யாழ் திரைகடலோடி

After NASA's Historic First Flight: Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

January 9, 2014 Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said the government would in the coming days reveal its strategy to tackle “big ticket corruption” in light of questions raised by the Bharatiya Janata Party that the AAP government has gone slow in taking action in cases related to the previous Sheila Dikshit-led government. “Many people including Dr. Harsh Vardhan have been asking me repeatedly about big corruption cases. We will soon start action against big ticket corruption. We are preparing backend for it.” Earlier this week, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Harsh Vardhan questioned the Aam Aadmi Party government if it intends to “send corrupt M…

Iceland Volcano Fears: Airlines On Alert Authorities monitoring the Bardarbunga volcano say there is the threat of "significant emission of ash into the atmosphere". http://news.sky.com/story/1323762/iceland-volcano-fears-airlines-on-alert

Paramilitary office attacked in Batticaloa. Armed men launched an attack on the office of paramilitary Karuna Group, located at Kallady, inside the High Security area of Sri Lanka Army at 11:20 p.m. Wednesday. Initial reports said 3 wounded paramilitary personnel were admitted at the Batticaloa hospital. Further details were not known. On Tuesday, armed men attacked two paramilitary installations in Valaichenai, north of Batticaloa. The attackers bombed and flattened one of the two houses, killing all paramilitary personnel inside it, Police sources said. 12 Karuna Group personnel were killed Tuesday, according to informed ex-militant sources in Bat…

by Amal Jayasinghe 2 hours, 44 minutes ago COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lanka launched attacks against Tiger rebels as the guerrillas said thousands of civilians in the north fled their homes on fears of an upsurge of fighting in the region. Troops in Trincomalee attacked suspected Tiger positions and residents reported hearing shelling throughout he day. The reports came on the eve of the fifth anniversary of a truce that is holding only on paper. Military officials confirmed they were retaliating against rebel harassment, but said there was no major offensive in the region, although residents said they heard long-range artillery fire. The attack…

Sri Lanka: Asymmetries in the peace process - the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran As Clausewitz observed, war is politics by other means. Negotiations are a form of politics, but without some real or perceived symmetry of power they will be an exercise in one side imposing its will on the other. Power - i.e. the ability of one party to move the other in an intended direction - is constituted by military resources, economic leverage, international legitimacy, the moral basis of one's position, mass support, leadership, etc. It includes 'hard power' such as military coercion, as well as 'soft power', which is defined by Jos…

12th day Hunger strike in UK Immigration Removal Centre! CAN YOU HELP THEM? Subramaniyam Alosius Jude Christie, (44) Male Jaffna Sillalay, Sri Lanakan Is on the 12th day Hunger strike in Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre. He has been given deportation order and says can't go back as there is no hope without peace talks. He has been arrested and detained in the Sri Lankan military 'Boossa camp' which is well known camp used by the Sri Lankan military to torture Tamils. He paid ransom to officers for his release from the camp and escaped to UK for his safety. Since coming to this country he has been in the Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre. His appli…

China has called on Sri Lanka to “make efforts to protect and promote human rights”, amid continuing debate over the island nation’s hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). While calling on other countries to “provide constructive assistance”, the Chinese government, which has in the past been among Sri Lanka’s strongest supporters against the international community’s criticism following the end of the war, said it was important for Sri Lanka to protect human rights. “This is an issue within the Commonwealth, but at the same time I believe that on the human rights issue, dialogue and communication should be enhanced among countries,” Fore…

"England and America are two countries divided by a common language." "My reputation grows with every failure." "In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman." Margaret Thatcher "When a man steals your wife there is no better revenge than to let him keep her." Sacha Guitry "My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher." Socrates. "My wife has a slight impediment in her speech. Every now and then she stops to breathe." "Women complain about PMS, but I think of it as the only time of the month when I can be myself

