BBC World Service In 1989 Appapillai Amirthalingam was assassinated at his home in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. He was a politician - the most prominent democratically-elected leader of the Tamil community....

Sri Lankan housemaids say hundreds of them in Saudi Arabia had been harassed by embassy officials.

By a special correspondent Exclusive to BBC Sinhala service The alert and watchful eyes of weary soldiers scanned every vehicle passing through the checkpoints. Broken, torn buildings tower over the tiny UNHCR tents on the gardens and court yards. Hanging...

The eminent panel is obsequious to the gray haired gentleman that takes the stand. He sits with his back to the crowd, thick with reporters from the BBC, Reuters, and India. The man is Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the first star witness and the first with any real power. It is palpable

by Tisaranee Gunasekara “A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill….” - George Orwell (Nineteen Eighty-four) Some months ago, Defence Secretary and Presidential sibling Gotabhaya Rajapakse threatened to send the former Army Commander, Gen. Sarath Fonseka, to the gallows. When BBC’s Stephen Sackur asked about the possibility of Gen. Fonseka testifying about...

Report To Congress on Measures Taken by the Government of Sri Lanka and International Bodies To Investigate Incidents During the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka, and Evaluating the Effectiveness of Such Efforts Office of War Crimes Issues Report August 11,...

by Prof. Michael Roberts The citizens of Thamileelam who struggled out of the inferno of war in the north-east corner of the northern Vanni during the months of January-May 2009 journeyed on foot or boat. During the first few months...

The Oslo Police have arrested three Sri Lankan Tamil men thought to be from rival factions supporting the LTTE, after a clash in a Hindu religious festival, the BBC reported.

The history books will forever remember Muttiah Muralitharan as one of the greatest ever, if not the greatest, bowler to have played the game. But former assistant coach Paul Farbrace shared another side of Murali that others may not know of.

by Tisaranee Gunasekara One should take great care not to bow down or become enslaved to an object unworthy and base, lest we become sharers of the baseness and unworthiness of the same — Giodano Bruno (The Heroic Enthusiasts) Last week the villagers of Ragamwela in Ampara, engaged in a protest demonstration, accusing the police of occupying their lands. Ragamwela is strategically locat...

The Legend Of Chinaman By Indi Samarajiva Chinaman is the great Sri Lankan novel, about a hundred pages too long and a year late. Like any great Sri Lankan, it has shown up as the party’s nearly ended — drunk, disheveled, yet full of humour and charm, belying a deeper sadness. Chinaman is the story ...

By Dr.A.R.M.Imtiyaz [Abstract: Symbols are emotional and they play significant role in all aspect of human communities, including electoral politics. Symbols are deadly in nature because they can provoke deadly violence and war crimes. In Sri Lanka, Sinhala politician and...

By Athiyan Silva Further evidence has emerged in recent weeks of the continuing political disintegration of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which was militarily crushed in May 2009 by the Sri Lankan military. Several reports indicate that...

(Lanka-e-News 25.July.2010 -1.10PM) The BBC Sinhala service including ‘Sandesaya’ and other miniature services and groups world wide are to be closed down in September 2010, it has been decided,...

World media reporting on the record achieved by Murali has hailed him for re-inventing the sport. International media published various reports on Muralitharan who became the first bowler in the history of test cricket to achieve the milestone of 800 wickets. BBC said that Murali re-invented

It is entirely possible that Muthiah Muralitharan will play the second Test against India, although he has announced his retirement after the first. If he claims just seven wickets in the Galle match he would tally 799. An impressive enough figure, but if the temptation to become the first bowler to claim 800 Test wickets ...

Former Sri Lanka rebels 'abused in detention' By Swaminathan Natarajan BBC Tamil service Former Tamil Tiger rebels detained in Sri Lanka say they have been ill-treated in government camps with no basic facilities. In letters and phone calls to BBC...

By Oliver Brett It looked like a Test match that would attract only cursory interest in a calendar so bogged down with international fixtures. But now Sri Lanka’s match against India in Galle starting on July 18 will be a very special one, bringing to an end the phenomenal test career of one of the ...

By Vangeesa Sumenasekara One of the central weaknesses of the recent debate or discussion in Sri Lanka around the strange term "private" universities apropos its possible consequences to the men and women living within the national boundaries of Sri Lanka...

from BBC News: The UN's secretary-general has recalled his top envoy to Sri Lanka and is closing an office in Colombo because of angry protests over a war crimes panel....

from BBC News A Sri Lankan minister says he has begun a hunger strike outside the UN's Colombo offices demanding that it stop its probe into alleged war crimes. Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa's announcement follows two days of demonstrations outside...

By Charles HavilandBBC News, Colombo On a leafy Colombo corner, surrounded by hundreds of his nationalist supporters and Buddhist monks, Sri Lankan cabinet minister Wimal Weerawansa burns an effigy of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. Mr Ban is a figure of...

Excerpts of Minister Weerawansa's interview (in Sinhala) with BBC's Colombo correspondent, Charles Haviland:...

Sri Lankan cricket legend Muttiah Muralitharan is planning to retire within the next few days, the BBC Sinhala Service reported. A source close to the player said he is definitely...

Sri Lankan cricket legend Muttiah Muralitharan is planning to retire within the next few days, the BBC Sinhala Service can exclusively reveal. ....

Sri Lankan cricket legend Muralitharan is planning to retire within the next few days, BBC Sandeshaya can exclusively reveal.

by Charles Haviland In a horrific turn of events in Sri Lanka's biggest city, Colombo, between seven and ten hawkers, homeless people or beggars have been murdered in the space of a few weeks....

Pradeep Amirthanayagam was installed as the Golden Jubilee President of the Rotary Club of Colombo West yesterday (3). The glittering event was held at the Cinnamon Grand, amidst a large and distinguished gathering comprising of parliamentarians, members of the diplomatic corps and the business community. Performances by Soul Sounds and the Police Band added to ...

Current moves undermine further Democracy in Sri Lanka By Dr. S. Narapalasingam The Government of Sri Lanka has been successful in brushing off the alleged accusations of war crimes during the final stage of the war and violations of the...

BBC Sandeshaya The detained former military commander in Sri Lanka says he is prepared to meet the special panel appointed to advice the UN chief on alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka. Gen Sarath Fonseka told BBC Sandeshaya that...