May 10 (DM) Badminton chief Suraj Dandeniya said that the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Sri Lanka, Ministry of Sports and Prof. Ranjith Silva should take the full responsibility if the Sri Lanka Badminton Association (SLBA) gets suspended by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) for not complying with their orders. Sri Lanka Badminton Association (SLBA) faces a June 20, 2014 deadline to complete the amendment more..

May 10 (DM) There has been many a whisper in the rugby circles about the appointed rugby referee Dimitri Gunasekara for today�s crucial 69th �Bradby Shield� first leg tie between Royal College and Trinity College which is scheduled for kick off at the Royal Sports Complex today. Royal College Principal Upali Gunasekara said that this is the most sort after and all important schools rugby game in the country and both he and the Principal of Trinity College had officially written to more..

May 10 (FT) Japan�s SG Holdings has entered into an agreement with the top five shareholders of Expolanka Holdings PLC to buy a 30% stake in the company for a purchase consideration of Rs. 6.3 billion or $ 49 million. The stake amounting to 586 million shares was done at RS. 10.70 each. Existing four directors Osman Kassim, Satter Kassim, Shafik Kassim, Farook Kassim shed 5% each from their existing stakes of 14.5% each whilst Group CEO Hanif Yusoof sold 7% stake. more..

May 10 (Island) Sydney based pole vaulter Mudith Jayasekara who had represented Australia ones in a junior competition has been included in a team of 20 to represent Sri Lanka at the forthcoming Asian Junior Athletics Championships, while three out of four medalists of last year�s Asian Youth Games have found a place each in the teams for both the Asian Junior Championships and the Youth Olympic Trials according to more..

May 10 (CT) As Lanka's exports to Japan topped US$ 223 million mark, Sri Lanka is mulling a strategic, fast-track entry to one of the most coveted online markets in the world � Japan. "Japan is the second biggest retail market in the world. Japanese are also heavy internet users with a large e-commerce base. Using a top Japanese online giant like Rakuten could give Lankan exporters a wide-coverage and a low cost entry to this promising market" said Sujatha Weerakoone (DG-EDB) more..

May 10 (Island) Trinity will be eying a fourth consecutive victory at the 70th Bradby Shield when the first leg between Royal and Trinity get under way this evening at the Royal Sports Complex in Reid Avenue. Having won the Bradby Shield from the year 2011, Trinity College led by coloursman Tarinda Ratwatte carry a huge weight of expectation on his shoulders. Ratwatte, the highest scorer so far in the Singer School Rugby League will be looking forward to continue his success to the more..

May 10 (CT) Cracks are starting to show at the World Conference on Youth (WCY) as delegates have started complaining of 'bad organizing,' especially in the management of volunteers. Two local delegates, who did not wish to be named, alleged that delegates were warned not to make any negative remarks about the country or the conference, prior to being appointed as a delegate. They also complained of an more..

May 10 (LBO) Profits at Dipped Products group, which has interests in rubber glove making and plantations, fell 34% to 216 million rupees amid production disruption caused by shifting of a Sri Lanka based factory. The group reported earnings of 3.61 rupees per share. For the year to March it reported earnings of 13.28 rupees on total profits of 795 million rupees down 44 percent from a year earlier. In the March quarter revenues fell 8% to 5.7 billion rupees, expenses fell at a faster 10% more..

May 10 (PTI) A court in Sri Lanka on Friday ordered the release of eight Indian fishermen, who were taken into custody by naval personnel of the island nation on June 15 for allegedly crossing the International Martime Boundary Line. The fishermen who were under judicial custody since June 16 were ordered to be released by magistrate Anandhi Kanakarathinam of the court in Mannar. However, the remand of 41 other fishermen, arrested on different dates, was extended upto more..

May 10 (LBO) Sri Lanka's participation at Bocuse d�Or, a global culinary competition, is an opportunity to raise the country's profile as a high quality tourism destination, senior chefs involved in the event said. Augustus Lowe, who is a Chef de Cuisine at the Heritance Kandalama won the competition at home to represent Sri Lanka at the Asian finals in Shanghai, China in June. more..

