Wickremesinghe decides to prohibit use of His Excellency' to address President
abolish presidential flag
Colombo(PTI): Sri Lanka's interim President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday decided to prohibit the use of the word 'His Excellency' to address the President and abolished the presidential flag, as he underlined his commitment to protecting democracy and the Constitution of the crisis-hit country.
Rather than protecting individuals, protect the country, Wickremesinghe, who is also the prime minister, said after he was sworn in as Sri Lanka's acting president until Parliament elects a successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned after protests against his government for mishandling the economy that bankrupted the country.
He said as the acting President he decided to prohibit the use of the word His Excellency' when addressing the President. He also said that the presidential flag will be abolished as the country must gather around only one flag, which is the national flag.
I will never pave the way for, or aid in any unconstitutional act, he said in a special televised statement, adding the collapse in law and order will negatively impact the country's economy.
He warned that the supply chain of food, electricity, and water may be disrupted, and the people must understand the dangerous situation ahead.
He said a special committee has been appointed with the Chief of Defence Staff, Inspector General of Police, and Commanders of the three-armed forces to maintain law and order in the country with zero political intervention.
He called on the politicians to cast aside their ambitions, and think about the country.
Commenting on the protests that have been taking place in the country, Wickremesinghe said that immediate measures will be taken to maintain the law and peace in the country.
Peaceful protests are accepted, however, there are some engaged in acts of sabotage...There are fascist groups that are trying to incite violence in the country. Such groups snatched weapons and ammunition from the soldiers recently. 24 soldiers have been injured and two of them are in critical condition, he said.
Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials.
The citizens protested for months to press for the resignation of the government led by Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
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Dense fog disrupts Delhi airport operations, over 130 flights impacted
New Delhi: Flight operations at Indira Gandhi International Airport were severely disrupted on Monday due to very dense fog that drastically reduced visibility across the national capital, officials said.
According to a report published by The New Indian Express, more than 130 flights were impacted, including 128 cancellations 64 arrivals and 64 departures while eight flights were diverted to other airports as airlines struggled to operate under adverse weather conditions.
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Sharing a passenger advisory on X (formerly Twitter), the Delhi Airport informed that "flight operations are currently being conducted under CAT III conditions due to dense fog, which may result in delays or cancellations."
The disruption comes amid worsening weather and environmental conditions in the city. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued an orange alert for very dense fog across Delhi-NCR, warning of travel delays and poor visibility during early morning hours.
As per the report, the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) hovered around 460 in the early hours, placing it in the “hazardous” category. As many as 19 monitoring stations reported hazardous air quality, with Anand Vihar recording the worst levels. Other areas reported air quality ranging from “very poor” to “severe.”
Meanwhile, the Delhi government is considering a partnership with IIT Kanpur to deploy Artificial Intelligence for pinpointing pollution sources and evaluating their impact.
Officials reportedly said the environment department is working on a roadmap for the partnership, including institutional mechanisms and phased implementation. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the focus would be on data-driven decision-making. “We are moving towards a model where decisions are driven by real-time data, source identification, and measurable outcomes, not reactive measures.” he said.
He proposed initiative aims to enable targeted interventions across sectors by strengthening Delhi’s ability to track pollution sources at a granular level.
