May 4 (AD) The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is to assist Sri Lanka’s Survey Department to update and prepare topographic maps with GIS to the national standards, using aerial photography. The available maps for the Northern Province are decades old, and could not be updated due to security conditions during the conflict, states the aid agency. Three new projects to contribute towards the effective and sustainable reconstruction of more..

May 4 (FNA) Sri Lankan President Mahinda Percy Rajapaksa is due to participate in the 14th summit of the Group 15 in Tehran on May 17. A high-level delegation led by Rajapaksa will attend the summit. Rajapaksa is scheduled to meet Iranian President Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of the meeting to discuss strengthening of ties between the two countries. more..

May 4 (UCAN) A priest has called for more financial aid for thousands of local Catholic fishermen and for the government to solve problems which they say are keeping them in abject poverty. “Come and learn about the constant problems faced by the fishing community,” said Father Cyril Gamini, in an invitation to politicians to help and develop the fishing industry. “They have thousands of problems.” more..

May 4 (BBC) More than 200,000 of the Sri Lankan diaspora appears to be united in their allegiances in the upcoming UK parliamentary elections. Immigration and economic policies of the major political parties are the key areas when deciding their vote at the elections, claimed students and young Sri Lankans living in UK. For some, though, the TV debates that resulted with the Liberal Democrats taking the lead in opinion polls seems to have energised the younger generation. more..

May 4 (CI) Batting was expected to be difficult on a slow and low pitch in Providence but the touch artist Mahela Jayawardene sparkled with a delightful ton, only the fourth batsman to hit a Twenty20 hundred, to charge Sri Lanka to 173. Only one other batsman in the top six touched double digits; it said much about the pitch and the form of the other batsmen but most importantly it highlighted Jayawardene's mastery. more..

May 4 (CI) Sri Lanka are going to give Muttiah Muralitharan extra time to try and recover from the groin injury, which ruled him out of the match against Zimbabwe, before dismissing the offspinner from the World Twenty20 altogether. Earlier in the day it sounded as though Muralitharan was already on a plane home, but Kumar Sangakkara wants to give his star man a chance. "We haven't ruled him out completely," the Sri Lanka captain said more..

May 4 (CI) Before this tournament started there were two Twenty20 international hundreds. In the last 48 hours that tally has been doubled and Mahela Jayawardene's even 100 will rank among the finest innings played in the format. It proved, beyond doubt, that there is still a place for elegance and grace in the smash-and-grab world of Twenty20. For a while it looked like rain would scupper Sri Lanka, but they managed to race to five overs in Zimbabwe's chase before another downpour more..

May 4 (TC) Sri Lanka’s leader Mahinda Rajapakse has scored a triple triumph - or in the parlance of that cricketing country, a ‘hat-trick’. He won a Thirty Years War less than a year ago and back-to-back elections, presidential and parliamentary, this year. The President’s bloc, the UPFA, is within easy reach of its goal of a two–thirds majority in the legislature: more..

May 4 (TN) Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna using bulldozers completely destroyed E’l’laangku’lam Liberation Tiger War Heroes’ Resting Homes in Uduppiddi in Vadmaraadchi Monday night, former TNA MP Sivajilingam said. He told that local residents in Uduppiddi had conveyed the information by phone. When SLA forces first occupied Jaffna peninsula in 1996 they had fully destroyed the above Liberation Tiger War heroes’ resting home tombs. more..

May 4 (GDI) There are plans to recruit skilled youth to fill engineering vacancies in the Irrigation sector. Minister of Irrigation & Water Resource Development Nimal Siripala de Silva said he would give priority to this exercise in his future development plans. Speaking at a function organized by the Irrigation Department to welcome him, the Minister said it is mandatory that the salaries of engineers be increased. more..

May 4 (LP) Wimal Weerawansa is my friend one time if not now. I do not have any reason to consider him as an enemy despite whatever the role he played in Sri Lankan politics in which, I think, he did what history asked him to do as same as Vepupillai Prabakaran did. I am not aware if he has any such enmity with me. We have not met for as long a time as two decades. more..

