Horoscopes not matching: Yasara’s entire family to go overseas

 Saturday, 24 May 2014 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has paved the way, at the request of first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, for the entire family of Yasara Abeynayake, the long-term girlfriend of president’s second son Yoshitha Rajapaksa, to leave for Australia, after it has been found that the horoscopes of Yoshitha and Yasara do not match.

On a recommendation by the president, External Affairs Ministry Secretary Kshenuka Seneviratne has appointed Yasara Abeynayake as the deputy consul general at the Sri Lankan Consulate in Sydney, Australia. According to tradition, if the appointee is single, she should go alone. But, making an exception here, the external affairs ministry secretary has granted Yasara the permission to take all her family members along with her.

That is on one condition, laid down by the Rajapaksa family. That is that the Abeynayake family should not speak to the media, both local and foreign, about what had happened in the past. Presently under severe depression, Yasara Abeynayake and family are hoping to leave Sri Lanka at the first available opportunity.

The Island Of “Diplomatic” Thieves: 2872 DPL Passports Issued In 9 Years

• 2,872 diplomatic passports issued since 2005
• Housewives, students, unemployed persons issued diplomatic passports
• Opposition to seek a debate on passport issuance

| by Ashwin Hemmathagama

The Finance Times

( May 24, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) A major flaw in the issue of diplomatic passports to non-diplomats, who are not entitled to hold such important internationally-valid documents, was taken up yesterday at Parliament by Opposition lawmaker Akila Viraj Kariyawasam.

Diplomatic passports issued by the Sri Lanka Department of Immigration and Emigration during a “nine-year period since 2005 now exceeds 2,872” regardless of the “exclusivity of a list of pre-approved personalities” the department was to follow in the issuance.

As a result, the VIP lounge at Bandaranaike International Airport is “crowded with diplomatic passport holders, mostly the merchants,” which is a clear “violation of the purpose such passports are issued,” charged MP Kariyawasam.

In response, Minister of Water Supply and Drainage, and Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardena on behalf of the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development tabled the long list of both active and inactive diplomatic passport holders till 31 December 2013.

The long list confirms along with passport numbers and names the diplomatic passports issued to housewives, students, undergraduates, unemployed persons, journalists, teachers, physicians, clerks, retired persons, private secretaries of politicians, attorneys, businessmen, photographers, IT personnel, media secretaries, researchers, designers, retired Government servants, undergraduates, management assistants, bank officers and proprietors.

However, according to Gunawardena, the President, his spouse and their children, the Prime Minister, his spouse and their children, former Presidents, former Prime Ministers, the Speaker, Chief Justice, Ministers and Leader of the Opposition, representatives of the Government of Sri Lanka accredited to the governments of other countries while they are serving abroad, officers holding substantive appointments in the overseas service (including officers posted to Sri Lanka Missions from the Department of Commerce) while serving abroad, governors of the provinces, chief ministers of the provinces, Deputy Speaker, Deputy Ministers, Deputy Chairman of Committees of Parliament, Chief Government Whip, and their spouses and unmarried daughters and minor sons of categories, the Attorney General, Judges of the Supreme Court, Judges of the Court of Appeal, Members of Parliament and spouses, Chairpersons of the Provincial Councils and Provincial Ministers, Secretary to the President, Secretary to the Prime Minister, Secretary to the Cabinet, Governor of the Central Bank, Secretaries to the Cabinet Ministers, Advisors to the President, Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, Auditor General, Secretary General of Parliament, Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman), Secretary to the Leader of the House, Secretary to the Chief Government Whip, Secretaries to the Non-Cabinet Ministers, Chief Secretaries, Additional Secretaries to the President, Chief of Defence Staff, Commanders of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Inspector General of Police, Mahanayakes of Malwathu, Asgiri, Ramanna, Amarapura Chapters, Archbishops of the Roman Catholic Church, Most Reverend Chief Priests of the other religions, Chairmen of the Commissions appointed under the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, Director General, Department of Commerce, Deputy Inspector General, Intelligence Service, Commissioner in-charge of Tea Promotion work (Overseas) and Mayors of MCC to be specially approved by the President are entitled to hold diplomatic passports.

Tor removes Palpita's trouser

Saturday, 24 May 2014 

 

Though governments of certain countries have imposed access control over news web sites, the expectations of the governments are failing as the viewers tend to gain access to the censored web sites using alternative methods. It fails the efforts of Anusha Palpita, the Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka.

