India on Tuesday asked Sri Lanka to "seize" the opportunity of achieving genuine national reconciliation through recommendations of a post-war panel, as Colombo assured it of its commitment to resolve the long-standing ethnic conflict by devolving powers to the Tamil-dominated provinces.
Former Sri Lankan army chief General Sarath Fonseka has said that he will lead an Arab Spring-style uprising in his country to force the government from office. Fonseka, who was jailed for running as an opposition candidate, launched a bitter attack on President Mahinda Rajapaksa, whom he accused of persecuting his family and terrorising opponents, and pledged a new campaign to topple his government.
Sri Lanka on Friday briefed India about steps being taken towards political reconciliation with ethnic Tamils, amid a growing unease over the slow pace of reforms to enable devolution of power to the war ravaged north.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday asked the Tamil National Alliance, country's main Tamil political party, to shed the 'LTTE mentality' and join hands with the government to deal with various contentious issues.
Ex-Sri Lanka captain Hashan Thilekaratne has reportedly alleged that two former senior Lankan cricketers -- Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya -- and former Sri Lanka Cricket Board President Thilanga Sumathipala were involved in fixing international matches.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday ordered the release of his former army chief turned political rival Sarath Fonseka, paving the way for him to walk out of prison after two years
The Sri Lankan government has appointed an advisory committee comprising eminent economic and fiscal experts to provide guidance on addressing the current debt crisis and engaging with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other lenders as the country struggles to combat the unprecedented shortage of foreign reserves.
The reconciliation commission studying Sri Lanka's ethnic war and its aftermath is ready with its final report and may present it to President Mahinda Rajapaksa over the next 15 days. Officials said on Monday that the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission is being readied for presentation to the President who will then decide on making it public. LLRC spokesman Lakshman Wickremasinghe said the report could be presented to Rajapaksa before the November 15
The dissidents, led by former president Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party, would leave the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna coalition with its 14 Members of Parliament, party sources said after their meeting with the President on Monday.
'The economic crisis hit us from nowhere. No one saw it coming.'
The vote on a critical resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva has been postponed to Tuesday, as Colombo stepped up efforts to garner international support ahead of the voting which is being seen as an acid test for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka must address the issue of reconciliation with the Tamil minority in the country with "a sense of urgency", Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said in Colombo on Saturday. Swaraj, who is leading a 12-member Indian parliamentary delegation, said she had told Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa that the current stalemate and the deadlock on the talks with the Tamil National Alliance over the parliamentary select committee process must be broken.
Sri Lanka must address the issue of reconciliation with the Tamil minority in the country with "a sense of urgency", Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said in Colombo on Saturday.
Basil had negotiated the Indian economic relief package to help Sri Lanka tackle the current foreign exchange crisis.
Former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga does not share the view that India's vote against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council was a "letdown" as she feels that there must have been "justifiable reasons" for the decision.
Heavy rain delayed the start of South Africa-Sri Lanka World Twenty20 match at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota, on Saturday.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that he did not want lessons on human rights from outside, days after the UN Human Rights Council adopted a US-sponsored resolution censuring Colombo.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday said that his country has a rich and proud record of safeguarding human rights. Addressing a public gathering in the central town of Balangoda, Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka's human rights protection was inspired by the influence of Buddhism over a period of over 2,500 years.
A statement issued by the presidential media division on Friday said an extremist group was behind the unrest near President Rajapaksa's residence in Mirihana.
The five Indian fishermen, who were sentenced to death on charges of drug trafficking, have been released by the Sri Lankan authorities.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said adapting quickly to the conditions will be the key to his team's success in the first One-Day International against Sri Lanka in Hanbantota on Saturday.
India on Thursday underlined the need for Sri Lanka to devolve powers to Tamil-dominated provinces envisaged under a key constitutional amendment in a "very visible manner" to fulfill the political aspirations of the minority ethnic community.
Keen to see the decades-old ethnic crisis resolved, India on Tuesday told Sri Lanka that the "most important" issue before it was to come out with a political solution that fulfills the aspirations of the minority Tamils.
Wickremesinghe is the first Sri Lankan president to be elected by Parliament following a vote.
Ranil Wickremesinghe was on Wednesday elected as Sri Lanka's new President by Parliament, in a rare move that could provide continuity for ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout for the cash-strapped nation but a development likely to anger anti-government protesters who have been demanding his resignation from office for weeks.
Former Sri Lanka captain Hashan Tillakaratne has denied naming ex-skippers Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya as being involved in match-fixing.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday vowed to protect the country's military from possible international scrutiny over allegations of human rights violations during its prolonged conflict to end ethnic violence.
Sri Lanka have included seam bowler Lasith Malinga in their T20 and one day international squads for the home series against Pakistan starting next month.
What will be the effect of Jayalalithaa first salvo against Rajapaksa? How will it impact India's Sri Lanka policy? These are some of the questions likely to be debated more frequently in the coming months.
Amid speculation that the crucial Sri Lankan probe into the three-decade ethnic conflict may be kept under wraps, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to make the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission findings public.
A Ganesh Nadar visits Ramanathapuram in poll-bound Tamil Nadu and meets Congress MLA K Hasan Ali, whom his opponents dub as 'traitor' for being a friend to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.
Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has expressed displeasure over the facilities extended to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sri Lankan ministers at last Saturday's World Cup final against India at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, a report said on Sunday.
Seeking to mollify Sri Lanka after the vote against it in United Nations Human Rights Council, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday wrote to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, telling him that India made all efforts and succeeded in introducing an "element of balance" in the United States-sponsored resolution.
A federal United States court has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, noting he is immune from lawsuits as a sitting Head of State. Dismissing the case on Thursday, the US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said that Rajapaksa has immunity as head of the State.
The swearing in ceremony was held inside the premises of the Presidential Secretariat at 9:30 am. President Sirisena administered the oath of office to 66-year-old Wickremesinghe, who has already served three times as the prime minister.
Having commenced the new season with a comfortable victory in the first ODI, favourites India will be aiming to keep up the momentum when they take on hosts Sri Lanka in the second cricket ODI in Hambantota.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa advocated a "humanitarian approach" to avoid clashes between fishermen from India and his country near the international maritime border (IMB).
The first set of houses built by India in Jaffna for ethnic Tamils will be handed over when External Affairs Minister S M Krishna travels to Sri Lanka on Monday for a four-day visit during which the steps for their rehabilitation and political reconciliation will be discussed.
India's five-match ODI series and one T20 International against Sri Lanka will be played from July 22 to August 7 across three venues.
Sri Lanka has rejected a United States court summons served on President Mahinda Rajapaksa over a $ 30 million damages suit against him.
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