Category: Local News

President Maithripala Sirisena says since the reigns of kings of ancient Sri Lanka the economy of the country was strengthened subject to the field of agriculture and it is the foundation which makes strong in the past, the present as well as in future.

Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama visited the Rigid Tyre Corporation (Pvt) Ltd factory site which is being built at the BOI Wagawatte Industrial Park.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has offered Sri Lanka a fresh grant of 2 billion yuan ($295 million), as Beijing looks to expand its influence in the tiny island country off India’s southern tip.

The water filling of Kalu Ganga under the Kalu Ganga- Moragahakanda project was inaugurated by the President Maithripala Sirisena today (23rd).Kalu Ganga reservoir will be created by blocking the Kalu River at Laggala and Pallegama areas and the capacity of the reservoir is 248 million cubic meters, stated the President’s Media Division.

State Minister of Foreign Affairs Wasantha Senanayake was of the opinion that the time was ripe for the UNP to introduce a new face to be its presidential candidate if it intends to taste success at the next Presidential Poll.

JAFFNA: Leading the Government delegation to rollout Enterprise Sri Lanka in Jaffna yesterday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe reminisced about the glory days of the Northern district, saying it was only rivalled by the district of Colombo before three decades of war destroyed the socio-economic fabric in the region.

In what can be called an important milestone in India-Sri Lanka bilateral relations, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe launched the island-wide expansion of the 1990 Suwaseriya Emergency Ambulance Service in Jaffna.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena attended a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday to launch the construction of a China-Sri Lanka friendship hospital in Polonnaruwa in north central Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan rupee ended slightly firmer on Friday as remittances boosted dollar inflows, helping offset the importer dollar demand, traders said.

A parcel containing 28 gold biscuits worth almost Rs 20 million has been found behind a water dispenser at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) by an employee of a Duty Free shop.

Former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and six others including former Chairman and members of the Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (LRDC) Director Board were yesterday noticed to appear before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court on September 7, over a complaint that the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum and Memorial in Medamulana was allegedly built using LRDC funds amounting to Rs.81.3 million.

Two English amateur rugby players had taken heroin just before their deaths while in Sri Lanka, a court was told Friday as it ordered the arrest of those responsible for selling the narcotics.

The Organized Crimes Prevention Division (OCPD) has informed the Colombo Magistrate’s Court that further investigations will be carried out regarding the statement of former State Minister Vijayakala Maheswaren regarding the LTTE.

The JVP in Parliament yesterday said that the country had no economic independence as a direct result of the unfeasible large-scale development projects undertaken by the previous Government while alleging that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had received Rs. 198 million from one Chinese company alone in the run up to the 2015 Presidential election.

The Government will go ahead with the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Singapore as it will enhance the Sri Lankan economy and the Agreement over Mattala Airport will be signed, within this year, with the Indian Government, to reduce the economic damage resulting from the continued maintenance of the Airport, State Minister of Finance, Eran Wickremaratne said.

Former Minister and UPFA MP Dayasiri Jayasekera yesterday informed parliament that a plot was being hatched to remove the President through constitutional amendments.