By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya in Daily Mirror, Dec 18, 2023Colombo, Dec 18 – A total of 2,121 suspects were arrested within the last 24 hours during island-wide operations launched yesterday. Police said that during this period, they recovered 2kgs and 232gms of heroin, 178kgs of cannabis, 769gms of Ice drugs, 35kgs of Ash, 626gms of Mawa, 30,550 cannabis plants, and 3,489 narcotic pills. Among the 2,121 suspects arrested during the operation, 12 suspects are being…
Posts tagged as “island”
report in ECONOMYNEXT, Nov 25, 2023– Sri Lanka is eying to earn $200 million annual income from foreign ships traversing in its water by developing Electronic Navigation Charts (ENCs), the State Defence Minister said as the island nation is in the process of coming out of an unprecedented economic crisis. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the Defence Minister, has already issued a gazette for navy to start the creation of ENCs, State Defence Minister…
By SHIHAR ANEEZ in EconomyNext, Nov 5, 2023 at 10:54 pmChina has sought approval from Sri Lankan authorities for another research ship in early next year, but the approval is yet to be granted, two government sources said amid rising objections from the island nation’s neighbour, India, over the region’s security concern. The sources, however, said unlike the earlier approved requests, the latest has come without a local partner and the research area being decided…
by Resty Woro Yuniar in SCMP, Oct 4, 2023The construction of a Chinese-backed economic zone on an Indonesian island off Batam is tantamount to “cultural genocide”, according to advocates who are concerned about the future of indigenous villagers facing eviction. Authorities have been seeking to reach a deal with some 7,500 villagers living on Indonesia’s Rempang Island – about 40km south of Singapore – to get them to move out of homes they have lived…
by Khushboo Razdan in SCMP, Sept 19, 2023New York: Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday declared the Aukus security pact between Australia, Britain and the US “a mistake” while rejecting any concerns over Beijing’s perceived influence on his debt-ridden island nation. “It is a military alliance moved against one country – China,” he said at an event hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in New York on the sidelines of the United…
AFP report, Sept 2, 2023COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s police force said on Friday it had sacked an officer who entertained protesters with an impromptu piano performance after they stormed the island nation’s presidential compound last year. Constable R. M. D. Dayaratne was deployed to help protect the colonial-era residence on the day it was taken over by protesters who forced then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country. Instead, he sat at a grand piano in the…
by Buddhika Samaraweera in The Morning, June 26, 2023The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) yesterday (25) stated that they have no knowledge of any impending Cabinet reshuffle, despite reports that one would take place once President Ranil Wickremesinghe returns to the island today (26). It was recently reported that the President, who was on an official visit to the United Kingdom and France, is expected to reshuffle the Cabinet of Ministers in the coming…
by Norman Palihawadane in The Island, June 1, 2023Spokesman for the Catholic Church Rev Fr Cyril Gamini yesterday warned of sinister moves to create religious and communal disharmony. Addressing the media in Colombo, Rev Fr Gamini said that there had been some events and developments threatening the country’s religious and communal harmony. “These incidents may seem to be isolated, but it is becoming clear that they are part of a coordinated and deliberate endeavour.” He…
by Iftekhar Mahmud in Prothom Alo, May 2, 2023The people living in the capital city Dhaka were in extreme discomfort due to severe heatwave almost throughout the month of April. However, those living in the greener areas around the capital were living in a relatively cooler weather. A large section of residential and commercial areas in Dhaka has turned into a “heat island” which has created this difference in the land surface temperature between Dhaka…
By Shamindra Ferdinando in The Island, Apr 28, 2023 ‘I haven’t sought US visa for more than 15 years’ says AdmiralAdmiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda yesterday (27) said that he had not applied for a visa to visit the US and was not planning to do so. He said so when The Island sought his response to him being designated by the US State Department. The action is the first since the US designation…