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City Mayor held incommunicado
By Santhush Fernando
The new Mayor of Colombo Uvais Imitiyaz who took
oaths on Friday before the former Mayor of Colombo
Sirisena Cooray is held incommunicado at a house in
Hulftsdorp, The Nation learns.
It is believed that the new mayor Imitiyaz who was
elected by default after the UNP adopted the
independent group list he was in, is unable to speak
in public either in Tamil, Sinhala or English.
However, the UNP administered the oath on the new
Mayor to avert legal snags after they got wind of a
court injunction to be taken against Imitiyaz,
preventing him from taking oaths. |
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Tell me why? |
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This girl in Welikanda cries for her father who was
among the twelve people killed by the LTTE last Tuesday.
Pic by Anuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi |
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LTTE to raise
sea movements in Oslo
The LTTE is expected to raise the
issue of its sea movements during the Oslo talks scheduled for
June 8 and 9.
LTTE sources said that they have already arrived at a decision
and it is only a matter of conveying this to the government
delegation and the international community. The SLMM ruled that
the LTTE cannot engage in naval activities and the Sri Lanka
Navy is the sole authority over the territorial waters of the
country.
Who is behind Pettah abductions,
extortions?
Several kidnappings in Pettah by an
organized gang has sent shock waves through businessmen in the
area, the latest kidnapping being the son of a well-known
jeweller in Sea Street.
Four Tamil businessmen have been kidnapped so far and they had
paid exorbitant amounts as ransom money.
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NEWS |
 The
massacre of innocents
War and tragedy are not
uncommon to the people of Welikanda. Being situated on
the very edge of the Polonnaruwa District, this
settlement has had its fair share of death and
destruction during the two decades of open conflict.
There was a ray of hope after the ceasefire agreement
that things will change for the better.
Rs.
400M VAT scam
Police hunt for five more
businessmen
The Criminal Investigation
Department (CID) sleuths probing the multi- million
rupee Value Added Tax (VAT) fraud at the Inland Revenue
Department revealed that five more leading businessmen
are alleged to have collected Rs.400 million as VAT
refunds by producing forged documents.
Dehiwala Zoo headless
The administration of the
Dehiwala zoo is in turmoil with the service period of
the present director expiring and a powerful union
urging the government to renew his contract.
The Dehiwela Zoo Director Brigadier H.A.N.T. Perera’s
service contract terminated on May 18 and it is learnt
that it would not be renewed due to pressure from a
powerful figure in the government.
Grade One admissions: Govt. to revert back to old system
Admissions to national and
provincial schools from Grade One onwards from 2007 is
to revert back to the earlier system of interviews by
principals and school authorities.
"This does not mean we are going to give admissions to
everyone in the national schools in the country.
 APC
faces snag over JVP, JHU stance
The All Party Conference
convened by President Mahinda Rajapakse to seek a final
solution for the national question faced a deadlock last
week as constituent parties of the government held
contradictory positions on a final federal solution.
In
terror’s grip–has he a way out?
He is a lad just
reaching17, having obtained an A for mathematics and few
Bs and Cs in the O/L examination held last December.
Rajan (name withheld for security reasons), joined the
Karuna’s faction in Batticaloa, all because he wanted to
‘escape’ from the clutches of the LTTE.
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NEWS FEATURES |
 Professionals
– It’s time to blow the whistle
The Financial Transactions
Reporting Act No. 6 of 2006, places professionals,
especially accountants and lawyers, in a vulnerable
position, given the extent of the duty placed upon them
by this legislation.
This law applies to "institutions", the definition of
which is broad enough to cover many businesses. It is
defined to mean persons carrying on "finance business or
designated non, finance business". |
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EYE-FEATURES |
 Deepa
Mehta talks of ‘Water’
Deepa Mehta’s controversial film Water, the third and
final part of her elements trilogy, is now being
screened at the Majestic Cinema Bambalapitiya.
 Kingdom calling…
Walking in the footsteps of our forefathers is quite a literal
statement when it comes to the Kotte Kingdom. The last ancient
capital of united Sri Lanka has now all but completely
disappeared. However the country has come a full circle
with Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte becoming the nation’s capital once again
and the seat of administration moving back to this ancient land
of our ancestors. History says that the capital was established
on a Jaya Bumiya; a place which cannot be conquered by force. |
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POLITICS |
Ranil under
fire
The UPFA government under President
Rajapaksa is riding rough-shod over the Tigers after the
European Union move to ban the LTTE in a bid to contain their
activities in the west.
The 25-member-strong European Union was compelled to ban them
after having considered the atrocities committed by the LTTE in
the recent past and their failure to attend talks aimed at
bringing peace to Sri Lanka.
 Devolve
or perish
Addressing the All Party Conference
on Friday President Mahinda Rajapakse said, "We cannot let
future generations be saddled with the problem of finding a
solution to the problem we are faced with today. Therefore, it
is our duty to unite to find a solution to it. Thus, I propose
to set up a Committee with representation from all parties,
academics and intellectuals, who could come together to find a
solution to the ramified problems in the north and east of the
country.
