2-Sri Lanka-flagged ship sinks in Bay

A ship carrying more than 3,000 tonnes of rice from India sank near the outer anchorage of Bangladesh's Chittagong port on Wednesday, port officials said.

They said the Sri Lanka-flagged vessel Badulu Valley was in collision with an empty, anchored Chinese oil tanker called Heng Zhou, and sank in the Bay of Bengal during the afternoon.

Port officials had earlier said the vessel was carrying a Singapore flag.

Port officials had also earlier given the name of the vessel as M.V. Batulu but the agent for the ship later corrected this.

"The ship sank in the bay with its 17 crew on board," a port official said.

Tugboats from the port authority and the Bangladesh Navy rescued 16 crew members, he said, but the fate of the remaining member was unknown.

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SAARC leaders to meet on August 2

Foreign Affairs Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee are set to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Council of Ministers meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Corporation on Thursday (today).

The two-day ministers meeting is commencing from today's morning at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall. According to the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, India, Bhutan and Bangladesh had arrived here on Wednesday.

Pranab Mukherjee was holding a series of bilateral meetings with other ministers including an important interaction with Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a diplomat said. However, he refused to divulge the agenda for the talks between Qureshi and Mukherjee.

A Pakistani diplomat also confirmed that Qureshi, who has a detail meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart, is scheduled to meet with the Indian minister today at the Conference Hall. In his arrival statement, Qureshi said that Pakistan and Sri Lanka have traditionally enjoyed close friendly relations.

The relations between the two were based on mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in each other's state, he said.

PM to attend SAARC summit in Colombo: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani will leave for Colombo on August 2, after his US tour where he will participate in the 15th South Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit.

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http://thepost.com.pk/IsbNewsT.aspx?dtlid=175295&catid=17

Sri Lanka Assumes SAARC Chair

Sri Lanka assumed the presidency of the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), made up of eight countries, which are preparing projects for the 15th Regional Summit to be held from August 2-3.

The 25th session of that panel discussed the agenda of the important event that will gather Head of States from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Falkland Islands, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan, which entered as full member.

It was also announced that they finished an agreement that was ready to be signed, devoted to establish the Developmemnt Fund of SAARC, which will allocate resources for this economic, social, and infrastructural phenomenon of the organization member countries.

The eight heads of States and Governments will arrive in Sri Lanka Thursday and Friday, under an unprecedented security mechanism in Colombo.

The Summit will be attended by Prime Ministers from Bhutan, Jigme Thinley, India and Pakistan Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani, and Presidentes of the Falklands, Afghanistan and the host country, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Hamid Karzai, and Mahinda Rajapaksa, respectively.

Top level delegations from China, the European Union, Iran, Mauricio, Japan, South Korea and the United States will participate as observers.

Extracted from,
http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?

Sri Lanka plans foolproof security for SAARC summit

The Tamil Tigers may have announced a unilateral 10-day truce but the Sri Lankan government is leaving nothing to chance for the upcoming SAARC summit. It has deployed 19,000 additional security personnel to provide foolproof protection for the visiting leaders.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) truce between July 26 and Aug 4 was rejected by the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa as "a trap".

The 15th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) starts at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall here Aug 2. It will be attended by leaders of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

All these leaders will bring their own personnel to personally look after their security but media reports in Colombo and India indicate that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will come with scores of elite Black Cats. India is also sending helicopters and bulletproof cars.

Military spokesperson Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the Sri Lankan police and security forces would be in charge of the security cover for the summit.

"About 19,000 additional troops, including police personnel, will be deployed for the summit. It is a well coordinated security plan to ensure the best security cover for the summit," Nanayakkara told IANS.

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Sri Lankan envoy visits BEPZA

High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Bangladesh Vadivel Krishnamorthy along with some potential Sri Lankan investors visited the office of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) here on Monday.

Their visit was followed by a discussion with executive chairman of BEPZA Brig. General Jamil Ahmed Khan, said a press release on Tuesday.

The BEPZA chairman apprised the envoy of the performance and present initiatives of the authority. They also discussed issues relating to mutual interest.

The Sri Lankan envoy appreciated the role and management of EPZs by the BEPZA and assured the BEPZA chairman of all possible cooperation in the development pursuit undertaken by the organisation.

Brig. General Jamil reiterated that the main attraction of the EPZs is peaceful investment climate and its success lies in uninterrupted production oriented working atmosphere and the congenial relationship existing between the workers and the investors. He sought cooperation for more investment from Sri Lanka.

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http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/06/04/news0450.htm

Sri Lanka Navy rescues a Burmese Vessel in Distress off Eastern Coast

Sri Lanka Navy today (3rd March 2008) rescued a vessel load of illegal foreign job seekers who had been marooned for 13 days at sea at a distance of 150 nautical miles off the Eastern coast of Sri Lanka.

