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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Doctors removed 13 nails and five needles from a Sri Lankan woman who says the couple she worked for in Saudi Arabia hammered them into her body.

L.G. Ariyawathi, who was hospitalized with severe pain after returning Saturday from Saudi Arabia, has said the family she worked for punished her by heating the nails and needles before sticking them into her. X-rays have shown that she had 24 nails and needles in her body, said Dr. Keerthi Satharasinghe of Kamburupitiya hospital, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away from the capital, Colombo.

The nails ranged in length from one to two inches (2.5 to 5 centimeters) while the needles were about one inch (2.5 centimeters). They were removed from her legs and forehead.

“The surgery is successful and she is recovering now,” said Dr. Satharasinghe after a three-hour procedure Video Read the rest of this entry »

JOINT PRESS RELEASE

It is noted that the Commission of Inquiry on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation appointed by the President of Sri Lanka, has commenced its sittings in August 2010.

The Commission will inquire and report into events which took place between February 21, 2002 and May 19, 2009; namely the facts and circumstances which led to the failure of the ceasefire agreement and the events which followed thereafter up to the end of the war. It will also recommend methods of compensating those affected by the conflict or their dependents.

It is also noted that the truce between the government and the LTTE went into effect from February 23, 2002, followed by the monitoring of the ceasefire a few weeks later Read the rest of this entry »

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Israel Donald Perera says the comments attributed to him in an Israeli newspaper where it was reported that he had said Sri Lanka is a staunch supporter of Israel’s fight against Palestinian terror, is totally erroneous.

In a letter sent to the Israeli newspaper the Sri Lankan envoy said Sri Lanka always values her friendship with Israel and this aspect will continue to underpin the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

However he noted that at the same time the policy of the Government of Sri Lanka, which it has followed in consistent consonance with the position of the Non-Aligned Movement, is that the question of Palestine and the pursuit of lasting peace in the Middle East must be resolved through a two state solution whereby Israel and Palestine will co-exist with each other, within secure and intentionally recognized borders.

“Therefore, the contrary view attributed to me in the news item that Sri Lanka is a staunch supporter of Israel’s fight against Palestinian terror is a totally erroneous rendering of my comments,” he said Read the rest of this entry »

The Palestine Sri Lanka Friendship Society has expressed outrage over the reported comments made by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Israel Donald Perera who said that Israel should wage war in Palestine if negotiations are rejected.

Co-President of the Palestine Sri Lanka Friendship Society and Government Minister Ataudha Seneviratne speaking to Daily Mirror online said that no matter what Ambassador Perera had to say, the Sri Lankan government’s stand was to sympathize with the Palestinians and push both sides (Israel and Palestine) for negotiations.

“Anyone can make a statement but the official stand of the government is that we sympathize with the Palestinians,” Minister Seneviratne said.

Meanwhile Co-President and Opposition member Imtiyaz Bakeer Markar said the government should make its stand clear on whether the comment made by Ambassador Perera echoes the sentiments of the Sri Lankan government Read the rest of this entry »

The U.S. Agency for International  Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to expand the Supporting Regional Governance Program (SuRG) to all 37 Pradesihya Sabhas and one Urban Council in the Eastern Province. The Hon. A.L.M. Athaullah, Minister of Local Government and Provincial Councils, and Patricia A. Butenis, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, witnessed the signing.

Under the SuRG program, USAID/Colombo, the development office of the U.S. Embassy, provides technical assistance to local authorities to support their efforts to serve the public. This MOU will expand the SuRG program to include all local authorities in the Eastern Province. Read the rest of this entry »

Creating a new history, President Mahinda Rajapaksa Inaugurated the Cabinet Meeting on the verge of Iranamadu tank at Killinochchi. This is the first time in Sri Lankan history  a meeting of the  Cabinet of Ministers  held its  meeting out of Colombo.

Sri Lanka is to set up a special council with powers to regulate foreign universities. The government for the fist time in the recent budget announced its readiness to allow foreign universities to set up their branches in Sri Lanka.

Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayka speaking in parliament said that legal drafts and standards will be prepared to establish foreign universities in the country.