 Put
your hands together… His Worship, The Mayor
There may be many prophets of doom
these days predicting the outbreak of Eelam war IV and bomb
attacks in the city. Given that these two events already occur
with clockwork precision in the war-scarred North and the
disputed East one could be excused for thinking that the end is
nigh but ...
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BUSINESS |
Abu Dhabi backed
project will create 1500 jobs and develop
surrounding areas
US$ 1.5 billion oil refinery for
South
Massive US$ 1.5 billion oil refinery project - a
joint venture between the government of Abu Dhabi
and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation is to be launched
in Hambantota shortly, highly placed government
sources said.
 World
Bank appoints new Country Director
Naoko Ishii has been appointed as the new Country
Director, for Sri Lanka and will take over from
Peter Harrold, the present Country Director whose
four-year term ends in July.
 Vibrant
growth with bolder policies needed - Boucher
Visiting United States Assistant Secretary of State
for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher said that
the Sri Lankan economy could expand more quickly if
bold economic policies were implemented and also in
a war free backdrop.
New refinery expansion : A
welcome sign
The need for an expanded oil refinery for our
country has been a pressing problem. Ideally this
expansion should have been done simultaneously with
the liberalization of the petroleum market. |
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NEWS |
CMC: Mayoralty
in a muddle
The recently concluded Colombo
Municipal Council election has raised eyebrows after revelations
that two senior members of the UNP had allegedly doctored the
nomination list approved by the party nomination board and had
thereby causing insult to the party and its hierarchy.
LTTE defences
strengthened with Pandyan brigade
LTTE Political Wing Leader,
Thamilselvan last week continually issued statements that the
peace process would be jeopardised if the European Union (EU)
decided to ban the LTTE. Notwitstanding, the EU banned the LTTE
on May 29.
EU ban will
not affect SLMM affairs - Helen
The mandate and functions of the
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) is not affected by the EU
ban on the LTTE since monitors from Nordic countries are acting
in their individual capacity and not as ...
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SPORTS |
Cricket
heavyweights flex their muscles before AGM
Mapping out their election campaign
on the belief that interim committees have bettered the
performances of democratically elected cricket bodies, chairman
of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Interim Committee, Jayantha
Dharmadasa, says that his team will retain administrative power
in cricket by wining the upcoming Cricket Board election.
Dharmadasa in an interview with The Nation said that his
committee had a smooth run in office, cricket wise, but faced a
lot of opposition from those who accused the interim committee
of allegations which he termed were false.
 Sri
Lanka frustrate England
Sri Lanka continued a brilliant
fightback when they bowled out England two runs short of their
first innings score of 231 and replied with 45 for 1 in their
second innings on the second day of the third Test at Trent
Bridge yesterday.
Some meaty blows from Jon Lewis and stubborn resistance from
Matthew Hoggard edged England to within touching distance of Sri
Lanka’s first innings, keeping their deficit down to just two
runs. Paul Collingwood’s gusty 48 was ended by Chaminda Vaas,
but Lewis’ 20 means it’s virtually all-square heading into the
second innings.
 The
road to greatness
We often ponder why a good number
of cricketers oozing with talent don’t become greats. Greatness
comes to cricketers who possess the vital ingredients such as
commitment, discipline, the will to work hard and the ability to
sacrifice. One also must not forget that a cricketer can’t
become a great batsman or bowler by practising a lot. He’s got
to be talented as well.
Bloomfield
concerned over Jayasuriya’s cricket future
Members of Bloomfield Athletic and
Cricket Club are in agony at the absence of their most
celebrated member Sanath Jayasuriya from the major share of Test
matches that the national team has played during the last few
months.
 Kandy
SC outsmart Army 23-9
Kandy Sports Club played
intelligent rugby to overcome a charged up Army Sports Club XV
23-9 in a keenly contested Inter-club rugby tournament fixture
at Havelock Park yesterday.
The winners showed that they had plenty of options at breakdown
points and, as a result, were able to drill holes in the Army
defence when they needed points the most.
 Welcome
to Murali’s club
The road running near the
Government Press at Borella, leads to one of Sri Lanka’s oldest
sports clubs. A few miles down the road the yellow coloured
walls signal you have reached a very familiar name in the local
sports arena - Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club.
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INTERVIEWS |
 Solheim
involved in fund-raising for LTTE- Somawansa Amarasinghe
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)
played a key role in Mahinda Rajapakse winning the presidency.
The JVP’s relations with the President and his party have had
their ups and downs over the past two years. While some see the
JVP as a ‘hardline’ nationalist party that inhibits the
President, others believe they are key ...
Citizens
matter in war or in peace
The EU and the Co-Chairs sent a
clear message to the LTTE. The LTTE sent two messages to all of
us. What they said I believe was something like this: ‘The
context has changed and it tells us to alter our methods. From
now on we shall consider anyone who is not with us a ...
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Designed by
Mangala Madanayake |
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