Latest News
Rear Admiral Chinthaka Kumarasinghe appointed as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Navy
Rear Admiral Chinthaka Kumarasinghe was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy effective from 31st December 2024.
The Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda officially handed over the letter of appointment to Rear Admiral Chinthaka Kumarasinghe at the Navy Headquarters today (15th January 2025) and expressed his best wishes to him in his new role as Deputy Chief of Staff.
Rear Admiral Chinthaka Kumarasinghe, a distinguished old boy of Bandaranayake Central College, Veyangoda, and embarked on his naval career as an Officer Cadet in the 21st intake of the Sri Lanka Navy’s Executive Branch in 1991.
Following his initial naval training at the Naval and Maritime Academy, Trincomalee, he was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant in 1993. In 1995, he completed the Sub Lieutenant Technical Course at the Naval and Maritime Academy and later specialized in Gunnery at INS Dronacharya, Cochin, India in 2003.
His academic and professional development includes the Staff Course at the Defence Services Command and Staff College, Sapugaskanda in 2008, an Engineering Course on Naval Gun Maintenance in China in 2010 and the Senior Command Course at the Naval Command College, Nanjing,
China in 2019.
He further enriched his strategic acumen by completing the National Defence Course at the National Defence College, Bangladesh in 2021.
Rear Admiral Kumarasinghe holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, a Master of Defence Studies from the University of Kelaniya, and a Master’s degree from the University of Professionals, Bangladesh.
Rising through the ranks, he was promoted to Rear Admiral on 21st June 2023.Throughout his illustrious naval career, Rear Admiral Chinthaka Kumarasinghe has excelled in various commanding roles aboard Fast Attack Craft, naval ships, and at key naval establishments. Notable positions he has held include Senior Staff Officer (Human Resources),
Instructor at the Defence Services Command and Staff College, Deputy Director Naval Personnel, Director Naval Policy and Plan, and Commander Southern Naval Area.
Prior to his current role as Deputy Chief of Staff, he served as Commander Western Naval Area and Commandant Volunteer Naval Force, responsibilities he continues to oversee.
(Navy Media)
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a naval ceasefire in the Black Sea in separate deals with the US, after three days of peace talks in Saudi Arabia.
Washington said all parties would continue working toward a “durable and lasting peace” in statements announcing the agreements, which would reopen an important trade route.
They have also committed to “develop measures” to implement a previously agreed ban on attacking each other’s energy infrastructure, the White House said.
But Russia said the naval ceasefire would only come into force after a number of sanctions against its food and fertiliser trade were lifted.
US officials have been separately meeting negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv in Riyadh with the aim of brokering a truce between the two sides. The Russian and Ukrainian delegations have not met directly.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the deal to halt strikes in the Black Sea was a step in the right direction.
“It is too early to say that it will work, but these were the right meetings, the right decisions, the right steps,” he told a press conference in Kyiv.
“No-one can accuse Ukraine of not moving towards sustainable peace after this,” he added, after US President Donald Trump had previously accused him of blocking a peace deal.
But shortly after Washington’s announcement, the Kremlin said the Black Sea ceasefire would not take effect until sanctions were lifted from Russian banks, producers and exporters involved in the international food and fertiliser trades.
The measures demanded by Russia include reconnecting the banks concerned to the SwiftPay payment system, lifting restrictions on servicing ships under the Russian flag involved in the food trade, and on the supply of agricultural machinery and other goods needed for the production of food.
It was unclear from the White House’s statement when the agreement is meant to come into force.
When asked about lifting the sanctions, Trump told reporters: “We’re thinking about all of them right now. We’re looking at them.”
Washington’s statement on the US-Russia talks does say the US will “help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertiliser exports”.
Speaking in Kyiv, Zelensky described this as a “weakening of positions”.
He also said Ukraine would push for further sanctions on Russia and more military support from the US if Moscow reneged on its commitments.
Later, in his nightly address to Ukrainians, Zelensky accused the Kremlin of lying when it said the Black Sea ceasefire depended on sanctions being lifted.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said “third countries” could oversee parts of the deal.
But he warned that the movement of Russian warships beyond the “eastern part of the Black Sea” would be treated as a violation of the agreement and a “threat to the national security of Ukraine”.
“In this case Ukraine will have full right to exercise right to self-defence,” he added.
A previous arrangement allowing safe passage of commercial ships in the Black Sea was agreed in 2022, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of that year.
Both Ukraine and Russia are major grain exporters, and prices rocketed after the start of the war.
The “Black Sea grain deal” was put in place to allow cargo ships travelling to and from Ukraine to safely navigate without being attacked by Russia. The deal facilitated the movement of grain, sunflower oil and other products required for food production, such as fertiliser, through the Black Sea.
It was initially in place for a period of 120 days but, after multiple extensions, Russia pulled out in July 2023, claiming key parts of the agreement had not been implemented.
[BBC]
New (or returning) players have hogged the limelight this first week of IPL 2025 and it was no different in Ahmedabad where last season’s title-winning captain announced himself in grand style. Shreyas Iyer led Punjab Kings’ batting line-up to their highest total of all time, and then victory over Gujarat Titans by 11 runs.
Iyer had a century for the taking. He was 97 off 42 when the final over began, but he did not face a single ball of it, having told his partner Shashank Singh not to worry about the landmark. He had said prior to the start of the season that he wanted to bat at No. 3 and he showed against GT the extent of damage he can do from there. His career-best IPL score included nine sixes. Only once in this tournament has he cleared the boundary more often, and to bat this way was a conscious decision.
Emeritus Professor of Anthropology Gananath Obeyesekere has passed away at the age of 95.
-
Business5 days agoCargoserv Shipping partners Prima Ceylon & onboards Nestlé Lanka for landmark rail logistics initiative
-
News3 days agoSeniors welcome three percent increase in deposit rates
-
Features3 days agoThe US, Israel, Palestine, and Mahmoud Khalil
-
Business5 days agoSri Lankans Vote Dialog as the Telecommunication Brand and Service Brand of the Year
-
News3 days agoScholarships for children of estate workers now open
-
News4 days agoDefence Ministry of Japan Delegation visits Pathfinder Foundation
-
Features5 days agoThe Vaping Veil: Unmasking the dangers of E-Cigarettes
-
News5 days ago‘Deshabandu is on SLC payroll’; Hesha tables documents