Share Blogs

China said Saturday that it believes the Sri Lankan government and people will properly handle problems concerning its civil war and urged the international community not to complicate the issue. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks when asked to comment on a panel report on armed conflicts in Sri Lanka published by the United Nations on Monday, reports China’s Xinhua Agency. Hong said in a statement that China has already noticed the publication of the report. He said Sri Lanka has already set up its own institutes to investigate relevant issues. “The Chinese side is confident that the Sri Lankan government and people are able to properly address all relevant issues,” Hong said. He said China hopes that the international community could provide support and assistance to such efforts by the Sri Lankan government. “We hope that the international community could help develop a favorable external environment for the Sri Lankan government to stabilize the country’s internal

A Conservative candidate in Monday’s election is facing fresh questions about his contact with a former leader of the Tamil Tigers. At issue is the nature and amount of contact between Gavan Paranchothy, a Tamil-Canadian broadcast journalist running in Scarborough-Southwest, and the ex-Tiger boss known as KP, who ran the terrorist group’s multimillion dollar international arms-procurement and support operations. Mr. Paranchothy denies having met KP, and says what minimal phone contact they had was for journalistic purposes. But in a rare and lengthy interview with The Globe and Mail, the once-elusive Tiger boss, now in government detention in Sri Lanka, said Mr. Paranchothy is well known to him and they spoke by phone numerous times over several weeks in 2009. KP, whose real name is Thambiaiya Selvarasa Pathmanathan, ran the Tigers’ foreign operations from Thailand and Malaysia before he was arrested and taken to Sri Lanka on Aug. 5, 2009. Long wanted by Interpol, KP said he was seized

• Service available for prepaid reload and postpaid bill settlement customers by simply typing PIN Rs and sending it to 8823 from their Airtel mobile. • Further offers Airtel customers greater convenience with access to over 420 ATMs and 198 Commercial Bank branches throughout Sri Lanka. Bharti Airtel Lanka and Commercial Bank proudly announced the launch of bill payment facilities accessible to all Airtel and Commercial Bank customers, recently. Available throughout Sri Lanka, this service provides all prepaid and post paid customers of Airtel access to multiple touch points to top up their accounts either by reload or bill settlement. Services on offer enable mutually exclusive customers of Airtel and Commercial Bank the option of reloading their prepaid accounts or settling all postpaid bill payments by simply typing PIN Rs on SMS and sending it to 8823 from their Airtel mobiles. Customers of Commercial Bank can also opt to access internet banking facilities in settling their Ai

Pro-Gaddafi pursued rebels into the Tunisian border town of Dehiba, with unconfirmed reports that a Tunisian civilian was killed and another injured in the fighting. Tunisian troops intervened in the conflict for the first time after two hours of intense fire between rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces. The Tunisian army stepped in, detaining and disarming the pro-Gaddafi fighters and then returning them to the Libyan side of the border, Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reported from the Tunisian side of the frontier on Friday. After shelling the town, pro-Gaddafi forces sent as many as 18 military trucks towards Dehiba on Friday morning, where the majority of the townspeople sympathise with the Libyan rebels, our correspondent said. The town had been hit by rocket and artillery fire during the fighting over the nearby crossing on Thursday. One boy was shot in the foot and a woman was killed by pro-Gaddafi forces' shelling and gunfire, according to uncorroborated accounts from witnesses

Hundreds of thousands of people waving flags and banners poured down London's Mall boulevard to cheer the newlyweds as they kissed twice on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Then they went back in, the glass doors closed and the spectacle was over. "This kind of royal wedding happens just once in a lifetime, so I thought I had to come and see," said Seong Jiyong, a South Korean student studying English. "The monarchy is like our Hollywood, the movies, for us," said Californian Diane Weltz. Middleton, who wore a laced ivory colored dress with a long train for the ceremony, became the first "commoner" to marry a prince in close proximity to the throne in more than 350 years. The 29-year-old, whose mother's family has coal mining roots, has brought a sense of modernity to the monarchy and helped restore popularity to an institution tarnished by the death of William's hugely popular mother Princess Diana in 1997. Fans from Asia to the United

The Supreme Court today (April 29) postponed the hearing of the petition filed challenging the proposed Employees’ Pension Benefit Fund bill targeted at private sector and migrant workers. The petition, filed by a bank employee named E.A. Vithana, states that the proposed pension scheme will adversely affect private sector workers. When the petition was taken up today it was found that an affidavit has not been submitted to the Speaker of Parliament, therefore the petitioner was informed by the Supreme Court to do so. The petition is scheduled to be taken up on May 02 again.

