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Feb 04 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka today celebrates the 64th anniversary of gaining independence from the British colonial rule in 1948 with pomp and pageantry in the sacred city of Anuradhapura in the North Central Province.
Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa opened the Independence Day celebrations with hoisting the National Flag this morning at 8:30 a.m. and addressing the nation.
A grand march-past with the participation of 1,400 army personnel, 750 Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force personnel and 450 personnel of the Civil Defence Task Force and the youth brigade was followed by a cultural parade of traditional dances from all provinces. |
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SECURITY - SITUATION
Sri Lankan court fines railway official for dengue mosquito breeding grounds in work site
Feb 04 (CP) Colombo- A Sri Lankan court has fined the Chief Technical Engineer of the railway yard of Sri Lanka Railways in Ratmalana for allowing dengue mosquito breeding areas in the site.
One railway employee at the Ratmalana Railway Yard died due to dengue while 20 other employees were hospitalized after contracting dengue in the past few weeks.
Sri Lanka to release 1,600 prisoners for Independence Day
Feb 04 (CP) Colombo- Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Minister of Sri Lanka Chandrasiri Gajadeera said that 1,600 prisoners would be released to mark the Independence Day this year.
He has said the prisoners who were convicted of minor offences and jailed for not being able to pay fines would be released.
Sri Lanka bribery officials arrest local government politician while soliciting bribe
Feb 04 (CP) Kandy- Sri Lanka Bribery or Corruption Investigation Commission officials arrested a head of a local government council yesterday on charges of soliciting bribes.
The officials nabbed S. B. Rajanayake, the Chairman of the Pathahewaheta Pradeshiya Sabha in Kandy district inside the office of the local council while he was accepting a bribe.
Sri Lanka Navy takes part in the 64th Independence Day Celebrations
Feb 04 (SLN) Sri Lanka Navy took part in the 64th Independence Day celebrations held in the historic city of Anuradhapura on 04th February 2012. His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksha was the Chief Guest.
Grieving mother asks youth to heed the law
Mother and daughter brutally murdered
Power pirates fined
Sri Lankan court to hear habeas corpus filed for the two missing Marxist party activists
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- A Sri Lankan court today granted approval to proceed with the habeas corpus case filed by relatives of two missing members of the Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) dissident group.
The Court of Appeal has said the case would be taken up for hearing on February 15th.
Sri Lanka's Tamil party and Free Media Movement in a conspiracy against the government - report
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka's state-owned Sinhala daily The Dinamina reported today that intelligence units have revealed information on a joint conspiracy by the country's major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) with the media right organization, Free Media Movement (FMM) to discredit Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan government taking measures to save six fishermen abducted by Somali pirates
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka Minister of Fisheries Rajitha Senaratne says his Ministry is working with an unnamed Somali person to save the six Sri Lankan fishermen who have been held for ransom by the Somali sea pirates.
The group of six fishermen have left Negombo harbor six months ago and they were abducted by the Somali pirates as they had trespassed into Somalia territorial waters.
Sri Lanka intelligence probing Eastern Province Chief Minister's secret Swiss tour
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka's Sinhala daily The Divaina reported that the Easter Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan was engaged in a secret tour in Switzerland.
The newspaper reported that the intelligence wing has focused on the Chief Minister's tour and have found the details of the persons the Chief Minister met and had discussions during his visit to the European country.
First fatal accident on Sri Lanka's Southern Expressway
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- The first fatal accident ton Sri Lanka's first ever expressway claimed the life of a 26-year-old man in pre-dawn hours of Friday, the police said.
Police Media Spokesman Superintendent of Police Ajith Rohana said the motorist lost control of the vehicle due to the excessive speed and went off the road tumbling 50 feet down.
Sri Lanka Customs officials nab Indian national trying to smuggle over 150 kilos of big onion seeds
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Officials from Sri Lanka Customs at the Katunayake International Airport have nabbed an Indian who was trying to smuggle over 150 kilos of big onion seeds to the country.
The Indian national had carried 172 kilos of big onion seeds with him. He had tried to carry the big onion seeds into the country posing as a textile merchant.
Minister, IGP summoned to court
Sri Lanka backs nomination of controversial officer to UN
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NEWS - HIGHLIGHTS
Sri Lanka will achieve unity through a home-grown program of action - President
Feb 04 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka has made immense sacrifices to achieve peace and unity in the country and will not hesitate to take its own decisions in future to secure those objectives, island nation's President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a message to mark the country's 64th Independence Day.
