The official meeting between UN Secretary General António Guterres and President Ranil Wickremesinghe has taken place at the UN headquarters in New York.
President calls on US President
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden and President Ranil Wickremesinghe engaged in a cordial meeting on Wednesday (20) in New York.
This high-profile meeting took place amidst a dinner hosted by President Biden, gathering all the Heads of State who had participated in the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The encounter began with a warm welcome from President Biden, who extended his hospitality to President Wickremesinghe.
The leaders engaged in a cordial and insightful conversation, touching upon various topics of global importance.
Following their discussions, they joined their fellow Heads of State for a group photograph, symbolising the spirit of international cooperation.
President Wickremesinghe, Professor Maithri Wickramasinghe and Mr. and Mrs. Biden posed for a photograph.
The government has decided to abolish the project launched under former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to upgrade 671 provincial schools as national schools.
Under the project, each school was allocated Rs.02 million – totaling over Rs.1340 million – for emergency renovations and new national school name boards, with some costing over Rs.500,000.
Schools have now been instructed to remove these boards, along with the “National School” title, official seals, and letterheads, and revert to their previous identities.
The initiative aimed to increase the number of national schools to 329,000, but only 05 schools in the Western Province were converted.
Professor Kapila Perera, Secretary of the Ministry of Education at that time, now serves as Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Highways.
The Government of Sri Lanka has officially declared the list of Public and Bank Holidays for the year 2026, through an Extraordinary Gazette issued on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
The Union of Postal and Telecommunications Officers says postal services will operate as usual today (May 31).
Secretary Manjula Jayasundara stated that striking union members returned to work from yesterday (May 30) afternoon, and distribution of over 2,000 delayed mail bags has begun.
This strike, launched over 10 demands including delays in recruitment, has reportedly drawn the attention of the relevant authorities.