newslanka.org

May 31, Colombo: Sri Lanka ruling party, United People’s Freedom Alliance today concluded the selecting of candidates for the upcoming Uva Provincial Council election.

May 31, Colombo: A delegation of the Sri Lanka Tamil National Alliance (TNA) met with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to discuss several matters related to Internally Displaced Persons in the North.

May 31, Colombo: Sri Lanka government has taken steps to establish a new zone in the capital Colombo for the public transport services.

(Lanka-e-News 30.May.2009 3.30PM) The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Rohitha Bogollagama, is currently attending the 8th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore…

May 31, Colombo: Sri Lanka has requested the assistance of general public to trace the next-of-kin of Subramaniam Kanapathy Rajaram, a Sri Lankan who died in Singapore Saturday morning.

May 31, Kandy: The Royal College of Colombo beat the Trinity College in Kandy 22/12 in the first leg of the 65th Bradby Shield rugby encounter played at Bogambara Stadium Saturday evening.

India said on Saturday that it is deeply concerned about the welfare of Tamils in Sri Lanka and called for Colombo to address the concerns of the minorities in the country. “India is profoundly concerned about the welfare of the Sri Lankan Tamils. It would be desirable that President Mahindra Rajapakse addresses the concerns of [...]

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians, Mr N Srikantha and Mr Sivanathan Kishor met separately their fellow parliamentarian Sathasivam Kanagaretnam who is being detained in the Fourth Floor of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Sri Lanka Police in Colombo. Mr.Kanagaretnam is detained since a special CID team took him into custody from an internment camp [...]

Two Tamil females were taken into custody by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police in a cordon and search operation conducted from evening 6 pm till about 10 pm Thursday in Wellawatte area in Colombo district.
Police said the two women are detained in the police station for further interrogation as they failed to establish [...]

Representatives of Non-government Organizations (NGOs) in Jaffna have brought to the notice of Jaffna Government Agent (SLA) the prevailing misappropriation in the supply of relief food to the detainees held in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) internment camps in Jaffna peninsula. Though the NGOs spend millions of rupees in supplying cooked food to the detainees [...]

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) high officials in charge of the internment camps in Jaffna, where Vanni civilians are held, are alleged to be taking bribes ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 rupees to free the youths among the detainees, according to complaints made by the detainees to Human Rights Organizations (HRC) in Jaffna. SLA authorities in [...]

Pointing out that not only the United Nations but several Western governments knew of the ongoing slaughter of 20,000 Tamil civilians by the Sri Lanka Army, but kept silent for fear of upsetting the Colombo Government, The Times newspaper Saturday demanded international action to prevent further atrocities. “Such a monstrous collusion in covering up an [...]

Leading human rights group Amnesty International has called for an urgent inquiry into claims of civilian deaths.

Leading human rights group Amnesty International has called for an urgent inquiry into claims of civilian deaths.

Adding to the increasing international media coverage of Government of Sri Lanka’s culpability to the massacre of more than 20,000 Tamil civilians in Mullaitheevu, Emily Wax of Washington Post in a Saturday story said, the beach “shows clear signs of heavy artillery shelling, according to a helicopter inspection of the site by independent journalists, interviews [...]

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, commenting on the elimination of LTTE terrorism, says that Sri Lanka is now wide open for democracy with peace returning to the country almost after three decades.

Pointing to a report in the French paper Le Monde, which quoted Vijay Nambiar, chief of Staff of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, as telling UN representatives in Sri Lanka that the UN should “keep a low profile” and play a “sustaining role” that was “compatible with the government,” Francis Boyle, professor of [...]

Sri Lanka: What next? Last week, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and his forces successfully crushed the LTTE. But in coming weeks and months, peace will be harder to win. And so will be the trust of the minority Tamils.

Tamil civilians stand behind a barbed-wire fence in the Manik Farm refugee camp in northern Sri Lanka on May 26, 2009. Amnesty International called Saturday for an independent probe into the number of civilians killed in the final weeks of Sri Lanka’s civil war and also urged the UN to reveal its own estimates.

