Mar 28 (Island) The police on Tuesday arrested a man selling shorts with Buddhist symbols printed on in the Maharagama town. The arrest was made following a complaint made by a Buddhist monk attached to Bodu Bala Sena, Ven. Panamure Chandraratne Thera. The Thera had been alerted by a concerned Buddhist, police said. Two other suspects had also been arrested. Police spokesman Superintendent Buddhika Siriwardana said that the incident had happened on Tuesday evening. more..

Mar 28 (Xinhua) The Immigration and Emmigration Department on Thursday deported two Chinese nationals who were amongst the seven Chinese women arrested recently for violating the country's visa regulation. Controller General Chulananda Perera said that while two Chinese girls were removed from the country on Thursday morning, another three are scheduled to be returned home late Thursday. Chulananda said that investigation into the remaining two girls are continuing. more..

Mar 28 (AFP) Sri Lanka's state broadcaster on Thursday denied meddling with BBC programmes after the British corporation abruptly suspended FM radio feeds to the country, alleging ongoing interference. The BBC said on Tuesday that it was suspending its World Service FM broadcasts owing to "continued interruption and interference" in its Tamil programming, but the SLBC denies any tampering. more..

Mar 28 (DM) Hirunika Premachandra today said the matter of real public interest was the whereabouts of Duminda Silva. “I don’t think the people want to know about an argument I had with our neighbour; I think its more important for them to know the whereabouts of Duminda Silva who is accused of murdering four people and leaving their families destitute” she said. She also said her attire was not of interest to the public. “My attire is not of any interest to the public. more..

Mar 28 (Island) A 44-year-old farmer, living in Tambuttegama, was killed when he was hit by lightning on Tuesday evening, while in his paddy field. The victim had been working with his wife and another man at the time of the mishap. His 42-year-old wife and a 41-year-old helper too received injuries and were rushed to Anuradhapura hospital. It had been raining heavily at the time of the incident, the surviving victims had told the police. The incident had occurred around 6.30 p.m. more..

Mar 28 (HRW) The Sri Lankan govt should act on the call by a govt deputy minister to investigate war crimes by examining his own role in serious abuses. In early March 2013, Deputy Minister Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, known as Col. Karuna, called for war crimes investigations into the TNA, an opposition coalition of ethnic Tamil political parties, presumably because some members had links to the secessionist LTTE. more..

Mar 28 (CG) A contingent of 750 soldiers will leave for Haiti today to boost UN peacekeeping operations in the war torn country. The 750 soldiers were selected after they underwent training in Sri Lanka. He said that the military stands ready to supply troops to the UN as and when required. Sri Lankan troops are involved in UN peacekeeping operations in Haiti and Lebanon. Sri Lanka first participated in UN peacekeeping far back in 1960 by deploying six peacekeepers in United Nations Mission more..

Mar 28 (KT) flydubai, Dubai’s innovative low-cost airline, announced that it will fly double daily to Sri Lanka starting this summer, bringing the total number of weekly flights to 14. The announcement comes a week after the carrier attended the inaugural ceremony for Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport. Having announced a three times a week service; Sri Lanka’s second international gateway will be served with daily services starting from 03 June 2013. more..

Mar 28 (LT) The share market has become a gambling den of racketeers and this is confirmed by the resignation of 6 officials of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) within a short period of two years says JVP MP Anura Dissanayake. The govt has no regard for the law and the economy has been brought under a small gang of racketeers, he said participating in a media conference more..

Mar 28 (PTI) Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy today termed MDMK chief Vaiko's remarks against Sri Lankan High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam as "scurrilous" and demanded his arrest. "The scurrilous remarks of MDMK leader Vaiko against the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka Prasad Kariyawasam is an offence under Sections 124A and 125 of the Indian Penal Code. "The Tamil Nadu Police must immediately register a suo motu FIR against Vaiko, arrest him for more..

Mar 28 (DM) The Press office of Buckingham Palace said they could not ‘confirm or deny’ if Her Majesty the Queen would be attending the Commonwealth Heads of Govt Meeting to be held in November in Sri Lanka. An official from the Press Office said when contacted that the office was not in the habit of issuing statements on matters of a sensitive nature such as visits of members of the royal family to the press unless it was close to the date of the scheduled visit. more..

Mar 28 (LBO) Sri Lanka is allowing spectrum sharing and domestic roaming to promote shared resources and cut costs so that broadband tariffs can be kept low. "We are allowing spectrum sharing," director general of the telecommunications regulatory commission Anusha Pelpita said. "We will not regulate their tariffs but they will have to apply to us. This will help keep costs down and subscribers will get lower tariffs." more..

Mar 28 (CG) The National Christian Fellowship Sri Lanka (NCFSL) which represents over 200 indigenous Churches in Sri Lanka, says it views with serious concern the sudden escalation of violence directed towards Pastors, Christian Workers and religious places of Worship all over Sri Lanka during the recent months. The NCFSL, in a statement, said it can confirms that 23 such incidents have been reported for the year 2013. “As Sri Lankans, we are also concerned about the more..

