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The raised handhold that tells many stories: President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hail the special relationship between the two countries with a friendship handhold gesture after the visiting leader was conferred the Mithra Vibhushana medal at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday.
India and Lanka sign Defence MoU built on ‘interlinked security’
Lanka’s Defence Secretary says deal meticulously scrutinised; Indian Foreign Secretary says it makes defence cooperation more structured By S. Rubatheesan Sri Lanka and India inked a defence cooperation memorandum of understanding yesterday, sealing close ‘interlinked’ security ties between the two nations as Sri Lanka reiterated once again that the country will not be allowed to [...]
At Women of Courage Award ceremony, Namini vows to fight for system change
The United States Department of State honoured Sunday Times Deputy Editor-Investigations Namini Wijedasa, among eight women, at the 19th Annual International Women of Courage Award Ceremony this week in Washington DC. Held at the Benjamin Franklin Room of the US State Department in the presence of First Lady Melania Trump and Secretary of State Marco [...]
Lanka’s highest honour conferred on Modi
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday conferred on Indian Prime Minister the title of ‘Sri Lanka Mithra Vibhushana’, an honour reserved for leaders of states with which Sri Lanka has special relations. It is conferred in appreciation of their friendship towards and solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka. President Dissanayake said the award was conferred [...]
Lankan media locked out of Modi coverage
The Sri Lankan media was blocked out from covering Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, with the President’s Media Division (PMD) taking full control of the coverage and failing dismally in coordinating events with local journalists. While the Indian High Commission coordinated the Indian media personnel, an entourage of around 30, many travelling with their [...]
Sri Lanka’s clothing faces 37.5% average US duty driving up prices by 20.6%
By Kapila Bandara Sri Lanka’s clothing, including underwear and outerwear, will carry a far higher price tag on American store shelves after President Donald Trump imposed an across-the-board 10% duty on April 2, researchers in the United States have estimated after analysing hundreds of items of global imports. The average US tariff would increase to [...]
The Sunday Times intervenes to remove 9,605 cloud-based explicit images of Lankan women
By Tharushi Weerasinghe On Wednesday, the Sunday Times received from a source a cloud storage link that contained thousands of explicit images illicitly obtained and shared without consent. The storage link had 9,605 files in 500 folders, adding up to 10 GB of data. Photos were separated into folders with the alleged name of the [...]
Sri Lanka scrambles for ways to make a deal on US reciprocal tariffs tremblor
By Kapila Bandara Sri Lanka is seeking points of leverage and will explore export alternatives with the United States to overcome the uncertainty arising from heavy tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration this week calibrated to the trade mismatch. A presidential panel featuring some apparel heavyweights and tyre exporter Michelin Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., was named [...]
Sri Lanka scrambles for ways to make a deal on US reciprocal tariffs tremblor
By Kapila Bandara Sri Lanka is seeking points of leverage and will explore export alternatives with the United States to overcome the uncertainty arising from heavy tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration this week calibrated to the trade mismatch. A Cabinet minister is convinced talks can help, acknowledging that reciprocal tariffs were a “shock’’. Another [...]
Modi calls for a more pacific stance on Tamil Nadu bottom trawlers
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called Sri Lanka to reconsider some of the recent tough steps taken by the government to prevent Tamil Nadu bottom trawlers from entering the country’s Northern territorial waters and engage in bottom trawling on the basis of adopting a “humanitarian and constructive approach,” “Prime Minister emphasised that at the [...]
US tarrif issue: India says will stand by SL
Indian Premier Narendra Modi assured President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during bilateral discussions yesterday that India will stand by to assist Sri Lanka as it deals with the impact of the imposition of a 44 per cent reciprocal tariff on Sri Lankan exports to the United States (US). “Obviously, it is something that impacted everybody. Sri [...]
CMEV takes serious note of AKD’s rally speeches
Complains to EC, saying they were a clear violation of election laws By Sandun Jayawardana The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) against President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for violating election laws while campaigning for the 2025 local government election. The complaint concerns two election rally speeches [...]
Highest Sri Lakan honour for Modi amidst new MoUs and project launches
By Chandani Kirinde The Sri Lanka Government laid out the red carpet for visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday with a ceremonial welcome at the Independence Square in Colombo, a 19-gun salute and the conferring of the country’s highest national honour for non-nationals – the Sri Lanka Mithra Vibhushana. Prime Minister Modi arrived in [...]
