Category: Local News

Somali pirates are suspected to have hijacked a Sri Lankan-flagged fuel freighter after the ship sent a distress call, turned off its tracking system and altered course for the Somali coast

Japan plans to dispatch its largest warship on a three-month tour through the South China Sea beginning in May, three sources said, in its biggest show of naval force in the region since World War Two.

A former field officer of the Labour office in Anuradhapura was yesterday sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by the Colombo High Court after he was found guilty of soliciting and accepting a bribe of Rs. 25,000 from a bakery owner in Anuradhapura in 2009.

President Maithripala Sirisena emphasized that even though some sections of the society entertain the thought that the present government would collapse today or tomorrow, he would not allow any room for it and he further stated that the Government will fulfill its duties and responsibilities within the appropriate time frame in accordance with the mandate of the people.

The worst drought in five years has pushed 900,000 people in Sri Lanka into “acute food insecurity”, the World Food Programme (WFP) says.

The Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) yesterday filed an appeal application in the Supreme Court, requesting that the Court of Appeal order of Jan. 31, 2017, making it mandatory for the SLMC to provisionally register, under Section 29/2 of the Medical Ordinance, the medical graduates of South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM), be set aside.

A group of nurses from government hospitals have decided to engage in a token strike as of Monday morning, citing a number of demands.

Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne yesterday denied allegations by Indian fishermen that the Sri Lanka Navy had opened fire on Indian fishing vessels recently.

The one-week pilot project on the priority lane for buses commenced yesterday morning from Rajagiriya to Ayurveda junction.

Sri Lanka will in April open international bids for a liquefied natural gas energy project, a government official said on Saturday.

Sri Lanka will import 5,000 heads of high yield cattle from Australia in May to boost local daily production, a minster said on Saturday.

Chairman of the National Alcohol and Tobacco Authority Dr. Palitha Abeykone, in a report, states that, the annual tax income for the government through manufacture and marketing of narcotics is Rs 143 million and that the government spends Rs 212.6 billion on providing treatment to persons who fall ill due to drug use.

A Sri Lankan commission investigating possible irregularities in government bond sales recorded a statement on Friday by former central bank governor Arjuna Mahendran, who oversaw a controversial sale.

India today said it expects Sri Lanka to expedite the investigation into the killing of one of its fishermen given the “gravity and seriousness” of the issue.

Refugees who sheltered rogue National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden in Hong Kong are seeking asylum in Canada.

Registration of new pharmacies has been temporarily halted, Health Minister Rajitha Senarathne said.