Queen congratulates Sri Lanka on 64th Independence Day
Feb 04 (CP) Colombo- The Queen Elizabeth II of England has sent a congratulatory message to Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the country's 64th National Independence Day.
"It gives me great pleasure to send Your Excellency my congratulations on the celebration of your National Day,
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister vows to take back Kachchativu from Sri Lanka
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- The Chief Minister of India's Tamil Nadu state, J. Jayalalithaa has once again vowed to take Sri Lanka's Kachchativu islet back to stop alleged attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.
The Chief Minister has said that she was working towards protecting the livelihood of fishermen and she would not stop till Kachchativu is retrieved.
IMF commends Sri Lanka's commitment to reduce budget deficit, change in policy rates
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has commended the Sri Lanka Central Bank's to raise the monetary and exchange policy rates and the government's commitment to reduce the budget deficit.
FINANCE
Embilipitiya Paper Mill of Sri Lanka reopens today under a new management
Feb 04 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka's Embilipitiya Paper Mill officially starts operations today under a new management.
The paper mill was leased to Perth Engineering and Maintenance (WA)(Pvt).Ltd of Australia under the programme of restructuring the loss-making state enterprises.
Sri Lanka president warns of external fallout
Pakistan-Sri Lanka trade and economic relations
Govt encourages cruise line tourists
SriLankan Air Taxi to Anuradhapura
Sri Lanka allows foreign companies to engage in "Margin Providing"
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka has decided to permit foreign owned companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka as "Margin Providers" to lend credit to investors of the Colombo Stock Exchange.
Sri Lanka Central Bank raises policy interest rates to control credit growth and imports expenditure
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka's Central Bank today said it has decided to increase both the Repurchase rate and the Reverse Repurchase rate by 50 basis points each to 7.50 percent and 9.00 percent, respectively for the first time since 2007.
IMF says encouraged by Sri Lanka's policy changes
Sri Lanka cenbank allow rupee fall; stx slips
Sri Lanka’s Holy Grail of resorts completes restoration
Sri Lanka Unexpectedly Raises Rates to Contain Credit Growth
Sri Lanka may take act on high credit growth-cenbank
More : FINANCE | |||
| * | Sri Lanka Textured Jersey net down 29-pct (3 - LBO) | ||
| * | Tamil Nadu boycott: Sri Lankan exporters remain unruffled (3 - Island) | ||
| * | BIA new terminal to accommodate 6 m passengers (3 - DN) | ||
More : FINANCE | |||
POLITICS - GENERAL
Opposition Leader of Sri Lanka faces protest by party members during visit to Beruwala
Feb 04 (CP) Colombo: Leader of Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP), Ranil Wickremasinghe faced a protest by party members when he visited Beruwala during a visit to the South.
Police personnel had to be deployed to protect Wickremasinghe from the protestors, mainly supporters of the pro-reformists in the party.
Colombo Mayor to get residents involved in the administration of Sri Lanka's capital city
Feb 04 (CP) Colombo- The newly elected Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) A.J.M. Muzammil says that a new mechanism would be initiated to get the residents of the city to play an active role in the city's administration.
Sri Lanka main opposition solicits support from other forces to campaign against lawlessness
Feb 04 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) says that support from other forces would also be gathered to form a broad front to agitate against the current states of lawlessness in the country.
Kuwait congratulates Sri Lanka on National Day
President will trust "Douglas" with land and police powers but not others – Douglas
PSC is best place to solve problem: MR
Glowing plaudits for SL from int’l community
Agriculture Faculty of Sri Lanka's Jaffna University to be established in Kilinochchi
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka University Grants Commission plans to establish the Agriculture Faculty of the University of Jaffna in Kilinochchi.
The Faculty is currently operated from a temporary building belonged to the Medical Faculty and therefore, doesn't see any development, according university officials.
Sri Lanka Marxist party suggests building a Sri Lankan identity to resolve the ethnic issue
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka's Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) says the ethnic issue could be resolved by building a Sri Lankan identity.
JVP politburo member K.D. Lalkantha said that the proper solution to the ethnic issue is to build one identity in the country without identifying people based on their ethnic groups.
U.S. official in Sri Lanka to discuss Iran oil sanctions
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Luke Bronin, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury arrived in Sri Lanka Thursday with a four-member delegation.
The Deputy Assistant Secretary is in the island to hold discussions with Sri Lankan government officials on how the U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran will affect Sri Lanka and the available options regarding the sanctions.
