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The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau took their worldwide ‘Destination Sri Lanka’ and ‘Visit Sri Lanka 2011′ campaigns to the “New York Times 2010 Travel Show” It was held last at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Centre. Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dr. Palitha Kohona inaugurated the event.

Dillan Ariyawansa, Honorary Director for Sri Lanka Tourism in the USA said this was a fine opportunity for them to showcase the multitude of tourist attractions Sri Lanka has to offer. In addition, the New York Times has put Sri Lanka as the number one place to go this year. Despite having everything, and being known to everyone, Sri Lanka had not become the top destination until this year. Three decades of civil war made many parts of the island inaccessible, dried out the investment dollars, and kept the visitors away. That conflict finally ended last May. Mr. Ariyawansa said things have changed, peace has been established and everyone has started working together. He added that rebuilding tourism has become a top priority for both the Government and the private sector.

To add color, Channa and Upuli dance troupe from Sri Lanka performed as well, showcasing what an exotic destination Sri Lanka is. Interest in Sri Lanka was apparent with the excited crowds constantly around the booth, whether to pick up brochures or watch the dancers to learn more about the destination.

The Official Government News Portal of Sri Lanka

Overall economic conditions are improving as expected, and the economy is poised for a recovery this year. External balances are strong, remittance inflows continue at a high rate, tourism prospects are rapidly improving, and gross reserves remain at comfortable levels”, stated the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its press release at the conclusion of the IMF staff mission to Sri Lanka.

Ministry of Power & Energy in a press release this evening refutes baseless and damaging statements published by some Pro-opposition web site called Lanka Guardian on the February 23 with regard to the Norochcholai Power Plant. The statement in the questionable website alleged that many materials that are used in this project are of low quality. It added that the coating of some metal structures had already been displaced.

The pavilion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Deyata Kirula 2010 National Exhibition focuses on many areas of Sri Lankas foreign policy by tracing the origins of Sri Lankas first diplomatic engagement dating back to ancient times to modern day interactions with the international community across the globe. The Exhibition which was declared open today 4th February) by H. E President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Pallekalle, Kandy, will be open to the public until 10th February 2010.

Sri Lanka has been identified by the environment activist group Conservation International as one of the 25 biodiversity hot spots in the world. Sri Lanka’s tropical rain forest ecosystem is considered as an area which is disturbed by human activity, but still exceptionally rich in animal and plant species found nowhere else.

Sri Lanka is not prepared to be sold in order to regain the GSP plus facility from the European Union and will maintain its policy stand instead of giving in to any unfair demands, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal told Daily Mirror online.

In an interview with the website this evening the Governor also noted that the country will not be hurt by the loss of the GSP Plus concession from the EU as all the remedial measures have been taken to maintain the economy minus the trade concession.

Political Observers are baffled as to why the Election Petition filed by Sarath Fonseka failed to include the alleged computer fraud which the joint Opposition charged was the main reason for the defeat of their candidate at the January 26 poll.

So much so Mangala Samaraweera, Chief election strategist of General Fonseka in an interview with a Weekend newspaper described it as the first ever hi-tech election fraud in the world.

SriLankan Airlines introduced a whole new experience on ground and in the air with a change in the uniforms.The airline unveiled its new uniform for front line staff from cabin to ground crew yesterday. SriLankan Airlines CEO Manoj Gunawardena said: "We've struggled to stay airborne during the past two years. In the process we didn't deliberately set out to do anything new and revolutionary.

PHOENIX -- A girl was locked in a bathroom without running water for two months, beaten with metal rods, and forced to exercise until exhaustion because her father said she had stolen food and cheated on a home-school test, police said Wednesday.

Scott and Andrea Bass, the 14-year-old girl's father and stepmother, were arrested Feb.

Elections to the Sri Lankan Parliament would be held on April 8 and Parliament would convene on April 22, it was officially announced here on Wednesday. President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday night ordered the dissolution of Parliament with effect from midnight Wednesday, paving the way for a general election.

China is to build the world's highest airport, at an altitude of 4,436 metres (14,500ft), in Tibet. The construction, at Nagqu, is likely to be a daunting task given the altitude and climate, with average temperatures staying below zero throughout the year.The airport will be just 764 metres lower than the Mount Everest base camp One of the six airports in Tibet the Roof of the world. on the Chinese side, which is located 5,200 metres above sea level.Nagqu is in the centre of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, about 186 miles from the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, with a population of 400,000.

27 January 2010 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed relief today that Sri Lanka’s presidential elections have concluded relatively free of violence and he reiterated his call to the country’s political parties to abide by the official results and to pursue any concerns peacefully.

Sri Lanka’s Department of Elections announced today that the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa was re-elected President after obtaining nearly 58 per cent of the more than 10 million votes cast across the island country.

Polling in Sri Lanka’s presidential elections opened on Tuesday morning in the first national election to be held in the country since the defeat of the Tamil rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May.

Voting began at 7:00 am (0130 GMT) in some 11,000 polling stations with 14 million people registered to vote. Polling is to end at 4:00 pm (1030 GMT).

Australian scientists revealed on January 4, that they were shocked to discover that more than 40 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef's inshore areas are dominated by seaweed, China's Xinhua news agency reported. The weed invasion was found during a study in which they swam over 500 different sections of the reef to see what was thriving.

Compared to other countries Sri Lanka has a lot of resources to promote tourism in the region. There are less resorts in Sri Lanka compared to other countries such as the Maldives, said Sri Lanka Tourist Board, Director (Development), T. Suriyagoda at the Wayamba Investors and Exporters Forum on Monday at the Hotel Galadari.

Forging ahead with the airline's immense fleet expansion Emirates has taken delivery of its sixth Airbus A380 aircraft. The colossal aircraft landed in Dubai on 12th December after travelling from the Jürgen Thomas Delivery Centre in Hamburg, Germany. The aircraft is currently being fitted with the airline's service hallmarks at Emirates' world class engineering facility, in preparation for entry into service.