May 4 (LG) What wretched balderdash it is, who said it takes two wings to fly? SL [Sri Lanka] is on the verge of pioneering in its most cutting-edge technique of defying the two-wing theory and will soon be off in the air with one wing. The newly elected all-mighty government is all out to perform the first miracle in Asia while the so-called Tamil Diaspora is building a transnational castle in the sky. more..

May 4 (LG) Over the years, Sri Lankan Tamils have had leaders such as J.V. Chelvanayagam, G.G. Ponnambalam, Appapillai Amirthalingam, Velupillai Prabhakaran and Karuna Amman to name a few. The first three names belong to a group of elite Tamil leaders who were, in essence, Democrats. But their idea of democracy was limited, similar to the democracy represented by the elite Sri Lankan leaders at this time. more..

May 4 (LG) For the first time, the multicultural East has taken over the mostly mono-ethnic North in terms of the number of registered voters. The North has 988,000 voters and the East has 996,000 voters. This dramatically changes conventional approaches to problems in the North-East. The new reality makes it imperative to look at North-East problems from a secular point of view, not a communal point of view. more..

May 4 (LG) Recently while browsing the archives of Sri Lanka Guardian I accidently came across a reply to Jeremy Page’s article “Archaeology sparks new conflict between Sri Lankan Tamils and Sinhalese” which appeared on Time Online, London on April 6, 2010, by one of the so called history scholar Mahinda Gunasekera dated April 19, 2010. I thought it is my duty to address the Pseudo-Historians and more..

May 4 (ST) Outspoken Wimal told to speak out: The Asigiriya Chapter Mahanayake, the Most Venerable Udugama Sri Buddharakitha Thera, had some words of advice for NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa."If there is any wrong done, as a Minister you must always speak out," he told the new Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities. Mr. Weerawansa called on the prelates of the Malwatte and Asgiriya chapters after being sworn in as a Minister. more..

May 4 (LB) If someone ever asked me what my worst fear was, I’d have no hesitation about my answer. It’s undoubtedly the day where I would not have enough (clean) water to use as liberally as I’d wish. However this fear of mine, I’m led to believe, is not too farfetched --- and the day that it can happen is not too far away either. With the exponential growth of the population, especially in areas that are already heavily urbanized, more..

May 4 (BBC) England's women defeated Sri Lanka by 79 runs in their final World Twenty20 warm-up match in St Kitts. Sri Lanka won the toss and put England in to bat before right-hander Claire Taylor top-scored with 70 in her team's total of 160-5 off 20 overs. Danielle Hazell was the pick of the English bowlers with 3-9 from 2.3 overs as Sri Lanka were all out for just 81. England begin the defence of their ICC Twenty20 trophy on more..

May 4 (ST) The setting sun had sculpted a vast sea monster edged with fire over the horizon. Pink candy floss clouds were engulfed by the encroaching darkness. Flashes of lightning illuminated a seemingly primordial world and as light was about to be extinguished, Rohan Susantha, the Alankuda Beach boatman opened the throttle and we sliced through a rising swell to return from another session at sea. more..

May 4 (CPJ) The Committee to Protect Journalists is heartened by news reports today that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has issued a pardon to Sri Lankan journalist J.S. Tissainayagam, left. CPJ is waiting for official clarification, however, concerning several important details. The country’s recently appointed external affairs minister, G.L. Peiris, announced the pardon at a press conference in Colombo. more..

May 4 (wsws) The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) and the International Students for Social Equality (ISSE) held a meeting at New Town Hall in Colombo on May 1 to mark the International Workers Day. About 150 workers, youth, professionals and housewives attended the meeting, including SEP members and supporters from Jaffna and other parts of the island, as well as plantation workers from the central hill districts. more..

May 4 (Hindu) A six-member business promotion delegation from the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce(CCC), Sri Lanka, had a meeting with the Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI), Kochi, recently. The interests of the delegation included export of rubber products, fruits & vegetables, sesame seed, tamarind and pulses and import of cotton yarn, chemicals, synthetic rubber, machinery, rubber process oil, footwear components, more..

May 4 (LP) The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka granted investment approval for 2 ventures to commence operations under the Board Of Investment (BOI). Dhammika Perera, Chairman / Director General signed the agreement on behalf of the BOI and formally presented the BOI Certificates of Registration to the investors. Emmaus Industries signed the agreement for a venture to manufacture footwear for the export market. more..