May 10 (Hindu) Two men, including a man from Kodiakkarai, were arrested for transporting smuggled gold from Sri Lanka. The men were caught while transferring possession of 3.5 kg of gold that was to be eventually handed over to a man from Dindigul, the police said. One of the arrested men, Subramanian of Kodiakkarai, is the brother of Arivazhagan who was instrumental in the smuggling of 21.5 kg of gold that was seized mid-June, while in transit from Kodiakkarai. more..

May 10 (BD) On May the 14th, the International Buddhist flag was hoisted at Ottawa�s City Hall in honour of Vesak Day, which marks the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha. Mayor Jim Watson delivered an official proclamation marking Vesak Day to the audience, which was at full capacity. He was joined by several other dignitaries, including Pisan Manawapat, Ambassador of Thailand to Canada, Harry Narine Nawbatt, High Commissioner of Guyana, more..

May 10 (CG) Japanese Govt says the resolution on Sri Lanka submitted before the UNHRC in Geneva was unhelpful to Sri Lanka. �We considered whether the Resolution on Sri Lanka moved in the UNHRC in Geneva would help Sri Lanka. We decided it will not. That is why we abstained when the vote was taken�, said Seiji Kihara, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan when he met President Rajapaksa more..

May 10 (Hindu) Madras High Court bench here on Friday dismissed a petition seeking ban on the release of Bollywood movie �Madras Caf� in Tamil Nadu. In his petition, C. Ezhilarasu, an advocate, said the movie was a political thriller set in the backdrop of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination. The petitioner alleged that the film, which is slated to be released worldwide on August 23, portrayed the LTTE cadre as terrorists. He claimed that SL president Rajapaksa financed the movie to more..

May 10 (FT) The Rotary District Assembly on 10 March at Blue Waters, Wadduwa, will mark the conclusion of yet another successful Rotary calendar year under the leadership of District Governor Imran Hassen and the beginning of a robust year with the installation of the first ever lady Rotary Governor for Sri Lanka and Maldives, Gowri Rajan. Gowri is the Executive Director of Sun and Asoka Group of companies. She has been a member of the Rotary Club of Kandy for over more..

May 10 (Island) Govt had no intention of amending laws to extend the retirement age to 65 years as it would be detrimental to the youth who remain unemployed at least for five more years after completing their education, Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne said in parliament. Responding to a request made by a MP, he said the extension of compulsory retirement age would prevent the youth from gaining employment. more..

May 10 (ST) Jayantha Dhanapala, retired international diplomat and independent director at Dialog Axiata, is to retire from the Dialog directorate citing personal reasons. �� he will retire at the conclusion of the forthcoming AGM on June 10,� the company said in a statement on Friday. The announcement came months after a controversy over the alleged blockage of anti-govt websites by the top mobile operator. Colombo Telegraph, one of the blocked websites, said Mr. Dhanapala, more..

May 10 (DM) Police said the abduction of the two police constables on traffic duty at the Getinuwara Junction in Kurunegala and the killing of one of them was a challenge thrown by the miscreants at the Police Service. SSP Ajith Rohana said the police had accepted the challenge and were ready to deal with them accordingly. �Yes there was a lapse on the part of the policemen as they were unarmed at the time of the incident,� he said. SSP Rohana said CID recorded 20 statements on the abduction more..

May 10 (Island) Chairman of the parliamentary oversight committee on public finance, Senior Minister Dew Gunasekara, yesterday warned of dire consequences unless the ruling coalition ensured the proper functioning of COPE. Further deterioration of parliamentary supervision would lead to disaster, veteran parliamentarian said, accusing some COPE members of brazenly neglecting their parliamentary duties. more..

