May 30 (LBO) Sri Lankan share prices recovered on Wednesday, after nearly a week of sustained selling, with buying interest in selected blue-chip counters, brokers said. The broader All Share Price index gained 1.07 percent or 51.86 points to close at 4,865.12, while the more liquid 25-stock Milanka Price Index added 14.66 points or 0.33 percent to end at 4,327.97. Nearly half of Wednesday’s turnover of 673.9 million rupees came from conglomerate John Keells Holdings PLC, more..

May 30 (Reuters) Central bank expects the rupee to stabilise at current levels of around 132 to the dollar without intervention, a senior official said on Wednesday, abandoning its earlier stance where it had expected the currency to settle at a higher level. The rupee was trading around 132 per dollar on Wednesday. Both the central bank and the treasury had said only recently that they expected the currency to stabilise below 125 a dollar. more..

May 30 (Island) Many in and out patients seeking treatment at the Colombo National Hospital are badly affected due to non-availability of vital tests such as lipid profile, Troponin Cardiac Ensyme Tests TSH-T4–T3, Thyroid Hormone Tests, C-reactive Protein and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Patients recommended to undergo those tests have to get them done outside. The MRI tests were restricted to one test per week in one ward, Dr. Jayantha Bandara alleged. more..

May 30 (MW) IBM has an established base in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, but is experiencing increasing demand for its solutions and services in other high growth cities like Hambantota in the south of the country. "IBM has been doing business in Sri Lanka since 1962. In recent years we have experienced increased demand for our solutions and services as businesses and govt organizations across the country turn to IT to transform operations and increase global competitiveness," more..

May 30 (CT) “Wickremesinghe noted that the UNF was hoping to maximize the publicity and media coverage of the announcement by spreading out the unveiling of Fonseka over several days. Wickremesinghe noted that the UNP did not give serious consideration to the idea of Fonseka running as a UNP candidate because they did not want the public to think that Fonseka was running as a front for Wickremesinghe. more..

May 30 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s central bank has warned public against engaging in illegal foreign exchange transactions, which promises to give higher returns. The monetary regulator said individuals and firms are advertising their services in print, online and electronic media to lure unsuspecting investors. “These agents.. often exhort, people to trade in foreign exchange, depositing an initial investment in Sri Lanka rupees, with a company, proprietorship concern or more..

May 30 (Island) Sri Lankan Ambassador in Oslo, Rodney Perera said that an exhibition highlighting LTTE atrocities and military operations to clear the Northern and Eastern Provinces of terrorism had been well received by the expatriate Tamil community. "We were pleasantly surprised by their reaction. Although some felt uncomfortable with the decision to display photographs of LTTE atrocities, as there hadn’t been any such exhibitions in more..

May 30 (DM) The family of a shopkeeper stabbed to death in a botched robbery have expressed their 'shame and sadness' after his killer was acquitted of murder, despite graphic CCTV footage of the moment a knife was plunged into his throat. Father-of-two Mahesh Wickramasingha was stabbed to death in a struggle with Sam Harrison, 19, after he attempted to foil a hold-up on his store in Huyton, Liverpool, last year. more..

May 30 (CG) Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka is expected to file a petition at the national Human Rights Council (HRC) to regain his civic rights, sources close to Fonseka told the Colombo Gazette. The former Army Commander lost his civic rights after he was jailed in 2010 and it was not restored after his release from prison last week. Fonseka is expected to form an opposition coalition to campaign against the govt of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. However by losing his civic rights more..

May 30 (DM) A complaint was made today to the Colombo Chief Magistrate alleging that the Akkaraipattu Magistrate had illegally released a suspect on bail despite objections raised by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, officials said. The suspect is the officer in charge of the Akkaraipattu Bus Terminal and had solicited and accepted Rs.250 from bus driver to sign the monthly running sheet. more..

May 30 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka on Wednesday opened the track for 15th Asian Junior Athletic Championships, said the Sports Ministry. A senior official from the Ministry of Sports told Xinhua that track for the major international sports event at country's premier stadium in capital Colombo which has obtained the international standard was opened. The Asian Athletic Association delegation which observed the renovated Sugathadasa stadium and more..

May 30 (Island) A downward fuel price revision could be expected in the next few weeks if the current oil price trend continued, Petroleum Industries Minister Susil Premajayantha said yesterday. He said they were closely watching the downward trend in international oil prices. "Crude oil steadied at around $91.21 a barrel, but we cannot make any price adjustment immediately because the government placed orders for crude oil at a higher price about 35 days ago, " more..

May 30 (DM) Lanka IOC one of two suppliers of fuel to the local market has made a fresh request to the government for a price hike in fuel, its General Manager Subodh Dakwale confirmed. He said that the reason for the request for increase was twofold. “We have been continuously suffering losses as a result of the price that we are currently selling fuel at. The escalation of international fuel prices in the past few months and the depreciation of the rupee have been more..

