May 11 (CT) The Colombo High Court will be hearing the trial of UNP MP Ravi Karunanayaka and three others, who were charged on 10 counts of an indictment issued against them by over conspiracy to deposit millions of dollars sent by convicted American Billionare Raj Rajaratnam in violation of exchange control regulations today. Accordingly, Colombo High Court Judge Sunil Rajapakse issued order for them to appear in court today. They had deposited 2 million dollars, more..

May 11 (DM) UNP yesterday requested the government to remove the present Chairman of National Savings Bank (NSB) as he had violated the Banking Act by getting the bank to invest in The Finance Co Ltd (TFC) which is a loss making financial institution. UNP MP Dr. Harsha De Silva, who was speaking during the debate on new regulations imposed under the Strategic Development Act, in Parliament said the NSB chairman should be asked to resign or he should be removed from the post. more..

May 11 (AD) Criticizing the govt’s decision to prevent student transfers among national schools for Advanced Level classes, the UNP today accused the move of being another ploy to enroll students for popular schools according to the preference of politicians. Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena had announced that student transfers among national schools for Advanced Level classes have been prevented by the Ministry of Education through a circular issued. more..

May 11 (DM) The govt today admitted that the controversial share deal between the National Savings Bank and The Finance Company did not conform with laid down procedure of the Finance Ministry and as such Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundara had suspended the transaction. Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene said Dr. Jayasundara was inquiring into the questionable purchase by the NSB of a 13 per cent stake in the TFC at about Rs.50 a share while the market value was nearly Rs.31. more..

May 11 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka's doctors from state hospitals on Friday called off an island wide strike after authorities promised to meet their demands. Navin Soyza of the Government Medical Officers Association said the strike against the government's failure to pay promised allowances was called off after a negotiation with the government. "The discussion we had with the Health Ministry officials was successful and we decided to call off the strike," Soyza said. more..

May 11 (CT) The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Thursday arrested two persons suspected to be part of a Sri Lankan drug cartel and seized 3.3 Kg of heroin from them. They were intercepted and apprehended minutes before they boarded a bus at the Koyambedu bus stand. The contraband was found concealed in a travel bag, agency sources said. Based on a specific tipoff that a gang was procuring drugs from central India, particularly villages along the Madhya Pradesh more..

May 11 (CT) The Nugegoda Magistrate and Additional District Judge, Ajith M. Masinghe directed the Colombo Police Crime Division to investigate death threats against Hirunika Premachandra and report to the Court on September 14. The judge issued the above directive in response to a request made by the Police to grant a date to submit a report on the present status of the investigations. The Police also told the Court that a particular newspaper had reported on a ploy engineered more..

May 11 (LBO) Sri Lanka's central bank kept its key policy rate unchanged at 9.75 percent saying monetary conditions are tightening and credit growth will moderate, eventually helping the exchange rate. Sri Lanka's exchange rate came under pressure and the Central Bank lost foreign reserves as loan growth and imports were accommodated and accelerated with central bank credit (printed money) after sterilized forex sales started in August. more..

May 11 (ABC) A Sri Lankan woman and her two boys, aged six and nine, have been placed in Villawood Detention Centre by a negative ASIO assessment after spending a year in the community as approved refugees. EMMA ALBERICI, PRESENTER: A Melbourne-based family of refugees has been torn apart by a negative ASIO security assessment. A Sri Lankan woman and her two young sons have been taken into Sydney's Villawood Detention Centre after spending more than a year living in the community. more..

May 11 (GDI) All arrangements have been made to distribute pass books among 1,583,961 Samurdhi beneficiaries tomorrow after depositing in banks the increased subsidy of Rs. 3,751 million which was approved on April 1. Under the guidance of the Minister Basil Rajapakse the increased Samurdhi subsidy has been deposited in the accounts of the recipients through 1,044 Samurdhi Bank associations island wide. The increase of subsidy was announced in the last budget. more..

May 11 (BBC) Canada says it expects Sri Lanka to make a full investigation of the murder of a Canadian citizen in northern Sri Lanka last week. Reports say Anthonypillai Mahendrarajah, of Sri Lankan Tamil origin, was killed when he went to reclaim property lost during the war. His properties were said to be in Kilinochchi, the town that became the headquarters for Tamil Tiger rebels. more..

May 12 (NS) Sri Lanka is blessed to have a political leadership that is committed to governing the country based on Buddhist principles, especially ones dealing right action, right living, right speech and right intention. With such enlightened leadership, the country may well be on the way to becoming the new Bodhgaya. There is a bit of work to be done, though. All narratives begin from the given that Sri Lanka is a Sinhala Buddhist country. This has been established as a fact by more..

May 12 (DBS) With hopes, if not indications, of an early revival of some form of consultative process on power-devolution in the air in Sri Lanka, there is an accompanying need for contextualising some of the well-entrenched political positions on arguments in the matter. Call it names, or call it by any name, the Thirteenth Amendment is in the statute book and will be the bench-mark for a future discourse, changes in perception and amendments to the Constitution. more..

