Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says that the recent incident at the Hambantota Port can be seen as the first instance of the navy being used to sabotage a strike action.

Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunge yesterday set an ultimatum to the employees who are carrying out a protest at the Hambantota port to report to work by 2.00 p.m today (Thursday) or be treated as having vacated their posts.

President Maithripala Sirisena said the Government is taking steps to provide ample resources and the requisite guidance in building the future generation of our country as human resources equipped with high professional and technical knowledge.

The International Federation of Journalists today demanded “immediate action” against Sri Lankan Navy chief who allegedly assaulted a journalist who was covering a strike by port workers in the country’s southern Hambantota port.

Naval personnel on Tuesday (13th Dec.) rendered assistance to load 1,086 cars and jeeps onboard a South Korean Vehicles Carrier, ‘Glovis Phoenix’, which arrived at the outer harbor of Hambantota on 11th December.

The government is keeping a close watch on the activities of certain websites in social media, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

President Mathripala Sirisena who is scheduled to visit Malaysia from December 15 to 17 is scheduled to sign several bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Malaysian government.

Health Minister Rajitha Senarathne recently visited the drug manufacturing companies which have entered into agreements with the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) to domestically manufacture the necessary drug for the country by 2019.

Cricket legend Arjuna Ranatunga announced Monday he was reviving his bid to build a record-breaking 100-metre tall Christmas tree in Sri Lanka’s capital despite opposition from the Catholic church.

Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi has called for a full report from the Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, regarding the controversial incident that took place on Saturday (10) at the Hambantota Magampura Harbour.

Former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa commenting on the yesterday’s incident which took place at the protest held at the Hambantota harbour said the government was defending the Navy’s unlawful action.

Sri Lanka’s coalition government on Saturday won the final vote on its 2017 budget which aims to boost revenue and cut the fiscal deficit to 4.6 percent of GDP from this year’s 5.4 percent with a more than two-thirds majority.

The 800kgs of cocaine detected at the Colombo Port yesterday morning (09) is the largest haul of cocaine detected in the South Asian region, Police said.

Hambantota port workers held a Japanese vehicle carrier Hyperion Highway and its crew for four days in protest against the proposed agreement between the government and state owned China Merchants Port Holdings Company Ltd to operate the port as a public-private partnership.

State Minister of Finance Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana said the COPE report on the ‘Treasury Bond Issue’ would be taken up for debate on priority basis at the very first session of Parliament in 2017

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday rescinded a colonial-era British order naming 19 nationals as “traitors” for leading a rebellion nearly 200 years ago, his office said