Abbott, Gotabaya visit Sayura

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott visited Sri Lanka Navy vessel Sayura this morning at Colombo Port. Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Navy Commander Vice Admiral Jayanath Colambage participated at the event. Pix by Pradeep Pathirana 

Devotees observe IL Poya

Devotees gathered at the Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo today and engaged in religious activities to mark IL Poya Day. Pix by Nisal Baduge

Commonwealth puts on united front

Commonwealth leaders signed agreements Sunday on issues such as poverty and development as they staged a show of unity after a summit in Sri Lanka dominated by a bitter dispute over war crimes.

Centre urged to pass resolution on SL

The DMK-backed Tamil Eelam Supporters Organization (TESO) on Sunday demanded the Center move a resolution in the Parliament seeking an international probe into the alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.

MR defies Cameron

President Mahinda Rajapaksa directly responding to the British Prime Minister David Cameron warned the latter against “dictating” to him.

Malta to host CHOGM 2015

Malta is to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2015 following a unanimous decision this morning by the Commonwealth heads of government.

Video: Abbott donates patrol boats to SL

The Australian government will donate two retired patrol boats to the Sri Lankan Navy today in a gesture aimed at securing the sustained co-operation in operations against people smuggling of a force long rumoured to have had a hand in the illegal trade ???

Key dovish on Sri Lanka, wins elephant

New Zealand has gained an elephant and Prime Minister John Key has fired off a tweet to someone who isn't the British prime minister while attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

PC and wife fatally stabbed, son injured

A Police constable (PC) and his wife were allegedly hacked to death late last night in Kambrupitiya, while their two-year-old son who also received injuries is currently being treated at the Matara Hospital.

Prince visits Kandy

Children were seen eagerly greeting Prince Charles when he visited the Temple of Tooth in Kandy yesterday. Pix by Kushan Pathiraja

Road closures today

Several roads in Colombo and the Colombo-Katunayake expressway would be closed intermittently for a short periods today due the VVIP movement, Police said

Collision kills five

Five people including three women, a boy and a girl were killed and 20 people were injured in an accident when a van collided with a private bus at  Thalathuoya in Kandy this morning, police said. Pictures

Maldives election: Yameen wins run-off vote

Abdulla Yameen has won the presidential election run-off vote in the Maldives.Mr Yameen secured 51.3% of the vote, compared with 48.6% for ex-President Mohamed Nasheed, the Election Commission said.

Spouses of Commonwealth Heads at Gangarama

Spouses of Commonwealth Heads of the Government and other delegates visited the Gangarama Temple today. Pix by Pradeep Dilrukshana

Engrossed in conversation

President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, seen in a conversation at the ‘Seventh Commonwealth Federation Sports Breakfast’ at Waters Edge in Battaramulla today. Pix by presidential media unit

Import tax on potatoes and onions reduced

The Ministry of Finance and Planning announced today that the import tax on 1 Kilogram of potatoes is to be reduced by Rs. 30, big onion by Rs.25 and red onion by Rs.10 with effect from midnight of today

Cameron meets Murali

Visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron met world famous Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan in Colombo, the BBC reported.

Miss France 2014 contestants in SL

Thirty three contestants who qualified for the Miss France 2014 Finale along with reigning Miss France Marine Lorphelin who is also the first runner up in 2013 Miss World arrived in Sri Lanka today on a tour. Pix by Deepa Adikari

We will resist any international inquiry: Govt.

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said today that Sri Lanka would resist any international inquiry as a policy of the government because it believed that there was no need for an international inquiry within a short span of time now that the government had done its best in the reconciliation process

Video: Cameron issues ultimatum on SL

British Prime Minister David Cameron said today that he will "fully back an international investigation" into alleged war crimes, if Sri Lanka fails to establish a credible mechanism to investigate the allegations, by March 2014.

Cameron was using SL visit to win UK Tamil concerns-MR

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ‘suggested’ that visiting UK Prime Minister David Cameron was using the visit to win favour with the Tamil community in the UK, the UK’s The Guardian reported. Pictures

Mauritius pulls out of hosting 2015 CHOGM: PM

Mauritius will not host the next Commonwealth summit in 2015 as planned because of its boycott of this weekend's meeting in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Navin Chandra Ramgoolam told British television

I wanted our PM to visit Jaffna first: Khurshid

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid expressed regret on Friday that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could not visit Jaffna, a feat undertaken by his British counterpart David Cameron, who became the first head of government to visit the war-torn Northern Province in Sri Lanka since its independence in 1948

Colombo cool

The Met Department yesterday forecast gloomy weather with low temperatures in most parts of the country with heavy showers of up to 150mm in the North and East resulting from a tropical depression developing in the Bay of Bengal.said the depression was located 300km to the East of Jaffna and 200km to the North-East of Trincomalee.

Roads closed today

NZ sits on fence on SL war crimes

New Zealand Foreign minister Murray McCully returned from the Tamil-led north of Sri Lanka last night and indicated he believes New Zealand should not support an independent investigation into war crimes.

Elephants also play a part

Elephants bearing national flags of Commonwealth member-countries welcomed each of the representatives as they walked into the BMICH today. Pix by Kushan Pathiraja

Abbott expected to unveil Sri Lanka boat deal

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is expected to soon unveil a new deal with Sri Lanka on stopping asylum seeker boats.

Macrae faces another obstacle

Channel-4 journalist Callum Macrae is seen speaking to the media after he was refused entrance to this evening’s media briefing at the BMICH at which president Mahinda Rajapaksa was also present. Pix by Pradeep Dilrukshana

PM not at CHOGM due to domestic compulsions: Khurshid

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided against attending the CHOGM summit as he was pressed by "competing sentiments" in India about outstanding issues with Sri Lanka and domestic compulsions like polls in five states, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has said.