Category: Local News

Hashini Amendra, the wife of veteran singer Victor Ratnayake, was arrested by the Tangalle Police this morning for the alleged misappropriation of Rs. 1.28 million worth of jewelry belonging to a state bank.

Former Spokesman of the Sri Lanka Navy, Commodore D.K.P. Dassanayake, and five others have been granted bail by the Colombo High Court.

Sri Lanka aims to raise $500 million this month via development bonds and is in the process of divesting two state-owned hotels, the central bank and a ministry said on Monday, as the government faces unprecedented debt repayment this year.

President Maithripala Sirisena vested the Moragahakanda Development Project with the nation, today (08).

The Rajagiriya flyover which is being constructed providing long term solutions for the heavy traffic congestion in the Rajagiriya was declared open by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe a short while ago.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday called for the summoning of Parliament two-weeks ahead of schedule to debate the Bond Commission report which has called for a forensic audit of the Central Bank.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says the loss caused by treasury bond scam was much bigger than the amount stated in the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the bond scam.

While India is ‘waiting’ to hear the final word on their bid proposal to uplift the defunct Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA), through a joint venture project, the Government says the bidding to run the MRIA on a lease agreement is still open for local and international investors.

General Secretary of the Communist Party D. E. W. Gunasekera yesterday said that the top UNP leadership couldn’t absolve itself of the responsibility for the bond scams.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has directed Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy to discuss with the Monetary Board and take steps to implement the recommendations of the Bond Commission report as soon as it is released.

On the first day of the new year, the Chinese and Sri Lankan flags were hoisted to the same height over the Hambantota port in the Indian Ocean nation.

The Foreign Minister of Japan Tharo Kono said that the Government of Japan is ready to provide its fullest support for the development and reconciliation process of Sri Lanka.

UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake, against whom the Bond Commission presses bribery charges, said he was at a loss to understand how he turned up as a suspect since the Central Bank and the State Banks did not remain under his purview.

The manner in which the Bond issue was investigated and the commitment to identify those responsible demonstrated the democratic and law abiding nature of the Yahapalana National Government. We now hope that the Attorney General’s (AG) Department will do the same, said a statement released from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Joint Trade Unions of Postal Service Workers issued a statement that all Postal service employees will go on strike should the government fail to provide a satisfactory resolution to the problems within the Postal service.

Sri Lanka’s economic growth in 2018 is forecast at between 5-5.5 percent, bouncing back from an anticipated four-year low of less than 4 percent last year, central bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said on Wednesday.