News
US Embassy in Colombo only mission with private beach – President
The United States Embassy is the only Embassy with a private beach, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said recently while attending the official opening of the new building of the United States Embassy in Colombo.
“38 years ago, I stood in another building next to this witnessing President Jayewardene open the new US Chancellor building. The earlier building was housed in the residence, which one time belonged to my great-grandmother, Helena Wijewardena, before the Americans purchased the sea. I think that’s the only private beach in Sri Lanka and that is the only Embassy which has a private beach, which I am sure will be really the cause of joy for your marine scene,” he said.
The President said that it was 74 years ago that the two countries started diplomatic relations. 2023 will mark the 75th anniversary of our independence as well as our relations with the US.
“But our contact with the US goes back far longer than that. Over 200 years ago, when missionaries arrived here in Jaffna to open schools, I always wondered how those missionaries got to Jaffna with the British while burning the White House in Washington. But I must thank them because they started one of the first hospitals in Sri Lanka. The green hospital, where they did yeoman service in Jaffna during wartime, was not only a Christian missionary. We all know of Col. Alcott, and the services he has done and there are many sons who stand here who come from the school he started, Ananda College. Our relationship was not only in trade, not merely education, not merely religion, it was also military,” he said.
The President added that he met US President Joe Biden when he was a senator and he met Biden again in 2017, on a unique occasion we were both listening to a speech by President Xi.
“I must thank President Biden for the help he has given us in this critical moment. We appreciate it and I must say, without your help, we will not be having a successful “Maha Season.” Thank you. So, what this building symbolizes, in a way, is the coming together, the brick-and-mortar human relationship which has held us all together. This new building also is, in a way, a symbol of a new era in which the relationship has to develop. When the Indian Ocean is getting more attention, is coming under attention and the world itself is changing we are seeing from last year onwards how fast the geopolitics is changing and in this world that we will have to carry out our new relationships and we have worked together for so long, I have no doubt that we will carry on respecting each other and working closely to each other to uphold the peace and democracy,” he said.
Wickremesinghe added that the US has supported Sri Lanka in every difficult situation and measures have been taken to strengthen the 74-year-old ties between the two countries, and that the support rendered by the United States whenever Sri Lanka was in difficulty would never be forgotten.
Expressing his views on the diplomatic relations and mutual understanding between the United States and Sri Lanka during the war, the President recalled the support given by the United States under the leadership of George Bush in 2001 during his tenure as the Prime Minister.
The President also recalled the support provided by the US government to recover from the Tsunami disaster in 2004 and said that if not for the intervention of the US, led by President Joe Biden, Sri Lanka would not have been able to farm successfully during the Maha Season.
President Wickremesinghe also expressed his appreciation for the support rendered by the United States for the preparation of the first monetary law and the legal system for the establishment of the Central Bank.
He added that Sri Lanka and the United States will work as close friends in the future as well. The United States and Sri Lanka, as inseparable partners, will forge ahead with respect and confidence in each other to preserve peace and democracy.
Protesting Development Officers continued their hunger strike near the Presidential Secretariat, Colombo yesterday (01), for the seventh consecutive day.The protesters, who are members of the Lanka School Development Officers’ Association, are demanding that they be absorbed into the teacher service as they have served as teachers in state-run schools for nearly seven years.
Secretary of the Association, Viraj Manaranga, said the protesters were seeking an urgent meeting with the President. He added that a presidential aide had visited the protest site and offered to arrange for a meeting with the President on 03 Feb., but the union insisted on an earlier date. Manaranga warned that failure to grant a meeting could trigger a massive protest in Colombo today (02).
Four officers participating in the hunger strike have been hospitalised due to deteriorating health, while two more joined the fast on Saturday (31).
In a bid to raise awareness of their grievances, on 30 January a delegation of the All Island Development Officers’ Association visited Most Venerable
Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Thera, Mahanayake of the Asgiriya Chapter, and subsequently with the Chapter’s Registrar, Ven. Dr. Medagama Dhammananda Thera. The prelates said promises that had been made to them should be fulfilled.
The protest began on 26 January as a satyagraha, after authorities failed to respond to repeated requests to integrate the officers into the teaching service. The escalation into a fast-unto-death underscores the protesters’ frustration over the prolonged delay
by Pradeep Prasanna Samarakoon
The long-vacant post of Auditor General would be filled on 03 Feb., after months of controversy and delays, Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake said on Friday (31) in Kandy.
The Constitutional Council met at the Parliamentary complex on Friday to discuss the appointment but failed to reach a decision on a suitable candidate. The President had previously proposed four names on four separate occasions, all of which were rejected. The Council is now set to consider the fifth nominee.
The post has remained vacant since April 2025, following the retirement of Chulanta Wickramaratne, who served as the 41st Auditor General. More than 10 months have passed without a permanent appointment.
Sources said a female officer in the Auditor General’s Department has been nominated again, though her previous recommendation was rejected due to some allegations against her.
Meanwhile, senior audit officer Dharmapala Gammanpila, with 31 years of service and the department’s most senior official, has received backing from the Mahanayake Theras of the three Nikayas, the Maha Sangha, and several civil society groups for appointment as the 42nd Auditor General.
Sources noted that the three civil society representatives on the Constitutional Council will play a crucial role in the final decision.
by Chaminda Silva and SK Samaranayake
Two 18-year-old youth were arrested by the Southern Division of the Western Province Crime Division on 31 January for allegedly aiding and abetting two murders carried out in Dehiwala and Kohuwala. ICE (crystal meth) was found in their possession at the time of arrest.
The suspects are residents of Mount Lavinia and Boralesgamuwa, according to the police. They are accused of having helped carry out a murder at a hotel in the Dehiwala Police Division on 9 January, 2026, and an attack on a person travelling in a three-wheeler at Bodhiyawatta, Kohuwala, on 12 December, 2025.
Police said the charges included sending photographs of the victims to a criminal living overseas.
Investigations revealed that the youth had acted under the direction of a criminal known as Sando.
Under the guidance of Janaka Kumara, Director of the Southern Division of the Western Province Crime Division, investigations are being led by Police Inspector Hemanta Kumara, assisted by Sub-Inspectors Prasanna Gunathilaka and Prasanna (40248), and Constables Chaminda (72987), Anil (79598), Kumar (88762), and Senanayake (19363), who are continuing the probe.
by Norman Palihawadane and Chaminda Silva
China executes four more Myanmar mafia members
No decision yet on ICC meeting to discuss Pakistan boycott
Shoulder injury casts doubt over Eshan Malinga’s T20 World Cup
Showers expected in the Northern, North-central, Eastern, Western, Uva, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and Central provinces
Development Officers threaten to intensify their protest
Auditor General to be appointed tomorrow
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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