Sri Lankan government grants nurses' union's demands
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka Public Service Nurses' Union (PSUNU) says the government has agreed to grant solutions to 12 demands put forward by the union.
The Chairman of the PSUNU Muruththettuwe Ananda Thero says that the union will give time to the Ministry of Health until March 01 to implement the solutions and the nurses will stage a strike from March 02 unless the solutions will be implemented.
Opposition party leader of Sri Lanka warns against accusing Colombo MC of corruption
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- Leader of Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) Ranil Wickremasinghe says the UNP led Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) should not be accused of any corruption or irregularities.
Speaking during a meeting of UNP councilors of CMC at the Mayor's official residence, Wickremasinghe has said that strict action would be taken by the party if such complaints are received.
Minister asks Sri Lanka political parties to participate in PSC to learn government's stance
Feb 03 (CP) Colombo- A Sri Lankan government minister called on all political parties to participate in the parliamentary select committee (PSC) proposed to find a political solution to the ethnic issue, if they wished to know the government's stance on the matter.
Sri Lanka's main opposition ready to assist government to implement LLRC recommendations
Feb 01 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) called on the government to implement the recommendations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) to show its commitment to finding a political solution to the ethnic issue and address the needs of the Tamil people.
Independence Day of Sri Lanka
UAE envoy discusses co-operation with Sri Lanka
No ban on Pakistani medicines, says Sri Lanka
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More : POLITICS - GENERAL | |||
| * | UNP will support govt. to overcome international pressure (3 - DM) | ||
| * | NSCC promises to rectify salary anomalies in two weeks (3 - Island) | ||
| * | Over Rs 21,000m for Deyata Kirula projects (3 - DN) | ||
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More : POLITICS - GENERAL | |||
SPORTS|
Sri Lanka to handle Australian pace attack better than India
More : SPORTS
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Sri Lanka A level series against Lions
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PM's XI abandoned due to rain
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Australian PM hosts Sri Lanka cricket team at her residence
Feb 03 (IC) Australia's prime minister Julia Gillard hosted the touring Sri Lanka cricket team at her residence today, ahead of the team's practise match against the Prime Ministers XI which takes place on February 3 at the Manuka Oval. |
WORLD
Afghan civilian deaths rise for fifth year, says UN
Feb 04 (BBC) The number of civilians killed and injured in the Afghan conflict has risen for the fifth year in a row, a UN report reveals.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) documented 3,021 civilian deaths in 2011 compared with 2,790 in 2010 and 2,412 in 2009.
Most deaths were caused by insurgents, the report found.
More : WORLD
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Israel to consider attacking Iran if sanctions fail
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Pakistan, UNHCR agree new regional approach to Afghan refugees
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Nepal former rebels begin to leave camps
Feb 03 (BBC) Thousands of former Maoist fighters in Nepal have begun demobilising, five years after they ended their armed revolt.
More than 7,000 fighters, confined to camps since 2007, are receiving money to help them return to civilian life.
Under a peace deal ex-rebels were given the choice of retiring with a lump sum, retraining or joining the army. |
About Sri Lanka ::-
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Introduction to Sri Lanka ::- Sri Lanka is a beautiful island paradise in the Indian Ocean with white sandy beaches lush greenery, exciting adventures, amazing wildlife, cascading waterfalls and a rich heritage. The island of Sri Lanka is roughly pear-shaped. The total area of Sri Lanka is 65,610 sq km. Sri Lanka’s coastline is about 1,340 km (about 833 mi) around. The people in Sri Lanka are warm and friendly. Sri Lankans are known for hospitality in all over the world. People in Sri Lanka ethnically fall into four main categories. The population of Sri Lanka is about 20 million. Sri Lanka has a tropical climate. Sri Lanka has a democratic government. Sri Lanka is mainly an agricultural country. Colombo is the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948. Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Sri Lanka became a plantation economy, famous for its production and export of cinnamon, rubber and Ceylon tea, which remains a trademark national export. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of export, and further declined to 16.8% in 2005 (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments have reached 63%. The GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% during the early 1990s, until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000, with average growth of 5.3%. Sri Lanka, with an income per head of $1,350, still lags behind some of its neighbors including Maldives and Mauritius but is ahead of its giant neighbor India. Its economy grew by an average of 5% during the 1990s during the 'War for Peace' era. According to the Sri Lankan central bank statistics, the economy was estimated to have grown by 7% last year, although inflation had reached 20%. |
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