Many viewers use proxy web sites such as 'hide my ass' http://www.hidemyass.com/proxy/ in order to access censored web sites. The Tor browser gives facility to access censored web sites

The methods which do not involve using a proxy websites to access censored websites are also highly popular.

Tor is among one of those popular methods.

Tor is a web browser similar to Fire Fox and Chrome.Tor was originally designed, implemented, and deployed as a third-generation onion routing project of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.

It was originally developed with the U.S. Navy in mind, for the primary purpose of protecting government communications.

Today, it is used every day for a wide variety of purposes by normal people, the military, journalists, law enforcement officers, activists, and many others.

Individuals use Tor to hide their IP address and to connect to news sites, instant messaging services, or the like when these are blocked by their local Internet providers.

Individuals also use Tor for socially sensitive communication: chat rooms and web forums for rape and abuse survivors, or people with illnesses.

Tor can be downloaded using this link: https://www.Torproject.org/download/download-easy.html.en

Follow the below instructions to install the software and you will be able to view censored web sites without any disruption. https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en#windows

This video provides instructions on installing Tor

Malinda Wins 2013 Gratiaen Prize

May 24, 2014 |

Editor in Chief of ‘The Nation’ Newspaper Malinda Seneviratne has won the Gratiaen Prize – 2013 for creative writing in English for his collection of poetry ‘Edges’.

This year the shortlist was made up exclusively of poetry and the shortlisted works for the Gratiaen Prize 2013 are:

1. This Nothingness, a collection of poetry, in manuscript form, by Inosha Ijaz
2. A Patchwork Soul, also poetry, in manuscript form, by Chamali Kariyawasam
3. Edges, ar collection of poems, published by Fast Publishers, by Malinda Seneviratne

The judging panel for the Gratiaen Prize 2013 are:

Tissa Devendra (Chair) originally a student of literature, has had a distinguished career in the Public Service, working around Sri Lanka.  After retirement he has served as Chairman of the Public Service Commission and the Salaries Commission.  He is the author of Tales from the Provinces, On Horseshoe Street, Memoirs of a Pen Pusher and Quest for Shangri La.

Dr Shavrika Damunupola Amarasekera is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Colombo. Her primary research interests are in childhood studies, postcolonial literatures and Sri Lankan writing in English and she has published work on childhood, ethnicity and Sri Lankan fiction in English.  She has a keen interest in Sinhala literature in translation and was a judge of the HAI Goonetilleke prize in 2012.

Vijay Kumar Nagaraj is a researcher, writer and teacher.  He has taught at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Bombay, India and most recently at a secondary school in Colombo.  He has worked on issues of rural community empowerment in Rajasthan and for a think-tank in global public policy research.

Sanjaya – Rare Creativity And Untamed 

Personality

Sanjaya Senanayake

By Ranga Kalansooriya -May 24, 2014

Dr. Ranga Kalansooriya

That was somewhere in 2006, I wanted to check the ongoing studio development work at the College [Sri Lanka College of Journalism] as part of my morning routine work. Probably it would have been around 8.30 in the morning and hardly any staff member is in the office by this time. I knew the guys were working till late night to finish the studio on time for the new students to use it in a few weeks.

I tried to open the door of the studio but something was blocking it from inside. I pushed it hard. Oh God..! It was Sanjaya who was sleeping on the floor blocking studio door. Poor fellow has worked overnight probably with Prasad (Senaratne) and just catching up a last minute sleep. This was not once, it was Sanjaya’s practice almost every day to work day and night for at least a month to complete the radio and television studios for the college – for the future journalists in Sri Lanka. He would work without food, without sleep – but he would not miss his plain tea and the smoke – that took his life in the midst of his journey.                                                                                     Read More

'If I’m expelled, govt. will last only 6 months' – PB

 Saturday, 24 May 2014 

“I am willing to resign at any moment. The president is keeping me against my will. I have the IMF job at any time. What I am doing is a favour for the president. Therefore, I am not prepared to dance to the tune of anyone. Only I know how I run the economy with all the difficulties. Power babies who apply jelly cannot understand that. But, the president knows it. I dare them to expel me and then run the economy for six months,” finance ministry and treasury secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundara has told ministry officials close to him.

Dr. Jayasundara has responded thus to various remarks being made to the media by government politicians, including Namal Rajapaksa and Wimal Weerawansa.

“What this government does is like borrowing for a wedding. Wastage and corruption is widespread. Government people’s financial discipline is nil. The government has lasted this long only due to my personal abilities, and nothing else. Those who have passed only grade eight would not understand it. If anyone says I have robbed or have obtained commissions, I challenge them to prove. I do not want to protect anyone. I protect the country only,” an emotional Dr. Jayasundara has told officials close to him.

