May 16 (HT) India outplayed Sri Lanka 97-30 for their second straight victory in the third SABA Championship here at the National Sports Council covered hall today. The 2001 winners had beaten holders Bangladesh 95-39 on Wednesday. It was second loss in three matches for Sri Lanka, who defeated hosts Nepal 80-66. India took control of the match netting 20, 26, 21, 30 in four quarters giving away just four, nine, seven and 10 to their opponents. Sri Lanka’s double figure score more..

May 16 (Vice) The tour bus had far more passengers than seats, but no one around me seemed to mind. Most of the pilgrims were dancing anyway. A boy played drums; a middle-aged woman shook a yellow tambourine. In a joyous frenzy, children, teenagers and adults danced tirelessly in the aisle as the vehicle bounced along one of the few roads of the northeastern tourist trail that has not been reconstructed. more..

May 16 (SL) All-rounder is set to feature in England's summer opener at the Oval on Tuesday, with England's previous t20 international ending in an embarrassing defeat to the Netherlands after crashing out of the World Cup group stage. Sangakkara and Jayawardene retired from international cricket after leading their country to the t20 trophy and Bopara is eyeing a first win of the new England era. "SL are the best at Twenty20 cricket. They're very good at what they do," more..

May 16 (Island) A total of 107 Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala families evicted from their houses down Kandalama Road, Dambulla over 18 months back, on the grounds that it belonged to the Rangiri Dambulla sacred area were still waiting for the alternative land promised by the govt, UNP MP R. Yograjan said. The UDA had asked the 107 families to move out of Kandalama Road after having given them written assurances that alternative land would be provided at Polwatte. more..

May 16 (TS) The longer an immigrant is in Canada, the more likely they are to fail their citizenship test, a govt report says. According to the internal Immigration Department report, applicants who have been in Canada fewer than five years consistently have the highest success rates on the mandatory knowledge test, compared to counterparts who have been here much longer. The findings fly in the face of the Conservative govt, which in February more..

May 16 (DN) This internationally successful homage to the BBC’s most popular sitcom returns to Mount Lavinia Hotel with Dialog being the platinum sponsor, following a sold-out debut season last year. It arrived slap bang in the middle of a 20-country tour which this year also debuts in Malaysia and Iceland. Add to that performances at the UK’s Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, all the major arts festivals and an ongoing residency in London’s West End and guests will see why this return more..

May 16 (DN) A 21 member delegation from Israel visited Sri Lanka in August 2013 on a fact finding mission followed by a delegation to the CHOGM in November 2013 , both of which were organized by Sri Lanka Embassy in Israel. The President visited Israel recently to enhance political and economic ties between the two countries. As a follow up to the above visits the expedition to Israel has been proposed to the SLEDB by the Sri Lanka Embassy in Israel during June 25-28 this year. more..

May 16 (DN) The British govt by allowing the ‘Say No To Sri Lanka’ conference to take place on May 17 in London, condones those who committed serious crimes against humanity. “They are encouraged to carry out their activities,” SLFP Batticaloa chief organiser Arun Thambimuttu said. “The UK should not condone such activities on their soil. This shows the duplicity of the British govt,” he added. He said the British govt more..

May 16 (DN) Economic Development Ministry will conduct mobile services in six more districts soon, Minister Basil Rajapaksa said. He said the number of people arriving in govt offices in the Kurunegala, Kegalle and Puttalam districts to get their requirements attended to has been reduced by 81%, as a result of the mobile services conducted in the three districts. He was addressing a recent awareness workshop for state officials at the Economic Development Ministry auditorium more..

May 16 (Island) Twenty persons who misbehaved in public and breached the peace while being under the influence of liquor on Vesak Day were taken into custody, SSP Ajith Rohana said. They were taken into custody in Uragasmansandiya, Siyambalanduwa and Kalutara. SSP warned that anyone who misbehaved in public either during Vesak or on any other day would be severely dealt with. He said some people tried to create a carnival atmosphere during national religious festivals more..

May 16 (CT) 5 years after the war, Sri Lanka's level of internal displacement is estimated to be around 90,000 persons, according to the Annual Global Review of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). Based on data gathered from Jan to Dec 2013, the IDMC's latest assessment has recorded up to 90,000 IDPs in Sri Lanka by end 2013. It also records that over 480,000 IDPs have returned more..

May 16 (Island) A fire broke out at a plastic bottle manufacturing company in Piliyandala yesterday, reducing the factory as well as an adjacent house to cinders. The police media unit said that the house and the plastic manufacturing company had caught fire around 1.55 p.m. The cause of the fire had not been established at the time of going to press. Fire brigades of Kotte and Dehiwala-Mt. Lavinia Municipal Councils had been rushed to fight the fire the police said. more..

May 16 (CT) Millionaire Gamini Wettasinghe who was arrested on Tuesday (13) by CID for allegedly being involved in a fraud amounting to Rs 8.5 million was released on bail yesterday. In 2012 Wettasinghe had visited a jewellery shop in Colpetty and after purchasing some jewellery, had left allegedly without paying. "He has been arrested for criminal breach of trust with regard to non payment for his purchase", Police Media Spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana alleged. more..

