UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekara told the Daily News. He said mega scale reforms should be introduced to the party from the bottom to the top to come up with a new image to challenge the other parties. He charged that there were elements within the party who want the status quo to remain. more..

May 13 (LNP) Victory has a thousand fathers and defeat is an orphan, it is said. If the UNP had won the April 8 parliamentary election, there would have been more than one thousand people to claim the credit for it. But, today, all of them have denied paternity of the unwanted child, Debacle, whom they have left at their leader s doorstep. UNP strongman and MP Ravi Karunanayake has, as we reported yesterday, said that changes within UNP should begin at the regional level. more..

May 13 (DN) Deputy Solicitor General Wasantha Bandara yesterday questioned the claims of retired General Fonseka to be a war hero when he had actually accused the Government of violating international laws applied to battle. He said this when retired General Sarath Fonseka was produced before Colombo Chief Magistrate Janaki Rajaratne. He said although the suspect was the Chief Commanding Officer in the victorious war he subsequently made more..

May 13 (DM) Northern lawyers who have refused to back down from their two-week long boycott - to protest the threat and intimidation levelled at the Chavakachcheri Magistrate - are expected to meet Chief Justice Asoka de Silva to try and resolve this dispute. A group of Lawyers representing Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullaitivu and Chavakachcheri will meet the CJ on Friday to obtain an assurance from him that the judiciary would not face any intimidation or interference. more..

May 13 (DN) Japan has always been in the forefront of the international community willing to assist Sri Lanka in resettling Internally Displaced Persons and rehabilitating the war ravaged North and East. Last year Japan granted 128 million US dollars for this purpose, Japanese Ambassador Kunio Takahashi said yesterday. Of this aid 28 million US dollars was a grant for humanitarian assistance more..

May 13 (DN) Work is nearing completion on construction of the ultra modern fish market complex in Peliyagoda. The facility will be opened next month as the Peliyagoda Modern Central Fish Trade Complex, said Minister Rajitha Senaratne. The complex will have the control over 30 per cent of the country's total fish production, said Senaratne. The Minister was speaking to the media during an inspection visit to the complex under construction. more..

May 13 (Island) Deputy Minister of Resettlement Vinayagamoorthy Muralidharan on Monday directed authorities to suspend the activities of two NGOs working in the Batticaloa District following revelations that they had been working to ‘personal agendas’. Speaking to The Island from Batticaloa yesterday, the Minister said he was had directed the authorities to suspend the activities of the two NGOs. more..

May 13 (LT) Taking measures to bring the real war hero, who dedicated most of his life for the liberation of the Motherland, gave leadership to the war against terrorism that existed for more than thirty years and brought victory to the Nation, shed his blood thrice for the country, on the first day of the ‘National Heroes Week’ is very regrettable said Counsel Nalin Ladduwahetti. more..

May 13 (DM) The City Traffic Police said yesterday only a light tint that cuts out a maximum of 20 per cent sunlight would be permitted and as such all other levels of tints would have to be removed. They made this clarification when requested to explain how the new regulation would be enforced as there was much confusion among vehicles owners. The police said no tints would be allowed on the two front shutters of a vehicle. more..

May 13 (Island) The SLAF provided the strategic firepower needed by the combined security forces during eelam war IV. Unlike in previous offensives, the SLAF played a pivotal role in the overall campaign causing massive damage to the LTTE first in the East and then in the Vanni and Jaffna theatres. Jets launched from Katunayake air base bombed LTTE training facilities, artillery pieces, and mortar firing positions, underground strong points, Sea Tiger assets and their Muhamalai frontline. more..

May 13 (DM) The Government has declined to offer the chairmanships of the Parliamentary Committees on Public Accounts (PAC) and Public Enterprises (COPA) to the Opposition, which the main opposition UNP cited as a breach of Parliamentary traditions. The two bodies are considered the Parliamentary watchdogs on public finances. Each body comprises 31 members representing all the political parties in the House. more..

