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.  […]

Singapore s population grew 5% in a year as foreign workers returned to the city-state following the pandemic, data released on Friday showed.

A new vote is being held in the US House of Representatives among indications of a government shutdown beginning at midnight on Saturday. Faced with a rebellion by fellow hard-line Republicans, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is trying to secure agreement on a temporary 45-day respite. It’s not clear if the measure – stripped aid to […]

The Sri Lankan government is set to unveil a new standard operating procedure (SOP) for visits by foreign ships or aircraft, including military assets, as part of efforts to address India s concerns over port calls by Chinese vessels, people familiar with the matter said.

Scott Hall, one of the 19 co defendants in a case over election interference in the state of Georgia, has pleaded guilty to five criminal counts as part of a deal with Fulton County prosecutors in the United States. He becomes the first to plead guilty in the wide ranging case,  which alleges that former […]

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-‘. ...

The United States National Security Agency (NSA) has announced the creation of an artificial intelligence security centre that will oversee the development and integration of AI capabilities within US defence and intelligence services. Director of the NSA and US Cyber Command, General Paul Nakasone, said on Thursday that US officials were aware of the increasing […]

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 […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) central committee, on Wednesday (27), decided to take legal action against any unlawful attempts by the government to harass doctors who are leaving the country, Secretary of the GMOA, Dr. Haritha Aluthge said. Dr. Aluthge told The Island that the GMOA had been asking the government, […]

The International Monetary Fund did not reach a staff-level agreement with Sri Lanka in its first review under a $2.9bn bailout package, due to a potential shortfall in government revenue generation, Al Jazeera has reported, quoting the lender. Speaking after a two-week visit to the country, IMF delegation head Peter Breuer on Wednesday said a […]

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...

There was a pall of silence over who accompanied our President to the Big Apple for the Big Meeting of the United Nations. Hence our curiosity was roused, minds scratched around for news. Cassandra WhatsApped a good friend of hers now living in California and asked her whether she knew who accompanied our Prez. We […]

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 […]

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Sri Lanka s Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to CCC- from RD (Restricted Default). 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- .

By Shamindra Ferdinando Chairman of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on National Security, Rear Admiral (retd.) Sarath Weerasekera has told Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena that the US should not deny a visa to an MP nominated by the Sri Lankan Parliament to join an official delegation unless he/she posed a threat to US interests. In a […]

The expanded Board of Management of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI) met recently, presided over by Foreign Minister M. U. M. Ali Sabry, in his capacity as the ex officio chairman of LKI. The meeting took place in the wake of Foreign Minister naming four new members to the […]

Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) announced yesterday that daily tourist arrivals averaged 3,700. It said the millionth tourist for the year had arrived in the country on Tuesday (26). Sri Lanka has recorded 88,883 foreign tourist arrivals for the month by 26 September and earned Rs 416 billion from tourism during the first eight […]

Minister of State for Tourism Diana Gamage announced plans to launch promotional campaigns aimed at attracting 1.5 million foreign tourists to Sri Lanka by the year s end.

Minister of State for Tourism Mrs. Diana Gamage at a press conference themed ‘Collective path to a stable country’ at the Presidential Media Centre today (27) announced plans to launch promotional campaigns aimed at attracting 1.5 million foreign tourists to Sri Lanka by the year’s end. She emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring the safety […]