May 16 (Island) Chief Incumbent of the Naga Vihare, Kotte Ven. Madulawe Sobitha categorically denied that he had any ambition to stand for president at a future election. The outspoken monk said his only intention was to bring about religious harmony among all sections of the people. He said religious extremism was a curse that had to be ended for the benefit of one and all. Thera scotched rumours that he was to contest more..

May 16 (Island) People must not forget the selfless sacrifices made by the armed forces to save the country from terrorists, but sadly there were some Sri Lankans who had already forgotten the service rendered by the military and the Police and the Civil Defence Forces, Central Provincial Governor Tikiri Kobbekaduwa at the annual War Heroes day held at Ranaviru Memorial Garden, Mailapitiya. Governor, accompanied by CM Sarath Ekanayake, paid a floral tribute to the memorial. more..

May 16 (CT) The government should provide adequate security to all SLFP members, Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha member Lanka Vijithakumar said. He noted that two UPFA members from the Kelaniya electorate have been killed within the last four years. "Four years ago, a people's representative died due to an accident. The latest death was of Chamila Sandaruwan, who was shot and killed by an unidentified person on a motorcycle. All these people are UPFA members," he said. more..

May 16 (Island) Canadian High Commissioner Shelley Whiting yesterday said that her country wouldn’t be represented at the Victory Day parade in Matara on Sunday. The Canadian envoy said that the annual military parade wouldn’t help post-war national reconciliation, therefore she wouldn’t accept the govt invitation. The following is the text of a statement issued by High Commissioner Whiting: more..

May 16 (DM) Currently, hardly a day passes without demonstrations, picketing, work stoppages or any other kind of protests either by university students or by public sector employees. Protesters often block roads, disrupt transport or various other services, severely inconveniencing the people. Almost every day SMS news alert the people on the disrupted main roads in Colombo due to protests, so that they can take alternative routes or cancel their programmes if they are travelling. more..

May 16 (DM) It has been mentioned in many a place in the Buddhist scriptures the Buddha’s was a Caritanukula Desana that means that the Buddha taught his hearers the Dhamma in a manner suitable to their temperaments. One day a poor Brahimin came to the Buddha and said. “Master Gautama I am a poor person and am going to a distant city seeking a job with a view to earn some wealth, will you kindly give me some instructions in order to be successful in my job.” more..

May 16 (DM) Ruling party’s Dr. Ramesh Pathirane complained in Parliament recently that his fuel quota was insufficient for his regular travel to attend parliamentary sessions from his constituency in Galle, and therefore he used the luxury bus service on the expressway for his commute. His lament was seriously discussed at the meeting of the Business Committee of Parliament chaired by the Speaker last Wednesday. more..

May 16 (SL) In a none-too-unexpected and possibly a delayed and much-deliberated move, the TNA in Tamils-exclusive Northern Province has said that Indians were among those robbing their people of their fishing wealth. A 32-clause May Day declaration of the party, read out by TNA General Secretary Maavai Senathiraja, put India on the top of the three-name list along with Chinese and southern SL (Sinhala) fishers. more..

May 16 (ST) Top Sri Lankan health officials visited two private hospitals this week on a fact-finding mission over allegations of a kidney racket involving Indian patients just as local authorities revealed that an Indian youth died of a heart attack soon after admission to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL). NHSL’s Deputy Director Dr. Cyril de Silva said that a 24-year-old Indian by the name of Dinesh was more..

May 16 (Island) The Public Health Inspectors Union of Sri Lanka (PHIUSL) said that out of the 3,840 dansels they had been able to inspect by noon yesterday 87 had been found to be serving unhygienic food. General Secretary of the PHIUSL, Senerath Bandara said that by Tuesday evening over 4,830 had been registered with them. A majority of the dansels inspected served hygienically prepared food to devotees. more..

May 16 (Island) The chance arrest of Kathiravel Thayapararajah (33) by Indian authorities could help Sri Lankan security services to identify a network of human smugglers with possible connections to the overseas LTTE rump. Authorities would explore the possibility of having access to Thayapararajah, whose arrest during the first week of May this year could be one of the most important breakthroughs made in more..

May 16 (Island) The intelligence unit of the Special Task Force recently busted an organised racket where vehicles were sold with forged documents. They were able to arrest three suspects and recover over ten million rupees worth of vehicles in Kiribathgoda. Among the vehicles recovered were four cars and three trishaws. STF officers said that the racketeers’ modus operandi had been to lease out vehicles and prepare bogus documents more..

May 16 (PTI) Sri Lanka said it can trace people, believed to have disappeared in the aftermath of the nearly three-decade conflict with the LTTE, with cooperation from foreign governments, a top military official said. Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya said since the end to the conflict in 2009, a large number of disappearances and murders of individuals had been falsely attributed to the govt. more..

