The Government of India (GoI) has extended the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for two more years. LTTE was first banned in 1991 in the aftermath of the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. According to the Home Ministry of India, "LTTE continues to adopt a strong anti-India posture as also continues to pose a grave threat to the security of Indian nationals, it is necessary to declare LTTE as an 'unlawful association' with immediate effect."
The Central Bank has reported economic growth at 8.3%, inflation at 6.7%, an unemployment rate of 4.2% and a per-capita income of US $ 2849 in 2011, a sharp increase from $ 2400 in 2010 – a success story which we should be proud of. This means the income of the average household in Sri Lanka which is 4 persons according to the Central Bank report has risen by Rs 14,035 per month between 2010 and 2011 - something which is difficult to imagine. This average income is obtained by dividing the national income by the population.
Omar Khadr is the only child soldier ever prosecuted, and Guantanamo's last western prisoner. In 2010, Omar entered into a plea deal with the Canadian and American governments in exchange for a promise that he could return home to Canada to finish his sentence. The U.S. has already signed off on his return, yet the Canadian Government has refused to follow through on its end of the deal. All the while Khadr sits in solitary confinement in Guantanamo Bay.
India and Sri Lanka discussed maritime matters, including the issue of fishermen straying in each other’s territorial waters, as they held a crucial annual meeting aimed at strengthening naval relationship. The 21st International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) meeting between Sri Lanka and India was held onboard the Sri Lanka Naval Ship Sagara at the Indo-Sri Lanka Maritime Boundary Line off Kankasanthurai yesterday, Lankan Navy said today.
Nimalaraja, a Tamil refugee who has fled persecution in Sri Lanka and moved to the UK after gaining asylum in Germany in 1993, has died following a confrontation with a group of teenagers in the east Midlands town of Leicester.
The local police have appealed for witnesses after launching a murder investigation into the death of Ponnuthurai Nimalaraja, 41, who died a week after he was found with serious head injuries sustained during the confrontation on June 9.
The Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka has this week signed a US$4 billion deal with Sri Lanka Gateway Industries (Private) Ltd. to construct a port related industrial zone for heavy industries in the country’s north eastern Trincomalee District.
Sri Lanka Gateway Industries, a foreign invested project company, will build a deep water jetty, a bulk commodities terminal with stockpiling and blending capabilities, and a power generation plant, the country’s state investment promotion agency said in a statement.
What explains the large number of Buddha statues in and around Thiyaganur, a nondescript Tamil Nadu village? We may never know, says A. SRIVATHSAN, after taking in some unusual forms of the Shakya Muni.
In most ways, Thiyaganur is a typical village in Tamil Nadu. Matchbox houses with gleaming white walls and red earth tiles, fields with irregular patterns, a provisional store that sells garishly coloured beverages, and the occasional bus chugging through. The lime-washed temple, in this village 80 km north-west of Tiruchi, has a familiar air about it too. Until one gets closer.