Islamabad: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has called for stepping up efforts to boost bilateral trade with Sri Lanka from the current $375 million to $2 billion in the next three years. Zardari made the appeal during his meeting with visiting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Islamabad on Friday. He also called for exploring a currency swap agreement. Zardari said it will provide huge incentives to businesses in both...
08:35 AM, Feb 11, 2012
New Delhi: Maldives former president Mohammed Nasheed's family has fled to Sri Lanka, but Nasheed remained in Male and was safe. The transfer of power that India reportedly facilitated in Maldives has now given way to violence. A criminal court has issued an arrest warrant against Maldives former president Mohammed Nasheed, two days after he resigned. The charges, though are unclear. The country's current Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem has sought...
09:42 PM, Feb 09, 2012
Colombo, Facing an onslaught from the international community for alleged war crimes, the Sri Lankan government released a video on Wednesday which they claimed carries "authentic evidence" of LTTE's atrocities during the last phase of the military assault. The video captioned "Ruthless" claims to have recorded eye witness accounts of LTTE's child recruitment and its violence against Tamil civilians. "These are authentic evidence coming from Tamil civilians who had been...
04:09 PM, Feb 08, 2012
Ramanathapuram: Indian fishermen in more than 600 fishing boats returned without fishing at Rameswaram after Sri Lankan Naval personnel allegedly pelted stones and bottles to prevent them from crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line near Katchatheevu, fisheries department officials said on Tuesday. Stones and glass pieces were found strewn in more than 30 boats, and fishermen in more than 600 boats had to return on Monday night without fishing, they...
06:32 PM, Feb 07, 2012
Colombo: Bilateral trade between India and Sri Lanka had surged by over 70 per cent while touching an all time high of $ 5 billion, the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo said on Thursday. Indian companies have invested over $ 100 million in the island. Ashok K Kantha, the Indian envoy, was addressing the 63rd Indian Republic Day celebrations held in the High Commission. Kantha said the year 2011 had...
04:10 PM, Jan 26, 2012
Nagapattinam: The Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday released 42 fishermen arrested by it for allegedly violating the International Maritime Boundary Line, a senior Fisheries Department official said in Nagapattinam. The fishermen from Keechankuppam and Arucottuthurai hamlets in the district who ventured into the sea on Sunday, were arrested off the coast of Pulmoddai last night on charges of violating the IMBL and taken to Trincomalee. All the fishermen were released...
07:28 PM, Jan 25, 2012
New Delhi: At least 42 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam were captured by the Sri Lankan Navy on Tuesday. The Sri Lankan Navy also seized 6 boats. The fishermen had allegedly strayed into the Sri Lankan waters. The Navy spokesperson Kosala Warnakulasuriya said some 42 fishermen on board six trawlers were arrested last night off the coast of Pulmoddai in the east. They are currently being taken to the...
04:56 PM, Jan 25, 2012
Colombo: Former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam on Sunday proposed implementing his concept of PURA, which envisages providing urban amenities to rural areas as a key strategy for rural development in Sri Lanka. Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Area (PURA) envisages provision of physical, electronic and knowledge connectivities leading to economic connectivity using rural skills and competence. "I have proposed this system of PURA numbering 7,000 for inclusive development of...
11:47 PM, Jan 22, 2012
Colombo: Sri Lankan authorities released a batch of 73 rehabilitated ex-members of the rebel outfit LTTE in the eastern district of Batticaloa on Sunday. "This is another batch to be released from the 11,000 ex-members of the LTTE," said A Dissanayake, the secretary to ministry of rehabilitation. Dissanayake said with the release on Sunday there will only be around 550 who are left to be freed. They are currently being...
04:27 PM, Jan 22, 2012
Jaipur: Shehan Karunatilaka, Sri Lankan author of 'Chinaman' wins the DSC Literature Prize for South Asia worth 50 thousand dollars. Ira Pande, chairperson of the jury said, "The winner was chosen last night unanimously by the jury, it just took us half an hour to decide who deserves this prize." The jury for this year's $ 50,000 prize included renowned literary figures Dr Alastair Niven, Dr Fakrul Alam, Faiza S...
06:32 PM, Jan 21, 2012
Colombo: External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on Wednesday flew from by chopper to Kilinochchi on way to Jaffna in the northern province of Sri Lanka to meet ethnic Tamils. He will gift medical equipment to the district general hospital at Kilinochchi on the third day of his four-day visit after fruitful official talks on Tuesday with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister DM Jayarathna and his counterpart GL Peiris...
01:04 PM, Jan 18, 2012
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is committed to devolving powers to ethnic Tamils by pursuing the 13th amendment to the constitution, Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said on Tuesday. "The president assured me that he stands by his commitment to pursuing the 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution and building on it to achieve meaningful devolution of powers," Krishna said here. The 13th Amendment of the 1987...
02:43 PM, Jan 17, 2012
Colombo: External Affairs Minister SM Krishna met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo on Tuesday and is understood to have discussed a host of bilateral issues, including the ways to evolve a political solution to resolve the Tamil problem. Rajapaksa hosted Krishna this morning for the second time since Tuesday morning at 'Temple Trees', the official residence of the President of Sri Lanka, for breakfast. Last evening, Kirshna had...
10:51 AM, Jan 17, 2012
Colombo: Ahead of External Affairs Minister SM Krishna's visit to Colombo, India and Sri Lanka have agreed to step up dialogue among fishermen communities of both countries and discussed measures for faster release of those arrested for intrusion in each other's waters. The two countries, at the fourth meeting of the joint working group on fisheries, also agreed to enhance cooperation to pursue fishing activity in a safe, secure and...
07:46 PM, Jan 15, 2012
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