A senior official at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) said that the newly built oil tanks at the Hambantota Magampura Port have started to sink. The oil tanks are sinking because the ground beneath them is weak. He added that cracks have also started to appear on the tanks.

Public Entertainment Minister Jayaratne Herath had received step motherly treatment during his recent visit to Japan with the President. The Lanka News Web learns that the Minister had to finally share room at a hotel in Japan with the mahout who was looking after the two baby elephants that were gifted to Japan by the President.

The SriLankan Airlines flight UL 114 aircraft traveling from Male to Sri Lanka on the 25th had met with an accident while flying from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport to Katunayake.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa had ordered the Secretary of the State Resources and Enterprise Development Ministry, Willie Gamage to sell a stock of graphite worth billions of rupees to a Tamil businessman declaring it to be “scrap material.”

We reliably learn that several powerful officials in the defence establishment are drawing a plan these days to assassinate the Chief Justice.

A group of lawyers are gearing to present a petition to the Supreme Court seeking a suspension of the attorney at law posts held by governing party lawyers and ministers Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dilan Perera and Susil Premajayantha, who are also members of the parliamentary select committee (PSC) probing the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice, it is reliably learnt.

Sri Lanka Customs has managed to raid an illegal distillery belonging to Matale District parliamentarian Wasantha Perera. The illegal operation had been carried out for a long time.

A private security company is engaged in setting up a floating armory in the seas off Galle, sources from the Navy headquarters said.

Avern Guard Offshore Services (Pvt) Ltd has requested for permission from the Defence Ministry to set up this armory. The company is owned by retired Army Major, Nishshanka Senadhipathi. During the tenure of the UNP government, the Major built close ties with government ministers and got contracts to provide security to state institutions. He had even provided security personnel working for him to attack university students at the time.

SLFP Negombo organizer, Deputy Minister Sarath Gunaratne has illegally sold a 10 acre land called Udappuwatte in Kudapaduva, Negombo that belongs to the Land Reforms Commission to the Jetwing private company.

The UNP has decided to request for the Speaker’s permission to summon Presidential Secretary, Lalith Weeratunge’s companion Indrani Sugathadasa before the COPE.

A young UNP parliamentarian has decided to ask for permission to summon Sugathadasa before COPE in order to question about several irregular transactions that have allegedly taken place during her tenure as the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

UNP MP, Attorney at Law Dayasiri Jayasekera has left for Bangkok, Thailand on the 1st before crossing over to give strength to the President shortly, reliable sources said.

LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran’s 14 year old son Balachnadran Prabhakaran had been killed after surrendering to the army on a direct order of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

The President has decided to appoint Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to the post of Prime Minister since Premier D.M. Jayaratne is unable to carry out his duties.

The President is to remove Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera from the post in order to appoint Prof. Ranjith Bandara to the post, a senior government minister said. Bandara who is an advisor to MP Namal Rajapaksa, is the head of the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute.

May 2012:

- Final confirmation telephone call was made by High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in London Dr Chris Nonis to his superiors in Colombo advising that a fully fledged itinerary with high profile meetings are being organised that will go a long way in fixing President’s and Sri Lanka’s image overseas and in particular in the UK.

UPFA MP R. Duminda Silva’s brother, who is the head of the Hiru Media Network, Raynor Silva has ordered two vehicles from Japan to gift to the Director of the CID, SSP Mahesh Perera and the CID officer investigating into Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra’s murder, ASP Shani Abeysekera, sources from the CID told Lanka News Web.

Journalist of the ITN, Sudharman Radaliyagoda, who is currently on a warrant to be arrested and another person had met with DIG I.M. Karunaratne who is in-charge of the Western and Northern Range of the Colombo Division on the 12th around 10.20 a.m. and had been engaged in a lengthy discussion.