A helicopter carrying the Iranian president has been involved in an accident, state media is reporting. State media says President Ebrahim Raisi was on board a helicopter that experienced a hard landing on Sunday.  It was also said to be carrying Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian. The Interior Minister said rescuers were still trying to […]

The Democratic Republic of Congo army says it has quashed an attempted coup against President Felix Tshikedi in the capital Kinshasa, involving Congolese and foreign fighters. DR Congo army spokesperson Brig Gen Sylavin Ekenge said on the state-run broadcaster RTNC TV that several suspects have been detained and the “situation is now under control”. His […]

Israel’s government has moved to shut down the operations of the Al Jazeera television network in the country, branding it a mouthpiece for Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the cabinet agreed to the closure while the war in Gaza is ongoing. Police raided the Qatari broadcaster’s office at the Ambassador hotel in Jerusalem on […]

Monday 6th May, 2024 Fear is being expressed in some quarters that the upcoming elections may bring the country under a pall of political uncertainty again, adversely impacting the ongoing economic recovery efforts in the event of a regime change and/or an unstable government. The SJB and the NPP have declared their intention to renegotiate […]

The Pentagon says it will “rush” Patriot air defence missiles and artillery ammunition to Ukraine as part of its new military aid package. The US will utilise $6bn (£4.8bn) for this purpose, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin revealed on Friday. Patriot air defence batteries are not included. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Patriots were “urgently” needed […]

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 […]

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 […]

Akebono, an American-born sumo wrestler who became the first non-Japanese grand champion or “Yokozuna”, died of heart failure this month in Tokyo, the sumo association said on Thursday. He was 54. The winner of 11 championships – the 10th most in modern sumo history – Akebono was physically imposing at 203cm (6 feet 8 inches) […]

By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya Since their visit to India at the invitation of the Indian government in February, leaders of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna-led National People’s Power coalition have become the poster-boys and girls of a complicated Sri Lankan political landscape, in a pre-election period. The once-marginal parliamentary group’s leader is now viewed as a potential […]

The Israeli parliament has approved a law giving the government the power to ban broadcasts of TV channels including Al Jazeera, the Qatari-owned network. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would “act immediately” to close the network’s local office. The US expressed concern over the move. With foreign journalists banned from entering Gaza, Al Jazeera […]

A book titled “Press Vs. Prez” providing insights into how newspaper cartoonists portrayed President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s unique role in steering the country through economic turmoil, will be officially launched at the Nelum Pokuna Theater in Colombo on 07th March 2024, at 4:00 PM. The event will be graced by President Ranil Wickremesinghe himself. The compilation […]

Under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, bilateral summits and discussions at political and official levels have increased, further strengthening the bond between the two nations. On Sept 6 in 2022, Indian PM Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina signed several significant agreements further strengthening the bilateral relationship between […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando With the presidential election scheduled for later this year, political parties represented in Parliament have stepped up efforts to forge alliances. In terms of the Constitution, presidential elections will have to be conducted between Sept 18 and Oct 18, 2024. The last presidential election was held in Nov 2019. Even though the […]

Monday 26th February, 2024 Sri Lanka is a nation in the hara-kiri mode. It needs no enemies; it has become its worst enemy. It continues to maintain a bunch of failed, corrupt politicians and their bureaucratic lackeys responsible for ruining the economy and hell-bent on degrading vital national assets which they are planning to dispose […]