May 27 (CI) After rain wiped out the morning session in Cardiff, Tillakaratne Dilshan won the toss and decided to bat although another heavy shower then scudded across the ground to threaten a further delay. In the conditions England won't be too worried about bowling first and being able to unleash their pace bowlers on Sri Lanka's top order. As expected Steven Finn misses out for England but Sri Lanka have had a last-minute change of heart over their team. more..

May 27 (BBC) In a sentiment rarely expressed within Sri Lanka, a group of prominent intellectuals has urged the government to set up a body to look into issues of accountability on possible violations of international humanitarian law. The Friday Forum, a multi-ethnic group which is led by a Sri Lankan former under-secretary-general of the UN, also calls for sweeping changes in post-war Sri Lanka. The proposed changes includ the scrapping of emergency and more..

May 27 (DM) Popular Sinhala scholar, teacher and playwright Kalasuri Arisen Ahubudu passed away this morning at the age of 91. The late Ahubudu who was born in 1920 was named Ariyasena Ashuboda by his parents but later changed it to the Hela format due to his association with the Hela Havula movement. He was a writer, orator, scholar, playwright, teacher, Sinhala lyricist and poet. He had his early education at the Kataluwa govt school and more..

May 27 (NN) The Disaster Management Minister says the department of meteorology in Sri Lanka is now more accurate with its weather predictions. Speaking at an event in Puttalam today Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that at one time when the department of meteorology said it would rain there was sun and when it said there will be sun it rains. But now, the Minister says the department has installed high tech equipment and gives more accurate weather predictions. more..

May 27 (DM) At least 17 students of a school in Bentota, in the Galle district, suffered shock today morning when the school building was struck by lightning. The incident occurred at 8.30 am at Elakatha Maha Vidyalaya, Bentota while the students were in the classroom. The affected students were all admitted to the Nagoda General Hospital in Kalutara. The electrical circuits in the school building were destroyed during the incident. The students suffered from shock but more..

May 27 (NN) The Cabinet on a proposal made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has approved the setting up an electronic system at the Department of Immigration and Emigration to issue Visas over the internet to foreigners visiting Sri Lanka. Foreigners visiting and travelling via Sri Lanka will be able to obtain visas through the website of the Department of Immigration and Emigration by personally applying for them on payment of the prescribed fees. more..

May 27 (MEA) The Deputy Minister of External Affairs Neomal Perera held bilateral consultations with Romania’s Secretary of State for Global Affairs Doru Costea on 20th may in Bucharest, Romania. The Deputy Minister who was on an official visit to Romania from 19 – 21 May also met Secretary of State Karoly Borbely, Minister of Economy, Trade and Business Environment. Deputy Minister Perera also addressed the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania more..

May 27 (NN) The main opposition UNP will participate at the victory day celebrations to be held at Galle Face green in Colombo. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said that UNP MP John Amaratunga will represent the party at the celebrations to commemorate the second anniversary of the end of the war. The UNP had boycotted the celebrations last year over the non inclusion of Sarath Fonseka at the event as he had led the army in the war against the LTTE. more..

May 27 (NN) The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) is to ban the sale of locally manufactured toothbrushes which do not carry the Sri Lanka Standards (SLS) certification. The law will take effect from June 1st this year and strict action will be taken against those who violate the ban. The law will also apply to the sale of toothpaste. The CAA said that under the Consumer Affairs Authority Act 09 of 2003 no manufacturer, distrinuter or trader shall manufacture, distribute, store, more..

May 27 (GDI) Her Highness Lubna Bint Kalid Al Qasimi, UAE’s Foreign Trade Minister will visit Sri Lanka in due course, says Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry & Commerce. Minister Bathiudeen revealed this after he paid a courtesy call on Her Highness Lubna Bint Kalid Al Qasimi at Abu Dhabi’s Ministry of Foreign Trade recently. “Her visit will further consolidate our trade relations and will help in bringing new UAE business engagements to Sri Lanka” more..

May 27 (NN) The Health Minister has issued instructions to the relevant authorities to use the local BTI in Colombo to combat the spread of dengue. A statement by the Health Ministry said that Minister Maithripala Sirisena had instructed the officials today to use the BTI bacteria in areas hard to reach where water stagnates. The Minister said that with heavy rain being experienced in Colombo yesterday and today there is a threat of dengue more..

May 27 (LBO) SriLankan Airlines has begun daily flights to Kandy in the central hills, using float planes to cut a three-hour road journey to 30 minutes for 4,900 rupees one-way and 9,800 rupees return. Flights from Colombo which now operate from the Kelani River to the city's north are to be shifted to the Beira Lake in the central business district soon. Flights leave Colombo at 9 a.m. and touch down at Polgolla, a reservoir, at 9.30 a.m. more..

May 27 (SL) University lecturers say that no decision has been arrived at to resolve the salary crisis even after a discussion with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Federation of University Lecturers (FUTA) has said that the discussion with the President has ended inconclusive with the agreement to hold a further round of talks. Head of FUTA, Nirmal Dewasiri told the media that although the President had acknowledged and accepted the salary issue of academics, more..

