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India has a common interest with the US in countering China’s strategy. No matter the motives behind the US’ current emphasis on a “political settlement”, after having been a staunch supporter of Rajapaksa’s war, Delhi must closely work with the Barack Obama Administration, writes former Indian diplomat M. Bhadrakumar, who sees Delhi’s political leverage over [...]

July 29, Colombo: The administration of Sri Lanka’s most sacred Temple of the Tooth has come under heavy criticism for forcibly taking away two baby elephants from their mothers at the Pinnawela elephant orphanage.

Source: Reuters By Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO, July 29 (Reuters) - The international advocacy group Human Rights Watch urged the Sri Lankan government on Wednesday to release hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilian …

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has instructed all Government officials involved in the Uthuru Wasanthay..

The Terrorist Investigation Division arrested a senior LTTE intelligence wing leader in Slave Island..

Sri Lanka has banned students from taking mobile phones to school following the suicide of a teenage..

This is simply a tactic to buy time. We do not see any necessity to await the next Presidential Elec..

For the first time in recent history of the Sri Lankan judiciary, a total of 131 suspects were reman..

A schoolgirl`s suicide in Colombo has triggered a public uproar. Caught with a mobile phone in schoo..

July 29, Colombo: Incidences of communicable diseases in the camps housing the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Northern Sri Lanka continue to decrease, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a recent report.

Nepal and Sri Lanka are signing an air service agreement within two weeks to resume direct flights between the two countries by December, v isiting Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Talitha TB Kohana told Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala on Monday.

Bandula Gunawardena, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Trade, Marketing Development Cooperative and Consumer Affairs, declared open a branch of Lanka Sathosa, a branch of the CWE, in Jaffna Windsor Theatre Tuesday, sources in Jaffna said. Sathosa was opened in Jaffna twice before but had been closed down as the government failed to send goods to keep [...]

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities refused to lift the night curfew imposed in the peninsula in response to the request of the Saiva Organizations which wanted the curfew lifted during the Nalloor Kanthasuvami temple annual festival which began Monday so that devotees from all parts of the peninsula could attend the festival conveniently, sources in [...]

“We strongly criticize the Tamil politicians who seek votes without attending to the problems faced by the Vanni people held in the internment camps in Vavuniyaa,” Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU) said in a press release Tuesday in Jaffna. “We are deeply dissatisfied with some Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians who do not attend to [...]

Dambulla (Sri Lanka), July 28 (AFP) Pakistan are banking on a fresh set of players to deliver as they seek to avenge Sri Lanka’s Test victory in a one-day series starting here on Thursday.

United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) - USA

In Today’s Hotline: Read how UMCOR is responding to needs around the world:

PHILIPPINES: UMCOR’S OPENING DAY

RESOURCES: READY TO RESPOND-BULLETIN …

Source: Human Rights Watch (New York) — The Sri Lankan government should immediately release the more than 280,000 internally displaced Tamil civilians held in detention camps in northern Sri Lanka, Human Rights …

COLOMBO: Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa yesterday urged the international community to assist Sri Lanka to overcome the effects of natural calamities and other crises.

Source: Human Rights Watch (New York) — The Sri Lankan government
should immediately release the more than 280,000 internally displaced Tamil civilians held in detention camps in northern Sri Lanka, Human Rights …

Minister of Justice and Law Reforms, Milinda Moragoda accompanied by Additional Secretary Kamalini de Silva, Deputy Legal Draftsman P.I.S. Samarasingha paid a visit to the Sri Lankan Law College Monday morning (27th July).

Sri Lanka police took into custody eight Tamil youths Tuesday morning in a search conducted in Ettiyawathe in Colombo. The arrested youths are from Jaffna, their relatives said.

Manjari Peiris - Internationally media has played a crucial role in the passage and implementation of tobacco control law serving as a bridge between the public and policymakers, allowing the public to bring forward their concerns, said Debra Efroymson a Tobacco Control Adviser to International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, addressing a press conference [...]

L. Jayasooriya - The Diyawadena Nilame of Asgiriya and Malwatte did not have the physical strength to snatch two baby elephants to please his masters the Mahanayakas of Asgiriya and Malwatte because the parents though their legs have been chained have resisted with all they can to prevent the abduction of their loved ones

COLOMBO, 28 July 2009 (IRIN) - The return home of almost 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs)..

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has accepted the Chairmanship of the ‘Group of Fifteen’, a coalition of 18 developing countries established to develop potential for greater and mutually beneficial cooperation among developing countries, …

Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. will invest US$ 120 million on its Sri Lankan operations. Airtel has already invested US$ 250 million on its first phase, said the CEO, Bharti Airtel Lanka, Amali Nanayakkara.

COMMENT ON THIS ! Your Views! Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the $ 2.6 billion loan to Sri Lanka amid opposition from several countries including the US and Britain voicing concerns over human rights abuses. Britain abstained from voting on the loan.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) funded the project to build the museum under the development of Culture - Oriented Tourism in Sigiriya.

Sri Lanka’s President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, Mahinda Rajapaksa, on the occasion of Esala Perahera, the Sri Lankan Buddhist festival that commemorates the scared tooth of Buddha, has granted an special amnesty for 1,933 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) deserters including SLA officers released from several prisons, Sri Lankan police authorities said Tuesday.

