Kathmandu, Mar 2: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today arrived on a three-day state visit to Nepal at the invitation of Nepali President Dr Ram Baran Yadav.

According to Nepalnews, President Rajapaksa arrived here with his wife Shiranthi Rajapaksa and other high-level Sri Lankan delegates.

Dr Yadav will host banquet at his office in honor of the Sri Lankan President later today.

Kathmandu - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu at the start of a three-day official visit Monday amid tight security.

The visit is the first by a head of state to Nepal since the Maoist-led government took over following elections victory in April last year.

Rajapaksa, who is in the Himalayan nation on the invitation of Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav, is accompanied by his wife Shiranthi.

Colombo  - President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) recorded convincing victories in two of the nine provinces where local elections were held on Saturday, officials said.

The victories in the Central and North Western Provinces were widely seen as an endorsement of the military campaign against Tamil rebels in the northern part of the country.

Colombo  - President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) recorded convincing victories in two of the nine provinces where local elections were held on Saturday, officials said.

The victories in the Central and North Western Provinces were widely seen as an endorsement of the military campaign against Tamil rebels in the northern part of the country.

Geneva  - Thousands of ethnic Tamils from all over Switzerland and beyond gathered outside the UN headquarters in Geneva Wednesday to protest the Colombo government's action in northern Sri Lanka and to demand help from the United Nations.

Organisers claimed some 15,000 were taking part in the angry demonstration, which prompted a major police presence.

The action came after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa predicted the army would defeat separatist Tamil Tiger rebels within days, ending a civil war that has ravaged the country for nearly three decades.

Colombo  - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday expressed confidence of defeating Tamil separatist rebels within days and ending the civil war they have been fighting against the government for the past three decades.

"I am confident that in a few days, we will decisively defeat the terrorist force that many repeatedly kept saying was invincible," Rajapaksa said in an address to the nation marking the 61st anniversary of the island nation gaining independence from Britain.