Amnesty International called Saturday for an independent probe into the number of civilians killed in the final weeks of Sri Lanka’s civil war and also urged the UN to reveal its own estimates.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians, Mr N Srikantha and Mr Sivanathan Kishor met separately their fellow parliamentarian Sathasivam Kanagaretnam who is being detained in the Fourth Floor of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Sri Lanka Police in Colombo. Mr.Kanagaretnam is detained since a special CID team took him into custody from an internment camp [...]

Two Tamil females were taken into custody by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police in a cordon and search operation conducted from evening 6 pm till about 10 pm Thursday in Wellawatte area in Colombo district. Police said the two women are detained in the police station for further interrogation as they failed to [...]

Pointing out that not only the United Nations but several Western governments knew of the ongoing slaughter of 20,000 Tamil civilians by the Sri Lanka Army, but kept silent for fear of upsetting the Colombo Government, The Times newspaper Saturday demanded international action to prevent further atrocities. Such a monstrous collusion in covering up an [...]

(Lanka-e-News, 30.May.2009, 6,00 PM) The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) that is investigating the hedging deals that caused billions of rupees loss to the nation recorded a statement…

(Lanka-e-News, 30.May.2009, 6.00PM) This is the present picture of the former no-fire zone in Vellamullivaikkal, Irattavaikkal etc. where life had no value…

(Lanka-e-News, 30.May.2009, 6.00PM) Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse says that Tamil National Alliance (TNA) must be banished from the parliament.

In an interview with a…

Congressman Heath Shuler’s visit was the first time I have heard an American elected official seem to understand what has transpired here in Sri Lanka.

A senior UN official said the civilian death toll from the Sri Lankan government’s crushing of the Tamil Tiger insurgency was “unacceptably high” and should be the subject of an official inquiry.

The world will probably never find out how many innocent civilians died during the bloody final phase of Sri Lanka’s war against Tamil Tigers rebels, the UN humanitarian chief said on Friday.

The Tamil diaspora in Toronto has joined Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi in pleading with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to not support a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council in support of Sri Lanka.

COMMENT ON THIS ! Your Views! Lakshmi Rasamy reached through the barbed wire enclosing this displacement camp, grabbed her mother’s hand and wept for her four children who were killed in the last spasm of fighting in Sri Lanka’s civil war.

The first warm-up encounter between India and Pakistan will be fundraiser. On March 3, the third-day of the second test, extremist terrorists attacked the coach Sri Lankan players had been travelling and killed six policemen on guard while injuring several Sri Lankan players and officials.

Visiting North Carolina Congressman Heath Shuler at a press conference in Colombo today said that the situation here on the ground in Sri Lanka is much different than has been reported in the U.S.

Chennai : A group Sri Lankan MPs belonging to 'Tamil Desiya Kuttamipu Parliamentary Group' headed by R Sambantham on Saturday called on Chief Minister M Karunanidhi at his residence and discussed developments in Sri Lanka.

The village reawakening and development program Gama Neguma started by President Mahinda Rajapaksa under the Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development Ministry has recorded an unprecedented socio-economic development over the last three years despite the war.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the Government would do its utmost to reach the goal of eradicating the menace of drugs from Sri Lanka by 2015 at a function held at the Presidential Secretariat to coincide with International No Tobacco Day tomorrow.

Sitting over the well-endowed war chest of the decapitated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the organisation’s arms procurer and international fund manager, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, is now trying to take over its leadership, informed sources say.

Adding to the increasing international media coverage of Government of Sri Lanka’s culpability to the massacre of more than 20,000 Tamil civilians in Mullaitheevu, Emily Wax of Washington Post in a Saturday story said, the beach “shows clear signs of heavy artillery shelling, according to a helicopter inspection of the site by independent journalists, interviews [...]

A British woman who was working at a hospital helping victims of Sri Lanka ’s civil war has been interned in one of the island’s detention camps, prompting her family to plead for urgent diplomatic help to secure her immediate release.

