Sri Lanka is currently experiencing a shortage of almost all essentials due to a shortage of dollars to pay for the imports.
Participating at the event in Colombo, in the presence of the island nation's Transport Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Indian Deputy High Commissioner, Vinod K. Jacob, recalled the recent statement of Indian External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar that "India would support Sri Lanka in difficult times" is an affirmation of the Neighborhood First policy in the current context.
In August 2021, the country opened its borders for fully vaccinated travellers and the next month it also removed the mandatory on-arrival PCR tests.
The World Bank estimates 500,000 people have fallen below the poverty line since the beginning of the pandemic, the equivalent of five years' progress in fighting poverty.
Sri Lanka's foreign exchange reserves further dropped to $1,587 million in November 2021 - the lowest since May 2009. In October, Sri Lanka's forex reserves stood at $2,269.2 million recorded in October. The country's forex reserves are just enough to cater to a month's imports.
These visuals are from a kite-flying session gone wrong at Point Pedro in Sri Lanka. Reports said that a man was blown away by strong winds while flying a huge kite.
The National Gem and Jewellery Authority, the state-run institute, certified the immensely valuable gem stone and plans are underway to sell it at an international market.
Sri Lanka also has the highest rate of road fatalities in South Asia with around 3,000 deaths per year, the World Bank statement said.
Yohani Diloka De Silva, the Sri Lankan internet sensation, singer, songwriter, rapper, music producer, YouTuber, and businesswoman, has been trending on various social media platforms for her hit song 'Manike Mage Hithe'.
Every member before boarding a return flight was supposed to undergo an RT-PCR test and there Gowtham and Chahal, deemed as close contacts of Krunal, have been found positive.
The India squad for the six-match white-ball tour of Sri Lanka in July will undergo a fortnight-long quarantine in Mumbai, where they will be tested regularly before departing for Colombo on June 28.
Sri Lanka is presently in the mid of a third wave of the pandemic since the first local patient with COVID infection was detected in March last year.
Heavy rains followed by landslides and flooding in Sri Lanka killed at least 14 people and has affected over 250,000 more in the past two days with warnings that adverse weather conditions will continue, officials said on Sunday.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan could lead an India side for the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka in July as the Indian cricket board looks to form a white-ball squad in the absence of top players who will be busy in England for Test matches at the time
Colombo's R. Premadasa Stadium will host all the matches in India's upcoming limited overs series against Sri Lanka
Colombo: Sri Lanka on Thursday announced that all arrivals from India will be banned with immediate effect due to the record rise in COVID-19 cases in the neighbouring country. Several…
Colombo: Former Sri Lanka ODI and T20 skipper Thisara Perera announced retirement from international cricket on Monday. The 32-year-old all-rounder, in his letter addressed to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), said…
Antigua: Sri Lanka batsman Danushka Gunathilaka was given out in the most unusual fashion for ‘obstructing the field’ during the first ODI against the West Indies in Antigua on Wednesday. The third umpire gave him out in a way that is being considered controversial after Kieron Pollard appealed for his wicket when his foot seemingly […]
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday thanked India for its generosity after he received 500,000 doses of Covishield vaccine donated by the country under the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. India last week announced that it will send COVID-19 vaccines under grant assistance to Sri Lanka and seven other countries — Bhutan, the Maldives, Bangladesh, […]
New Delhi: As a beneficiary of India’s vaccine diplomacy, Sri Lanka will on Thursday receive a consignment of 500,000 doses of ‘Covishield’ vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII). This gift of Covid-19 vaccine doses to Sri Lanka is a part of India’s ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative under which India has gifted vaccines to […]
Colombo: 26 new ministers were sworn into Sri Lanka’s new Cabinet on Wednesday after the country recently held a Parliamentary election which saw the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) led by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa winning a landslide victory, securing a two-thirds majority in Parliament. The ministers took oath in front of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa […]
Colombo: Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in on Sunday as the country’s new prime minister at a historic Buddhist temple, days after his party won a landslide victory in the General Election. The 74-year-old Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP) leader was administered the oath of office for the ninth Parliament by his […]
Colombo: When Mahinda Rajapaksa was vanquished in Sri Lanka’s presidential elections in 2015, many thought the shrewd leader, known for his brutal military campaign against the Tamil Tigers, was a spent force. But five years later, the 74-year-old leader is back at the top in Sri Lankan politics along with his three siblings, winning the […]
