President Ranil Wickremesinghe has extended an invitation to the Sinhala and Tamil diaspora in foreign countries and urged them to consider investing in new universities as a means of supporting education for the country s children, emphasizing a shared responsibility for the nation s progress.

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have concluded more than four hours of talks with a commitment to stabilise strained bilateral ties and restore some military-to-military communications. The two leaders met on Wednesday for the first time in a year at Fioli Estate, a country retreat about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south […]

U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung yesterday (15) inaugurated a new American Innovation Hub (iHub) in the Eastern Province at Batticaloa. Governor of the Eastern Province Senthil Thondaman joined the event as a special guest. The following is the text of the US embassy statement: “A joint initiative between the U.S. Embassy and Dream […]

A heightened emphasis on lending has seen the Commercial Bank Group increase gross loans and advances by Rs 51.404 billion in the third quarter of 2023 at a monthly average of Rs 17.135 billion, growing its loan book by 4.33% over three months to Rs 1.239 trillion and reversing the trend of the first half […]

The convocation of the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies, Colombo, (BCIS) for 2023, held at the BMICH on November 10, provided many a thought-provoking ‘take-away’ for the International Relations (IR) student and analyst. The principal dignitaries at the momentous event did considerable justice to current developments in the IR field and thereby rendered the convocation […]

Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry will attend the 3rd Ministerial Conference on Maritime Security and Safety in the Western Indian Ocean, scheduled to be held in Mauritius tomorrow (Nov.16).

Israeli forces bombarded southern Gaza on Tuesday after tanks advanced to the gates of the enclave s biggest hospital in the north where health officials say dozens of patients, including babies, have died due to a lack of power and the heavy fighting.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) recently arrested two persons for attempting to send six women to Dubai for employment, on tourist visas.

Nepal says it will ban TikTok, adding that social harmony and goodwill are being disturbed by “misuse” of the popular video-sharing app and that there is rising demand to control it. Nepal’s Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma said the decision to ban TikTok was taken at a cabinet meeting on Monday. Sharma […]

Budget highlights Following are the highlights of Budget proposals made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament yesterday: New economic and political system The President said in order not to fall back into a crisis, the economic and political system of Sri Lanka must be created anew.  He said that a new social consensus should be […]

* Tax revenue to be raised by 47.1% in 2024 * Rs 10,000 increase for public sector workers * Pensioners to get Rs 2,500 allowance * Rs. 450 bn reserved for bank recapitalization * Four new universities to be established * 20% of state banks to be given off by Saman Indrajith President Ranil Wickremesinghe, […]

In a significant move towards unlocking the potential of its vast maritime resources, Sri Lanka is renewing its focus on marine research and fostering international collaborations, aiming to bolster the nation’s blue economy, a report published by the World University News said yesterday. It said Rear Admiral YN Jayarathna (retired), former chief of staff and […]

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sacked Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who drew anger for accusing police of being too lenient with pro-Palestinian protesters. The government said on Monday that Braverman has left her job as part of a cabinet shuffle ahead of a general election expected next year. Following her dismissal, Braverman said “it […]

A sum of Rs. 3,000 billion has been allocated by the 2024 budget for the implementation of foreign debt restructuring and settlement of International Sovereign Bonds. Under the debt restructuring supported by the International Monetary Fund, Sri Lanka’s public debt as a percentage of GDP is expected to be reduced from 128 percent in 2022 […]

In the budgetary allocations for the fiscal year of 2024, the Sri Lankan government has earmarked Rs. 3 billion for the implementation of foreign debt restructuring and settlement of international sovereign bonds under foreign debt restructuring.

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron made a shock return to high office on Monday, becoming foreign secretary in a major shakeup of the Conservative government that also saw the firing of divisive Home Secretary Suella Braverman.