(Reuters) – The Sri Lankan government’s proposed code of ethics for the media is a threat to free speech, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday. The code calls for censorship of material affecting foreign relations, promoting “anti-national” attitudes or undermining the integrity of the executive, judiciary and legislative branches of the state. […]
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday told a delegation of Sri Lanka Tamil MPs that he was “dismayed” by reports suggesting that Colombo planned to dilute certain key provisions of the 13th Amendment on devolution of powers to provinces ahead of polls to the Northern Provincial Council. […]
No political party or politician has the right to mete out punishment to any member of the teaching profession, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said. The minister was addressing the ‘Arts Competition 2012’ certificate awarding ceremony at Isurupaya yesterday. “No political party can claim a justifiable right to mete out punishment to teachers, and on the […]
The SLFP Central Committee yesterday decided to sack the UPFA North-Western Provincial Councillor Ananda Sarath Kumara for allegedly humiliating a lady teacher by ordering her to kneel in the presence of students and teachers because she had asked his daughter not wear a short uniform to school. […]
FILE PHOTO Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha has asked that greater attention be paid in the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, to the role of terrorist support networks that take the form of front organizations, the challenge posed by the abuse of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and the propriety of the […]
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was in Kilinochchi today, said elections to the Northern Provincial Council will take place as planned, and that the public will have the opportunity and the independence to select the representatives who will bring further development to the region. […]
Major General Daya Rathnayake has been appointed as Commander of the Sri Lanka Army with effect from 1st August while being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, the Defense Ministry said today. Meanwhile incumbent Army Chief General Jagath Jayasuriya has been appointed as Chief of Defence Staff with effect from August 01, the ministry […]
‘From the point of view of domestic security, perhaps the most critical aspect will be the achievement of national reconciliation and the forging of a common Sri Lankan identity. Economic development is an absolute necessity in this regard’ said the Secretary Defence and Urban Development Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa during a lecture at the Kotalawala Defence […]
(Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s central bank could take more steps to reduce high lending rates if commercial banks do not fall in line with monetary policy rate cuts, a top central bank official said on Thursday. Nandalal Weerasinghe, deputy central bank governor, said lending rates remain too high despite trims of 75 basis points in […]
The government has appointed a special Board of Intellectuals to probe charges and allegations being made against NGOs and their operations. Subsequent to this it has been made compulsory for all NGOs operating in the country to register themselves with the Office for the Registration of Non Governmental Organizations. […]