May 27 (Hindu) Sri Lanka’s longest-serving cricket captain and member of the Opposition DNA party, Arjuna Ranatunga, claims that it was the interest shown by businessmen in the game, after Sri Lanka’s 1996 world cup win, that proved a bad influence on the game. “After 1996, cricket went into the hands of businessmen. This happened with the ICC World Cup victory in 1996. Money flowed into cricket thereafter. These businessmen were aware how to deal with more..

May 27 (LBO) Due to the growth of social media and the internet Sri Lankan firms have to be increasingly vigilant to safeguard the reputation of their brands among today's well informed consumers, a senior executive said. Brands build bonds with end users to ensure they continually consume their products. Brand specialist say one way communication from brands to consumers is rapidly changing due to developments in Information Communication Technology (ICT). more..

May 27 (HT) Sri Lanka on Thursday withdrew the on-arrival free visa facility for Indian tourists. It means that Indians planning a trip to Sri Lanka after August should apply for their visas online for a fee or visit Lankan missions with an application. The new system will be implemented within 80 days, Chulananda Perera, Immigration and Emigration Controller General, said. Besides Indian tourists, visitors from 78 other countries will be impacted by the decision. more..

May 27 (NN) Sri Lanka had discussions with Egypt and Romania and briefed both countries on the developments in Sri Lanka including on the concerns over the report on Sri Lanka by the UN Panel of Experts. External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris who is in Bali, Indonesia for the 16th Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers’ Summit, had bilateral discussions with Dr. Nabil - Al – Araby, Foreign Minister of Egypt and Chair of the Non – Aligned Movement. more..

May 27 (LG) Knowledge society and knowledge-based economy are the latest catch words in the field of Education. Knowledge, skills and resourcefulness of people are critical to the building up of a knowledge society which is crucial for achieving the objective of a knowledge-based economy. Universities play a prominent role in achieving this objective. A very comprehensive paper on University Education, by Mr. Eric Silva, a former Secretary of Education, more..

May 27 (LG) This article is a reflection of some of the points raised in an article entitled “Will Norway ever ban her adopted child LTTE?” written by Malin Abeyatunge and published in the Sri Lanka Guardian on Wednesday 25 May 2011. It is definitely not an outright critique of the views expressed by Malin Abeyatunge; on the contrary, the present article revolves around several ideas that are deemed worthy of reflection at a time when political debates on Sri Lanka more..

May 27 (Cimic) Dansala and Vesak decorations at many places in Jaffna were among various Vesak programmes organized by the Security Forces Headquarters - Jaffna (SF-J) to mark the 2600 Sri Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi. Troops of the 523 Brigade celebrated Vesak in a different way spending two days with students of the “Nufields School for Deaf and Blind” at Kaithady on 18th and 19th May. The school premises was completely cleaned by the soldiers more..

May 27 (LG) We boarded the bus from Haputale to Colombo early enough so that the six-hour journey would get us in to our guest house with time enough to nap before dinner. Our time in Haputale was one of the most interesting and transformative experiences we've had. Both of us declared that we would need a long time and some physical distance from the town to process it all; so we thought we were free and clear to begin the work once we’d boarded the bus; but then we hadn’t more..

May 27 (TC) Today, we mourn from the very depths of our hearts the deaths of thousands of Tamils who were killed in Mullivaikal as well as in other places. Who are they? They are our beautiful children, our courageous young sons and daughters, beloved parents and grandparents whose burial grounds we do not know. On this day, as a Sinhalese, let me remember not only the physical deaths of thousands of Tamils, but also the moral and spiritual death of more..

May 27 (SO) A physician is a doctor specialised in treatment other than surgery. Treatment of injuries or diseases by cutting or removing parts of the body or surgical operation is performed by a surgeon. The diseases and injuries of animals, veterinary medicine studies is done by a veterinary surgeon. He is a person who is skilled in the treatment of animal diseases and injuries. Our proud history, which is recorded in Mahavamsa gives more..

May 27 (DM) Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed on of May 18, 2009. Two years later , on May 19, 2011 , the Sri Lanka (SL) media reported that Perinbanayagam Sivaparan alias Nediyavan who emerged as the Tamil Tiger leader after K P had been arrested in Norway. The Norwegian officials told Reuter news service that ‘a man had been questioned in a Norwegian court on the request of Dutch Authorities carrying out an investigation’. But they declined to name him. more..

May 27 (DM) Sri Lankans celebrate the second anniversary of the military defeat of the LTTE, with significant pride in that achievement and justifiable joy that one of the most ruthless terrorist organizations in the world has been effectively wiped out, although two years on, there are legitimate questions to be asked about the nature of the peace dividend that Sri Lankans of all ethnicities, whether Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim or Burgher have received. more..

May 27 (SO) A veteran soldier cum diplomat a novice said it was high time to change the concept of old-fashioned diplomacy to suit the present day context and also for diplomats to get much closer to expatriates to ensure their contribution to the country’s development. Time has come for diplomats to think out of the box and go out of the air-conditioned rooms to engage more with the people. The doors of our foreign missions need to be opened for more..

