News Room : At least 176 people killed in eastern DR Congo floods
Aljazeera quoting officials reported that at least 176 people have been killed in flash floods in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Torrential rain in South Kivu province caused a river to overflow on Thursday (04) and led to significant damage and loss of life in the villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi, the provincial government said in a statement. South...
News Room : ‘Buddhaloka Sadhu Nada Seela Samadhi Program’ held at Shangri-La green
The ‘Buddhaloka Sadhu Nada Seela Samadhi Program’ was held at the Shangri-La Green adjacent to the President’s Office on Friday (05) morning. Nearly three thousand school children representing many schools in the Colombo region participated in this program, which was organized by the All Ceylon Buddhist Conference. Venerable Rajagiriye Ariyagngnana Thera conducted the Ashtanga ceremony and Buddha Puja, while the...
News Room : Head-on bus collision leaves 23 people injured – The Island
By Rathindra Kuruwita Hospitals in Sri Lanka’s urban centres, too, will struggle to deliver healthcare as a large number of healthcare workers, from doctors to nurses, are leaving the country, says Education Secretary of the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) Pubudu Jayagoda. Addressing the media, in Colombo, Jagoda said the dramatic increase in the PAYE tax, the drug and medical equipment shortages...
News Room : Landslide Early Warnings Issued to Badulla, Matara, Matale, Galle and Kegalle Districts
The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has issued level II landslide early warning to the Divisional Secretaries divisions of Passara in the Badulla District and Elpitiya Divisional Secretaries division in the Galle District while level I warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries divisions of Badulla, Hali Ela and Haldumulla in the Badulla District, Baddegama and Yakkalamulla in...
News Room : Several teachers killed in Pakistan school shooting – The Island
Gunmen have stormed a school in Pakistan’s volatile northwest, killing several teachers and gunning down another teacher from the school in a separate attack, according to officials. In Kurram, a district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan, a group of gunmen on Thursday stormed a government school where students were taking exams. The Associated Press reported that the...
News Room : Unite in solidarity to rebuild an affluent Sri Lanka – President – The Island
President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his Vesak message called upon all Sri Lankans to unite in solidarity to rebuild an affluent Sri Lanka. The full text of the President’s Vesak Message: This thrice blessed day of Vesak being most important in the Buddhist calendar, dawns with sacred significance. While commemorating the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and passing away, it is a revered occasion,...
News Room : Landslide Early Warnings issued to Badulla, Matara and Kegalle Districts
The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has issued a landslide early warning for the Divisional Secretaries divisions of Haldumulla and Passara in the Badulla District, Divisional Secretaries division of Kegalle in the Kegalle District and Divisional Secretaries divisions of Kotapola and Pasgoda in the Matara District.
News Room : President Ranil Wickremesinghe leaves for UK – The Island
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in the Netherlands, local media reported, on an unannounced visit expected to include meetings at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as well as members of the country’s parliament. Dutch news agency ANP reported that Zelenskyy, making his first visit to the Netherlands, landed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport...
News Room : US drug regulator approves world’s first RSV vaccine
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – an illness that kills thousands of Americans each year. The vaccine still needs approval from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before it can be rolled out to the public. Officials say the vaccine, named Arexvy by the manufacturer GSK, is a major...
News Room : Prof. Peiris zeroes in on AG – The Island
By Shamindra Ferdinando Jathika Nidahas Sabhawa Spokesperson Prof. G. L. Peiris, MP, Tuesday (02) questioned the conduct of the Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam, PC, pertaining to obtaining compensation for the worst ever marine disaster, caused in Sri Lankan waters, following the sinking of container carrier X-Press Pearl, in the first week of June 2021. Rajaratnam was sworn in as AG on...