The Sri Lankan rupee traded firmer on Monday as dollar inflows due to inward remittances and exporter greenback sales surpassed importer demand for the U.S. currency, dealers said.

If a No-Confidence Motion is brought against Minister of Foreign Affairs Ravi Karunanayake, without any concrete evidence, the United National Party (UNP) will defend him, UNP General Secretary Minister Kabir Hashim said yesterday.

Minister of Sports, Dayasiri Jayasekara stated that Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake should ideally resign in light of the Central Bank’s bond scam allegations directed at him.

The Government of Sri Lanka condemns the firing of a ballistic missile of intercontinental range by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on 28th July, and the series of recent similar hostile acts by DPRK in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions.

Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan hopes the government’s efforts to rewrite the Constitution would find a permanent solution to the ethnic issue.

Sri Lanka signed a long delayed $1.1 billion deal on Saturday to lease its southern Hambantota port to China ignoring an appeal by opposition parties to debate the pact in parliament.

Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday promised wide ranging reforms to the economy in the wake of a positive report from the IMF on the country’s economic condition this month.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that the Hambantota Port agreement will be signed tomorrow (29).

The Ministry of Power and Energy addressed the frequent power cuts the country has been experiencing as of late.

The CPC trade union strike is not acceptable when a number of discussion rounds with unions had ended successfully, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said in Parliament yesterday.

Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) yesterday ordered former Central Bank Governor Arjun Mahendran to immediately hand over his hand phones, tab computers and laptops used since January 1, 2015.

President Maithripala Sirisena has turned down three Cabinet papers submitted by Foreign Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake including the one seeking ‘Visumpaya’ (Acland House) Union Place, Colombo to be designated as his official residence, sources said.

Opposition MP, from the UPFA, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, in Parliament yesterday called for the resignation of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ravi Karunanayake

The government asks the workers of Petroleum Corporation to report for duties to avoid the inconvenience faced by the people.

Sri Lankan cabinet has approved agreement with China on Hambantota Port, describing it as “a win-win situation for both countries.”