யாழ் திரைகடலோடி

The government has borrowed a total of US$ 2.6 billion (US$ 2,665 million) from the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of China during the period 2009-2013 for various development projects in the country.This was revealed by Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Sarath Amunugama in Parliament yesterday. These funds were mainly utilized for the Hambantota Port, Katunayake Expressway, Norochcholai Coal Power Plant, Railway projects, Northern Province electricity and road development projects, Southern Expressway, electricity projects in the Uva and Eastern Provinces. While the first phase of the Hambantota Port and the Katunayake Expressway were given loans at …

A convoy of Russian trucks carrying aid for #Ukrainehas been opened up to journalists at the border:http://bbc.in/1uXbzpQ The Ukrainian government had insisted that inspectors checked the trucks' cargo, amid fears that they could be carrying military supplies for the rebels. The BBC's Steve Rosenberg noted that many of the trucks were "almost empty". 6e0d88e17d40254ae2de1784d91c0f16

ndia yesterday renewed its commitment to the sustenance of peace and development in Sri Lanka as the giant neighbour documented over $ 1.3 billion in post-war support. 'As Sri Lanka strives towards a peaceful future, the Government and the people of India remain committed to assist Sri Lanka in its endeavours of rehabilitation, reconstruction and reconciliation,' Indian High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha said yesterday at the launch of brochure titled 'India and Sri Lanka: A partnership that transcends time' with Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa. 'India and Sri Lanka share a dynamic and multifaceted bilateral relationship that is rooted in close soci…

President Mahinda Rajapaksa today announced that Sri Lanka will be providing US$ 1 million in financial assistance to Palestine.President Rajapaksa has been a long-time supporter of the Palestinian cause and is the Founder President of the Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestine. During this year's Eid Festival Week, the President expressed concern for the violence in Gaza. 'It is my hope that the violence in Gaza is halted and peace prevails in the region,' President Rajapaksa said on his Twitter account. Earlier in July, the President also called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to inquire about the situation in Gaza and offered his condolenc…

The Government today slammed the outgoing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay and expressed confidence in the new High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussei. The Ministry of External Affairs said Pillay, who is scheduled to leave office at the end of this month, is making public pronouncements to the media on an investigation which has commenced only recently, and is a clear indication of personal bias. 'It is evidence of an attempt to influence the investigation process and make it follow a preconceived trajectory. She refers in her statement to a wealth of information outside Sri Lanka. This is the same wealt…

Activists of Periyar Sindanaiyalargal Iyyakkam attempted to stage a mock funeral procession, protesting against BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's proposed participation in a military conference in Sri Lanka next week. Nearly 50 activists of the outfit assembled near the Singaravelar statue with a 'paadai' and an effigy of Swamy on it along with the BJP flags. The activists were seen beating it with chappals. Police stopped them when they tried to move ahead with it. The activists and police personnel were engaged in a scuffle as cops were firm on not allowing the protestors to go ahead with the stir. Then the activists tried to bury the effigy in the nearby se…

Nearly two months after its tenure ended, the Centre has granted a one-year extension to CBI's Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA), which is probing the wider conspiracy behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The term of MDMA, which is headed by a CBI official and comprises officers from IB, RAW and Revenue Intelligence, ended on May 31 this year. It has now been given a post-facto approval for extension. Sources said that the role of Sri Lanka national Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP, who is alleged to be a key actor in the conspiracy, is under investigation. KP is believed to be the man responsible for arranging arms for LTT…

Uduvil Girls' College - 188 Years Of Glory Uduvil the first girls' boarding school in south east asia celebrates its 188th year on November 24, 2012.