PB to be removed as Economic Dev. Secretary?

May 24, 2014 Sri Lanka’s powerful Finance Secretary Dr. P B Jayasundera is to be removed from the additional post of Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Development, according to sources.  

Informed sources say that P.B. Jayasundera, who is also the Secretary to the Treasury and the Finance Ministry, will likely be removed from the position of Economic Development Secretary, in the wake of his ongoing conflict with Minister Wimal Weerawansa. 

The vociferous Minister has on numerous previous occasions launched scathing attacks on Dr P B Jayasundera, and had even called him an “economic hitman.”

The Minister’s latest salvo came during the Derana 360° programme on May 12  when he charged that Jayasundera is holding the government “hostage” and that he should be behind bars.  

The Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities claimed that P.B. Jayasundera is wrongfully exercising executive powers and that Ministers are helpless in front of the Finance Secretary’s chair.  

The leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF), a constituent party of the ruling UPFA, further alleged that Ministers are praising Jayasundera in the papers so that they can “ask for some money” and that Minister S.B. Dissanayake was a good example for this. 

However, the Higher Education Minister rejected these comments the following day saying, “I have not personally praised P.B. Jayasundera anywhere.” 

Minister Weerawansa had also attacked the government for not replacing Jayasundera with another financial expert and stated that failure to do so was due to the “brainlessness” of the government and its “biggest mistake.” 
  
He had alleged that P.B. Jayasundera is holding the government “hostage” and that the current regime and its decision makers are afraid to sack him. 

The National Freedom Front (NFF) leader had continued his clash with the ruling party when his party unveiled 12 proposals at its annual convention and declared that they would quit the ruling alliance if the government does not adhere to them.  

Meanwhile representatives of the NFF and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), coalition partners of the ruling UPFA government, met yesterday at Minister Weerawansa’s official residence in Tunmulla.

Weerawansa and Mohamed Muzammil were among those present from the NFF while the JHU was represented by Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, MP Athuraliye Rathana Thero, Western Provincial Councilors Udaya Gammanpila and Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe.  

Incidentally both parties were absent during the vote on the UNP-led Motion of No-confidence against the government, over its failure to take concrete steps to curb the drug trade in the country, and also during the vote on the Strategic Development Projects Acts.

Earlier this week two Uva Provincial Council members from the NFF have defected. Capt. Mihimal Munasinghe joined the UNP while W.A. Udayakumara joined the SLFP.

Minister Wimal Weerawansa and several NFF members are scheduled to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Temple Trees this morning, following an invitation extended by the President. 

A switch in Health and Plantation

Meanwhile it is also reported that Mrs Sudharma Karunaratne, who is the current Secretary to the Ministry of Plantation, will be transferred to the post of Health Secretary, which is currently held by Dr. Nihal Jayathilaka.

A series of crises had plagued the health sector in recent times while the midwifery training issue had been one of the main topics among the public and media. 

Several trade unions affiliated with the health sector had engaged in strike action over the issue while this had resulted in patients facing many difficulties in hospitals across the island. 

Trade unions in the health sector had strongly criticized certain decisions taken by Health Secretary Dr. Nihal Jayathilaka, which had led to the strike actions. 

It is said that the cold war between the Health Secretary and the Director General of Health Services was one of the main reasons for the issues to reach the point of trade union action.

Under these conditions the Minister of Health Maithripala Sirisena had requested Dr. Jayathilaka to leave the post of Health Ministry Secretary, a highly-placed source told Ada Derana. 

Therefore Dr. Jayathilaka is likely to assume duties as the Secretary to the Ministry of Plantation Industries within the next couple of days. 

‘I’ll break PB’s limbs’ – Namal!

 Saturday, 24 May 2014 

Chaos reigned at the president’s chamber in parliament on the day the no-confidence motion against the government wsa taken up for debate. From that room, MP Namal Rajapaksa had abused someone in a very loud voice. Present there at the time were agriculture minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, president’s coordinating secretary of parliamentary affairs Kumarasiri Hettige and chairmen of several state corporations.

It was finance ministry and treasury secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundara who had been the target of MP Namal Rajapaksa’s outburst. That was after PB had sent a message to him that if he wanted funds for his projects, the MP should make an appointment through his secretary and meet him at the ministry.

