Sri Lanka will reject the final draft of a United States-sponsored resolution submitted at the United Nations Human Rights Council which seeks to "discredit" and "single out" the country over alleged human rights violations, External Affairs Minister G L Peiris has said.
Rajapaksa sworn in new Chief Justice Mohan Peiris to replace Sri Lanka's first woman chief justice who was impeached by the parliament in a controversial move.
Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis revealed the key to getting his side over the line in a nervy Super 12 run chase against South Africa in the ongoing T20 World Cup was keeping his cool under pressure.
During the 13-minute special session, Dhammika Dassanayake, ecretary general of Parliament, announced the vacancy for the post of president.
However, South Africa have lot of openers stacked on top (Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks) with a light middle order which is still a huge concern.
Harin Peiris also said Kumaratunga would break up the island's embattled northeastern province.
'If you want to protect yourself just maintain good hygiene, wash your hands often and try not to touch your face, your mouth or nose without cleaning first'
Sri Lanka's new Foreign Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris, who visited Washington, DC last month, feels the tensions that existed in the United States and Sri Lanka during the height of the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, when Colombo refused to acquiesce to a ceasefire, have been repaired.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Professor G L Peiris, who is on a visit to United States, emphasised on Tuesday that India should not be concerned over the island nation's deep-rooted ties with China.In an interaction that followed his address to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies -- a leading Washington, DC-based think tank -- Peiris also denied reports about Sri Lanka advising India on how to deal with its internal problems like separatist insurgencies.
South Africa's skipper Temba Bavuma was pleased with the way his pacers performed in the demolition of Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup Super 12s match, in Abu Dhabi, on Tuesday.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday fired Basil Rajapaksa from his post and invited the Opposition parties to join a unity Cabinet to tackle the raging public anger against the hardships caused by the economic crisis.
Nic Pothas appointed as interim coach of Windies
Sri Lanka has refused to cooperate with a United Nations investigation into alleged war crimes during the final phase of the country's civil war, saying it will not subject itself to the jurisdiction of the top rights body.
Australia pace spearhead Pat Cummins on Friday said he is glad that the effort he put into his T20 bowling in the last four-five months is giving him the desired results in the ongoing World Cup, which has been his "main goal" for a while.
South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma says "it wasn't ideal" to get a directive on taking the knee hours before the start of their T20 World Cup match against the West Indies and promised to be there for Quinton de Kock, who chose to withdraw from the game instead of following the order.
Australian captain Aaron Finch said his team "needed a bit of luck" to get the better of South Africa in their ICC T20 World Cup opener here on Saturday.
Rajneesh Gupta lists the South African players's T20 Internationals records updated after the game against Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision not to attend the Commonwealth Summit in Colombo was a loss for Sri Lanka as his absence reflected a breakdown of ties between the two countries, the main opposition said on Monday.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his private visit to the country next week, against the backdrop of attacks on pilgrims from this country in Tamil Nadu.
Sri Lanka on Wednesday rejected the demand for an independent probe into war crimes during the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam conflict, saying it has no "intention to allow an international policeman".
Sri Lanka on Thursday blamed strategic alliances and domestic political issues, an apparent reference to politics in Tamil Nadu, for the UNHRC resolution that was backed by India to censure Colombo for its alleged war crimes during the ethnic conflict with the Liberation tigers of Tamil Eelam.
War-displaced Tamil civilians in northern Sri Lanka can now hope to have better dwelling facilities, with India and Sri Lanka on Tuesday signing a memorandum of understanding for construction of 49,000 houses at a cost of $260 million (about Rs 1,352 crore).
Sri Lanka on Monday made it clear that it will not abide by the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution that censured it over its human rights record and said it would only implement "feasible" recommendations of its own panel that probed the three-decade-long bloody civil war.
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.
Sri Lanka on Sunday said it will release information on those detained by the country's forces since the end of the war with the Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam, ahead of External Affairs Minister G L Peiris' visit to the US.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna arrived in Colombo on Monday on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka during which he will meet the country's top leadership and tour the war-ravaged northern areas.
Peiris reiterated, "We don't want Amnesty International telling us what to do.What is the moral authority of Amnesty International?We do not think that they have any coercive moral authority to tell us what to do."
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna arrived in Colombo on Thursday on a four-day official visit to boost up bilateral relations, amid growing Chinese footprints in Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan government has slammed the decision of the United Nations to set up a panel of experts to advice Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on the human rights situation in the country, saying it was 'unwarranted' since Colombo has already formed a mechanism to address accountability issues. "The proposed panel of experts was unwarranted since Lanka has already set in motion its local mechanism to address accountability issues, said Minister of External Affairs G L Peiris.
Sri Lanka said on Sunday that the relationship between New Delhi and Colombo was "strong," as it dismissed suggestions that there was "pressure" from New Delhi" for an early political solution to the Tamil ethnic problem during the visit of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The prime mission behind the new Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Professor Gamini Lakshman Peiris' meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is to repair the strained relations between the US and Sri Lanka, which took a beating last year when the Sri Lankan forces were crushing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The US had alleged that there were large scale human rights violations during the military offensive against the tigers.
In a defiant stance, Sri Lanka said on Thursday that it would not allow a United Nations panel to enter the country to investigate alleged human rights abuses during the last stages of the country's civil war, which could put the country in a confrontation course with the world body.
'We would like India to play a much more vigorous role. Of course, there are constraints and inhibitions, but it is still possible for India to play a meaningful and proactive role.'
The Sri Lankan president had dissolved the parliament on Saturday and ordered fresh polls on April 2
The government wants to test public opinion before going in for drastic constitutional changes, officials said.
Sri Lanka has been assured that all its oil requirements will be met by India in the event of war in Iraq, government spokesman and Constitutional Affairs Minister G L Peiris said on Thursday.
Sri Lankan authorities have arrested 19 Indian fishermen and seized five boats when they were allegedly fishing in the country's waters. A total of 19 fishermen were arrested north of the Jaffna Delft islet late on Saturday night, navy spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya said in Colombo on Sunday.
China has invited India to be part of its new initiative to build a Maritime Silk Road which it says is aimed at improving connectivity and trade among Asian nations through the sea on the lines of ancient Silk Route.
Thirty-eight Tamil Nadu fishermen were on Thursday arrested by Sri Lankan navy for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary line, three days after fishermen representatives of India and Sri Lanka met to discuss the vexed fishing issue.
Azharuddin, whose nomination was rejected two years ago, submitted his papers to former Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath on Wednesday.
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