May 30 (DM) The United States yesterday reiterated that it looks forward to a 'speedy and transparent judicial process' regarding ex LTTE combatants and all other detainees held in various prisons. The US Embassy in Colombo made this remark in the wake of a campaign by some political activists to secure the release of LTTE suspects and the government planning to set up three separate courts in Anuradhapura, Vavuniya and Mannar to try them. more..

May 30 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's annual inflation rate may have risen to a nine-month high in May as a weakening rupee pushed up prices of imported goods, while the govt's decision to pass higher oil price hike to consumers pushed up fuel and electricity prices. The annual inflation is expected to have risen in May to 6.5 percent, its highest since August, a poll of 13 analysts showed. Prices rose 6.1 percent in April from a year ago, the third straight month of speeding inflation. more..

May 30 (DM) Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella reacting to the United States call for a ‘speedy and transparent judicial process” regarding the ex LTTE carders said that the Government has an action plan regarding the issue and are working according to it. Minister Rambukwella asked if these quarters urging for speedy release are implying that the government move away from an established system and adopt another haphazard one when dealing with the Ex-LTTE cadres. more..

May 30 (LBO) Sri Lanka's exports dropped 10.2 percent to 835.7 million US dollars in March, a month that saw the steepest depreciation in years, while imports grew just 3.9 percent to 1,697 million US dollars, pointing to a slowing economy. The central bank said industrial exports dropped 10.9 percent to 624.2 million US dollars with apparel dropping 11.7 percent to 319.4 million US dollars. Agricultural exports dropped 10.1 percent more..

May 30 (Island) Mohamed Mahroof has been appointed as the Opposition Leader in the Colombo Municipal Council after 19 of the 20 Opposition members endorsed his appointment. All 18 Opposition Councilors, who were present at the meeting, had endorsed Maharoof’s appointment while Madhu Madhawa Aravinda who was not present had given his consent. Another member had been overseas at the time the decision had been taken. SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena has more..

May 30 (GDI) Sri Lanka's Channa-Upuli Performing Arts Foundation brought fame to the country by winning the first place at the 17th Berlin Karneval der Kulturen (Carnival of Cultures ) held from May 25 to 28. They competed with 99 international dance troupes comprising around 5000 dancers, for an audience of one million in addition to the television viewers across Germany. Sri Lankan pageants led by the renowned Channa Upuli Dance Group from Sri Lanka and members of the more..

May 30 (Island) Former Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya will be the prime attraction on the Season 5 of "Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa," the celebrity dance reality show on Indian television. The show starts airing on June 4. It is shifting from Sony Entertainment Television to Colors. The swashbuckling Sri Lankan World Cup-winning cricketer will appear with Bollywood celebrities such as Rekha, Madhuri Dixit, more..

May 30 (SM) UPFA MP Vidura Wickremanayake has challenged the accuracy of the statistics of the recent population and housing census. The son of former prime minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, He said no enumerator had visited him to collect information about his family. He wanted to know as to why he was being treated as an outcast in this manner. However, the divisional secretary should have claimed payments, saying that MP Vidura Wickremanayake’s home has been visited, more..

May 30 (SM) US ambassador Patricia A. Butenis visited Wasgamuwa National Park on May 27 to mark the 10th anniversary of an electric fence in its elephant conservation area. The US Fish and Wildlife Service collaborated with the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society to fund the fence around the park in 2002 that protects the people of the village of Weheragalagama from wild elephants. In her address at the anniversary function, ambassador Butenis thanked the people of more..

May 30 (HRW) The United Kingdom should immediately suspend deportations of ethnic Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka and review its policies in assessing these claims, Human Rights Watch said today. The next scheduled deportation of Tamils from the United Kingdom to Sri Lanka is due to take place on May 31, 2012. Investigations by Human Rights Watch have found that some failed Tamil asylum seekers from the United Kingdom and more..

May 31 (NS) Tall and lanky, the streaky mix of black and grey tousled head of hair, the mustachioed upper lip and the flowing sideburns from which flow a long beard, the immaculate black and white dancing garb with bow; long hands and supple rubberized like body deftly waltzing across the floor gives the flourish of a Latin American. It is a picture of a born artiste nourished by mellowed years at work. It articulates the slogan, ‘passion and only passion’ that the man claims has orbited him in a fascinating and more..

May 31 (NS) We have come to a stage in history that we need to put things in its perspective by not shying away from demanding actions on two key areas that now needs to be investigated. It is only by investigating who the LTTE was, what LTTE was involved in, the players who sponsored and supported the LTTE over the years, LTTE war crimes over 3 decades, victims of LTTE terror (civil and military) as well as investigating the war crimes, rape, looting and indiscriminate more..

May 31 (CT) The granting of Presidential pardons to targets of politicized prosecutions in Sri Lanka has now acquired a political significance which further undermines the Rule of Law in this country. These events are typically characterized by indictments being filed or other legal processes such as a court martial being initiated on extremely flimsy grounds against individuals who have incurred the displeasure of the govt. more..

