• Defence spending rises yet again

    Oct 09
    Sri Lanka has announced that defence spending by the country will rise by more than 25% for 2013, despite more than three years having passed after the proclaimed end of armed hostilities.
  • ACF, Avaaz call for an independent investigation
    Following last week's call by Action Against Hunger for an independent investigation into the murder of 17 aid workers, they have teamed up with Avaaz and Daily Motion to release a powerful new campaign video.
  • IMF downgrades Sri Lanka's growth to 6.7 percent

    The International Monetary Fund downgraded Sri Lanka's growth to 6.7 percent on Wednesday from the 6.8 expected by Sri Lanka's Central Bank, as inflation is expected to hit double figures at 10.1 percent by the end of this year.

  • Indian Supreme Court refuses to ban SL defence training

    The Supreme Court in Delhi has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation, calling on the Indian government to ban the training of Sri Lankan defence officials.

    "It is a matter of foreign policy. We won't interfere with the policy matters," said judges at the court.

  • Sri Lanka looks to ‘address’ language issues
    Sri Lanka’s Ministry of National Languages and Ethnic Integration announced that it planned to introduce a hotline for resolving the language issues affecting the public service.
  • A militarised education
    Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapksa has rewarded principals from the country’s Ministry of Education by promoting them to the military rank of Brevet Colonels, reported the Ministry of Defence.

    In a ceremony held in Colombo on Monday, 23 officials from the Ministry of Education and Education Administration Service
  • Defence Secretary praises ‘Buddhist revivial’
    Speaking at the opening of a new hall at a Buddhist centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary has praised the role of the Buddhist clergy in “safeguarding the motherland” and stated that the country was in the midst of a “Buddhist revivial”.
  • SL lifts travel advisory on Tamil Nadu

    Sri Lanka lifted its travel advisory against travel to Tamil Nadu on Tuesday.

    The ban was instigated citing attacks against Sri Lankan pilgrims in Tamil Nadu.

    In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said:

    “Following a series of unfortunate incidents faced by Sri Lankans visiting Tamil Nadu, in particular a group of Sri Lankan pilgrims visiting the Poornimatha Church in Thanjavur in early September 2012, the Government of Sri Lanka was compelled to issue a travel advisory for Sri Lankan nationals visiting the state of Tamil Nadu.

  • Judges strike against judge attack

    Judges in Sri Lanka protested on Monday, after a High Court judge was beaten with pistols and stabbed. In a statement, judicial association would not work for one day in protest at the attack.

  • Sexual attacks on Tamil women in the East

    A 38-year-old mother of five was sexually assaulted and killed in Batticaloa on Monday, repored TamilNet on Monday.

  • Malaysia to sign trade deal with SL

    Malaysia is planning to sign a memorandum of understanding with Sri Lanka regarding the oil and gas sector, reported the Daily News.

    Malaysia’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Azmi Zainuddin said the MoU could help the Sri Lankan Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat to formalise business and investment opportunities with Malaysian firms.

  • UN official calls for “greater attention” to resettled people
    A visiting senior UN official to Sri Lanka has stated that more focus needs to be shifted towards the allocation of land and job creation of those who have been displaced by war.
     
    Dr. Ajay Chhibber, who is the UN Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific visited the island from earlier this week, as part of the United Nations Development Programme.
  • Tamils accused of 'conspiring' with diaspora to be prosecuted
    Around 80 Tamils are to face prosecution by the Sri Lankan state after being accused of conspiring with activists in the country and in the diaspora to set up a separate state.

    These Tamils are accused of being “hardcore LTTE cadres” and will be prosecuted under the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act according to Additional Solicitor General Suhada Gamlath.
  • Senior member of the judiciary attacked after speaking out
    A senior judge, openly critical of the Sri Lankan government, has been admitted to hospital after being stabbed several times.

    The secretary of the independent Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Manjula TIlakaratne, was assaulted by four armed men and robbed of his mobile phone.  Reports suggest that it did not appear to be an act aimed at killing him.
  • You will determine our means of resistance – Jaffna Civil Societies tell the UN
    Jaffna Civil Societies have told the UN that the actions of the international community will determine Eelam Tamils’ future means of resistance.

    In a statement to the visiting UN delegation, the societies pointed out that Tamils are not willing to trust the Sri Lankan state and that development cannot lead to a permanent solution, but that a permanent solution would bring about development.
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