Category: Politics

July 05, 2013 (LBO) – Australia has returned 15 more Sri Lankan boat people taking the total sent back so far to 1,285, an Australian government statement said.Of those returned 1,072 were sent back involuntarily. The statement said the sending back boat people sent a “powerful message” and they were wasting money to travel to […]

June 27, 2013 (LBO) – President Mahinda Rajapaksa has left of Tanzania and Seychelles on the first by a Sri Lankan president to the countries, where he will meet national leaders and attend business forums, his office in Colombo said. Seychelles’ James Alix Michel had visited Sri Lanka last year. President Rajapaksa will attend the […]

LONDON, June 23, 2013 (AFP) – Britain is planning to force visitors from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and other countries whose nationals are deemed to pose a “high risk” of immigration abuse to provide a cash bond before they can enter the country, a report said Sunday. The Sunday Times newspaper said that from November, a […]

June 20, 2013 (AFP) – International rights groups on Thursday condemned moves by Sri Lanka’s government to introduce a code of ethics for journalists, saying it would further undermine press freedom.Local journalists have already criticised the planned media code, which is set to be adopted shortly by lawmakers, as being too sweeping and now international […]

June 18, 2013 (LBO) – Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha, a 32 year veteran in India’s foreign ministry will be the new envoy to Colombo, the Indian High Commission (embassy) in Colombo said.Before coming to Sri Lanka, he was Additional Secretary in the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division at the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi. Sinha had arrived in […]

OLOMBO, June 16, 2013 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse pledged Sunday to proceed with the first-ever provincial polls in the island’s former war zone but his government said the powers of the elected council will be clipped.The councils were established in line with an agreement with neighbouring India, which promised to rein in […]

June 07, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s businesses had been warned on the future effects on liberty in the island following attempts to impose fresh controls on the media through a ‘code of ethics’. Government officials have said it does not amount to a new law but critics say the island has a history of […]

COLOMBO, May 28, 2013 (AFP) – The UN human rights chief has been invited to Sri Lanka in August, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, months after Colombo reacted angrily to her request for a war crimes probe.The High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has been invited to the country as part of Colombo’s “continued, […]

May 27, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa has begun a state visit to China meeting top leaders on wide ranging issues including economic, international affairs and defence, his office in Colombo said. President Rajapaksa will also attend inaugural ceremonies of the Global Service Forum Beijing Summit and the 2013 International Conference of […]

May 25, 2013 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan Buddhist monk died Saturday of severe burns a day after setting himself on fire to protest the slaughter of cattle, an official said.Bowatte Indaratna, 30, succumbed to his injuries at the National Hospital in Colombo where he was rushed Friday after his self-immolation bid in front of […]

COLOMBO, May 26, 2013 (AFP) – About 200 Sri Lankan Buddhists blocked traffic in the capital Colombo on Sunday to protest after authorities rejected a state funeral for the country’s first ever monk to self-immolate.More than 110 Tibetan Buddhists have set themselves ablaze since 2009 to protest China’s rule of the Tibetan plateau, rights groups […]

May 25, 2013 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan monk was fighting for his life Saturday, a day after setting himself on fire to protest the slaughter of cattle, an official said. Bowatte Indaratna, 30, was flown to the main National Hospital in Colombo from the pilgrim town of Kandy where he doused himself with gasoline […]