May 26 (LB) The leader of the PNM Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera says that the onus is on the government to hold an inquiry and ascertain the truth regarding the alleged political asylum provided by the Norwegian Embassy to 12 suspected LTTE cadres. The veteran political analyst said that the alleged incident has not come as a total surprise considering how closely Norway had maintained links with the LTTE during the height of the North-East conflict. more..

May 26 (GV) The ongoing trade union action by the Federation of the University Teachers’ Association (FUTA) has drawn the attention of the entire nation. Cutting across the ethnic boundaries which have hitherto divided them on many issues of national importance, especially the minority question, the academic staff of the universities in the North and East have joined hands with their counterparts in the South in a common struggle for pay hike. more..

May 26 (GV) Universities, academics and university students have been hogging the limelight in the last several weeks in unprecedented ways. The Rajapakse regime’s systematic destruction of the higher education system in this country has run into a few impediments. University academics from around the country have emerged from a partly self-induced exile and have finally started making themselves heard. On the other hand, the preposterous scheme of sending new entrants to more..

May 26 (Guardian) Tillakaratne Dilshan, who leads Sri Lanka for the first time against England in Cardif on Thursdayf, has followed up Sri Lanka Cricket's refusal to tour Pakistan in October by vowing that he will never play cricket again in the country. Dilshan's quick-thinking did much to help guide the Sri Lanka team coach to safety after it came under terrorist attack en route to a Test in Lahore more than two years ago, a gun battle that left more..

May 26 (UCAN) Sri Lankans have once again begun praying to the Blessed Mother at the national Madhu Marian shrine during May. More than 10,000 people attend a special Mass and prayer service on May 22 at the shrine in the jungles of northeastern Sri Lanka. The shrine, which was shelled many times during the country’s three decade long conflict has re-opened although removing of land mines in the area is still continuing. The venerated Marian statue was removed in April 2008 to more..

May 26 (UCAN) Brisbane Archdiocese’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) has helped launch a campaign to encourage the Australian Govt to support UN recommendations on accountability for human rights violations in the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war. Among the recommendations are that the Sri Lankan Govt would issue a formal apology for human rights violations during the conflict and the provision of reparations to survivors, the Catholic Leader reports. more..

May 26 (National) When Kavith, his 19-month-old son, comes and taps his knee to ask that he get the train working, Kumar Sangakkara laughs. With winning the bottom line, sportsmen tend to be tightly wound. But though his time in charge of the Hyderabad-based Deccan Chargers has not gone well, Sangakkara exudes calm as he leans back on a couch in the business centre of the team hotel. Little Kavith and his twin sister, Swyree, have given Sangakkara a new perspective. more..

May 26 (TC) The two extracts from the Joint Communiqué issued by the External Affairs Ministers of India and Sri Lanka following the recent visit of the latter are especially significant for Sri Lanka in this postwar, post –Panel period and into the future as well. They underscore what at times is obscured in the din of sloganeering and propaganda. The most important bilateral relationship for Sri Lanka is that with India, whether some of us like it or not. more..

May 26 (Independent) In five Test matches since the greatest international wicket-taker of all time retired, Sri Lanka have yet to win. Says it all doesn't it? Without Muttiah Muralitharan and his guaranteed six wickets a match (there were 10 in 22 of them) they are sailing without a paddle. Those figures are slightly misleading. True, Sri Lanka have not won a Test since Murali had Pragyan Ojha caught at slip by Mahela Jayawardene last July, but more..

May 26 (GV) I was elated to take delivery of my copy of The Cage by Gordon Weiss yesterday. Having pre-ordered it off Amazon UK, I fully expected it to be held up by Customs officials in Sri Lanka, given the incendiary issues the book is anchored to and its author, an erstwhile employee of the United Nations (UN) in Sri Lanka. As a friend quipped, they probably thought it had something to do with the Dehiwela Zoo. more..

May 26 (TN) Genocidal Sri Lanka’s ‘reconciliation’ in Vanni, abetted by its international partners is building huge Buddhist stupas there, while keeping Eezham Tamil natives in cloth tents. If building Buddhist establishments and new Sinhala-military townships in Vanni is the job of the state and re-building houses for the war-ravaged people and providing them with ‘milk and bread’ are the jobs of others and the diaspora, what is wrong in Eezham Tamils and more..

May 26 (TN) The northeast coast of the Jaffna and Mullaiththeevu districts of the country of Eezham Tamils, from Kat-koava’lam in Point Pedro to Mullaiththeevu is encroached in recent days by hundreds of Sinhala fishermen supported by occupying Sri Lanka’s Army and fisheries officials. Exploitation of the catch of sea cucumber for the season is said to be the reason and many more Sinhala encroachers are expected soon, news sources in Jaffna said with more..

