Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya was the chief guest at the Graduation Ceremony of the Defence Services Command and Staff College Course 19  held at the Nelum Pokuna Theater.on 16th of December.

The Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC), the highest seat of military learning, marked the graduation of Course 19 by recognizing 149 graduates, including 26 Foreign Course participants,  whose presence underscored the growing international engagement and the spirit of regional and global military cooperation.

The special Awards [the Golden Owl Award, the Golden Pen award and the Commandant’s honours] were awarded to graduates who excelled in academic achievements  by the Prime Minister. The10th edition of Defence and Security Journal and the Owlet were officially presented to the Prime Minister during the event.

Addressing at the event, the Prime Minister reflected on the severe impact of Cyclone Ditwah and paid tribute to those who lost their lives, with special remembrance of members of the Armed Forces who were engaged in rescue and relief operations. The Prime Minister commended the Armed Forces for their professionalism, discipline, and unwavering commitment, emphasizing their coordination with civil authorities and the public to deliver timely rescue, relief, and recovery assistance during a period of national adversity.

The Prime Minister extended appreciation to the foreign course participants for the valuable contributions made through the sharing of operational experience and national perspectives, which enriched the programme and strengthened mutual understanding.

The Prime Minister further stated that the future will demand leaders who can adapt, learn, and respond to change without losing ethical direction. Technology will continue to transform military operations, but sound judgment, discipline, and responsibility will remain central to leadership. The professional relationships formed at Defence Services Command and Staff College will matter in future peacekeeping missions, humanitarian operations, multinational exercises, and regional responses to crisis.

The event was attended by the Deputy Minister to the Ministry of Defense Major General (Retd) Aruna Jayasekara, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Sampath Thuyacontha, Army Navy and Air Force Commanders, former Commanders of the DSCSC, serving senior officers from the tri services and representatives from the diplomatic corps, other distinguished guests, and family of the graduates.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

US President Donald Trump has filed a $5bn (£3.7bn) lawsuit against the BBC over an edit of his 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary.

Trump accused the broadcaster of defamation and of violating a trade practices law, according to court documents filed in Florida.

The BBC apologised to Trump last month, but rejected his demands for compensation and disagreed there was any “basis for a defamation claim”.

Trump’s legal team accused the BBC of defaming him by “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech”. The BBC has not yet responded to the lawsuit.

Trump said last month that he planned to sue the BBC for the documentary, which aired in the UK ahead of the 2024 US election.

“I think I have to do it,” Trump told reporters of his plans. “They cheated. They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”

In his speech on 6 January 2021, before a riot at the US Capitol, Trump told a crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”

More than 50 minutes later in the speech, he said: “And we fight. We fight like hell.”

In the Panorama programme, a clip showed him as saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”

The BBC acknowledged that the edit had given “the mistaken impression” he had “made a direct call for violent action”, but disagreed that there was basis for a defamation claim.

In November, a leaked internal BBC memo criticised how the speech was edited, and led to the resignations of the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, and its head of news, Deborah Turness.

Before Trump filed the lawsuit, lawyers for the BBC had given a lengthy response to the president’s claims.

They said there was no malice in the edit and that Trump was not harmed by the programme, as he was re-elected shortly after it aired.

They also said the BBC did not have the rights to, and did not, distribute the Panorama programme on its US channels. While the documentary was available on BBC iPlayer, it was restricted to viewers in the UK.

In his lawsuit, Trump cites agreements the BBC had with other distributors to show content, specifically one with a third-party media corporation that allegedly had licensing rights to the documentary outside the UK. The BBC has not responded to these claims, nor has the corporation with the alleged distribution agreement.

The suit also claims that people in Florida may have accessed the programme using a VPN or by using streaming service BritBox.

“The Panorama Documentary’s publicity, coupled with significant increases in VPN usage in Florida since its debut, establishes the immense likelihood that citizens of Florida accessed the Documentary before the BBC had it removed,” the lawsuit said

(BBC)

The Situation Report issued by the Disaster Management Center at 06:00AM on 16th December 2025 shows that 70,297 persons belonging to 22,338 house holds are still being housed at 731 safety centers established by the government.

The number of deaths due to the recent disastrous weather  stands at 643 while 183 persons are missing.