Apr 5 (DM) A crash at the winning post! That’s how the World Cup can be described for Sri Lanka in a cricket ball. Not only did two months of hysteria come to an end but also the dirty games played by some officials and politicians in the name of cricket merely to settle old scores and have a crack at their detractors. For our part we were able to see the winners and losers and never misled anybody or any organization to make capital from nothing. more..

Apr 5 (BL) The Sri Lanka’s Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry would reach US Dollars 10 billion industry from US $ 1 billion. Treasury Secretary Dr P.B. Jayasundera, made this remark delivering the keynote address on “Sri Lanka beyond 2011 - The role of the industry to support the Knowledge Economy”, at the CIO Council meeting of SLASSCOM held last week. more..

Apr 5 (Island) The shortage of drugs in state hospitals is primarily a procurement issue, Sri Lanka Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry President Ananda Samarasinghe said calling for transparency. "The root of all the shortages and quality issues is a procurement problem. Therefore it is vital to make tender procedures more transparent. There should be time frames for every step of the tender procedure i.e. predetermined times for tender boards, awards, more..

Apr 5 (SL) Sensational new information has emerged that Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, called on three directors of Lanka Hospitals and asked them to “agree to resign” as a favour to himself! Asoka Pathirane, one of three directors asked to resign, has charged that Nalaka Godahewa has acted without the authority of the Sri Lanka Insurance Board (SLI) in trying to accommodate nominees of Fortis Healthcare. Asoka Pathirane has taken his complaint directly to more..

Apr 5 (DN) The Sabaragamuwa University undergraduate who suffered shock and developed speech difficulties after being subjected to ragging by senior students, was brought to Colombo for treatment on the instructions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Ruwan Prasanna Nammunige is a fourth year student of the university and his parents sought Higher Education Minister S B Dissanayake’s help when the Minister met the parents of 4th year students of the university. more..

Apr 5 (Island) Sri Lanka will experience high temperatures and occasional light showers in the inland areas till the third week of May. Duty Forecaster Damayanthi Dignthiwatte said: "It is going to be very hot from April 5 till April 19. The sun will be directly over Sri Lanka at 12.14 pm. Weligama, Dickwella, Medigama and Kakanadura are some of the areas that would experience excess heat, she added. She said that the heat would be severe since the country hadn’t experienced much rain more..

Apr 5 (NF) Two elephants have sustained injuries in between the Seelawathura and Mollikulama areas, after being caught to a landmine. The Vavuniya Wild Life office said that the injured animals are being treated for these injuries sustained recently. Officers of the army detachment in the area had informed the wild life office in Vavuniya, after stumbling upon the injured elephants. The animals encountered this unfortunate incident, around a week ago. more..

Apr 5 (DM) The G.C.E. A/L examination 2011 is scheduled to commence on August 8 and continue until September 3, Department of Examinations said yesterday. Examinations Commissioner Anura Edirisinghe told Daily Mirror that the timetables would be sent to schools and would be displayed on the examinations department website very soon. “The examination is held for candidates facing the examination under the new syllabus as well as the old syllabus,” he added. more..

Apr 5 (DM) With the dawn of peace in Sri Lanka there were many Trade Delegations visiting Sri Lanka, and there were also visits by Senior Ministers from Germany who have obtained a good knowledge and understanding about the situation in Sri Lanka and this would lead to closer cooperation at Economic and Political level, said Dr. Stefan Wechbach, Deputy Ambassador of Germany. Speaking at the Annual General meeting of the Sri Lanka German Friendship Society as more..

Apr 5 (LBO) India's Fortis Healthcare group has struck a deal with Sri Lanka's Oasis Hospital to manage a cardiac centre, soon after it bought a stake in Lanka Hospitals, formerly part of the Indian Apollo chain. Krish Ramesh, Zonal Director, Fortis Healthcare, India, said Fortis is one of the largest hospital chains in India with 55 hospitals and wants to expand into Sri Lanka, especially with its expertise in cardialogy. more..

Apr 5 (TN) Members of Rajapaksa appointed LLRC had met the Mahanayaka Theras of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters last week to seek guidance before preparing the final report scheduled to be presented by May 15, according to a news report published in English weekly Lakbima on Sunday. The Buddhist prelates exercise a dominant influence on the Sri Lankan regime. LLRC is in the process of oral submissions made and also analyzing thousands of pages of transcriptions, more..

Apr 5 (TN) Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has instructed residents of Vellaveli in Batticaloa district to register with the village level officers (Grama Niladhari-GN), civil society sources in Batticaloa said. The SLA has directed the GN to submit all names of residents of the village in forms supplied to them. SLA has also directed the villagers to indicate whether the household members include ex-cadres of the LTTE and disabled due to conflict. This has caused tension and fear among the villagers. more..

