Sri Lanka safe place for tourists - Foreign Ministry

Sri Lanka safe place for tourists - Foreign Ministry The Foreign Ministry has directed all Sri Lankan missions overseas to persuade the host countries to lift travel advisories on Sri Lanka as the country's situation has rapidly changed with the eradication of terrorism. According to a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sri Lankan envoys in foreign missions were directed to initiate a dialogue with the respective Foreign Ministries and convince them that...

Read More

Govt. committed to resettle IDPs in six months.....

Govt. committed to resettle IDPs in six monthsSri Lankan delegation assures IndiaThe government reiterated its commitment to resettle in six months all IDPs now staying in relief centres, after their release from being held hostage by the LTTE.The was conveyed by the high-level Sri Lankan delegation comprising Senior Advisor to the President Basil Rajapaksa MP, the Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and the Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga...

Read More

Sri Lankan reporter 'kidnapped' .........

Sri Lankan reporter 'kidnapped'A Sri Lankan journalist says she was kidnapped from outside her home in the capital Colombo and held for a day by people claiming to be the police.Krishni Ifam, a Tamil reporter who works for media development NGO Internews, said the men had warned her to give up journalism altogether.She said she was then released in the central city of Kandy late on Wednesday with a tiny amount of cash.Police in Sri Lanka could not...

Read More

Michael Jackson, 50, legendary 'King of Pop' dead in Los Angeles

Michael Jackson, 50, legendary 'King of Pop' dead in Los AngelesPop icon Michael Jackson died Thursday after being taken to a Los Angeles hospital in cardiac arrest, officials said. He was 50.The "Thriller" superstar was unconscious and not breathing when Fire Department paramedics were summoned to Jackson's Bel Air home by a 911 call at 12:26 California time.They desperately...

Read More

Sri Lanka to resettle war refugees soon: officialNEW DELHI (AFP) — A Sri Lankan official delegation visiting India said on Wednesday Colombo was working to resettle tens of thousands of civilians displaced by fighting on the island.The team said Sri Lanka was also working for the "democratisation" of the country's north, where fierce fighting earlier this year led to the rout...

Read More

Lanka ssures India tamils..........

Lanka assures India Tamils will return home from camps Sri Lanka on Wednesday assured India that it would ensure that Tamils, displaced during the military operations against LTTE, return to their homes after their camps are dismantled within six months.The assurance was conveyed by a high-level Sri Lankan delegation which included Basil Rajapaksa, President's Special Envoy and G B Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary, which met foreign minister S M...

Read More

Uthuru Vasanthaya....

Uthuru Vasanthaya :Rs. 1,058m worth projects for displaced children's educationConcurrent to the Uthuru Vasanthaya Northern Development Program launched by the Government to bring normality to the lives of people displaced from terrorism in the North, the Government has launched projects worth Rs. 1,058 million to provide higher education facilities to children of the displaced funded by the ADB and the World Bank. -defence.lk...

Read More

Colombo reporters....

Colombo reporters decry new body Critics say press freedom is under attack in Sri Lanka The main media organisations in Sri Lanka have urged the government not to re-establish a body that can fine and imprison print journalists.They say that self-regulation, introduced six years ago, is working.Seven media bodies, headed by the Editors' Guild which groups the main newspaper editors, have written to President Rajapaksa.They say that the reactivation...

Read More

Sri Lanka 'agree' to unload ship .......

Sri Lanka 'agree' to unload ship India says Sri Lanka 'kindly agreed to our suggestion' The Indian government says Sri Lanka has agreed to accept a cargo of relief aid brought by Tamil expatriates in Europe and meant for people displaced by the now ended war in northern Sri Lanka. Earlier this month the Sri Lankan authorities had turned away the ship carrying the aid.The news that the vessel, the Captain Ali, will after all be allowed to...

Read More

Focus on innovation and growth......

President tells policy planners:Focus on innovation and growthPresident Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday asserted that Sri Lanka’s future economic strategies would be based on “home-grown” policies which would supplement the unique needs of the country. Addressing new recruits to the national planning service of the Finance and Planning Ministry at Temple Trees, the President emphasised that strategies should be developed by locals who have a thorough...

Read More

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the final of Twenty20....

