News Room : Elephant allegedly abused in Sri Lanka flown back to Thailand – The Island
A Thai elephant gifted to Sri Lanka two decades ago arrived back in its birth country on Sunday (03 July), following a diplomatic spat over the animal’s alleged mistreatment. Thai authorities had gifted the 29-year-old Muthu Raja – also known as Sak Surin in its birthplace – to Sri Lanka in 2001. But they demanded the elephant back last year...
News Room : Self-serving love – The Island
Some SLPP grandees would have the public believe that they are opposed to the government’s domestic debt restructuring (DDR) programme because it has adversely affected the working class and exempted the super-rich. SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa has gone on record as saying that he is averse to the DDR scheme, and that is why he absented himself when it...
News Room : Crisis-hit Pakistan strikes $3bn funding deal with IMF – The Island
Oman have been fined 40 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against Zimbabwe in their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier match in Bulawayo on Thursday. Muhammad Javed of the ICC International Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after Oman were ruled to be two overs short of the target after time allowances were...
News Room : ACMC Leader given time till 21 July to file objections – The Island
Two eminent Sri Lankans joined the international election observer mission to observe and assess the conduct of the general election in Sierra Leone, held on 24 June 2023, in which that country’s president, parliament, and other local representatives would be elected, sources said. Justice Rohini Marasinghe was part of the 11-member Commonwealth election observation mission, headed by the former Vice...
News Room : Van Beek’s Super Over fireworks put West Indies’ World Cup hopes on the line – The Island
“I can’t really explain it,” Player of the Match Logan van Beek said. Netherlands, chasing 375 against West Indies, were deep in trouble with 205 required from the remaining 125 balls with only six wickets in hand. Who would have known they would end up getting 204 of them in a frenetic finish that would force the game into...
News Room : Two arrested for promising to send Sri Lankans to Canada illegally – The Island
By Nalaka Ratnayake and Norman Palihawadana Police and Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development Minister Jeevan Thondaman have traded accusations over the latter’s intervention with the Bogawanthalawa Police, following the arrest of a 28-year-old person involved in a dispute with the manager of a state bank in the area. The police arrested the suspect in Bogawantalawa town on 22 June,...
News Room : Risk of a dengue epidemic with onset of monsoon – Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama – The Island
Before the game, West Indies were favourites. At the halfway mark, West Indies remained favourites. And at the midway point of the chase, West Indies were arguably even stronger favourites. Yet, somehow, improbably, preposterously, it’s Zimbabwe that emerged winners by 35 runs, in front of a raucous crowd in Harare. By virtue of this win, Zimbabwe carry over a strong...
News Room : Fresh call to uncover Lanka mass grave secrets – The Island
ECONOMYNEXT –Five civil society groups are calling for government action to investigate mass graves which they say contain the remains of so-called “disappeared” in various civil conflicts on the island. In a press release issued on June 22, the groups insisted that “if the Sri Lankan government is serious about dealing with the past it must commit to have international...
News Room : Govt. to hand back over 2,900 more acres of Jaffna land – The Island
The United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) has declared that in the absence of credible investigations and prosecutions into alleged war crimes accusations undertaken by Sri Lanka, a special team based there was involved in ongoing investigations in several jurisdictions. The declaration was made on Wednesday (21) by Nada Al-Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights at the...
News Room : Indian fishermen arrested for poaching in SL waters
The Navy backed by Coast Guard on Wednesday (21) night conducted an operation to nab Indian fishing craft poaching in Sri Lankan waters.A senior SLN official said that during the operation, four trawlers along with 22 Indian fishermen had been taken into custody and later handed over to Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for further action.The official said that a cluster...