Category: Local News

President Maithripala Sirisena, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces has promoted five senior Brigadiers of the Army to the rank of temporary Major General and 34 Captains to the rank of temporary Major, states a communiqué issued by the Military Secretariat on Friday (29) evening.

Sri Lanka’s Department of Emigration and Immigration on Friday said the shortage of new passports, which has presently put thousands on the waiting list, will end within two months.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe while defending Chinese investment in the Hambantota Port yesterday said this project with 15 industries, will transform the Hambantota district.

The price of a 12.5 kg domestic LP gas cylinder will be reduced by Rs 138 from midnight today (29), the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) said.

The World Bank says that despite natural disasters, Sri Lanka is reaping the benefits of improved revenue collection and managed expenditures and, has thus recorded a primary fiscal surplus for the first time in decades.

President Maithripala Sirisena made an inspection tour of the construction site of the National Nephrology Hospital in Polonnaruwa, which is a gift from China, yesterday (28).

An argument erupted between Wildlife Deputy Minister Palitha Thewarapperuma and Police Special Task Force officials at Suriyawewa after tipper drivers complained to the Deputy Minister that STF personnel in civvies are in the habit of confiscating their mobile phones.

The Sri Lankan rupee closed marginally weaker on Thursday as dollar demand from importers and banks in late trade surpassed selling of the U.S. currency in early trade and inward remittances, dealers said.

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, has refuted the allegations made in a recent article published by The New York Times, referring to it as ‘fake’ news which has violated the truth and a gross misrepresentation of facts.

A 57-year-old Sri Lankan was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) this morning while attempting to smuggle drugs including heroin, crystal methamphetamine (ice) and hashish worth Rs.4.7 million into the country, Police said.

Former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga, who the government has named as a fugitive, would return to Sri Lanka in a month on my request, Ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday.

A Sri Lankan national, was arrested at Uchipuli Valangapuri coast near Rameswaram while two others escaped into a nearby forest, Tamil Nadu police said today.

China’s acquisition of the strategic Hambantota port from Sri Lanka has given it “control of a territory” just a few 100 miles off the shores of India, highlighting its “debt trap” and ambitious use of loans to gain influence around the world, a media report has said.

The Joint Postal Trade Unions Front (JPTUF) yesterday announced that it would together with 24 of its unions, suspend the postal strike which has lasted for the past 16 days.

Colombo Chief Magistrate rejects bail application filed by President’s former Chief of Staff and former Chairman of the State Timber Corporation (STC) over the Rs 20 million bribe case.

The government is considering retrenching the excess staff of SriLankan airlines by measures such as Voluntary Retirement Schemes, a report says.