Minister taken hostage

A MINISTER is being held hostage by staff at Sri Lanka's state broadcaster in a row over a speech he had made not being aired.

Mervyn Silva, had gone to the premises of the Rupavahini Corporation to complain that his speech at a ceremony with Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president, to reopen a bridge destroyed by the 2004 tsunami had not been covered. "A henchman of the minister forcefully pulled the news director," said Sisira Kotalawala, the director-general of Rupavahini Corporation.

Several other employees said the minister, who has been involved in previous brawls with the media, would not be released until he had apologised formally.