Sri Lanka may increase public spending in 2010 as the government builds roads, ports and power plants after the end of almost three decades of war on the South Asian island. Government expenditure, including debt repayment, is forecast to total 1.78 trillion rupees ($15.7 billion) this year, according to the Appropriation Bill tabled in parliament […]

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on a three day State visit to India. President Rajapaksa will meet Indian President Pratibha Patil and hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The discussions are expected to cover the rehabilitation of Tamils and the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement […]

Trust me, and together we can find a solution to the problems faced by all our people, President Mahinda Rajapaksa told representatives of the Tamil political parties when they met him at his office in the Presidential Secretariat last evening (June 07). The President had meetings with members of the EPDP led by Minister Douglas […]

The Pallekele Cricket Stadium in the central provincial district of Kandy pictured in November, 2009. COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s new venues for next year’s World Cup are on track but the refurbishment of an existing stadium is behind schedule, the International Cricket Council said on Monday. Sri Lanka, which is co-hosting the tournament with […]

Sri Lankan born Indian actress Jacqueline Fernandez jointly won the Best Debut Female Actor award with Mahie Gill at the 11th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards which concluded at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium Saturday. Jackie won the award for her debut movie Aladin while Mahie bagged the award for her role in Dev D. […]

President Mahinda Rajapaksa would never hand over State enterprises to the private sector, but make every attempt to make them profitable ventures, Minister of Housing and Construction, Minister, Wimal Weerawansa, said after an official visit to the Government Factory at Kolonnawa. Addressing the employees at the Government Factory, he said that the best example was […]

Veteran actor Anupam Kher today said that the Sri Lankan government has requested him to open a branch of his acting school, ‘An Actor Prepares’ in the country. The 55 year-old-actor, who was felicitated with the CNBC-IIFA global leadership award for his contribution to the field of art by President Mahinda Rajpaksha here at the […]

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Bollywood stars and Sri Lanka’s cricketers hit the pitch for charity Friday to help rehabilitate child soldiers and build homes for families affected by the country’s civil war. India’s Hindi language movie stars Sunil Shetty, Hrithik Roshan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Sri Lankan national team captain Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan, batting […]

COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s cricket captain Thursday applauded the “courage” of stars attending the annual Bollywood film awards being held this year in Sri Lanka despite a boycott call by the Tamil cinema industry. Kumar Sangakkara said the Bollywood celebrities who have already arrived in Colombo for Saturday’s glitzy Indian International Film Academy (IIFA) […]

The Indian Film Academy opened its second decade of festivity in Colombo yesterday. The three-day Videocon IIFA Weekend is expected to spark massive media coverage for Sri Lanka as foreign artistes as well as business giants across the globe will take part, showcasing the country as a business enterprise, tourist destination as well as an […]

President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited the sacred area of Kataragama yesterday morning and attended several religious ceremonies. He first visited the ancient ‘Kiri Vehera’ and engaged in religious observances. The Chief Incumbent of the temple Ven. Aluthwewa Soratha Thera chanted pirith to invoke blessings on the President and the others accompanying him. […]

The Sri Lanka Tourist Board said some of the most popular Indian actors have confirmed their participation at the 11th International Indian Film Academy Awards which will be held at the Sugathadasa Indoor stadium on June 5. Actors Sanjaya Dutt, Bipasha Basu, Sharman Joshi, Genelia D’Souza, Rajiv Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Aamna Sharif, Sarina Khan and […]

As the 11th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards kick off in Colombo, for the first time in a decade it’s not the stars but venue that’s attracting attention. Conducting the IIFA in Sri Lanka has been seen as hurting the Tamil sentiments back in India and the prime reason for the controversy around it. […]

*Fifteen percent surcharge on import duty removed *Import duty on raw materials, machines reduced *Three band tariff structure of 5, 15, 30 comes into operation *Tax on mobiles, cameras, watches, electronics and motor vehicles slashed In a major step towards simplifying and broad basing the tax structure, President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as Fiance […]

A special super luxury intercity train yesterday began its maiden journey from the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to the Secretariat Halt opposite Colombo Hilton for tourists visiting the country for Videocon IIFA Weekend and Micromax IIFA Awards. The train service was launched under the patronage of Transport Minister Kumara Welgama and Hambantota District Parliamentarian Namal […]

COLOMBO (AFP) – Bollywood’s leading stars may skip their annual awards festival, which is being held in Sri Lanka this week, following protests from pro-Tamil rebel lobbies in India, officials said Monday. The brand ambassador of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, Amitabh Bachchan, his actor son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai — Bollywood’s […]