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Govt. begins direct talks with TNA
The government has finally begun behind the scene
contacts with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to
hammer out a solution to the vexing ethnic question,
just as the country nears the first anniversary of
the crushing of the most ruthless terrorist outfit,
the LTTE.
Full Story |
36 Lankans detained in Kerala
Ahead of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi’s
visit to Kollam, India on Monday, 36 Tamils from Sri
Lanka have been detained and questioned to know how
they reached Kerala, an official said Saturday.
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War is terrible |
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A war monument giving a graphic pointer to what a war does by showing a wide spreading crack in all directions caused by even a single bullet wedged on a thick wall drives home even to our war heroes how terrible a war can be. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa accompanied by his three service commanders on Thursday declared open this monument in Kilinochchi possibly hoping no more bullets need be fired ever again in a war in this country
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(Pic by Ravindra Dharmathilake) |
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SMS hoax causes panic
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) will begin
investigations into the hoax text message that
circulated on Friday and Saturday.
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UNP reform recommendations will not be ready tomorrow
The special committee appointed to
recommend reforms to restructure the United National
Party (UNP) will not be able to present the crucial
report by tomorrow, as was previously planned,
according to UNP MP and member of the special
committee John Amaratunga.
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NEWS |
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Destruction encroaches over Kokilai Sanctuary
The Kokilai Sanctuary has always claimed attention
of environmentalists for being one of most valued
bird sanctuaries in the island. Currently, it has
drawn substantial media attention imputable to the
unscrupulous destruction it has been subjected to
since last week.
On May 6, 2010 a group of wildlife officers from
Trincomalee, led by Saliya Bandara apprehended two
people while they were engaged in cutting trees in a
severely bulldozed land inside the sanctuary.
Subsequently, these villagers were immediately
arrested and presented to the Kebithigollewa High
Courts on May 7, 2010 and will be in jail till May
12 until the hearing proceeds.
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More adult dengue victims
More adults than children succumbed to the dreaded
Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF) in 2009 and in the
current year, up to April end, 60% of those who died
from DHF were adults.
“This gives us an important signal of the age
pattern of the disease. It has now shifted to
adults. Whereas previously the victims of DHF were
mostly children between the ages of 10-15 years, in
2009 and the first four months of this year, they
were mostly young adults between the ages of 20-25
years,” Dr. Hasitha Tissera, Consultant
Epidemiologist told The Nation.
Full Story |
Injured suspect succumbs
The hardcore criminal suspect who had his head
smashed after being hit by a falling branch of a
tree in the compound of the Galle Court Complex on
April 30, that we reported last Sunday under the
heading “Hardcore justice?” succumbed to his
injuries on Wednesday.
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SriLankan clarifies
In response to a news item that appeared in the last
issue of The Nation, Chairman of the SriLankan
Airline Nishantha Wickramasingha has sent us the
following clarification:
“I refer to the article which appeared in your
newspaper on May 2, 2010 titled ‘SriLankan rub it in
against its ex-pilots.’ As explained to you it is
regrettable that your journalist chose not to verify
the facts before publishing this particular article.
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No functioning CT scanners at Karapitiya
Patients visiting the
medical clinics at Karapitiya Teaching Hospital have
been thoroughly inconvenienced due to its CT
scanners not functioning since April 13 after they
were hit by lightning.
These mainly poor patients now have to travel to
Colombo or Ragama to obtain scanning services. The
only other way is to pay Rs.5,000 to get a scan done
at a private hospital.
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Col. Wickramasuriya reappointed
President Mahinda Rajapaksa
has reappointed Lt. Col. Prasanna Wickramasuriya as
the Chairman of Airport and Aviation Services Ltd.
Wickramasuriya who takes his duties very seriously
from his days as a frontline combat officer can be
seen at all times of the day and night where his
presence is required in the environs of the
country’s sole international airport at Katunayake,
leaving nothing to chance.
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Businessman robbed at gun point
A businessman from Yakkalamulla
was robbed at gun point in the early hours of May 7
of Rs.120,000 near the Galle Bus Terminal.
The victim, the owner of a drapery and clothing
store had left Yakkalamulla around 4:30 a.m. to purchase
material for his store in Colombo.
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Lankan engineer picked to judge global contest
Eng. Jayantha
Ranatunga has been picked to officiate as a Judge in
the ‘Grand Awards’ competition of the 2010 Intel
International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel
ISEF), being held from today till May 14, in San
Jose, California, USA.
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POLITICS |
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What price
Cabinet portfolios
 The
political fallout of the recent general election
continues, despite a month elapsing since the poll,
as the ruling United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA)
and President Mahinda Rajapaksa grapple with a
different kind of problem: Having to please everyone
who was a partner in the UPFA victory.
The President publicly expressed his
displeasure over the UPFA’s internal squabbles,
which reached a climax in Nawalapitiya, where the
election had to be cancelled and a re-poll ordered.
That delayed the entire process of releasing the
final election results and the formation of the
Cabinet.
