Category: Local News

President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday said the country will never head in the wrong direction if the state’s leaders act on the advice and guidance of the Mahasangha.

The Australian Federal Police sent more than 20 officers to Sri Lanka in the wake of the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in one of the agency’s largest overseas deployments in recent years.

Sri Lanka’s economy grew at its fastest pace in nearly a year from January to March, before the Easter Sunday bomb attacks on April 21 killed over 250 people, crushing the island’s tourism sector.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not travel to Sri Lanka as previously announced due to unavoidable scheduling conflicts during his upcoming visit to the Indo-Pacific region.

A drug trafficker was arrested by the STF with 1.2 kgs of heroin worth over Rs.7 million in possession at Katubedda Junction in Ratmalana yesterday.

UNP Parliamentarians Kabir Hashim and Abdul Haleem have sworn into the ministerial positions held by them before tendering their resignations, according to the Presidential media unit.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by President Maithripala Sirisena, in his capacity as the Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment, to ban the import of chainsaws to Sri Lanka, the Department of Government Information said.

The Special High Court today allowed former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa to stay in Singapore till July 24 following the heart surgery he underwent there.

Five persons died and 12 were injured in a motor accident in Kolakanawaadiya along the Batticaloa – Welikanda road.

The Parliament Select Committee (PSC) probing the Easter Sunday carnage was told yesterday that prior intelligence reports on the terror attacks by Zahran Hazhim’s group had not been provided to the police station in the Kattankudi area, where the National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) operated from.

The three staff members, attached to Minister Lakshman Kiriella’s ministry who were arrested at the Central Mail Exchange with defamatory letters have been granted bail as per the order of the Fort magistrate Ranga Dissanayake.

The Cabinet of Ministers convened after a break of two weeks for the weekly Cabinet meeting.

The number of complaints filed against Dr Mohamed Shafi over alleged illegal sterilizations has amounted to 1,003.

The Terrorist Investigation Division stated that 29 suspects are being interrogated in connection with the 04/21 terror attacks.

United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa, yesterday (17), alleged that extremists not only have injected fear into the minds of people, but also invaded Parliament.

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne today said he would not allow the import of foreign cigarettes to Sri Lanka as long as he is the Minister of Health.