“Who he is to say that I should come to his ministry? He is the one who is breaking this government. If I catch that pariah, I will break his limbs. Who does he think I am to go and worship his feet? Pariah dog. Go and tell him that I said this. Tell him not to come before me. I will finish him off. What Wimal Weerawansa does is correct. He thinks the government cannot manage without him,” the MP has told the corporation chairmen, while the elderly agriculture ministry looked on stunned. After making much effort, Kumarasiri Hettige managed to pacify the MP.

Harsha fires all cylinders at EPF

 May 24, 2014 

• AG provides only ‘qualified opinion’ on EPF 2011 accounts
• Harsha says CB delayed releasing accounts because of AG observations
• AG says several companies invested in had yielded no income for EPF Fund is shrinking: Harsha
• EPF was investing in ‘pump and dump’ shares, says UNP MP

The Auditor General has provided a qualified opinion on the accounts of the Employees’ Provident Fund run by the Central Bank, citing management deficiencies, bad investments and the failure of the fund manager to answer audit queries.
In accounting parlance, a qualified opinion suggests that the information provided was limited in scope or that the institution being audited has not maintained generally-accepted accounting practices (GAAP).
“I believe that the audit evidence I have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my qualified audit opinion,” Auditor General H.A.S. Samaraweera said in his review of the 2011 Annual Report of the EPF.
Making the startling revelation yesterday, UNP Parliamentarian and Economist Dr. Harsha De Silva said the Auditor General’s remarks in the preamble of the EPF Annual Report exposed the Central Bank’s reasons for delaying the release of the report for nearly three years.
“The country’s main private pension fund cannot be audited without being qualified by the Auditor General. If this was a bank or company that was audited this way, it would make the shareholders very concerned,” De Silva charged, addressing a press briefing in Sirikotha yesterday.
The Auditor General has also highlighted the Central Bank’s failure to answer audit queries, he said.
De Silva has relentlessly pursued the EPF controversy, insisting that the fund was being mismanaged and poorly invested and demanding the release of the EPF’s audited accounts for 2011.
The UNP Legislator said that by 2011, 76% of EPF contributions were going towards repayments, from 30% in 1990 and 56% in 2006.
De Silva said the higher percentages paid out from the contributions of members indicated that the fund’s capital was increasingly unproductive.
The fund would be in deep trouble if repayments soon exceeded contributions, he said.
“The EPF is shrinking. It is the working peoples’ hard earned savings and it is being mismanaged,” he said.
The Government was making plans to amend the EPF Act to be allowed to make EPF repayments in parts rather than in full, because the money was dwindling, the UNP MP charged.
Pointing to what he said was a major conflict of interest, Dr. De Silva said whatever the EPF was made as profits was going towards providing soft loans for the Government.
“The Central Bank is not only borrowing on behalf of the Government, it is also the lender as the fund manager for EPF,” he explained.
The UNP MP said that the conflict of interest was blatant, since the Government’s aim was to borrow at the lowest possible interest, while it was to the benefit of 2.5 million provident fund account holders to obtain the best possible return on capital. “Whose voice is ultimately heard by the Central Bank?” De Silva questioned.
He called for employee representation on the EPF management mode, which would look after the interests of the account holders and prevent controversial investments.
The EPF had been used to invest in the ‘pump and dump’ shares when they were at peak, De Silva said, referring to the recent scandals that rocked the Colombo Stock Exchange, which led to several securities regulators quitting.
“Who made money during the pump? How are they connected to the Central Bank and the managers of the EPF?” De Silva asked.
“White collar crooks are running this fund,” the UNP MP charged.
The Auditor General in his review of EPF accounts points to several unyielding investments in the fund’s portfolio, saying Rs. 500 million in invested in 1,863,676 units of an airline company in July 2010 had not yielded any income to the fund since the date of investment.” The EPF has also invested Rs. 500 million in SriLankan Catering.
However, in April, EPF officials defended these investments saying that the companies in question would gradually turn a profit, saying these were ‘market to market unrealised losses.”
“Therefore these unrealised losses/gains do not increase or decrease the benefits distributed to the members,” the EPF said.
But de Silva says the fund must be invested according to good investment practices.
“No one is saying don’t invest in the Stock Exchange. No one is saying all the transactions are bad. But out of a hundred there are a few and someone is making a lot of money from it,” he added.
The UNP MP said that while investing the EPF in commercial banks was expressly prohibited, the Central Bank had gone ahead with the investments. “As a result the Central Bank has a hold on all of the commercial banks. Former Central Bank officials are taking over as chairpersons of commercial banks,” De Silva charged. (DB)

Female undergrad murdered in Elpitiya

May 24, 2014 

A female undergraduate has been stabbed to death with a sharp object near the main bus stand in Elpitiya this morning, police said. 

