by  Y P Prakash India’s Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia, has announced that the frequency of flights connecting Chennai and Sri Lanka’s Jaffna will be increased to daily services starting from July 16. This move is expected to significantly enhance trade and commerce between the two countries, according to Scindia. Scindia delivered this […]

By Shyam Nuwan Ganewatta The IMF in 2020 told nations around the world that they should maintain a budget deficit to tackle the effects of COVID-19, however, two years later, the IMF insists that this would lead to chaos, Dr. Howard Nicholas, senior lecturer at Erasmus University – Rotterdam, and International Institute of Social Studies […]

Udeni Kaluthantri, a 54-year-old port worker, became an overnight sensation last year for reasons that had nothing to do with his job. Days after protesters stormed the presidential palace in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, a video surfaced of Mr Kaluthantri lounging on a bed draped with the presidential flag. Pictures of young men jumping […]

Thilo W. Hoffmann biography S. A. I. Elapatha Forty years ago, a young man with a Master’s Degree in Agriculture in his pocket, set out for Sri Lanka to be employed in a well established and reputable foreign Company of the same nationality as his. Born in 1922, the son of a well known paediatrician […]

Attempts made by SriLankan Airlines to recruit foreigners had failed due to low pay and high taxes here, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MP Dayasiri Jayasekera told Parliament on Friday (07).He said that the management of SriLankan and the line Minister were encouraging pilots to leave the airline. “The dispute between pilots and the management […]

India plans to allow Sri Lanka up to 12 years to repay its debt to help ease the financial burden on the country, India’s Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) Ltd’s Chairman-cum-Managing Director M. Senthilnathan said. Sri Lanka, facing its worst economic and political crisis in over seven decades, owes $7.1 billion to bilateral creditors— $3 […]

During the “Transcending Borders – Transforming Lives” program organized by the Indian Tourism Federation at the Bandaranaike International Memorial Conference Hall in Colombo on Thursday (06), President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed his belief that the tourism industry would significantly contribute to the country’s foreign exchange earnings in the coming decade. The President highlighted that c...

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has expressed his belief that Sri Lanka tourism industry would significantly contribute to the country s foreign exchange earnings in the coming decade.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Presidential Secretariat and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau organised the Ella Odyssey, a familiarisation tour of Nuwara Eliya and Ella for foreign heads of missions in Colombo, and nine heads of missions based in New Delhi who presented credentials to President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The foreign […]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Presidential Secretariat and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau organized the Ella Odyssey, a familiarization tour of Nuwara Eliya and Ella for foreign heads of mission in Colombo, and nine heads of mission based in New Delhi who presented credentials to President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Ella Odyssey […]

There will be a Panel discussion on “The Role of Domestic Aviation in Sri Lankan Tourism” at the OPA on 27th June (Tuesday). A panel of eminent experts will discuss, among other things, how to attract foreign exchange amidst the country’s worst-ever economic crisis.

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, on Monday (19) expressed his gratitude to the outgoing High Commissioner of the United Kingdom, Sarah Hulton, for her unwavering dedication in strengthening the friendly relations between Sri Lanka and the UK. The Prime Minister conveyed his appreciation during a farewell meeting held at Temple Trees, when the High Commissioner paid […]

by Kalyananda Tiranagama Executive Director Lawyers for Human Rights and Development (Part VII of this article appeared in The Island of 20 June 2023) Although there is no public annoyance, under S. 63 (j) of the Police Ordinance any Police officer has the power to arrest without a warrant ‘any person who wilfully and indecently […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita The appreciation of Sri Lankan rupee against major foreign currencies alone was not an indication of economic stabilisation, H M C G Bandara, Senior Lecturer at the Sabaragamuwa University says.Bandara said that exchange rates, interest rate and inflation had become hot topics and the public used that to gauge the health of […]

by Kalyananda Tiranagama Executive Director Lawyers for Human Rights and Development (The third part of this article appeared in The Island of 13 June 2023) Joining the discussion, Freedom People’s Congress MP Prof. Charitha Herath has said that they would support decriminalization of same-sex relations, if and when the Bill is presented to Parliament. ‘‘We […]

By  Y P Prakash The current state of Sri Lanka evokes memories of India’s experience in the 1990s, although India was able to rectify the situation before it escalated to a critical level akin to a Bastille-like crisis. By 1991, India found itself on the brink of sovereign default. The Gulf War exacerbated the situation […]

Representing Sri Lanka at the 14th International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum (14th IIICF) Friday (02), Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation – Nimal Siripala de Silva said that under the leadership of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the government was dedicated to driving the digitalization initiative forward under name ‘DIGIECON 2030’, signifying a pivotal step towards [&#...