"Childbirth in Sri Lanka Issues and practices related to childbirth in Sri Lanka are influenced by the sociocultural composition, political history and violence within the country. Sri Lanka is a small island nation in the Indian Ocean, off the southeast coast of India. The island is characterized by a tropical monsoon climate that is divided into the northeast monsoon (December to March) and southwest monsoon (June to October). The terrain is mostly low, flat to rolling fertile plains. Highlands with deep valleys exist in the central-southern interior of the country. Nearly one-third of Sri Lanka's total land mass is covered"
"Indian Ocean. Some scholars asserted that it must have been Sri Lanka because it is so stated in the 5th century Sri Lankan text ""Mahavamsa"". However, the Ramayana clearly states that Ravana's Lanka was situated 100 Yojanas (roughly 800 km or 500 miles) away from mainland India. Some scholars have interpreted the content of these texts to determine that Lanka was located at the point where the Prime-Meridian of India passes the Equator. This island would therefore lie more than a hundred miles South-west of present-day country of Sri Lanka. The most original of all the existing versions of Valmiki's"
"to the medical branch currently both female officers and rates are able to join any branch of service including the executive branch as well. In 2007 the navy appointed its first-ever female Commodore, Surgeon Commodore Indranee Y. Amarasinghe. Sri Lanka Navy The Sri Lankan Navy (; ) is the naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. The SLN is responsible for the maritime defense of the Sri Lankan nation and its interests. Sri Lanka, situated in the middle of major sea lanes passing through"
"Environment of Sri Lanka The environment of Sri Lanka is unique in being one of the world's bio-diversity hot-spots. Sri Lanka was once part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana, which also included South America, Africa, India and Antarctica. Gondwana began to break up 140 million years ago. The tectonic plate on which Sri Lanka was located, the Indian plate, collided with the Eurasian plate creating the Himalayas. Sri Lanka was originally part of the Deccan land mass, contiguous with Madagascar. The island was connected, off and on at least 17 times in the past 700,000 years, to India. The Loris,"
"Postage stamps and postal history of Sri Lanka This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Sri Lanka, formerly known as ""Ceylon"". Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located about 31 km off the southern coast of India. After over two thousand years of rule by local kingdoms, parts of Sri Lanka were colonized by Portugal and the Netherlands beginning in the 16th century, before control of the entire country passed to Britain in 1815. A nationalist political movement arose in the country in the early 20th century with the aim of obtaining"
"around Sri Lanka; environmentalists have warned against the grave damage such a project could cause to the sea life and fisheries of the Palk Strait and the Gulf. Gulf of Mannar The Gulf of Mannar is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. It lies between the southeastern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka, in the Coromandel Coast region. The chain of low islands and reefs known as Ramsethu, also called Adam's Bridge, which includes Mannar Island, separates the Gulf of Mannar from Palk Bay, which lies to the"
"as Operation Pawan, the Indian Air Force flew about 70,000 sorties to and within Sri Lanka. The beginning of the 21st century saw a reorientation for India on the global stage from a regional role in the subcontinent to a major role in the Indian Ocean region stretching from the Gulf of Aden to the Malacca Strait. India's sphere of influence needs to encompass not just the South Asian Sub-continent, but also the northern Indian Ocean area, from the eastern seaboard of Africa in the west, to the Malacca Straits in the east, and must include Iran, Afghanistan, the Central"
"Gulf of Mannar The Gulf of Mannar is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. It lies between the southeastern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka, in the Coromandel Coast region. The chain of low islands and reefs known as Ramsethu, also called Adam's Bridge, which includes Mannar Island, separates the Gulf of Mannar from Palk Bay, which lies to the north between India and Sri Lanka. The estuaries of Thamirabarani River and Vaipar River of South India and the Malvathu Oya (Malvathu River) of Sri Lanka drain into"
"Catholic Church in Sri Lanka The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ""Sri Lankavay Katholika Sabhava"") is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. The country comes under the province of Colombo and is made up of 12 dioceses including one archdiocese. There are approximately 1.2 million Catholics in Sri Lanka representing around 6.1% of the total population (according to the 2012 census). In 1995, at a ceremony in Colombo, Pope John Paul II beatified Father Joseph Vaz, an early missionary to the country, who is known as the Apostle of Ceylon."
