May 1 (SM) Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is preventing president Rajapaksa from implementing the recomendations of the LLRC, minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara has said in an interview. Govt had ignored a list of proposals put forward by a group of ministers, including himself, to implement the LLRC recommendations, introduce a political solution and to cooperate with the NPC, he has said. more..

May 1 (ST) Only a quarter of paddy fields can be used for cultivation this Yala season due to the drought, a senior official warned. His warning came as the dry zones continue to remain desiccated and paddy farmers look for alternatives to keep their livelihood alive. Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. D.M.N. Dissanayaka, said that the paddy production of 2.44 million metric tons from the recent Maha season had not met more..

May 1 (ENS) In a bid to curb growing religious conflicts, Sri Lanka has put a cap on the building of places of worship, along with the establishment of a Special Police Force to deal with communal tension. M D K Dissanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, said that there are 10,000 Buddhist temples, 5,000 Hindu temples, 2,500 churches and 2,500 mosques, and that these are sufficient for Lanka�s size more..

May 1 (SL) While the RDA is getting ready to resume work to extend the Marine Drive from Frazer Avenue to Vasala Road, people who live on lands which will be taken entirely or partly for the proposed road are uncertain what will happen to their present life-styles and economy as a result. Even though the RDA claims to have issued acquisition notices, some residents of the area whose lands are clearly within the boundaries more..

May 1 (Island) The Kandy Heritage Protection Foundation (Mahanuwara Urumaya Surekeeme Padanama) strongly opposes night motor racing on the streets of the sacred city of Kandy. President of the Kandy Heritage Protection Foundation ex-MP Nimal Premawansa told a media conference on Tuesday that his organisation vehemently condemned the arrangements being made to hold a night motor racing event more..

May 1 (Island) Half of the cost of holding the World Conference on Youth (WCY) scheduled to be held in Colombo next week, was funded by the United Nations, NYSC, Working Director Milinda Rajapaksa said. He said govt had only allocated Rs. 250 million for the WCY and the balance was funded by sponsors, NGOs and the UN. The UN Population Fund, UN Children�s Fund, UN Development Fund for Women and more..

May 1 (Island) Army had already recruited 1,000 professional and Tamil speaking civilians in the North and there were over 5000 applicants, Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said. Addressing the weekly media conference, Brig. Wanigasooriya said that the army had only 1,000 vacancies at the moment. He stressed that any citizen could join the army or any other force if he or she was qualified to do so. more..

May 1 (CG) Canadian govt says it will not enforce a ban on 16 groups by the Sri Lankan Govt and those groups will have the freedom to express their views in Canada legally. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Consular Lynne Yelich said they were concerned by the Govt of Sri Lanka�s listing of 16 entities and 424 individuals for purported links to terrorist activities, more..

May 1 (CT) This week, two trains collided in Sri Lanka. It was an accident waiting to happen, caused by a technical failure left unattended for too long, despite many complaints: �The points of the railway track of the Pothuhera Railway Station were faulty for several years but repeated requests to higher-ups to rectify the problems fell on deaf ears. We were expecting a railway disaster at any moment.� In most countries, resignations would be offered and heads would roll. more..

May 1 (CT) Reports of the next appointment to one of the vacancies in the country�s apex court � the Supreme Court has sent shockwaves within the Sri Lankan legal and judicial circles with a close ally of Basil Rajapaksa, Priyantha Jayawardena PC being nominated as a Supreme Court judge. His appointment has reportedly been submitted for approval to the Parliamentary Council with the Council expected to approve the nomination. Priyantha Jayawardena PC who started more..

May 1 (CT) Sanjana Hattotuwa, Editor of Groundviews (www.groundviews.org), a website run under the auspices of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has been removed from the �Senior Staff� of the organization. Colombo Telegraph has received numerous emails alleging that Hattotuwa had abused in foul language the Administrative Officer of the CPA, a female, in the presence of other members of the staff. more..

May 1 (Island) Govt yesterday said that it was a shame that the main opposition would celebrate the International Labour Day today without a party leader and their celebrations were outside Colombo. Addressing a media conference, party General Secretary, Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said that as the main Opposition of the country the UNP should have organised a grand May Day rally in Colombo. Sirisena said that the SLFP would hold a grand rally today. more..

May 1 (Island) Army in Kilinochchi was supporting needy schoolchildren in the area financially through a scholarship programme managed by forces without disrupting their education in any way, Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said. Responding to BBC sandeshaya programme, which claimed that army was disrupting the education of children in Mannar and Killinochchi, Brigadier Wanigasooriya said that Security Forces in Killinochchi had begun a scholarship programme more..

May 1 (CG) The Govt of Sri Lanka today strongly condemned the twin blasts that took place at the Chennai Central Railway Station this morning, on a train that had arrived from Bengalooru. A statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said that the people of Sri Lanka share the pain and anguish of the Indian people over this wanton act of violence targeting innocent civilians. �The Govt and the people of SL offer their deep condolences to more..

