The Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill presented by Finance and Mass Minister Mangala Samaraweera to exempt private hospital channelling services and several other selected items from VAT was passed in Parliament yesterday.

Former President and Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday demanded to know why Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara had not followed recommendations by the National Police Commission as regards the service promotions.

The government has permitted the railways commuters to travel on Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) buses using railway season tickets until the railway trade union strike concludes.

A revision to the water tariff will have to be made shortly, City Planning and Water Supply State Minister Lucky Jayawardena told Parliament yesterday.

A Sri Lanka Army Major and a Corporal were sentenced to death today by the Trincomalee High Court. They were found guilty of murdering an LTTE suspect that they took into custody in Gurunagar, Jaffna in 1998.

The government intended to revise the import duties imposed on small cars and hybrid vehicles in the near future, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe informed Parliament yesterday.

In response to the strike actions launched by several Railway Trade Unions including drivers and guards today a group of train commuters staged a protest outside the Fort Railway station blocking one lane of the Olcott Mawatha, from 3.00 pm today.

Allowances given for MPs should be increased instead of their salaries, says Minister Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka.

Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera had been sentenced to 19-years imprisonment to be served in six years, for contempt of court by the Appeal Court, today.

The Court of Appeal will deliver its judgement today (08) regarding the Contempt of Court action filed against Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Atte Gnanasara Thera over his alleged offensive behaviour inside the Homagama Magistrate’s Court on January 25, 2016.

Sri Lanka today mourned the death of veteran Indian politician M K Karunanidhi. President Maithripala Sirisena tweeted saying he was deeply saddened by the death of Karunanidhi and expressed his condolences to Karunanidhi’s family.

Over 163,000 Chinese tourists have arrived in Sri Lanka from January to July this year, making China the second largest market for Sri Lanka tourism, statistics from the Tourism Ministry showed here on Tuesday.

M Karunanidhi, five-time chief minister of India’s Tamil Nadu state and one of the dominant figures in the politics of southern India for half a century, died on Tuesday at the age of 94.

A woman was injured after she was shot at near the Armstrong Junction at Gonahena in Kadawatha a short while ago, Police said.

The Sri Lankan rupee ended slightly firmer on Monday as inward remittances surpassed early demand for the U.S. dollar from foreign banks, traders said.

Four railway officials have been interdicted in connection with yesterday’s train accident at Pannaliya off Polgahawela.