Category: Local News

A-32-year old Sri Lankan was arrested this morning at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) with yellow gold jewellery weighing two kilogram worth Rs.13 million, Deputy Customs Director and Customs Spokesman Vipula Minuwanpitiya said.

President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday directed relevant sections to put an immediate halt to ongoing construction work, land reclamation and other activities carried out in the Muthurajawela Sanctuary area which are causing destruction to the environment.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) yesterday (22) suggested that Parliament should summon the Chairman of the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) Dr. Neville Fernando before the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) over the paid newspaper advertisement to sell the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital (NFTH), which was taken over by the Government last year.

Sri Lanka’s opposition legislator Namal Rajapaksa, the eldest son of Sri Lanka’s former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Thursday said he was not allowed to enter the United States despite having a valid visa.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) yesterday told the UNHRC that it much regrets to learn of the slow progress in establishing transitional justice mechanisms in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan Tea Board launched on Wednesday a global marketing campaign for Ceylon Tea, a minister here said on Wednesday.

The Sri Lankan rupee rose slightly on Wednesday as exporters sold dollars and remittances boosted inflows, while the gains were capped by importer demand for the U.S. currency in late trade, dealers said.

The Joint Opposition (JO) handed over the no confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to the Speaker a short while ago.

The no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be handed over to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya today evening (21), said MP Udaya Gammanpila.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it will continue to support Sri Lanka in many areas including nuclear medicine, non-destructive testing in industry and assistance in introducing nuclear energy.

Even though Sri Lanka presents a rosy picture in terms of the wide range of financial service providers in the country, high levels of physical access to branches and a high number of accounts, the level of financial inclusion is still listed as a key constraint for growth across many sectors

The country’s economy in 2017 had grown by only 3.1%, the slowest rate in 16 years and lower than the 4.4% achieved in 2016, as per data released yesterday by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS).

The Sri Lankan government should announce a time-bound plan to carry out its pledges to the United Nations Human Rights Council since October 2015, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Report on Sri Lanka was adopted today at the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in Geneva said. Sri Lanka was represented by Permanent Representative Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha and assisted by the Deputy Permanent Representative Mrs. Samantha Jayasuriya during the session.

President Maithripala Sirisena says some are working according to their personal agendas to gain political power and they are not interested in strengthening the peace and reconciliation or in solving the issues of the country.

One person was killed following a shooting incident at Galwarusawa Road in Athurugiriya this evening, police said.