Why has Sri Lanka inaugurated an official timekeeping website?

Because  the site "will make it easier for people to follow astrological advice and do things at the correct auspicious time," Trade Ministry spokesman Nipuna Ekanayake said.

The launch of www.sltime.org was hardly auspicious, however.

No sooner had President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s launched the site on Monday, when unexpected stormy weather caused it to crash.

Below is an extract from the testimony of Robert O. Blake, Jr., Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. The full text of his prepared speech can be found here.

Sri Lanka stands poised to be a capable and willing partner to effectively combat violent extremism, trafficking and piracy, and thereby help to ensure the maritime security of the region.

It is no accident that Sri Lanka’s cricket team has long been made up mainly of Sinhalese.

Ahead of the World Cup final Saturday, Mel Gunasekera writes for AFP:

While [world record wicket-taker Muttiah] Muralitharan is the only Tamil in Sri Lanka’s team, the Muslim minority is partially represented by opening batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan.

On March 14 Sri Lanka abruptly suspended acceptance of Indian-manufactured train power sets.

Each reportedly costs $3.5m, the engines are manufactured by Indian state-owned firm RITES Ltd.

The reason given by Sri Lanka for the suspension was that one of three already delivered had ‘stopped’ on a run on March 11 due to unspecified defects. An electrical short was later reported.

 Two months after what has been described as Sri Lanka’s worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami, the lives of those in the most affected districts of Batticoloa, Amparai and Trincomalee remain devastated. The state’s much hyped rhetoric of aid has not materialized into tangible relief. Quite the reverse. In a predictable repeat of the post-tsunami situation, the state’s efforts to hamper flood relief for Tamil areas are part of a wider determination to block re-development there.

As ever in Sri Lanka, after the initial blaze of publicity … the state ensures that nothing that might benefit Tamils can proceed.

Last June, the Indian government’s declared intention to build 50,000 houses in the war shattered Northeast sparked much media interest, hope (in the Northeast), and controversy (in South).

Then nothing happened.

A foundation stone was finally laid in November.

With Tamil Nadu due to go to the polls within weeks, the issue of Indian fishermen being attacked in the waters between India and Sri Lanka has once again made the news.

The oceanic border between India and Sri Lanka has no visible demarcations and fishermen often find themselves on the wrong side.

While Sinhala fishermen (often seeking tuna) have been arrested in Indian waters and later released, there has also long been a history of the Sri Lankan navy attacking and killing Indian fishermen.

"A people’s knowledge of the history of its oppression is part of its heritage. Knowing the truth allows victims and relatives to gain a sense of closure, some restoration of dignity and receive acknowledgement of their suffering.

“In February, [Sri Lanka] Prime Minister DM Jayaratne argued in Parliament that it was important to extend the Emergency partly because remnants of the LTTE were active among the Tamil diaspora. This month, he brought LTTE cadres to Tamil Nadu, a lot closer. What could be the argument next month?”

- Sutirtho Patranobis, writer with Hindustan Times. See his comment here