Conflict over, but Tamil civilians languish in camps

COLOMBO - Thirteen-year-old Sopika Surendranathan was injured in a December mortar attack in northern Sri Lanka and remains in a camp meant for tens of thousands of displaced people.

Major changes in Sri Lanka’s military command: Report

COLOMBO - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has effected a major reshuffle in the country’s military command appointing new army and navy commanders just two months after the military won a decades-long battle against Tamil rebels.

Sri Lankan doctors in government detention say they exaggerated war casualties

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A group of Sri Lankan doctors who have been in police custody for nearly two months were brought before the media Wednesday to recant their reports of mass civilian casualties during the final days of the civil war.

Sri Lanka Govt. imposes tax on charities working for civil war victims

COLOMBO - The Sri Lankan Government has imposed a 0.9 per cent tax on all funding for aid groups, hampering their efforts to help victims of Sri Lanka’s recent civil war.

Police crack down on Muslim rebels in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO - Police launched a crackdown on Muslim militants in eastern Sri Lanka when a deadline to surrender illegal weapons ended, a police spokesman said Sunday.

Tamil rebel kills soldier in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO - A lone Tamil rebel killed a soldier in eastern Sri Lanka and injured two in a shootout marking the first military casualties after the guerrilla leadership was crushed six weeks ago, a military spokesman said Sunday.

Britain relaxes restrictions on travel to Sri Lanka

COLOMBO - The British government has relaxed travel restrictions on its citizens visiting Sri Lanka nearly five weeks after Tamil separatist rebels were defeated to end a more then 30-year war in the South Asian country, the British high commission in Colombo said Friday.

‘Sri Lankan Govt. building permanent camps for Tamil refugees’

COLOMBO - Despite promising to resettle 80 percent of Tamil refugees by the end of this year, the Sri Lankan Government has reportedly started building permanent camps for most of the 300,000 refugees, who are being held there since Tamil Tigers’ defeat in May.

Tamil Tigers won’t be allowed to regroup: Army

COLOMBO - The Sri Lankan Army’s spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, has said that the government and the defence brass is determined not to allow the rebel Tamil Tigers to regroup.

Lankan astrologer arrested after predicting President’s exit

COLOMBO - A popular Sri Lankan astrologer has been arrested after predicting that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, would be ousted from office and replaced by his own Prime Minister by September.

Sri Lankan police say they have arrested astrologer for predicting ouster of president

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan police say they have arrested a popular astrologer for publicly predicting President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s imminent ouster from office.

Tamil legislator arrested in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO - An opposition Tamil minority legislator has been arrested for allegedly helping the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a newspaper said Tuesday.

Sri Lankan minister denies moves to extend Rajapakse’s term

COLOMBO - A senior Sri Lankan minister Sunday rejected reports that the government was considering moves to extend President Mahinda Rajapakse’s term for another six years without an election.

Rights groups call for international probe into wartime abuses in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Human rights groups called Thursday for an international investigation into wartime abuses in Sri Lanka, saying the government lacks the political will to investigate the incidents on its own.

Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers try to pick up pieces after defeat, pledging nonviolence

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels are trying to rise from the ashes of their devastating battlefield defeat, swearing off violence and pledging to transform their internationally shunned terror group into a democratic movement for Tamil statehood.

Pope taps Vatican official, Archbishop Ranjith, to head Colombo, Sri Lanka archdiocese

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI has named a Vatican official, Monsignor Albert Malcolm Ranjith, to head the Colombo, Sri Lanka archdiocese.

Sri Lanka inquiry into rights abuses ends with less than half its cases investigated

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A Sri Lankan government investigation into human rights abuses during its war with Tamil Tiger rebels has been disbanded with more than half of its cases unresolved, an official said Tuesday.

Amnesty accuses Sri Lanka of failing to properly investigate human rights abuses in war

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan government never seriously investigated reports of human rights abuses during 25 years of civil war and needs to rapidly overhaul its justice system to bring peace to the country, Amnesty International said Thursday.

Amnesty accuses Sri Lanka of failing to properly investigate human rights abuses

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan government has never seriously investigated human rights abuses allegedly committed during 25 years of civil war and needs to rapidly overhaul its justice system to bring peace to the country, Amnesty International said Thursday.

Canadian lawmaker to be deported from Sri Lanka

COLOMBO - A Canadian parliamentarian is to be deported from Sri Lanka on the grounds that he was a sympathiser of the Tamil rebel movement, senior government officials said Wednesday.

Canadian lawmaker deported from Sri Lanka (Lead)

COLOMBO - Canadian MP Bob Rae was deported from Sri Lanka Wednesday after accused of being a Tamil Tiger sympathiser, a charge the veteran politician dubbed “a lie, pure and simple”.

Sri Lanka denies entry to Canadian lawmaker, a critic of its war conduct

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka denied entry Wednesday to a Canadian lawmaker who was outspoken in his criticism of the military’s war against the Tamil Tiger rebels, an official said.

Sri Lanka extends emergency to deal with Tamil Tiger remnants

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka’s parliament Tuesday extended the state of emergency in the country to deal with the “remnants” of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that was defeated in a major military offensive last month, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said.

Sri Lanka turns away ship carrying aid for displaced Tamils

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka’s navy Monday turned away a vessel carrying relief aid for displaced Tamils after detaining the vessel and questioning its crew for three days.

Dream of independent Tamil state in Lanka is still very strong: CSM

COLOMBO - Tamil intellectuals say the dream of an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka is still strong, but decades of war and upheaval have soured many ordinary Tamils on the idea.

Sri Lanka Navy detains vessel carrying relief aid for displaced

COLOMBO - The Sri Lanka navy Thursday detained a vessel reported to be carrying relief aid from Britain for displaced persons in the northern part of the country, a military spokesman said.

King Rajapaksa? Sri Lankan president lionized after military’s defeat of Tamil Tigers

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — President Mahinda Rajapaksa, criticized internationally for his conduct of the war against the Tamil Tigers, has been all but crowned king inside Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka calls for new era in international relations (Lead)

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa Wednesday said it was time to start a new era in foreign relations after the end of the war with the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Sri Lankan president urges military to win over Tamil minority in wake of war

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s president urged the military on Wednesday to win over the Tamil people and to ensure they live without “fear or suspicion” in the wake of the army’s victory over Tamil separatist rebels.

Aid workers forced to leave Sri Lanka under strict new visa rules

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka is reportedly hampering international relief efforts by forcing dozens of British and other foreign aid workers to leave the country because it considers them sympathetic to the defeated Tamil Tigers, The Times has learnt.