The standard of the civil administration service in the Northern and Eastern Provinces is improving, Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister W D J Seneviratne said.

It was non-existent during the past three decades due to terrorism. The Public Administration and Home Affairs Ministry provided a vital service to normalize the administration of these provinces during the past four years and today, that attempt has become a success with the dedication of the entire staff of the ministry and those working in the administra

A Canadian engineering graduate from Waterloo, Ont., pleaded guilty in New York Tuesday to being part of a terrorist procurement cell securing sophisticated military technology for the Tamil Tigers, including submarine and warship design software, and laundering money.

Suresh Sriskandarajah, 32, known by the nickname Waterloo Suresh, used students as couriers to smuggle prohibited items into Tiger-controlled territory in Sri Lanka.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who just returned to the country Tuesday morning after a five-day visit to Tanzania and Seychelles, convened a meeting at Temple Trees to discuss the public safety at unprotected rail crossings in the country.
President Rajapaksa instructed relevant officials to formulate a security system to set up gates at all unprotected railway crossings to prevent accidents.

Given that this international forum convened by the IOM on the theme of diaspora is unprecedented, we must recognise that there is no widely accepted universal definition of the term ‘diaspora’ and in fact the term is today used to signify many different phenomena.

The working definition of diaspora proposed by the International Organization for Migration/Migration Policy Institute in Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development: A Handbook for Policymakers and Practitioners in Home and Host Countrie

Is Sri Lanka a country that cannot afford to spend Rs. 3 million a month for the safety of thousands of vehicular passengers who cross the railway lines daily at about 600 points throughout the country? This question is so pertinent in the light of the increasing number of fatal accidents at unprotected railway crossings since lately. The last fortnight might go down in the railway history as the fortnight with highest number of accidents or at least one of such fortnights.

A vociferous JVP affiliated teacher trade union yesterday condemned the Education Ministry’s recent ban on the holding of seminars, public lectures, conferences and private tuition classes five days prior to the GCE (Advanced Level) and Grade V scholarship examinations.

General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Service Union (CTSU) Mahinda Jayasinghe told The Island that the ministry’s decision would affect poor students who could not afford costly home-visiting tutors.

A man is seen reading a copy of the July 1 issue of Time magazine, carrying a picture of controversial Myanmar monk Wirathu on its cover, in Bangkok, on June 24, 2013. Sri Lanka has banned the issue over its cover story on Myanmar's Buddhist-Muslim clashes, which it said could hurt religious sentiment on the island, an official said on Tuesday. (AFP/File)

COLOMBO (AFP) –  Sri Lanka has banned July 1 issue of Time magazine over its cover story on Myanmar's Buddhist-Muslim clashes, which it said could hurt rel

Moneragala High Court Judge Gihan H. Kulatunga yesterday handed down the death sentence to five persons convicted of committing a murder in 2002.

Those convited were R.K.D. Piyadasa of 3rd Mile Post, Kotabowa, Bibile, K.D. John of Ikiriyanpollanda in Medagama, Mohamed Niyaz of Kathaluwala, Medagama, R.K.D. Sugathadasa and K.D. Upul Kumara of Kalugahawadiya, Medagama. They were found guilty of abducting and murdering D.M. Mahinda Nishshanka of Kalugahawadiya, Medagama on October 15 in 2002.

Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake today stated that action will be taken against private buses which provide transport for undergraduates who are due to protest in Colombo tomorrow (3).

The Minister stated that he has requested the police and Private Transport Minister C.B. Rathnayake to advice bus owners against transporting students who plan to agitate in Colombo today. The police will take immediate action against the buses if route permits are not obtained first, he told the media during a press briefing at the Hi

The British Foreign Office has warned visitors to Sri Lanka to be mindful of organised and armed gangs known to operate in Sri Lanka who have been responsible for targeted kidnappings and violence.

The Foreign office says while violent crimes against foreigners are infrequent, there have been an increasing number of reports of sexual offences including on minors.

It also says women should take particular care when travelling alone or in small groups, and carry a personal alarm.