Govt. concerned over MoU between US Embassy and Trinco UC FRIDAY, 24 MAY 2013  The Sri Lanka government yesterday expressed concern over the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the US embassy in Colombo and the Trincomalee Urban Council to jointly establish a public information and activity centre known as the American Corner, without the knowledge or the authorisation of the Sri Lanka External Affairs Ministry. Government sources said that foreign missions based in Colombo should obtain prior approval or inform to the External Affairs Ministry of Sri Lanka whenever they need to engage with local authorities - which is the international norm. Currently there are two American Corners - in Kandy and Jaffna. The signatories to the MoU for establishing and American Corner were Christopher Teal, Director, Press, Cultural and Educational Affairs of the US embassy in Colombo and the chairman of the Trincomalee Urban Council, K. Selvarajah. The MoU between the Public Affairs Section of the Embassy of the United States of America and the Trincomalee Urban Council was signed on May 22, 2013 at the Public Library of Trincomalee. The Embassy and the Trincomalee Urban Council intend to jointly establish a public information and activity center known as the American Corner for a period of at least five years. The fact sheet of the US embassy stated: “The host institution, the Urban Council, plans to provide support for the maintenance  and operation of the Corner. The American Corner will provide access to current and reliable information about the United States via book collections, the internet and through of variety of events such as public readings, films, speaker programs, workshops, meetings and exhibits. Products and services will include books and multimedia collections, periodicals and databases, hi-speed internet access, and cultural and educational programs.” China to lend $580 mln for Sri Lanka development projects May 22 (Reuters) - China Development Bank Corporation will lend $580 million to Sri Lanka to help implement key infrastructure projects, a government document released on Wednesday showed. The loan will bring CDB's total lending to Sri Lanka to more than $1.4 billion. China's increasing influence in the island nation has stoked concerns in neighbouring India. According to the document, $300 million of the loan will be spent on developing roads and $200 million on water supply projects, with the rest going to the national business school. It said CDB had already extended $652 million for road development projects and $214 million for an irrigation project. The loan announcement comes ahead of a four-day official visit to Chinaby Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The $59 billion economy has increasingly relied on China for financing and technical expertise for reconstruction projects following the end of its long civil war in May 2009. In March, China's Export-Import Bank agreed a $278.2 million loan tofinance a rail track to a port Beijing is building in Sri Lanka's deep south of Hambantota. China has loaned $1.5 billion for the port's construction and $209 million for a nearby airport. Similar port developments from Myanmar to Pakistan have raised Indian fears about Chinese political and military influence, but Rajapaksa has rejected such concerns, saying China's presence in Sri Lanka is strictly business-related. (Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Catherine Evans)