Venerable Urulewatte Dhammarakkhita Thero, a Senior Executive Sangha Member of the Asgiriya Chapter, has called upon the public to display Buddhist flags on their homes and vehicles across the country during the exhibition period. He emphasized the importance of decorum among devotees attending the exhibition. “The entire city of Kandy will be illuminated with lights…
Maarit Kohonen Sheriff, Director of the Global Operations Division at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, has called on the Sri Lankan government to lift unnecessary regulations and restrictions on civil society and independent media to revive civic space. Speaking at the 58th Session of the Human Rights Council, Sheriff emphasized…
The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has issued a warning about an ongoing scam where fraudsters, posing as representatives of telephone companies, are deceiving people into paying money under the pretense of winning prizes. Director Menaka Pathirana of TRCSL explained that these scammers contact individuals via text messages or phone calls, informing them…
The Department of Meteorology says that showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Northern, North-central, Eastern, Southern and Uva provinces and in Matale and Nuwara-Eliya districts today (28). Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places elsewhere during the afternoon or night, the department noted. Meanwhile, heavy showers above 100 mm can be expected…
Former President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has criticized the United Nations Human Rights Office for what he described as a double standard in its treatment of Ukraine and Sri Lanka. Speaking on the issue, Wickremesinghe pointed out the contrasting approaches taken by the UN, particularly in light of the ongoing war between Ukraine and…
The Department of Meteorology says that showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Northern, North-central, Eastern and Uva provinces and in Matale, Nuwara-Eliyaand Hambantota districts today (27). In its latest forecast, the department added that showers or thundershowers will occur at several places elsewhere during the afternoon or night. Fairly heavy showers above 75mm…
Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya yesterday (24) said that all agreements with the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) had been approved by Parliament. Ex-parliamentarian Jayasuriya emphasized that not only USAID projects but all such agreements with external parties had been implemented in a similar manner. The former Speaker said so when The Island sought…
The government is focusing on providing packs of essential food items to low-income earners in preparation for the upcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year. In order to make policy decisions related to ensuring food security, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, K.D. Lalkantha, and Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development, Wasantha…
The Director of the Astronomy and Space Sciences Unit at the University of Colombo’s Department of Physics, Prof. Chandana Jayaratne, says that a rare celestial phenomenon is currently taking place, allowing Sri Lankans the observation of seven planets of the solar system aligned in a row. According to Professor Jayaratne, this remarkable event will be…
An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hit the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday morning, with tremors felt in Kolkata and several parts of West Bengal. India’s National Center for Seismology (NCS) reported that the quake occurred at 6:10am. An India Meteorological Department official told news agency PTI that the earthquake was recorded near Puri in Odisha….