"rainfall throughout the year, and invariable temperature resulted in rich biodiversity. These forests also act as an important catchment area for rivers. Sri Lanka is a continental island, separated from the Asian continent only by shallow Palk Strait. Sri Lanka was once a part of Gondwanaland, until the Cretaceous Period. Then as a part of the Indian Plate, it detached and drifted northward. The Indian Plate collided with the Asian mainland about 55 million years later. Therefore, there are many ancient Gondwana taxonomic groups present in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka first became separated from the mainland Indian subcontinent during the"
"and Trincomalee, in addition to the newest port being built at Hambantota. The port at Trincomalee is the fifth largest natural harbour in the world: during World War II the British stated that they could place their entire navy in the harbour with room to spare. Sri Lanka's flag carrier airline is SriLankan Airlines. Fitch Ratings has affirmed Sri Lanka's Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BB-' with a ""stable"" outlook. With a grant of 20 million dollars from the US and help from China, a space academy has been set up for the purpose of developing an"
"of a number submarine canyons, making Trincomalee one of the finest deep-sea harbours in the world. The Port of Trincomalee works on a 24-hour basis. It is open every day of the year, except on May Day, when only daylight navigation is open. Water - Entrance channel - Land Area - Trincomalee Harbour Trincomalee Harbour is a seaport in Trincomalee Bay or Koddiyar Bay, a large natural harbour situated on the northeastern coast of Sri Lanka. Located by Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, in the heart of the Indian Ocean, its strategic importance has shaped its history. There have been many sea"
"a Catholic Mass on Sri Lankan soil. Over the next few centuries, Portuguese, Dutch, and Irish missionaries spread the religion in Sri Lanka, most notably on the western and northwestern coast, where in some places Catholics are half the population. Catholic Church in Sri Lanka The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ""Sri Lankavay Katholika Sabhava"") is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. The country comes under the province of Colombo and is made up of 12 dioceses including one archdiocese. There are approximately 1.2 million Catholics in Sri Lanka representing"
"up to 1480 AD, until cyclones deepened the channel. Portions are still as shallow as , hindering navigation. The island consists mostly of flat to rolling coastal plains, with mountains rising only in the south-central part. The highest point is Pidurutalagala, reaching above sea level. Sri Lanka has 103 rivers. The longest of these is the Mahaweli River, extending . These waterways give rise to 51 natural waterfalls of 10 meters or more. The highest is Bambarakanda Falls, with a height of . Sri Lanka's coastline is 1,585 km long. Sri Lanka claims an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extending 200"
"with pirating have all contributed to shipwrecks in the Bay of Bengal. Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman Islands of India and Myanmar and the Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between Sri Lanka and the northwesternmost point of Sumatra (Indonesia). It is the largest water region called a bay in the world. There are Countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal in South Asia"
"priest. Batticaloa is in the eastern coast of Sri Lanka on a flat coastal plain boarded by the Indian Ocean in the east occupies a central part of the eastern Sri Lanka. Its average elevation is around 5 meters. Batticaloa district has three lagoons such as Batticaloa Lagoon, Valaichchenai Lagoon, and Vakari (Panichchankerni) Lagoon. Among these lagoon, Batticaloa Lagoon is the largest lagoon and has 56 km long 162 square km area, extending from Pankudaweli in North and Kalmunai in South. There are several islands within the Batticaloa Lagoon such as Puliayantheevu, Buffaloa Island and Bone Island. Many bridges are"