Apr 5 (Island) This Rs30 Million project will need a miracle to complete and with the grace of our miraculous saint and the help of the faithful devotees we will succeed - Fr. Clement. "One of Sri Lanka’s great wonders is its spiritual intensity due to a multi-denominational society in which all four major religions intermingle. This intensity manifests at holy shrines, an example being St. Anthony’s Church at Kochchikade, Colombo, where not only Catholics but more..

Apr 5 (DN) New laws will be introduced shortly to ensure the safety of all packaged food items. Food Act No 26 of 1980 is to be amended to ban the sale of packaged food with items such as toys, coins etc in them (packages), a Health Ministry spokesman said. The law will come into effect from July this year. All pre-cooked or instant food items also should not have labels touching the product. All packaged food should carry the words or symbols indicating “for consumption,” more..

Apr 5 (DN) Authorities are set to introduce new legislation to ensure 100 percent smoke free public and work places shortly. They are also planning to enforce regulations relating to publishing pictorial warnings on tobacco product packagings to discourage smoking, especially among youth. The new legislation would come into force as soon as the authorities ratify the amendments to the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) Act, more..

Apr 5 (Island) Tests to detect radiation in those who return from abroad will be continued till the dangerous situation prevalent in Japan is defused, Chairman of the National Atomic Energy Authority (NAEA), Prof. Wimaladharma Abewickrama says. "So far, more than 200 returnees have been tested for radiation and no positive cases have been detected," he said. Previously the tests were conducted round the clock but now it has been limited to office hours. more..

Apr 5 (DM) The prices of bakery products including that of bread will not increase before the National New Year despite the recent increase in the price of gas, Bakery Owners’ Association President N.K. Jayawardena said. “If flour prices increase then we may have to increase our prices as well but the price of gas will not affect us as much as the flour prices,” he said. Mr. Jayawardene said the members of the association would meet after the National New Year to more..

Apr 5 (Hindu) President Mahinda Rajapaksa hosted a reception for the country's cricket team that was runner-up at the World Cup at his residence, Temple Trees, on Monday. Mr. Rajapaksa handed over a memento to each of the players. He presented Muttiah Muralitharan with a special plaque with a red cricket ball “for the invaluable services to Sri Lanka cricket and achieving unprecedented milestones in his cricketing career and for bringing glory and fame to our motherland.” more..

Apr 5 (DM) Villagers living on the border of the thick Mullaitivu jungles have reported seeing a tall four-legged animal, similar to a horse roaming in the area on Sunday night, a Sri Lankan news agency reported yesterday. Some of the villagers had photographed the animal using their mobile phone cameras and according to them the animal looked like a black horse. It had been rumoured at the time that slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakhran was known to have lived in more..

Apr 5 (PTI) Heartbroken as Sri Lanka made futile efforts to prevent India from winning the cricket World Cup, a 32-year-old man reportedly died here due to cardiac arrest. Keerthi Gunathilake, who was holidaying with his wife in the north-central town of Hingurakgoda, collapsed at his lodge after he realised that Sri Lanka was losing to India on Saturday, state-owned daily 'Dinamina' today reported. Gunathilake, a resident of Piliyandala on outskirts of Colombo, more..

Apr 5 (DM) The govt has decided to issue permits even for provincial councillors –turned –MPs to import luxury vehicles under duty concessions though they enjoyed such perks during their term in the respective provincial councils within a period less than five years. 24 MPs have been elected to the present parliament from the provincial councils, and, according to the normal procedure, an MP is entitled to such a vehicle permit once in five years only. more..

Apr 5 (DM) Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga is in the Spanish capital, Madrid for the 27th meeting of the Club de Madrid’s Board of Directors, her office said yesterday. Club de Madrid is the world’s largest forum of former democratic Presidents and Prime Ministers and this year’s meeting will be held today and tomorrow. The members are invited by the Club to work with variousgovernments and organizations in search of effective methods to more..

Apr 5 (Island) The historic relations between Sri Lanka and Italy took a great step forward on March 30, 2011, when the Italian Foreign Ministry decided to host a farewell lunch in honour of Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Rome Hemantha Warnakulasuriya. Sri Lanka’s first diplomatic mission in Rome was established in 1952. It was then run by a delegation led by R. S. S. Gunawardena as Minister. The Mission was upgraded to Embassy status in 1954. more..

Apr 5 (Island) Five important bills are to be taken up when Parliament meets today. They include three on changing the local government election laws. One of them is aimed at introducing an electoral system that would be a cross between the Proportional Representation (PR) and First-past-the-post, for local government elections. The Local Authorities (Special Provisions), Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Bill and Elections (Special Provisions) are scheduled to be taken up. more..

