Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday was prevented from delivering the keynote address at the opening sessions of the Commonwealth Business Council following a raucous demonstration by Sri Lanka Tamil expatriates and human rights activists opposite the venue of the symposium at Mansion House in London. The morning sessions were cancelled by the organisers ...

The bulk of the independent media was prevented from covering the arrival of the six Sri Lankan fishermen who arrived at the Bandaranayake International Airport (BIA) earlier today, 10 days after they were rescued by Spanish marines from the captivity of Somali pirates. The free media was informed by a fisheries ministry official at the BIA that there were orders to prevent them from the coverage...

Muslim heavy weights in Mahinda Rajapakse’s government –  Urban Affairs (Senior) Minister AHM Fowzie and Governor Western Province Alavi Moulana came out strongly against the government’s plan to relocate the Muslim mosque at Kandalama in Dambulla yesterday. They told the Lanka Standard that under no circumstance will they agree to a proposed plan to relocate the ...

Reporters Without Borders calls on all members of the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council, which began its 19th session yesterday, to pass a resolution condemning the Sri Lankan government’s violations of freedom of information and to demand an end to threats and violence against news media and human rights defenders in Sri Lanka. “For ...

“Undercover Princes”: If the title makes you think of dashing Hohenzollerns trading secrets in romantic locales, think again. For one thing, the reality dating series of this title, beginning on Tuesday on TLC, is set not in Venice or Gstaad or even London but in the chip shops and seaside pubs of Brighton, England, which looks ...

The Tamil hit song ‘Kolaveri di’ has become a hit in India and Sri Lanka thanks to its catchy beat and words. Now a Sri Lankan born British singer Arjun Coomaraswamy has released an English remix of the track in London and it has reached almost 2 million hits on YouTube. The English version of ...

OCTOBER 17, 2011: Status: Not Free Legal Environment: 23 Political Environment: 30 Economic Environment: 18 Total Score: 71 Despite the end of the government’s long-running war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group in May 2009, media freedom remained restricted in Sri Lanka, with journalists subject to myriad forms of legal harassment and physical intimidation. Altho...

History proves the efforts made by Channel Four to get popularized by crafting controversial as well as programmes provoking the people. The report telecast by Channel Four villifying the Sri Lankan Government and the Security Forces is the talk of the day among various communities. Media institutions as well as many critics point out that ...

The Gay Movement In Sri Lanka By Sherman Anthony De Rose I am from a family of seven from the countryside of Kotahena. When I was young, it was a very crowded area where low class people, who earned only for their daily needs, lived. The area had very strong Catholic families, Colombo Chetties and ...

Extracts from report on Sri Lanka by advisory panel appointed by Ban Ki moon 2. Violations in the IDP Camps (a) Arbitrary detention of IDPs in closed camps 154. Civilians emerging from the conflicts zone were initially housed in a...

by Prof.Michael Roberts Sri Lanka’s comprehensive victory over New Zealand in the last match for Group A at Mumbai was marred by a controversial third umpire decision that reprieved Mahela Jayawardene when he was in his twenties. This verdict certainly...

By Izeth Hussain After quite some time allegations have once again surfaced that some Muslims have supported the Pakistan side against all others, including the Sri Lankan one at the recent World Cup match. I have been sent newspaper material...

by Tisaranee Gunasekara "When heads of state do not pay attention to the needs of their nation, the people take over”. Turkish Presiden Abdullah Gul (During the February 2011 visit to Iran) “As he launched a series of murderous attacks...

A state-run television station has made an “unconditional apology” to national cricket team, says the chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), BBC reports. .

Vice captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team Mahela Jayawardene is considering legal action against state owned Independent Television Network (ITN) in response to commentary which implied he was guilty of match-fixing, the BBC has reported today. The report states that a state television broadcast

Sri Lanka vice captain Mahela Jayawardene is considering legal action in response to commentary which implied he was guilty of match-fixing. A state television broadcast suggested Jayawardene deliberately played badly for financial gain in Saturday’s cricket World Cup defeat by Pakistan, BBC

By Dr. S. Narapalasingam PART I The baffling moves and actions on the political front of the potent government led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, since the war ended conclusively mid May 2009 have been considered discretely by many analysts, ignoring...

COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka denied on Monday plans to outlaw the singing of the national anthem in Tamil after the main minority party raised strong objections to the mooted ban. The status quo will remain, said public administration minister...

By Chakravarthy The snake is dead. This is what the authorities have been emphasizing from May 17, 2009 and we believe so without any reservation. Road check posts are removed in many places and identity card is asked for randomly...

by Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka "A social group dominates antagonistic groups, which it tends to ‘liquidate’ or to subjugate perhaps even by armed force; it leads kindred and allied groups.” - Gramsci The massive WikiLeaks detonation took place in the wake of a significant conjunction of events for Sri Lanka. That was the celebration of Mahaveera day by the Diaspora Tamils and the visit to Jaff...

By Dushy Ranetunge Wimal Weerawansa, who survived a fast on to death outside the UN compound in Buller’s Road, amidst voodoo style devil dancing, has accused the Sri Lankan High Commission in London of failing in their duty to warn...

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...

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

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 ...

By S.V.Kirubaharan, France The recent BBC series of hard talk programmes on Sri Lanka presented by Stephen Sackur was well-received globally. This telecasting has shown the good, bad and ugly sides of Sri Lanka...