Sri Lanka to begin vaccine booster rollout for over-60s

Sri Lanka will commence administering the Pfizer vaccine as the booster dose to those over the age of 60 starting from tomorrow (17), State Minister Prof. Channa Jayasumana said.



Central Expressway: Mirigama to Kurunegala section to open soon

The section of the Central Expressway between Mirigama and Kurunegala will be opened this month, Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said in Parliament yesterday (15).



Tunisian arrested at BIA with cocaine worth Rs. 180 million

A Tunisian national was arrested with a stock of cocaine worth Rs. 180 million by the Customs Narcotics Division at the Bandaranaike International Airport.



Sri Lanka approves use of Anti-COVID pill Molnupiravir

Sri Lanka COVID-19 Technical Committee has granted approval for the use of oral antiviral pill ‘Molnupiravir’ in Sri Lanka.



Riyaj Bathiudeen released from detention order

Riyaj Bathiudeen, the brother of MP Rishad Bathiudeen, has been released from the detention order under strict conditions by the Supreme Court.



Schools to open for all grades from next week

The government has decided to reopen all the remaining grades in government schools from next week, Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardane says.



Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery to be shut for first time as no Crude Oil

The Ministry of Energy has decided to shut down operations at the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery from today (15) for the first time in history due to a shortage of crude oil.



Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini arrives at CID to record statement

Reverend Father Cyril Gamini Fernando arrived at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) this morning (15) to record a statement in connection with a complaint filed by the country’s intelligence chief.



Sajith slams Government for ‘insulting’ public service

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) condemns the insult to public servants after the Finance Minister stated that the public service has become a burden to the country.



New laws needed to evict persons from disaster prone areas – Minister

Parliament will have to formulate strict new laws to evacuate the people from the natural disaster prone areas permanently, Irrigation Minister and National Security Disaster Management and Home Affairs State Minister Chamal Rajapaksa told Parliament on Saturday.



Muralitharan hails Jayawardena after former teammate inducted into ICC hall of Fame

Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan has called his former teammate and the ICC’s latest Hall of Fame inductee Mahela Jayawardena one of the game’s “great thinkers”.



Sri Lanka confident of not defaulting on its debt, says finance minister

Sri Lanka is confident of not defaulting on its debt repayments and will work on gradually improving the quality of its foreign exchange reserves, finance minister Basil Rajapaksa said on Saturday, a day after presenting the 2022 annual budget.



Back to chemical fertiliser: Stocks to be rushed to rain-affected areas

The Agriculture Ministry is to obtain chemical fertiliser from stocks still in the country to be issued to farmers in some districts where torrential rains have all but washed away the organic fertiliser they had used earlier.



Revised excise levies announced

The Excise notification has been issued by Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa amending the excise duty with effect from November 13, as per the 2022 budget.



28-hour water cut in and around Colombo today

A 28-hour water cut will be in effect in parts of Colombo from 8:00 PM today till midnight tomorrow.



Budget 2022 lacks vision to overturn crisis – Anura Kumara

The Government has failed to address burning issues in the country, including the organic fertiliser crisis, Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on Friday (12).