At least 91 dead after quake strikes Lombok and Bali

A powerful quake which struck the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok has killed 91 people and wounded hundreds, national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said early on Monday (Aug 6), with thousands of buildings left damaged.



Fractures emerge in the Joint Opposition

Recent reports have surfaced indicating a bitter dispute between Kumara Welgama and Mahindananda Aluthgamage. At a meeting yesterday (August 05) of the SLPP’s Kalutara district youth organisation Welgama launched a tirade on Aluthgamage after the latter claimed Welgama is playing the role of a joker.



Finance Ministry rejects claims of salary hikes for Government employees

Although there was a salary increment for those who represent the Judicial System, there is no truth in the claims that the salary of other state employees will be increased in parallel to that, stated the Ministry of Finance.



Vijayakala blames South and politicians

Government Parliamentarian Vijayakala Maheswaran on Friday charged that the South was responsible for supplying drugs to the North and that the menace had increased with the end of the separatist conflict in 2009.



Night party turns sour in Wadduwa: Three die, 37 fall ill

Three youth attending a party at a hotel in Wadduwa died and 37 women fell ill and were hospitalised after they consumed an intoxicating tablet on August 4 night. Wadduwa Police said the three youth from Kesbewa and Divulapitiya first collapsed and subsequently died.



Sri Lanka says Mattala airport project with India is on

Days after India’s Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha told Parliament that there was no proposal for the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to acquire a controlling stake in Sri Lanka’s Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, a Sri Lankan Minister said talks on the project are “progressing” with India.



No one objected on pay hike: Kiriella

Public Enterprise Development Minister and House Leader Lakshman Kiriella said yesterday there was no objection from anyone at the July 17 party leaders meeting to the proposed pay hike of parliamentarians in line with the salary scales of judicial officers.



Sri Lanka secures $1 billion Chinese loan

Sri Lanka’s central bank on Friday announced that it had secured a $1 billion loan from China as the island — a key link in Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road initiative (BRI) — develops closer relations with Asia’s largest economy.



Pukudi Kannaa’s father shot dead

The 62-year-old man admitted to the Colombo National Hospital following the shooting incident in Modara has scummed to injuries.



Prime Minister offers prayers at Tirumala temple

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe offered prayers at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala town today.



DOCS STRIKE TODAY

The Government Medical Officer’s Association (GMOA) will strike from this morning, GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge said.



Laos to give visa-on-arrival for travelers from Sri Lanka

Laos will provide visa-on-arrival to travelers from Sri Lanka from Aug. 1, the foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday.



Germany arrests suspect over alleged Sri Lanka war crimes

German authorities have arrested a Sri Lankan man suspected of involvement in killing captured government soldiers as a member of the Tamil Tigers rebel group a decade ago.



Government has imposed taxes on all commodities – Mahinda Rajapaksa

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says that the current government has no other option other than to impose taxes and that it has imposed taxes on all commodities.



Salaries of ministers likely to be increased?

Salaries of ministers, deputy ministers, state ministers and all parliamentarians are likely to be increased by approximately 215 per cent to be on par with the recent salary increase given to judges, parliament sources said yesterday.



Harsha raps scaremongers: FTAs beneficial for Lanka

Everyone should get-together to the make the Singapore – Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) a success, irrespective of political differences without spreading unfounded fears, National Policies and Economic Affairs State Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva said yesterday.