International Affairs

A senior U.S. State Department official warned on Tuesday that Sri Lanka’s appointment of a war veteran accused of serious human rights violations as head of its army could affect US military cooperation and investment in the island nation, the Reuters news agency reported.

In response to comments about the name of SLPP Presidential Candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s name not being in the Federal Register, US Ambassador Alaina B.Teplitz said on Monday that the Federal Register could often be months behind the recording of one’s renunciation of citizenship.

Ambassador Alaina B. Teplitz last week allayed fears over Sri Lanka’s move to sign up for the US Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact entailing $ 480 million of grant assistance, saying it was highly beneficial for poverty reduction via sustainable economic growth.

ඇමරිකා එක්සත් ජනපදයේ මිලේනියම් චැලේන්ජ් කෝපරේෂන් (MCC) සමග අත්සන් කිරීමට නියමිත ගිවිසුම සම්බන්ධයෙන් රජය සහ ජනාධිපතිවරයා අතර මතගැටුම් තවදුරටත් වර්ධනය වී තිබෙනවා. මෙම තත්ත්වය ඇමරිකානු බලධාරීන්ගේ කණස්සල්ලට හේතු වී ඇති අතර මෙරට ඇමරිකානු තානාපතිනි ඇලයිනා බී. ටෙප්ලිට්ස් පවසන්නේ මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජයේ අවසන් අනුමැතිය ඉතා ඉක්මනින් අපේක්ෂා කරන බවයි.

The long-awaited $50 million global Ceylon tea promotion campaign will be kicked off next month in Moscow, Russia followed by 11 other key markets in a bid to boost export earnings.

Kochi: Tourism Minister John Amaratunga on Friday ruled out that terrorists involved in the Easter bombing in the island nation had any Indian links. He was interacting with reporters as part of the Sri Lanka tourism promotion programme in Kochi on Friday, the new Indian Express reported.

ජනාධිපති මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන මහතා විසින් නව යුද හමුදාපතිවරයා ලෙස ලුතිතන් ජෙනරාල් ශවේන්ද්‍ර සිල්වා මහතාව පත් කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් යුරෝපා සංගමය ඒකාබද්ධ නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කර තිබේ.

The United States is deeply concerned by the appointment of Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva as Army Commander.

Canadian YouTubers Luke Martin and Sabrina Davidson of Chopstick Travel are currently in the island with a view to promote Sri Lanka tourism, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට අලුතින් පත්ව ආ යුරෝපා තානාපතිවරියන් දෙදෙනෙක් සහ මහ කොමසාරිස්වරියක් ජනාධිපති මෛත්‍රීපාල සිරිසේන මහතාට අක්ත පත්‍ර භාරදී තිබේ.

Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi met Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa for talks today.

The Sri Lankan Government will soon begin a dialogue with India to develop Palaly and Batticaloa airports, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday.

GENEVA (AFP) - UN Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet said Monday (Aug 19) she is “deeply troubled” by Sri Lanka’s appointment of an accused war criminal as army chief, as global concern mounts over the nomination.

Sri Lanka is keen to ensure freedom of navigation and lines of communication in the Indian Ocean Peace Zone, Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha said.

The German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) has provided a sum of Euros 4 million (approx. Rs. 800 million) towards demining activities in affected areas of the Northern and Eastern Provinces in Sri Lanka.

Canadian High Commissioner in Colombo David MeKinnon yesterday called on Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa at the latter’s official residence yesterday. Their discussion focused on the current situation in the country Parliamentarian Kheliya Rambukwella, former Minister Prof G. L. Peiris were present.

70-year-old emaciated elephant Tikiri eating at the Temple of the Tooth in the central city of Kandy, Sri Lanka.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Ahmed Shaheed yesterday commended the Sri Lankan Government on its actions after the Easter Sunday attacks, when he met with Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana as part of his official visit to Sri Lanka.