A group of Facebook shareholders is seeking to offload $1 billion worth of shares on the secondary market, a sale that would value the company at more than $70 billion, according to five sources with direct knowledge of the situation. It would represent one of the largest transactions of Facebook shares to date and points to a growing wariness among early-stage investors and employees who fear Facebook's growth cannot keep pace with its market valuation. The sellers have lowered their price after previously trying to offload shares at a price that valued the company at $90 billion, which would make Facebook more valuable than Time Warner Inc and News Corp combined. But buyers balked. "At the current valuation where it is, it is really hard to justify the investment," said Sumeet Jain, partner at venture capital firm CMEA Capital, who has examined Facebook deals recently and has taken a pass. "It's hard to imagine it will turn into a $270 billion company in the ne

Devastating storms and tornadoes raked though the South, killing at least 185 people as they ripped houses to rubble, flipped cars and uprooted trees and power lines, officials said on Thursday. In the deadliest series of storms in nearly four decades in the United States, 128 people were killed in Alabama, the worst-hit state. In Mississippi, 32 were killed, while 10 people died in Georgia and 11 in Arkansas. Louisiana and Tennessee also reported deaths as the clusters of powerful tornadoes and storms tore a swathe of destruction from west to east. Some of the worst devastation occurred on Wednesday in Alabama, where a massive mile-wide tornado slammed into Tuscaloosa, home to the University of Alabama, killing at least 15 people, including some students. Tuscaloosa resident Jannie Ross said she and her family took shelter in the basement of their home when the tornado struck. "We could hear debris hitting the side of our house, glass breaking and the train sound often attributed

A cold war has been launched against Sri Lanka with the aim of rolling back the country’s victory against terrorism and attempt to achieve Tamil Eelam by other means, Dayan Jayatilleka, Sri Lankan Ambassador to France stated. The Ambassador, who was the former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka at in UN stated that the separatists and their sympathizers were attempting to establish a puppet administration that will facilitate their plans for a separate state. He stated that the government asked the UN to delay the release of the report not because it was scared of the contents of the report but because there was a procedural violation as the panel was meant to advise the Secretary General on norms, standards and practices of accountability. “Sri Lanka’s main objection really is not the publication of the report but to the content of the report itself,” he said. “The panel report is only the spearhead of a multi-pronged strategic effort against Sri Lanka”. He added that Sri Lanka

The water level of the Kalu Ganga in Ratnapura is rising to dangerous levels due to the heavy showers in the area, the Irrigation Department stated. People living in the surrounding area have been asked to stay vigilant of any flood threat.

Sri Lanka’s new skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan, one of the stars of the Indian Premier League, has said he wants to leave the event early to travel with the national team to England on tour. Dilshan is keen to join the Sri Lankan squad when they fly to England on May 10, which means he would have to abandon his Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL side three weeks before the tournament ends. Sri Lanka are set to play three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 international during the tour. “Dilshan is keen to travel with the team, to try and create a bond as some of the senior players will be joining the squad a bit late,” Dilshan’s manager Roshan Abeysinghe told AFP. Sri Lanka Cricket last week allowed its IPL players to stay on in India until May 18, rowing back on a request for them to return by May 5 to prepare for the tour. Dilshan took over as skipper last week after Kumar Sangakkara quit following Sri Lanka’s defeat to India in the World Cup final in Mumbai earlier this month. Dilshan

Sri Lanka’s new skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan, one of the stars of the Indian Premier League, has said he wants to leave the event early to travel with the national team to England on tour. Dilshan is keen to join the Sri Lankan squad when they fly to England on May 10, which means he would have to abandon his Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL side three weeks before the tournament ends. Sri Lanka are set to play three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 international during the tour. “Dilshan is keen to travel with the team, to try and create a bond as some of the senior players will be joining the squad a bit late,” Dilshan’s manager Roshan Abeysinghe told AFP. Sri Lanka Cricket last week allowed its IPL players to stay on in India until May 18, rowing back on a request for them to return by May 5 to prepare for the tour. Dilshan took over as skipper last week after Kumar Sangakkara quit following Sri Lanka’s defeat to India in the World Cup final in Mumbai earlier this month. Dilshan

Legal cases against 1200 shop owners are being filled for unethical trading practices following raids carried out by the Consumer Affairs Authority [CAA] during the sinhala and hindu new year season.. These rails had been carried out mainly targeting areas adjacent to Colombo as well as in Negombo, Chilaw, Wattala and Moratuwa.