Mar 28 (CG) The Colombo Magistrate today ordered the release of a Vietnamese ship which was detained following a petition filed by Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC). The Magistrate ordered the release of the ship after the insurance company had given a bond to court. The Colombo High Court ordered the detention of ‘Vina Lion’s Glory’ which had caused a loss of USD 2.5 million to the Indian Oil Company’s Lanka entity. The LIOC claimed that the 4500 MT of oil had complied with more..

Mar 28 (LBO) Consumer prices in Colombo rose 7.5% in March from a year earlier, down from 9.8% in February. The price index rose 0.1% in the month of March, against a 0.4% rise in February. The annual average inflation rose to 8.8% in March from 8.6% in February. But annual average is a lagging indicator which is average across two years. Central Bank had earlier said inflation would start to fall from March as the base effect of more..

Mar 28 (CT) Unless the harassment meted out to Muslims stops, Sri Lankan employees in the Middle East could also face similar intimidation by extremists groups in those countries, the UNP warned yesterday. UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera said Muslims are being subject to many forms of harassment by extremist groups with the support of the govt. He urged the government to lay down rules protecting the freedom to practice one's religion so as to avert racial disharmony. more..

Mar 28 (BS) Undeterred by current political developments in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, NTPC is quite firm to pursue development of imported coal-based power projects in these countries. The company has rubbished reports appearing in a section of press relating to losing the projects to China. NTPC and Sri Lankan team held talks in New Delhi to discuss changes to the power purchase agreement (PPA) and the implementation agreement for the 2x250 MW imported more..

Mar 28 (Hindu) A month ago, when 19-year-old Samaara approached a hostel in Egmore for a room, the owner assured her she could move in by March. The student of literature from a reputed arts college in the city did not know then that it would only take a series of protests in the city to change the hostel owner’s mind. “When I went there last week, they said they wouldn’t take in Sri Lankans. When I told them they had promised more..

Mar 28 (CG) Cabinet Minister Douglas Devananda says Sri Lanka’s overall ties with India has not been affected by the recent violent incidents in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Devananda said that the incidents in Tamil Nadu, were just a temporary phase which will soon die down. “These incidents are just temporary. Most of the incidents have been caused by certain extremist groups and it is not the overall view of the Tamil Nadu public. This will soon die down,” more..

Mar 28 (LBO) Dialog Axiata has paid 3.2 billion rupees to buy a 10Mega Hertz block of spectrum in the 1,800MHz band which can be used for fourth generation high speed mobile broadband, telecom regulator Anusha Pelpita said. Mobitel and Etisalat had also participated in the spectrum auction by TRC and Dialog Axiata outbid the nearest rival by 2.0 billion rupees. "The auction was done by sealed bids and the differences in bids, showing that it was a transparent process," more..

Mar 28 (CT) The predictions by bird experts over the collision of birds with the aircrafts landing and taking off from the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) has come true with the recent incident of a SriLankan Airlines flight coming in contact with a flock of birds, The SriLankan flight is reported to have hit a flock of birds on 25 March, while flying from the MRIA to the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake. more..

Mar 28 (CG) British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Director for South Asia, Neil Crompton says many challenges still remain in Jaffna and the destructive force of war has made that inevitable. In a statement released by the British High Commission in Colombo today, Crompton said that he was pleased to see the physical progress made in many areas in Jaffna since the end of the conflict, such as in demining and making large amounts of land inhabitable again. more..

Mar 28 (IBN) Sri Lanka allrounder Angelo Mathews has been named the skipper of Pune Warriors India for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Mathews replaces injured Michael Clarke as Pune skipper. Pune Warriors also announced Allan Donald as the head coach of the team while Rob Walters will be the fitness trainer and fielding coach. Praveen Amre will continue to be the assistant coach. Managing Director of Sahara Adventure Sports Sushanto Roy said more..

Mar 28 (IANS) Sri Lanka's nationalist parties on Thursday appealed to the country's cricketers to boycott playing in India during the Indian Premier League (IPL) as tension simmered between Colombo and Chennai. Representatives of the National Buddhist Council and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), which is part of the ruling coalition, handed over a petition to Sri Lanka's cricket governing body appealing for the boycott, more..

Mar 29 (NS) I received several mails from readers out there about my column last week titled ‘Rage must turn to outrage’ at the nation’s shocking rape record. They were all, with a single exception, in agreement with the author’s sentiments. Many furious readers called for the re-imposition of the death penalty and chemical castration of rapists. But the single exception is what could be described as a dissenting ice-breaker to the seriousness of the problem and tense atmosphere it has more..

Mar 29 (NS) Business tycoon and Joint Managing Director/Brand Strategist, Triad Advertising (Pvt) Limited shares his life’s experiences in being happy, making money and doing a job which he terms as the best in the world. Dilith Jayaweera qualified in law, but chose advertising as his profession because he knew where he can find happiness. He told The Nation in an interview that advertising doesn’t stress him like other professions and moreover suits his lifestyle. more..

