News Room : NASA reveals historic crew for 2024 Artemis moon voyage – The Island
The United States space agency (NASA) has unveiled the four-member crew for its upcoming mission around the moon, a team that includes the first woman, the first person of colour and the first Canadian assigned to a lunar mission. At a ceremony on Monday in Houston, Texas, NASA announced that Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch and Jeremy Hansen...
News Room : Donald Trump arrives in New York ahead of court appearance – The Island
Aljazeera reported that Former United States President Donald Trump has arrived in New York City for his first scheduled court appearance to face charges related to a hush-money payment made to an adult film actress before the 2016 presidential election. Trump, the first former president to be criminally prosecuted, is expected to be fingerprinted, photographed and formally presented with the...
News Room : Openers, Moeen script CSK’s memorable Chepauk return
Chennai Super Kings made a memorable return to their den by opening their account on Monday (April 3) with a tight 12-run win over Lucknow Super Giants. In a high-scoring encounter, CSK came out on top after their spinners pulled them back in the chase following LSG’s rollicking start. Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 217/7 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad...
News Room : Bill requires 2/3 majority and referendum – The Island
By Dr Jayampathy Wickramaratne President’s Counsel Despite terrorism being a worldwide phenomenon, the international community is yet to agree on a definition of terrorism. Ben Saul, Professor of International Law at the University of Sydney, who has written extensively on the subject, says: ‘The ordinary meaning of terrorism is simple: extreme fear.’ While Sir Jeremy Greenstock, British Ambassador to the...
News Room : Finland’s right-wing National Coalition Party wins tight election – The Island
Aljazeera reported that Finland’s main conservative party has claimed victory in a tightly-fought parliamentary election. With all of the votes counted on Sunday, the centre-right National Coalition Party (NCP) came out on top at 20.8 percent. They were followed by the right-wing populist party, The Finns, with 20.1 percent, while Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Social Democrats garnered 19.9 percent.
News Room : ‘Aluth Sahal Mangalya’ held under President’s patronage – The Island
Parliamentary directive disregarded By Shamindra Ferdinando Amidst ongoing protests against the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government’s controversial tax regime, which is expected to to meet revenue targets set by the IMF, Parliament has revealed that the Inland Revenue Department, Customs and Excise Department disregarded a specific directive issued by parliamentary watchdog COPA (Committee on Public Accounts) way back in 2016 to enhance revenue collection. This...
News Room : Serious lapses of revenue collecting outfits revealed – The Island
Parliamentary directive disregarded By Shamindra Ferdinando Amidst ongoing protests against the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government’s controversial tax regime, which is expected to to meet revenue targets set by the IMF, Parliament has revealed that the Inland Revenue Department, Customs and Excise Department disregarded a specific directive issued by parliamentary watchdog COPA (Committee on Public Accounts) way back in 2016 to enhance revenue collection. This...
News Room : Showers and thundershowers over most parts of the country today – The Island
Weather forecast issued at 05.30 a.m. on 01 April 2023 by the Department of Meteorology Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in Uva, Central, Southern, Sabaragamuwa, Western, North-Western and North-Central provinces and in Mannar district during the afternoon or night. Fairly heavy showers above 50mm are likely at some places in above areas. Showers may occur in the Batticaloa,...
News Room : Police failure to contain May 2022 violence explained
Police inaction to prevent arson attacks against SLPP politicians in the Western province on May 9 may have been due to orders not to carry weapons to deal with protesters, a new investigation has revealed.A review of the role of the police at the time showed Senior Deputy Inspector General Deshabandu Tennakoon had ordered all officers under him to...
News Room : SL will engage major T-bond holders for voluntary optimization: Governor – The Island
ECONOMYNEXT –Sri Lanka will not re-structure Treasury bills outside of central bank holdings and will engage with major T-bond holders for voluntary ‘optimization’ Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said. “There will be some treatment on central bank held Treasury bills,” Governor Nandal Weeasinghe told a creditor presentation Thursday. “Other Treasury bill holdings will not be treated. Treasury bonds we envisage voluntary optimization.” Sri Lanka...