Apropos our news items (in The Island of 18 April) “Australia-based doc alleges her flat illegally occupied by diplomatic mission employee”, the High Commission for the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Colombo has sent us the following response: “We draw your kind attention to the publication of the news item titled “Australia-based doc alleges her […]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in coordination with Sri Lanka Missions in Myanmar and Thailand has facilitated the repatriation of eight Sri Lankans who were trafficked for forced criminal activities in cyber scamming compounds in Myanmar, a Ministry communique said yesterday. Myanmar law enforcement authorities rescued these Sri Lankans on 4 April 2024, following the […]

Dialog Axiata PLC (“Dialog”), Axiata Group Berhad (“Axiata”) and Bharti Airtel Limited (“Bharti Airtel”) (collectively “the Parties”), signed a Definitive Agreement to combine their operations in Sri Lanka. Under this agreement, Dialog will acquire 100% of the issued shares in Airtel Lanka, in consideration of which Dialog will issue to Bharti Airtel...

by Dr. Santhushya Fernando, Dr. Laleen Jayamanne and Professor Sumathy Sivamohan We, three academics, coming from three different intellectual disciplines (Medicine, English Literature, Theatre and Film Studies) worked alongside each other here so as to understand this mysterious process of a ‘will to abstraction’ or non-objective art, evident in Sarath’s work. None of us are […]

By Uditha Devapriya and Pasindu Nimsara No Avurudu would be complete without an Avurudu Ulela. It has become part of our national social calendar, an event that must be organised, a tradition that must be kept. Practically every institution, from nurseries to universities to companies to Rotaract Societies, has a shot at holding one. The […]

So, the Sinhala and Tamil New Year came and went. Cassandra has used a Sri Lankan colloquial manner of pronouncing that an anticipated event was marked and ended. The high temperatures however prevail, though mercifully tempered by afternoon showers. Everyone except drug dealers and politicians were struggling against strangulating pecuniary difficulties, but of course last […]

The State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit (SRU) of the Finance Ministry has officially released the names of the local and foreign firms that have submitted responses to the respective requests for quote and the shortlisted bidders for the divestiture of shares held by the Government of Sri Lanka in several key state-owned enterprises...

Ukraine s prime minister has told the BBC there will be a ÂThird World War if Ukraine loses its conflict with Russia, as he urged the US Congress to pass a long-stalled foreign aid bill.

The eight Sri Lankans, including 2 females who were rescued from the cyber scamming camps in Myawaddy area of Myanmar have arrived in Sri Lanka this morning after being repatriated with the help of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Thursday 18th April, 2024 Tourist arrivals are on the increase, according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. Prestigious international travel guides are very generously promoting Sri Lanka as a must-visit tourist destination. Lonely Planet says ‘endless beaches, timeless ruins, welcoming people, oodles of elephants, rolling surf, cheap prices, fun trains, famous tea and flavourful [&#...

The Department of Immigration and Emigration yesterday (17) implemented a new procedure in visa process and the online visa application portal.The new visa methodology, relevant fees, requirements to be met and the validity period in Sri Lanka were earlier published in the Extraordinary Gazette No. 2360/24, dated 27 November 2023. The department said arrangements have […]

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has urged the government to maintain transparency in the ongoing debt restructuring process as national elections are around the corner and that the next government will have to honour the conditions agreed upon by the incumbent administration. The SJB said so soon after the government of Sri Lanka rejected international […]

The owner of a street food eatery in Aluthkade, who was arrested for price-gouging a foreign tourist and behaving in a verbally aggressive manner, has been granted bail.

As Beijing increases its repression of ethnic minorities in China to establish Han domination, the Chinese Communist Party is also devising numerous ways to ensure that the overseas media cannot expose this ongoing violation of human rights behind the bamboo curtain. The Chinese media is highly censored. To project the false image of China as […]

The inaugural Sri Lanka-Kyrgyz Republic Foreign Office consultations have successfully concluded in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on 15 April.

On 19 April, Indians will begin choosing a new parliament for the next five years, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a third consecutive term. Opinion polls put his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies ahead. They are up against the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (India), which groups more than two dozen opposition […]

Denmark’s historic old stock exchange building in the centre of Copenhagen has been engulfed by fire. The 17th Century Børsen is one of the city’s oldest buildings and onlookers gasped as its iconic spire collapsed in the flames. Everyone inside the building was able to leave and people rushed to rescue some of its historic […]