News

Sri Lanka to head Indian Ocean body for two years

Published

2 years ago

October 15, 2023

editor

Sri Lanka is to assume the chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) next Wednesday following a high-level meeting of the Council. More than a dozen member states, represented by both foreign ministers and senior ministerial delegations, will attend the meeting.

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry will chair the Council when the current chair, Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen, hands over the chairmanship.

Foreign ministers or senior ministers of IORA members and Dialogue Partners will arrive in Sri Lanka next week for the 23rd IORA Council of Ministers, which Sri Lanka is hosting on Wednesday in Colombo.

The Council of Ministers meeting in Colombo will see the participation of sixteen Ministers. They include Bangladesh Foreign Ministers of A.K. Abdul Momen, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Maneesh Gobin (Mauritius), Dato Seri Diraja Zambry Abdul Kadir (Malaysia) and Dr (Mrs) Naledi Pandor of South Africa.

Also attending will be ministers and senior-level officials from Australia, Comoros, France, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, the Maldives, Mozambique, Oman, the Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (member countries). Dialouge Partners China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America will also be represented.

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.

The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), established in 1997, is an intergovernmental organisation of states on the rim of the Indian Ocean. Its membership spans Africa, West Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.

IORA’s membership has expanded to 23 states and 11 dialogue partners. Sri Lanka will assume the chairmanship of IORA from 2023 to 2025 at the 23rd Council of Ministers’ Meeting.

The ministers will deliberate on ways to cooperate in the six priority areas identified by the association. They include trade and investment; maritime safety and security; fisheries management; disaster risk management; and the blue economy, among others, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

They will be guided by recommendations to be made by the 25th Committee of IORA Senior Officials.

The visiting ministers will also make a collective call on President Ranil Wickremesinghe and hold bilateral discussions with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry and other ministers during their stay in Sri Lanka, according to the ministry.

(dailymirror.lk)

News

Johann Peries returns after conquering highest peaks of all continents

Published

25 seconds ago

July 8, 2025

editor

Sri Lankan mountaineer Johann Peries returned to the island this morning (08) after successfully summiting Mount Denali in Alaska, completing his remarkable journey to conquer the highest peaks on all seven continents.

Starting with Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa in 2014, Johann has now achieved the prestigious Seven Summits challenge — scaling the tallest mountain on each continent. His journey includes Mount Everest (Asia), Mount Elbrus (Europe), Aconcagua (South America), Mount Vinson (Antarctica), Mount Kosciuszko (Australia), and now, Mount Denali (North America).

Johann, a professional hairdresser and entrepreneur with salons in Colombo, London, and Australia, proudly planted the Sri Lankan flag atop each summit, earning international recognition and bringing pride to the nation.

Speaking at the Katunayake Airport, he announced plans to publish a book based on his mountaineering experiences and expressed hopes of promoting Sri Lanka as a premier destination for adventure tourism.

(dailynews.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by dailynews.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

News

Presidential Secretariat declines to disclose names of PMD officials

Published

3 minutes ago

July 8, 2025

editor

The Presidential Secretariat has informed social activist Anuruddha Bandara that the names of officials attached to the President’s Media Division (PMD) cannot be disclosed.

Senior Assistant Secretary to the President G.P.H.M. Kumarasinghe has conveyed the decision in a written response to an appeal filed by Bandara, who had sought details regarding all designations at the Presidential Secretariat, along with the names of appointees, their salaries, allowances and other benefits.

The Presidential Secretariat invoked Section 5(1)(a) of the RTI Act. Section 5(1)(a) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act No. 12 of 2016 of Sri Lanka relates to the exemptions under which a public authority may refuse to disclose information.

News

SC rules against Police after FR filed by 02 farmers

Published

19 minutes ago

July 8, 2025

editor

The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that police violated the fundamental rights of two farmers who were arrested and remanded following a protest in 2018 along the Polonnaruwa-Mahiyanganaya road.

The protest was held to demand action to prevent wild elephants from entering villages.

Delivering the verdict yesterday (July 07), the court ordered Mr. S.M.L.R. Bandara – the then OIC of the Aralaganwila Police to personally pay compensation of Rs. 30,000 each to petitioners R.A. Gamini Jayaratna and H.R. Eranda, both residents of Polonnaruwa.

The judgment, delivered by Justice – Yasantha Kodagoda with Chief Justice – Murdhu Fernando and Justice – S. Thurairaja concurring, stressed that magistrates must not remand individuals solely on police requests and should make careful, informed decisions.

The bench emphasized that bail should be the norm under the Bail Act, while denying bail should be exceptional, and that the judiciary must protect people’s fundamental rights.

The SC also ruled that protests should be handled without violating citizens’ rights and directed the Director General of Wildlife to develop a proper plan to prevent wild elephant intrusions.

Copies of the judgment have been sent to the Attorney General, Inspector General of Police, Director General of Wildlife, Director General of Forest Conservation, the Mahaweli Authority, and the OIC of Aralaganwila Police for further action.