The spiritual leader Sathya Sai baba stopped responding to the treatment and has reportedly passed away. After a prolonged battle with several ailments, Sai Baba passed away at Puttaparthi at 7.45 am on Sunday, Indian media reported. Satya Sai Baba had been undergoing treatment at Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh for the last 26 days owing to the malfunctioning of vital organs. The 84-year-old was admitted to hospital on March 28 with breathing and heart problems. Early on Thursday morning, doctors had said his condition was very critical and most of his organs were not responding to treatment. The condition of his liver and his low blood pressure were causing concern, they had said. Godman to some, miracle-man to others and revered as God by lakhs of his followers, Sathya Sai Baba had the rich, famous and powerful from the world of politics, business, films and sport flocking to his doorstep in Puttaparthi, the small Andhra Pradesh village that he

Four people have been killed in the Syrian town of Douma, a witness told, after security forces on the ground and snipers on rooftops opened fire on a crowd of thousands of mourners gathered to bury protesters killed on Friday. Army and security personnel also shot at mourners at a funeral procession in the southern town of Izraa. Eyewitnesses told that five people had been killed there, four of them after having been shot in the chest. Several others were wounded. The eyewitness in Douma said that the gunfire erupted during the processions on Saturday, in the largest of the towns that surround Damascus to the northeast. Eight people were killed and at least 25 injured in Douma when security forces fired upon pro-democracy protesters on Friday. Snipers on Saturday had taken up positions on the top of a Baath Party building in the vicinity of the privately-run Hamdan Hospital, where residents had overnight formed a human shield around the main gate, in order to prevent security forces f

The obstruction caused by the earth slip on the Gampola-Nuwara Eliya road has been cleared and traffic is now back to normal, the Disaster Management Centre revealed a short while ago.

The Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association intends to request the National Transport Commission to only employ normal long-distance transport services instead of semi-luxury buses in several selected routes. The number of passengers able to travel in these semi-luxury buses depends on the number of seats, however these busses carry exceeding amounts of passengers, President of the Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association, Gemunu Wijeratne pointed out as the reason for the request. He also stated that several complaints have been received in this regard as these buses charge one-and-a-half times more than the normal bus service while providing no additional facilities to the public.

Dialog Axiata is partnering with London-based QiComm to offer a unique mobile calling solution to Sri Lankans living in the UK through a new product called Dialog VIZZ Mobile. VIZZ Mobile runs on the Vodafone network in UK and offers customers low cost calling to Sri Lanka with special rate for calls to Dialog Mobile users. The service offers not only discounted rates to Sri Lanka but also the exciting advantage of air time transfer service. UK customers can instantly top-up any Dialog pre-paid number in any part of Sri Lanka. VIZZ Mobile is a fully-portable SIM, and any UK number can be ported seamlessly to the VIZZ network. VIZZ Mobile offers the best rates for calling within the UK and is positioned to replace the current SIM being used by the Sri Lankan community in the UK. The service offers not only attractive domestic calling plans in the UK but also offers aggressive IDD rates to Europe, Asia and the Americas. The new Dialog VIZZ Mobile SIM can be purchased and topped-up throug

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 hit eastern Japan on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Japan's Meteorological Agency said no tsunami warning was issued. The epicentre of the earthquake, which shook buildings in Tokyo, was at Chiba prefecture, near the coast east of the capital, the agency added. by reuters

Schoolchildren in Sri Lanka have been signing petitions against the public release of the UN's report [Reuters] The Sri Lankan government has warned the United Nations that publicly releasing a report on alleged war crimes in the country's civil war could harm post-war ethnic reconciliation efforts. Gamimi Peiris, the country's external affairs minister, said in Colombo on Thursday that the UN panel had overstepped its mandate. Rather than acting only as an advisory body to Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, it had taken on an investigative role, Peiris said. "The publication of this report will cause irreparable damage to the reconciliation efforts of Sri Lanka. It will damage the UN system too. This UN report is preposterous." The report, which was handed to Ban last week, harshly criticised both the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels on their conduct during the civil war, saying that there were "credible allega

The World Bank has decided to take steps to double the amount of aid granted to Sri Lanka stated Dr. Sarath Amunugama Senior Minister of International Monetary Co-operation. The minister stated this at a press briefing following his return to the island after participating in the Annual World Bank Committee Meeting. He stated that these funds would be utilized for the development of education, health and many more sectors. Amunugama also stated that they hope to increase the economic growth rate of Sri Lanka to 9% by next year. He further added that at a time when most economies in the world were facing a crisis situation the performance of the Sri Lankan economy has indeed been exemplary.