No regrets over assaulting Rajiv Gandhi on that fateful morning of ’87 says Wijemuni
Claims same veil of secrecy that prevailed over Indo-Lanka Accord then prevails over MOUs signed with Premier Modi yesterday By Chandani Kirinde Vijitha Rohana Wijemuni, a former naval rating who gained notoriety after assaulting then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi with his rifle butt on July 30, 1987, remains suspicious of Indian intentions in Sri [...]
Eranga Gunasekara ordered to appear in court over unlawful entry into Temple Trees
By Ranjith Padmasiri Youth Affairs Deputy Minister Eranga Gunasekara who has been named as a suspect in the case of unlawful entry into the Temple Trees during the 2022 Aragalaya protest has been ordered to appear at the Colombo Fort Magistrates court on September 24. The order was issued when the case was taken up [...]
Tomorrow, Colombo’s brief encounter with disappearing shadow
Get ready for a unique celestial event tomorrow, Monday April 7, precisely at 12.12 p.m,. when the Sun’s alignment will cause shadows to briefly disappear in Colombo, according to science writer and astronomer Anura C. Perera. This will occur as the sun will be directly overhead in Colombo, a biannual celestial event. In January, Sri [...]
Chikungunya danger rises with dengue mosquito
By Kasun Warakapitiya Health authorities are calling for intensified dengue control programmes to control sporadic cases of Chikungunya spreading in Colombo city. The National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) Director, Dr Sudath Samaraweera said robust dengue mosquito eradication programmes and setting up strong campaigns to destroy mosquito breeding areas would help control both dengue and sporadically [...]
High Court Judges perturbed over lawyers tarnishing judiciary’s reputation
By Ranjith Padmasiri The High Court Judges’ Association (HCJA) has written to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) expressing concerns over what it says are attempts by some members of the Bar in recent days to intentionally tarnish the reputation of the judiciary following a recent incident. “It has been brought to our notice [...]
Maligawa gears for huge crowds at exposition
Sri Dalada Maligawa is being prepared for the exposition of the Sacred Tooth Relic from April 17 to 27. This is the first exposition after sixteen years, and the second after the present incumbent Pradeep Nilanga Dela came into office. The Maligwa authorities are expecting around 100,000 devotees daily. On the first day the sacred [...]
Moves to promote local pharma industry and ensure ‘medicine security’
Strategies and policy recommendations to follow situational analysis facilitated by ADB and WHO on SL request By Kumudini Hettiarachchi Interactive and in-depth were the sessions on a matter of vital importance for Sri Lanka and its people recently – ensuring ‘medicine security’ just like ‘food security’. The brainstorming was to develop strategies and policy recommendations to [...]
Beware of online shopping scams targetting the season, warns CAA
Pages often with flashy product photos vanish within days only to resurface under new names By Sandun Jayawardana The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has warned the public to be cautious about online shopping scams, especially conducted through social media during the festive season. In Sri Lanka, online shopping typically takes place in three key areas – official [...]
Rights of prisoners committee raises concerns over two recent custodial deaths
By Mimi Alphonsus Two deaths, one at the Welikada police station and another at the Boossa prison have raised concerns about security in custody. At Welikada police station, a 25-year-old man was arrested on April 1 on a complaint received by the police. By April 2, he was declared dead after being admitted to the [...]
Environment regulator allows unlicensed Australian sand miner’s prep work
By Mimi Alphonsus Sri Lanka’s Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has granted the Australian company, Titanium Sands Limited, a terms-of-reference (ToR) for a heavy mineral sand mining project in Mannar island. Against standard procedure, the ToR was issued even though Titanium does not have a valid exploration licence from the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB). [...]
Communities being encouraged to help manage solid waste
By D. Thiviyatharshini There is an increasing need for solid waste management at the community level considering the higher volumes that are disposed of in the country. “Research shows that by the end of 2025, world cities will generate about 2.2 billion tons of waste, which is three times higher than in 2009,” said Professor [...]
Villagers to help validate pest count, says Agriculture Ministry
By Kasun Warakapitiya The Agriculture Mionistry has devised a new random survey to improve accuracy and validity of the information gathered through the selected problem animal census of March 15. The census was held to obtain a count of macaques, langurs, giant squirrels and peacocks. The Ministry has initiated what it called ‘a participatory rural [...]