"Trincomalee Harbour Trincomalee Harbour is a seaport in Trincomalee Bay or Koddiyar Bay, a large natural harbour situated on the northeastern coast of Sri Lanka. Located by Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, in the heart of the Indian Ocean, its strategic importance has shaped its history. There have been many sea battles to control the harbour. The Portuguese, Dutch, French, and the English have each held it in turn. In 1942 the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Trincomalee harbour and sunk three British warship anchored there. Trincomalee Harbour, formerly a British naval base, was taken over by the Ceylonese government in 1956 to"
"The professional head of the navy is the Commander of the navy, who exercises his command from the Naval Headquarters in Colombo. Established in 1950 as the Royal Ceylon Navy it was renamed as the Sri Lanka Navy in 1972. In recent years it had played a key role it the Sri Lankan civil war, conducting deep sea, coastal & inshore patrols, amphibious and supply operations. The navy has its own elite naval special forces unit, the Special Boat Squadron. The Sri Lanka Air Force with approximately 28,700 personal is the aerial defense division and the youngest of the Sri"
"Arugam Bay Arugam Bay (), known locally as ""Arugam Kudah"", is a bay situated on the Indian Ocean in the dry zone of Sri Lanka's southeast coast, and a historic settlement of the ancient Batticaloa Territory (Mattakallappu Desam). The bay is located south of Batticaloa, due east of Colombo, and approximately south of the market town of Pottuvil. The main settlement in the area, known locally as Ullae, is predominantly Muslim, however there is a significant Sri Lankan Tamil and Sinhala population to the south of the village, as well as a number of international migrants, largely from Europe and"
"data sources. The CIA World Factbook lists Sri Lanka's current population as 20,653,913 persons. Considering the island is only , it is a very densely populated nation. Over 85% of the population live in non-urban environments. The largest city is Colombo, with a population of 1,819,777. Sri Lanka is occupied by several ethnic groups. The Sinhalese are the predominant ethnic group (74%), followed by Sri Lankan Tamils (13%), Indian Tamils (5%) and Moors (Muslim) (7%). Sinhala is the national language and is the predominant language spoken by 74% of the population. Most Tamils and Moors speak Tamil, part of the"
"also forged close ties with the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), African Union and Arab League. Sri Lanka participates in multilateral diplomacy, particularly at the United Nations, where it seeks to promote sovereignty, independence, and development in the developing world. Sri Lanka was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). It also is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Colombo Plan. Sri Lanka continues its active participation in the NAM, while also stressing the importance"
"seeks to promote sovereignty, independence, and development in the developing world. Sri Lanka was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). It also is a member of the Commonwealth, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, and the Colombo Plan. Sri Lanka continues its active participation in the NAM, while also stressing the importance it places on regionalism by playing a strong role in SAARC. Sri Lanka is member of the IAEA, IBRD, ADB, C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,"
"huge ancient Catholic church called Our Lady of St. Anne's Church. Vankalai Vankalai or Vangalai or Vangkaalai ( vaṅkālai) is a predominantly fishing and farming village situated in Mannar District of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It lies along the Naanaattan Road with the sea on its west connects to Indian Ocean. The shores from Vankalai 20 km south to the ancient Tamil subsidiary port of Kudiramalai formed the world's most famous pearl fishing banks in the classical and medieval periods. Its northern boundary is the historic Hindu shrine of Thiru Ketheeswaram. Vankalai is a blend of sandy and"
"Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman Islands of India and Myanmar and the Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between Sri Lanka and the northwesternmost point of Sumatra (Indonesia). It is the largest water region called a bay in the world. There are Countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The Bay of Bengal occupies an area of ."