Pakistan are the Twenty20 championsPakistan won the 2009 Twenty20 cricket world cup beating Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in the final at Lords . The Pakistani’s won with 8 balls to spare. Shahid Arfridi top scored for the Pakistani’s with 54 off 40 balls. The Pakistan team is seen here celebrating after being crowned the Twenty20 cricket World Champions. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka...

Read More

NCP people didn't flee

President says :NCP people didn’t fleeThe people in the North Central Province didn’t flee in fear of LTTE terrorists leaving their villages and property. Buddhist priests protected the shrines from LTTE attacks. If not for them we would have to start our war against the LTTE from another location such as Kurunegala, Matale or Negombo, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday....

Read More

Sri Lanka fighting over..........Ban

Sri Lanka fighting over, but much work remains- Ban The Sri Lankan Government last month declared that its military operation against Tamil rebels has ended, but there remain a number of outstanding issues that if left unaddressed could lead more violence, stated Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.In his remarks at a gala at the Foreign Policy Association in New York, Mr. Ban said that he has made it clear to President Mahinda Rajapaksa that though the...

Read More

More warlike materials recovered.......

More warlike materials recovered by Naval troops - Upparu Naval troops conducted a search operation based on an information received and recovered few warlike materials buried in the Upparu Jungle, yesterday (16 June) around 1600 hrs.Those items suspected to have been abandoned by the fleeing LTTE terrorists during the humanitarian operations launched by the Security Forces...

Read More

Swine flu hits Sri Lanka .....

Second Swine Flu patient detected in Lanka A second confirmed case of Swine Flu has been detected in Sri Lanka. The patient is the brother of the first case detected yesterday, a health official said adding that the parents of the children had however tested negative for the virus. dailymirror...

Read More

Good flow through A9

Goods flow through A9 Forty lorries permitted to travel a day Army escort for convoys Essentials include rice, sugar, dhal, oilAround 35 lorries belonging to private traders transporting essential items to the North through the A9 Road left Medawachchiya yesterday morning. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said 35 lorries of private traders have left from Medawachchiya check point carrying essential items to the North on the A9 Road...

Read More

Sri Lanka players....

Sri Lanka players celebrate beating New Zealand by 48 runs during the Super 8 stage of the ICC World Twenty 20 cricket match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on June 16, 2009. Ajantha Mendis spun out New Zealand as Sri Lanka roared into the World Twenty20 semi-finals with an emphatic 48-run win at Trent Bridge. AFP PH...

Read More

Swine flu hits Sri Lanka .....

Swine flu hits Sri Lanka Swine flu has spread to over 170 countries worldwide Sri Lanka health authorities say that they found the first confirmed case of Swine Flu in the island.Health minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told BBC Sandeshaya that two members from a family of nine were initially detained in Singapore on suspicion of infected with the viral flu.The other members of the family have arrived in Wattala from Australia to attend a family...

Read More

Strengthening Lanka-Myanmar ties: .........

Strengthening Lanka-Myanmar ties: President’s Myanmar visit pays dividends President Mahinda Rajapaksa on a two-day state visit to Myanmar had discussions with senior leaders of Myanmar including State Peace and Development Council Chairman Senior General Than Shwe and Prime Minister General Thein Sein. -dailyn...

Read More

Japan provides Rs. 13 million for two projects .........

Japan provides Rs. 13 million for two projects The Japanese Government has provided Rs. 10 million for an agricultural and livelihood project in Moneragala and Rs. 3 million for a health project in Polonnaruwa to improve, living environment, income and health of targeted communities.The Project for Uplifting Living Standards of Communities living in three Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Moneragala District will be implemented by the Lower Uva...

Read More

president -Myanar.......

President outlines two challenges:Rehabilitation livelihood renewal Sri Lanka-Myanmar sign MoU on tourism promotion : President Mahinda Rajapaksa currently on a State visit to Myanmar said that his latest challenge is to rehabilitate the war torn region and bring normalcy to the lives of the people. The 30 year old cruel war against terrorism cost 100,000 lives, he said.dailyn...

Read More

Military haedware recovered......Trinco...

More military hardware recovered - Trincomalee & MullaittivuBased on an information received, Police troops attached to Serunuwara Police, conducted a search operation in the Trincomalee area recovered the following military items from Thonithottammadhu area yesterday (13 June). defence...