Apr 5 (Island) Under the UNP’s new constitution, the electoral organisers have to report directly to the six-member Advisory Committee, headed by the leader, since the post of District Chairman has been scrapped, Gayantha Karunathillake MP said yesterday. He said that the Advisory Committee comprising the UNP leader, Chairman, Co-Deputy leaders, General Secretary, Treasurer and National Organiser (still to be appointed), more..

Apr 5 (DM) A poser who had pressurised the Air Force Commander on the phone claiming to be President Mahinda Rajapaksa's son Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa, was ordered to be remanded yesterday after being arrested by the police. The suspect had given a telephone call to the Air Force Commander posing as MP Namal Rajapaksa and said in a threatening tone to cancel a transfer of a high ranking Air Force official. more..

Apr 5 (SMH) Recent reports of an Australian/Sri Lankan citizen's alleged involved in the commission of war crimes at the end of the Sri Lankan civil war raise once again questions about where Australia stands on the question of war crimes allegedly committed either by its citizens or by people who now live in this country. Palitha Kohona, a dual citizen of Australia and Sri Lanka, has been accused of assisting in more..

Apr 5 (AFP) Sri Lanka’s legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is struggling to qualify to play English county cricket this year — because he is scared of computers and examinations. A recent change in Britain’s work visa rules means the world record holder must prove his English language skills at an examination to secure a permit to play for Gloucestershire in June. more..

Apr 5 (Island) UNP Provincial Councillor and former vice president of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board M.J.M. Muzammil urged the govt to probe the "massive World Cup ticket fraud and to rid the cricket administrative structure of politics". He said "We urge the govt to initiate a probe to get to the bottom of the ticket frauds that took place during the ICC Cricket World Cup here." He alleged that bundles of World Cup tickets had been issued to the kith and kin of some SLC bigwigs. more..

Apr 5 (Island) Passengers on the Indo-Lanka ferry service, scheduled to go into operation soon, will have the opportunity of taking a fling in a casino or visiting other entertainment spots on the vessel. Sri Lanka Shipping Corporation Managing Director Manohari de Silva said that all arrangements had been made for the ferry service between the Ports of Tuticorin and Colombo to commence soon after the Sinhala and Hindu New Year. more..

Apr 5 (LBO) The International Monetary Fund has given Sri Lanka 218.3 million dollars under its 2.5 billion US dollar program but called on the Central Bank to tighten liquidity management to prevent further inflation. Sri Lanka stopped permanently sterilizing excess reserves in the banking system late last year and released more than a billion rupees of cash (about a third of the monetary base) as excess reserves. more..

Apr 5 (AFP) Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Monday hailed the returning national cricket team after their efforts in reaching the World Cup final - which they lost to India. Rajapakse, flanked by his wife Shiranthi, presented players with a 5,000 rupee gold coin and a pair of gold cufflinks encrusted with colourful stones, during a ceremony at his home. “Whether you won the Cup or not, going to the final, was a great achievement,” more..

Apr 5 (DM) Sri Lanka cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara announced today that he is resigning as captain of the national team after the forthcoming series with England and Australia. Following is the full statement released by Mr. Sangakkara to the media today. “I would like to announce that after careful consideration I have concluded that it is in the best long-term interests of the team that I step down now as national captain so that a new leader can be properly groomed for the 2015 World Cup in Australia. more..

Apr 6 (DM) The University of Ruhuna has been declared a no-entry zone for students today following a clash between two student groups last evening. Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Ruhuna, Professor Gamini Senanayake said that they decided to declare the university premises a no-entry zone today as a precautionary measure. Five students had been injured and hospitalized following a clash which occurred last evening between two student groups of the Science faculty and the Humanities faculty.

Apr 6 (GDI) Census of Population and Housing in Sri Lanka was launched today (5) with Grama Niladaris affixing a Census label on each building throughout the Island. Accordingly Colombo Fort - Pettah Grama Niladari Chaminda Caldera listed President's Official residence in Colombo, Fort as No 001. The census enumeration of population and housing which commenced today, covering the whole island after a period of 30 years would give very valuable information on more..

Apr 6 (BBC) One of India's most revered spiritual leaders, Satya Sai Baba, is in a critical condition, doctors say. Thousands of devotees in the state of Andhra Pradesh have gathered outside a hospital where he was admitted last week with breathing problems. State security forces have increased their presence around the hospital in Puttaparthi as devotees prayed for his wellbeing there. The 84-year-old guru is thought to have millions of followers around the world. more..

Apr 6 (CI) Four years ago in the Caribbean, it was said that the ICC got the World Cup it deserved. The 2007 tournament was a bloated, corporate, soulless sell-out of an event, infused with a noxious blend of controversy and apathy that turned the self-proclaimed Carnival of Cricket into a six-week wake. In Asia in 2011, however, the ICC got the World Cup that it needed, and that is not the same thing whatsoever. By the standards set in 2007, more..