News

Foreign Ministers to gather in Colombo next week

Published

2 years ago

October 6, 2023

editor

A number of Foreign Ministers are scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka next week to attend the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) hosted by Sri Lanka.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the IORA as well as other senior Ministers of IORA Member States and Dialogue Partners will arrive in Sri Lanka next week for the 23rd IORA Council of Ministers which Sri Lanka is hosting on October 11 in Colombo.

The Council of Ministers meeting in Colombo will see the participation of 16 Ministers including the Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, India, Iran, Mauritius, Malaysia and South Africa.

Meanwhile, other ministers and senior level delegates will participate from Australia, Comoros, France, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen (member countries) and from China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Türkiye, United Kingdom and United States of America (dialogue partners).

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry will chair the Council when the current Chair, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh will hand over the chairmanship to the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka.

The Council of Ministers is the highest decision making body of IORA.

The Council will be preceded by the 25th meeting of the Committee of IORA Senior Officials (October 9-10) which will be chaired by Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane.

Today, IORA’s membership has expanded to 23 Member States and 11 Dialogue Partners. Sri Lanka will assume the chairmanship of IORA for the period 2023 to 2025 at the 23rd Council of Ministers’ Meeting.

The Secretary General of the Indian Ocean Rim Association Dr. Salman Al Farisi and the directors of the IORA Secretariat in Mauritius will also participate in the meeting.

The visiting Ministers will also make a collective call on President Ranil Wickremesinghe and hold bilateral discussions with their Sri Lankan counterpart Foreign Minister Ali Sabry as well as with other Ministers, during their stay in Sri Lanka.

News

Yoshitha & Daisy Forrest indicted & bailed

Published

7 minutes ago

July 2, 2025

editor

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son – Yoshitha Rajapaksa, and his grandmother – Daisy Forrest have been formally indicted today (July 02) before the Colombo High Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The indictment was presented before High Court Judge Pradeep Abeyratne, who subsequently ordered both defendants to be released on two surety bonds of Rs. 01 million each.

The judge further ordered to obtain fingerprints of the accused and relevant records be summoned as part of the judicial process.

BIZ

Starlink now available in Sri Lanka – Elon Musk

Published

10 minutes ago

July 2, 2025

editor

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk has announced that the Starlinksatellite internet service is now available in Sri Lanka.

“Starlink now available in Sri Lanka!” Elon Musk said in a post on ‘X’.

Starlink now available in Sri Lanka! 🇱🇰 https://t.co/37X5hNOEfL
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 2, 2025

News

Govt. to begin paddy purchasing for Yala season

Published

13 minutes ago

July 2, 2025

editor

The procurement of paddy for the Yala season will begin tomorrow (July 03).

The paddy purchasing initiative will be rolled out in Ampara, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and parts of the Northwestern and Southern regions.

The announcement was made by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock – Namal Karunaratne, in a statement to media.

The Deputy Minister also said that the Paddy Marketing Board currently has Rs. 06 billion for the procurement process.

As per the announced prices:

Nadu paddy will be purchased at Rs. 120 per kilo
Samba paddy at Rs. 125 per kilo
Keeri Samba at Rs. 132 per kilo

Prices for wet paddy have also been fixed:

Wet Nadu at Rs. 102 per kilo
Wet Samba at Rs. 105 per kilo
Wet Keeri Samba at Rs. 112 per kilo

However, the Deputy Minister has noted that only properly dried and standardized paddy will be accepted by government warehouses and urged all stakeholders to ensure fair treatment for farmers. He also highlighted that wet paddy cannot be accepted by the government warehouses, emphasizing the importance of proper drying to maintain quality standards.