The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says there is a strong expectation that Sri Lanka will soon reach agreements with external commercial creditors consistent with program parameters. “So overall we assess that there has been sufficiently strong progress on the debt restructuring front,” Julie Kozack, Director of the IMF Communications Department, said during a press briefing […...

Rex Clementine in Dallas In a bid to promote cricket in certain countries, the sport’s authorities used to stage the now defunct ICC Knockout Tournament in countries that had not got full member status. As a result, Bangladesh hosted the event in 1998 followed by Kenya in 2000. The tournament from thereon was abandoned and […]

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) filed legal action on June 5 in the Supreme Court challenging the Public Financial Management Bill, highlighting concerns related to public procurement.The petition (SC SD 77/2024) points out that Clause 32 of the Bill seriously weakens the controls on public procurement, thereby enhancing the corruption risk and weakening the level […]

by Rajan Philips It is tempting to ask if Ranil Wickremesinghe can electorally survive the referendum fast one that he got his cop-turned politico Party Secretary to pull on his behalf. Will Mr. Wickremesinghe even contest? Might his effervescent mind think of another pre-election ploy? Such as a special referendum to consult the people if […]

The Ceylon tea industry, a vital component of the national economy, is under immense pressure from the proposed 700 Rupee wage increase for tea estate workers. While it is said that the intention behind the wage hike is to improve worker livelihoods, industry experts refer this as a pure political move aimed at gaining the […]

The week that passed was packed with newsworthy events at home and abroad led by the Indian election results. Prime Minister Narendra Modi emerged the winner but not as comfortably as widely forecast. Although his BJP with its NDA allies cleared the simple majority hurdle, the Modi party did not do so on its own […]

The U.S. Embassy in Colombo welcomed the U.S. Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, former National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Stephen Howard and Astou Ndiaye, from June 8 through 14. The Public Diplomacy section of the U.S. Embassy said that it would launch a weeklong basketball program intended to harness […]

by K.Locana Gunaratna, PhD Following some independence from the Colonial British through the Donoughmore Constitution in 1931, our prime indigenous concerns focused on agriculture for domestic consumption and on the broad-basing of education. These particular achievements were due respectively to two farsighted Sri Lankan politicians: D.S.Senanayake and C.W.W. Kannangara. They were the first Sri L...

NATO allies honor 80th anniversary of D-Day invasion of Normandy by Vijaya Chandrasoma Former President of the United States of America, Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of felony in the recently concluded hush money case in the district court of Manhattan, New York. Trump has gone down in history as the only […]

by ACB Pethiyagoda A desire to visit Burma (Myanmar since 1989) having seen the film ‘The Story of Dr. Wossell’ as a school boy was fulfilled recently. The film was about a dedicated British Army Medical Officer who during World War II fell in love with the country and more deeply with a lithesome and […]

Sri Lanka s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry is scheduled to leave for Russia to attend the BRICS Ministerial Session which will be held in Nizhniy Novgorod in Russia on 11 June 2024, following an invitation extended by his Russian counterpart.

Leaders from seven neighboring countries including Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe are attending Narendra Modi s swearing-in ceremony after he secured a third historic term as prime minister following India s general elections.

Sri Lanka has been elected by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for a three-year term commencing on 01 January 2025.

The Saudi Arabian Government has offered Muslim members of the Sri Lankan Tri-Forces sponsored opportunity to perform the annual Hajj Pilgrimage this year (2024), for the first time in history, according to the Defence Ministry.

Sri Lanka s Foreign Minister and Chairman of Cabinet Sub-Committee appointed to examine the issues faced by Sri Lanka Cricket says that the country s recent disappointments in the ICC World Cup 2023 and ICC T20 World Cup are not isolated incidents.

Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get. However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and […]

Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof. To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup. The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep […]

In a thrilling T20 World Cup fixture, Bangladesh clinched a two-wicket victory over former champions Sri Lanka.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday (06) asserted that Sri Lanka could soon reach agreements with external commercial creditors consistent with programme parameters. “So overall we assess that there has been sufficiently strong progress on the debt restructuring front,” Julie Kozack, Director of the IMF Communications Department, told the media. On March 21st, the […...

Over a dozen SJB MPs, Maithripala skip vote By Shamindra Ferdinando In spite of differences between President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) over the latter’s call for early General Election, a consensus seems to be emerging on the overall political strategy with the ruling party voting for the Sri Lanka Electricity […]

… condemns govt. move, finds fault with Office of AG for failing to ensure justice for Easter Sunday victims The Catholic Bishops’ Conference has categorically denied reports in section of the media that the Catholic Church backed the granting of an extension in service to Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam, PC. President of the Catholic Bishops’ […]