CHOGM is over—thankfully. Everything went as planned, the piece de resistance being its stunning opening ceremony. Sri Lanka has proved that it is safe for one and all.

Prince Charles must have seen, more than any other foreign dignitary, the huge improvement in security situation. In 1998, he was here for the 50th anniversary of Independence in the aftermath of a massive terror strike. But, the Commonwealth leaders who gathered here the other day could even have enjoyed leisurely strolls in the sunshine if they had so

Head of the BBC Sinhala Service, Priyath Liyanage, has been suspended, the Colombo Telegraph can exclusively reveal today.

A non-Sinhala outsider has been specially appointed to look after all BBC Sinhala Service activities for the first time of its history and the Sinhala Service staff has been informed about Priyath Liyanage’s suspension in writing, the Colombo Telegraph learns.
Priyath Liyanage

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday alleged that UK Premier David Cameron was playing politics in Colombo to placate the LTTE rump back home.

Cameron’s strategy was obviously influenced by the UK based Global Tamil Forum (GTF), British Tamil Forum (BTF) and Tamils against Genocide, he said.

The British government delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) went to the extent of meeting representatives of the three organizations in London before leaving for the Colombo CHO

Britain's David Cameron put Sri Lanka on notice Saturday to address allegations of war crimes within months or else he would lead a push for action at the United Nations.

Speaking at a troubled Commonwealth summit in Colombo, the British premier warned his hosts that pressure over alleged abuses at the end of Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict was not about to go away.

He also told of how he had "frank" exchanges with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse after he returned from a historic visit to the

Tony Abbott's trip to Sri Lanka has set the tone and direction for his government's foreign policy agenda.

Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapaksa summed it up as succinctly as any foreign policy expert could.

'It's very practical,' the president told reporters when asked about Abbott's approach at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo.

'I thank the Australian prime minister for taking that stand.'

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ‘suggested’ that visiting UK Prime Minister David Cameron was using the visit to win favour with the Tamil community in the UK, the UK’s The Guardian reported.

Downing Street sources conceded that Cameron made little headway with Rajapaksa during an hour-long meeting on Friday evening.

They described the exchange as robust and animated, with Rajapaksa acknowledging problems in his country but arguing that they needed time to be sorted out.

Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN (New York), Maj. Gen. Shavendra Silva, said he is willing to debate Channel 4 Film Director, Callum Macrae, on his documentary that 'accuses' Sri Lanka of having committed war crimes.

Silva, in a telephone conversation from New York, told Ceylon Today, that a few years ago, when Sri Lanka's Representative to the UN, Palitha Kohona, was invited for the screening of the film, he (Silva) was offered the seven minutes that was allotted to Kohona to speak, as Kohona ha

The Duchess of Cornwall has spent the final day of the eleven-day royal tour visiting charities that help women and children in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The Duchess of Cornwall during a visit to the Women in need centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Duchess of Cornwall during a visit to the Women in Need centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Credit: PA

Camilla visited the Home Start centre, which was funded by Leeds City Council to help educate and help local mothers and their children, and the Women in Need centre, also in the Capital

The Sri Lankan government has shown interest in learning more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa and its process and the outcome.

The interest was shown when President of South Africa Jacob Zuma, who is now in Colombo to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President’s office said.

President Zuma while thanking Sri Lanka and President Rajapaksa for organizing CHOGM 2013 so well conveyed South Africa’s will

Government Spokesperson and Media Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella, believes that the implementation of a majority of the 289 recommendations in the Lessons Learnt and  Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report, provided answers to all the allegations which the western world had brought against Sri Lanka at the just concluded Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

 “The fact that almost all the recommendations which were made for the short-term had been implemented by the Government of Sri Lanka (