Britain has reiterated the need to engage Sri Lanka on human rights issues by attending the Commonwealth summit next month instead of boycotting the event.

Senior Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Baroness Warsi said that Britain’s priorities for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) include discussions on the post-2015 global development framework and enhancing Commonwealth values.

However, Natchiappan says participation key to instil confidence in Sri Lankan Tamils

More Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu are opposing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka.

It was Union Shipping Minister G.K. Vasan who first raised the issue and subsequently met the Prime Minister and made a strong case for shifting the venue of CHOGM out of Sri Lanka, citing what he called the anti-Tamil stand of the Sri Lankan

The Kenyan government denied reports that it was lobbying African countries to boycott the 23rd Commonwealth Head of State Summit to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from Nov. 15 to 17, the Xinhua news agency reported

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade said Kenya has already embarked on preparations for the summit and no doubt will be represented at high levels of government.

The Malaysian authorities should immediately drop charges against a rights activist accused of showing a film about Sri Lanka’s civil war without Censorship Board approval, Human Rights Watch said today.

Lena Hendry, of the human rights group Pusat KOMAS, was charged under the Film Censorship Act for organizing a screening of “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka” on July 3, 2013, in Kuala Lumpur. Hendry, whose trial starts on October 21, faces up to three years in prison and a fine of RM30,000 (US$9

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has thanked the Government of Sri Lanka for the support rendered in one of the major Australian national issues of human smuggling, the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia said today.

The High Commission said that High Commissioner Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe met the Premier at the Parliamentary Office to formally hand over the invitation for the Commonwealth summit from President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has confirmed he will attend the 23rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which will be held in Sri Lanka from the 15th to the 17th of next month, the Malaysian media reported today.

“We have confirmation that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will be attending CHOGM next month,” said Foreign Ministry’s assistant secretary for the South Asian desk, Mashitah Ahmad when contacted by phone, Free Malaysia Today.com reported.

Minister Rishad Badurdeen has warned that there is an attempt to create a rift between Muslims and Buddhists in the country.

The Minister says a handful of people who claim they are doing service to Buddhists are the ones attempting to target Muslims.

Certain TNA parliamentarians are still attempting to spread the LTTE's separatist ideology by making controversial statements. It is a pity that they have forgotten how LTTE separatism took thousands of innocent lives during its three decades of terror.

The scene after the blast that killed Gamini Dissanayake

The LTTE not only killed Sinhalese by exploding bombs in the South, but also killed democratic Tamil leaders who were close to the people in the North and the East. That was because the Tigers wanted t

The Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) had commenced discussions with the government seeking to recover over Rs. 1,000 million, in EPF, ETF and retirement gratuity, due to 15,000 or more employees of the estates coming under the Janatha Estates Development Board (JEDB) and State Plantations Corporation (SPC), CWC leader and Deputy Minister Mutthu Sivalingam said yesterday.

The Attorney General today informed the Appeal Court that former DIG Vaas Gunawardene would be indicted in the High Court on charges of having abducted and assaulted Malabe student Nipuna Ramanayake.

Nipuna and his mother filed a case seeking a direction from the Attorney General on prosecuting Vaas Gunawardene who had not been charged with this offence previously. (HF)