Popular television presenter, compere and journalist Hema Nalin Karunaratne has passed away at the age of 55.

Sections C350 to C360 of the bond commission report which had not been made public thus far, was handed over to the speaker of parliament by the Presidential Secretariat a short while ago.

President’s former Chief of Staff I. H. K. Mahanama and former State Timber Corporation (STC) Chairman P. Dissanayaka who were arrested for accepting a bribe of Rs.20 million from an Indian businessman, were further remanded till June 19 by Colombo Chief Magistrate Ranga Dassanayake today.

Rs. 80 billion has been allocated to the “Gamperaliya project” which is focused on village development, Minister Mangala Samaraweera said yesterday.

The 100-day programme was not a part of the UNP manifesto but a policy document which was prepared and marketed by those who supported the common candidate Maithripala Sirisena for the presidency, UNP Spokesman and Publicity Unit Chief Harin Fernando said today.

Sri Lanka’s Tourism Minister John Amaratunga recently held talks with China’s tourism and airline officials to encourage more Chinese visitors to the country, local media reported Sunday.

The Influenza A virus has been identified as the cause for the spreading virus flu in the South, the Medical Research Institute announced.

Director of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Executive, Keerthi Tennakoon, yesterday handed over a letter to Perpetual Treasuries (Pvt) Ltd (PTL) owner Arjun Aloysius and its former CEO Kasun Palisena, through Welikada prison officials, requesting them to reveal the names of politicians who had received money from PTL.

The list of MPs who have had telephone conversations with former Perpetual Treasuries beneficiary owner Arjun Aloysius will be tabled in Parliament this week, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said.

Professor Rohana Lakshman Piyadasa has been temporarily appointed as Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) General Secretary by SLFP’s Central Committee a short while ago.

The Joint Trade Unions of Postal Service Workers issued a statement that all Postal service employees will go on strike with effect from midnight today (03).

The Sri Lanka-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) would result in higher gains for Sri Lankan exports compared to products imported from China which are already entering the country duty free, local media reported Saturday, quoting a recent study.

The Sri Lankan rupee touched a fresh record low of 158.80 on Friday owing to dollar demand from foreign banks and importers but ended steady on late inflows from remittances, dealers said.

Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrema has urged Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to release a list containing names of 118 recipients of funds from tainted primary dealer Perpetual Treasuries (PTL) or companies affiliated with it, if such a list existed.