The emergency ambulance service set up with the assistance from the Government of India was launched today at Galle Face Green in Colombo under the patronage of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. During his visit to Sri Lanka in March 2015, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi had received a request for assistance for setting of an emergency ambulance service in Sri Lanka. After the visit, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, wrote to Prime Minister of India for support for setting up of an emergency ambulance service and its operations for the first year. Prime Minister Modi, taking personal interest in the matter, assured full support.

The commitment of Government of India was formalized through a Letter of Exchange ceremony that took place in September 2015 during the visit of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to India. The project would cover the Western and Southern Provinces of Sri Lanka. The project initially covering Southern and Western Provinces was launched at a widely attended event on Thursday, July 28 at the iconic Galle Face Green in Colombo.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a video message on the occasion in the presence of, among others, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, High Commissioner of India, Y.K. Sinha and Deputy Foreign Minister Harsha de Silva. In his message, Prime Minister Modi said the project represents a concrete result of how the close partnership benefits the people on the ground. "It is another example of how Indian experiences, capacities and best practices can fulfill the needs of our friends in Sri Lanka," he said.

In conclusion, Prime Minister Modi reiterated that "India stands for a united, stable and prosperous Sri Lanka." "That is also the goal of our partnership. And the Emergency Ambulance Service is a unique example of this friendship."

The project is being implemented through grant assistance of Government of India of around US$ 7.55 million. Project elements include an emergency response center, deployment of 88 ambulances in the Southern and Western Provinces and recruitment and training of nearly 600 Sri Lankan personnel to implement the project. Only 4-6 staff members are to be deployed from India to provide management and technical expertise guidance. Government of Sri Lanka has selected M/s GVK EMRI as the implementing agency. A 'not for profit company', called GVK EMRI Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd., has been created for rolling out the services in the Western and Southern Provinces of Sri Lanka. All assets, including ambulances, will belong to Ministry Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka. The emergency ambulance services would be provided free of cost to the beneficiary.

This project is another milestone in the wide raging development partnership between India and Sri Lanka. India�s development portfolio in Sri Lanka is nearly US$ 2.6 billion, out of which US$ 436 million is pure grants.

The Election Commission (EC) stated that several recognised political parties have had to be set aside from the relevant list due to internal crises within the said parties. According to the official website of the EC, there are 84 recognised political parties in Sri Lanka.

In a scathing rebuttal of allegations by Malcom Cardinal Ranjith regarding the Easter Sunday attacks, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said Cardinal Ranjith either glosses over the responsibility of, or expressly absolves the two parties actually involved in the terrorist strikes.

In its first move for the formation of a broad political alliance, President Ranil Wickremesinghe had a meeting with Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) stalwart Basil Rajapaksa and representatives of other parties and groups, and decided to accelerate political work in view of the presidential election after May Day.

The rice distributed among schools said to be unsuitable for children's co consumption was provided by the World Food Programme (WFP) and not by the government, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha assured today.

Opposition Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara has raised concerns about a growing trend where Sri Lankan retired military personnel are allegedly being exploited in a scheme to send them to serve in the Russian and Ukrainian Armies.

The main Parliamentary Opposition Party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), queried about the actions taken against certain officers in the State Intelligence Service (SIS), who, in certain instances, allegedly blocked the investigations conducted by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) into the Easter Sunday attacks that took place in 2019.

Sri Lanka took minimal steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses, the 2023 report issued by the US State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour on Sri Lanka's Human Rights Practices has alleged.

A top delegation of the Chinese Communist Party headed by Vice Minister of the International Department, Sun Haiyan met National People's Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the JVP head office today. The delegation included head of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party Liu Jianchao and Political Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka Chen Xiang Yuan.

The head of one of Canada’s largest police forces met with a Sri Lankan inspector general of police who two weeks earlier had been found by the South Asian country’s highest court to have “participated in the torture” of an arrested man.

The Colombo District Court issued an interim injunction preventing former President Maithripala Sirisena from functioning as the chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Ebrahim Raisi and President Ranil Wickremesinghe jointly inaugurated the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project (UOMDP) a short while ago. This project is one of the largest irrigation projects in Sri Lanka following the Mahaweli Development Project

The three-day adournment debate on the Easter Sunday attacks commenced in Parliament today. The adournment debate was moved by SJB MP Niroshan Perera and seconded by SJB MP Kavinda Jayawardane. The debate will be held for three days.

The Sri Lanka Army has decided to appoint a special investigation committee consisting of 07 senior officers chaired by a Major General to probe the accident that occurred during the Diyatalawa Fox Hill Supercross.

Vice Minister of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party, Sun Haiyan, is set to arrive in Sri Lanka today for a two-day official visit, as reported by The Thinakaran Newspaper.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that their Consular Affairs Division will be relocated to the new premises at the 16th floor of “Suhurupaya”, Sri Subhuthipura Road, Battaramulla with effect from May 02, 2024.

Two persons have died after police fired at a three-wheeler that was driving in defiance of orders to halt at Millawa in Moragahahena.

A 78-year-old man, Gopal Rao, of Bengaluru, Karnataka, died of a heart attack while he was swimming from Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka to the Dhanushkodi islet in Rameswaram, T.N., on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.

The National People's Power (NPP) has officially notified the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) yesterday that they are prepared to hold the proposed debate between NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa on one of the following days: May 7, 9, 13, or 14.

The Catholic Church is planning to present a proposal to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) through several foreign governments and international organizations to initiate an international investigation into the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks with a view to mete out justice to the victims of those attacks.

Seven individuals, including a child, lost their lives, and 23 others sustained injuries in a tragic accident at the “Fox Hill Super Cross 2024” racing event in Diyatalawa on Sunday (21). The casualties included four racing event officials serving as flag marshals and civilians who were spectators.