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Tisaranee Gunasekara - The rains are falling, washing away whatever residual belief Tamils may have had in a Sri Lankan future. The influx of monsoon rains is exposing much more than the abhorrent character of the Northern internment camps. It is revealing the unwillingness of the Lankan state and the Sinhala society to treat Tamils [...]

J. Yogaraj - If the Government of Sri Lanka has the vision and wisdom to bring the Tamils into the mainstream and make them believe that they are a part of the Sri Lankan society by developing the northern and eastern regions of the country, it will confirm that the mono ethnic concept [...]

Anjana Jayashan - Sri Lankan government allocates a sum of Rs. Two billion through the Treasury, to purchase the harvested paddy in the Yala season directly from the paddy farmers.

Anjana Jayashan - The Grand Mosque in Colombo announced that the Islamic month of Ramazan 1430 began from last evening (August 21) evening.

Anjana Jayashan - Sri Lanka Army plans to start training foreign Army soldiers with the implementation of necessary infrastructure facilities, says Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya .

Daya Gamage - The New York immigration lawyer Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, a Sri Lanka born, United States citizen, for more than a decade has been propagating the agenda of Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE or Tamil Tigers) a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. under several federal laws ratified by the [...]

The ten-day Children’s Film Camp organized by the U.S. Embassy and the Galle Film Festival draws to a successful close this weekend with a screening at the Punchi theatre in Borella of the eight short films made by the participants. There will also be a public screening of their films at the Galle [...]

Kenyan Deputy President, Kalonzo Musyoka when welcoming Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama to Kenya, congratulated the Sri Lankan Government for laying a solid economic and political foundation for sustainable peace having defeated the LTTE terrorism.

Anjana Jayashan - Foreign investments in Sri Lanka’s treasury bills have amounted to nearly 900 million US dollars over the last three days and it has proved the firm confidence which the international community has kept on Sri Lanka, said Export Development and International Trade Minister Professor G.L. Peiris.

The Lanka Challenge 2009 is a first ever rally featuring auto rishaws or trishaws more commonly known as ‘tuk-tuks. Travellers from all over the world will descend upon the island nation of Sri Lanka to take part in the 2009 Lankan challenge which will take place from the 5th to 15th September 2009.

Sri Lanka has expressed its condolences and regret over the tragic incidents that occurred in a section of Kuwait.

Quintus Perera - A former diplomat, Nanda Godage has been appointed to head the Board of Prison Visitors by Milinda Moragoda Minister of Justice and Law Reforms. The other members to the Board appointed are: Rajan Asiriwatham, Arjun Deraniyagala, H.G. Dharmadasa, and Imtiyas Ismail were also appointed to the Board as members by [...]

Quintus Perera - The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Sri Lanka and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding On a Loan Scheme for students doing accounting in higher studies in the country.

Anjana Jayashan - Sri Lankan Government stresses that abolishing the executive presidency or amending the country’s Constitution will only be decided under the majority of the peoples’ mandate at an election. Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena speaking to the media personnel yesterday (August 19) in Colombo said that the government will take decisions on abolishing [...]

L. Jayasooriya - Sabotaging the Mahinda Chintana’ was the title of a feature article I wrote in the Daily News that was published in three instalments on June 27th, 28th and 30th of 2008. What I exposed there is a horror story which has been stated several times before both in the Daily News and [...]

Highly placed sources revealed that C.Romesh Jayasinghe is tipped to be the next Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Anjana Jayashan - Handicrafts and painting exhibition of had been organized at the Vavuniya Town Hall by the Northern Province Cultural Department. The significance of the exhibition was all handicrafts and paintings had been finished by the people in welfare villages in the Northern Province.

Colombo, 19 Aug (Asiantribune.com):  Did Rajnikanth, Vaiko and Ramdoss benefit from LTTE money? Yes, they did, alleges Sri Lanka Minister for Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services Abdul Risath Bathiyutheen, who also claims that the Tigers funded business ventures and set up Tamil radio and TV stations in the West and Far East.
 In a freewheeling interview [...]

Anjana Jayashan - Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa stresses that he and his government will not hesitate to suppress any group which is identified as a threat to the freedom of the motherland.

Anjana Jayashan -Sri Lanka’s new opening batsman Tillekeratne Dishan creates a new batting Sri Lankan record, at the Galle International Stadium yesterday (August 18), posting a half century in 30 balls against touring New Zealand team.