The wooden hull vessel with 91 persons on board had left from Cox’s Bazaar located on the Burmese and Bangladeshi boarder on the 9th February. The passengers comprised of 67 Burmese nationals and 24 Bangladeshi persons. They were heading for Thailand and Malaysia for lucrative employment.

The vessel had developed an engine defect on the 20th and begun to drift for 13 days until it was rescued by the Sri Lanka Navy. According to the passengers on the vessel, 20 of their colleagues had died of starvation and dehydration due to the lack of food and water.

The Navy launched the search operation for the vessel after they had been alerted of a sighting of a suspicious vessel by the fishermen off Mulaithievu on the Eastern Coast of Sri Lanka.

The ill-fated vessel is now being towed to the Trincomalee Harbour by the Navy after providing food and medical treatment to the 71 passengers who were lucky enough to be alive after the 13-day ordeal at sea.

Sri Lanka Navy has appraised the respective embassies and diplomatic missions of the incident.

Extracted from,
http://www.navy.lk/index.php?id=715

India show brotherly love to Sri Lanka

Living up to their status of the regional big brothers, the Indian cricket board has always stood by their counterparts in Sri Lanka. This time, it promises to be no different.

The mandarins at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are already looking at options to help the Lankan board following the request of Arjuna Ranatunga, currently at the helm of Lankan cricket. "There is a possibility of hosting some off-shore matches between us, and we are trying to find out a slot when our cricketers are free," said Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary.

Speaking to Gulf News, Shah said they would work out a solution soon because of the "brotherly relation" that the boards of two countries enjoy. Incidentally, the two countries, alongwith Pakistan and Bangladesh, will host the third World Cup in the sub-continent in 2011.

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http://www.gulfnews.com/sport/Cricket/10188349.html

SLC offers to host Asia Cup

Sri Lanka has approached Pakistan with an offer to host the upcoming Asia Cup cricket tournament as violence continues to wrack the country, the island's cricket chief said today.

The six-nation limited-overs tournament is scheduled to be played in Pakistan in June, but instability following last month's murder of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has put sporting fixtures under threat.

“We have written and asked Pakistan if we can host the Asia Cup,” Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) chief Arjuna Ranatunga said on the sidelines of a news conference to promote tourism.
“It's a sensitive issue, but we will understand if Pakistan refuse us,” said Ranatunga, who led Sri Lanka to victory in the 1996 World Cup.

Defending champions Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates and Oman are due to take part in the tournament, the continent's premier One-Day International event.

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http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=5&theme=&u

India slashes customs duties on 4800 items from SAARC

India has scrapped import duty on more than 4,800 items from four neighbouring countries and reduced customs tariff on these products from Pakistan and Sri Lanka as part of efforts to boost trade in South Asia.

"The import duty has been reduced from 16-40 per cent to zero level on items like meat, fish, milk, dairy products, and dry fruits from the neighbouring least developing countries (LDCs) - Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives," a Finance Ministry official said.

However, the duty rates on these items have been reduced to 12-20 per cent on goods imported from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The new rates come into effect from January 1.

All pharmaceutical products and drugs can now be imported at 10 per cent duty from LDCs, as against 12.5 per cent duty earlier. However, tariff on drugs has not been cut in case of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Finance Ministry notification said.

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http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14584102

Sri Lanka complete sweep of Bangladesh series

Muttiah Muralitharan ended the match with his 700th wicket as Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 193 runs in the final Test in Kandy on Saturday to win the series 3-0.

Bangladesh, trailing by 369 runs on the first innings, were dismissed for 176 in their second innings just before tea on the fourth day at the Asgiriya Stadium.

Muralitharan, who claimed six wickets in each innings, is now just nine scalps away from surpassing retired Australian Shane Warne's world record of 708 wickets.

The off-spinner had last man Syed Rasel caught by Farveez Maharoof in the deep to become only the second bowler after Warne to take 700 wickets.

Sri Lanka, who won all three Tests by innings margins, will now meet the tourists in a three-match one-day series starting in Colombo on July 20.

Extracted from,
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/14/1978713.htm

Bogollagama to bring sacred hair relic to Lanka

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama yesterday said he would bring the Lord Buddha’s scared hair relic offered by the Chittagong Buddhist Viharaya to Sri Lanka next Thursday, while Asgiriya Chapter Mahanayake Most Venerable Udugama Sri Buddharakkita Thera would also be part of the Sri Lankan delegation to visit Bangladesh to accept the historic relic.

The sacred hair relic has been offered to the Madampe Senanayake Aramaya by the Chittagong Buddhist Viharaya on a request made by its Chief Patron Keerthi Senanayake.

Addressing a news conference in Colombo, the Minister said the sacred relic would officially be handed over to him by his counterpart in Bangladesh. The sacred hair relic will be brought to the country on July 19 to coincide with the government’s plan to celebrate the Thoppigala victory in the East. The celebration was earlier scheduled for July 16 but later postponed by three days.

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http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/07/14/front/03.asp