Category: Local News

Talks between President Maithripala Sirisena and SLFP stalwarts over accommodating former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the SLFP nomination list at the next election ended without a conclusion last night.

Sri Lankan shares recovered on Monday from a near 2-1/2 month low hit in the previous session after President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved parliament and announced elections, but trading volume slumped due to the political uncertainty.

Sri Lanka ranked 114th on the global peace index conducted by an Australian-based Institute for Economics and Peace which measured national peacefulness in 162 countries.

The Saudi Labor Minister Mufrej Al-Haqabani has asked the Sri Lankan government to stop maids running away from their Saudi sponsors soon after their arrival in the Kingdom.

The minutes of the COPE Sub Committee sittings on the Central Bank Treasury Bond issue should be publicized, Highways and Investment Promotion Deputy Minister Eran Wickremaratne said.

The controversial Buddhist outfit, Bodu Bala Sena(BBS) will be reborn as the Bodu Jana Peramuna (BJP), to field lay candidates at the forthcoming parliamentary elections, BBS Executive Committee member, Dilantha Withanage said.

Fake emails have led to banks holding Non-Resident Foreign Currency (NRFC) accounts suffering losses of more than one billion rupees, a Criminal Investigation Department investigation has revealed.

The ICC has urged Sri Lanka’s sports ministry to hold Sri Lanka Cricket elections before the next ICC board meeting in October, suggesting “further action” may be taken against SLC “in the event of further non-compliance”.

Work on the Colombo Port City project will begin soon as it has not been cancelled, Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga informed Parliament yesterday.

The Parliament of Sri Lanka has been dissolved with effect from midnight today (June 26) by President Maithripala Sirisena, Government sources told Media.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe has emphasized in Parliament that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is being accorded maximum security and facilities. He further told Parliament that even KP alias Kumaran Pathmanathan a former LTTE Leader has been accorded security.

Emirates flight A380 bound to Dubai made an emergency landing at Bandaranaike International Airport, today (26) at around 3.47a.m.

“I will contest the next election only from the UPFA led by the SLFP”, stated former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the committee which was now attempting to unite the SLFP, sources said.

Demanding President Maithripala Sirisena to dissolve Parliament early is unacceptable when he is determined to fulfill his promises given to the people, Deputy Media Minister Shantha Bandara said.

Parliament is likely to be dissolved either tonight to tomorrow night to enable General Elections to be conducted by the middle of August, informed sources said yesterday.

The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday said it was in the process of strengthening diplomatic ties with countries that have worked with Sri Lanka in the past to weaken the financial and support networks of the Tamil Tiger rebels.