May 13 (Island) Colombo Chief Magistrate Champa Janaki Rajaratne yesterday allowed a defence application to hold former Army Commander General (Retd) Sarath Fonseka in Army custody till May 26. General (retd) Fonseka was produced in Court by the CID, under tight security, in connection with an allegation of war crimes he is alleged to have made against the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in an interview with The Sunday Leader more..

May 13 (MoD) SLAF Peace Keepers for Haiti The tenth contingent of SLAF troops scheduled to be deployed in Haiti completed their training at the United Nations Peace Keeping Operations (UNPKO) Training Center of Sri Lanka Army in Kukuleganga on the 11th of May 2010. These SLAF personnel who belong to all trades will be deployed along with the SL Army and Navy personnel under the UN banner. more..

May 13 (DM) Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mrs. Sumeda G. Jayasena said yesterday that she intended to seek the Cabinet approval next week for the issuance of duty-free vehicle permits for the MPs. Mrs. Jayasena said she would consult the other party leaders in Parliament before taking a decision on this matter. She said the MPs who had completed five years in Parliament would be entitled to this benefit, more..

May 13 (UNP) UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera answering questions, said, if the President and his Govt. can stay put and grab power by blatantly lying the whole 24 hours of the day and devastating the economy of the country, why cant the UNP which speaks the truth and has always developed the country’s economy while in power emerge victorious at elections? more..

May 13 (AFP) Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara was giving little away when asked if he would unleash mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis against England in the World Twenty20 semi-final. Mendis was missing from the Sri Lanka side that beat India by five wickets at the Beausejour Stadium here on Tuesday to book their place in Thursday's knockout match. England have little experience of playing the unorthodox finger and wrist-spinner, more..

May 14 (TN) Parvathi Velupillai, mother of LTTE leader Velupillai Pirabaharan, has been admitted to the Valvettithurai hospital in Jaffna, Wednesday evening. Parvathi amma, denied entry to Tamil Nadu and deported back to Malaysia earlier, was brought down to Sri Lanka earlier this week and stayed at a lodge in Colombo in a bedridden state. Parvathi amma was taken to Jaffna from Colombo Wednesday and was hospitalized last evening. more..

May 14 (CI) Kevin Pietersen marked the birth of his first son by steering England into the final of the ICC World Twenty20, as he continued his imposing run of form with an unbeaten 42 from 26 balls in a comprehensive seven-wicket victory. Back in the side after his paternity dash back to England, Pietersen build on the hard-hitting efforts of Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb, who added 68 for the first wicket in eight overs more..

May 14 (LBO) Sri Lanka's investment promotion agency will re-assess its strategy following the end of a long drawn out separatist war with plans for a stronger focus to attract investments from the United States and Europe, officials said. The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka now has a five-year corporate plan. But a 30-year war ended last year and a re-shuffled administration is in office after the ruling coalition was re-elected in April. more..

May 14 (GV) A year after the defeat of the LTTE the Sri Lankan government announced that it will be relaxing some of the Emergency Regulations (ER) that have been in place during the conflict. This is a welcome move by the government. However, there are signals from the government that the ER and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) will continue in some form or the other. There is little doubt that both the PTA and ER have significantly improved the physical security of Sri Lankans more..

May 14 (LBO) India's is keen to push head with a trade and services liberalization deal with Sri Lanka which was scuttled by protectionist forces in the island on the brink of signing, a media report said. There is already an Indo-Lanka Free Trade Arrangement which had liberalized a range of traded goods but a broader deal called the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) would also have opened trade in services. more..

May 14 (TN) Jaffna magistrate A. Anantharajah Thursday directed the police to obtain the statement of Ms. Yogeswari Patkunam, Jaffna Mayor of the ruling UPFA on the issue of the advertisement published by Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) which was counted as contempt of court, sources in Jaffna said. The police were further directed to submit a report based on the statement when the courts takes up the case 17 May. more..