May 4 (DN) Sunday night, May 2, I went to an amazing place; a gymnasium with all kinds of strange looking gadgets. Now I have been to gymnasiums and have seen exercise machines. I’ve seen television programs where well built men and women with what are taught to believe are ‘perfect bodies’ go on and on about the virtues of such equipment. I haven’t really paid much notice to these things. This was the Sports Ministry gymnasium. more..

May 4 (GDI) Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said that health staff will be given more facilities to provide a better and effective service to the public. He said the overall objective is providing a quality and effective health care service to the people of the country. The successive governments had invested a large amount to educate and train doctors. more..

May 4 (LNP) The total deposit base of registered finance companies (RFCs) has exceeded Rs 120 billion, while the total asset base has recorded over Rs 115 billion up to date. The Central Bank predicts RFC asset base will grow around 10 percent and deposits by over 10 percent. The Bank is also predicting a 12 percent growth in lending. With the investment potential in the Northern and the Eastern Province it is an achievable target, more..

May 4 (MoD) The Sri Lanka Navy brought 15 Sri Lankan fishermen who were in Indian custody back home on Sunday. The Indian Government released them as a result of the successful efforts taken by the Sri Lankan Government and the Ministry of Fisheries. The Indian authorities released the fishermen and the three trawlers they were sailing in after discussions with the Fisheries Ministry. more..

May 4 (LP) The new Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Gamini Lakshman Peiris assumed duties at the Ministry of External Affairs yesterday amidst the chanting of pirith followed by a brief sermon and blessings by the religious dignitaries present on the occasion. Thereafter, addressing the staff of the Ministry, the new Minister stated that he has assumed duties as the Minister of External Affairs at a time when more..

May 4 (MoD) Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse on Friday said that the Foreign Ministry had a pivotal role to play in countering the adverse propaganda launched by the Tamil Groups operating overseas lobbying for a separate state in Sri Lanka and the country's diplomatic missions overseas would have to forge closer links with their host governments to defeat the LTTE's strategy. more..

May 4 (PSM) Minority communities are advised to be vigilant on the government's move to re-demarcating boundaries of Divisional Secretaries and Grama Niladhari divisions in keeping with demographic changes in the country over the past five years. They are requested to make representations about issues concerning them to the 13 member committee appopinted for this purpose. more..

May 4 (LeN) Railway workers rights and Organization for protection of state property have questioned former Minister of transport Dulles Alahaperuma as to what happened to all the funds which were collected in the name of ‘uthuru mithuru’ (northern friends) to restore the Northern railway lines and for establishing a ‘Colombo gedera’ to enable night railway travelers from Jaffna to stay. more..

May 4 (MoD) Sri Lanka is an island that has a large sea area in its control. The country's sea is now seven times bigger than the land area. After 2027 Sri Lanka will own a sea area of 25 times that of the landmass. The island has made a request to the UN authorities to claim for the sea above the continental shelf of the island and the request is to be considered after 2027. more..

May 4 (LeN) Handunetti, DNA M.P. said, under the SL Constitution Section 150 -3, the only period the President can transfer the control of the State and finances is when the Parliament is dissolved. When there is an opportunity to pass a budget in the Parliament, abusing the constitutional provisions and taking charge of the full control of the country’s monetary administration by more..

May 4 (LeN) A group of UNP MPs question as to how Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as Opposition leader without the UNP Parliamentary group acquiescing in it or proposing it. Last 21st April, a parliamentary group meeting was held for the first time under the leadership of Ranil Wickremesinghe. Several of the MPs who participated at that meeting told Lanka e news that, no proposal was made nor any discussion held regarding more..

May 4 (LT) It is reported that former Deputy Minister of Health Wadiwel Suresh has taken away furniture and office equipment that were at his office. According to a spokesman of the Ministry of Health the value of the goods illegally taken away by the former Deputy Minister is worth a few millions. The spokesman also said 12 vehicles used by the former Deputy Minister’s staff too had been taken away and more..

May 4 (LNP) The UNP was a party which gave the country the Senanayakes and they could never endorse the action taken to deny a national list slot to Rukman Senanayake, the Mahanayake of the Malwatte Chapter Ven. Thibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera said yesterday. Individuals such as Rukman Senanayake should be in the UNP and he should be given an opportunity by the party leadership to make a contribution, more..