"Apostolic Nunciature to Sri Lanka The Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See to Sri Lanka is the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to Sri Lanka, equivalent to an embassy. It is located at 220 Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7. The current Apostolic Nuncio is Archbishop Pierre Nguyên Van Tot, who was appointed to the position by Pope Francis on 22 March 2014. The Apostolic Nunciature to Sri Lanka is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka, with the rank of ambassador. The nuncio serves both as the ambassador of the Pope (as Head of state of theVatican"
"home for three years and that she was unaware of his whereabouts. Later he notified the PRECIFAC that he was abroad and was unable to give a statement. SriLankan Airlines SriLankan Airlines (marketed as SriLankan) is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. It is currently the largest airline in Sri Lanka by number of aircraft and destinations, and was launched in 1979 as Air Lanka following the termination of operations of the original Sri Lankan flag carrier Air Ceylon. Following its partial acquisition in 1998 by Emirates, it was re-branded and introduced"
"Sri Lanka and the Maldives, while its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium . In the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, and Buddhism and Jainism arose. Early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires; the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as Southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, and Sikhism"
"Matara, Sri Lanka Matara (, ) (originally Mahathota) is a major city in Sri Lanka, on the southern coast of Southern Province, 160 km from Colombo. It is a major commercial hub, and it is the administrative capital of Matara District. It was gravely affected by the Asian tsunami in December 2004. Matara historically belongs to the area that was called the Kingdom of Ruhuna, which was one of the three kingdoms in Sri Lanka (Thun Sinhalaya තුන් සිංහලය). Matara was previously called Mahathota. The Nilwala River runs through Matara and there was a wide area where ferries used to"
"2010, ""The New York Times"" placed Sri Lanka at the top of its list of 31 places to visit. The Dow Jones classified Sri Lanka as an emerging market in 2010, and Citigroup classified it as a 3G country in February 2011. Sri Lanka ranks well above other South Asian countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) with 0.750 points. Sri Lanka's road network consists of 35 A grade highways and two Controlled-access highways (E01)and(E03). The railway network, operated by the state-run national railway operator, Sri Lanka Railways, spans . Sri Lanka also has three deep-water ports, at Colombo, Galle,"
"on tax payers. After the fall of Rajapaksa government Prime Minister Ranil wickremesinghe visited China to solve the issue. As a result, Sri Lanka entered into a PPP agreement with China Merchants Port company to revitalize the Port alongside the creation of a large Special Economic Zone of 15,000 acres However the plans including the Special Economic Zone received heavy opposition from Rajapaksa who threatened with social unrest. Sri Lanka is situated along the key shipping route between the Malacca Straits and the Suez Canal, which links Asia and Europe. An estimated 36,000 ships, including 4,500 oil tankers, use the"
"expressway E01 expressway (Sri Lanka) since March 2014. Matara, Sri Lanka Matara (, ) (originally Mahathota) is a major city in Sri Lanka, on the southern coast of Southern Province, 160 km from Colombo. It is a major commercial hub, and it is the administrative capital of Matara District. It was gravely affected by the Asian tsunami in December 2004. Matara historically belongs to the area that was called the Kingdom of Ruhuna, which was one of the three kingdoms in Sri Lanka (Thun Sinhalaya තුන් සිංහලය). Matara was previously called Mahathota. The Nilwala River runs through Matara and there"
"Australasia Southern Indian Ocean Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering (approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface). It is bounded by Asia on the north, on the west by Africa, on the east by Australia, and on the south by the Southern Ocean or, depending on definition, by Antarctica. It is named after India. Called the Sindhu Mahasagara or the great sea of the Sindhu by the Ancient Indians, this Ocean has been variously called Hindu Ocean, Indic Ocean, etc. in various languages. The Indian Ocean was also known"
"Ramayana also suggest the location of Ravana's Lanka to be in the western Indian Ocean. In fact it indicates that Lanka was in the midst of a series of large island-nations, submerged mountains, and sunken plateaus in the western part of the Indian Ocean. There has been a lot of speculation by several scholars since the 19th century that Ravana's Lanka might have been in the Indian Ocean around where the Maldives once stood as a high mountain, before getting submerged in the Indian Ocean. Sumatra has also been suggested as a possibility. Ravana's Lanka, and its capital Lankapuri, are"