May 10 (AN) Heavy torrential rains in the Malabar region in India�s Kerala state affected flights to and from Jeddah on Thursday and Friday. Saudia Flight SV892 from Jeddah to Calicut was diverted to Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital on Thursday owing to the stormy weather. The flight, which was scheduled to arrive Thursday, landed in Calicut on Friday morning causing it to be delayed by almost seven hours. Adverse conditions in the neighboring city of Calicut in India are believed to more..

May 10 (Island) About 354 medical graduates who have passed out from the local medical faculties and foreign medical schools will be given their internship appointments by Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena on May 13 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Colombo. 2,500 newly trained nurses would also be given appointments by the Minister. The doctors who had obtained foreign medical degrees should bring the Sri Lanka Medical Council�s registration numbers to get the internship appointments. more..

May 10 (CT) A protest was conducted by a group of African delegates participating in the World Conference on Youth (WCY) at the BMICH yesterday against the refusal by Minister Dullas Alahapperuma to allow them to hold a press conference. The ordeal had taken place around 12:30 in the afternoon when the Minister was holding a press conference at the media centre outside the main hall of the BMICH. more..

May 10 (DM) As we enter the week of Vesak � the thrice blessed and the holiest day in Buddhism � we need to go beyond lanterns and lights, pandals and dansals to deeply reflect on some practical steps whereby we could walk in the footsteps of Gautama Buddha. One of these important steps would be a Vesak resolution by sincere Buddhists, (comprising more than 70% of the population), that they would not eat meat or fish and become vegetarians which, according to spiritual and scientific evidence, more..

May 10 (DM) The auspicious period of Sinhala and Tamil New Year, the main traditional national festival annually celebrated by the majority in Sri Lanka was unfortunately marred by a host of fatal road accidents reported from several areas of the country. Despite repeated announcements made by police requesting the public to desist from driving under the influence of liquor, while also informing that a large number of additional personnel had been deployed to hunt sloshed drivers as more..

May 10 (DM) UNP charges that the govt has tried to hoodwink the international community with false promises and now they have to face the consequences, when asked to deliver on their promises. UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake alleged that govt �thinks that they can just make false promises to the international bodies and get away. These foreign institutions are not asking the Sri Lankan govt to keep to the promises made by them. more..

May 10 (ST) This week�s breakthrough in the string of island-wide robberies carried out by armed gangs in full-face helmets came from police who had been tracking a drug addict. That investigation started after two armed men on February 24 stormed the Nations Trust Bank in Kohuwela and got away with Rs 1.5 million, leaving hardly any clues. �We were left without any clue after the robbery except for the CCTV more..

May 10 (ST) Thousands of people came out in force on Thursday to celebrate International Workers� Day popularly known as May Day, with political parties, trade unions and civil society organisations holding marches and meetings to rekindle the spirit of the working masses in the country. The largest May Day rally was led by President Rajapaksa, where the SLFP and several of the constituent parties that form the UPFA more..

May 10 (GV) The moment I think of the war it takes me to 1995. Sri Lankans had very high expectations � a new govt and a new President with a lot of promise to end the war. People in the South, North, East and West were so hopeful to see the day the war would end. I can remember me taking my elder son to the Army headquarters to enlist him. All of us the mothers were saying �now there is nothing to worry. more..

May 10 (FT) Minister Basil Rajapaksa stated that the Divi Neguma National Program should in the future ensure building up domestic economy in the same way it was instrumental in ensuring stability of food prices and improving nutrition in the families. This national program implemented under agricultural, livestock, fisheries and enterprise development sectors in several phases since 2011, has been thoroughly more..

May 10 (Island) Consultant doctors attached to the Baticaloa Teaching Hospital said that the Plastic Surgical Unit of the Hospital was experiencing a shortage of personnel. A spokesman for the BTH said that though the Health Ministry had provided it with over 35 consultants including a plastic surgeon, it had failed to equip it with the adequate infrastructure. It also lacked human resources, he said. Plastic Surgical Unit (PSU) established more..