May 16 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today congratulated Narendra Modi on his party's massive victory in the Indian general election and invited him on a state visit. Rajapaksa telephoned Modi to congratulate him on his resounding victory and extended an invitation to the BJP prime ministerial candidate to visit the island-nation, President's spokesman said. The BJP win was welcomed in Sri Lanka as more..

May 16 (CG) The Malaysian Bukit Aman Special Branch counter-terrorism division has helped thwart a planned attack on foreign consulates in India with the arrest of four suspected terrorists including a Sri Lankan man. The Sri Lankan man was detained at a house in Kepong at about 11.15am on Wednesday. The other three suspects were arrested in Chennai by Indian authorities based on information supplied by more..

May 16 (Reuters) Opposition candidate Narendra Modi will be the next PM of India, with counting trends showing the pro-business Hindu nationalist and his party headed for the most resounding election victory the country has seen in thirty years. Modi's landslide win was welcomed with a thundering rally on India's stock markets and raucous celebrations at offices across the country of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), more..

May 16 (CT) A total of 543 million voters have exercised their franchise to send 543 members to Lok Sabha. The BJP juggernaut with Modi at the helm has swept India clean. Over half a billion voters acting in one mind have expressed their voice loud and clear. The mandate at around 335 seats is the highest ever for BJP. Endorsement by voters at a very high percentage is unprecedented. The grand old Congress stands devastated. State parties which ruled their brief roost beyond more..

May 16 (Island) UNP National Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s so-called lecture series at the MIT had been a total flop and he was the least qualified of all leaders in Sri Lanka to speak of democracy while suppressing dissent within the party ruthlessly, leading UNP reformist Maithri Gunaratne said. He said the UNP could not gain any traction against the corrupt Rajapaksa regime because the UNP leadership was busy with a witch hunt for perceived enemies within the party more..

May 16 (CT) “A suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated himself next to a police bus in downtown Colombo on May 16 at 12:00 noon. Six policemen and two civilians were killed and 75 to 80 persons were injured. Subsequent media reports put the figure at seven police and two civilians killed. Rambukwella attributed the attack to the LTTE. The blast took place on Lotus Road, approximately a mile and a half from the rear entrance of more..

May 16 (Island) Apropos our news item titled Environmental group warns of move to sell water resources in SL, Director General of Govt Information, has sent us the following statement: The govt has no intention of privatizing the country’s water resources. Govt has already taken a firm policy decision not to privatize any of the public resources, and the govt policy with regard to water management is not to charge for irrigation water from the farmers. more..

May 16 (DM) An Indian was arrested by the Katunayake Airport Police today when he was found behaving indecently inside an airplane after consuming alcohol. The plane was bound to Mumbai from Colombo. But the flight was delayed the 54-year-old person was a disturbance and an annoyance to the rest of the passengers. Attempts made by the crew to subdue him had failed and therefore the airline crew took immediate steps to take him out of the plane and hand him over more..

May 16 (AFP) Sri Lanka's govt plans military parades this weekend to celebrate five years since its civil war victory. But the anniversary will go largely unmarked in Mullivaikkal village, where many are too scared to speak of what happened. Northern village was where Tamil Tiger rebels fought their last stand after 37 years of war, and residents live in fear of the hundreds of soldiers still stationed in the district. "This is the area where the most more..

May 16 (LBO) Stocks closed 0.48% higher with strong foreign buying amid Indian stock market moved up more than six percent to a record high on Friday. All Share Price Index closed 30.23 points higher at 6,315.19 up 0.48%. The S&P SL20 closed 0.18 points higher at 3,479.17, up 0.01%. Turnover was 1.61 billion rupees, up from 757.85 million rupees last Tuesday with 109 stocks closed positive against 75 negative. John Keells closed 50 cents higher at 235.00 rupees more..

May 16 (CT) Pandit Nehru declared on India’s Independence Day approaching midnight on 14 August 1947, "Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny... A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance." That utterance will have been most vibrantly articulated at the electoral front one more time with the final results of the marathon elections in India, more..

May 16 (CG) Outgoing Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid says India’s relations with Sri Lanka have not been affected under the Congress Govt. Speaking to IANS before the opposition BJP won the elections, Khurshid said that while the issue of accountability on the war in Sri Lanka remains to be addressed, it will take time. “As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, the issue about accountability etc has not yet settled. more..

May 16 (LBO) Sri Lanka's will get an additional 83 million US dollars to improve safety at high risk dams, expanding an existing program covering the most vulnerable 32 reservoirs, the World Bank said. The dam network in Sri Lanka comprises over 350 large and medium dams. Many of these dams are aging and have various structural deficiencies and short comings in operation and monitoring facilities. "Considering that water is a key natural resource that has to be managed efficiently, more..

May 16 (SM) Beautician Janet Balasuriya passed away this morning (May 16). A pioneer in the Sri Lankan hair and beauty industry, Janet Balauriya passed away while recieving treatment at a private hospital in Colombo. She was seventy nine years old at the time of her demise. She was the loving mother of five. Janet Balasuriya who pioneered in introducing natural products into the hair and beauty industry has won many accolades both nationally and internationally. more..