Apr 26 (Island) The UNP yesterday demanded in Parliament to know from the govt what steps it would take to arrest the increase in road accidents in the country. Acting Opposition Leader John Amaratunga, making a special statement in Parliament, said that the police were enforcing traffic laws in a lackadaisical manner and the Motor Traffic Department, too, should be held responsible for rampant corruption in issuing driving licences. more..

Apr 26 (SM) Minister Rauff Hakeem has voiced his objection to the new police units that are to be established within the religious affairs Ministry to inquire complains regarding future religious incidents. The minister says that religious conflicts cannot be avoided by setting up such a police unit. The minister was speaking to journalists today (25) after meeting with most Ven. Davuldena Gnanissara, the Maha Nayaka of the Amarapura Maha Sangha Sabha. more..

Apr 26 (AD) A 22-year-old mother of two from Aluthgama in Dikoya has died following an illegal abortion carried out in the Hatton area. The woman had visited an abortion center at Kotagala in Hatton recently and had later been admitted to the Dikoya Hospital due to a complication during the procedure. She was later transferred to the Nawalapitiya District Hospital and was undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) when she passed away this morning, police said. more..

Apr 26 (CG) A report has been compiled and handed over to President Rajapaksa on the UPFA MPs who voted for and against the Strategic Development Project gazette notifications adopted by Parliament yesterday and on Thursday. Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that the report also looks into the UPFA MPs who were not present in Parliament or who had gone on leave during the vote. The Minister noted that it was an more..

Apr 26 (AD) A factory owner in Kiribathgoda has been sentenced to 7 years rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court after he was found guilty of raping a 34-year-old hearing-impaired woman nearly 10 years ago. The defendant, Nisshanka Jayathilaka, was also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 and ordered to pay the victim a compensation of Rs 100,000 by Colombo High Court Judge. If the defendant fails to pay the fine he will serve a further 3 month sentence while if he fails to pay more..

Apr 26 (CG) A clash between Muslims and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka is what Western countries want to see, Minister and NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa said. Weerawansa also claimed that if such a clash takes place then Tamil extremist groups will join hands with the Muslims and push the country towards another war. The Minister said that a situation could also arise where Sri Lanka loses the support of Middle Eastern countries if Muslims and Sinhalese communities clash. more..

Apr 26 (MoD) A total of 125 houses built in the Kurunegala district under the 15th Phase of the 'Api Venuwen Api' project handed over to their new owners by President Rajapaksa during a ceremony held at CWW Kannangara Maha Vidyalaya in Kurunegala today (25). This is the second stage of houses built for war heroes of the tri forces in the Kurunegala district. Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa and chairperson of the more..

Apr 26 (ST) With used car sales slumping due to the removal of depreciation value concession under the 2014 budget proposal, Sri Lankan used car dealers are going out of business at an accelerating pace, a leading motoring company head revealed. The tax on the import of a vehicle used between six months to a year will be the same as the amount levied on a brand new imported vehicle under the revised duty structure devised under the guidance of Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera, more..

Apr 26 (ST) Turmeric is an antiseptic and has a host of other health benefits that are not understood or used by the younger generation. �People know it as a spice but in Ayurveda it is not only a spice � the plant itself is a powerful medicinal herb,� said senior consultant at the Department of Ayurveda, Dr. D.H. Tennakoon. It was used for internal ailments such as asthma and externally used for skin ailments and is even used as a painkiller when attending to bone fractures. more..

Apr 26 (GDI) President Rajapaksa said the media has an enormous social responsibility to ensure that our long standing moral values, nurtured through the centuries are fostered, and that they are not harmed in any way. Participating in the Executive of the Year Convention of the Capital Maharaja Organization today (25) he pointed out that the media can play a vital role in the tasks of national development, by taking the latest aspects of progress in science, education, and culture, to the people. more..

Apr 26 (ST) At least 10 banks and finance and leasing companies (NBFIs) have finalised plans to merge or acquire counterparts under the Central Bank�s financial sector consolidation initiative, official sources told Business Times. Without revealing the number of companies, the Central Bank announced this week that several financial institutions have shortlisted potential merger/acquisition counterparts and are carrying out internal evaluations on such companies. more..

Apr 26 (AFP) Sri Lanka has refused to allow casinos at three super-luxury resorts planned in the capital after opponents said they would lead to prostitution, an official said Saturday. It was not immediately known whether the casino ban would endanger the development of the three mega-resorts in Colombo, which have attracted investment worth US$1.3-billion from tycoons including Australian gambling mogul James Packer, more..

Apr 27 (SO) DP leader Sarath Fonseka's hidden agenda came into sharp focus when he sought the "assistance of the international community and the UN to change the leadership" in Sri Lanka. Fonseka had said that "there is no relief for the people and there is no way out of the misery" and he would seek the help of the UN and the international community for a regime change in Sri Lanka. His despicable statement, which could be least expected from a former Army Commander, more..