May 27 (SO) It was somewhat of a peaceful week at Kalutara where people were busy making arrangements to commemorate the forthcoming Vesak celebrations. People were so preoccupied erecting pandals and organising Dansalas anticipating large crowds to flock to Kalutara town during Vesak commemoration. Even crime cases reported at the Kalutara police stations hit a rock bottom except for one big case. The peaceful atmosphere and the tranquillity of the area was shattered when more..

May 27 (SL) The university teachers’ salary issue was reduced to a “Kaalakanni” (miserable, stupid) issue by the Minister of Higher Education, when he claimed in an interview aired by a popular TV station that university teachers who want a salary increase are only turning out “Kaalakannies” out of the cream of the Advance Level students who enter university with “A” grade passes in all three subjects. How such a local university “graduate” by the name of more..

May 27 (SL) President of The Editor’s Guild of Sri Lanka, Manik De Silva spoke to The Sunday Leader on the Press Council and the threats it could pose to the independent media, journalists and democracy. Q: Media groups around the country have been opposing the state appointed Press Council (PC). What are the threats it could pose to the independent functioning of the Sri Lankan media industry? A: As I see it, the major problem is that the Press Council is more..

May 27 (DM) The Minister of Higher Education, S.B. Dissanayake, is a man in a hurry and a man with a mission. He says his mission is to put the universities in order, which he claims no one has dared do until he arrived on the scene. He is in a hurry because he wants to do it right now. But one’s not always sure whether his intention is to make the universities or to break them. One cannot be blamed if one begins to suspect and one hopes all other men and women of more..

May 27 (GV) If those hardy Englishmen and Scotsmen who ran large tea plantations in Ceylon were far removed from the local people and realities, western movie makers were much more so. They could just as well have come from another planet to catch glimpses of an exotic island. But feature film makers everywhere enjoy the artistic license to create whole new worlds, and we willingly suspend our disbelief when watching their creations. Elephant Walk (103 mins, colour), more..

May 27 (TN) India can’t be trusted anymore. A solution for the national question of Eezham Tamils in the island has to be reached through wider international participation and guarantee, said former TNA MP and Tamil National Liberation Alliance (TNLA) leaders Sri Kantha and MK Sivajilingam in addressing a press conference in Jaffna on Wednesday. Informed circles say India pressurizes the TNA not to come out with any political proposals. more..

May 27 (Island) Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden are pushing up the daisies. Gaddafi has reportedly gone underground, unable to face the escalation of aerial attacks by the NATO forces. That is how the West deals with those it considers terrorists and dictators. But, KP, the self-appointed successor to LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, has revealed that the UN and a western country offered a ship for the LTTE leaders trapped in more..

May 27 (DM) For Sri Lanka, last week was eventful for one reason or the other. The week began with religious observances and celebrations for Vesak, with the added significance of it being the 2,600th year of the Lord Buddha’s enlightenment. It is ironic that though the Lord Buddha is revered as the greatest son of India, Sri Lanka appears to be again having serious problems with its giant neighbour and the Southern State of Tamil Nadu. In a much delayed effort at building bridges of more..

May 27 (DM) The Wildlife Department had decided to use the expression ‘Wana Ali’ when referring to wild elephants in Sinhala. This supersedes the former term ‘Wal Ali,’ said Agrarian Services Minister S. M. Chandrasena in Parliament. He said that a group of journalists had recently pointed out the need to replace the present term as a mark of respect for these animals. “We have now given due respect to wild elephants. In Sinhala, they will be called Wana Ali not Wal Ali as in the past,” he said. more..

May 27 (TN) Around 55,700 people still live the life of refugees in Jaffna, conceded Sri Lanka Government Agent in Jaffna, Mrs. Imelda Sugumar on Tuesday. The number includes people who lost their homes by the confiscation of lands by the occupying Army in Jaffna for ‘High Security Zones’ (HSZ) and those who have Jaffna connections and have come from Vanni after the war. On de-mining HSZs, 32 percent has been completed, 56 percent doesn’t need de-mining, more..

May 27 (TN) More than 40 acres of private land, including Saiva temples and their tanks, have been recently confiscated by the occupying Sri Lanka Navy in Ma’ndaitheevu island off Jaffna city to build a naval base and to expand the High Security Zone (HSZ) in that island. Sri Lanka occupying the country of Eezham Tamils denies the existence of High Security Zones in the north. Presidential sibling Basil Rajapaksa addressing a meeting in Jaffna last month said that more..

May 27 (LB) Two years back, Sinnaiah Jagajothi (53) and her family were herded to the Manik Farm internment camp. They still languish in a squalid hut there, dreaming about the brick- walled house they abandoned in Puthukudirippu (PTK), when they fled into the Tiger hinterland to evade the ever approaching war. Later, on May 15, two years ago, Ms Jagajothi and their three daughters waded through the Nandikadal lagoon to flee the grip of the Tigers and more..

May 27 (DN) The Uva Wellassa University (UWU) supports the government's effort to promote demand driven, education oriented towards national development capacity building in the country. The university recognizes the importance of being a strategic development partner in Uva province, and therefore strives to contribute to the region's economic growth, social development and environmental sustainability at all times. The university holds its first convocation today. more..