Sri Lanka’s president ordered a fresh investigation Sunday into a multi-billion dollar aircraft purchase involving the island’s loss-making national carrier, days after Airbus settled corruption probes in Europe and the US.

The Government, in line with the President’s Visions of Prosperity policy has already commenced purchasing paddy at a minimum guaranteed price of Rs. 50 per one kilogram under the government’s program to purchase the paddy harvest in Maha season 2019/2020.

Despite the price of crude oil falling in the world market, local fuel prices will remain unchanged, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources Development stated.

SriLankan Airlines thanked their pilots and staff who volunteered to operate the charter flight yesterday (31) that repatriated the 33 Sri Lankan students and their families that were trapped in Wuhan which is considered to be the epicentre of the coronavirus.

The Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva says none of the 33 Lankans including students and their family members who returned to Sri Lanka from Wuhan, China were observed to have any symptoms of the Coronavirus or fever.

UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa’s Camp, yesterday, January 31, assured that it wouldn’t press for the leadership of the party.

The special flight (UL1422) chartered by SriLankan Airlines, which departed to evacuate Sri Lankan students stuck in the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, has taken off from Wuhan at 4.05 am (China Local Time) this morning.

Minister Mahinda Amaraweera says a group of Parliamentarians who do not waste public funds set aside for the development of the country must be elected to Parliament.

Six suspects including Mohommed Ibrahim,the father of the suicide bomber responsible for the attack on the Shangri-la Hotel remanded until February 14.

The Ministry of Agriculture has been relocated to the ‘Govijana Mandiraya’ in Battaramulla a short while ago.

The United National Party’s Working Committee has decided to name Sajith Premadasa as the Leader of the UNP-led alliance and the Prime Ministerial candidate, MP Lakshman Kiriella said.

Sources close to the Opposition Leader said that a group of 35 UNP MPs including the Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa have taken a decision to boycott the Working Committee meeting scheduled to be held this afternoon.

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at its meeting held on 29th January 2020, decided to reduce the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank by 50 basis points to 6.50 per cent and 7.50 per cent, respectively.

Officials attached to the Peliyagoda Special Investigations Unit has arrested three suspects, including two females and one male with 192kg of heroin, 10 pistols and 19 magazines this morning.

A decisive United National Party Working Committee meeting will be held today to decide on the future course of action by the party, its General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said yesterday.