Gopal Ethiraj - Transgenders in Tamil Nadu, who have an exclusive Transgender Welfare Board, the first in the country, will soon have their demands of ration cards, passport and voter ID cards, fulfilled.

 
Kuala Lumpur, 19 August, (Asiantribune.com): Addressing the  48th annual session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization, Sri Lanka’s Minister Milinda Moragoda emphasized on the importance of the  ‘Legal Empowerment of the Poor’.
Milinda Moragoda, Sri Lankan Minister of Justice and Law Reforms pointed out that the Report of the Commission on the ‘Legal Empowerment of the [...]

Anjana Jayashan - The Sri Lanka’s Government is in a process of resettling around 15,000 internally displaced families from the Jaffna district, Resettlement and Relief Services Minister Abdul Risath Bathiyutheen say

S. Murari -Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has asked the Government of India to step in to end the sufferings of internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka following reports that their homes in make-shift camps in Vavunia have been flooded in recent rains. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, copies of which have been [...]

Anjana Jayashan - The Indian Government donates some relief items to assist internally displaced persons (IDPs) and those who are returning to their homes in Sri Lanka. The donation has been made through the Indian Government.

Anjana Jayashan - Training on Sri Lanka’s new Army recruits has not been slashed, Chief of Defence Staff General Sarath Fonseka says.

Minister of Justice and Law Reforms Milinda Moragoda will lead Sri Lanka’s delegation to the 57th session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization, which will convene in Putrajaya, Malaysia this week.

Neville de Silva - Intelligence and regional media circles in Bangkok are looking for answers to at least a couple of questions that intrigue them. How did Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias “KP” fall into the hands of one of the governments that had been after him for years so shortly after picking up the mantle [...]

Anjana Jayashan -

Anjana Jayashan - Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry requests the Sri Lankans to refrain from visiting Mumbai and Pune in India, except on necessary occasions. An official from the Health Ministry said that the decision was taken following the novel influenza A (H1-N1) virus which is rapidly spreading in India. The fact which the Ministry [...]

Anjana Jayashan - The Government has accelerated the project of water supply to the Jaffna peninsula under the Uthuru Wasanthaya (Northern Spring) program, the Northern Province Governor’s secretariat announces.

Tisaranee Gunasekara - In his speech to the Sri Lankan parliament announcing the victorious end to the 25 year old Eelam War, President Rajapakse proclaimed the de-existence of minorities. His claim was so outrageously absurd that few took it seriously.

A well executed plan of government intelligence agencies led to KP’s arrest – Gotabhaya Rajapakse.Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse reiterates that the arrest of KP alias Kumaran Padmanadan is the outcome of a long term plan implemented with commitment. The intelligence and security divisions were aware of the information regarding KP since the beginning. The [...]

The casket with the remains of Shyamlal Rajapaksa, a Sri Lankan lawyer is expected to reach Colombo today morning

Women contribute to the development of Sri Lanka. The involvement of women in economic activities both in formal and informal sectors has been ahead of the rest of the South Asian region and is steadily on the rise, observed Dr. Palitha Kohona.

Joseph Thavaraja - A pre-election public opinion poll conducted within the Jaffna Municipal Council in the run-up to the Jaffna elections showed that the majority of voters had ‘no interest in Sri Lankan politics at all.’ The majority also said that they registered for voting in the June-July 2008 voter registrations process. Also, a majority [...]

In his keynote address at the 10th Annual General Meeting of the Tea Exporters Association – 14 August Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister said that the Colombo All-Share Index has gained 33 percent in the past three months, the second-best performance worldwide following the defeat of the LTTE in May.

Anjana Jayashan - Dr. Palitha Kohona, Secretary to Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry is to assume duties as the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, New York, the Asian Tribune reliably learns.

Major General (retd.) Lalin Fernando - General Nalin Seneviratne VSV the 10th Commander of the SL Army died on 12 August 2009 aged 78 years. He joins in Valhalla those who were in the thin red line of defenders of the nation who predeceased him. History will record that he was the first army commander [...]

Anjana Jayashan - Devotees who gathered from all over the Sri Lanka are ready to hold the annual festival of the most sacred Madhu Church in Mannar from (today) August 15 to 20 as the government has made all necessary arrangements to hold the event in grand scale. For the first time in four years [...]

China’s Exim bank has agreed on a financing agreement of US$350 million for development projects in Sri Lanka.

Anjana Jayashan - Sri Lanka is to host the first IVETA South Asian Regional Conference from August 19 to 22, 2009. This year’s theme which has been selected by the member countries is “Innovative TVET Initiatives to Support Sustainable Economic Development and Poverty Reduction, and the Role of TVET in Improving Social Equity”.

