Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has conceded defeat in a presidential run-off vote after an official count showed his rival Mohamed Muizzu in an impenetrable lead. “Congratulations to president-elect Muizzu,” Solih wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, after the Elections Commission of the Maldives showed his opponent winning 54 percent of ballots on Saturday.  […]

The Parliament is scheduled to meet from 3rd to 6th October. The parliamentary business related to this week has been decided at the Committee on Parliamentary Business chaired by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on 22nd of September. Accordingly, time from 09.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. on each day has been allotted for Questions for Oral […]

By Saman Indrajith Minister of Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe will present the Anti-Terrorism Bill, while Minister of Public Security, Tiran Alles, will present the Online Safety Bill to Parliament on 03 October. Below are the bills to be debated during the Parliament week. On Tuesday, 03 October 2023, from 10.30 am […]

Fitch Ratings upgraded Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘CCC-‘ from ‘RD’ (Restricted Default), in its latest report.Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to sovereigns with a rating of ‘CCC+’ or below. The Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR has been affirmed at ‘RD’ and the Country Ceiling at ‘B-‘. ...

China will continue to firmly support Sri Lanka in pursuing a development path that suits its own national conditions, getting rid of the “poverty trap” and the “trap of non-development”, and safeguarding its independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national dignity, Ambassador Qi Zhenhong said at the 74th National Day Reception of the People’s Republic of [R...

The way the police, judiciary and lawyers operate had left much to be desired in ensuring justice for all, Minister of Justice Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said at the National Law Week – 2023 celebrations yesterday. Dr. Rajapakshe said that in a country with the rule of law, all citizens felt they had access to justice. […]

At least 50 people have been killed and more than 50 injured in a suicide attack in Pakistan, police say. The blast happened near a mosque in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Friday as people gathered to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. Officials in Balochistan have declared a state of emergency. No […]

House Republicans have branded the first day of their impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden a success, saying they justified their case. But expert witnesses called by Republicans cautioned there was not yet enough proof for impeachment. Thursday’s hearing was dominated by the business dealings of the president’s son, Hunter, who Republicans allege was selling access […]

Indian authorities are exploiting the recommendations of a global terrorism financing and money laundering watchdog to target civil society groups and activists and deliberately hinder their work, said Amnesty International in a new briefing released today. “Weaponizing counter-terrorism: India’s exploitation of terrorism financing assessments to target civil society” reveals how the r...

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda who is to complete his tenure in Delhi shortly, paid a farewell call on the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman today (27) at the Finance Ministry in New Delhi. During the call, the High Commissioner expressed his appreciation to Minister Sitharaman […]

Friday 29th September, 2023 The Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe government continues to be at loggerheads with irate professionals, who are demanding solutions to their problems. Many of them have already left the country never to return thanks to the government’s callous disregard for their grievances. University teachers staged a protest in Colombo the other day in a bid […]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe delivering the opening speech at the ‘Berlin Global’ Dialogue in Berlin, Germany, today (28), expressed the need for a comprehensive dialogue between Western nations and China, the United States of America and China and the European Union and China, as a critical component of a robust international plan capable of addressing the […]

by SALIYA WEERAKOON and Prof. ALEX LIN CHEE LOK In 1914, Cambridge-educated D. R Wijewardena, arguably one of the most recognised entrepreneurs in the country, bought the Sinhala daily Dinamina. History also records that he purchased the English daily, Ceylon Daily News, in 1917. Consequently, Wijewardena is known as the press baron of the pre-independence of Ceylon. He […]

Thursday 28th September, 2023 Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera is reported to have said at a conference held by the Finance Ministry, on Tuesday (26), that there are more than 4,000 vacancies in the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC). According to media reports quoting him, the vacancies at the […]

Herath alleges Budget Office part of flawed political strategy By Shamindra Ferdinando Civil society activist Sirithunga Jayasuriya Tuesday (26) said that those genuinely concerned about political strategies of the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government should be wary of possible moves to put off the presidential election scheduled for next year. Pointing out that both Provincial Councils and Local [...

By Shamindra Ferdinando SLPP rebel group spokesman Prof. G. L. Peiris yesterday (26) said that it would be a costly initiative to engage former British Premier David Cameron to promote Colombo Port City and the enactment of the Online Safety Law meant to suppress political dissent were contradictory. The former External Affairs Minister said that […]

Wednesday 27th September, 2023 It is heartening that justice has finally caught up with a retired top cop, albeit after a lapse of more than eight years. The Ratnapura High Court, on Monday, sentenced former Senior DIG Lalith Jayasinghe to a five-year jail term for having ordered the OIC of the Kahawatte police station not […]

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) handed over a consignment of 4,700 MT of soya beans and maize to Sri Lanka Thriposha Ltd, to support the continuation of the Thriposha fortified food programme. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) facilitated the handover at a special event held at the Thriposha factory. This […]

About 40 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) contracts suspended due to the economic crisis would be re-contracted as foreign investors had expressed their willingness to do so, Investment Promotion State Minister Dilum Amunugama said on Monday (25) in Kandy. Amunugama said the government expected to attract about 2 billion US dollars this year as FDIs. The […]