By Rathindra Kuruwita The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has significantly overestimated the cost of electricity production and transmission for 2024 and this is reflected in their estimated cost of production, says MP Gamini Waleboda, head of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis. The overestimation is around Rs 140 billion, […]

In a welcome development in relation to Sri Lanka’s regional policy, some state functionaries of the Ranil Wickremesinghe regime have gone on record as having stated that Sri Lanka would be taking notable cognizance of India’s security concerns, going forward. This is as it should be. None of India’s immediate neighbours could afford to overlook […]

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Asia Pacific Regional Director Pio Smith is in Sri Lanka from yesterday (28) to Friday 01 March. During his visit, Smith will hold discussions with policymakers, government officials, civil society, and key partners to enhance collaboration at the national level and advocate for the rights of women and girls. Additionally, […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando With the presidential election scheduled for later this year, political parties represented in Parliament have stepped up efforts to forge alliances. In terms of the Constitution, presidential elections will have to be conducted between Sept 18 and Oct 18, 2024. The last presidential election was held in Nov 2019. Even though the […]

… Collective Agreement introduced in 2000 continues Successive goverments have abided by it for 24 years By Shamindra Ferdinando The controversial salary hike granted to the employees of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) had been endorsed by three trade unions affiliated to the JVP, the UNP and the SLPP, informed sources told The Island. Of the other […]

by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana Sri Lanka can claim credit for producing ‘political firsts’; with pride, for electing the first female Prime Minister in the world, Sirimavo Bandaranaike; not so, though it may be unique in history, for electing Ranil Wickremesinghe as President in spite of his failure to retain his parliamentary seat at the last […]

Appreciation I cannot write much as I interacted with him only for a short period and did not keep in touch lately, yet I was saddened to read the news of him passing away. This is because during this short period I knew him, he left a lasting impression as someone who really cared for […]

A 16-year-old boy with Sri Lankan roots, described by his parents as a “golden boy” took his own life in the UK after being blackmailed over nude photographs, an inquest heard. Dinal De Alwis, 16, was found by a coroner to have killed himself in Sutton, south London, in October 2022. A Metropolitan police investigation […]

All political parties will be informed of the Regulation of Election Expenditure Act on Tuesday (27 Feb.) and 06 March, as per a decision made by the Election Commission of Sri Lanka.

GL alleges Mahinda Yapa an extension of executive By Shamindra Ferdinando Alleging that Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena functioned as an extension of the executive, Prof. G. L. Peiris, MP, yesterday (26), declared that the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)would move a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against the SLPPer over the enactment of Online Safety law (ONLINE SAFETY […]

We, the Central Bank Executive Officers’ Union (CBEOU), as a professional union representing the Executive Officers of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, wish to clarify some facts, as it was evident that the discourse on the recent salary revision of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka is extremely partial and raised without proper knowledge […]

Tuesday 27th February, 2024 Sri Lankan politics is turning red in tooth and claw; the battle for the coveted executive presidency is getting down and dirty with every passing day. The presidential election is about eight months away, but the prospective contenders are already trading blows below the belt. At this rate, they might even […]

By Usvatte-aratchi ‘The executive of the modern state is nothing but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie.’ The Communist Manifesto (1848) ‘… where political and business elites are intertwined in corrupt dealings, each reliant on the other’s power for survival… the downfall of one party can drag the other down […]

On 24 January this year, the Chinese Vice-Premier Li Guozhong made a brief transit halt in the Maldives. During the stopover, he met with the Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer. The Vice-Premier was on his way back after attending the Non-Aligned Summit and the third South Summit in Uganda from 19-24 January. This came after President […]

Across South Asia, an ominous great game is unfolding. China is battling for regional influence, with smaller buffer states caught in the middle as pawns. Far from peaceful rise, China’s tactics reveal a belligerent dragon pulling neighbors ever tighter into its orbit through debt-trap diplomacy, data colonialism and brazen political interference – a 21st century […]