Sri Lanka will hand over commercial activities in its main southern port to a Chinese company on Saturday (9) and receive around $300 million out of a $1.1 billion deal soon after, Ports Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said.

A fourth prominent member of the National Freedom Front (NFF) is challenging the party leader Wimal Weerawansa.

LONDON – Lawyers and activists representing a group of Sri Lankan women who were subjected to female genital cutting as children will meet the justice minister on Wednesday to urge a ban on the ritual.

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID), on Monday, began investigations into the killing of Galgamuwa Tusker or Galgamuwe Dala Poottuwa.

President Maithripala Sirisena said a comprehensive drug prevention programme would be initiated, adding that the government does not intend to increase state income through cigarette and alcohol sales, adding that based on the government’s drug policy, it is not suitable to grant concessions to any form of alcohol, cigarette or any other intoxicant.

The Sri Lankan Government on Monday said it remains firm in its commitment to work with the international community, to work towards ending impunity for crimes against journalists, and to uphold the rights of journalists around the world who place themselves at risk every day, to give voice to the voiceless.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the present government in 2015 put a definitive end for crimes against the media and there since being no journalist abductions, murders, attacks, or intimidation.

A Sri Lankan family who spent five years in Canada was deported Sunday despite appeals to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to issue a reprieve.

The Chittoor police on Saturday nabbed a five-member gang hailing from Tamil Nadu involved in ATM-cloning offences while they were about to strike at an ATM centre at Palamaner and seized Rs. 10 lakh, electronic gadgets used for cloning ATM cards, capturing details of PIN numbers and swiping machines.

President Maithripala Sirisena released water for research purpose for the electricity generation of Moragahakanda yesterday (Dec. 02) at auspicious time.

National Freedom Front politburo member and former Trincomalee District Parliamentarian Jayantha Wijesekera obtained Sri Lanka Freedom Party membership after a meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday.

Some half a million residents are still without electricity, nearly 48 hours after the power supply was disrupted as a result of the inclement weather, a top official with the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy said yesterday.

Korea has increased bilateral concessional loans for Sri Lanka, from US$ 300 million to US$ 500 million, as the two countries celebrate 40 years of diplomatic relations.

A tropical storm has killed at least seven people and left five fishermen missing in Sri Lanka, bringing down trees across main roads and on houses, officials said on Thursday, warning of landslides and flooding in severely hit areas.