May 28 (CT) Another crisis appears to be brewing in the Colombo University over the appointment of the new Vice Chancellor, Dr. Kumara Hirimburegama. Academics, taking a strong stance against the appointment, have given the new VC an ultimatum – resign from the post within two weeks or face the consequence of continuous strikes. Dr. Hirimburegama has dismissed the ultimatum, and remained adamant that he more..

May 28 (GDI) The staff of the Sri Lanka Embassy in Tokyo together with local community members celebrated Vesak on Friday, 24th May at the Embassy premises in Tokyo. Beautifully lit Vesak Lanterns were displayed at the Embassy with a special ‘Dansala’ arranged by the staff of the Embassy for Japanese and Sri Lankan visitors serving Ceylon Tea and Sri Lankan food. The Japanese visitors to the ‘Dansala’ were impressed with the historical significance of Vesak and more..

May 28 (DM) Wildlife rangers arrested a Chinese at Mirijjawila in Hambantota for allegedly possessing a tortoise and a pangolin yesterday, the Wildlife Department said. The man had allegedly intended to cook the captured animals in his Mirijjawila restaurant that supplies food to Chinese employees who work in the Hambantota Port. According to the Department, the suspect had also been arrested two months ago for possessing crocodile, tortoise and pangolin meat and fined Rs.320,000. more..

May 28 (CT) The Media Ministry has alleged that the correspondent who filmed the self immolation of Buddhist monk, Bowatte Indrarathana, was privy to the monk's plan before hand, but had failed to alert the police. Concerns were raised yesterday after reports emerged that the monk had told a local correspondent attached to a television channel about his plans for self immolation, a few minutes before the incident. more..

May 28 (FT) Commonwealth Business Council Director General Peter Callaghan called on Minister of External Affairs G.L. Peiris for discussions relating to the arrangements under way for the Business Forum which will be held in Colombo in November on the sidelines of the CHOGM. The Commonwealth Business Council in London is collaborating actively with the Ministry of External Affairs to enhance the inflow of investment into Sri Lanka, as a result of the Business Forum. more..

May 28 (Island) A group of protesters led by about five to six Buddhist Monks entered the Kollupitiya Municipal Market on Sunday in a bid to close the meat stalls there. However, by the time the protesters entered the place, the meat stalls were closed. OIC of the Kollupitiya Police, Mangala Dehideniya said that a group of monks leading a procession towards Temple Trees to hand over a petition had been stopped near the NSB and only five of them were permitted to proceed. more..

May 28 (FT) Nepal’s Forbes-list billionaire and multinational business magnate Binod K. Chaudhary yesterday expressed strong confidence in post-war SL’s future potential and he is walking the talk with a range of new investments, with a desire for speedy facilitation. The landlocked tiny South Asian nation’s first US Dollar billionaire and ranked 1,342nd in the Forbes Rich List, Binod already has considerable investments in Sri Lanka, more..

May 28 (CT) Sri Lanka Cricket's National Coaching Department conducted a talent search program at the Galle International Cricket Stadium last week with the main objective of unearthing future players. The training program was attended by over 70 cricketers from the ages of 14 to 19 years old from the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota. Cricketers who attended the program were from various schools in the southern province and players identified with talent will continue to more..

May 28 (AAP) A Sri Lankan man accused of murdering his girlfriend before fleeing to Australia on an asylum boat was released into the community on a bridging visa in 2012. Immigration department secretary Martin Bowles, who appeared before a budget estimates hearing in Canberra on Monday, confirmed the man was granted a bridging visa in September last year. In April 2013, his visa was cancelled and the man was "re-detained". Mr Bowles said an Egyptian asylum seeker more..

May 28 (Island) With a further US$ 2 billion required to bridge the trade deficit, failure to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) will impact heavily on the debt burden, an Opposition legislator warned. UNP MP Eran Wickremeratne said that any shortfall in FDIs will lead to a diminishing of foreign currency reserves and an increase in the foreign debt burden. With the trade deficit of over US$ 9 billion, largely funded more..

May 28 (Island) On a Court order, obtained by the SSP for Ratnapura, Prishantha Jayakody, the funeral of Ven. Bowatte Indraratne Thera, who succumbed to his burn injuries last Saturday night, will be held today on the Poronuwa school ground, Kahawatte at 4:00 p.m. Extra contingents of Police and Army were deployed to strengthen security in the area as mourners converged at Kahawatte to pay their last respects to the late Thera. Indraratne Thera set himself ablaze, in front of the more..

May 28 (CT) Though the security personnel who had noticed the fire breaking out at the warehouse at the Colombo Port, had tried to douse it immediately, the fire extinguisher had failed to function, initial investigations into the incident has revealed. "Had the fire extinguisher functioned as it should have, the fire could have been doused no sooner it was detected, and the damage to the warehouse would have been much less," a senior police officer said. At the time the fire had broken out, more..

