Three American diplomats are expected to visit Sri Lanka and the Maldives tomorrow (26).


The diplomats are Deputy Assistant Secretary of State James Moore, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jane Zimmerman, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence Vikram Singh. (Pictured above)


The visit is active until the first of February. The group is expected to meet with senior Sri Lankan officials and discuss a wide range of issues, including progress in implementing the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commiss

A 45 year-old woman was gang raped in the early hours of January 23 in Nugegoda (some reports give her age as 47). This gruesome incident only received a few lines in some of the newspapers and in the media. Yet a similar incident that occurred in New Delhi, India, when a medical student was gang raped on a bus, provoked a nation-wide protest for several days and, in fact, the protests continue internationally even up to now. This protest caused the Indian Prime Minister to intervene and take action, not only to ensure medical trea

“In a private meeting following ambassador’s credentialing ceremony, President Rajapaksa expressed bewilderment and frustration at U.S. policy for encouraging him to fight terrorism and then criticizing him when he did. Rajapaksa claimed that 70 percent of the IDPs locked in camps would be returned by the end of January and complained that the UN was at fault for the poor condition of IDP camps now because they had refused to build the kind of permanent structures the GSL originally wanted. Ambassador underscored the value of

President Mahinda Rajapaksa says the peace that prevails in the country is enjoyed by the Muslims in all parts of the island.

He said this in a statement today to mark Milad-Un- Nabi, the birth of Holy Prophet Mohammed.

The President said that the celebrations would be most useful in helping to build unity among people to assist in the success of the development process in the country today.

“The teachings of the Holy Prophet with emphasis on peace, harmony, tolerance and understanding are most releva

Converting Sri Lanka into a trilingual country is very important to make reconciliation work better and to implement all important decisions in the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’s (LLRC) report, Presidential Advisor and Coordinator to the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on English and IT, Sunimal Fernando said yesterday.

“All sectors in Sri Lanka have to play vital roles to implement these decisions and to convert Sri Lanka in to a trilingual country. The education system too has a great responsibility

No LTTE cardre that surrendered to the Security Forces during the final stage of the humanitarian mission went missing, Defence and Urban Development Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said.

Commenting on allegations levelled by certain foreign elements that some of the LTTE fighters that surrendered to the Security Forces during the last phase of the humanitarian mission had gone missing, the Defence Secretary said all allegations are baseless and every since LTTEer who surrendered was rehabilitated and reintegrated to society.

Despite the All Island Private Bus Owners Federation (AIPBOF) objecting to the implementation of the pre-paid card system for buses, which they say needs further study, Western Province Transport Minister, Upali Kodikara, said they will implement the pre-paid card system.


AIPBOF General Secretary, Anjana Priyanjith, told Ceylon Today, the Western Province Transport Minister, Upali Kodikara, had scheduled a meeting on 22 January to discuss the pre-paid card system but AIPBOF had refused to take part in the discussion as t

Government constituent party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), yesterday claimed that singing the national anthem, in both Sinhala and Tamil, during national ceremonies will be a gross violation of Sri Lanka's Constitution.

JHU Deputy General Secretary, Udaya Gammanpila, told Ceylon Today that the Constitution highlighted the national anthem should be sung during national ceremonies only in the Sinhala language as it is the native and exclusive language in Sri Lanka.
"Sinhala is the language that emerged in Sri Lan

For more than 2500 years, whenever there was a national crisis, the Buddhist clergy has come forward and acted effectively to save the country. With Sri Lanka now facing one of its biggest constitutional crises, former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, who is one of the leaders of the National Movement for Social Justice, has called on the Maha Sangha to come forward and lead a people power movement to restore democracy, the rule of law, accountability, transparency and good governance.
 
If the Buddhist clergy takes the for

The Peace and Solidarity Organisation, of Sri Lanka (PASOS) yesterday accused the military of continuing to arrest Tamil civilians in the Northern Province even three years after the war had ended.

PASOS President and former JVP parliamentarian Bimal Ratnayake told The Island that the military intelligence arrested around ten Tamil civilians in the Puttur area of the Peninsula during the course of last month.