Mar 29 (CT) From being a serious health issue due to its unknown causes, the Chronic Kidney Disease of Uncertain Aetiology (CKDu), which largely prevails in the North Central Province, and in three more provinces, has now become a political issue with the release of the final report by the World Health Organization (WHO), confirming pesticides and fertilizers as prime causes of the disease. The final report of the investigations more..

Mar 29 (DBS) The Rajapaksas are imposing the superstructure of a prosperous, developed nation on the base of an underdeveloped, cash-strapped economy. The Rajapaksas are antagonising every single ethnic and religious minority in Sri Lanka, simultaneously. The Rajapaksas are loosing friends and isolating the country internationally. Any one of these strategic mistakes would suffice to undermine Lankan stability and security. The harm the confluence of all three can do to Sri Lanka more..

Mar 29 (CT) May 1972 was undoubtedly a ‘constitutional moment’ as the editor of this mammoth two volume publication has correctly stated. Many people were excited about it including myself at that time, but the new republican constitution (1972) did not bring about the expected results, except the so-called ‘constitutional revolution.’ It couldn’t capture the aspirations of the youth who rebelled in April 1971 against state oppression by democratising the state more..

Mar 29 (FT) A swashbuckling opening for the country’s second airport ahead of a vote on a US-backed resolution against Sri Lanka could not quite take away the sting of defeat at the UNHRC in Geneva. Days later, warning bells sounded in Washington DC about an impending international war crimes probe if Sri Lanka fails to mount a credible investigation into alleged atrocities. The ruling administration in Colombo is more..

Mar 29 (CT) We, members of CSSL, who represent a cross section of the community are deeply disturbed, saddened and ashamed of the current happenings in our beloved country in the form of attacks on places of worship, Campaigns of Hate and Misinformation as well as demands for boycotting of trading establishments owned by one ethnic group. A recent study describes 65 such attacks on places of worship mostly mosques, followed by churches and a few temples, more..

Mar 29 (DBS) The speech of Ven. Galagodatte Gnanasara Thera at a public meeting in Kandy on March 17 shamed the nation and sent shudders over the spines of the island’s Muslim community. Addressing the gathering Bodu Bala Sena Secretary Ven. Galagodatte Gnanasara Thera asked the Sinhalese to rise against the island’s Muslims, whom he described in very derogatory terms not worthy of a monk, besides accusing Muslims of converting Buddhists into Islam and treating more..

Mar 29 (SL) TV commentaries on Monday, on the ‘historic day’ of ‘great significance’ at Hambantota took our thoughts to the story (in Greek mythology) of the brash young boy Icarus who had acquired a pair of wings, trying to reach the sun despite the warnings of his father, Daedalus. The tragic end of Icarus has given rise to many fables and even to a mental state identified in psychoanalysis as the Icarus Complex. This state of mind has been described as that of a personality more..

Mar 29 (ST) The Sri Lankan economy grew at an average of about 5% over the past two decades. However it achieved a GDP growth rate of over 8% in 2010 and 2011 which has declined to 6.5% by the third quarter in 2012. The post-war growth rates were achieved largely due to the integration of the North-East Economy, and the public investment programme of 6% of GDP over the last three years. The GDP growth has decreased in 2012 and a sustainable high growth is questionable. more..

Mar 24 (E24|7) World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has urged Sri Lankan players to boycott the IPL after they were barred from participating in Chennai. Bowing to intense political pressure, the IPL Governing Council, withdrew top Sri Lankan players from the Chennai matches of the tournament which begins on April 3 after CM Jayalalithaa said they were unwelcome in view of the prevailing anti-Sinhalese more..

Mar 29 (Hindu) Is it right for Indian legislators to advocate a referendum for the break-up of a neighbouring country? Politicians in Tamil Nadu spearheading the campaign against Sri Lanka for human rights abuses by its military in the final stages of the war with the Tamil Tigers seem to think so. India is deeply involved in the efforts for the resettlement and rehabilitation of Sri Lankan Tamils displaced by the war. But, going by the resolution adopted by the Tamil Nadu Assembly more..

Mar 24 (CI) Nasir Hossain played some terrific strokes under pressure to bring Bangladesh's chase home late in the evening, but it was Mohammad Ashraful's cover drive in the fifth over that really sounded the alarm for the hosts and signalled Bangladesh's positive intent. Angelo Mathews bowled a length ball, just outside off stump, but despite the lack of room, Ashraful drove the ball powerfully on the up through cover-point for four. The timing was so good that the fielder at more..

Mar 24 (CI) Bangladesh scampered to a series-levelling win against Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI, in Pallekele, winning by three wickets in a rain-hit encounter. They were helped along by Nasir Hossain's composed 33 off 27 balls late in the chase, the visitors showing nerves as they neared the victory - their first in 15 completed games against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. Overall it was a fine occasion for the visitors, who had left-arm more..