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ICRC pledges support for government initiatives

Published

11 months ago

2025/02/26

Priyan

President Anura Kumara Disanayake met with Ms. Severine Chappaz, the newly appointed Head of Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), on Tuesday (25) at the Presidential Secretariat.

Discussions focused on the ICRC’s support for the new government’s policy framework. As part of this collaboration, the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society has agreed to provide technical assistance and capacity-building support to strengthen the Office on Missing Persons (OMP).

President Disanayake highlighted that the budget 2025 has allocated funds for on-going programs related to searching for missing persons.

Additionally, the President announced plans to celebrate “Sri Lankan Day” as a national initiative aimed at fostering unity and strengthening the country’s collective identity, transcending ethnic and religious differences.

The President expressed his gratitude to the ICRC for its humanitarian operations in Sri Lanka since 1989 and acknowledged its continued commitment to the country.

The meeting was also attended by Roshan Gamage, Senior Additional Secretary to the President, and Ruwanthi Jayasundara, Communications Manager of the ICRC.

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Delhi Capitals look to tame Gujarat Giants when it matters most

Published

32 mins ago

2026/02/3

Priyan

Delhi Capitals have come up short against GG in the league due to Sophie Devine's magic (Cricinfo)

In what has been a tightly-contested tournament so far, easy wins have come far and few in the ongoing Women’s Premier League. Among those close matches, twice in two league games, Delhi Capitals slipped up in the run chase against Gujarat Giants, unable to hold their nerves against Sophie Devine’s experience.

Those twin losses in some ways separated the passage of the two teams heading into the Eliminator. While the Giants reached there as the second-best team in the competition after beating defending champions Mumbai Indians on the final day, Capitals had to wait till the last day of the league phase to secure their qualification.

Nonetheless, now that both teams find themselves in the same position irrespective of the journey to the point, Capitals have the opportunity to strike at the right time, and head into their fourth successive final.

Heading to the Eliminator, both teams have enjoyed a fair share of success over the past week: winning three of their last four games at the venue. It is a venue where not only has their combination worked, but also pushed the team management to fall back to Plan A after trialling out a few alterations.

What separates the two teams though is that DC, despite the stutter, have had contributions coming through the stretch of their line-up at different times, while Giants have continued to rely heavily on a few players. Will that over-reliance on a few finally catch-up with them or will Devine produce another special to take the side to their first-ever final remains to be seen.

Gujarat Giants:There wouldn’t be much reason for Giants to tinker with the team that has helped it secure victory in the last two games.

Probable XI: Beth Mooney (wk), Sophie Devine, Anushka Sharma, Ashleigh Gardner (c), Georgia Wareham, Bharati Fulmali, Kanika Ahuja, Kashvee Gautam, Tanuja Kanwer, Renuka Thakur, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

Delhi Capitals:Ever since the caravan has moved to Kotambi, DC’s combination has proven to be more effective. Coming at the back of successive wins, they wouldn’t want to tinker much with it heading into another must-win game.

Probable XI: Shafali Verma, Lizelle Lee (wk), Laura Wolvaardt, Jemimah Rodrigues (c), Marizanne Kapp, Niki Prasad, Chinelle Henry, Sneh Rana, Minnu Mani, Shree Charani, Nandni Sharma

(Cricbuzz)

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Crown Princess’s son arrested for alleged assault before rape trial in Norway

Published

7 hours ago

2026/02/3

Priyan

Marius Borg Høiby has now been arrested four times in 18 months (file picture) [BBC]

The son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been arrested by police on suspicion of assault, before he goes on trial in Oslo on Tuesday on 38 charges, including the rape of four women.

Marius Borg Høiby, 29, was remanded in custody for four weeks. Police said the latest allegations against him involved wielding a knife and violating a restraining order, and there was a risk of reoffending.

His arrest on Sunday is the fourth time he has been detained by police since August 2024, when he was accused of assaulting a woman he had been having a relationship with.

He has denied the most serious charges against him but admitted some of the more minor ones.

It is the latest scandal to beset the royal family.