The Police Spokesman’s Office said that the 22-year-old student was murdered at around 6.55am today.

So far no arrests have been made over the incident while Elpitiya Police are conducting further investigations. 

At least 10 dead in attack on Somalia’s parliament building

Somali soldiers walk past the parliament building in Mogadishu after an attack by Al-Shabaab militants on Saturday, May 24

By Omar Nor, CNN- Sat May 24, 2014

Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) — Al-Shabaab militants launched an attack Somalia’s parliament headquarters Saturday, leaving at least 10 people dead and more than 11 others wounded, witnesses and officials said.

Members of the parliament were among those wounded after gunmen loyal to the al Qaeda-affiliated terror group stormed the facility in Mogadishu, according to witnesses and official accounts.

Fighters used automatic rifles, heavy machine guns and explosives in an attack that lasted more than three hours, witnesses said.

Mohamed Madale, a police spokesman, said security forces later secured the building after the fighters blew themselves up. He said the security forces killed several fighters during the attack.

Dahir Mohamed, a police officer who witnessed the attack, said the attackers used a car filled with explosives to get into the parliament building, and killed some of the Somali forces guarding the building on their way in.

Smoke and flames could be seen pouring from the building as ambulances pulled up to attend to the wounded lying on the ground. People took cover as security forces moved in, exchanging gunfire with the attackers. Some members of parliament were evacuated from the building.

Ali Osman, an ambulance worker at the scene, told CNN that he collected 10 bodies, including those of Somali forces, civil servants and civilians who were caught in the crossfire during attack.

He also said more than 11 others, including members of the parliament were also wounded.

Prime Minister: Attack does not reflect “true Islamic faith”

Al-Shabaab took responsibility for the attack. A spokesman, Abdul Aziz Abu Musab said on Radio Andalus, the group’s radio network: “Their martyrdoms carried the attack on the parliament building and they killed what he called many of the apostate MPs.”

Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement, “The terrorists have once again shown that they are against all Somalis, by killing our innocent brothers and sisters. These cowardly, despicable actions are not a demonstration of the true Islamic faith.”

The U.S. State Department issued a statement condemning the attack.

"We extend our sympathies and condolences to those affected by this heinous act of terrorism," deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said in the statement, "and commend Somali and African Union forces for their swift and courageous response."

"We continue to stand firmly with the Federal Government of Somalia and the many international partners working to support its efforts to root out the threat posed by al-Shabaab and to build a more secure and prosperous future for the Somali people," Harf said. "Cowardly acts such as these will not shake our resolve."

Lawmakers witness carnage

Mohamed Omar, a lawmaker who was inside the parliament building, said that Al-Shabaab fighters wore military uniforms and “suicide belts.” Security forces killed at least three of the militants, Omar said.

Osman Daallo, a member of parliament, said he saw two colleagues seriously, including a fellow MP “whose chest was gushing out from blood.”

Mohamed Deyfalah, another MP, said the attack was the worst he has ever witnessed, and he had always believed parliament’s heavy security presence would have prevented such an attack.

One of wounded MPs who asked to remain anonymous said, “Today’s attack indicates the weakness of the government.

"Our government is still una

ble to deal with the terrorists and today’s attack underscores a lack of efficient government."

Al-Shabaab’s aim is to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state, though it has carried out attacks in other African countries as well. A prime example of the latter was last September’s attack on Nairobi’s Westgate Mall, which ended with at least 67 dead.

The group has increased the use of suicide attacks in recent years, though these have been somewhat rare in Somalia. It is believed that veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are believed to be helping train al-Shabaab fighters.

Learn more about Al-Shabaab

Pakistan PM to attend inauguration of India's new leader Narendra Modi

Nawaz Sharif, whose attendance at ceremony will be a first in history of two states, will also hold bilateral meeting with Modi

Nawaz Sharif is also likely to invite Modi to visit Pakistan, an official said on Saturday. Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Jason Burke in Delhi-Saturday 24 May 2014

The prime minister of Pakistan has accepted an invitation from Narendra Modi, the incoming Indian prime minister, to attend his inauguration on Monday in Delhi, raising hopes of a thaw in relations between the two south Asian nations.

Pakistan PM to Attend Inauguration of India's New Leader Narendra Modi by nelvely

China identifies suspects of suicide bombing attack in Xinjiang - Xinhua

Policemen stand guard next to a barricade blocking the street leading to the site of an explosives attack, in downtown Urumqi, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region May 23, 2014.

