Sri Lanka commemorated its National Cinema Day on Friday after the government designated April 5 as the day in tribute to late veteran film director Lester James Peries, the government information department said.

The third reading of the 2019 Budget was passed in Parliament with a majority of 45 votes.119 members voted in favor while 74 voted against.

Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank P. Samarasiri and Chairman of Perpetual Treasuries Ltd (PTL) Geoffrey Aloysius and Directors of PTL Pushyamithra Gunawardena, R. Hulugalla, and M. Surendran, who were in remand custody over Central Bank Bond Scam, were released on bail by the Courts today.

The Court of Appeal has rejected the appeal filed by Gampola Vidanage Samantha Kumara alias ‘Wele Suda’ over the death sentence imposed against him by the Colombo High Court.

The Police Sergeant attached to the security detail of Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, Aruna Sri Nandana Silva, who was arrested over the shooting at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation premises in Dematagoda, has been released of all charges.

The Police Department will be subject to significant changes to transform it into a more efficient force that gains the respect of the public, President Maithripala Sirisena said.

No final decision was taken on the ‘Budget 2019’ vote during the UPFA group meeting presided by President Maithripala Sirisena and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Parliamentary complex yesterday.

Ruling AIADMK top leader O Paneerselvam Thursday accused the DMK and Congress of being responsible for the “genocide” of Tamils in Sri Lanka during the last phase of civil war in the island nation in 2009.

Former Prisons Commissioner Emil Ranjan Lamahewa who was taken into custody and remanded in connection with the murder of 27 detainees at the Welikada Prison in 2012 was granted bail.

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has chosen three private companies to buy 100 megawatts of electricity with immediate effect to solve the current power crisis in the the country, sources said.

An STF personnel has committed suicide by shooting himself at a checkpoint at the Temple Trees this morning, police said.

A value addition production platform will be created after transforming Sri Lanka into the hub of the Indian Ocean, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, yesterday, raised the failure on the part of the UN to take into consideration the disclosure made by Lord Naseby in Oct 2017 in the House of Commons.

Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), JVP Parliamentarian Sunil Handunnetti today (3) lambasted the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) for its continuous failure to heed the warning of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) in coming up with a long term plan for power generation.

Sri Lanka on Wednesday began interviewing 47 applicants for two positions as hangmen, officials said, as Amnesty International urged Colombo not to bring back capital punishment.