• Kanchikudiyaru thuyilum illam cleared ahead of Maaveerar Naal

    Residents and volunteers yesterday cleared the ground at Kanchikudiyaru thuyilum illam in Amparai ahead of Maaveerar Naal (Tamil Remembrance Day) on November 27. 

    Thuyilum illams across the North-East have been cleared over recent weeks in preparation of the commemorations. 

  • Final preparations at Mulankavil Thuyilum Illam

    Final preparations are taking place at Mulankavil thuyilum illam ahead of Tamil remembrance day (Maaveerar Naal) on November 27. 

    Volunteers and locals on Monday continued clearing the site and making the area ready for next Thursday's event. 

  • Sri Lanka's heading towards economic collapse says former finance minister
    <p>Sri Lanka's former finance minister, Mangala Samaraweera today warned the country was heading towards "a state of economic collapse".&nbsp;</p> <p>Condemning the President's sacking of the prime minister and appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new premier, Mangala said "as a result of these actions, Sri Lanka is on the brink of economic anarchy and chaos as never experienced before."&nbsp;</p>
  • Home Office must halt removals to Sri Lanka - UK Labour Party
    <p>The British opposition has called on the Home Office to halt deportations to Sri Lanka and urgently review the UK’s asylum policy on Sri Lanka, reiterating similar calls from Labour MPs last week.</p>
  • UK Home Office to pay Tamil asylum seeker almost £20,000 damages for unlawful detention

    A Tamil asylum seeker who fled torture in Sri Lanka has been awarded almost £20,000 in damages from the UK Home Office for his unlawful detention.

  • Press freedom and journalist safety under threat in Sri Lanka - IFJ
    <p>The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed concern about threats to press freedom and journalist safety in Sri Lanka as a result of the ongoing political crisis.</p>
  • Tamils will be worst victims in Sri Lanka political crisis - TNA leader

    Tamils are likely to become the worst victims in Sri Lanka’s political crisis, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan said today.

    Speaking to media after a meeting with heads of diplomatic missions in Colombo, the party leader said “the country’s minorities, especially Tamils, may become the victims,” according to The Hindu.

  • Elilan's father dies searching for disappeared son

    The father of the LTTE's political head for the Trincomalee district, Sasitharan (alias Elilan), died yesterday yearning for his disappeared son. 

    Elilan was handed over to the Sri Lankan army by members of his family during the end of the armed conflict in 2009. 

    His father has been searching for his son since then along with Elilan's wife, Ananthy Sasitharan. 

  • Moody’s downgrades Sri Lanka’s ratings in 'huge blow' despite pleas from Colombo

    Moody's Investors Service announced that it has downgraded Sri Lanka’s senior unsecured ratings to B2 from B1, amidst a deepening political and economic crisis on the island, despite calls from the government to block the move.

    The move, which is a significant blow to the Sri Lankan government’s economic policy, comes as both former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe claim to be Sri Lanka’s prime minister in a political crisis that has endured for several weeks.

  • Sri Lankan president meets extremists Buddhist monks and pledges ‘immediate action’

    Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena met with extremist Sinhala Buddhist monks who had been calling for the release of the jailed Bodu Bala Sena leader on Monday, and pledged “immediate action to conduct an inquiry” after police launched tear gas at their demonstration.

  • Transfer of CID official investigating navy abductions and journalist murder cancelled
    <p>The planned transfer of a CID official responsible for several high profile crime cases involving former government or armed force figures has been cancelled by the police commission according to Daily FT.</p> <p>Nishantha Silva, officer in charge of the organised crimes division at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was given a transfer order to ordinary duties in Negombo, reportedly on the orders of the Sri Lankan president.</p>
  • Amnesty urges Sri Lanka not to impede ongoing investigations

    Amnesty International urged Sri Lankan authorities not to impede ongoing investigations following the transfer of Nishantha Silva, the Officer-in-Charge at the Criminal Investigations Department who had been responsible for the investigation of the abduction and murder of 11 Tamil youths by Sri Lankan navy personnel. 

    Silva was given a transfer order to ordinary duties in Negombo, reportedly on the orders of the Sri Lankan president. 

  • UNP and allies submit motion to suspend Rajapaksa's expenditures

    The United National Party, together with its coalition partners within the UNF alliance submitted a motion today to suspend Mahinda Rajapaksa's expenditures. 

    The motion would see staff salaries and other costs taken away from his budget. 

    The motion is expected to be debated on November 29. 

    The TNA spokesperson, M A Sumanthiran and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the JVP leader and Chief Opposition Whip, have said they will support the motion. 

  • Speaker orders report on parliamentary violence

    Sri Lanka's Speaker today ordered authorities to investigate and present a report on last week's violent scenes in parliament, the Daily Mirror reported. 

    Video footage from parliamentary sittings showed fist-fights, objects being thrown at fellow MPs and police officers, including chilli water, as well as an MP wielding a knife and another slapping a police officer. 

  • Buddhist militaries, both accused of crimes, meet to pray

    The head of Myanmar’s navy paid a trip Kandy last month, where he met with a senior Sri Lankan military commander and visited the Temple of the Tooth.

    Admiral Tin Aung San, Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar’s Navy led a delegation to meet Major General T J Nanayakkara, before both parties visited the “inner chamber for veneration,” according to an official military website.

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