News Room : Japan jet crash: Passengers describe chaos inside flight 516
First came the shock, as the Airbus A350 carrying 379 people collided with a second plane while landing in Tokyo. Then came heat and smoke as the jet sped along the runway in flames. Then survival instinct kicked in, as people scrambled to flee a cabin filling with fumes, knowing that lives depended on the next few seconds. That all on Japan...
News Room : Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri killed in Beirut blast
Israel has insisted the assassination of a Hamas leader in Beirut was not an attack on Lebanon, as its enemies warned of “punishment” for his death. An Israeli spokesman said Saleh al-Arouri had died in a “surgical strike against the Hamas leadership”. Hamas condemned the death, while its ally Hezbollah said it was an assault on Lebanese sovereignty. Lebanon’s prime minister,...
News Room : Showery condition in the Eastern and Uva provinces is expected to reduce today – The Island
Weather forecast issued at 05.30 a.m. on 31 December 2023 by the Department of Meteorology Misty conditions can be expected at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces during the morning. Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Eastern and Uva provinces and in Polonnaruwa, Matale, Nuwara-Eliya and Hambantota districts while several spells of showers will occur in the...
News Room : South Korean opposition leader stabbed in neck, rushed to hospital – The Island
South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has been rushed to hospital after he was stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southeastern port city of Busan. Lee, who heads the main opposition Democratic Party, was stabbed on the left side of his neck during a question and answer session with journalists on Tuesday morning, South Korea’s Yonhap news...
News Room : Fake news about quake and tsunami posted on social media – NHK – The Island
Sydney and Auckland were the first major world cities to welcome the arrival of 2024. Over a million revellers celebrated the New Year on Sunday night amid stunning fireworks displays, illuminating the skies over Australia’s Sydney Harbour and New Zealand’s tallest structure, the Sky Tower in Auckland. Light rain that had persisted throughout the day in Auckland had cleared by midnight,...
News Room : Hoping against hope in the new year – The Island
“The sorrow we feel when we lose a loved one is the price we pay to have had them in our lives.”– Rob Liano By Susantha Hewa It was somewhere in the late 1980s that I saw the street-drama legend, Kalakeerthi Dr. Gamini Haththotuwegama. One evening, he came to our area leading his drama troupe. I went to see the play...
News Room : World welcomes the New Year with fireworks and prayers
Sydney and Auckland were the first major world cities to welcome the arrival of 2024. Over a million revellers celebrated the New Year on Sunday night amid stunning fireworks displays, illuminating the skies over Australia’s Sydney Harbour and New Zealand’s tallest structure, the Sky Tower in Auckland. Light rain that had persisted throughout the day in Auckland had cleared by midnight,...
News Room : Queen Margrethe II: Danish monarch announces abdication live on TV
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II has announced her surprise abdication in a new year TV address. She will formally step down on 14 January, which will be 52 years to the day since she became queen. “I will leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik,” she announced. The 83-year-old is the world’s only reigning queen and the longest serving current...
News Room : Sri Lanka inflation climbs as new tax looms – The Island
by Amal Jayasinghe The controversial arrest of Sri Lanka’s senior most Kapuwa, or the intermediary between devotee and deity, has renewed a debate over who should benefit from the valuable offerings to the gods. Somipala Ratnayake, the chief “Kapuwa” at the Kataragama Maha Devale was taken into custody on Wednesday over a missing gold tray said to be worth over 6.4...
News Room : Central Bank’s Financial Stability Review 2023 reveals strained balance sheets, deterioration in credit quality, and sectoral risks – The Island
by Amal Jayasinghe The controversial arrest of Sri Lanka’s senior most Kapuwa, or the intermediary between devotee and deity, has renewed a debate over who should benefit from the valuable offerings to the gods. Somipala Ratnayake, the chief “Kapuwa” at the Kataragama Maha Devale was taken into custody on Wednesday over a missing gold tray said to be worth over 6.4...