Category: Breaking News

The British Prime Minister praised British Tamils for their invaluable contribution to the United Kingdom.

The British Prime Minister hosted a reception at his residence in Number 10 Downing Street on Monday evening, where he praised British Tamils for their invaluable contribution to the United Kingdom.

“There’s a huge contribution of the Tamil community to our nation,” said Starmer, as he addressed a crowd of British Tamils.“The richness and generosity of the Tamil community overflows, bringing light and hope to the entire country. Your history, your heritage, reminding us all of our need for community and solidarity.”

“It’s really fantastic just to look around this room and see you all here in Downing Street. Yes, it is my house. Yes, it is the centre of government. But it’s where you should be as well—not just as guests, but here to put your fingerprints on what we do as a government.”

“Treat this place like your house just as much as it is my house,” he added.

Speaking on how some Tamils in the audience can trace their heritage back to a history that “comes with suffering and pain,” Starmer added, “You are not just welcome – You are a vital part of our nation.”

The Prime Minister went on to talk about hopes for a “better future for our children, not just here at home but around the world, especially back in Sri Lanka”.

“This government is absolutely committed to supporting efforts towards equality, truth, and justice, so Tamils can look towards a better and more secure future in Sri Lanka and here in Britain,” he added.

“Thank you – for enriching our nation. Let us hope and work together for a new season of light and abundance this Thai Pongal.”

Speaking shortly before the prime minister was Uma Kumaran, the UK’s first ever MP of Eelam Tamil heritage, who paid tribute to the work of British Tamils which “spans healthcare, education, technology, business, arts, culture, and politics.”

“Together, our community has shown such resilience and determination – but I’m proud to say that we are thriving in the UK and globally,” said Kumaran to applause from the audience.

“Though I was born here, I understand the struggles that generations of Tamils have been through,” she continued. “I watched my own parents rebuild their lives in the UK.”

“I know – and I feel – the absence of justice for Tamils globally. And I feel the weight of duty to use my voice to shine a light on this injustice. I will do all that I can to secure accountability and justice, so that we can move forward as a community.”

“It was inspiring to bring together members of our community who are thriving across the UK – contributing to our NHS, excelling in education, driving innovation in business, science and tech, and enriching our culture through the arts and sports,” added Kumaran after the event.

“As the first British MP of Tamil heritage, I know how important it is for young people and the next generation of change makers to see themselves reflected in politics and public life. This event is not just a celebration of Tamil culture but also a recognition of the British values of hard work, gratitude, and community that Tamils embody and celebrate.”

The evening was filled with entertainment, including from Bharatanatyam dancer Tharenya Sriharan who was introduced by Starmer to the stage.

The celebration of Thai Pongal at the British Prime Minister’s residence has become an annual tradition in the British political calendar.

The first round of talks between the United National Party (UNP) and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) to explore the possibility of working together in the future, has been successful.

Representatives from both parties state that they agreed to contest the upcoming elections under a united front.

At the previous general elections, the UNP and SJB contested separately, and as a result, representatives and party members from both sides repeatedly pointed out that they were unable to achieve significant victories.

Given the situation, there were strong calls from both parties to reunite.

Accordingly, representatives from the UNP and SJB met at a private hotel in Colombo last night to initiate discussions on working together once again.

UNP members Ruwan Wijewardene, Thalatha Athukorala, Gayantha Karunathilaka, Harshana Rajakaruna, and several others participated in the discussion.

Claiming that enforcing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) is not the policy of the government, Leader of the House, Minister Bimal Ratnayake said today that the PTA needs to be used carefully until a new Act is enacted.

He told Parliament that the government business has to continue until new Acts are enacted.

The Minister said this while respondig to a question by SJB MP Rauff Hakeem that the government is enforcing the PTA where ITAC MP S. Sridharan, who was leaving to Tamil nadu, was disturbed by the Emmigration officials at the VIP lounge of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) saying that there was a travel ban on him.

MP Hakeem said there should be a court order to impose a travel ban and that there was no such court order and added that after explaining them, MP Shridaran was allowed to proceed.

Minister Ratnayake said the Controller General of Immigration and Emmigration has been instructed to look into the matter and submit a report and the Deputy Minister of Defence has also been informed to look into the matter.

He said it is not clear whether this is a misuse of the PTA and added that it has not been not done based on government policy or guidance.

China will build a large exhibition and convention centre in Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port City, as a grant project, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said.

The centre will be bigger than the Bandaranaike Memorial International Convention Hall (BMICH) he said.

“This will be able to hold large conventions and make it a big hub in South Asia,” President Dissanayake said in a public meeting, Sunday.

“We will start it very quickly.”

According to the published plan of the Port City, a convention centre with 20,000-30,000 square metres of event space, a 3,000-seater auditorium, 4,000-seater multi-purpose space, and a 400 to 450-key business hotel with meeting rooms and breakout spaces was expected to come up.

In addition, China is also giving a 500 million yuan grant (about 68 million US dollars), President Dissanayake said.

“This is about 20 billion rupees,” President Dissanayake said. “We can use it to reduce rural poverty and develop public services.”

China also had an advanced agricultural sector with high yields. China had agreed to give technical assistance to boost yields, he said.

Sri Lanka has agreed to resolve issues on water, land and tax on a planned 3.7 billion US dollar oil refinery by China’s Sinopec in Hambantota, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said.

The new administration discussed with China and agreed to fast track the refinery which has been in the works for several years, he said.

“We said we are ready,” Minister Herath said in a late night talk show on Sri Lanka’s Derana Television Monday.

“There is a water problem. There is a requirement for more land. There is a problem with tax.

“We said we will discuss these and we signed the agreement. Within a month both sides will discuss and give solutions to the three problems and take it forward. We fast-tracked it.”

China had originally put forward the idea for a refinery in 2004, he said.

The National People’s Power still had reservations about fuel distribution being given to foreign companies including Sinopec but there were legal agreements now in place which had to be respected, Minister Herath said.

Sri Lanka expects to grow 40,000 acres of coconut in the North as part of efforts for long term expansion of the crop and also give free fertilizer to small holders Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Samantha Viddyarathna said.

Sri Lanka’s coconut prices have soared amid import controls and a crop shortfall.

“We have taken steps to grow 40,000 acres of coconut in the Northern coconut triangle,” Minister Viddyarathna told parliament.

“We have asked 1,437 million rupees from the budget for that. This will have results in the long term.”

Some of Sri Lanka’s traditional coconut are located in areas which are fast developing and where the land has higher yielding uses.

Sri Lanka’s then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa banned fertilizer following advice from the Government Medical Officers Association which was followed by a massive currency crises after macro-economists printed money on top of tax cuts to boost growth.

Fertilizer prices soared in the crisis while supplies were also short.

Sri Lanka also 39,883 acres of coconut state plantations but they also have not got fertilizer for the past five years, Minister Viddyarathna said.

“Where there is no fertilizer the crops decline,” he said. “There were also weather impacts.”

Heavy rains tend to drench flowers and reduce pollination, according to some in the coconut sector.

Rains have continued this year.

Sri Lanka has obtained 55,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer from Russia of which 27,500 was reserved for coconut small holders.

“We have decided to give free fertilizer to coconut land owners with less than 5 acres.”

Sri Lanka has a number of export industries including powdered milk, shell charcoal and coir which are also facing higher costs and raw material difficulties due to crop shortfall and import restrictions on raw coconuts.