Britain relaxes restrictions on travel to Sri Lanka

October 9th, 2009 Sri Lanka goes dark in nationwide blackoutCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka — An official says a power blackout plunged all of Sri Lanka into darkness for a few hours Friday because of a technical fault at an electricity distribution center. A spokesman for the power and energy ministry says the blackout affected almost all parts of the Indian Ocean island nation for few hours early Friday.

October 5th, 2009 Let the music play, senator says of canceled tripWASHINGTON — U.S. restrictions on travel to Cuba that led to the New York Philharmonic calling off a trip to the communist country are outrageous and should be ended, a senator who has long called for lifting trade and travel restraints said Monday.

October 2nd, 2009 LONDON - Convicted terrorists in Britain will have to notify authorities of where they live and changes of address as well as report any foreign travel plans. Individuals found guilty of terrorism and terror-related offences will be subjected to notification requirements and foreign travel regulations similar to those that apply to sex offenders, Policing and Security Minister David Hanson said.

August 19th, 2009 LONDON - A report prepared by the Commons Committee on Arms Export Controls has revealed that British weapons may have been used against Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, and now, this is prompting calls for a review of the arms trade. According to The Times, the committee has argued that all existing licenses to Sri Lanka should be investigated.

July 18th, 2009 SILIGURI - The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), spearheading a protest demanding a separate Gorkhaland state, Saturday partly opened the National Highway 31-A, a key route connecting West Bengal and Sikkim. "We've decided to allow only those vehicles which have Sikkim number plates.

June 15th, 2009 YANGON - Myanmar and Sri Lanka strengthened diplomatic relations over the weekend with the signing of two agreements that eased visa restrictions and pledged cooperation in the tourism sector, media reports said Monday. The two agreements were signed Sunday when Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa paid a state visit to Myanmar's new capital of Naypyitaw at the invitation of junta chief Senior General Than Shwe, The New Light of Myanmar, a government mouthpiece, reported.

June 2nd, 2009 LONDON/COLOMBO - Britain approved commercial weapon sales of over 13.6 million pounds, including armoured vehicles, machinegun components and semi-automatic pistols to the Sri Lanka Army, official records show.ccording to The Times, Slovakia provided 10,000 rockets worth .1 million pounds, while Bulgaria approved sales of guns and ammunition worth 1.75 million pounds. Only Slovakia has confirmed delivery of rockets, but the approval of the sales raises the question of whether weapons from the EU were used in the last five months of Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war, during which UN officials estimate that 20,000 civilians were killed.

May 29th, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Malaysia Dr D.D. Ranasinghe has described Malaysian Indians who participated in Sunday's protest rally against alleged Lankan Tamil atrocities as "jokers".

May 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan will be leaving for Sri Lanka Wednesday afternoon to discuss the rehabilitation of Tamil civilians in the war-ravaged island nation.

April 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress, India's main ruling party, Wednesday urged Sri Lanka to declare ceasefire to resolve the humanitarian crisis in the island nation and allow Tamil civilians to move out of the conflict zone. 'The Indian National Congress calls upon the Sri Lankan government to declare a ceasefire so that the humanitarian crisis can be resolved in a demonstrable way,' the party said in a statement.

April 20th, 2009 COLOMBO - At least 17 people were killed in a suicide bomb blast in Sri Lanka Monday, the defence ministry said.

February 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Eyeing the increasing number of Indian tourists to Britain, the British tourism authority Wednesday launched a new initiative to facilitate their travel to the country. The authority, VisitBritain, launched a range of popular travel products that travellers can buy in India before flying to Britain.

February 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government is alive to the threat of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) attempting to infiltrate its operatives into south India via Sri Lanka and has taken steps to counter this, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Wednesday.

February 3rd, 2009 COLOMBO - The US and Britain have called for a 'temporary' truce in Sri Lanka to let civilians trapped by fighting between the Tamil Tigers and the military to leave for safer areas. A joint statement issued following a meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in Washington Tuesday expressed 'serious concern' about the 'deteriorating humanitarian situation in northern Sri Lanka caused by the ongoing hostilities'.

January 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Sri Lanka Wednesday sought India's help in strengthening tourism to meet the challenges posed by the global meltdown. The issue was discussed in a meeting between Tourism Minister Ambika Soni and her Sri Lankan counterpart Milinda Moragoda, who also expressed keenness to participate in the travel marts organised by India, including the Great Indian Travel Bazar to be held in April.