The Government of Malaysia donated US$100,000 to the Government of Sri Lanka for the welfare of the Internally Displaced Sri Lankans affected by the conflict.

Anjana Jayashan - Sri Lanka’s Media Minister Laxman Yapa Abeywardena yesterday counter-attacked some reports that the Sri Lanka’s Intelligence units and security personnel had violated the international laws when they arrested the LTTE’s self proclaimed leader Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP last week.

L. Jayasooriya - I quote the Island editorial of Tuesday 11th August 2009 under the caption “Present a gift-wrapped KP to India”. It says “…However, India finally realised the need to act against the LTTE and stood by Sri Lanka. Without India’s backing this country could not have achieved the feat of crushing [...]

Today, the 3rd International Conference on Ayurved and Complementary Systems of Medicine, organized by Tathagat Ayurved Research Foundation (Pune) in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism will take place in Colombo on 17th August 2009.

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Kuwait Sarath Dissanayake (who is concurrently accredited to Bahrain), while on duty attending to the official programme for the State Visit of the Bahraini Prime Minister to Sri Lanka from 28 – 30 July in Colombo, called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa and submitted an investment proposal by a Kuwait [...]

Anjana Jayashan - The Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) seized a vehicle laden with high explosives at Uppukulam area in Mannar yesterday (Aug. 11). Police Media Spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekera said that the seized van was transporting 20 claymore mines each weighing five kg.

Quintus Perera - At the AGM of the Sri Lanka Association of Airline Representatives (SLAAR) held at Galadari Hotel Ms Minoli Perera of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines GSA was elected the Chairperson of SLAAR for 2009/2010 while Ms Lilanthi Fernando of Virgin Atlantic GSA was elected the Vice Chairperson.SLAAR is a body consisting of [...]

The Second Meeting of the Joint Commission for Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation between Sri Lanka and Viet Nam was held in Colombo on Monday preceded by the Senior Officials Meeting (SoM).

Quintus Perera - Sunil Perera, who has been the Sous-Chef at Trans Asia Hotel, Colombo (formerly Ramada Renaissance, Colombo) will fly to Canada to take up a similar position in the Hilton Hotel Chain in that country. He has served Trans Asia for the last 24 years. He and his family will [...]

L. Jayasooriya -For those who advocate devolution the victory of the TNA at the Vauniya Urban Council must be a delight because of the very real prospect of the fruits of devolution, for if there had been devolution today all the Sinhalese and Muslims would have been ordered out of the Urban Council limits of [...]

Jeyaranjan Yogarajah - The resounding win in the Saturday’s mini – election is the victory of the people of Sri Lanka.

Quintus Perera - If things happened according to what media (Paththarawala) said we would neither won the war nor defeated terrorism, Said Basil Rajapakse, MP and Senior Presidential Advisor while opening old Salusala with a new name “Lak Sasusala” at Jawatte, Colombo.

J.Yogaraj - Sri Lanka’s ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance scored handsome victories in the two local-body elections in the Northern Province and in the Uva Provincial Council election.

S Murari - India recorded its second swine flu death on Saturday when a 53-year-old woman in Mumbai died in Kasturba Hospital, a designated medical facility for treating this viral disease.

J.Yogaraj – Reporting from Colombo
 The voting in the  Uva Provicial  Council , Jaffna M.C. and Vavuniya U.C., concluded in a peaceful manner at  4 PM on Saturday. People of Jaffna and Vavuniya have exercised their voting rights after a lapse of 10 years.
The LTTE and its leader who showed scant respect for democracy,  freedom and [...]

L. Jayasooriya - What KP has done to India is not our concern considering the fact that it is India that created Prabakaran to destabilize Sri-Lanka with the intention of annexing our country. The modus operandi was for Prabakaran to create conditions that would enable Indian troops to come to Sri-Lanka so that India [...]

J.Yogaraj - For the first time, the Tamils in the North are exercising their franchise freely and voluntararily, without any scare and pressure. Also it should be noted that this the first time Tamils have come forward to show their willingness to be a part of the democratic process by eschewing dissension, division, [...]

J.Yogaraj - Polling for the Uva provincial council, Jaffna Municipality, and Vavuniya Urban council commenced at 7 O’clock this morning. So far, according to reports reaching Colombo, voting has been calm and peaceful without any major incidents. A brisk voting was reported from the polling centres in the morning session.