updated Fri. August 13, 2021
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Daily Mirror
April 22, 2018
Since 'February 10', the panicked government politicos have clustered into formal and informal groups, that frequently shuttle between Paget Road [re-named ... courtesy the agonized taxpayer, and plunder the public assets under the worst ever instability experienced in the post independent Sri Lanka.
Colombo Page
April 22, 2018
Apr 22, Colombo: President's Media Division (PMD) issuing a statement said false information is being reported regarding the official delegation accompanying the President Maithripala Sirisena to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The President was accompanied by theÃÂ ...
The Hindu
April 22, 2018
Interpol has issued a red notice for Sri Lanka's former Central Bank Governor, who is wanted in connection with a controversial bond auction. ... as the 'bond scam', dented the government's image and is said to have contributed to the ruling alliance's poor showing in the local government polls in February.
Daily Mirror
April 22, 2018
Sri Lankan Government today condemned the terror attack at a voter registration centre in Kabul, Afghanistan. In a statement, Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed its condolence to the kith and kin of the terror victims. “Sri Lanka strongly condemns the heinous terrorist attack today at a voter registrationÃÂ ...
Seattle Times
April 22, 2018
A reconstruction of Sri Lanka's descent into violence found that Facebook's newsfeed played a central role in nearly every step from rumor to killing. ... Time and again, communal hatreds overrun the newsfeed unchecked as local media are displaced by Facebook and governments find themselves with littleÃÂ ...
Modern Diplomacy
April 22, 2018
The government's key policy on tourism promotion and strategies that have adopted to sell the country's tourism destinations has pushed potential tourists to choose Sri Lanka. My interaction with Sri Lankan diaspora, the idea to set up a tourism department at the embassy began in 2008, and it was soÃÂ ...
Colombo Page
April 22, 2018
Apr 22, Colombo: The General Secretary of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera says that a new agreement will be prepared to continue the coalition government with the United National Party (UNP). Minister Amaraweera said that before President MaithripalaÃÂ ...
The Hindu
April 22, 2018
Torture remained endemic throughout Sri Lanka in 2017, the US has said, highlighting limited progress made by the government in establishing additional transitional justice mechanisms. The US State Department, in a report, mentioned arbitrary or unlawful killings by government or its agents. “TortureÃÂ ...
Fortune
April 22, 2018
And despite efforts by governments and nonprofits to alert them to the mounting risk, Facebook is accused of doing next to nothing to remove clear ... “The germs are ours,” as one Sri Lankan official told the Times, referring to the sectarian devisions in Sri Lanka, “but Facebook is the wind, you know?”à...
Daily Mirror
March 1, 2018
The Sri Lankan government and Sri Lanka Gas Terminal Ltd will hold a 15 percent shareholding in the country's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, a cabinet spokesperson said. ... Sri Lanka has plans to build a 300 MW gas-fired power plant in Kerawalapitiya adjoining an existing power plant.
Daily Mirror
March 1, 2018
Former President and MP Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that India was not interested in building ports and highway projects in Sri Lanka when it was first offered, the Hindu said. In response to a question on increasing interest from China in Sri Lankan projects, Mr. Rajapaksa has told reporters in BengaluruÃÂ ...
Daily Mirror
March 1, 2018
Law and Order. This seems to be the one thing that the yahapalana government has cottoned onto in the aftermath of the election rout. And I don't mean that in a good way. The United National Party in particular has climbed down and fast from grand pronouncements of victory (no less!). Party bigwigsÃÂ ...
The Hindu
March 1, 2018
Months after Sri Lanka's Central Bank vowed action on mounting household debt in the war-affected north, thousands gathered in Jaffna on Tuesday, protesting against the government's inaction. 'Our home and country are indebted, what is the solution?; 'Stop loans, give employment' and 'StrengthenÃÂ ...
The Guardian
March 1, 2018
He fled Sri Lanka fearing repercussions from government security forces for his involvement with the LTTE, a separatist army that fought a brutal, and ultimately unsuccessful, 26-year war for independence until 2009, when it was defeated. His claim for refugee status was rejected by the AustralianÃÂ ...
Aljazeera.com
March 1, 2018
It's more than three years since President Maithripala Sirisena came to power in Sri Lanka. He took over from a government which was accused of human rights abuses during the war against Tamil separatists. Sirisena had promised a less authoritarian style of leadership. But Al Jazeera has seenÃÂ ...
CNN
February 17, 2018
Rajapaksa's campaign targeted the government's middling economic record, and its attempt to impose higher taxes, promising Sri Lankans a return to more confident, outward facing rule. Rajapaksa's supporters also criticized Sri lankan President Maithripala Sirisena for selling off national assets, includingÃÂ ...
ANI News
February 27, 2018
Admiral Wijegunaratne stated that the Sri Lankan government clearly said that it would not enter into any military alliance with any country. "Our political leadership led by President (Maithripala) Sirisena and Prime Minister (Ranil Wickremesinghe) clearly stated that the government will not enter into militaryÃÂ ...
