Commonwealth Meeting 2013 Was Inaugurated In Colombo

The Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting 2013 was inaugurated this morning at Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksha Theater in Colombo by the Prince Of Wales ,Prince Charles .heads of states and delegates representing 53 commonwealth countries have attended the colorful  inauguration ceremony contains  local dances and other cultural items.

The prince of wales,British Prime Minister David Cameron,Sri Lankan President  Mahinda Rajapaksha and Commonwealth Secretary Kamalesh Sharma have addressed the gathering.

The theme of this year's summit is “Growth with Equity; Inclusive Development"following the inauguration ceremony ,the heads of states attending the summit will meet and discuss important issues related to their countries .the venue for the discussions is Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall(BMICH) in Colombo.

UNP To Boycott The Colombo CHOGM Summit

The main opposition  United National Party(UNP) has decided to completely boycott the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting scheduled to be commenced tomorrow(15) in Colombo the general secretary of UNP Tissa Attanayake has said today(14)earlier UNP has decided to participate the opening ceremony of commonwealth summit.

UNP has decided to boycott the summit due to the harassment of government towards UNP the secretary has stated.

Prince Charles Arrives In Sri Lanka To Inauguarte Commonwealth Summit

Britain's Prince Charles has arrived Sri Lanka this evening to inaugurate the 23rd edition of Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting(CHOGM) scheduled to be held from 15th to 17th of November on behalf of his mother the Queen Elizabeth the second.the prince was assisted with his wife the Duchess of Cornwell and they are here on a  three day official visit .

Today(14) is the 65th Birth Day of Prince Charles as well.during his participation to  the Commonwealth Meeting the prince will host several events on behalf of Queen who is the head of Commonwealth Summit including the inauguration of Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting tomorrow(15) morning , a dinner for the heads of the government and a reception for the business leaders.

Prince Charles is due to visit hill Country on Saturday and the places among he is due to visit are Historic Tooth Relic In Kandy,British Garrison Cemetery and Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya.at nuwara eliya he is due to visit a tea estate and a center for disability children run by  a British male with his sri lankan wife there.

Meanwhile a reception was held this evening at Westminster House to celebrate the birthday of prince Charles.president mahinda rajapaksha too hosted a birthday party for prince with traditional sweet meets .

Two Special Stamps To Mark CHOGM In Colombo

Two postal stamps worth Rs.5 and Rs.25 with special postal covers were issued this morning to commemorate the Commonwealth Heads Of Government meeting scheduled to be held on 15-17th November in Colombo.the newly issued stamps with postal covers were handed over to the president mahinda rajapakasha.

Channel-4 T.V Crew Has Abandoned Their Journey To Northern Sri Lanka After Protestors Blocked Their Train In Half Way

The visiting Six  member T.V crew of  Channel-4 T.V in Britain including the  controversial Journalist  Callum Macrae has sent back to Colombo by a special van this morning after the train they were traveled in to heart of Northern Province Kilinochchi was blocked by a group of protestors at Anuradhapura City(North Central Province) .

When the train reached Anuradhapura City, hundreds of protestors were sat on the rail way track and refused to allow the train which carrying hundreds of other passengers as well to continue their journey according to sources.the channel-4 t.v crew including their editor Ben de pear have stuck in Anuradhapura around two hours before abandoned their journey to kilinochchi and returned Colombo sources have added.

After allowing them to cover the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting scheduled to be held in Colombo from 15th to 17th of this month Channel-4 T.V crew including  Callum Macrae arrived Colombo yesterday(12) .they have catch an early morning train today to go to kilinochchi and after reached Anuradhapura City they have faced this incident.

Although the police officers have intervened in the incident the protestors who were blocked the rail track have repeatedly requested the Channel-4 team to return to Colombo.protestors have also accused the t.v crew for  taking funds from the defeated local terrorist group LTTE and  making controversial documentaries against Sri Lanka.

As Sri Lankan Government as well as the president mahinda rajapaksha repeatedly promised the invited guests for the commonwealth summit will have free access too all parts of the country channel-4 t.v crew has informed the incident to president's office and to the British High Commission in Colombo.

The Sri Lankan government has earlier announced  that all protests were  banned in run up to the commonwealth summit.

Commonwealth Business Forum Has Inaugurated In Colombo

The Commonwealth Business Forum has inaugurated  today (12) by president Mahinda Rajapaksha at Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo with the participation of around 1500 delegates from Commonwealth Countries including key businessmen and head of states.the three day Business Forum has scheduled to be concluded on 14th of November.

Around 67 delegates from non commonwealth countries are also participating this forum according to sources.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka Chamber Of Commerce has already  prepared around 50 investment projects for the Business Forum related to Tourism,Agriculture,Fisheries,Education,Information Technology and many more fields according to sources.

One of the  key businessmen who are  to address the Commonwealth Business Forum is Australian Businessman James Packer .however as he has arrived Sri Lanka with a tourist visa the main opposition party in the country United National Party(UNP) has lodged a complaint at Police Headquarters by requesting
arrest him  as he is attending the summit under tourist visa.

A Group Of Protestors Demonstrated Against Arrival Of Channel-4 T.V Crew

A group of protestors have demonstrated against the visit of British Channel-4 T.V crew lead by Callum Macrae at the lobby of Katunayake Bandaranaike International Air Port this evening soon after  the T.V Crew has arrived Sri Lanka.Channel -4 T.V Crew has left the Air Port only after the protestors  dispersed from the area sources said.

A group called "Movement To Promote National Harmony" has organized this protest campaign and nearly 100 protestors have participated the protest  sources further added.later the protestors have held a demonstration in front of Jaic Hilton Hotel where Macrae is staying.