World News

Sri Lanka Earned Record $3.5 Billion From Tourism in 2016

January 7, 2017

Sri Lanka earned a record $3.5 billion from tourism in 2016, seven years after the end of a devastating civil war, a government minister said.But sources in the industry warned that the post-war boom could be short-lived as planned airport closures forced the cancellation of international flights. [...]

Protest over Hambantota port deal turns violent

January 7, 2017

Several people have been injured in southern Sri Lanka during a protest against allowing China to build a port and industrial zone.The plan envisages the eviction of thousands of villagers around Hambantota port, 240km (150 miles) south-east of the capital Colombo. Police used tear gas as the [...]

No Volkswagen AG involvement in Kuliyapitiya assembly plant : German Embassy

January 6, 2017

There is no involvement of German carmaker Volkswagen AG in the project to set up an assembly plant at Kuliyapitiya in the Kurunegala district, a spokesman for the German Embassy said today. “SENOK Trade Combine (Pvt) Ltd. and BOI are the parties of the contract signed on 13th August 2015,” [...]

Thousands still stranded in northeast Malaysia floods

January 5, 2017

Rantau Panjang (Malaysia) (AFP) – Thousands of people remained stranded in relief centres Thursday as northeast Malaysia struggled to recover from severe flooding and residents raised fears of looting. But the number of people displaced in the states of Kelantan and Terengganu fell to about [...]

ASP Liyanage appointed ambassador to Qatar

January 3, 2017

President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed politician turned businessman – A.S.P. Liyanage as the ambassador to Qatar, reports say. He has been appointed as the ambassador on Dec. 31, we learn. Speaking to Reporters,Mr. Liyanage verified the report. Anura Liyanage (known as A.S.P Liyanage) [...]

Kim says N. Korea in ‘final stages’ of test launching InterCon Missile

January 1, 2017

North Korea is in the “final stages” of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile, leader Kim Jong-Un said Sunday, adding the country had significantly bolstered its nuclear deterrent in 2016. “We are in the final stages of test-launching the intercontinental ballistic [...]

Burundi Minister assassinated: Police

January 1, 2017

Nairobi (AFP) – Burundi’s environment minister was shot dead in the capital Bujumbura early Sunday, police said, the first assassination of its kind since the country was plunged into political turmoil in 2015. Emmanuel Niyonkuru, 54, the country’s water, environment and planning [...]

Celebrations as the World ushers in New Year 2017

January 1, 2017

As 2016 drew to a close, revelers around the world are bidding a weary adieu to a year filled with political surprises, prolonged conflicts and deaths of legendary celebrities. Revelers around the world have been welcoming 2017 with crackling fireworks displays and loud cheering, saying goodbye to [...]

At least 39 killed in New Year gun attack at Istanbul nightclub

January 1, 2017

At least one gunman shot his way into an Istanbul nightclub packed with hundreds of New Year’s revelers on Sunday, killing 39 people and wounding more than 40 in what the provincial governor described as a terrorist attack. One assailant shot a police officer and a civilian as he entered the [...]

Greek ambassador to Brazil murdered by wife’s cop lover: Police

December 31, 2016

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Greece’s ambassador to Brazil was murdered in a plot hatched by his Brazilian wife and her police officer lover, who confessed to the crime, officials said. The envoy, Kyriakos Amiridis, 59, was killed on Monday by the officer, Sergio Gomez Moreira, Rio homicide [...]