At present we have 73 private educational institutes preparing students for foreign degrees “ But non of them are coming under the regulatory framework of the University Grant Commission or the Higher education ministry, but set up as private companies under the Board of Investment approval” minister Dissanayaka told Parliament replying an adjournment query raised by an opposition law maker Read the rest of this entry »

The Mount Lavinia additional Magistrate today (July 02) issued an arrest warrant on former Deputy Minister Myown Mustapha for failing to appear in Court in a bribery case.Mustafa was indicted on the charge of offering ex-NFF parliamentarian Mohamed Musammil Rs. 4.2 million to obtain his support for Gen. Sarath Fonseka at the January presidential polls.Mustapha is reportedly out of the country

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad who arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday  Dr. Mohamad is in Sri Lanka for a business summit. address the 6th Annual Business Awards ceremony of the Sri Lanka Malaysia Business Council. Dr. Mahathir Mohamed has been acclaimed as the architect for transforming Malaysia into a modern economic giant in Asia. He will be the chief guest at the 6th Annual Business Awards of the Sri Lanka Malaysia Business Council to be held in Colombo on 9th of this month. This will be Dr. Mohamed’s second visit to the island. Earlier he arrived in the island and participated as the keynote speaker at the CIMA Global Leaders’ Summit in Colombo in May 2005.

Sri Lanka’s Dr. Palitha Kohona has been tasked with investigating the human rights violation charges against Israel. Dr. Kohona, who is the island’s permanent representative at the UN, will lead a special team to Egypt, Jordan and Syria from 08 to 19 of June.

Other members of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories are from Malaysia and Senegal. Since its establishment in 1968, the committee has not been allowed by Israel to visit the Palestine occupied territories.

Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamed is due in Sri Lanka next week, said the ministry of external affairs. He has been acclaimed as the architect of Malaysia’s transformation into a modern economic power in Asia.

Deputy minister Geethanjana Gunawardena will welcome Dr. Mohamed on arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake on June 08.
Dr. Mohamed will attend the sixth annual Malaysia Business Council awards ceremony as its chief guest on June 09. He had previously visited Sri Lanka in May 2005 to participate in the CIMA Global Leaders’ Summit. -colombotoday

Sri Lanka has deplored the use of force by the Israeli military on boats carrying supplies for Palestinian people in international waters off the coast of Gaza this week resulting in the loss of life and injuries to aid workers. The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement, said Sri Lanka deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries resulting from this operation noting that indiscriminate use of force to prevent the carriage of supplies for people under occupation is condemned.

“The reports of attacks during the Israeli military operation on boats carrying supplies for Palestinian people in international waters off the coast of Gaza have caused grave distress to the Government and the people of Sri Lanka. The Government and the people of Sri Lanka extend their sympathies to the families of the victims and injured. Sri Lanka calls for expeditious action to relieve the sufferings of those who are affected by the attacks,” the External Affairs ministry said.

Sri Lanka reiterates its conviction that sustainable peace and security in the region is achievable only through peaceful dialogue. Israeli forces attacked a flotilla of aid-carrying ships aiming to break the country’s siege on Gaza. At least 19 people were killed and dozens injured when troops intercepted the convoy of ships dubbed the Freedom Flotilla early on Monday. The flotilla was attacked in international waters, 65km off the Gaza coast.

Daily Mirror

By killing 19 and wounding 30 unarmed peaceful people on humanitarian mission in the civilian Gaza aid flotilla in the international waters, Israel drew worldwide condemnation and once again demonstrated its barbarity, cruelty, arrogance and lawlessness to the world.

The aid flotilla carrying 10,000 tons of medicine, food and other essential items was organized by Turkish Human Rights Agency and other pro Palestinian Groups who, deeply disturbed by the immense sufferings of 1.6 million starving Palestinians in Gaza under inhuman Israeli economic blockade imposed since June 2006 as punishment for excising their democratic rights to elect a government of their choice in a free and fair elections supervised by former US President Jimmy Carter. Read the rest of this entry »

Sri Lankan authorities arrested a Bahraini resident with Sri Lankan nationality, Sarah Malanie Perera, on March 20 in Colombo,  Sri Lanka, for allegedly offending Buddhism, the Islamic Human Rights Council reported. The authorities released her on April 20 on bail for 50,000 Rupees; however she is banned from traveling and her trial will start on 20 May 2010 on the charge that she has written a book in Sinhalese insulting the Buddhist religion.

According to her sister Mariam, the police forcibly removed Perera’s headscarf and made a video which was played on all Sri Lankan television channels. Perera, 38, is a Muslim convert who was born in a Buddhist family in Sri Lanka and has been living in Bahrain for many years. She was arrested before leaving Sri Lanka after a three months holiday. Read the rest of this entry »