Norwegians are also coming to terms with revelations that his mother corresponded for three years with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2011 and 2014.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit admitted “poor judgement” as her extensive contacts with Epstein became clear. She expressed her “deep sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the abuses committed by Jeffrey Epstein” and said her contact with him was “simply embarrassing”.

It has emerged she stayed at his Florida home for four nights, while he was not there, and asked Epstein if it was “inappropriate” for a mother to suggest to a 15-year-old son wallpaper showing two naked women carrying a surfboard.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said he agreed with her admission of “poor judgement”, and although he did not go further, his implicit criticism of her actions is highly unusual.

Questions are now being asked in Norway about her failure to realise the toxic nature of maintaining contact with Epstein, and about the role of her advisers when she was corresponding with him via an official royal email account.

“It seems that nobody has been thinking. Where are the counsellors, where’s the royal court and where’s the foreign office?” says Ole-Jørgen Schulsrud-Hansen, a historian and royal correspondent for Norway’s TV2.

He believes the monarch has managed to distance itself from the imminent court case, with the argument that the princess’s son is a private citizen, but that is not the case for Mette-Marit: “She’s never a private citizen, she’s always the crown princess and what she’s doing in a private capacity or official capacity it will always redirect back to Norway – or ricochet.”

Mette-Marit is the future queen of Norway, and she has a prominent role in society as patron of several organisations including the Red Cross.

She is also suffering from pulmonary fibrosis and her doctors are preparing to put her on a list for a lung transplant.

When Mette-Marit married into the family as a commoner, her son was already four years old.

Although Marius Borg Høiby is not a member of the royal family, he is still Crown Prince Haakon’s stepson.

The charges against him range from rape and abuse to violating a restraining order, transporting 3.5kg of marijuana and speeding.

When he was first arrested in 2024 he spoke of having several mental disorders and struggling with substance abuse. Since then he has spent only a week in custody, so the police request to remand him for much of the start of the trial is a change of stance on their part.

The Oslo District Court said in a statement quoted by Reuters news agency that it had agreed to the police request in order to prevent repeated offences.

The royal household has sought to distance itself from the trial, and in a statement last week, Crown Prince Haakon reached out to the women caught up in the case and their families, saying it was “a difficult time for many of you, and we sympathise”.

[BBC]

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Our focus is on economic stability through fiscal discipline, sustainable debt management, and reforms that enhance productivity and growth – PM

Published

16 hours ago

2026/02/2

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya participated in the South Asia Regional Conference of the World Federation of Consuls (FICAC) 2026 held on 2nd of February at the Cinnamon Life, Colombo. The conference is hosted by the Association of Consuls in Sri Lanka and the World Federation of Consuls.

The conference held from 1st to 4th of February, brings together diplomats, business leaders, and policymakers to strengthen regional cooperation and explore new avenues for sustainable development across South Asia.

Addressing the event, the Prime Minister noted that selection of Sri Lanka as the venue for this conference holds particular significance at a time when the Government is working closely with international partners to position Sri Lanka as a credible and reliable region.

The Prime Minister also drew attention to Sri Lanka’s vulnerability against climate change, citing the recent impact of Cyclone Ditwah, and commended the support extended to Sri Lanka by the international partners. The Prime Minister emphasized that climate change requires global cooperation, shared responsibility, and innovative solutions.

She further highlighted ongoing efforts to improve public sector efficiency, transparency, and accountability, promote national unity and respect for diversity, and advance digital governance to enhance service delivery and public trust.

The Prime Minister stated,

“The Government of Sri Lanka is committed to addressing economic, social, and environmental challenges through a clear policy framework. Our focus is on economic stability through fiscal discipline, sustainable debt management, and reforms that enhance productivity and growth. At the same time, we are strengthening social welfare programs to support the most vulnerable”.

Addressing at the event, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism MP Vijitha Herath also stated that, the government is committed to recognizing Sri Lanka as a sustainable tourism hotspot in the global platform while positioning Sri Lanka as a stable and reliable international partner.

The event was attended by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Arun Hemachandra, FICAC President Nikolaos K. Margaropoulos, President of the Association of Consuls in Sri Lanka Mahen Kariyawasam and Diplomatic corps.