The Government of Maldives has deported 186 foreign nationals including 25 Sri Lankans accusing them of committing crimes such as visa violations and drug offences.

By Shamindra Ferdinando National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa says the proposed Economic and Technology Co-operation Agreement (ETCA) with India should be examined in the context of India’s geopolitical strategy in respect of Sri Lanka. Referring to a recent declaration by SLPP MP Rear Admiral (retd.) Sarath Weerasekera that the government parliamentary group hadn’t […]

Japan has pledged USD 931,000 for a UNDP-led project meant to improve good governance by tackling corruption. A statement issued by the Japanese Embassy on behalf of the Sri Lankan government and the UNDP declared that in terms of the latest initiative ‘a Project for Promoting Economic Governance through Anti-corruption Policy Support’ they intended to […]

By Hiran H.Senewiratne Foreign and local investor participation in the CSE showed significant improvement yesterday due to a decline in Treasury bill yields, market analysts said. However, stock market activities were not strong due to depressing conditions in the political arena and because of the absence of market- driven activities, analysts said. The All Share […]

Sri Lanka will pursue tangible progress on reconciliation and human rights through domestic institutions while maintaining its constructive engagement with the United Nations, Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry said on Tuesday (Feb.13).

“The struggle for freedom for the people of Sri Lanka was not over with the country gaining independence in 1948. The freedom struggle must continue until every Sri Lankan believes and feels that he is an equal citizen of the country of his birth. This was stated by Director of the Walpola Rahula Institute of […]

Dr. Elias Joseph Jeyarajah, represented the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) at the recent launch of district level workshops for ‘National Conversation’ based on the Himalaya Declaration. The first inter-religious coordination committee promoting conversations on the merits of the Himalaya Declaration was held in Kurunegala on February 09. In spite of opposition from various quarters, particularly [̷...

In 2007, my late friend, Jackson Anthony, and his younger son visited us in Auckland during their trip to New Zealand, I recall that he talked about the Aba script during that period. We organised a small gathering for our friends who admire his talents. Amidst casual conversations, Jackson, well-versed in both Catholicism and Sinhala […]

By Saman Indrajith The JVP yesterday said it would never do anything detrimental to Sri Lanka’s economic and national security interests.Responding to criticism that the JVP leaders’ recent visit to India threatened the country’s national interests, JVP Propaganda Secretary MP Vijitha Herath, who accompanied the party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, said: “We never have betrayed...

By Rathindra Kuruwita  The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) on Sunday (11) flayed the government for having agreed to grant some Indian companies access to the biometrics of Sri Lankans under the proposed Unitary Digital Identity Framework project. FSP Education Secretary Pubudu Jayagoda said the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha had, on […]

Iranian tea importers had offered to double the quantity of tea they buy from Sri Lanka under the Iranian tea-for-oil barter mechanism from its current USD five million to US 10 million during the winter months – December to March -Niraj de Mel, President of the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) told journalists on Saturday […]

by Neville Ladduwahetty The total number of Sri Lanka’s State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) is reported to be 527. Of these, 55 are categorized as strategically important. According to Public Finance Data and Analysis, only 11 out of 52 SOEs have Published Financial Data up to 2022.  Consequently, except for the common knowledge that the overwhelming majority […]

Rex Clementine at Pallekele Sri Lankan cricket has been ahead of times compared to some of our Asian neighbours over the years. In our formative years, Gamini Dissanayake was convinced that the team needed a foreign coach and quite a few of them were hired including Sir Garry Sobers to help the team in early […]

By SHIHAR ANEEZ ECONOMYNEXT –China has shown some flexibility in its stance over the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Sri Lanka after the island nation briefly halted the negotiations following seven rounds of talks due to disagreement on tariff list, level of liberalization, and a review process, Colombo’s Chief Negotiator K J Weerasinghe said. Sri Lanka […]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has taken SJB Anuradhapura District MP Ishak Rahuman and SLPP Puttalam District MP Amal Chinthaka Mayadunna along with him when left the country on Thursday (8) to participate in the seventh Indian Ocean Conference being held in Perth, Australia. Accepting an invitation from the India Foundation and the Australian Government, the President […]

Indian media has reported that Sri Lanka’s minister for tourism,  sports, and youth affairs, Harin Fernando, who is attending the OTM travel show in Mumbai,  said that the Adani Group is negotiating with Sri Lankan authorities to manage three airports in the island nation, including its premier international gateway, Bandarnaike International Airport in Colombo. Other […]

… Dissident SLPPers express contradictory views By Shamindra Ferdinando Prof. Ranjith Bandara, MP, yesterday (09) said that there was absolutely no basis for claims that he was asked to step down as Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) by anyone. The SLPP National List MP said so when The Island sought his response […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita Thousands of jobs in Sri Lanka’s book publishing industry will be lost due to the imposition of VAT (18%) on books publishers claim.They claim that about 30 percent of bookshops have been closed due to the economic crisis. There had been no taxes on books before 01 January 2024, Sri Lanka Book […]