Apr 27 (SL) Religion and politics have, more often than not, been found to be an unholy mix. History of various peoples around the world show how priests became advisors to kings and later became kings themselves and even mighty emperors after waging bloody wars in the name of religion. As civilisations progressed the importance of separation of religion from politics became apparent leading to the evolution of a secular state � not a very popular concept among religionists even in our day. more..

Apr 27 (SO) Minister S.B. Dissanayake said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay and the UN should realise that it is the Tamil people in the North who have gained the biggest advantage after the end of 30-year war on terrorism. He said that after 1977, President Rajapaksa gave the opportunity to the people in the North to exercise their franchise and elect their representatives. more..

Apr 27 (NS) A string of pearls doesn�t always refer to a necklace adorning a woman�s neck. These days it refers to a network of Chinese facilities/relationships along its sea lines of communication from China to Port Sudan. It�s a term tossed around by some who are concerned about growing Chinese influence around the world. Not surprisingly, the �concerned� have their own �pearls�. They don�t lie neat in a way that �threading� is possible. Rather, they pockmark the world. more..

Apr 27 (Island) The cat and mouse game clearing the way for up-market casinos in Colombo to attract high spending gamblers to Sri Lanka continues unabated and some major steps in this direction were taken in parliament last week. Both President Rajapaksa and his govt are clearly taking the public for suckers with their hollow denials on this issue. Only the very na�ve will believe the oft-repeated assurance that no new casinos will be permitted. Neither John Keells Holdings, more..

Apr 27 (CT) UPFA Member of the Mahiyangana PS, Watareka Vijitha Thera said that the BBS is looking for him, in order to kill him. Q: What is the dispute between you and the BBS? A: The BBS has been driving the country towards a bloodbath by creating divisions between religious and ethnic communities. As a bhikkhu who has been working to bring religious and ethnic reconciliation to the country for a very long time, more..

Apr 27 (NS) What took place on Thursday and Friday in Parliament is a kind of testimony to the fact that the main opposition party is increasingly becoming hopeless and on its way to crossing a Rubicon in polity where there would be no turning back to its former glory. The grand old party is so disintegrated and businessmen have taken over the place of politicians that the people of this country cannot expect any vitality or vigor from the men remaining in it. more..

Apr 27 (NS) The �Road to Human Rights Conference�, organized by the Youth Movement �Road to Human Rights�, headed by Youth MP Ashan Perera, under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development, and supported by the Ministry of Mass Media, and ministry of Education, was held on April 25. The event was graced by Minister Dulles Alllahapperuma, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the UK Dr Chris Nonis, and more..

Apr 27 (CT) Q: You announced recently that you would quit conducting research into archaeological sites and artefacts. What compelled you to reach such a decision? A: It is pointless engaging in such research as people continue to destroy archaeological sites. Q: In your view, who is protecting the persons who commit such acts? A: I can�t name them directly. They include officials too. There are political elements as well. more..

Apr 27 (ST) My Dear Lord Mayor of Hambantota, I thought I must write to you, though I hadn�t even heard of your existence before. Pardon my ignorance, I didn�t even realise that Hambantota was one of those cities which had mayors but in this day and age, I should have known better because these days Hambantota has not only a mayor but everything else too! I am writing to you, Your Worship, because I heard you had scared away some Green MPs with a toy pistol � and more..

Apr 27 (ST) A rose by any other name smells as sweet, and as far as the Govt is concerned, a casino by any other name is expected to rake in the shekels. This week, the Govt passed in Parliament the Gazette notifications legalising casinos, all the while insisting that it was only enabling �associated facilities� within three mega integrated leisure projects � without specifying what they are. The President assured editors of national newspapers that no new casinos would be permitted, more..

Apr 27 (SL) While India and Norway, on prior occasions, have tried to mediate a solution for the reconciliation process in Sri Lanka, it is reported that South Africa may be the third country to mediate in Sri Lanka�s reconciliation efforts with the Tamil minority community. It is reported that South African President Jacob Zuma�s special envoy on Sri Lanka Cyril Ramaphosa is expected in Sri Lanka, late May or June, more..

Apr 27 (Island) Last week, we saw not one but many sights that none of us ever thought we would live to see. The first was the undignified sight of a Buddhist monk by the name of Watareka Wijitha running for his life with a mob of monks and laymen in pursuit and the police trying to save the fugitive monk. This monk Wijitha is not exactly a popular person within the sangha and even saner and more staid Buddhist monks intensely dislike him. This writer has listened to one of his speeches and has to admit that more..

Apr 27 (SL) The UNP opened three new battle fronts last week against the govt. The first battle front was its protest over the Strategic Development Act, which, according to the UNP, will lead to the setting up of Casinos in Colombo with tax exemptions. Strategic Development Act was passed in Parliament on Thursday with a majority of 71 as 113 members of the house voted in favour of the act. Hours before the vote was taken, UNP staged a protest along D R Wijewardena Mawatha more..

Apr 27 (SL) With the most recent incident of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) surrounding the office of Industries and Commerce Minister Rishard Bathiudeen, the President has taken a decision to establish a special Police Unit within the Religious Affairs Ministry to inquire complaints on religious matters. When The Sunday Leader queried several members of local political parties, there were varying responses regarding the matter. more..