May 26 (USE) The Embassy of the United States of America -- together with the American Chamber of Commerce, the National Intellectual Property Office, and the Sri Lanka Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI)--hosted a workshop in Jaffna on May 22 titled "Protecting Sri Lankan Families from Counterfeit Drugs." The workshop was attended by 100 participants including pharmacists, police officers and health officers in the region. more..

May 26 (Island) SLFP-led governments need no external enemies to destroy them. They are their own enemies if the suicidal manner in which they have ruined things for themselves in the past is any indication. The incumbent government is apparently doing its damnedest to live up to the SLFP's reputation! The proposed private sector pension scheme (PSPS) has run into stiff resistance, though the government is determined to implement it, come what may. more..

May 26 (DM) Among many Tamils, the Tamil National Alliance has become a stigma on the Tamil community. So are the Diaspora. Some may disagree. TNA, with it s superiority complex has created more troubles within communities than bringing them together. Last week the venerable TNA said it would request Russia and China to urge the Sri Lankan government to work out a long lasting political solution to the national question, MP Suresh Premachandran said. more..

May 26 (Sportal) ICC has replaced Sri Lanka's controversial umpire Asoka de Silva and Australian Daryl Harper with Kumar Dharmasena and Richard Kettleborough. It is belied Harper, whose contract was set to expire in July and de Silva seems to have been replaced because of several controversial decisions which came into light even more with the introductions of the Umpire Decision Review System. De Silva had a chocker of the World Cup in the sub-continent, more..

May 26 (ET) On a starlit night we landed at Bandaranaike International Airport, and thence, the hotel at Negombo. Negombo, a beautiful beach resort situated by a lagoon of the same name on the west coast of Sri Lanka, had been a trading port once ruled by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British. So besides its wonderful beaches, Negombo's beautiful canals and a fort built by the Dutch and churches and houses by the Portuguese are major attractions here. more..

May 26 (AT) Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) at Katunayake is being expanded with the construction of a second international terminal for both arrivals and departures to increase capacity to 13 million passengers a year from the present six million. A new domestic terminal is also to be built and the entire runway and taxiway are to be relayed while the railway will be extended up to the cargo centre to allow containers to be shipped to the airport by rail. more..

May 26 (AT) Cricket was considered a several decades ago as the game of the elites and even in Sri Lanka only children of the elite class studying in the schools such as Royal College, St. Thomas, St. Peters, St. Joseph dominated the cricket. This supremacy was broken by the star class players such as Arjuna Ranatunge, Aravinda de Silva and Roshan Mahanma and several others entering the cricket arena from the main Colombo schools such as from Ananda College, D.S.Senayake College and more..

May 26 (WB) The 21st century may have arrived in the developed world where walking into a room and hitting the light switch is second nature. But, in Sri Lanka of the nineties, many villages were still in the darkness of the 19th century. Kerosene lanterns and hurricane lamps lit up the darkening sky. Children struggled to finish studying and businesses closed at dusk. The simple act of going out at night was not possible as people were afraid of stepping on snakes. more..

May 26 (Xinhua) The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations has signed a MoU with the Sri Lankan government in order to "speed up the provision of resources to the UN when necessary," a UN spokesman said here on Wednesday. Martin Nesirky, the UN spokesman, told a news briefing that the agreement recently signed between the United Nations and the Sri Lankan govt "was a routine agreement, which the UN has already signed with 89 other member states." more..

May 26 (LB) The trade union action by the Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA) will enter its third week. FUTA wants the authorities to increase their salaries by 100% and if these proposals are accepted the basic salary of a Senior Professor would be increased to Rs 168,000 while a junior lecture’s salary would be increased to Rs 50,000. Although the govt, and especially the Minister S. B. Dissanayake now claims that it is unfair of the lecturers to make such demands, more..

May 26 (LT) Among the players a rumour is spread that the players are found with banned substance taking treatment from the Medical Practitioner of the President. During the recent past athletes as well as the players who participated at the cricket world cup were accused with taking banned substance. The players are suspicious of this treatment it is reported. The particular medical practitioner who speaks about a miraculous ayurvedic treatment was given much more..

May 26 (Island) Former Army Chief Gen. Sarath Fonseka on Wednesday said that he felt he couldn’t work with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, as the latter had doubted his loyalty during a meeting at the office of the Defence Secretary. In spite of proving his allegiance, during his tenure as the Commander of the Army for three years and seven months, the Defence Secretary had dismissed the possibility of more..

May 26 (Island) The TNA left the sixth round of Bi-partisan talks, with the govt yesterday, disappointed as the latter had once again not responded to its draft on devolution, TNA sources said. TNA MP M. A. Sumanthiran said: At every meeting we have been waiting for the government to announce it response to the draft we had forwarded. But, each time we are told that the response would be announced at the next meeting. A TNA MP who wished to remain anonymous said more..

May 26 (DN) Talks between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and university academics at Temple Trees yesterday evening, to find solutions to issues faced by the latter, including those related to salaries, ended on a fruitful note. Representatives of the University Teachers’ Association said that they were fully aware of the situation and the needs of the country at the moment. They said that were prepared to adopt a flexible stance in relation to their demands to find an more..