SHANGHAI Sat May 24, 2014
(Reuters) - Chinese police have identified five suspects who carried out a suicide bombing in the deadliest attack in the country's restive Xinjiang region in years, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The report said 39 people were killed from the bombing on Thursday morning at a vegetable market in Urumqi in far western China, home to a large Muslim Uighur minority.

Police have identified the suspects as Nurahmat Ablipiz, Memet Memtimin, Raghimjan Memet, Memtimin Mahmat and Ablet Abdukadir, Xinhua said late on Friday. They all appear to be Uighur, judging by their names.

The five, influenced by religious extremism, took part in illegal religious activities, watched and listened to terrorist violence video and audio materials, the report said citing the police.

Thursday's bombing was the second suicide attack in the capital in just over three weeks. A bomb and knife attack at an Urumqi train station in April killed a bystander and wounded 79.

China has launched a one-year crackdown to hunt down and punish terrorists in Xinjiang to "focus on terrorists and religious extremist groups, gun and explosive manufacturing dens and terrorist training camps, state media reported on Friday.

The government had already launched a campaign to strike hard against terrorism in Xinjiang, blaming Islamists and separatists for the worsening violence in the resource-rich western region bordering central Asia. At least 180 people have been killed in attacks across China over the past year.

Exiles and rights groups say the real cause of the unrest in Xinjiang is China's heavy-handed policies, including curbs on Islam and the culture of Uighurs, Muslims who speak a Turkic language.

The Uighurs have long complained of official discrimination in favour of the Han people, China's majority ethnic group.

The five suspects of Thursday's bombing formed a five-member terrorist gang at the end of 2013 and made explosive devices and chose the target for their attack, Xinhua said.

The attackers ploughed two vehicles into an open market in Urumqi and hurled explosives. Many of the 94 wounded were elderly shoppers, according to witnesses.

Four of the suspects died in the bomb attack and the other was captured by police on Thursday night, according to Xinhua.

No group has claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack.

(Reporting by Kazunori Takada; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Thailand coup: tension on the streets

SATURDAY 24 MAY 2014
Thailand's military says detaining political figures gives everyone time to "calm down" as anti-coup protesters join soldiers on the streets of Bangkok.

The military seized control in Thailand on Thursday, after talks between the government and anti-government groups broke down following months of sometimes violent unrest.

It has since detained around 150 leading political figures, including the recently deposed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, saying the detentions will last for up to 7 days to give all sides "time to think".

It has also banned large gatherings, a ruling ignored by a number of protesters on Saturday who took to the streets holding signs saying "junta get out" and chanting "no more revolutions" (watch the video above).

On Saturday, the military also dissolved the Senate and sacked the top three officials, who were seen as close to the ousted government, as it consolidated its grip on power.

Calm down 

Thai military spokesman Colonel Werachon Sukhondhadhpatipak said that all of the detained were being well-treated and the aim of the military was to encourage a political compromise.

He said: "This is a bid for everybody who is involved in the conflict to calm down and have time to think... We don't intend to limit their freedom but it is to relieve the pressure."

An aide to the former prime minister said on Saturday that she was in a "safe place".

"Now she's in a safe place... She has not been detained in any military camp. That's all I can say at this moment," the aide said, declining to be identified.

A source from her Puea Thai Party said Yingluck was not absolutely free because soldiers were monitoring her, and several former ministers from her cabinet were being held in army facilities in Saraburi.

John Sparks @c4sparks

Follow

1/2 Thai army spokesman Col. Werachon tells @c4news that detention of main protest leaders, cab ministers was 'one of the planned scenarios'

4:52 AM - 24 May 2014

John Sparks @c4sparks

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2/2 ... on Thursday. The military wasn't playing the final meeting before General Prayuth seized power 'by ear' says the Colonel.

4:53 AM - 24 May 2014

The decision to step in by the army has received criticism from the international community.

On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said there was "no justification" for the coup and that the US State Department would be stopping $14m (£8.3m) worth of aid to the country until "civilian rule was restored" and "democracy was returned."

The current coup is the thirteenth seen by Thailand since it became a constitutional monarchy in 1932.

In 2006 Yingluck Shinawatra's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted by the military as leader in the last coup.

The current unrest started last year, when anti-government protesters began a campaign to oust Yingluck Shinawatra. An election was held in February, but after mass disruption it was annulled by the country's judiciary.