Sri Lanka gets busy making arrangements to hold Commonwealth meeting

Arrangements to hold the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo in November this year are well under way by a special task committee, Director of the Public Information Unit of the Ministry of External Affairs Sarath Dissanayake says.

Commonwealth reiterates support to Sri Lanka despite Canada's stance

The Commonwealth has reiterated that a decision made by leaders of its member states in 2009 and confirmed in 2011 to hold the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka still stands and as planned the summit would be held in Colombo in November.

Commonwealth urged to reassess Sri Lanka's suitability to host CHOGM and assume chair

International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) in a panel discussion to launch its new report on Sri Lanka has raised the issue whether Sri Lanka is a suitable venue to hold the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo in November 2013.

Commonwealth leaders' summit opens, Sri Lanka at the center

The head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain today opened the 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at the Conference an Exhibition Complex Center in Perth, Australia.

Rohan Bopanna gives India a winning start in C'Wealth Games tennis

India were off to a perfect start in the tennis event of Commonwealth Games with Rohan Bopanna demolishing Robert Buyinza of Uganda in straight sets in the men's singles event here today.

Delhi under thick security cover ahead of CWG opening ceremony

Thousands of armed security personnel were on their toes today securing the capital for the Commonwealth Games as helicopters patrolled the skies and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles scanned the ground.

Over 130 Sri Lankan officials and athletes leave for India for Commonwealth games; 4x400 team left behind

More than 130 Sri Lankan sportsmen and officials left for India today to participate in the 19th Commonwealth Games.

Snake found in athletes' residential block in C'Wealth Games village

There seems to be no end to the problems confronting the organisers of the Commonwealth Games with the South African envoy here claiming that a snake was found in an athlete's room in the village.

Plan panel to inspect ‘diversion’ of SC/ST funds

As diversion of SC/ST welfare funds for Commonwealth Games draws the ire of the political class, the Planning Commission has called a meeting of NGOs to see instances of such diversions across states.

Commonwealth vetoes Sri Lanka bid to hold 2011 gathering

Tamils look over a fence as they stand inside a camp in Vavuniya. Sri Lanka has been criticised for actions that earlier this year led to thousands being displaced without proper humanitarean access. Photograph: Reuters

Sri Lanka has been blocked from hosting the next meeting of Commonwealth leaders in protest at Colombo's military repression against the Tamil population earlier this year.

Australia will instead host the next biennial Commonwealth heads of government meeting in 2011 after Canberra and London joined forces to block the Sri Lankan bid.

The decision, made at the summit in Trinidad and Tobago over the weekend, is a victory for Gordon Brown and his Australian counterpart, Kevin Rudd.

Brown faced down advice from the Foreign Office to issue a strong briefing on the eve of the summit last week that Britain would block the Sri Lankan bid.

British diplomats were nervous when the British media, including the Guardian, reported that Brown would tell Commonwealth leaders that it would be unacceptable for a gathering of one of the world's largest collection of democracies to be hosted by Sri Lanka. Officials in Colombo, who had expected to be able to host the 2011 summit after formally submitting a bid in 2007, were said to be alarmed by the strength of the No 10 briefing.

A Downing Street source said on Thursday: "We simply cannot be in a position where Sri Lanka – whose actions earlier this year had a huge impact on civilians, leading to thousands of displaced people without proper humanitarian access – is seen to be rewarded for its actions."

Colombo ended a 26-year civil war this year in a campaign against the Tamil Tigers. Up to 300,000 people were held as they fled the last days of the fighting.

The Australians are expected to hold the 2011 summit in Perth.

Brown and Rudd, who are natural political allies on the centre left, joined forces on a series of fronts at this year's meeting. They worked closely on climate change and persuaded the 53 Commonwealth members to accept a $22.5bn (£13.6bn) climate change finance package.

British officials regarded the blocking of Sri Lanka and the climate change package as triumphs. They were particularly pleased that Stephen Harper, the centre-right Canadian prime minister, who is regarded in London as an "outlier" on climate change, signed up to the package.

But Harper only accepted the package in a one-to-one meeting with Brown, shortly before a banquet on Friday hosted by the Queen. Brown told Harper he should drop his concerns about the cost of funding climate change initiatives in the developing world because it would end up costing more if the $22.5bn package, covering 2010-13, was rejected.

Brown then asked Harper to persuade John Key, New Zealand's centre-right prime minister, who also had doubts. Harper agreed and succeeded.

Britain was also encouraged by support for its proposal to readmit Zimbabwe to the Commonwealth in 2011. Harare will be allowed back if Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party implements a series of reforms.