A delegation from the Tamil National Allliance will meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa tomorrow ahead of the president’s Indian visit scheduled for June 8.
TNA MP Suresh Premachandran told LAKBIMAnEWS that a delegation from his party would meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss issues related to resettlement of IDPs and devolution of power.
“These are the two key issues we would discuss with the president,” he said. More >>

With the proposal to change parliamentary session hours from morning to evening, different ideas are emerging from the government and the opposition parties.
Chief opposition whip John Amaratunga says that their party had proposed to hold parliamentary sessions “from morning to evening”. He is of the view that as a standardamount is paid for the whole day, it is all-right for all MPs to be in parliament from morning till late night. More >>

The government’s near obsession with making the iifa Indian film awards a showpiece event — and the opposition’s near obsession with painting it as a failure, provides a near perfect mapping of the country’s contemporary political contours.
Rosie Senanayake held a special press conference to bad-mouth the awards, stating that iifa’s “failure’’ is an obvious sign that the government has failed in the reconciliation efforts with the Tamil community, after the war. More >>

It is more than two years since Indian and Sri Lankan officials that negotiated the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) last met. In 2008, Indian Premier Manmohan Singh came to Colombo for the SAARC summit hoping to witness a signing of the CEPA but went away empty-handed. For a while, it had seemed as if the deal was properly in cold storage.
Suddenly, however, the Indians have started pushing for the two countries to sign the document. More >>

St. Peter’s College, Colombo came from behind to force a thrilling 31-all draw against S. Thomas’ College, in their top of the table clash of the singer President’s Trophy inter-school Un-20 league tournament at Mount Lavinia yesterday.
The high-riding Petes who were fancied to post a win in this game collected their points from five tries and two penalty goals, to which the Thomians replied with four converted tries and a penalty goal in a game, which went right down to the wire. More >>

IIt’s a script that never seems to go stale. Sri Lanka have yet again disposed India from a multi-nation tournament. Sri Lanka were splendid today; they hustled on the field, the spinners kept hauling them back when India threatened to break free, and Dinesh Chandimal made the chase look ridiculously easy with a charming ton. Sometimes the hunter becomes the hunted: If India were to get the bonus point that would have helped them in the quest to enter the final, they had to restrict Sri Lanka to 214 but for a while it appeared that it was Sri Lanka who were going for the bonus point. More >>

Ranil Abeynaike, popular cricketer, coach, curator and now, commentator, at 55 years of age has just raised the bar. His next aim is to establish himself as broadcaster within the cricketing arena, which means that he will have to compete with giants in cricket’s spoken word from every cricketing nation. But, just as Ranil, as a left arm slow, and useful batsman for Sri Lanka, More >>

I discovered Chucking the Dragon a month or so ago, after it had been unceremoniously discarded by the Gratiaen shortlist. It is customary that the Gratiaen prize submissions for each year are laid out for display and sale on the day of the shortlist - and that is where I found this provocative novel, by a certain Mark Wilde: apparently a Sri Lankan writer banking on anonymity. First impression - I felt that I was holding something “big”: a revolutionary expression, perhaps, More >>

The MV Rachel Corrie, an Irish ship named for a peace activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza in 2003, escaped the deadly attacks earlier this week. It is two days from land, and campaigners on board say they are determined to defy Israel once more.
The 1,200-metric ton boat is carrying 19 activists, part of the Free Gaza organization, and is stocked, according to The Guardian, with “medical equipment, wheelchairs, school supplies, and cement.” More >>

South African president Jacob Zuma was today facing fresh speculation over his personal life amid claims he had been cheated on by one of his wives.
Mr Zuma’s second wife Nompumelelo, 35, allegedly had an extra-marital relationship with one of her bodyguards. The claims were first made in South Africa’s Ilanga newspaper and come as Mr Zuma prepares to play the global statesman when his country hosts the World Cup. More >>

India, with a strong commitment to bilateral efforts towards economic development in Sri Lanka, has used the IIFA platform as the ultimate opportunity to boost trade ties beyond recent expectations --- which would see greater potential in tourism, food processing IT, and the SME sector. While the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) are seen as the primary tools in the bilateral ties between the two nations, Sri Lankan exporters and professionals have lately opposed these instruments altogether, More >>

With corporate earnings showing tremendous growth (especially in the banking and leisure sector), stocks started the week on a strong note. On Tuesday, the government announced massive import tax reductions, thus giving a further boost to the market. The week ended saw the ASI index of all shares close at a fresh high of 4354, a gain of 2.4% or 100 points for the week. The MPI, which tracks the 25 most liquid stocks in the market, saw a rise of 207 points, or 4.4% to finish off at 4968. Turnover for the week hit a new year high at Rs 18 billion, with Rs 9.5 billion of it coming on Wednesday. More >>

People’s Republic of China, commonly known as China, a country in East Asia, is the most populous country in the world with over 1.3 billion people. It is believed that Chinese civilization started from the Yellow Valley about 6000 years ago.
You may have heard about its famous cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. You have heard about the Great Wall of China too. Have you heard about Mount Putuoshan or Leshan? Maybe you have or maybe not. Or else you might be curious about these two places. However, this week, we are going to fly to Mount Putuoshan and to Leshan! More >>

Bambarakanda waterfall is the highest waterfall in Sri Lanka. The area around Bambarakanda is rich with scenic beauty, rugged terrain, waterfalls, tea fields and cool climate making it an attractive destination for nature lovers.
Bambarakanda Falls (also known as Bambarakele Falls), with a height of 263 m (863 ft), ranks as the 299th highest waterfall in the world. Situated in Kalupahana in the Badulla District, this waterfall is directly visible from the A4 Highway. The waterfall was formed by Kuda Oya, which is a branch of the Walawe River. The Bambarakanda Falls can be found in a beautiful forest of pine trees. More >>