Page 24 - Sri Lanka

Tamil Nadu fishermen's strike enters eighth day, 'rail roko' on Jan 1

The indefinite strike by fishermen demanding immediate release of fishers arrested by Sri Lanka entered the eighth day while community leaders said a 'massive rail roko' would be held on January 1

Sri Lanka logs over 150,000 international tourist arrivals in 2021

Sri Lanka has registered more than 150,000 tourist arrivals so far this year, as the number peaked after over 47,000 people landed in the island nation in the first 20 days of December

Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, wife offer prayers at Tirumala temple

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his wife Shiranthi Rajapaksa offered prayers at the famous Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala on Friday

India expresses concern over detention of fishermen by Sri Lanka

India expressed concern over the detention of 68 of its fishermen from Tamil Nadu by Sri Lankan authorities and said the issue of their "early release" has been taken by its mission in Colombo

Fuel prices in Lanka hiked; govt says talks on with India for LoC

Sri Lanka's state oil entity and the Indian Oil Corporation's local subsidiary have raised the prices of petrol and diesel amidst a severe foreign exchange crisis in the country

Sri Lankan Navy arrests 12 more Indian fishermen for alleged poaching

The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 12 more Indian fishermen and seized two fishing trawlers for allegedly poaching in the country's territorial waters

Sri Lanka to require Covid-19 vaccine certificate to enter public places

Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga made the announcement on Sunday

Sri Lanka Navy arrests 43 Indian fishermen for alleged poaching

The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 43 Indian fishermen and seized six trawlers for allegedly poaching in the country's territorial waters, an official statement said on Sunday. The Navy arrested the fishermen in seas Southeast of the Delft Island in Jaffna on Saturday. "A special operation conducted by the Navy in seas Southeast of the Delft Island, Jaffna on the night of 18th December 2021, led to seizure of 6 Indian fishing trawlers poaching in Sri Lankan waters, with 43 Indian fishermen aboard," the Navy said in a statement. The arrests were made by the Fast Attack Craft of the 04th Fast Attack Craft Flotilla (4 FAF) attached to the Northern Naval Command, it said, adding that the operation was carried out while adhering to the COVID-19 protocols. Arrangements are being made to hand them over to relevant authorities for legal action after conducting Rapid Antigen Tests of the apprehended Indian fishermen, it said. Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for ...

Fitch downgrades Sri Lanka's sovereign rating to 'CC' from 'CCC'

Fitch has downgraded Sri Lanka's sovereign rating to 'CC' from 'CCC', saying there is an increased probability of a default in coming months.

Lankan President Rajapaksa suspends Parliament; leaves for Singapore

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has prorogued Parliament for one week and left for Singapore on an unscheduled visit.

India working on urgent economic package to aid Sri Lanka: Report

The move follows a recent visit by Sri Lanka's finance minister to India

Why Lanka wants migrant workers to remit funds via banking channels

The governor of Central Bank of Sri Lanka said he has seen a $300 million drop in remittances in just the last month

Nearly all of lynched Sri Lankan's bones broken, 99% body burnt: Pak report

The post-mortem report of Diyawadana cited skull and jaw fractures as the cause of death, the Geo News reported.

Sri Lankan Navy 'hurled stones, bottles' to shoo us away: Fishermen

Sri Lankan Navy personnel threw stones and bottles to drive them away, leading to some damage to more than 10 boats, fishermen who returned here following the incident alleged on Sunday

Lynching incident of Sri Lankan 'day of shame for Pakistan': PM Imran Khan

After the lynching of a Sri Lankan man in Pakistan's Sialkot over alleged blasphemy, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he would personally oversee an investigation into "the horrific vigilante attack" which he also called "a day of shame for Pakistan".On Friday, a mob in Pakistan's Punjab province tortured a man to death before burning his body in Sialkot.Reportedly, the workers of private factories attacked the export manager of a factory and burnt his body after killing him, Dawn newspaper reported.Taking to Twitter, Khan said: "The horrific vigilante attack on factory in Sialkot & the burning alive of Sri Lankan manager is a day of shame for Pakistan. I am overseeing the investigations & let there be no mistake all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law. Arrests are in progress."The foreign ministry of Sri Lanka has demanded an investigation into the matter while Amnesty international stressed an independent investigation.A large ...

Mob in Pakistan lynches Sri Lankan man over 'blasphemy' allegations

Priyantha Kumara, in his 40s, was working as the general manager of the garment factory in Sialkot district

Sri Lanka detects first case of new coronavirus variant Omicron

Sri Lanka on Friday detected its first case of COVID-19's new variant Omicron, Deputy Director General of Health Services Hemantha Herath said. Today, we have found one Omicron infected person from our labs, he announced. The person, who arrived from an African nation, was currently in quarantine along with his family members, the official said. The Sri Lankan government on November 28 had announced that arrivals from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini are required to undergo mandatory quarantine. Herath said that the detection was made possible by the continued surveillance carried out by the health authorities having warned the public on the new variant weeks ago. As of Thursday, the total number of COVID-19 infections since March 2020 stood at 5,65,471 with 14,399 deaths. Sri Lanka ended its lockdown on October 1, which lasted since mid-August. The deadly third wave of the coronavirus struck in mid-April. The new potentially more contagious B.1.1.

China suspends Sri Lanka energy project over security concerns

The Chinese embassy has confirmed that an energy project in Sri Lanka has been suspended due to security concerns from a third party, the embassy tweeted.

14 dead, 1 missing in Sri Lanka as heavy rains continue to lash nation

Fourteen people were killed and one person was reported missing as heavy rains accompanied by strong winds have continued to lash Sri Lanka since last week

HCL Technologies expands its presence in Sri Lanka, opens new facility

HCL intends to occupy 80% of Cinnamon Life, a project by John Keels, with plans of taking up 10 floors now and 10 floors at a later stage