May 30, Colombo: Sri Lanka Cricket has been instructed by security advisors to implement several protective measures during the Pakistan national team’s tour of Sri Lanka next June.

Trincomalee LTTE team leader Shanker surrenders to Army and is handed over to police-MCNS-JNW

COLOMBO (AFP) - Amnesty International called Saturday for an independent probe into the number of civilians killed in the final weeks of Sri Lanka’s civil war and also urged the UN to reveal its own estimates.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, May 30 (UPI) — Sri Lankan officials say a published report claiming more than 20,000 civilians were killed during their attack on Tamil rebels is totally false.

(Lanka-e-News 30.May.2009 4.00PM)This is to thank everyone who worked to unmask the corrupt FMM office-bearers but there is, at least, one corrupt member left in the FMM committee. You shouldn’t let..

(Lanka-e-News 30.May.2009 4.30PM) The United Nations, along with dozens of partner agencies, are working to improve basic conditions in camps housing people who fled…

(Lanka-e-News 30.May.2009 5.30PM) It was the Pakistani defence cooperation with Sri Lanka as one of the largest suppliers of high-tech military equipment…

Pointing to a report in the French paper Le Monde, which quoted Vijay Nambiar, chief of Staff of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, as telling UN representatives in Sri Lanka that the UN should keep a low profile and play a sustaining role” that was “compatible with the government,” Francis Boyle, professor of International [...]

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has asked Malaysia, which is home to a large number of Tamils, to ban LTTE in the country to prevent any illegal activity in name of the rebel outfit that has been recently vanquished in the island nation.

May 30, Colombo: The Ministry of Highways, under the instruction of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has appointed a three-member committee to probe the collapse of an underground pedestrian bridge several days ago.

May 30, Colombo: The Sri Lanka government has decided to import rice with immediate effect to avoid “unnecessary” price increases.

May 30, Matara: At least two people were killed in a shoot out at a private bus heading from Panakaduwa to Matara in southern Sri Lanka this morning.

Sri Lanka’s main opposition party has asked government to initiate steps to ‘defeat politically’ the ‘Eelam’ ideology after the ‘victory’ over LTTE.

Days after a call for an investigation into alleged human rights abuses in Sri Lanka’s northeastern war zone was defeated by the UN Human Rights Council, reports persist of escalating casualty figures among Tamil civilians.

Tamil civilians stand behind a barbed-wire fence in the Manik Farm refugee camp in northern Sri Lanka on May 26. Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation into the number of civilians killed in the final weeks of the island state’s civil war and said the UN should reveal its own estimates.

Amnesty International called Saturday for an independent investigation into the number of civilians killed in the final weeks of Sri Lanka’s civil war and said the UN should reveal its own estimates.

UNITED NATIONS: The world will probably never find out how many innocent civilians died during the bloody final phase of Sri Lanka’s war against Tamil Tigers rebels, the UN humanitarian chief said on Friday.

Amnesty International welcomes the decision by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to hold a Special Session on Sri Lanka on Tuesday 26 May.

Apart from threatening to prosecute journalists who attempt to visit the northern areas captured from the Liberation Tigers, Sri Lanka’s military is trying to identify Tamil civilians who provided information to the foreign press by infiltrating paramilitaries into their military-run refugee camps, RSF (Reporters Without Borders) said Friday. While the Army general appointed in charge [...]

The United Nations deliberately hid the number of civilians killed during the Sri Lankan government offensive against the LTTE, according to a report in the French daily Le Monde. The report, translated by FRANCE 24, quotes quotes several UN sources alleging that high-ranking UN officials, including Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, chose to keep silent about [...]

Federation of Jaffna Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) in its meeting held Thursday at Koayil Veethi office in Jaffna to discuss the current acute shortage of essential food items including wheat flour and sugar extended an urgent request to Jaffna Government Agent (GA) to investigate into the issue and identify the persons responsible for the shortage of [...]