Though the United States has pinned hopes that India will vote in favor of the resolution against Sri Lanka at the upcoming United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) summit due next month, latest reports that emanated from New Delhi indicated that the Indian Government was yet undecided on the issue.

These reports said despite a US delegation visiting New Delhi recently, the Manmohan Singh government had not given an assurance to Washington that it will repeat the decision it made against Sri Lanka at last year’s su

Sri Lankan sailors assist rescued survivors at Oluvil fisheries harbour in eastern Sri Lanka on February 3, 2013. Sri Lanka's navy on Sunday rescued all 138 Bangladeshi and Myanmar survivors from a sinking fishing vessel off the island's eastern coast, officials said. (AFP)

Sri Lanka's navy on Sunday rescued 138 Bangladeshi and Myanmar nationals from a sinking fishing vessel off the island's eastern coast, officials said.

One passenger was found dead while many of the 138 plucked from the boat were d

Chanting slogans such as ‘Resist Suppression of Media’ and ‘Uphold Rule of Law’, hundreds of journalists held a demonstration on Tuesday to mark ‘Black January’ – a month that has recorded an unusually high number of attacks on media personnel.

Journalists, joined by media activists and opposition politicians, decry the lack of media freedom in the country. Pix by Indika Handuwala

Gathering at Lipton’s Circus in Colombo, journalists joined by media activists and

Sri Lanka government and the forces sector are engaged in the attempts of instigating ethnic riots once again in the midst of Tamil people.  Due to this, the Southern Sri Lankan fishermen are permitted to do fishing trade in Mullaitheevu.
 
Fishermen movements which were engaged in fishing trade in Mathalan locality have made these allegations.
 
Sinhala fishing families from the Morawela locality are permitted for inhabiting with military security in the Mathalan area, Mullaitheevu despite oppose from

The Sri Lankan government has suspended sending domestic maids to Saudi Arabia, the Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA) said.
Chairman of ALFEA W.M.P Aponso said that the government had decided to suspend sending domestic maids to Saudi Arabia until the maids are provided with an insurance cover by the Saudi authorities.
He said that ALFEA will discuss the issue with Foreign Employment Minister Dilan Perera once he returns from overseas. The Minister was in Lebanon last week. The move to suspend sending

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) today called for further action by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) against the Sri Lanka government.

The party in a statement said that appropriate action at the UNHRC is absolutely necessary to persuade the Sri Lankan government to comply with the said resolution and to discontinue with what it called ‘harmful agenda against the Tamil People of Sri Lanka.

The statement said, “a delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is presently in South Africa.

Canada has warned the government of Sri Lanka saying if it does not address issues raised on human rights and accountability there could be a revival of radicalization by the Tamil Diaspora.
The Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney, who visited Sri Lanka early last month, told a group of Tamil journalists in Ontario last week that he had conveyed this message to the Sri Lankan government during his visit.
Kenney said that during his discussions in Sri Lanka he found that the political

External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris won a round of warm applause at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute on Friday when he presided over an event where the visiting British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for South Asia, Alistair Burt, made a speech that began on a complimentary tone and ended in a critical note.

Peiris took the opportunity to reply and took the wind off Burt’s sails, particularly on dual standards adopted by the West towards those countries like Sri Lanka that engage with institutions like the G

After a world record of having two Chief Justices, Sri Lanka set another last Monday. For almost every Member of Parliament who supported the UPFA government, the other is now a Minister, be it cabinet or otherwise.

Most of them will be in the north-eastern port city of Trincomalee tomorrow for ceremonies to mark Sri Lanka’s 65th National Day. The event will be relatively low key with no fly past. There will only be a march past where 1,900 soldiers, 1,000 from the Navy, Air Force, Police and Civil Defence Force, 325 cad

The Government yesterday defended its decision to refuse entry visas to a group of international jurists headed by India’s former Chief Justice J. S. Verma saying it was in the best interest of the country.

The three-member delegation from the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) was due to visit the country on Thursday on a seven-day fact finding mission related to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.
The visas were put on hold simply because the delegation had no official