Read More

IDP welfare.......

IDP welfare:Tangible progress - Akashi The condition of internal displaced persons (IDPs) in welfare centres in the North has achieved tangible progress compared to his last visit to Sri Lanka, Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi said adding that resettlement of IDPs have to be made after demining activities are completed.dailyn...

Read More

Keleniya University indefinitely closed ....

Keleniya University indefinitely closed Colombo -Lankapuvath -The Keleniya University was immediately closed for all students indefinitely except for the Medical Faculty.The University premises were tense this morning due to a dispute between the students and the residents in the area from last night (10). It is reported that an exchange of words have caused the incident.The...

Read More

political solustion.....

Political solution, a Sri Lankan affair- Shiv Shanker Menon(Colombo Lankapuvath June 10) A political solution for the National Question is a Sri Lankan affair and it is not the task of India, Norway or the United Nations to push Sri Lanka towards a political solution, Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shanker Menon told a group of Sri Lankan editors visiting India at the invitation of Indian Government. It is only Sri Lanka that would decide whether...

Read More

Sri Lanka should devolve powers ........

Sri Lanka should devolve powers to Tamils: Chidambaram Chennai (PTI) Sri Lanka should devolve powers to Tamils in line with the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord and "if possible go even beyond that", Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Sunday."The Sri Lankan government should implement the 13th amendment of the Indo-Lankan Accord on devolution of powers.... if possible go beyond that," he told reporters after meeting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi...

Read More

Yal devi.....

Yal Devi to reunite North and South A thirty -year conflict comes to an end, and we bid farewell to an age of separation and usher in a new era of togetherness.The "Yal Devi" track, which united the Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim and Burgher communities of the North and the South in times gone by, fell into ruin, and the trains ran only to Vavuniya, thereby making the division between...

Read More

SL Navy seize LTTE cargo vessel off Colombo ..

SL Navy seize LTTE cargo vessel off Colombo SRI LANKA-An LTTE cargo vessel 'Captain Ali', was seized by Sri Lankan Navy patrol craft 160 Nm off the Colombo seas this morning (June 4). According to Naval sources, the Syriyan vessel 'Captain Ali' had set off from United Kingdom on 20th April, 2009 under the pretext of a 'mercy mission' towards Puthumathalan, Sri Lanka, intended...

Read More

India for political solution in Sri Lanka .....

India for political solution in Sri LankaNew Delhi, June 4 (IANS) With the Tamil Tigers decimated, India Thursday pledged to support initiatives aimed at finding a permanent political solution in Sri Lanka to ensure equal rights to the Tamil minority."We will support initiatives in Sri Lanka which can lead to a permanent political solution of the conflict there, and ensure that all Sri Lankan communities, especially the Tamils, feel secure and enjoy...

Read More

Future of greatness, distinction .....

Future of greatness, distinction SRI LANKA-The great humanitarian operation that unified our motherland under a single national standard has opened the path to our nation that is eager to step forward to a future of greatness and distinction, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the Nation from Galle Face Green after receiving the scrolls from the Three Forces’ Commanders and the Inspector General of Police informing him about the victorious...

Read More

Yasushi Akashi visit Sri Lanka

Yasusi visit Sri lanka againSRI LANKA-Yasushi Akashi, Special peace envoy of Japan, will be in Sri Lanka and India from on the 8th to 12th of this month.Mr. Akashi will meet government officials and representatives of the government and opposition parties. He will have discussions on resettlement of internally-displaced persons as well as a political solution for the national...

Read More

"I am the proudest Head of State in the world"- Says President in his Victory Day speech

"I am the proudest Head of State in the world"- Says President in his Victory Day speechSRI LANKA-His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces today (June 3) hailed the valiant forces who wiped out terrorism from the country, saying that they have made him the proudest head of the state in the World. defence...

Read More

Poddala Jayantha, secretary SLWJA abducted and severely assaulted

Poddala Jayantha, secretary SLWJA abducted and severely assaultedSRI LANKA-Poddala Jayantha, General Secretary of Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association was abducted by an unknown group late afternoon today. He was on his way back home form work and abducted some close to Nugagoda town. Some people who have seen him pushed in to a white van alerted the journalists on the...

Read More