Category: Local News

Two individuals, who are said to be accomplices of the notorious underworld figure “Uragaha Indika” have been shot dead in a shootout with the Police Special Task Force (STF) at Polwatta in ​Minuwangoda this morning (November 18).

Wasantha Mudalige and Venerable Galwewa Siridhamma Thero who were detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) were remanded this evening (November 17) just hours away from when the 90-day detention order on them was to come to an end.

Sri Lanka has postponed a round of debt restructuring talks initially expected to be held on Thursday to allow central bank and treasury officials to provide clarifications sought by the country’s creditors, its state minister of finance said.

The Government has not made any decision to restructure domestic debt, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe clarified today (November 17).

The Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) has revised the motor vehicle registration fees and other vehicle related fees from tomorrow (18 November).

The tourist arrivals for the first 15 days of November stood at 27,213, making Sri Lanka inches away from crossing the 600,000 arrival mark for the year.

State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya yesterday (November 16) said that there is no possibility of essential commodity prices rising due to the revision of CESS tax.

Sri Lanka has decided to increase the fees levied on passports with effect from tomorrow (November 17).

Sri Lanka, India and several other countries abstained from voting on a draft resolution approved by the UN General Assembly that recognised that Russia must be responsible for making reparations to Ukraine.

Three Sri Lankan asylum seekers stranded on Diego Garcia, a remote island in the British Indian Ocean Territory, or BIOT, are expected to be transported to Rwanda for medical treatment, the British foreign office told The New Humanitarian.

A pilot project for providing light vehicle driving licenses for individuals with total deafness will kick off in Gampaha District today (November 16).

The four Sri Lankan nationals, convicted for their role in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, but released by the Supreme Court recently, will be deported to their country of origin, according to Indian Union Home Ministry sources.

Sri Lanka needs to implement budget proposals and reform measures to start earning crucial foreign exchange to help stabilise its economy and ensure it does not return to crisis, its central bank chief said on Tuesday.

Approximately 1,200 complaints were made against Sri Lanka Police since January 1st 2022, the National Police Commission said.

Former MP Hirunika Premachandra and 14 others have been granted bail by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s court today (November 15).

Despite the sharp electricity tariff revision in August, it would not be enough to cover the Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) operating costs, according to Fitch Ratings. The government increased the average electricity tariff by 75 percent in August 2022, amid higher feedstock costs, resulting in large losses for the CEB.