May 18 (IL) Members of the British Sri Lankan Forum (BSLF)-UK visited No: 10, Dawning Street, the official residence of British Prime Minister David Cameron recently. They were allowed to go through the famous door, giving a very unusual time slot to hand over a petition which contains many issues related to the relationship between both countries and some current political matters were raised more..

May 18 (Island) The Indian High Commission says the pilot phase of a major housing project is underway in Sri Lanka�s Northern Province, with mobilization activities being carried out by the Implementing Agency. The pilot phase covers all five districts in the Northern Province, the HC said. The HC said that the project got underway soon after the Government of Sri Lanka provided a list of beneficiaries in the five districts. more..

May 18 (IRIN) Traffic on Sri Lanka's A9 highway reflects the increased mobility brought by peace, as hundreds of buses, cars and three-wheelers, packed to the brim, race each other along a road that cuts through the centre of the former conflict zone. Two years after the government's declared victory over the separatist LTTE on 18 May 2009, the bustle paints a dramatically different picture from the nation paralyzed and divided by a 26-year civil war. more..

May 18 (BBC) India has urged Sri Lanka to scrap far-reaching emergency powers and probe allegations of human rights violations. The emergency remains two years after the govt's military defeat of the Tamil Tigers on 18 May 2009. The Indian call came in a bilateral communique issued after talks in Delhi between the two countries' foreign ministers, SM Krishna and GL Peiris. It is an unusually frank message to more..

May 19 (VN) The first Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka is Mr. Ton Sinh Thanh. Following the establishment of formal diplomatic relations in 1970, Vietnam opened a resident mission in Colombo in May 1971, while Sri Lanka�s Ambassador in China was concurrently accredited to Vietnam. Later accreditation was from Thailand. As Vietnam withdrew its resident representation from Sri Lanka in 1982, due to economic reasons, the Vietnamese Ambassador in India was more..

May 19 (BBC) Two years after the end of the war, most Sri Lankans feel a sense of relief that there is no more fighting, and that the Tamil Tiger bomb attacks which used to rock towns and cities including the capital no longer take place. Yet many are still ambivalent about the nature of post-war Sri Lanka under the increasingly powerful Sinhalese nationalist president, Mahinda Rajapaksa. M.A. Sumanthiran of the biggest Tamil party says Tamils, especially in the north and east, still suffer great trauma. more..

May 19 (ST) Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake was sworn in as the new Chief Justice today. She obtained her degree of Bachelor of Law with second Class honours in the upper division becoming first in the order of merit in 1980 from the Law Faculty of University of Colombo. She was awarded the degree of Master of Philosophy from the same university in 1983 and in 1986 she obtained the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of London, more..

May 19 (NN) National Languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nanayakara has warned that he may be compelled to take legal action against the police if they fail to implement the official language policy. The Minister noted that the biggest obstacle faced by the government in properly implementing the policy which seeks to ensure Sinhalese and Tamils have equal rights and recognition is the failure by the police to include Tamil in most of their traffic display boards. more..

May 19 (NN) Public Health Inspectors (PHI) conducted over 600 inspections on the conditions under which food is prepared at Vesak dansals around the island last evening and last night and issued warnings to several of them. The PHI Association said that during the inspection they had found that several Vesak dansals were preparing meals under unhygienic conditions. While no arrests were made or equipment seized the PHIs warned the dansal operators to improve the conditions more..

May 19 (DM) More than 50 Sri Lankan garment factory employees in Jordan have returned home after some suffered abuse and others were unsatisfied with wage increments the Foreign Employment Bureau (FEB) said today. FEB Chairman, Kingsley Ranawaka said the strike was called off after two officials from the FEB and the Foreign Employment Ministry visited Jordan to intervene in the matter by ensuring the workers a salary hike. more..

May 19 (ST) At least 54 pigs died in the Buttala area as the water they had drunk was contaminated with a pesticide. Investigations revealed that employees of a banana plantation located in an area above the piggery had emptied pesticides into a water stream. The pigs had drunk the water from the stream. Police found that that the employees instead of spraying the chemical had emptied the cans into the nearby stream and told management that they had completed their work for the day. more..

May 19 (CI) Sri Lanka will step up their preparations for the first Test against England when they face a strong Lions side at Derby. It's a sign of the depth in English cricket that a formidable second team can be drawn up and they should give the tourists a good idea of their readiness for Cardiff. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, along with the other three players who spent an extra week at the IPL, have arrived so the visitors are now at full strength. more..

May 19 (NN) Eastern Province Chief Minister and leader of the TMVP Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan will meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa tomorrow to discuss the crisis between the govt and the TMVP. TMVP sources said that the party, which had convened an urgent meeting today after the police had searched the house of Chandrakanthan last evening, decided to seek a meeting with the govt before more..

