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Posts tagged as “Sri Lanka”

Unit set up to probe religious offences made on social media

report in Ceylon Today, DEc 14, 2023In response to the growing concerns over religious offences propagated on social media networks, a dedicated unit has been set up to investigate such incidents, Sri Lanka Police said yesterday (13). … Police Spokesperson SSP Nihal Thalduwa said, “The Acting IGP has issued orders to the Computer Crime Investigation Division (CCID) to set up a specialised unit to receive and investigate complaints related to religious offences committed through social…

Sri Lanka seeks more information from foreign ships after concerns over Chinese research vessel

report on EconomyNext, Dec 8, 2023 at 6:38 pmSri Lanka will seek more information on foreign ships visiting the island nation, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said, following geopolitical concerns and questions raised over permitting Chinese research ships to dock in the Indian Ocean Island nation’s ports and do surveys. After the visit of two research ships within 14 months, China has sought approval from Sri Lankan authorities for another research ship early next year. India,…

Sri Lankan mercenaries in Ukraine: FM says govt. has no control over what they do

By Shamindra Ferdinando in The Island, Dec 8, 2023Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC, yesterday (07) said that the government could not do anything about the activities of ex-military officers overseas.Minister Sabry said so in response to The Island query whether the Sri Lankan law prohibited Sri Lankans from joining the armed forces of Ukraine. Three ex-military personnel including a former Special Forces officer serving with what is widely referred to as Ukrainian Foreign Legion aka…

Sino-Lanka Relations: SLAF to officially receive two Y-12IV aircrafts tomorrow

by Asiri Fernando in The Daily Morning, Dec 3, 2023Two Chinese built Y-12IV aircraft, manufactured on order by Harbin Aviation Industry Co. Ltd, are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka during the early hours of today, with an official hand over to the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) expected tomorrow (5), The Daily Morning learns. The aircraft were expected to be ferried to Sri Lanka by a private company engaged by the manufacturer. The aircraft…

Sri Lanka in process of rightsizing military; tri forces to be 150,000 by 2030 – State Minister

report in Economy Next, Nov 24, 2023 at 11:37 pmSri Lanka has already started “right sizing” its strong military gradually to 150,000 by 2030 without any impact on national security while strengthening them with modern technology, State Defence Minister Minister Premitha Bandara Tennakoon said. He said the government is in the process of reducing the army to 100,000, navy to 30,000, and air force to 20,000 by 2030 from the current numbers, which he did…

US$5bn China oil refinery project to Sri Lanka cabinet next week: Minister

report in ECONOMYNEXT, Nov 22, 2023 – A agreement for a 5 billion US dollar refinery to be built by China in Sri Lanka’s Hambantota district will be submitted to cabinet for consideration next week, Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said. “We have included in the agenda of the cabinet the awarding of the contract for the Hambantota new oil refinery,” Minister Wijesekera told parliament. “If the cabinet approves, after the agreement is signed, it will…

Sri Lanka ready to join BRI phase two, China FTA to be expedited

report in EconomyNext, Nov 20, 2023 at 8:56 pmSri Lanka is among countries ready to join the second phase of China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI), with a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries to be also expedited, according to a discussion between President Ranil Wickremesinghe and a top Chinese official. Wickremesinghe told visiting special envoy of the Chinese President, state councillor Shen Yiqin, that the BRI is expected to make a more…

China seeks another research ship visit approval from Sri Lanka – sources

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…

Sri Lanka treads cautiously into 5G Future amid geopolitical concerns over Huawei

By Kelum Bandara in Daily Mirror, Oct 31, 2023Sri Lanka is to take a cautious approach in the introduction of 5G technology to navigate geopolitical rivalry to be triggered by the involvement of China’s Huawei, a minister said. 5G race is an already established term in international politics. 5G or the 5th generation wireless technology is poised to transform every aspect of life since it will introduce applications such as self-driving cars, buses, and trains,…

Sri Lanka and China to strengthen ties through higher education cooperation

by Melkishiya Andrew in The Daily Morning, Oct 31, 2023The Open University of China and the Open University of Sri Lanka have reached an agreement to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for higher education cooperation and to establish a Chinese language centre in Sri Lanka. The MoU is expected to promote international cooperation, scholarly collaboration, cultural interaction, and friendship.https://www.themorning.lk/articles/lmFVKo2oIqRgaNlqve1o

Sri Lanka leans on IMF and China as crucial budget test looms

by Munza Mushtaq in Nikkei Asia, Oct 27, 2023COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s cash-strapped government is breathing slightly easier after a week that brought an agreement on more support from the International Monetary Fund and a promise of “no strings” help from China. But the country still must climb out of bankruptcy, and President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s administration must prepare a budget presentation for Nov. 13 that will likely highlight the difficulty of balancing financial constraints with…