The Sri Lanka cricket squad for the upcoming England Tour was named a short while ago. Tillekeratna Dilshan will lead the team as Captain while Kumar Sangakkara will fill in as Captain in the event that Dilshan is not on the field. The 16-man squad for the England tour is as follows, T.M. Dilshan (Captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena, Tharanga Paranavithana, Lahiru Thirimanna, Thilan Samaraweera, Dinesh Chandimal, Prasanna Jayawardena, Thisara Perera, Suraj Randiv, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath, Dilhara Fernando, Chanaka Welagedera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep.

Apple's next-generation iPhone will have a faster processor and will begin shipping in September, three people with direct knowledge of the company's supply chain said. The production of the new iPhone will start in July/August and the smartphone will look largely similar to the iPhone 4, one of the people said on Wednesday. The iPhone -- introduced in 2007 with the touchscreen, on-demand application template now adopted by its rivals -- remains the gold standard in the booming smartphone market. Reports on the timeline of the new iPhone launch vary, though it is largely expected that Apple will likely refresh its iPhone 4 later this year. The sources declined to be identified because the plans for the new iPhone were not yet public. An Apple spokeswoman in Hong Kong was not available for comment. The iPhone is one of Apple's most successful products, with more than 16 million sold in the last quarter of 2010 and the product accounted for more than a third of the company

UNITED NATIONS, April 19 -- Sri Lanka and the UN Panel of Experts’ report were listed in advance as topics of the Security Council briefing on the afternoon of April 18 by UN Department of Political Affairs chief Lynn Pascoe. The issues had been so listed even before the leak, presumptively by the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa, of a summary of the report to a local newspaper, reports Matthew Russell Lee for the Inner City Press. But after the leak, that was the main topic inside the Council, multiple sources told Inner City Press afterwards. It was said, inside the Council, that the government was the likely leaker. But a range of Council members said it made no sense to have a discussion of a partial leak rather than the whole report. Just as Russia opposed any Council discussion of Sri Lanka during the final, bloody stages of the conflict in 2009, on April 18, 2011 in the Council Russia raised a number of “procedural” objections, sources told Inner City Press afterward. It should b

The Selection Committee headed by Duleep Mendis has named T.M. Dilshan as the Captain of the Sri Lanka cricket team pending the approval of the Sports Minister, Mendis told Ada Derana a short while ago. Secretary SLC Nishantha Ranathunga speaking to Ada Derana stated that Dilshan has been appointed captain for the upcoming English tour.

The Eastern University will be reopened day after tomorrow (April 19) after being closed temporarily following a clash between students and the Police, the University Registrar MannikkawasaharThayabaran stated. The students of the University protested against the Police post established within the University demanding that it be closed after which the University administration has still to take decision on the matter.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has moved up to fourth spot on Time Magazine’s annual public poll on the 100 Most Influential People. Voting ends on April 21 when Time will announce the final list. Currently, President Rajapaksa is the highest ranked political leader in the World with US President Barrack Obama placed 46th and Sonia Gandhi occupying the 100th spot.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has moved up to fourth spot on Time Magazine’s annual public poll on the 100 Most Influential People. Voting ends on April 21 when Time will announce the final list. Currently, President Rajapaksa is the highest ranked political leader in the World with US President Barrack Obama placed 46th and Sonia Gandhi occupying the 100th spot.

An ambulance travelling from Ratnapura to Colombo toppled after colliding with another vehicle in Borella, injuring three people, the Borella Police stated. The incident occurred while the ambulance was transporting a patient to Colombo today (April 16). The three injured persons were admitted to the accident ward at the Colombo General Hospital.