May 14 (LG) Wars are invariably fought for the acquisition of land. The separatist war between the LTTE and the security forces in our country is no exception. However a false claim to acquire territory cannot and will not succeed just as much as falsehood cannot and will not succeed to overshadow the truth in the long term. With regard to territorial claims made by the LTTE the word ILAM (Eelam), comes into much prominence. It is, apparently, being used to connote the impression of “a land of the Tamils”. more..

May 14 (National) A year after government troops crushed Tamil separatist guerrillas and ended 26 years of civil war, a political solution addressing the root causes of the ethnic conflict still eludes Sri Lanka, analysts say. The slow progress in addressing Tamil grievances has already opened dangerous political space to pro-separatist Tamils living abroad. more..

May 14 (LG) Whatever you may say the bulk of Sri Lankan Tamil people will live in Sri Lanka in an undivided country. The destiny of Tamils is inextricably inter-twined with that of the Sinhalese. The LTTE has caused irredeemable harm to the Tamil people. Now we have to face bitter realities and pick up the pieces and get along with life. The Tamils in Sri Lanka are a battered and shattered people. At the moment it is a case of “we dont want alms. Just call off the dogs”. more..

May 14 (WB) The World Bank today approved three projects totaling US$108 million for Sri Lanka, consisting of US$50 million for the North East Local Service Improvement Project; US$40 million for the Higher Education for the Twenty-First Century Project; and US$18 million for the Sustainable Tourism Project. “It is one year, almost to the day, since Sri Lanka’s nearly three decades long armed conflict ended,” more..

May 14 (AFP) Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said the team had no-one else to blame but themselves after a seven-wicket World Twenty20 semi-final loss to England here on Thursday. Last year's losing finalists were all but out of the game after being restricted to 128 for six, having lost their first three wickets inside five overs after Sangakkara won the toss at the Beausejour Stadium. more..

May 14 (NF) Just as many were celebrating the news about the discovery of the child kidnapped in Kelaniya on Sunday, the disappearance of yet another child has come to light. A one-and-a-half-year-old boy from Palliyawatte in Hendala, Wattala has gone missing. It has been two weeks since Sithum Sathsara’s parents have been eagerly awaiting the return of their youngest son. Sithum went missing while at home with his grandmother on the 4th of this month. more..

May 14 (LP) Seventy nine years old Parvathi Velupillai is a partly paralyzed, diabetic, hypertension patient. she, the widow of a late junior public servant of Sri Lanka that hailed from an ordinary family of Velvetithurai, Jaffna was (would you believe?) a threat to national security of mighty India, that boasts about the forth biggest Army of the world. This woman lived with her husband for nearly two decades in India without being a security threat before 2002. more..

May 14 (PA) Poachers, trigger-happy farmers, gem miners and a combination of other unfortunate or sometimes avoidable incidents leave a host of elephant cubs and baby elephants orphaned each year. A few decades ago, the ones lucky to be alive would be taken in by temples or private owners. The ones not so fortunate would die of starvation, or would become prey to other animals. more..

May 14 (DM) The newspapers reported sometime ago that Japan’s Yashashi Akashi who was the peace representative at the Sri Lanka’s peace process has been proposed as a member of the panel of experts to be appointed by United Nations (UN) Gen. Secretary , Ban Ki-Moon in relation to Sri Lanka’s (SL) war crimes. When the spokesman for the UN Secretary General addressed a daily Press briefing, he was questioned by the media about this appointment, he did not at once reject it. more..

May 14 (DM) Disorganised, erratic and slow pace of resettlement and rehabilitation of internationally displaced persons (IDPs) in the war torn regions of the country were pointed to be one of the main hurdles in taking the Sri Lankan peace process forward.This was the view of speakers from Sri Lanka at an international seminar on Taking Sri Lankan Peace Process Forward held in New Delhi, India, today. more..

May 14 (SO) Where ever you go in Sri Lanka, you are never far from a beggar. But begging is not a social phenomenon unique to Sri Lanka. Beggars can be seen in the capitals and major cities of even the most advanced countries. Poverty - and the inability to find work (unemployment) are the main causes for begging, anywhere in the world. We focus on this subject this week in the light of the recent ban on begging in public transport. more..