May 1 (Island) Additional Magistrate Negombo turned down a bail application by a counsel on behalf of two suspects in remand custody charged with sexually abusing an underage boy. The duo had made death threats to the victim�s parents. Judge refused bail after the police objected, citing that the preliminary investigations were not complete. They were further remanded till May 9. Both suspects are Grama Niladharis, a male and a female and they were prosecuted by more..

May 1 (DM) The train disruption on the Northern Railway line due to yesterdays train accident would be in effect today as well, the Railway Operations Superintendent L.A.M. Ratnayake said. �Trains operating from Colombo Fort would be terminated at Polgahawela while trains returning to Colombo on the Northern Railway line would be terminate at Kurunegala,� Mr. Rathnayaka said. The tracks are being cleared now and train services would begin when the tracks are cleared, he said. more..

May 1 (GDI) "Like manna from heaven to the Israelists, every conceivable facility has been extended only to the people of Colombo leaving the rest of the country high and dry to lag far behind. All the Govts that were in power from time to time, to a lesser or greater degree turned a blind eye towards the development of the other parts of the country. This is the perception of the general public", said minister more..

May 1 (PTI) A court here today sentenced three Sri Lankan refugees to life imprisonment for murdering a person at a nearby refugee camp in October 2013. The first additional district and sessions court judge Poornima today convicted and sentenced them to life for stabbing to death a 38-year-old refugee at Vazhavandhan Kottai refugee camp on October 5, 2013. The prosecution case was that the man was murdered following a quarrel with four others during a funeral. more..

May 1 (DN) Government Nursing Officers� Association warned that many more hospitals Islandwide will join in the current token strike if the issue over nurses being provided midwifery training continues. The strike has currently brought services at the Castle Street Hospital to a standstill since many nurses abstained from working since this morning. Nurses at the Ratnapura, Kurunagala, Kandy, Galle and Kalutara base hospitals are taking part in the strike. more..

May 1 (Island) UNP has called for the establishment of a Parliamentary Committee to assess the cost benefit of projects such as the proposed integrated resorts to be established under the Strategic Development Act (SDA), prior to the relevant gazettes being tabled in the legislature. Financial Analyst and UNP MP Eran Wickremeratne said that the govt which possessed an unethical two thirds majority in the legislature, used it more..

May 1 (GDI) Mrs. Pushpa Rajapaksa, Chairperson of the Liya Abhiman Organization stated that, 60 child and maternity clinics have been modernized under the Child and Maternity Clinic Modernization and Reconstruction Programme implemented in Gampaha District in keeping with a concept of Minister Basil Rajapaksa. This was so stated by her at a ceremony held on 29th April for vesting with the people, two modernized child and maternity clinics at Hunupitiya and Sinmharamulla more..

May 1 (CT) May Day appears to have lost its meaning in today�s context, becoming yet another opportunity for politicians and political parties to hog the limelight and show to the world how popular they are with the working class, never mind the myriad issues plaguing that class. To say today�s May Day is a total eclipse of the workers wouldn�t be too far off target. The undermining of the workers� interest on this day is not a phenomenon unique to Sri Lanka, though the question on more..

May 1 (CI) Kumar Sangakkara has said that the 2015 World Cup could be his final ODI tournament but he has plans to extend his Test career for a while longer. Sangakkara has already quit T20 internationals, SL's victorious World T20 campaign in April being his last outing in the format. "That [2015 World Cup] might be my last assignment in that form of the game, and looking at Test cricket, there might be another series left in me," more..

May 1 (PTI) The JVP has said that it will raise corruption issues involving the country's Cricket administration in parliament. "The Marxist party's Politburo has taken a decision to be hands on with the issues of cricket corruption, based on a proposal by the senior legislator Sunil Handunneththi," a party communique said here. "It has been said that we are not taking up issues of cricket corruption. So we need to gather more details and expose them in parliament," Handunneththi said. more..

May 1 (ENS) Sri Lanka�s Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs has announced the establishment of a special police unit to address religious disputes in the country. State media revealed that the Religious Disputes Unit would operate similar to the tourism and environmental police units, with police officers having training on multiethnic and multireligious rights. The move is said to be a response to a rise in incidents of religious intolerance by extremist Buddhist more..

May 1 (BBC) A woman was hit in the face with a broken bottle when she went to help a man who had been attacked by a gang at a resort in Sri Lanka, a court heard. Khuram Shaikh, a Red Cross worker from Rochdale, was shot and stabbed to death at a hotel while on holiday in Sri Lanka on Christmas Day in 2011. The High Court in Colombo heard a woman who tried to revive him was pursued and beaten as she jumped into a pool. more..

May 1 (DM) Nilendra Deshapriya�s debut movie "Thanha Rathi Ranga� [BETWEEN YESTERDAY & TOMORROW] clinched the award for the Best Film at the Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival in New Delhi. The annual festival, organized to mark the birth anniversary of the 'Father of Indian Cinema,' Dada Saheb Phalke, aims at celebrating the excellence of Indian cinema and cinema around the world. The �Thanha Rathi Ranga� cast includes Sarath Kothalawala, Kumara Thirimadura, more..