An ambulance travelling from Ratnapura to Colombo toppled after colliding with another vehicle in Borella, injuring three people, the Borella Police stated. The incident occurred while the ambulance was transporting a patient to Colombo today (April 16). The three injured persons were admitted to the accident ward at the Colombo General Hospital.

Sri Lanka is all set to get a new cricket captain next week, days after Kumar Sangakkara stepped down following the team’s runners-up finish at the World Cup. “The selectors need to discuss the issue with the interim committee members of Sri Lanka Cricket. This meeting will take place next week after the current New Year holiday period,” Chairman of selectors Duleep Mendis, who took over after the resignation of Aravinda de Silva, told the local media. Sangakkara, currently leading the Deccan Chargers in the IPL, resigned from the captaincy in the aftermath of the loss to India in the April 2 World Cup final. His resignation was followed by that of his deputy Mahela Jayawardene and the chairman of selectors de Silva. Sangakkara said he was giving Sri Lankan selectors the chance to name a captain who would lead the team in the next World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand in 2015. Tillakaratne Dilshan is tipped to succeed Sangakkara. Dilshan is a year older than Sangakkara at 3

OTTAWA - Canadian Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper was put on the defensive Thursday after media reported that one of his party’s candidates for parliament had hosted a televised tribute to the Tamil Tigers, an organization banned in Canada as a terrorist group. Harper told reporters his Conservative Party holds “a strong position against the Tamil Tigers.” His government banned the Tamil Tigers in 2006, despite days of protests by Tamil immigrants in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, and Toronto, the country’s largest city. Their aid agency, the World Tamil Movement, was suppressed in 2008. Still, federal police and security agencies claim the Tamil Tigers raise money in Canada and smuggling rings bring wanted Tamil terrorists to Canada. The controversy arose Thursday morning after the daily Globe and Mail reported that Conservative candidate Gavan Paranchothy, a broadcaster, had hosted a pro-Tamil Tiger television show last November. Paranchothy, who traveled with

OTTAWA - Canadian Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper was put on the defensive Thursday after media reported that one of his party’s candidates for parliament had hosted a televised tribute to the Tamil Tigers, an organization banned in Canada as a terrorist group. Harper told reporters his Conservative Party holds “a strong position against the Tamil Tigers.” His government banned the Tamil Tigers in 2006, despite days of protests by Tamil immigrants in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, and Toronto, the country’s largest city. Their aid agency, the World Tamil Movement, was suppressed in 2008. Still, federal police and security agencies claim the Tamil Tigers raise money in Canada and smuggling rings bring wanted Tamil terrorists to Canada. The controversy arose Thursday morning after the daily Globe and Mail reported that Conservative candidate Gavan Paranchothy, a broadcaster, had hosted a pro-Tamil Tiger television show last November. Paranchothy, who traveled with

After weeks of bickering over the 2011 budget, when it finally came time to cast ballots nobody seemed quite sure what to do. Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, the man tasked with coaxing his party into backing a bill neither side much liked, leaned against a table on the House floor, nervously jiggling a slip of paper. Freshman Rep. Allen West, a firm “no,” thumbed his Blackberry in the corner. Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, who moments before had cited Henry Clay -- “If you can't compromise, you can't govern” -- to urge the bill's passage, circulated through the crowd, smiling and patting backs. Members squinted up at the voting board as it slowly lit with results. Both sides can breathe a sigh of relief. HR 1473, which will keep the government open through Sept. 30 while trimming $38 billion from the federal budget, cleared the House this afternoon with bipartisan support, 260-167. Fifty-nine Republicans spurned their party to vote against the bill, while 81 of the House's

Mahinda Rajapaksa, listed in TIME Magazine’s TIME 100 most influential people in the world, has reached the Top Ten. The Sri Lankan President is currently ranked 6th in the list with a total of 85,934 votes. He is the highest ranked political leader in the list thus making him the most influential political leader. Rajapaksa is the only politician in the Top Ten while only certain artists and the “Mother Teresa of Asia” the Taiwanese Buddhist nun, Cheng Yen is ahead of him. The President, appearing for the very first time in the online poll carried out by Time Magazine, is the also the first Sri Lankan leader to be featured in the TIME 100 Top Ten. Amongst other prominent world leaders in the list is US President Barack Obama at the 46th position while US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and India’s Congress President Sonia Gandhi are in at 42 and 95 respectively. The magazine’s profile on President Rajapaksa states that “Since ending Sri Lanka’s 26-year-long war again