May 12 (SO) Sri Lanka Air Force, ever dedicated like the wings that protect the motherland has been a steady comrade not only for Sri Lanka Army and the Navy but for all the citizens. They have always been efficient and effective in air combats as well as on ground missions, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) has not gone out of track being productive in all what they do. Following the glorious victory Sri Lankan Forces achieved over more..

May 12 (ST) This year the celebration of Vesak takes place against the backdrop of an incident, the memory of which must surely cloud the tranquility of this sacred day for many Buddhists. In Dambulla two weeks ago an unruly mob led by Buddhist monks stormed a mosque, yelled abuse and prevented the Muslim devotees gathered there from conducting their prayers. This was their way of demanding that the mosque be removed from its present location, alleging it had no place in the 'Dambulla sacred area.' more..

May 12 (DBS) The UNP contested the elections for the Eastern Provincial Council under the name and symbol of the SLMC and under the leadership of Hakeem who has been a Minister in the Govts of Kumaratunga, Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa and is presently a Minister in his multitudinous cabinet. Everyone knew full well that the purpose of the exercise was for the SLMC to `profit’ from the votes of UNP supporters and for the UNP to `profit’ from the votes of more..

May 12 (SO) Have you heard about a beggar who won the first prize of a lottery to the value of Rs. 956,527 and the money was later cheated by the lottery seller himself. The incident was reported a few years ago from Panapitiya, in the Kalutara District. When Sunday Observer visited Kalutara during the weekend to see the livelihood of lottery sellers who were engaged in a very steady profession, a long standing lottery seller, 42-year-old Sarath Gamage revealed more..

May 12 (DM) Vesak is over and the crowds who apparently ha and ho’ed regarding the beautiful decorations and pandals and visited each and every dansala now perhaps replete with all the goodies that satisfied mind and body have now returned home thanking the powers that be for granting an extra holiday before they face the reality of the continuously escalating cost of living. Perhaps politicians should wake up to the fact that festive seasons will not detract the more..

May 12 (Island) The govt is in a mighty hurry to go for snap PC polls in the Eastern, North Western and Sabaragamuwa Provinces. Its plan, however, has run into a legal snag as the judiciary has halted the dissolution of the NCP council. What's really up President Mahinda Rajapaksa's sleeve? Pressure is building up against the govt owing to its corruption, abuse of power, profligacy and inability to curb the escalating cost of living. People are at the end of their tether. more..

May 12 (DM) Both would dread should the other change character – fear for their own self-preservation. Possibly in this queer impasse the odd man out in the pack of jokers is Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR), faing fast with his style of lukewarm governance disturbing urbanites but held high on expectation among the rural majority. If MR is out of the equation, the country will be without a semblance of a leadership. Not that there is much still left intact. more..

May 12 (NS) Former Sri Lanka wicket-keeper/batsman Amal Silva who resigned from his post as national selector early this week said that he will not assign himself to serve cricket in future because of his business commitments. Silva, 51 was a member of the four-man cricket Selection Committee headed by Ashantha de Mel appointed in January this year but has been unable to attend most of the selection meetings as he has been abroad on business. “I thought it is not fair more..

May 12 (DBS) The enthusiastic celebration of the Sri Lankan govt’s determination to withstand international pressures to investigate the human rights abuses during the last phase of war is misplaced, and its refusal to implement the recommendations of the LLRC is sadly self-destructive. The controversy over the UNHRC exposed the failure and limitations of both the govt and the global human rights community to effectively address human rights issues and more..

May 12 (TC) In Sri Lanka, treasure-hunters are becoming as ubiquitous as white-van abductors, and as omnipotent. Last week, as the country prepared to celebrate Vesak, treasure-hunters descended on Villachchiya in Anuradhapura. The residents claim that they heard the sound of mechanised digging throughout the night. In the morning they informed the police and ventured out in numbers to catch the nocturnal criminals. more..

May 12 (CT) It has been reported that US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh have ‘agreed to work closely in expediting the Sri Lankan peace process (sic)’. That ‘decision’ had been taken when the former visited the latter in New Delhi on Tuesday. Interesting. First of all, neither Clinton nor Singh are representatives elected by the people of Sri Lanka. Nor were these individuals mandated to ‘expedite’ any process that concerns Sri Lanka. more..

May 12 (CT) An axiom of professional journalism is that comment is free but facts are sacred. Another is that a story must have balance, in that facts must be checked by getting in touch with all sides to the story, notably the main protagonists. I fear that a Colombo newspaper has failed to observe either norm, in a story entitled ‘(Un) diplomatic spring cleaning’ in the column ‘People and Politics’ carried prominently on May 10th in its editorial page, under the by-line of (Ms) Darisha Bastians. more..

May 12 (Island) The Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging (SLIP), the key organisation representing the Sri Lankan packaging industry today announced the forthcoming ‘LANKAPACK 2012’ expo which will uncover vast potential of Sri Lanka’s packaging industry and parallely unveil the latest international products. ‘LANKAPACK’ was launched in 1982 to appreciative industry players, and, rapidly grew over the years. more..

