COLOMBO (AFP) – On the eve of Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections, the main opposition accused the ruling party Wednesday of campaign abuses and said it did not expect polling to be free and fair. The opposition United National Party (UNP) said President Mahinda Rajapakse’s administration had used state-owned vehicles and buildings for campaigning and turned […]
Despite the world economic recession, the Government was able to bring down the unemployment rate to 5.4 percent by the last quarter of 2009, Marketing Development, Co-operatives and Consumer Services Minister Bandula Gunawardena said. The Minister was quoting from a report issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka at a media briefing at the […]
COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s economy is poised to expand by 6.5 percent this year, the central bank said Monday, after slower growth in 2009 due to the operation to crush the Tamil Tigers and the global crisis. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka in its annual review of the economy said the intense fighting […]
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s opposition on Monday vowed to deny the ruling coalition a two-thirds majority at this week’s parliamentary election, saying it would give an already powerful president too free a hand to rule. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, fresh from a landslide re-election in January, has said he expects his United Peoples Freedom Alliance […]
COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka placed nearly 20,000 troops on alert to reinforce police as violence escalated ahead of parliamentary elections, a police spokesman said Sunday. The private Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) reported 325 minor incidents of poll-related violence in the run-up to Thursday’s vote, with firearms being used in about 50 cases. […]
Onlanka News – By Janaka Alahapperuma (Pix by: Nalin Hewapathirana) President Mahinda Rajapaksa participated in a special religious ceremony at Nallur Hindu Kovil on his visit to Jaffna yesterday morning on 01st of April. This is President Rajapaksa’s second visit to the historic Hindu Shrine in the peninsula. His first visit was made prior to […]
Onlanka News – By Janaka Alahapperuma – (Pix by: Nalin Hewapathirana) President Mahinda Rajapaksa paid a visit to Naga Vihara, the historic Buddhist Shrine at Jaffna town yesterday on 1st of April. Venerable Maha Sanga headed by Chief Incumbent of the Naga Vihara Ven. Meegahajathure Gnanarathana Nayaka Thero invoked blessings on President Rajapaksa after he […]
President Mahinda Rajapaksa who declared opened the country’s first ever fully-equipped National Tele-Cinema Park at Ranmihithenna in Tissamaharama yesterday identified the facility as the biggest investment a Government could make on behalf of its local cinema. The Mahinda Rajapaksa Tele-Cinema Park built according to a concept by him is located in a sprawling 235 acres […]
The Indian Navy today said it did not see any security threat to the country in the Chinese involvement in building Hambantota port in southern Sri Lanka. ‘Building the port in Sri Lanka will not hamper our security. Indiais too vast for that,’ Southern Naval Command’s Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Vice-Admiral K N Sunshil, told newsmen […]
Sri Lankan police has announced a Rs one million reward for information on Danuna Tillekaratne, the son-in-law of detained ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka, over alleged profits made by his firm from illegal defence deals. The reward was announced weeks after Sri Lankan authorities asked Interpol to help them unearth details of Tillekaratne’s foreign bank accounts.Tillekaratne […]
AKON has apologised for using a Buddha statue in the video for SEXY CHICK after it sparked protests in Sri Lanka – but insists he was unaware the spiritual monument was featured in the promo. Locals in the capital city of Colombo were outraged by the video, which features groups of scantily-clad women dancing at […]
President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday emphasised that it would not be the number of votes garnered which would decide the fate of a candidate when it came to deciding the future ministerial positions, but their ability, commitment and productivity. “I prefer a Parliament which could work more than talk. As such I would not hesitate to […]
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka on Tuesday said it would deny a visa to singer Akon, whose planned April concert in the island nation sparked rock-throwing protests by Buddhists offended by one of his videos. A day earlier, hundreds of people stormed the head offices of the Maharaja Broadcasting and Television (MBC/MTV) Network, a sponsor […]
Onlanka News – By Janaka Alahapperuma – (Pix by: Sudath Silva) Indian opening batsman Gautam Gambhir and left-arm fast bowler Ashish Nehra met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees on Monday evening after receiving Ayurvedic treatments in Sri Lanka. Both players who are playing for Delhi Daredevils received treatments in Sri Lanka for the […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – An employee says an unidentified gang has attacked the head office of a private broadcasting company in Sri Lanka. Three employees were injured in the second attack on the broadcaster in just over a year. Shevan Daniel, an employee of Maharaja Organization, says about 200 people suddenly gathered Monday outside the […]