* Special announcement tonight from the Sri Lanka government Sunday, August 13, 2006, 13:27 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka. Aug 13, Colombo: The Sri Lanka government will make a special announcement on the current situation in the country, said a spokesperson for the Presidential Secretariat. The special announcement is expected to be made within a couple of hours. Meanwhile, fighting between government forces and the LTTE continues in the country's North and East.[/b

US to provide USD 50 000 water, sanitation assistance to Trinco victims [TamilNet, August 18, 2006 14:42 GMT] United States Embassy in Colombo in a press release issued on Friday said the US released Rs. 5,000,000 to provide water and sanitation services to immediate assistance to people affected by recent fighting in Trincomalee district. "We are providing this assistance to help the displaced from all communities in Sri Lanka," USAID Mission Director Dr. Carol Becker said. "We repeat that there is no possible military solution to this conflict. We urge both sides to cease hostilities immediately to alleviate a yet larger humanitarian crisis." Full text of the…

Senior White House Official Involved in Undisclosed Talks With Top Putin Aides Jake Sullivan has had confidential discussions with Russian counterparts amid concerns over escalation, nuclear threats The Mechanics of Russia’s Nuclear Arsenal, Explained YOU MAY ALSO LIKE The Mechanics of Russia’s Nuclear Arsenal, ExplainedPlay video: The Mechanics of Russia’s Nuclear Arsenal, Explained …

Ramaraj out on parole Tamil-speaking drugs baron V Ramaraj has been released on parole by a Swiss court after having served exactly one year of a three years prison sentence meted out to him for smuggling narcotics via the alpine nation. Ramaraj was arrested on 22 February 2006 outside the United Nations offices in Geneva, initially on charges of having entered Switzerland illegally. Latter, police investigations revealed that Ramaraj was also on the wanted list for narcotics smuggling. Police also found a number of 'cloned' credit cards in his travel bag. He was subsequently sent to prison for three years. Ramaraj, who originally hails from th…

'AIDS plot' against Buddhist monks Thero says plan is to infect leading Buddhist monks with HIV-AIDS Christian fundamentalists are conspiring to tarnish the image of the Buddhist clergy, a leading monk-parliamentarian said. The leader of Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) told BBC Sandeshaya that he was informed of a plot to infect HIV - AIDS to Buddhist monks. Ellawawala Medhananda thero said the conspiracy is an attempt to tarnish the image of the Buddhist monks who have vowed to celibacy. Sexual activity Asked how the monks would be infected without having engaged in sexual acts or using syringes that are infected, the leading monk said : "That …

Be Ready for Radiation Emergencies Protect yourself, your loved ones, and your pets during a radiation emergency by getting inside, staying inside, and staying tuned. It’s Saturday night and you’re at home with your family watching TV. A news alert announces a radiation emergency in your city. It could be an overturned truck hauling radioactive material, a nuclear power plant accident, or a “dirty bomb,” but reports are that large amounts of radiation have been released. What should you do? Radiation can affect the body in a number of ways, and th…

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convert the Sampur Power Station in Trincomalee from a coal power plant to one powered by liquified natural gas (LNG). Modi has responded positively to Sirisena’s suggestion, and asked his officials to discuss the issue promptly with their Sri Lankan counterparts, and move forward. This was revealed to The Island here today by Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India Esala Weerakoon. The Sampur project figured in the bilateral deliberations between the two sides on Friday. President Sirisena raised the issue, and Modi reacted to the former’s suggestion favourably. …

On Sri Lanka Murder of 12 Year Old, Ban's UN is Aware, Calls for National Process As news of the summary execution of a 12 year old boy by the Sri Lankan Army in May 2009 spreads worldwide, Inner City Press on Wednesday asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman about it, citing Ban's “two reports and a third one still ongoing. Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky began with a correction, saying that this third report “is an internal task force looking at how recommendations will be carried out in the UN... it's not to do with looking into the actual events in Sri Lanka.” Some wonder how the UN can fully assess its inaction in Sri Lanka without taking in…