May 4 (DN) Sri Lanka can look forward to manufacturing its own nano titanium dioxide from Pulmoddai mineral sands deposits. It is important that everyone understands the growing importance of nanotechnology to the economy as well as take adequate precautions to run nano-integrated manufacturing facilities responsibly, Sri Lanka Institute of Nano Technology Director Prof Ajith de Alwis said. more..

May 4 (LNP) Granting any political party a steamroller majority is like, as a local saying goes, giving the horse a pair of horns. Today, the UPFA is a hefty bronco with strong horns champing at the bit! Who will rein it in? The Opposition is in total disarray and its top guns are busy conspiring against one another exactly the way the SLFP heavyweights behaved following a crushing defeat at the hands of the UNP in 1977. more..

May 4 (UNP) Going by the manner in which the President is sidelining the Parliament, and the steps he is taking to undermine the lawful authority and powers of it, the supreme people’s representative and legislative entity vested with full authority over the country’s finances, it is being questioned by the opposition parties and the public in general whether the President is under the sordid notion that the country is his dowry property and more..

May 4 (Island) China has emerged as a prime market for Sri Lanka’s gems while the value of exports to the US declined to US$ 13 million last year from US$ 26 million in 2008, with Thailand making significant inroads into the export market. With a view to capitalizing on the emerging market opportunities, the National Gem and Jewellery Authority has planned to hold several exhibitions in that country. more..

May 4 (MoD) Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa visited the Venerable Tibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Mahanayake of Malwatte Chapter and Venerable Udugama Sri Buddharakkitha Mahanayake of Asgiriya Chapter yesterday, (May 03). The secretary made the Mahanayake Theros aware on present security situation of the country and more..

May 4 (DM) When Mangala Samaraweera, the Minister of Urban Development, Construction and Public Utilities of the Chandrika Kumaratunga regime went ahead with a move to remove unauthorized structures in the Colombo city, the Colombo politicians intervened and blocked it. As a result, for the last decade or so the pedestrians continued to walk on the road while pavement hawkers ruled the pavement which was meant for pedestrians. more..

May 4 (DN) Power and Energy Minister Partali Champika Ranawaka instructed the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) authorities to appoint a committee to find out reasons for incurring massive losses during last five years and submit a full report on it before May 15. Minister Ranawaka said a certain mafia was against the progress of the CEB and he will not make any hesitation to deal with such elements. more..

May 4 (Island) The United National Front (UNF) is to push for the Chairmanship of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today, after the scheduled appointment of the various parliamentary committees. Chief Opposition Whip John Ameratunga told The Island yesterday that the UNF will follow up on its written request, to the Speaker, more..

May 4 (DN) The Wildlife Conservation Department (DWLC) has decided to build an electric fence around the Happawela village in the Hanguranketha Divisional Secretariat Division to prevent intrusions of wild elephants after an elephant killed a woman in the village, Wildlife Conservation Department Director General W.A.D. Wijesuriya said. The Department has decided to put up an electric fence to protect villagers in the area from wild elephant attacks, he said. more..

May 4 (Island) The North East coast lost a valuable portion of another tourist attraction yesterday, a large section of the Kokilai Bird Sanctuary. Nearly 1,000 acres were bull dozed destroying between 2,000 and 3,000 Weaver bird nests forever. The cleared areas were immediately torched after petrol had been sprayed. The sanctuary has about 6,000 acres. "We urge the authorities to act immediately. We fear there is a hidden political hand behind this," more..

May 4 (Island) The Government is likely to introduce the Electronic Voting System to Sri Lanka in the near future, Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardene disclosed. The Electronic voting system is a panacea for many problems connected with elections, Gunawardene said. Electronic voting, apart from being a simple voting procedure, eradicates corruption and reduces delays in releasing results, more..

May 4 (MoD) Fishing trawlers, boats and boat engines, captured from Mullaittivu district previous LTTE terrorist bases during the final phases of the Wanni Humanitarian Operations, were vested again in the fishing community Monday morning at a simple ceremony, held close to the beach, near Mullaittivu District Secretariat. Major General Athula Jayawardene, Commander, Security Forces, Mullaittivu, more..