May 12 (FT) Sri Lanka is to strengthen ties with Kazakhstan with Cabinet approving the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries during an upcoming formal visit, a Govt spokesman said on Thursday. On a proposal made by External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, Cabinet has given its approval to sign a MoU with the Republic of Kazakhstan during his proposed visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana said. more..

May 12 (Island) An owner of a Video Centre, searched for pornographic CDs, on a tip off on Wednesday by the Vice Branch of the Vavuniya police, was found to be in possession of video clips of LTTE propaganda. Police spokesman SP Ajith Rohana said that the suspect was being detained at the Vavuniya police to find out how he gained the CDs of LTTE battle field scenes, training camps etc. The police had obtained a 72-hour-detention order from the Magistrate’s Court in Vavuniya. more..

May 12 (Island) The Govt yesterday rejected a private member’s motion, moved by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake in Parliament, to publicise the names of those who had borrowed over Rs100 million from State banks and defaulted payment. Minister Rauff Hakeem said that the confidentiality rules governing banks does not allow such information to be made public. MP Karunanayaka said if such names are made public, there would be a better chance to recover the loans. more..

May 12 (DN) The Southern Expressway, which runs from Kottawa to Pinnaduwa, has earned a record income of Rs 2.9 million on Vesak Poya Day (May 5) alone. Deputy Minister Nirmala Kothalawala, said that the Expressway had been put to its maximum use on Vesak Poya Day benefitting a large number of people. It was reported that a large number of Southerners had visited Colombo to view Vesak attractions via the Southern Expressway, while many residents from Colombo had travelled more..

May 12 (DN) A group of senior citizens of Anuradhapura making representations to the Daily News said that the city area, including tank and road reservations, have been contracting, resulting from large scale encroachments which are on the increase. They complained that no law-suits have been filed against these encroachers and that court orders for demolition of unauthorised buildings and evacuation of encroachers have never been executed in most cases. In addition, more..

May 12 (NS) The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB), Janaki Kuruppu says the recent statement issued by leading tea exporting firm, MJF Group, implying that the ‘tea hub’ concept mooted by the Tea Exporters Association (TEA) has been rejected by the govt was misleading and that a decision on the matter has not yet been taken. “We are still evaluating the pros and cons of the proposals given by the TEA and a neutral committee has been more..

May 12 (Island) Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa yesterday contradicted an answer provided by Ports Deputy Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena on details provided about the houses damaged as a result of the blasting of rocks to construct the first phase of Hambantota Harbour. UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa, while noting that a number of houses had been damaged as a result of dynamite explosions, brought it to the notice of the deputy Minister that compensation for those families more..

May 12 (Island) The government has decided to introduce one colour for all vehicles transporting school children, Minister C.B. Ratnayaka told Parliament yesterday. He was responding to question raised by UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa during the oral question session. The minister also admitted that certain vehicles used for transporting school children were not in a proper running condition and that lives of the school children, who travel in such vehicles, are not safe. more..

May 12 (Hindu) The death of an Indian worker at a private steel plant in Sri Lanka on Tuesday has exposed the callous manner in which workers are brought to the island-nation, and trapped in factories from which there is no escape. A 29-year-old Odisha worker, Manas Kumar Mallick, of Jajpur's Barapada village, who was working as an assistant fitter at Confab Steel Private Limited in Muddaragama in Gampaha district, was electrocuted in an accident more..

May 12 (CT) Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa yesterday reprimanded Colombo district UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake during the verbal question and answer session and cautioned him to adhere to Standing Orders. The incident occurred during the second round of the question and answer session. Karunanayake was not present in the House during the earlier parts of the session and could not pose his first question. As the time of one hour usually allocated for the oral question session had almost more..

May 12 (ST) A recently concluded Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) legal case filed by the local unit of Microsoft was the first of its kind to go all the way to Sri Lanka's Supreme Court, according to the company's Corporate Attorney Jonathan Selvasegaram. The landmark case, filed against Unity Plaza computer dealer Media Centre (since renamed Shad's Digital), was for "infringing on Microsoft's copyright in Windows XP Professional and Office Enterprise 2007 by pre-installing more..

May 12 (CT) The TNA strongly believes that the govt is ridiculing the Sinhalese by alleging that a LTTE flag was brought to a govt May Day rally in Jaffna. TNA MP., Suresh Premachandran told Ceylon Today after the govt told the international community that they were able to successfully eradicate terrorism, through this statement the govt was unwittingly admitting an LTTE presence. “The govt stated that they completed the war against the LTTE and more..

May 12 (DN) The govt has purchased the highest paddy harvest of 100,000 metric tones spending Rs 2,820 million during the Maha season this year for the first time in history, Minister Johnston Fernando said. The highest paddy harvest of 26,000 metric tonnes has been purchased from the Anuradhapura district for the Maha season. He said the quantity of paddy purchased from Ampara, Polonnaruwa and Hambantota districts was 20,000 metric tonnes,19,000 metric tons and 12,000 metric tonnes. more..