IMPHAL: Nine people - eight Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) workers and a girl child - were injured on Monday in a powerful bomb blast triggered by suspected rebels in Manipur, officials said. The blast took place in Ukhrul district, when a BRTF truck was carrying an unknown number of people, including the nine injured. "Eight BRTF workers and the six-year-old daughter of the BRTF driver were injured when a powerful bomb planted on the road exploded," Manipur police chief MKDas said. Of the nine injured, the condition of three people, including the girl and her father, the truck driver, is critical. The three have been rushed to the Regional Institute of Medical Sc…

Victim: Mylvaganam Nimalrajan NEWS - 24 FEBRUARY 2022 12:59 Man arrested by Met's War Crimes team as part of Sri Lankan murder investigation The Met’s War Crimes team are appealing for information as part of an ongoing investigation into a murder committed in Sri Lanka more than 20 years ago. Officers from the War Crimes Team - part of the Counter Terrorism Command – arrested a 48-year-old man at an address in Northamptonshire on Tuesday, 22 February as part of a proactive operation. He was arrested on suspicion of offences under Section 51 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001. He was taken into cust…

Haukland's parting salvo draws Rajapaksa ire Situation Report - by Iqbal Athas The outgoing Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), retired Norwegian Brigadier Hagrup Haukland, who leads the team of Nordic citizens tasked to monitor the Ceasefire Agreement between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had some parting words of wisdom to Sri Lankans. Just a week ago, he told Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa that the Sri Lanka Army cannot win the war with Tiger guerrillas. He opined that unlike Al Qaeda, the LTTE was not a terrorist organisation. They were freedom fighters, he declared. Those words ca…

Sri Lankan forces 'target church' Attacks have been on the increase since the end of the ceasefire Sri Lankan forces have been accused of targeting a church in the north-western district of Mannar. The government denies this, but eyewitnesses described how the military attacked the church. An international aid worker has confirmed it. One woman was killed and more than 40 people injured in the incident. It comes after early-morning clashes in Mannar between the Sri Lankan navy and Tamil Tiger rebels, in which more than 30 people were said to have died. Some 200 people had been sheltering at the church when a grenade was thrown in, causing d…

Soldiers' families 'not paid enough' Families of killed soldiers are paid only Rs.150,000 for over 23 years Disabled soldiers in Sri Lanka have accused the authorities of ignoring their plight and that of the families of killed service personnel. Asoka Dayaratne, of Organisation for Disabled Soldiers, said the compensation paid for war victims is not adequate. "For over 23 years, families of a killed soldier is still paid mere Rs.150,000," he told BBC Sandeshaya. Families of late Generals, Denzil Kobbekaduwa and Vijaya Wimalaratne were also paid just Rs. 150,000 Disabled Soldiers' Organisation He recalled that fam…

Queen Elizabeth II asked the UK for 'self-discipline' in coronavirus address

Second county in Wales to go into lockdown A second county in Wales will go into lockdown because of the rate of coronavirus cases. The 240,000 people living in Rhondda Cynon Taff will have restrictions imposed on their daily lives. From 18:00 BST on Thursday, people will not be able to enter or leave the area without a reasonable excuse, such as travel for work or education. All licensed premises will have to shut at 23:00 every day, once the lockdown comes into effect. Health Minister Vaughan Gething said there had been a "rapid" rise in cases, with 82.1 infections per 100,000 people over the …

9 new envoys with AF Commander picked to head SL Mission in Canada Names of new nominees to head missions in several important capitals, including Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands and Qatar, sent to High Post Committee of Parliament for confirmation Most among them are career diplomats http://static.ft.lk/assets/uploads/image_740ccc72d2.jpg Air Force Commander Air Marshal Sumangala Dias Air Force Commander Air Marshal Sumangala Dias, who is to retire shortly, has been nominated as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Canada. His name, along with t…