May 28 (Island) CEB would have saved Rs 48 billion by today if it had implemented the 2007 Cabinet decision to renegotiate the Independent Power Purchase (IPP) contracts. Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera, in a letter to Power and Energy Ministry Secretary M.M.C. Ferdinando, pointed out that if renegotiation of the existing IPPs, in terms of Cabinet decision dated Nov 14, 2007 and other technical measures more..

May 28 (DM) A news item carried in the Daily Mirror on Friday said the government had expressed concern over a MoU between the American Embassy and the Trincomalee Urban Council (TUC) to jointly establish a public information and activity centre known as American Corner without the knowledge or authorisation of the External Affairs Ministry. At a time when a heated debate is going on over the devolution of power, with some Ministers calling upon the govt to totally scrap more..

May 28 (DM) Successive govts have upheld institution building and not its development. Total development rests in blending the two. Many politicians aren’t even aware of the difference between the two. Had they known, this country would be into clean governance - corruption free and selfless service. A computer ceases to be in the absence of software. Similarly the software in governance is an essential component for clean governance which adheres to equality, more..

May 28 (DM) Results of a scientific research study just released in the US and publicized by news media worldwide present a game-changing bonanza for Sri Lanka’s cinnamon industry needs. In the first known US study to analyze levels of the banned toxic chemical coumarin in cinnamon products, University of Mississippi scientists have basically given Ceylon Cinnamon, AKA True Cinnamon, a gold seal more..

May 28 (SL) Rampant poaching is reported to be taking place within the Udawalawa and Lunugamwehera National Parks and the Department of Wildlife Conservation and the respective police stations are helpless to take action against the poachers. Although poaching is reported from each and every national park, sanctuary and nature reserves in the country, the situation in Udawalawa and Lunugamwehera has more..

May 28 (CG) The Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC), which is the single largest organisation of Tamils of Indian Origin (TIO) in Sri Lanka, has sought a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to impress upon India the need to recognise the TIO as a politico-social and economic group with unique needs, quite distinct from those of Sri Lankan Tamils. The meeting, sought about 15 days ago, more..

May 28 (Island) Health sector trade unions yesterday blamed the increase in dengue related deaths, during the first quarter of the year, on the failure of the National Dengue Control Programme to do its job properly. Health Ministry source pointed out that despite Rs. 300 million being allocated to the Dengue Control Unit last year it had utilized only Rs. 27 million and the unutilized balance was returned to the Treasury. This year too, the unit had more..

May 28 (Island) Approximately 20% of the beds in all govt hospitals, including those run by the provincial councils, were occupied by patients suffering from alcohol and tobacco related diseases, Minister Maithripala Sirisena said. Tobacco and alcohol would cause more premature deaths than any other disease in the near future he said adding that around 72% of the patients were also affected by non-communicable diseases such as more..

May 28 (ST) The Govt has granted concessions to vehicle importers in a bid to boost the vehicle import business, which has been affected by the increase in taxes imposed last year. The concessions have been granted by the Customs, following discussions held with the Vehicle Importers’ Association of Lanka (VIAL). Director General of Customs Jagath Jayaweera said that the concessions will enable easy clearance more..

May 28 (AP) Sri Lanka's top meteorology official has apologized for naming a deadly cyclone after a king who built massive irrigation tanks well over a millennium ago and was venerated as a god. Political leaders and a farmers' group have protested the naming of a cyclone after King Mahasen, who ruled Sri Lanka in the 4th century and built 16 large reservoirs. Cyclone Mahasen killed 18 people two weeks ago more..

May 28 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, along with members of the Sri Lankan delegation, visited the Lingguang Buddhist Temple located on the outskirts of Beijing Monday afternoon. The chief incumbent most venerable Chang Zang and fellow monks welcomed the President, the First Lady and the delegation, and invoked blessings. The temple, which was established 1,200 years ago, more..

May 28 (SM) Minister Gamini Lokuge has agreed with the demand put forward by the head of the National Trade Union Center (NTUC), K.D. Lalkantha to reconsider the payment of electricity bills of ministers’ houses with public funds. Speaking during the political debate Jana Handa last night, Lalkantha claimed that Minister Keheliya Rambukwella’s electricity bill for the month of March for his house was over Rs. 120,000 more..

May 28 (NP) Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird has announced that he will not attend the CHOGM in Sri Lanka this November because of that country’s sub-par human rights record. No other members of the Commonwealth, including Britain, Australia and New Zealand, have followed Canada’s example. There is no question that Sri Lanka has a poor human rights record — one that might have been expected to improve after the civil war more..

May 28 (Island) Five convicts, including an ex-LTTE cadre, serving a five-year prison term, gave prison guards the slip in the early hours of Sunday, while working in the Vesak Zone at Matara, organized by the Prisons and Rehabilitation Ministry. According to highly placed sources, the convicts were from Welikada, Boossa and Kuruwita. The LTTE convict, Balasubramanium Jegadeeshwaran, sentenced to a five-year jail term, had only served one year of his term at the time of his escape. more..