May 31 (LB) The peninsular political culture which began with the occupation of the northern tip by Indian migrants who settled down as colonists in the 12th-13th Centuries, can be periodised broadly into four distinct phases, focused exclusively on the internal imperatives, leaving aside the external factors, including the post-independent period that impinged on Jaffna: 1. The feudatory chieftains of Jaffna – 19 in all from Kalinga Viyebahu (1240-1256) to Sankili Kumaran (1615-1619) who claimed to have descended from a royal lineage more..

May 31 (GV) With our Government busy defending itself from war crime allegations, protecting the sovereignty of the country and advising the common man to say ‘no’ to Google, the Tamil leadership and, of course, the Tamil Diaspora dreaming of some mode of foreign intervention and drooling over the latest Channel 4 documentary, the Muslim Community deeply wounded by the recent developments in Dambulla, and the common man constantly worried over the ever increasing more..

May 31 (LB) Highest among military top brass in the North, Major Gen Mahinda Hathurusinghe, the security forces commander for the Jaffna, says he does not foresee a large reduction of security forces in Jaffna in the immediate future. In an interview with Ranga Jayasuriya, he says troops had already reduced their presence by 11,000 men. The troop reduction issue assumed special significance when the president addressing more..

May 31 (CT) The Zionist Jewish entity of Israel which has been sneaking into Sri Lanka time and again only to have been expelled, found a firm foothold in Colombo now. The island’s growing ties with Israel have become cause for serious concern among many especially within the beleaguered Muslim community which fears that this may spell disaster for them. This fear emanates from Israel’s long record of hostility towards Muslims and its crucial role in the more..

May 31 (SL) Our comments last week , ‘Who won the War?’ on C. A. Chandraprema’s book ‘Gota’s War’ based only on an excerpt (published in the Daily News) was spot on. We said that the excerpt in the Daily News appears to convey the impression that the war was won by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother Gotabhaya but our conviction as a journalist having watched the 30-year-old war from the side lines was that the Rajapaksa brothers cannot be crowned as the sole more..

May 31 (WSJ) Until November, when the country’s first highway opened, the only way to this historic port was via crowded trains or an even more crowded two-lane road. Despite local aversion to the Southern Expressway, which links Galle to the capital city of Colombo, the new highway marks a turning point in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry. With its white-sand beaches and archaeological sites, the country is perennially named one of Asia’s next travel hotspots. more..

May 31 (ST) The release of former Army Commander and defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka who had been incarcerated for more than two and a half years comes as one of the boldest moves made by the present regime, at a time when its democratic credentials are being savaged overseas over human rights issues. The jailing of the General was seen in many quarters, both local and foreign, as an act of political revenge. That stigma has to a great extent been lifted more..

May 31 (ST) Before the meeting with the Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on May 18, 2012, Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris made some remarks which included the following: “The most striking developments have really been in the northern province of Sri Lanka where the economy is growing by as much as 22 % in comparison with the average for the rest of the island, which is about 8 %. Now this is the result of an emphasis on the development of infrastructure to a degree that more..

May 31 (Island) The Houla massacre in Syria on Friday shocked the world. It left 108 civilians dead including 49 children and 34 women. Although the identities of the perpetrators are not known, the blame for the heinous crime has naturally been pinned on the Assad govt. Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Bulgaria lost no time in expelling Syrian diplomats in what is described as a coordinated blow to the Assad regime. more..

May 31 (Island) Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) President Asanga Senewiratne told media personnel yesterday in Colombo that he expected Sri Lanka to make the line-up of teams at the 2023 IRB World Cup at the signing of a five-year sponsorship deal between Dialog Axiata PLC and the SLRFU. Senewiratne said that he wished to see a rapid boom in rugby in the country where, apart from making it to the rugby world cup, he wished to see the national team getting more..

May 31 (IL) On 27th February Ambassador Oshadhi Alahapperuma presented his credentials to the President of Iceland, H.E. Mr Ólafur Ragnar Grimsson, as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Iceland at the President’s house in Reykjavik. While in Iceland, the Ambassador also paid courtesy calls on the Minister of Fisheries & Agriculture Mr. Stengimur J. Sigfusson as well as the Permanent secretaries of the more..

May 31 (DN) Princess of Lanka (A- 543 passenger ship) is scheduled for re-commencement for whale watching from June 2 on completion of the vessel's refurbishment work having met the requirements of the new clientele in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka Navy Whale Watching Project Manager Commander Kosala Wijesooriya said. According to him, this passenger vessel played a pivotal role in transferring thousands of security forces personnel, civilians and goods between Trincomalee, more..

May 31 (DN) Kurunegala Chief Magistrate and Additional District Judge Kavindra Nanayakkara acquitted and discharged Minister Johnston Fernando and five others who were charged on three counts with causing damage to the property of Deputy Minister Jayaratne Herath on Febraury 24, 2004, nomination day. Judge Nanayakkara in her lengthy order stated that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against the accused and therefore the court was acquitting the accused. more..