The screening facilities set up at Sri Lanka's Colombo international airport at Katunayake to screen incoming passengers to prevent bringing the deadly Ebola virus to the island are now fully operational, health official said. According to the Director General of Health Services, Dr. P.G. Mahipala, the screening facilities set up by the Health Ministry last week at the country's main airport will monitor the visitors to the country to observe whether they are showing symptoms of Ebola. "A strong surveillance system to monitor and screen all tourists arriving at the airport has now been established," the official told the state's official newspaper Sunday Ob…

If the Indian Navy 'continues to fail to protect' Tamil Nadu fishermen from attacks by the Sri Lankan navy, the State government should then impart weapons training to fishermen to defend themselves from being hunted down on the high seas, Tamil Nationalist Movement leader, Pazha. Nedumaran has said. Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, Mr. Nedumaran said the transfer of 'Katchatheevu' to Sri Lanka did not have legal backing as the then government failed to get Parliament's consent for this transfer. Hence, the present Bharatiya Janata Party government should make all-out efforts to get back the strategic island from Sri Lanka, which was working clandest…

The Government has removed the names of three individuals from a 39-page list of designated persons, groups and entities suspected of financing terrorism. The list was compiled and issued in March this year in terms of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1373 which sets out guidelines to combat terrorism financing. The Defence Secretary is the Competent Authority in charge of the compilation of the list. A Gazette notification issued on Wednesday under Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa's signature removed the names of Karunanithi Thurairatnam aka Thurai, Sutharasan Kailayanathan and Thanushkody Premani from the list. Mr. Thurairatnam, 4…

Anyone found guilty on a credible war crimes investigation would be dealt with the necessary punitive measures, Army Commander Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake said. In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Leader, he maintained that the Army did not treat the appointment of a Three-member Advisory Council as a 'betrayal' of the forces. 'The government has appointed this committee to advice the government and we have nothing to be concerned about as we have only done our duty. We are a professional army and we don't mind anyone investigating our actions as we have done nothing wrong,' he added. He further noted that the Sri Lankan army did what no other a…

Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen who recently secured US$ 1 million (Rs 130 million) after a direct call for funding from Pakistan has also approached other foreign governments for money. The Minister has written to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan requesting funds to resettle displaced Muslims in the Northern Province, authoritative sources said. This is despite clear Finance Ministry instructions that foreign project funding must only be canvassed through its External Resources Department (ERD). According to the ERD, there are two ways to secure funding for projects. One is by export credit which is channeled through Exim Banks in vari…

Madras High Court yesterday dismissed a petition which sought investigation into the role played by former LTTE leader Kumaran Pathmanabhan in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. First Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M.Sathyanarayanan rejected the petition by J.Mohanraj, son of late Janata party leader Nellai Jabamani and a member of the Special Investigation Team of CBI that probed the assassination of Gandhi by an LTTE suicide bomber on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur near here. "In view of the stand taken by the Director of CBI that they are probing into the role played by Kumaran Pathmanabhan and the fina…

At least nine Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who attempted to illegally ferry to Australia from the coastal town of Oriyur in Tamil Nadu were arrested by the Indian police last night. Police said they had come from different refugee camps in the State and had been staying in rooms attached to St. Arulanandar Church at Oriyur for the past two days when police zeroed in on them on Friday night. They started moving out after realising that police had sensed the 'human trafficking' when local and Q branch police arrested them. Six of them were arrested near the church premises, while three others, who tried to escape in a car, were intercepted and arrested at Devako…

Former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva emphasized that in terms of the Constitution, Mahinda Rajapaksa stands ineligible to run for a third term as President. When he took oaths for his second Presidential term, under Section 31/2 of the Constitution, on 19 November, 2010, he became ineligible to contest a third term, the former CJ said. "By the subsequently approved 18th Amendment to the Constitution, a President holding a second term in office can contest for a third term. However, at the time Section 31/2 was removed by the introduction of 18th Amendment, President Rajapaksa had already taken oath for the second term, making him ineligible to contest a third term," said …

The Department of Immigration and Emigration is preparing to deport 2,115 foreign nationals who have resided in the country under the protection of the UNHCR at a cost of Rs 60 million.Sixty nine Pakistani nationals and 16 Afghans who were staying in the island without necessary visas were being prepared for deportation yesterday (8). Eighty eight Pakistani individuals, 70 Afghans and 2 Iranians are among the 160 persons residing in SL under UNHCR protection, who have been detained at the Mirihana detention centre. According to the UNHCR report handed over to the Department of Immigration and Emigration on 30 June, there were1,562 foreign nationals residing…

Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and Chairman of the UNP Leadership Council Karu Jayasuriya aspiring to be the common candidate at the next presidential election are reported to be planning a trip to the Indian capital with the view to meet Indian Premier Narendra Modi, political sources disclosed yesterday. Sources said the three leaders plan to seek blessings from India in their move to contest the next presidential election. According to these sources no dates have fixed for the trio to fly to the Indian capital. However, the government is yet to officially announce a proclamation calling a presidential elect…

Cabinet spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella today accused '5 star' democracies of double standards by demanding freedom of assembly and speech and yet condemning a protest staged by an NGO earlier this week at an event attended by some western diplomats.Speaking at the weekly post cabinet press briefing today, the Minister noted that the British Government had allowed protests to take place against President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he had last visited Britain. However he says Britain and a few other countries had objected to the protest staged against a meeting held with the participation of families of the disappeared and some diplomats in Maradana this week. …

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam speaking about Indian media allegations of a Pakistani diplomat in Colombo involved in spying India and planning attacks in Chennai, said that it is an effort to create a wedge between Pakistan and Sri Lanka as the two countries have excellent relations with fruitful discussions on strengthening bilateral relations and increasing economic ties. She termed 'irresponsible' the recent statement of India's new Army Chief threatening Pakistan of dire consequences of infiltration attempts. She said that terrorism is a common enemy afflicting entire region and concerted efforts must be made by all sides for combat…

Police in Northern Ireland organised a meeting between British officials and a Sri Lankan military adviser a month after the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, it has emerged - but no minutes were taken about what was discussed. The policing board, which scrutinises the running of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, has confirmed it arranged the talks between the Foreign Office and the Sri Lankan defence forces representative with a view to the PSNI becoming "critical friends" of the country's security forces. Government lawyers have confirmed in a freedom of information request that no minutes exist of the meeting at the pol…

The UNHRC panel to appointed to probe alleged human rights abuses during final stages ofconflict in Sri Lanka will continue to seek access to the country despite its refusal to allow them into the nation, a statement on the OHCHR website said.In the terms of reference for the probe available on the OHCHR website, it says it will continue to seek to engage with the Government of Sri Lanka in accordance with the resolution. The High Commissioner for Human Rights will continue to request for the team conducting the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) to have access to the country to meet with government officials and others, as well as to have access to all relevant docu…

Official guide to media training for Tamil journalists in Sri Lanka 1 August 2014 Can civil society conduct media training workshops for Tamil journalists? No, it’s suspect and leads to some citizens exercising their democratic right to protest. Why is the Government opposed to media training workshops for Tamil journalists? Because training focussed on Tamil journalists is inherently suspect. Can Tamil journalists travel for training? No, because they are usually suspected drug addicts. Can journalists work freely in Jaffna? Completely, so long as they follow the Army’s understanding of media freedom. Can Tamil journalists…

Controversial article on Sri Lankan defence website removed after it kicked up a storm in India [Friday 2014-08-01 15:00] An article on the frequent detentions of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy was removed from the Sri Lankan defence website on Friday, hours after its headline and an illustration that accompanied it kicked up a storm in India. The headline and the illustration raised a furore among political leaders in Tamil Nadu. However, hours after the "objectionable" content, that centred around Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's many letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his intervention in the fishermen issue, was posted o…

Why do Hindus Worship Bell? I have already written about Hindus’ worship of Cows (Go Puja), Elephants (Gaja Puja), Snakes (Naga Panchami), Scorpions, Sandals (Paduka Puja), Fossils (Salagrama Puja), Gem Stones(Spatika/crystal), Conches (Shanka Puja) and flowers (Pushpanchali). I have also written that the calling bell was invented by the Hindus in my post ‘’Hindus invented the Calling Bell’’. Now I give some details about Bell Puja! Yes, Hindus worship bells as well. You know the story of Manu Neethi Choza who followed Manu Dharma Shastra during his rule. When the palace bell was rung by the cow which lost its calf under the wheels of his son’s chariot he killed his…