HERALD SUN: Tamil Tigers supporters walk free from court after admitting they gave cash to the Sri Lankan terrorist group
Posted: March 31, 2010 | Leave a CommentThree Australian-based supporters of the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers were today allowed to walk free after admitting they provided cash to the terrorist group.
The Supreme Court was told an Australian-based charity was used as a cover to collect and send money to the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. Full Story
THE ISLAND: Jaffna investors targeted for Hotel Nallur IPO
Posted: March 31, 2010 | Leave a CommentThe Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka (MBSL) is planning an IPO to raise funds for a multi-million-rupee hotel project in Nallur on top of its own Rs 400 million investment.
“We are considering initiating this option as the Central Bank Governor has recommended that the IPO should focus on the people of Jaffna,” MBSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake told the Island Financial Review. Full Story
BUSINESSWEEK: Sri Lankan Economy Accelerates at Fastest Pace in Five Quarters
Posted: March 30, 2010 | Leave a CommentSri Lanka’s economy expanded at the fastest pace in five quarters as the government stepped up spending on new roads and ports after the end of a quarter-century of civil war in the country.
Gross domestic product rose 6.2 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31 from a year earlier after gaining 4.2 percent in the previous quarter, the statistics department said in a statement in Colombo today. Full Story
DAILY MIRROR: Varadharaja Perumal in town
Posted: March 30, 2010 | Leave a CommentFormer Chief Minister of the Eastern Province and member of the EPRLF, Varadharaja Perumal who became a controversial figure after he unilaterally declared a state of Eelam in 1989, has arrived in Sri Lanka on Sunday evening.
Mr. Perumal who fled to India when the North Eastern Provincial Council was dissolved after he unilaterally declared Eelam in 1989 had come several times to Sri Lanka. He was residing in Orissa earlier and then moved to Delhi. Full Story
TIMES OF INDIA: Tamil Nadu turns down Nalini’s plea for release
Posted: March 30, 2010 | Leave a CommentThe Tamil Nadu government on Monday decided not to release Nalini Sriharan, who has been serving a life term for about 19 years in connection with the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
The government’s decision was revealed when the matter came up before a division bench comprising Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Justice KK Sasidharan of the Madras High Court. Full Story
THE HINDU: Brigadier role in Editor’s murder
Posted: March 30, 2010 | Leave a CommentSri Lanka’s Attorney-General has informed a local court that a senior former military officer and close associate of the former Army Chief, Sarath Fonseka, is involved in the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge, founder Editor-in-Chief of The Sunday Leader.
Wickrematunge was killed in January last in broad day light. The case has been cited by critics of the government as a perfect example of culture of impunity. Full Story
SUNDAY LEADER: All Female Flying Crew Makes History At Srilankan
Posted: March 29, 2010 | Leave a CommentSriLankan Airlines’ lady pilots have quietly revolutionised aviation in Sri Lanka, with several international flights being carried out by all-female crews.
Captain Anusha Siriratne and Junior First Officer Madini Chandradasa were the first all-female crew, operating a flight from Colombo to Trichy and back on November 1, 2009. Each leg on an Airbus A320 aircraft took one hour. Full Story
DAILY MIRROR: SC grants journalist leave to proceed
Posted: March 29, 2010 | Leave a CommentThe Supreme Court last Friday (25) granted leave to proceed with the rights violation petition filed by freelance journalist Ruwan Weerakoon (44) challenging his arrest and detention purportedly on the allegation of facilitating conversations between Gen. (Rtd) Sarath Fonseka and former UNPers Johnston Fernando as well as Lakshman Seneviratne. Full Story
THE ISLAND: Lanka, US joint exercise: Special Forces, Commandos left out
Posted: March 29, 2010 | Leave a CommentSri Lanka recently turned down a US call to deploy Air Mobile troops instead of Special Forces or Commandos alongside US personnel for a joint training exercise in the East. The Sri Lanka Army has asserted that there was no point in involving Air Mobile troops in an exercise designed for elite forces.
The US has called for Air Mobile troops, consequent to a decision not to participate in joint training exercises with elite Special Forces and Commandos, who had played a pivotal role in Sri Lanka’s triumph over the LTTE. Full Story
TIMES ONLINE: Author Sarah Malini Perera held ‘for offending Buddhists’ in Sri Lanka
Posted: March 29, 2010 | Leave a CommentAn expatriate Sri Lankan woman who wrote two books about her conversion from Buddhism to Islam has been arrested while on holiday in Sri Lanka, apparently for causing offence to Buddhists.
Sarah Malini Perera, who was born in Sri Lanka but has lived in Bahrain since 1985 and converted to Islam in 1999, was arrested last week under the country’s strict emergency laws, according to the police. Full Story