Category: Local News

A suspect was arrested at the arrival terminal of Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake for possessing 42,000 cigarettes (210 cartons) that had been illegally brought into the country on the night of December 20, 2025.

The fourth session of the High-Level Committee for Foreign Relief Aid (Supplies) Coordination (HL-FRAC) was held on December 19, 2025, at the Parliament complex, focusing on the effective management, security, and timely distribution of foreign disaster relief aid, under the chairmanship of Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd).

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressed the country’s deep appreciation to the United Arab Emirates for its swift humanitarian assistance to communities affected by recent floods and heavy rainfall across the country.

Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament that the government has presented the largest supplementary estimate in recent history, Rs. 500 billion without increasing the debt ceiling, and that claims the economy will collapse by April are incorrect.

The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) has announced an eight-hour water supply interruption in several areas in Colombo and its suburbs today (December 20).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved SDR150.5 million (about US$206 million, 26 percent of quota) in emergency funding for Sri Lanka to help address urgent financial pressures caused by Cyclone Ditwah, which struck the country on November 28, 2025.

A report issued by the Government Analyst’s Department has confirmed that no alcohol or narcotic substances were detected in the blood and urine samples of former Speaker and Member of Parliament Asoka Sapumal Ranwala.

Sri Lanka Parliament today (December 19) approved a Supplementary Estimate of Rs. 500 billion to support people affected by the recent sudden disaster in Sri Lanka and to rebuild damaged infrastructure.

The National Building Research Organization has extended the landslide warning previously issued for several areas of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s state digital payments platform, GovPay, has surpassed a cumulative transaction value of Rs. 2 billion by the end of 2025.

The CBL Group has made a financial donation of Rs. 100 million to the Sri Lankan government’s “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” fund, which provides relief to people affected by the recent cyclone disaster.

Although the government has stated that it provides relief to people affected by disasters, no assistance has been received so far, said Namal Rajapaksa, Member of Parliament and National Organizer of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

The services of Dr. Rukshan Bellana, Deputy Director of the National Hospital in Colombo, have been suspended.

Gift Sri Lanka Foundation and the Georgia Buddhist Vihara (GBV), USA, have made a financial contribution of USD 16,000 to the Government’s ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund.

Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd), met with the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Sri Lanka, Mr. Marc-André Franche, at the Office of the Deputy Minister of Defence yesterday (December 17) to review ongoing disaster response efforts, institutional reforms, and the coordination of international humanitarian assistance.

Three suspects linked to the death of an elephant in the Seeppukulam area have been remanded by the Anuradhapura Magistrate’s Court until December 24, 2025.