‘Parliament amended law to favour tax defaulters, with defaulter being able to drag appealing process for 15 years’ By Shamindra Ferdinando Chairman of Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Economic and Physical Plans Mahindananda Aluthgamage yesterday (05) said that he intended to utilise Anti-Corruption Act No 09 of 2023 against top government revenue officials who neglected […]

KOCHI:A Sri Lankan with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) links and convicted for involvement in former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, has been made a witness in connection with the seizure of a large quantity of drugs, AK 47s, and ammunition from a fishing boat off the Kerala coast in March 2021. Robert Pious’ […]

Come December Hong Kong will hold its District Council elections. Missing in the fray will be Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy party. This situation has come to pass after a change in the electoral law governing participation in the elections. Lo Kin-hei, Chairperson of the Democratic Party, recently shared that he and other members of the […]

At a dinner gathering with professionals in Jaffna on Thursday (04), President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that provinces should utilize the powers granted by the 13th Amendment for economic development, asserting that devolution should not merely be a political concept but an economic reality. “If we examine the provisions of the 13th Amendment, there is ample […]

Text and pic by Dinasena Ratugamage The police on Thursday (04) arrested three people who protested while President Ranil Wickremesinghe was visiting Jaffna.Earlier, the police had obtained a court order against demonstrations scheduled to be held in Jaffna. The three men were arrested while they were protesting near the Jaffna Kachcheri. The protesters were demanding […]

by Neville Ladduwahetty What Sri Lanka has achieved since it declared itself insolvent is hailed by some with much optimism. The “relative stability” currently experienced is presented by the Governor of the Central Bank “as the outcome of a united effort from the outset” (The Island, December 26, 2023). The focus of that collaborative effort […]

Friday 5th January, 2024 The UNP is in overdrive to shore up what remains of its image with an eye to the next election. It is bragging that the country has posted a primary surplus after a lapse of more than two decades. It insists that credit for this be given to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, […]

Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara has discussed the amendments and proposals received from stakeholders and political parties for the new Electricity Bill, with the members and officials of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) reforms committee and reforms secretariat.

The Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) government is under fire for its perceived apathy towards looming health threats in the region, leading to a critical halt in the immunisation programme in the vulnerable Diamer district. This suspension not only jeopardises the health and well-being of the local population but also raises questions about Pakistan’s commitments to international organisations. [R...

The largest SLPP dissident group led by Dullas Alahapperuma too has split over the call made by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) to form a wider alliance against the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government, political sources said. Prof. G. L. Peiris, Dilan Perera and Dr. Nalaka Godahewa have pledged their support to the SJB whereas the others led […]

An apparent Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut killed Hamas No. 2 political leader Tuesday, marking a potentially significant escalation of Israel s war against the militant group and heightening the risk of a wider Middle East conflict.

Wednesday 3rd January, 2024 The partial demolition of an illegally-constructed hotel close to the Dehiwala beach, on Monday, has grabbed headlines. The building belongs to a drug dealer who has fled the country, according to the police. There was a heavy police presence around the demolition site, on Monday, and some persons who protested were […]

by Dr Lahiru Kodituwakku MBBS, MSc (Community Medicine), MSc (Disaster Risk Reduction & Development), MBA, PgD in Health Sector Disaster Management Healthcare institutions are often considered to be sanctuaries amidst crises and wars. Not only do they provide lifesaving health services but also give refuge to the most vulnerable, when there is nowhere else to […]

by Sivamohan Sumathy And I wish to speak of a poet here. Kurinjith Thennavan is an auto-didact. He did not learn to become a writer in our schools or university. He is a worker. He was shut out of our free education mandate even as he and others like him were enabling it. He was […]

The leader of South Korea s political opposition was stabbed at a news conference in the southern port city of Busan, Yonhap news agency reports.