Category: Local News

The prices of cigarettes have been increased by Rs 7 per cigarette with effect from midnight yesterday (3), Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said.

Mihin Lanka is to merge with SriLankan Airlines with effect from the 30th of October.

President Maithripala Sirisena, recalling that the year 2017 has been declared as the year for alleviation of poverty, says the proposal including the plan for building houses on this regard, will be presented to the Cabinet next Tuesday.

At a time when the country needs more buses to streamline the services of Sri Lanka Transport Board; it has to pay a heavy cost instead for super luxury airbuses that had been ordered by the previous regime, Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake said.

The Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority Northern Province on Sunday regretted that people in South Sri Lanka are portraying him as an “undesirable”, a “ghost” or a bogeyman.

More than 2,000 Indian fishermen were on Sunday forced to return from sea without a catch after they were allegedly attacked by Sri Lankan Naval personnel, the PTI reported.

Swiss Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga will tackle the issue of repatriating Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka when she visits the country next week. Migration will feature prominently on her trip to Sri Lanka and India.

Those who take revenge will have to face consequences in future as well according to Buddhism as karma, former Minister Basil Rajapaksa has said.

Sri Lanka would soon bring in a new anti-terrorism law, Prime Minster Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday.

The SAARC Summit set to be held in Islamabad in November has been postponed indefinitely, the government announced on Friday, after India along with four other member states of the regional grouping decided against attending the meet.

Prime Minister John Key has today announced New Zealand will establish a diplomatic post in Sri Lanka, and welcomed news that Sri Lanka will establish a post in New Zealand.

In another setback to Pakistan, Sri Lanka today pulled out of 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad, becoming the fifth country to do so after India expressed its inability to participate in the summit.

Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran said yesterday that “hatching a Constitution in secrecy with selected members from the Tamil community would not help the Tamils

Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva yesterday condemned the conduct of Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran.

The Indian government has got Sri Lanka’s support in its efforts to curb import of arecanut. During her visit to Sri Lanka on September 26-27, Union Minister of State for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman got an assurance from Sri Lanka in this regard.

Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy said the government intends to keep the economic growth at five percent and inflation at single digits to maintain economic stability.