News
Contentious Chinese research vessel docks in Maldives
A contentious Chinese research ship reached the Maldives on Thursday in the latest sign of the archipelago’s diplomatic reorientation towards Beijing and away from its traditional benefactor India.
Local residents said they had spotted China’s Xiang Yang Hong 3 at the Thilafushi industrial port near the capital Male.The 100-metre-long (328-foot) vessel was at an anchorage near Male on Thursday evening, according to the website Marinetraffic.
The Maldives’ pro-Beijing government said earlier the vessel was docking for a port call to rotate crew and take on supplies, on the condition that it would not conduct “research” while in its territorial waters.
Media reports in India had suggested that the vessel was conducting surveillance for Beijing.
India is suspicious of China’s increasing presence in the Indian Ocean and its influence in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, which are strategically placed halfway along key east-west international shipping routes.Relations between Male and New Delhi have chilled since pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu won elections last year.
Muizzu has asked India to withdraw 89 security personnel based in the Maldives to operate reconnaissance aircraft by March 15.But the president has also insisted he does not want to upend ties with New Delhi by replacing Indian troops with Chinese forces.
Sri Lanka refused entry to Xiang Yang Hong 3 after two other port calls from Chinese vessels since 2022 raised objections from India.That included the ship Yuan Wang 5, which specializes in spacecraft tracking and which New Delhi described as a spy ship. (AFP)
News
Cabinet nod to appoint Mrs. Tharani Kumaradasa to the Post of Commissioner of Cooperative Development / Cooperative Society Registrar
The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal
furnished by the Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development to appoint Mrs. Tharani Kumaradasa, a Grade I officer in Sri Lanka Administrative Service, serving in a post of Senior Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development to the post of Commissioner of Cooperative Development / Cooperative Society Registrar
News
Cabinet nod to hold 28th joint Asia Pacific Regional Social Workshop from 18-21 November in Sri Lanka
It has been planned to conduct the 28th Joint Asia-Pacific Regional Social Workshop from 18th November 2025 to 21st November 2025 in Sri Lanka, and 13 local representatives and 104 foreign representatives from 30 countries will participate in the said summit.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Rural Development, Social Security,
and Community Empowerment to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Social Development Institute and the Society of Professionals engaged in Sri Lankan social services to conduct the aforementioned workshop in Sri Lanka and obtain the necessary institutional support to
conduct the said summit.
As per the current national policy of the government to make public transport in Sri Lanka efficient and streamlined, the necessity of establishing multi-modal transport hubs with required facilities has been identified to enable efficient public transport services to be initiated from transit cities and main cities through the interconnection between transport modes.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved in principle the proposal presented by the Acting Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to develop the following multi-modal transport hubs on a priority basis, with the objective of upgrading the interconnection of transport modes such as buses, trains, and taxi services by integrating bus stands and railway stations identified as having a growing passenger circulation on the island, subject to a formal feasibility study.
• Kandy Multimodal Transport Hub (Construction work has already been started under world bank financing)
• Anuradhapura (South) Multimodal Transport Hub (Constructions are about to be completed under the Anuradhapura combined urban development project)
• Anuradhapura (North) Multimodal Transport Hub (feasibility study has been performed and preliminary work completed)
• Multimodal Transport Hub centered around the Fort Railway Station (as proposed by the ComTrans Master Plan, which has been prepared for urban transport in Colombo and suburbs)
• Moratuwa Multimodal Transport Center (proposed by the ComTrans Master Plan)
• Ragama Multimodal Transport Center ( identified through a study conducted by the Japan International Coorperation Agency)
• Avissawella, Galle, Katunayake, Kurunegala Multimodal Transport Centers (identified according to the urban plans of the Urban Development Authority)
• Gampaha Multimodal Transport Center ((identified according to the urban plans of the Urban Development Authority and railway electrification of the Colombo Suburban Railway Project)
• Katunayake Multimodal Transport Hub (identified under the Airport Development Plan)
• Kaluthara Multimodal Transport Center (identified as a proposal of the District coordination Committee)
• Kankasanthure Multimodal Transport Center(identified according to the urban plans of the Urban Development Authority)
21 dead, search continues after refugee boat sinks near Malaysia, Thailand
Salman Agha 105*, Hussain Talat half-century set Sri Lanka 300
Suicide bombing in Islamabad kills 12, says Pakistan’s interior minister
Israel parliament passes first reading of death penalty for ‘terrorism’ law
Cabinet nod to appoint Mrs. Tharani Kumaradasa to the Post of Commissioner of Cooperative Development / Cooperative Society Registrar
Cabinet nod to hold 28th joint Asia Pacific Regional Social Workshop from 18-21 November in Sri Lanka
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