Daily Mirror
February 27, 2018
The Local Government elections held on February 10, 2018 was to elect 8,293 members to 341 local authorities (24 municipalities, 41 urban councils and 276 divisional councils – Pradeshiya Sabas). This is the largest election held so far in Sri Lanka in one day where 15.8 million voters were eligible toÃÂ ...
St. Paul Asian American Press
February 27, 2018
“The return of Peace Corps to Sri Lanka is an opportunity to deepen the enduring friendship that has grown between our two countries over the past 70 years,” said Acting Peace Corps Director Sheila Crowley. “We are grateful to the Government and people of Sri Lanka for their invitation to, once again,ÃÂ ...
Kitco News
February 27, 2018
COLOMBO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan rupee ended steady on Tuesday as dollar selling by exporters and banks offset importer demand for the ... The government must repay an estimated 1.97 trillion rupees ($12.68 billion) in 2018 - a record high - including $2.9 billion of foreign loans and a total ofÃÂ ...
Daily Mirror
February 27, 2018
According to the Environmental Foundation Limited (EFL), 15 million plastic shopping bags alone are added to the environment daily in Sri Lanka and thus, ... The moment the ban on polythene is brought into forefront today, it attracts public stigma against the impotency of the current government toÃÂ ...
Daily Mirror
February 27, 2018
As I wrote in a previous blog, it is encouraging to see that the trade-related efforts led by Sri Lanka Customs are conducted in consultation with both the Government and the private sector. In fact, many of the government's trade and investment-related reforms are being developed in consultation with keyÃÂ ...
ReliefWeb
February 27, 2018
The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) declared 'state of natural disaster situation' and appealed for international to support towards response and rehabilitation efforts. The following activities were conducted in the initial relief phase; first aid services, medical camps, well cleaning, hygiene promotion, houseÃÂ ...
Channel NewsAsia
February 27, 2018
The government ended a full-blown 26-year civil war by defeating mostly Hindu Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, with claims of atrocities on both sides. ... The United Nations and rights activists have accused the Sri Lankan military of killing thousands of civilians, mostly Tamils, in the last weeks of the war.
The Sunday Times Sri Lanka
February 27, 2018
After more than a week of political wrangling, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe decided to continue the national unity government, in which Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) are partners.
Daily Mirror
February 21, 2018
The Sri Lankan government is ready to implement a short-term reform process which will generate short-term gains and help the government increase its ... Speaking at a UNP Young Professionals' Organization seminar in Colombo, he added that Sri Lanka needs to appeal to the optimistic spirit of foreignÃÂ ...
Daily Mirror
February 21, 2018
With the Local Government elections done and dusted, many still continue to give their own interpretation of the result, most, based on their political affiliations and in extension of their own ... A blind faith to the party and its leaders has been the bane of politics in Sri Lanka since we won universal franchise.
Colombo Page
February 21, 2018
Feb 21, Colombo: The European Union (EU) says the Sri Lankan Government must honor their commitments on the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) and ... the office of the Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and Maldives said Sri Lankans ill not be able to reconcile without knowing about theÃÂ ...
Colombo Page
February 21, 2018
Feb 21, Colombo: The second Cabinet reshuffle of the unity government will take place on Thursday, February 22, state media reports. The reshuffle is to take place according to an agreement entered into between the two parties in the unity government- the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri LankaÃÂ ...
ABC Online
February 21, 2018
A Sri Lankan asylum seeker who claims he once built warships for the Tamil Tigers says he will be tortured and possibly killed in his home country if he is deported by the Australian Government on Thursday. Santharupan Thangalingam, 46, said he was a senior leader of the Liberation Tigers of TamilÃÂ ...
The Peninsula Qatar
February 19, 2018
DOHA: Sri Lankan Embassy in Qatar in association with Sri Lanka Coordinating Committee organised a Cultural Programme on February 16 to mark Sri Lanka's 70th Anniversary of Independence. At this event, on behalf of the Sri Lankan Government, ASP Liyanage, Sri Lankan Ambassador to QatarÃÂ ...
CNN
February 18, 2018
Rajapaksa's campaign targeted the government's middling economic record, and its attempt to impose higher taxes, promising Sri Lankans a return to more confident, outward facing rule. Rajapaksa's supporters also criticized Sri lankan President Maithripala Sirisena for selling off national assets, includingÃÂ ...
ThePrint
February 16, 2018
The local election results in Sri Lanka show President Sirisena's diminishing stock. But China will continue to have its way in the indebted island nation. India is fast losing its strategic advantage in Sri Lanka to the Chinese. With the Maithripala Sirisena regime in Colombo increasingly doing China's bidding,ÃÂ ...
