Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed the relevant officials to release Rs. 1.8 billion from COVID-19 Healthcare and Social Security Fund to import essential medicines, President’s Media Division (PMD) said.

An individual had died in a shooting carried out by an unknown gunman riding on a motorcycle near Nirmala Mawatha in Panadura today (June 03).

Former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Thirukumar Nadesan, the husband of former Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa who was named in Pandora Papers, have been acquitted in the Malwana property case.

Sri Lanka seeks to secure around $5 billion in funding this year to cover repayments for fuel imports and other items bought through credit lines, and another $1 billion to bolster its foreign reserves, the prime minister’s office said on Thursday.

The first Batch of China’s Grant Medicines worth 500 million RMB was scheduled to arrive on 3rd June, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka said.

Municipal Councillor Mahinda Kahandagama, who was named as a suspect in the case filed over the incidents that took place outside Temple Trees (Maina Go Gama) and in Galle Face (Gota Go Gama) on May 09, surrendered to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) today (June 02).

Sri Lanka is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to borrow at least $3 billion via the lender’s extended fund facility (EFF), sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Sri Lanka’s shipping agents have warned that shipping lines could withdraw from accepting import and export cargo in and out of Sri Lanka, as local agents have failed to remit US $ 70 million in freight charges owed to shipping lines over the past several months, due to the foreign exchange crisis.

Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry has decided to impose a 100% surcharge rate on both General and Preferential Custom Duty of multiple products with effect from Wednesday (June 01).

Former MP Duminda Silva, who was admitted to the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital this morning (June 01), was arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) a short while ago.

Sri Lanka removed restrictions on imports to help ease shortages of everything from food to medicine.

Housing Development Authority Chairman Duminda Silva was admitted to Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital today (June 01), sources said.

Sri Lanka is calling on farmers to grow more rice as it faces its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years.

The gazette notification on the increase in the Value Added Tax was published today (June 01) under the signature of Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Another six persons have been arrested over the unrest and violence reported opposite Temple Trees (Maina Go Gama) and in Galle Face (Gota Go Gama) on May 09.