May 19 (SL) Estate sector trade unions are looking at reaching consensus on a wage hike for the estate workers would be reached before the end of the month. The trade unions that have signed the collective agreement that formulates the wages of estate workers have said the unions wished to arrive at a consensus with the the Employers Federation on a new collective agreement. The unions are to meet with the Employers Federation tomorrow (19). more..

May 19 (SL) University lecturers have vowed to continue with its trade union action since the government has yet failed to address their demand, adding that they have not yet been invited for a discussion with the President. The Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA) has said the university academics were still firm on their decision to withdraw from the evaluation of GCE A/Level examination this year. Head of FUTA, Nimal Dewasiri has said the more..

May 19 (LG) According to a media report, a former army intelligence officer told the Mount Lavinia Magistrate last week (12 May) that he was told by the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Terrorist Investigations Department (TID) to claim that a top army official was involved in the killing of former Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha. Such a statement made to court should lead to inquiry. However, due to the absence of respect for the principles of rule of law in Sri Lanka now, more..

May 19 (LG) It was this day, May the 18th of 2009 which marked the end of Terrorism and Separatism in Srilanka. This was the historic day that brought Peace to all Srilankans and Democracy to Tamils in the North and East. It was May 18th that made the guns silenced. This May 18th is the day that unified the entire country as ONE Srilanka. This is the day we regained the lost portion of our paradise from the Vanni Regime. It is the day our beloved Motherland, more..

May 19 (Cimic) Students of University of Jaffna setting example to others collectively organized a Vesak festival on the 17th May. They decorated the Ramanathan road close to the University with Vesak lanterns and put up a Dansala. It was impressive to witness the students belonging to Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities together waving flags to stop all vehicles and pedestrians passing the University premises and offer them with soft drinks. more..

May 19 (LG) There is little doubt that most people in this country will welcome the move to broadcast parliamentary proceedings live as disclosed by Deputy Speaker of Parliament Chandima Weerakkody. The Deputy Speaker has conveyed this information to the BBC while he was on a visit to the UK for studying the Westminster system. He has said that initially it would be limited to radio broadcasts on a trail basis and that television coverage would be considered later. more..

May 19 (LG) Jefferson�s caustic comment unwittingly defined the situation of present day Sri Lanka with a prescience that appears lost on much of the current analysis pertaining to this conflict. The rivalry there between the Sri Lankan govt (Sinhala) on one side and the Tamils on the other has thus far defied a solution. The former, with significant military strength still in the field, refuse to agree on a political settlement with the Tamils and continues with the militarization of Tamil society. more..

May 19 (TC) Plantation workers are demanding daily wages be increased to Rs.500/= from the current rate of Rs.285/= per dayto meet the minimum requirements of existing cost of living in the country. Any changes of the wage structure of the plantation workers will be decided at the Collective Agreement (CA) which has been the practice from 1996. The members of the CA are the representatives of Trade Unions of the plantation workers and more..

May 19 (TC) China�s stance regarding the UN panel report was revealed through its Foreign Ministry spokesman. The latter said, �not to complicate the issue and leave it to Colombo to handle it�. China took two to three weeks to make this statement after Russia�s stance was announced in relation to the panel report. China pursued a silent policy earlier in connection with the panel report. Although China was inclined to back the Sri Lanka Govt., yet it did not rush to express its stance. more..

May 19 (DM) The advisory note prepared by the group commissioned by the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) has stirred much comment. Writing in such an environment is difficult since the expectation is expression of partisan views. This is an effort at a commentary. The advisory panel looked at steps taken thus far and to be taken in terms of the Joint Statement of 23rd May in Sri Lanka between the SG and the President but was neither a fact finding nor an investigative effort. more..

May 19 (FT) The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) is encouraging exporters to shift to the Simplified VAT (SVAT) system implemented by the Budget in a bid to reduce the amount of claims processed by them. Currently the IRD processes around Rs. 10 billion worth of claims each year and they hope to reduce this to Rs. 2 billion to Rs. 3 billion with the implementation of the SVAT. Already over 2,800 exporters have registered and the IRD is keen on more..

May 19 (Island) India has asked Sri Lanka to devolve power, probe human rights violations and withdraw emergency regulations, among other things. This kind of diplomatic pressure amounts to interference in this country's internal affairs, but in diplomacy and war, might is right whether one likes it or not. However, unlike in the 1980s, when India harassed Sri Lanka, one may argue, during the past few years India has acted in such a manner that it has some moral right to more..

May 19 (DM) Do you remember the famous book business at the speed of lightning by none other than the famous Bill Gates? Revolutionary concept. But also frightening. Today festivals have become commercial festivals and have lost their religious values. Starting with the Western �Season� of winter and Christmas and it has pervaded almost all the religions including the most conservative. These days we see Vesak being celebrated on a very highly commercial scale. more..