Colombo Page
February 16, 2018
Feb 15, Colombo: Sri Lanka's coalition government will continue its term until the next elections in 2020 with a reshuffle in the cabinet of ministers Co-Cabinet Spokesman, Minister of Health, Nutrition, and Indigenous Medicine, Dr Rajitha Senaratne said today. At the weekly cabinet news briefing held at theÃÂ ...
Daily Mirror
February 16, 2018
The United National Front (UNF) parliamentary group today decided to continue the unity government with some changes of portfolios and strategies, UNP General Secretary Kabir Hashim said today. He told media personnel that the unity government would continue but focus on a new set of goals andÃÂ ...
The Economist
February 16, 2018
Some commentators have described it as the biggest electoral upset in Sri Lankan history. Mr Rajapaksa swiftly declared that the current national government had lost its legitimacy and should resign. That is unlikely. The coalition headed by the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, may be ineffectual andÃÂ ...
The Sunday Times Sri Lanka
February 15, 2018
For a closer examination of the developments underway in Sri Lanka, a study of the 'Silent Revolution' of 2015 against the monumental French Revolution provides illuminating points ... Today, the Sri Lankan government is experiencing what Tocqueville wrote in 1856, in his book on the French Revolution.
Xinhua
February 15, 2018
COLOMBO, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government said on Wednesday that it had appointed a special committee to decide on the future of the unity government after the ruling parties faced a defeat in recently concluded local elections. Housing Minister Sajith Premadasa said the ruling UnitedÃÂ ...
The Sunday Times Sri Lanka
February 10, 2018
In her address, High Commissioner Chitranganee Wagiswara stressed the need to live together as one family to create a new Sri Lanka. ... Addressing the gathering, High Commissioner Nimal Weeraratne said the steadfast efforts of the Government have fostered an atmosphere for all Sri Lankans toÃÂ ...
Colombo Page
February 10, 2018
Feb 10, Colombo: Sri Lanka's election monitoring groups say the local government elections ended at 4 pm on Saturday was the most peaceful election held in the island's history. The head of the Center for Monitoring Election Violation (CMEV), Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, made this statement at theÃÂ ...
The Sunday Times Sri Lanka
February 10, 2018
The global financial advisory firm, in conjunction with MTI Consulting, was due to meet officials of the Sri Lankan Government and discuss how Lazard could work with the government in its attempt to divest and attract foreign investments for its large non-strategic assets like hotels. A media release from MTIÃÂ ...
Daily News & Analysis
February 10, 2018
The Sri Lankan Government had on Friday recommended the release of 113 Indian fishermen arrested over a period of time by the island nation's Navy for allegedly fishing in their waters, a fishermen association leader had said. Quoting information received by fisheries officials in Sri Lanka, Tamil NaduÃÂ ...
Pakistan Today
February 10, 2018
COLOMBO: Voting was underway on Saturday in the Sri Lankan Local Government (LG) elections, seen as an unofficial referendum on the performance of the unity Government so far. It was the first election to be held since the current Sri Lankan Government came to power in 2015 is being held underÃÂ ...
Lanka Business Online
February 9, 2018
Feb 09, 2018 (LBO) – The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) in reply to media reports on debt says it compiles and publishes central Government debt based on its database on issuance of domestic debt and international commercial borrowings on behalf of the Government and also the information itÃÂ ...
Daily Mirror
February 9, 2018
“The Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi has also retained Lawyers in the UAE specializing in immigration matters to advice the Government of Sri Lanka on this matter. Moreover, a delegation of Sri Lankan officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Attorney General's Department and the FCID areÃÂ ...
Daily Mirror
February 7, 2018
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who wound up the UNP campaign for the local government election in Maradana last evening urged the people not to lose what they achieved in January 2015. He also told the UNPers to get ready to form a government in 2020. “If you want us to form the governmentÃÂ ...
Daily Mirror
February 7, 2018
Sri Lanka, like its other Asian counterparts, was conquered by invaders, mainly due to geographical importance, which even today we have not been able to properly harness. Political independence, which the nation could gain, then means the Sri Lankan government can make its own decisions onÃÂ ...
Daily Mirror
February 7, 2018
Further, nearly half of Sri Lanka's government debt is denominated in foreign currency, which increases the risk to debt dynamics in the event of a further depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee. Fitch also said Sri Lanka's external balance sheet remains a weakness for the rating, with high net external debt,ÃÂ ...
Daily Mirror
February 7, 2018
It was under the leadership of this Prime Minister that the offence of Criminal Defamation, a dreaded weapon against the media in the armoury of a Government was removed from the Sri Lankan statute Book (2002). He has also played a pivotal role in ensuring the media freedom that prevails in Sri LankaÃÂ ...
Daily Mirror
February 7, 2018
Addressing the last SLFP rally for the forthcoming local government elections held today (7) in Polonnaruwa President Maithripala Sirisena said he does not wish to form a government with corrupt politicians from any party. While stating that he left the Rajapaksa Government in 2014 due to fraud andÃÂ ...