May 28 (CT) The self immolation of Buddhist monk, Ven. Bowatte Indrarathana, last week, is a case in point of religious radicalization that is unfolding in Sri Lanka. Worse still, the clashes that took place after the death of the monk and the hard line religious rhetoric that has been dominating the discourse are disturbing proof that a microscopic minority of religious hardliners are exploiting the tragedy. Ven. Bowatte Indrarathana, a member of the JHU, earlier served in the Pelmadulla Pradeshiya more..

May 28 (CT) This paper in the main addresses the question why there is an absolute and urgent necessity for putting in place a suitable UN Monitored International Protection Mechanism, involving a continuing human rights presence in the NorthEast as a form of protection for the Tamil people; in that context this paper seeks the engagement of scholars, human rights advocates and legal luminaries here assembled on the interventions and options available in this more..

May 28 (LBO) Stock closed down 0.18% on Tuesday for a second consecutive day with profit taking by retail investors. All Share Index closed 11.84 points lower at 6,434.70 and the S&P SL 20 Index closed down 09.78 points at 3,632.13 down 0.41%. Turnover was 557 million rupees up from 696 million day earlier. Foreigners brought 107 million rupees worth shares while selling 32 million rupees of shares, in a day that 72 stocks advanced and 131 stocks declined. more..

May 28 (CT) The Ministry of Wildlife Resources Conservation has decided to install Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras inside national forest reserves in a bid to monitor the activities of visitors as well as to be of service to them. This has become necessary because of the uncouth behaviour of certain visitors and certain service providers, the Minister of Wildlife Resources Conservation, Vijayamuni Soyza said. more..

May 28 (Island) The CID team, investigating last Friday’s fire at the container yard in the Colombo port, have questioned its manager and three employees. The manager and two employees had been interdicted a few weeks before the incident, over an issue connected with charging fees from container trucks parked there, the police said. A source from the port said that he was confident that there were no explosives or inflammatory material in any of the containers. more..

May 28 (E24|7) A well-known swimming champion’s life came to a bizarre end when, in an apparent attempt to impress his friends, he dived into a water-less swimming pool during his birthday party. Sri Lankan swimmer Sunil Santha was highly intoxicated when he jumped from the diving board into the dry pool which was under repair, according to a report in Tamilwin. While the birthday party was on by the poolside in a hotel, Sunil suddenly decided to swim in the pool. more..

May 28 (CG) Chairman and President of the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank), Li Ruogu, called on President Rajapaksa at the China World Hotel today. Headquartered in Beijing, the Export-Import Bank of China is a state bank solely owned by the Chinese govt and provides overseas development funds to promote international economic and trade cooperation. President Rajapaksa, who is currently more..

May 28 (NIP) The Q-branch police arrested two more persons, Habib Rahman of Saibaba Colony in Coimbatore and Muthukumar, Sellur, in Madurai in connection with the ATM card fraud case. However, investigations have revealed that the mastermind behind the whole racket were two Sri Lankan Tamils residing abroad. 60 fake cards, 6 mobile phones, skimmer machines, desk top, laptop, SUV and 3 lakh in cash were seized from the duo. Cops suspect that the Lankan Tamil duo, more..

May 28 (Island) Despite some officials holding the view that the 75 MW from Lakdanavi, Sapugaskanda and ASCE plants (in Horana and Matara) all three contributing 25MW each) would be crucial, during a crunch situation, for the national grid, officials of the System Control Division of the CEB say that with water at spill levels, in the hydro catchments, they could manage without the trio. Officials of the CEB, while agreeing that the three plants run with heavy sulphur oil, more..

May 28 (CT) Differently-abled undergraduates following various courses of study leading to a degree in Sri Lankan universities, are said to be undergoing many hardships due to the lack of facilities in universities. Many buildings in universities do not have easy access to lecture halls and other classrooms for the differently-abled students while the situation is further compounded by the lack of easy access to washrooms. more..

May 28 (LT) An internal strife is developing within the JHU due to two different views expressed by the party regarding the suicide committed by Ven. Bowaththe Indraratana Thero by setting fire to himself says a very reliable source. In an announcement the President of JHU MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero had stated that Ven. Indraratna Thero, who had been a member of the JHU had committed self immolation for a noble cause and on several occasions had been more..

May 28 (CG) Several residents living within the Dambulla sacred land area have been asked to vacate their homes with 24 hours, the BBC Sandeshiya reported. The residents have told the BBC that the order had come from the Matale District officer. Some 35 families have been ordered to vacate their homes to facilitate development work in the area. According to the residents, they had been told that they are living on state land and so will not be compensated. “We have no place more..

May 28 (AD) Halting operations at the Sapugaskanda Refinery was a result of a systematic project, General Secretary of the UNP Tissa Attanayake stated. He said that the motive behind this operation was to sell the refining operations to the Arab company called Aramco. He demanded that the govt reveal its plans to the rest of the country. Attanayake pointed out that by halting operations the govt has opened the door for irregular deals. more..