Full Story |
New ministries geared to
economic development
President
Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his second term in office, has decided
to make a series of changes in staff positions at the
Presidential Secretariat as part of a revamping process
aimed at the efficient functioning of the Secretariat. “The
contributions made by certain persons holding key positions
at the Secretariat for the last five years have fallen short
of expectations,” a Secretariat source explained.
Namal as Private Secretary
Meanwhile, President Rajapaksa has planned to assign a very
responsible role at the Presidential Secretariat to young
Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa who is expected to be
appointed his Private Secretary shortly. The changes in
staff positions are to be carried out under his direction.
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NEWS FEATURES |
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Will Sajith Premadasa transcend his ‘gene-rights’?
 There is a post-election scenario that has been
played out time and time again. It’s all about
bringing down Ranil Wickremesinghe, democratising
the United National Party (UNP) and making it more
palatable to the masses and not just the Colomboans
(those die-hard greens mostly living within the
Colombo Municipal Council limits and believing they
have fallen from the sky or some divine entity’s
behind). Inevitably, the party gets split into two
camps: those loyal to the leader and those screaming
for his blood. This circus didn’t visit Sirikotha in
January because Ranil Wickremesinghe had played his
cards right and got poor General (Rtd) Sarath
Fonseka to be the ‘fall guy’. The entertainment had
to wait. Now the circus has arrived again.
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Paedophile clergy Shun the ‘Cost of Discipleship’
His own parents, he that had father’d him and she
that had Conceived him in her womb and birth’d him,
They gave this child more of themselves than that,
They gave him afterward every day, they became part
of him. (“There Was a Child Went Forth – Walt
Whitman)
Clergymen who sexually abuse children are those, whose
spiritual treasury is filled with what Dietrich
Bonhoeffer calls ‘cheap grace’ that is generated by the
“official religion of doctrines, rites and
institutions”. Not a day passes without reports in the
press that high-ranking clergymen have sexually abused
young children in Europe and America.
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Government must get agriculture moving
Agricultural
development is a priority task of the government.
The government has expressed this in its manifesto
and in the run up to the elections. Since the
government’s political support came more from rural
areas than the urban cities, it could be expected to
have a rural bias. There is, therefore, every reason
to expect the government’s economic programme and
investments to focus heavily on the development of
food crop agriculture and on rural infrastructure
that would support agricultural development.
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Lanka plays for semi-final spot today
Two teams that finished off their opponents rather
ruthlessly in their opening Super Eight matches meet in
what could turn out to be a crucial
clash for a place in the semi-finals of the third
ICC World Twenty20 tournament when Sri Lanka meets
Australia at the Kensington Oval on Sunday.
The winning team in today’s contest is assured of a
place in the last four unless three of the four teams
end with an equal number of points.
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Coach Harsha confident of Lanka Women qualifying for semis
 Having
scraped through their opening fixture with a narrow
one-run victory against Pakistan Women on Thursday, Sri
Lanka Women’s coach Harsha de Silva is confident that
his charges are capable of winning at least one of their
remaining two Group B fixtures and qualify for a place
in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 semi-finals.
Full Story |
Mahela pushes himself as candidate to open in WC
The outstanding form Mahela Jayawardene has shown in the
on-going ICC World Twenty20 tournament in the West
Indies and on the few occasions he has opened for his
country in One-Day Internationals gives Sri Lanka the
option to play the former captain in the role of an
opener for the 2011 World Cup.
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Wesley fights for survival
The Wesley College 1st XV rugby team who returned to the
pinnacle for the fourth occasion in their rugby history
of 53 years this season certainly will have to fight
hard for survival. Getting back to the top division was
not an easy call to a team that spent three years in
division 1 segment ‘B’ where they remained unbeaten last
year before earning a worthy call back to the top.
However as history repeats itself for any other team
that made a comeback to the top league, Wesley too had
to experience the bitter side of their blissful success.
Full Story |
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INTERVIEWS |
TNA Leader speaks his mind
 Tamil
National Alliance (TNA) Leader R. Sambandan, despite his
advancing years, is quite sprite when it comes to the
subject of finding a solution to the ethnic question. With
the LTTE having been crushed nearly a year ago, he sounds
ready to fully cooperate with the government, to find that
so far illusive solution acceptable to everyone.
Full Story |
I never
asked anything from President – Abdul Cadar
 At the parliamentary session on Wednesday, Kandy district
United National Party (UNP) MP Abdul Cadar created a stir by
voting with the government to extend the emergency
regulations.
Since that vote against the opposition, speculation has been
rife that Cadar, one of the most senior politicians from the
UNP, has moved over to the government.
Full Story |
UNP faces natural death if no
changes
 Amidst
criticism and counter criticism on the current leadership of
the United National Party (UNP), a set of proposals have now
been presented to its working committee in view of revamping
the Party to make it more of a people friendly one.
While, these reforms were spearheaded by a young and
dynamic group in the party, there are seniors who
welcome and bless this attempt by the younger generation
to bring the golden days back to the Party...
Full Story |
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