Singapore and Sri Lanka have started talks for a free trade pact, including measures to free up trade in goods and services as well as investments, the city-state’s trade minister said on Monday.

Sri Lanka is agnostic about what countries it accepts foreign investment from, including China, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

Prison authorities are getting more and more accustomed to hosting ‘VIP’ prisoners with the latest addition to the spate of members of the former regime to be in the lock up at the Welikada Prison being UPFA MP Namal Rajapaksa.

Sri Lanka Police today sought a court order for getting Interpol’s assistance to arrest Sri Lanka’s former Ambassador to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga, for graft charges.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health Dr Rajitha Senaratne yesterday said that the government plans to increase the tax imposed on tobacco companies all the way up to 90 per cent.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced the control prices of 16 essential items this morning, including red dhal, white sugar, potatoes, imported onions and full cream milk power.

Sri Lanka’s economy amidst domestic and international challenges has successfully achieved an economic growth of 5.5% in the first quarter of 2016 compared to 4.4% growth in the same period 2015.

The United Nations has yet again insisted Sri Lanka to stick to its commitments on accountability.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday drove home the point that Sri Lanka’s future lies in greater trade with the world and the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with China and Singapore are being pursued with vigour.

A U.S. envoy has commended the steps taken by Sri Lanka to foster reconciliation between the sides that fought a long civil war that ended seven years ago.

A report with respect of the proposed bus fare hike based on the annual bus fare amendment will be submitted to the Cabinet today (12).

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on Monday temporarily suspended government tax hikes that came into effect on May 2 because they had not yet been approved by the parliament.

Hambantota District MP and former President’s son Namal Rajapaksa has been arrested by the Financial Investigation Division a short while ago on Monday (11), an official said.

By landing at the Sri Lanka Air Force station Batticaloa in a SLAF MA-60, President Maithripala Sirisena declared open the renovated Batticaloa runway yesterday (10th July).