May 1 (CT) A formal request is to be made to the relevant authorities to enable Royce Fernando to participate in future sessions of the Western Provincial Council (WPC), Chairman of the Council, Sunil Wijeratne said. During proceedings of the inaugural session of the Sixth Provincial Council, UNP Councillor Shrinath Mahendra Perera raised a question on Royce Fernando's participation. Fernando had won a seat contesting on the UNP ticket from the Gampaha District. more..

May 1 (CG) President Rajapaksa today accused the opposition of working with foreign elements bent on destabilising the country. Speaking at the SLFP May Day Rally, President linked the opposition to recent allegations on human rights raised at the UNHRC in Geneva. He said that incidents involving some factories in the country where the police were forced to control angry mobs were part of an opposition attempt to more..

May 1 (Island) Opposition Leader of the UNP controlled CMC Ajantha Liyanage expressing his views on the proposed Sewerage Tax said the entire Opposition was against it. He that it had not come up for discussion at Tuesday�s Council meeting, but it had to get the approval of the Finance Committee on either May 5 or 12. Liyanage said that the ratepayers of the CMC had already been burdened heavily and it was unfair for the CMC to charge a Sewerage Tax. more..

May 1 (GDI) Ministry of Defence and Urban Development categorically denies that Intelligence Officers being sent to other countries to educate officials of those countries as part of an international operation. A Sinhala daily newspaper on Wednesday quoting the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development had reported that 18 Intelligence Officers had been sent to 18 countries as part of an international operation against the LTTE rump organizations. more..

May 1 (CG) The main opposition UNP today responded to a comment made by President Rajapaksa recently and called for early elections. Speaking at the UNP May Day rally in Ampara, UNP leadership council chairman Karu Jayasuriya said that the UNP wants the President to go for early elections. However he said President Rajapaksa should ensure the elections are free and fair and held in a democratic manner. more..

May 1 (CT) UNP in having their May Day activities in the North minus their Leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has fled the country, has proven that they cannot organize a march, rally or meeting in Colombo, Ministers Maithripala Sirisena and Mahindananda Aluthgamage said in unison. They also noted that even though they had lost a number of Provincial Council seats at the recently concluded PC elections, and although the JVP obtained two or three more seats, more..

May 1 (CG) India has become the number-one ranked Twenty20 International (T20I) side after the annual update of the Reliance ICC T20I Team Rankings, which was announced today. India has swapped places with ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 champion Sri Lanka, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said. In the past 12 months, India has lost just one T20I (against Sri Lanka in the recent ICC WT20 Final in Bangladesh) while Sri Lanka has lost four matches. more..

May 1 (CG) The media in Sri Lanka are not free, according to a new report by the Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom around the world. From a score of between 0 and 100 with the lowest score an indication there is considerable amount of press freedom, Sri Lanka has been given a score of 76 while Norway and Sweden are among the top ranked with scores of 10 each. more..

May 2 (CT) In an interview given to the Daily News of 24.04.14, Western Provincial Council minister Udaya Gammanpila has taken issue with a statement of the National Peace Council with regard to Provincial Councils in the North and East. He has quoted from the NPC statement that �although the government has held elections in the Northern Provincial Council, it is useless unless the Council is allowed to function without undue interference from the centre�. more..

May 2 (GV) Like most ex-colonies Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) too idealized becoming a republic. It was with much fanfare and national fever that the first republican Constitution of Sri Lanka was adopted on 22 May, 1972. It was hoped (as the above political call indicates) that the establishment of a republic would herald the �era of the people� when Sri Lankans would come onto their own. Paying obeisance to an alien Head of State and an equally alien apex court (the Judicial Committee more..

May 2 (SO) "Suwandai muwe mal peni, nethangin hele nilmini, Maa jeewithe pana weni, nelwen duwe roshini..." These beautiful musical notes of Sumith Ahangama played by many bongo bands simultaneously was the welcome anthem that was gently brought to our ears by the cool breeze that wafted in Nuwara Eliya, when we stepped into the first ever authentic food festival in the country organised by the Sri Lanka Army. more..

May 2 (CT) Time travel is not a technological possibility � at least not yet. Right now, we can travel back and forth in time only in our imagination � often with some help from photographic, sound and moving image recordings. Last month, little 'time capsules' offering many frozen moments of the 20th century suddenly came within reach of anyone with Internet access. That's when the British Path� company uploaded its massive newsreel archive on to the free video sharing platform YouTube. more..

May 2 (ST) A combination of events in the past week has brought into focus some home truths about the officially projected image of Sri Lanka as a country where Buddhism is protected and nurtured � as the �state religion,� no less. These events should surely make people ponder on what exactly it is, that is being protected and nurtured by the government in the name of �Buddhist values.� A British tourist was arrested and deported for the �offence� of having the image of the Buddha more..