May 19 (SO) The Buddha the enlightened one taught that to be born a human being is a difficult and a rare achievement for one, in his sojourn through sansara. The Buddha thus analysed every aspect of human life and preached the Dhamma to enable the human beings to lead a happy and a contended life and achieve the optimum advantage of being born a human being. The most remarkable feature of the teachings of the Buddha which he did in more..

May 19 (SL) Mahinda Rajapaksa met with the committee appointed by him to handle the Ban panel report, last Tuesday. He made it clear that the report had a hidden agenda. He felt that the report was to facilitate a change of regime in Sri Lanka. He did not forget to say that there were several nations behind this conspiracy but he was confident of himself and even if anyone got upto tricks within parliament he would not be dislodged. The ministers and some media heads within this group more..

May 19 (SL) Sri Lanka was sent a very confidential message by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton through Assistant Secretary for Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Robert O� Blake Jnr. and US Ambassador here in Colombo from 2006 till the war was concluded on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon in Mullivaikkal, May 2009. Blake met with the External Affairs Minister one to one in his hotel suite to convey Madam Clinton�s message to President Rajapaksa, more..

May 19 (LB) Kilinochchi is, nowadays, a boom town. Two years after a brutal war reduced it to rubble and the govt interned its entire population in the closely guarded camps, this one time administrative capital of the Tamil Tigers is limping back to life. New shops have sprung up where war ruins were once scattered. A man clutching a mannequin in front of his trendy clothe store complains that so many new shops are being opened more..

May 19 (ST) It is just parippu, fish and bonchi with rice, not even home-cooked but prepared in a hospital kitchen��..but for 56-year-old L.D. Wimalawathi from Paragastota, close to Bandaragama it is a meal fit for royalty. Bayai, she says, as she mixes a little bit of rice and parippu and gingerly places a morsel in her mouth. Fearful she is because it is a very long time since she had a meal of rice and curry � 33 years to be exact. Her agony of �starvation� began as a 23-year-old more..

May 19 (TC) After staging a spectacular victory over her b�te noire M Karunanidhi-led DMK in Tamil Nadu assembly elections, Ms Jayalalithaa, leader of the AIADMK, has called upon the Indian government for action against the Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa for alleged war crimes and genocide of Tamils. Speaking at her very first press conference, Ms Jayalalithaa said �The President of Sri Lanka must be tried for war crimes and brought before the International Court of Law�� more..

May 19 (Island) The review of Sri Lanka�s sovereign ratings will kick-off next week with a team from Standard and Poor�s (S&P) visiting the island to meet with government and Central Bank officials and other key stakeholders. The team from S&P will meet key ministers and public sector officials through meetings organised by the Central Bank. The bank will also arrange for the team to meet with representatives from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, more..

May 19 (GV) The trade union action called by the Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA), has once again highlighted the crisis in our universities. Unfortunately it is the strikes, the clashes and the protests that bring the universities to the news headline, and not their silent contributions to educating the youth and equipping them with skills and competencies. The State universities in Sri Lanka need to be modernized and energized. more..

May 19 (TN) A few Sinhala students recently admitted to Jaffna University chose the Mu�l�livaaykkaal Day to erect a decorated pandal at Thirunelveali Junction to �celebrate� the birth of Buddha and to distribute eatables to passers by, while the Eezham Tamils subjugated to the extent of not being able to even openly observe the remembrance of their dead were silently mourning on Wednesday. While activities of Colombo in the occupied country of Eezham Tamils more..

May 19 (ST) Forewarned is forearmed and as the country faces unusual weather patterns and rains when there should be none, resulting in reservoirs and tanks in the dry zone filling to the brim, conservationists have sent out an alert that elephants may be in trouble. Hundreds, nay thousands have seen large elephant herds of females and babies converging on the tank beds lush with young short grass during the dry season and researchers have expressed more..

May 19 (TN) A special team of Sri Lanka Army personnel Tuesday afternoon conducted a search at the Batticaloa residence of Eastern Province Chief Minister S. Chandrakanthan alias Pilliayan. Mr. Chandrakanthan was not at his residence at the time of search operation. TMVP sources said the reason for the operation was not revealed by the army personnel. The search of Chandrakanthan's residence, located along Lake View, is being viewed as the climax of more..

May 19 (DN) The second day of the Amadhahara Vesak Zone,organized by The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL) in association with Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) was declared opened by Western Province Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga yesterday. Speaking on the occasion Chief Minister Ranatunga said that all Buddhists are celebrating Vesak happily in these peaceful times. "Vesak is the main Buddhist religious festival in Sri Lanka. "Buddhists all over the country are more..

May 19 (Island) At the 64th World Assembly of the World Health Organization held in Geneva, Switzerland recently, Sri Lanka�s Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said the government would never marginalize the Tamil people who contributed enormously to strengthen the economy. He said the Northern Province healthcare system would be uplifted. He said the Sri Lankan govt had commenced rebuilding the conflict affected Northern Province. more..