Bandula Gunawardena, Sri Lankas Minister of Trade, Marketing Development Cooperative and Consumer Affairs, declared open a branch of Lanka Sathosa, a branch of the CWE, in Jaffna Windsor Theatre Tuesday, sources in Jaffna said. Sathosa was opened in Jaffna twice before but had been closed down as the government failed to send goods to keep [...]

Sri Lankan port authorities in Colombo are refusing to hand over the humanitarian supplies of Tamil diaspora Mercy Mission, stating that the Indian authorities are yet to produce necessary documents including the Bill of Lading, Sri Lankan Red Cross officials in Colombo said. Meanwhile, customs authorities in Colombo said though the government has waved off [...]

July 28, Colombo: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared open the new museum built in Sigiriya, the historic rock fortress of Sri Lanka, this evening.

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities refused to lift the night curfew imposed in the peninsula in response to the request of the Saiva Organizations which wanted the curfew lifted during the Nalloor Kanthasuvami temple annual festival which began Monday so that devotees from all parts of the peninsula could attend the festival conveniently, sources in [...]

As a nation we believe in providing our people the opportunity to view all things of historical value. Therefore the donation of this museum from Japan to the people of Sri Lanka is a gift to our tradition of protecting and viewing the treasures of history, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the opening ceremony of [...]

Government has decided to resettle thousands of Sinhala families displaced from the Weli-Oya - Pathaviya sector under the 180-day “Vaddakin Vasantham”(Uthuru Vasanthaya) Program before August 31, Presidential Secretariat sources said Monday according to media reports. Displaced families would be resettled in the Weli-Oya Divisional Secretariat areas such as Kalyanapura, Morawewa, and Gajabhapura before August 31, [...]

Quintus Perera - The International Press Freedom Mission to Sri Lanka (IPFM) has sent an open letter President Mahinda Rajapaksa on media freedom in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka bans school students from using mobile phones at school following the suicide of a teenager, officials say.

Sri Lanka bans school students from using mobile phones at school following the suicide of a teenager, officials say.

July 28, Colombo: Bahrain Prime Minister Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa arrived in Sri Lanka this evening on a three day official visit at the of the Sri Lankan government.

July 28, Colombo: The Attorney General informed Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court today that the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) housed in the welfare camps of North are not detained under emergency regulations

July 28, Colombo: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday took time to watch the first Kumbal Perahera of the week-long Kandy Esala Perahera that started yesterday from the pavilion of the Presidential House in Kandy.

Sri Lanka police took into custody eight Tamil youths Tuesday morning in a search conducted in Ettiyawathe in Colombo. The arrested youths are from Jaffna, their relatives said.

July 28, Colombo: New Zealand have named the squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour in early August, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced this evening.

July 28, Colombo: Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda arrived in Sri Lanka last night on an official visit.

July 28, Colombo: The Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) has yesterday arrested another senior leader of the LTTE intelligence unit, its sources said.

July 28, Colombo: Following the suspension of pornographic web sites in Sri Lanka, the government has taken measures to ban all the movies rated ‘Adults-only’ in the country.

July 28, Colombo: Sri Lanka government has decided to impose an import tax on milk powder, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said.

(Lanka-e-News 28.July.2009 5.30PM) A group of pro-LTTE activists blocked the way of outgoing Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai P.M. Amza as he was…

(Lanka-e-News 28.July.2009 5.38PM) Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO), India’s top mobile operator, said on Tuesday it had crossed 1 million subscribers in Sri Lanka…

(Lanka-e-News 28.July.2009 5.40PM) Sri Lanka has banned students from taking mobile phones to school following the suicide of a teenager disciplined…

July 28, Colombo: The Southern Provincial Council (PC) is to be dissolved by the first week of August, the Sri Lankan government announced today.

July 28, Colombo: For the fist time in thirty years the largest number of devotees has reached the historical Kataragama city in its first week of this year’s Esala festival.

July 28, Colombo: A section of the nursing staff of the Maharagama Cancer Hospital, Sri Lanka’s only oncology institute took sick leave today in a trade union action.

The Supreme Court says it accepts the right of parliamentarians to access the IDP camps.

(Lanka-e-News 26.July.2009 2.15PM) Transport minister Dalas Alahperuma at addressing the second meeting of the SAARC ministers meeting of Transport yesterday (25) said….

Source: IRIN The return home of almost 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sri Lanka must now be the priority for the government and humanitarian agencies assisting them, says a top US official.

Sri Lanka’s President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, Mahinda Rajapaksa, on the occasion of Esala Perahera, the Sri Lankan Buddhist festival that commemorates the scared tooth of Buddha, has granted an special amnesty for 1,933 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) deserters including SLA officers released from several prisons, Sri Lankan police authorities said Tuesday.

Source: IRIN The return home of almost 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sri Lanka must now be the priority for the
government and humanitarian agencies assisting them, says a top US official.

COLOMBO (AFP)–India’s Bharti Airtel (532454.BY) is eyeing Sri Lanka’s war-hit north and east after signing up one million mobile telephone customers in less than six months, the company said Tuesday.