The economic reform programme, implemented by the Sri Lankan authorities is yielding the first signs of recovery with positive real GDP growth in the third quarter of 2023, low inflation, increased revenue collection, and a build-up of external reserves, the IMF has said. Staying the course on the reform agenda is necessary for this stabilization […]

Development projects are set to commence in February, following the finalization of agreements related to the debt restructuring and ongoing discussions with foreign creditors of Sri Lanka, according to Dr. Bandula Gunawardena, the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Mass Media.

The Minister of Transport, Highways, and Mass Media.Dr. Bandula Gunawardena During a media briefing held at the Presidential Media Centre on the theme ‘Collective path to a stable country,’ said that all stalled development projects are set to commence in February, following the finalization of agreements related to the debt restructuring and ongoing discussions with foreign […]

Sri Lanka will take steps to relax the visa procedure in the country, Controller General of the Immigration and Emigration Department, Harsha Ilukpitiya has said.Illukpitiya made the announcement at a press conference held at the Ministry of Public Security yesterday (18). Ilukpitiya said they had reviewed all procedures related to issuing visas and that they […]

by Dr Amali Wedagedara In Sri Lanka, public policy lost in the neoliberal haze treats the market as a cure for all ills. Not only is the market omnipresent, but it is also omniscient and omnipotent. The charm of the ‘market’ that research and advocacy lobbyists are creating is so alluring that only a few […]

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry has highlighted that a humanitarian ceasefire is the only solution to halt the mounting civilian death toll in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

At a discussion at the World Economic Forum (WEF) stakeholder dialogue titled ‘Pulling back from the brink,’ held in Kurpark Village, Aspen, President Ranil Wickremesinghe outlined short-term strategies aimed at revitalizing Sri Lanka’s economy. Emphasizing tourism promotion, agricultural modernization and a focus on renewable energy, the President expressed the country’s eagerness to attract new ...

Over 100,000 tourists have arrived in Sri Lanka in the first 15 days of 2024, according to the latest statistics released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). The SLTDA weekly report on tourist arrivals, released on Tuesday (16), shows that 101,362 international visitors have arrived in the above period, and this is a […]

Chairman of the United National Party, Member of Parliament Wajira Abeywardena during a media briefing held at the Presidential Media Center (PMC) on Tuesday (16), said that the main purposes for President Ranil Wickremesinghe to get the Regulation of Election Expenditure Act No 3 of 2023 passed in Parliament early last year was to track […]

Sajith says govt.’s impending electoral defeat cannot be reversed through constitutional means By Shamindra Ferdinando The National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) has urged the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government to put off the two-day debate on the proposed Online Safety Bill scheduled for January 23 and 24th. The NMSJ, led by former Yahapalana speaker Karu Jayasuriya, has […]

By Ifham Nizam Some 330 foreign birds have been illegally imported from Suriname in a private plane via Mattala Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA). The Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) Senior Advisor Hemantha Withanage and CEJ Executive Director Dilena Pathragoda have questioned the Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation and Director General of the Department of […]

A delegation of the Maldivian Parliament, led by the Speaker of the People s Majlis, called on Sri Lanka s Acting Foreign Minister on Tuesday (16 Jan.).

The Sectoral Oversight Committee on International Relations has drawn its attention to the affairs related to the National Oceanic Affairs Committee Secretariat, an agency affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Public Security Minister Tiran Alles has explained the ongoing ‘Yukthiya’ operation to members of the Colombo-based diplomatic community. The Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Commission has jumped to question the government operation. The Foreign Ministry said that Minister Alles provided an update on the progress made by the special operation against drug menace and underworld […]

By M. Rodwan Abouharb Associate Professor in International Relations, UCL and Bernhard Reinsberg Reader in Politics, University of Glasgow Sri Lanka received a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in March amid soaring inflation, debt and a sovereign default. In exchange for US$3 billion (£2.4 billion), the government committed to spending cuts and tax […]

The Sri Lankan Navy took into custody 12 Indian fishermen and seized three trawlers on Saturday night (13), while they were poaching in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters. The arrests were made in the seas off the Kovilan Lighthouse in Kareinagar, Jaffna, the Navy said.The Northern Naval Command of the Sri Lanka Navy made the arrests during […]

RW tells Arab ambassadors President Ranil Wickremesinghe told Thursday (Jan. 11) told Arab ambassadors accredited to Colombo that with regard to any SLN deployment to the Red Sea that Sri Lanka did not have the capacity to send a ship by itself. “The navy said if they were to go, they would like to go […]