Colombo: Former Sri Lanka batsmen Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara have asked for evidence after country’s former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage alleged that team’s 2011 World Cup final against India played in Mumbai was fixed. “Is the elections around the corner. Looks like the circus has started. Names and evidence?” Jayawardene said in a tweet […]
New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that the Indian cricket team will not travel to Zimbabwe for a three-match ODI series in August. On Thursday, the Sri Lanka cricket board had already announced that the proposed limited-overs series against India in June was postponed in the wake of […]
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has requested India to provide a special USD 1.1 billion currency swap facility to boost the country’s draining foreign exchange reserves in view of the economic slowdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Rajapaksa’s office said that the new request is in addition to the USD 400 million amount Sri […]
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has issued a special gazette notice, dissolving the Parliament and declaring parliamentary elections to be held on April 25. In the special gazette released by the Presidential Secretariat on Monday, Rajapaksa dissolved the Parliament from Monday midnight and summoned a new parliament to meet on May 14, Xinhua reported. […]
Melbourne: Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu on Saturday won the toss and elected to bat against India in their Group A game at the Junction Oval of the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup. “We are going to bat first. I’m pretty confident about my batting group. Our main focus is to play positive cricket. 120 […]
Colombo: The Sri Lankan Cabinet has approved the extension of the free-visa scheme to nationals of 48 countries, including India, until April 30 as the tourism sector, which was picking up after the 2019 Easter terror attacks, took another hit due to the coronavirus outbreak, it was reported on Friday. “With the introduction of the free-visa […]
Bhopal: The Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government will construct a grand temple for Sita in Sri Lanka and Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Monday asked officials here to prepare a plan and allot funds. He also directed that Sri Lankan government officials and members of the Mahabodhi Society be included in the committee that will be […]
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has for the time acknowledged that more than 20,000 people who disappeared during the country’s decades-long civil war were dead, the media reported on Tuesday. The Sri Lankan Army defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009 after 26 years of bloody conflict. During this time, Rajapaksa was the […]
Bloemfontein (South Africa): Sri Lanka might have lost against India by 90 runs in the ongoing U-19 World Cup here, but young pacer Matheesha Pathirana grabbed eyeballs as he bowled a wide delivery to Yashasvi Jaiswal, which was recorded at ‘175kph’ (108mph) initially. Later, it turned out that there was an error in the recording. […]
Pune: India captain Virat Kohli hardly has a cheat day, but ahead of India’s third and final T20 international against Sri Lanka here, he seemed to be in the mood going by his social media post. Kohli shared a picture of him batting at the nets with the caption: “Ball out of the Bowlers hand […]
New Delhi: Lack of proficiency among the groundstaff saw India’s T20I game against Sri Lanka called off at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday as water seeped in through the covers onto the pitch making it impossible for the game to be played. And the Indian team manager’s report is set to bring this […]
Colombo: Sri Lankan Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga has confirmed that the government was in the process of drafting a Cabinet proposal to extend the free-visa regime till April 30, it was reported on Thursday. “We have just begun to draft the proposal and within the next two weeks I hope to submit it to the […]
New Delhi: Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is all set to make a return to the national set-up as he has been included in both the T20I and ODI squads for Sri Lanka and Australia respectively. While speculation was rife that he might have to wait till the Australia series for a comeback, the national selectors […]
Cuttack: Rohit Sharma on Sunday broke Sri Lanka great Sanath Jayasuriya’s 22-year-old record for most runs in a calendar year by an opener across formats. Rohit’s ninth run in India’s innings during the third ODI against the West Indies at the Barabati stadium here took his tally to 2,388 runs, which took him past Jayasuriya’s […]
Colombo: For the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, a military officer has been appointed as the chief of the country’s top intelligence agency, which was blamed for failing to prevent the devastating Easter terror attack that killed more than 250 people in April. Brigadier Suresh Sallay, the former director of the Military Intelligence, has […]
Colombo: Sri Lanka’s new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed a committee inquiring the Easter Sunday terror attacks to expedite their probe, identify those responsible for the attacks and bring them before the law even as he slammed his predecessors for failing to prevent the bombings. A string of suicide attacks, struck churches and luxury hotels […]
Colombo: Sri Lanka will work with India and it won’t do anything that will harm its interests, newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said ahead of his visit to New Delhi later this week. Rajapaksa, who is considered pro-China, said he wanted Sri Lanka to be a “neutral country” and work with all the countries. […]