May 26 (DM) Sri Lanka would appoint a five member panel of judges to initiate fresh investigations into Human Rights and Fundamental Rights violations in the North-East and report back to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRC), officials said. The newly appointed Chairman of the HRC, retired Supreme Court Judge Priyantha Perera said that three members of the five member panel of judges should be Sinhalese and the other two one each from more..

May 26 (Island) The Health Ministry will conduct a disciplinary inquiry against former Medical Supplies Division (MSD) Director Dr. Sarath Weerabandara over reducing the tender board approved quantity of imported drugs. Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena has ordered the inquiry as the MSD Director’s action has allegedly caused a chronic drug shortage in State-run hospitals. OPD and in-patients suffering from kidney diseases, heart problems and cancer had more..

May 26 (Island) In spite of a section of pro-LTTE groups threatening to disrupt Sri Lanka’s cricket tour of the UK, over alleged human rights violations during the war, the British High Commission is confident that there will be no serious attempt to disrupt matches. A spokesperson for the British HC said that they weren’t aware of any protests causing serious disruption. The official said, "Nor have concerns been raised with us over the security measures in place for the first Test. more..

May 26 (DM) The Sri Lankan govt had allowed the Dutch authorities investigating the financial network of the LTTE in the Netherlands to interview former and current LTTE leaders in Sri Lankan govt custody including former LTTE arms procurer, Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP. A senior officer from the Attorney General’s Dept confirmed that the Sri Lankan govt had allowed the Investigating Judge from the Netherlands to interview witnesses who more..

May 26 (DM) A whopping Rs. 8.5 billion is due to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) from various institutions including the Army and the Navy, Minister Champika Ranawaka said in Parliament yesterday. The Minister made this disclosure in response to a question by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake. Mr. Ranawaka said that Rs.989 million is due from trade debtors and Rs. 7.5 billion from street lighting debtors. more..

May 26 (Island) The UNP’s Co-Deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya called on the govt not to isolate Sri Lanka internationally by its short sighted policies, because in the final analysis it was the people who would suffer and not individual political parties. "It is important to open the eyes of the govt to the bitter truth of the danger of being subjected to unpleasant repercussions aimed at our country from the international community, more..

May 26 (GDI) Steps have been taken to construct nine International Sport Complexes in each of the 9 provinces of Sri Lanka. In addition to the provincial-wise Sport Complexes 25 stadiums will also be established on a district basis, either by making improvements to existing sports grounds in each district or by construction of new stadiums. Out of these an International Sports Complex is to be constructed in the Kilinochchi District. more..

May 26 (DM) In a bid to control the stray dog menace, the Health Ministry will set up a stray-dog sanctuary on a two-acre block of land in Anuradhapura, Minister Maithripala Sirisena said yesterday. He said the increasing number of stray dogs was also connected to the rise in the incidences of dog bites and rabies. The minister said according to the latest figures available the stray dog population had hit the 2.5 million mark and it was essential to stop any further increase. more..

May 26 (LT) Presenting a special statement on the joint statement issued on the discussions held between the Minister Prof. G L Peiris and the Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna in Parliament, MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that the sovereignty of the motherland has been placed in danger. As revealed by the joint statement the political, economic and national security of the country has faced an austere danger, more..

May 26 (AT) After 20 years, the LTTE has admitted unequivocally that it carried out the assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. "[The assassination of Rajiv] was well-planned and done with the concurrence of [LTTE chief Velupillai] Prabhakaran and [intelligence chief] Pottu Amman," Kumaran Pathmanathan, or KP as he is better known, said in an interview with CNN-IBN/Firstpost.com. more..

May 26 (NN) All public schools and offices will be closed tomorrow in view of the victory day celebrations to be held at Galle Face Green. Meanwhile a special traffic plan has been arranged in the Colombo city for the Victory Day Parade which is to be held at the Galle Face Green. All heavy vehicles coming to Colombo via Galle Road from 5.00 am onwards are advised to turn to W A de Silva Mawatha in Wellawatte and more..

May 26 (LBO) Cairn India, which has reported a 10-fold increase in March 2011 quarter profit, said it will drill the first test well in the search for offshore oil in the Mannar Basin in August. "Significant preparatory work for the Sri Lanka frontier exploration drilling campaign in the SL 2007-01-001 block (is) completed," the company said in a statement. "A drillship has been contracted with the expected spud date in August 2011." more..

May 26 (DM) We were not prepared to hold further discussions with the govt regarding the private sector pension scheme and would intensify trade union action if the bill was not withdrawn, the Inter Company Employees Union (ICEU) said yesterday. The ICEU said that it would give the govt until Thursday to release those who had been arrested in Katunayake and also to withdraw the pension scheme before they intensified trade union action. more..