May 10 (HS) Chamindu Amarsinghe said on Thursday he was speechless to hear he will get $81,597 of the cash he found at Channel 9�s Docklands headquarters, after no one came forward to claim it. The other $19,500 will go to the state, a magistrate ruled this week. Mr Amarsinghe was tidying the ground floor toilets back in August 2011 when he found a sanitary bin flush with $50 and $100 notes. �There was too much to count more..

May 10 (CG) Sri Lanka supports Vietnam�s stance on demanding China adhere to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and withdraw its drilling rig HD-981 out of Viet Nam�s sovereignty and exclusive economic zone. PM D.M. Jayaratne made the statement at a reception given by PM Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday, regarding the East Sea issue. He proposed dealing with the issue by peaceful measures on the basis of more..

May 10 (Island) The govt yesterday refused to answer a question raised by the Opposition regarding arms India purchased from Sri Lanka, claiming that the issue would have an impact on the on-going Indian parliamentary elections. UNP MP Thalatha Atukorale asked the PM to brief the House regarding arms purchases following a statement made by the Indian Minister of Defence in the Lok Sabha. MP Atukorala wanted to know more..

May 10 (PTI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said Sri Lanka is in the process of implementing all demands made by the sponsors of the UNHRC resolution against it except for allowing an international probe into alleged human rights violations during the last phase of the war with the LTTE. Assertion was made by President during a meeting with Seiji Kihara, Japan�s Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs. more..

May 10 (CT) �There is a proposal from certain sections in society to nominate Northern Province Chief Minister Wigneswaran as the Common Presidential Candidate at the next presidential polls. We would like to know what the UNP, JVP and DP think about this proposal.� - M.A. Sumanthiran, TNA MP. �I believe the opposition parties would not reject this proposal because Wigneswaran is a Tamil.� - Mano Ganeshan, DPF Councillor, WPC. These remarks made at a media briefing held more..

May 10 (CT) A group of nearly three hundred radical Buddhist extremists have burned down a Muslim owned shop in Aluthgama town on 8/5/14. This was not coincidently happened attack on the shop of this innocent Muslim businessman rather this was a premeditated racist attack to destroy the livelihood of this man. There is no shadow doubt that this attack was initiated and carried out with the support of Police, BBS and some Buddhist radicals of this area. This was the only Muslim shop in Aluthgama more..

May 10 (CT) Sri Lanka finished off in grand style with six gold medals, five silver medals and one bronze medal with WKLA Nimali and Niluka Rajasekara winning gold medals on the last day of the Thailand Open Athletics Championship held at Thammasat University Stadium yesterday. Airwoman from Suriyawewa Nimali was the first to win the gold medal of the day finishing the 800m in a time of more..

May 10 (CT) Terrorists have a penchant to push the envelope. Modern terrorists groups, especially those who are inspired by Salafi Jihad ideology have shown a scant regard to the existing value systems of civilized societies; they thrive in breaking those moral barriers, partly because the fanatic religious ideology they want to impose on us, and disavows the values of the modern civilization. No other group can be a truer reflection of this description thanthe Nigerian terrorist group, more..

May 10 (Island) Minister Rajitha Senaratne told Parliament that fish canning factory at Galle since its opening in 2012 had processed around 1,640 MT of fish. Responding to a question, minister said that the factory had been set up as a joint venture by the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation and Happy Cook Pvt Ltd and had produced 89, 213,300 cans of fish. Those cans of fish had been released to the market under the brand names Ceyfish, Tess, Sea Queen, Chammai and Mackerel. more..

May 10 (ST) When JHU MP Ven. Aturaliye Ratana Thera raised a lone voice from within the ranks of the ruling coalition in Parliament, to oppose the controversial regulations that many allege pave the way for large scale casino operations in the country, the Opposition reacted with applause, while those on the Govt benches maintained a stoic silence. Earlier in the day, when the first of the three regulations were taken more..