Apr 27 (Island) The national cricket team takes wings to Dublin on Friday to play two ODIs against Ireland. From Dublin, the Sri Lankans will leave for London for their bilateral series against England which comprises two Tests, five ODIs and one T-20 International. Sri Lanka�s last tour of England three years ago was a disappointing one. The board had failed to get a full time coach in time and Stuart Law, Assistant to Trevor Bayliss, took over the duties as interim coach and mid way through the tour more..

Apr 27 (ST) Govt may have had its way by getting Parliamentary approval for three regulations made under the Strategic Development Projects Act, which the Opposition claims gives an open licence for foreign owned casinos to operate in the country, but despite the victory, the first signs of dissension within the ruling Alliance surfaced during the vote in the House to grant tax concessions for these controversial projects. On Thursday, when the first of the three regulations were taken up more..

Apr 27 (ST) With Paul it was far from a brace for the Lankans. Just think back, it may be that the real hard yards towards that golden moment in Lankan cricket were put in by Farbrace�s predecessor Graham Ford, who decided to take the Surrey call just four months before the T-20 World Cup challenge. Then amongst quite a vibe Paul Farbrace was reluctantly given the job till the end of the 2015 World Cup in Australia. more..

Apr 27 (CT) the Director of the National Zoological Gardens (NZG), Dehiwela temporarily stopped the popular elephant show at the Zoo, as most of the elephants tested positive for tuberculosis antibodies. NZG officials said that five of the eight elephants at the Dehiwela Zoo have tested positive for tuberculosis antibodies. According to the mahouts, those five elephants � Indi, Kema, Madavi, Namali and Devi � have been separated from the other elephants. more..

Apr 27 (Island) The World Trade Centre in Colombo has maintained an average occupancy of 98% throughout 2013 and achieved a 19% increase in average rental rates, its owning company, Overseas Realty (Ceylon) has said in its annual report. The report also said that the pre-tax profit, excluding fair value gains of Rs.1.7 billion, was the highest in the group�s history. Also, borrowings were down by Rs.279 million and the debt equity ratio was reduced to 8% from 11% the previous year. more..

Apr 27 (ST) Treasury, short of cash for development projects and immediate recurrent expenditure, is re-activating old tax revenue circulars which have been inactive and a level of laxity in meeting out punishment to offenders. Tax revenue fell to Rs.1, 005.9 billion from the budgetary target of Rs.1,131 billion. Declining trend in tax revenue continued further with the drop to 11.6% of GDP in 2013 from 12% of GDP in 2012. more..

Apr 27 (Island) Celebrated alumnus of S. Thomas� College Mt.Lavinia, cricketer, Neil Chanmugam (1940 � 2014) who passed away on the eve of celebrating his 74th birthday, first made his mark as a fresher in the Royal-Thomian cricket encounter of 1958. S. Thomas� having been dismissed for a modest 192 runs was in danger of letting Royal amass a comfortable total but Chanmugam coming on first change dismissed 3 of the top 4 Royal batsmen with his wily off-spinners and more..

Apr 27 (SL) Special UN Rapporteur on Migrants Fran�ois Cr�peau is to submit a report to the Govt at the end of his visit to Sri Lanka next month. He is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka from 19 to 26 May during which he will look into issues related to migrants in Sri Lanka. However the exact schedule of Cr�peau�s visit was not immediately made available, under the code of conduct for UN special Rapporteurs they cannot speak to the media until the end of their country visits. more..

Apr 27 (CG) UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has included Sri Lanka in a four year plan submitted to member states of the UN in Geneva, which virtually keeps the spotlight on the country till 2017. In the four year plan Pillay notes that between 2014 and 2017 the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) will work towards sustain engagement by the international community, specifically the more..

Apr 27 (LBO) Sri Lanka has been invited to set up a trade office at strategic Chinese-run Gwadar port in Pakistan after a delegation from Pakistan met President Mahinda Rajapaksa, his office said. The Speaker of the provincial assembly in Balochistan Mir Jan Muhammad Khan Jamali had led the delegation. Gwadar which was at the mouth of the Persian Gulf is seen as a placed strategically to the Middle Eastern oil business but also to Central Asia. "The port is a part of a larger effort by more..

Apr 27 (Island) Political analyst Dayan Jayatilleka has recommended sending former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and General Sarath Fonseka to Parliament immediately "in order to rebalance politics and denounced impunity." Jayatilleka, once President Rajapaksa�s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, has said in an article that he was making this recommendation although "I have a very dim view of Chandrika Kumaratunga as a presidential candidate and more..

Apr 27 (NS) Saudi Arabia has been accused by health care experts of obscuring information about an outbreak of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) � which, according to health experts, might turn into a global health issue in the absence of measures to prevent the spread of the disease. Over the last 30 days, MERS cases in Saudi have swelled from 1 to 3 daily to more than 10 reported cases each day. more..