Government imposes special commodity levy on various goods

The monthly income of the Excise Department has increased by Rs. 1 billion after checking fake stickers on liquor bottles, a Parliamentary committee revealed.

02 Dec 2023 - 1     - 515

President Ranil Wickremesinghe engaged in bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron a short while ago on the side-lines of the COP28, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.

02 Dec 2023 - 6     - 652

Some 938 metric tons of plastic are generated in Sri Lanka every day, the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development revealed recently.

02 Dec 2023 - 7     - 430

With the dengue cases mounting, the Epidemiology Unit has identified 54 high-risk MOH areas where dengue breeding places have been found in abundance.

02 Dec 2023 - 4     - 1048

Though half a century has lapsed since India signed the Indo-Sri Lankan agreements (Sirimavo-Shastri Pact of 1964 and Sirima-Gandhi Pact of 1974) to resolve the status of Indian Origin Tamils (IOT) in Sri Lanka, the Indian government has still not fulfilled its treaty obligations, observed the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Thursday.

02 Dec 2023 - 4     - 1043

Litro Gas has decided not to increase the LP gas prices this month considering the upcoming festive season, Litro Gas Chairman Muditha Peiris said.

02 Dec 2023 - 4     - 280

The motion to suspend State Minister Dinana Gamage and two SJB MPs Sujith Sanjaya Perera and Rohana Bandara for a month was approved in Parliament with a majority of 57 votes.

02 Dec 2023 - 7     - 1515

The government is paying special attention to the welfare of pensioners’ communities and solving their wage disparities, Finance State Minister Ranjith Siambalapitiya said while speaking to the media after starting work on the retirement welfare office building being built near Deraniyagala town.

02 Dec 2023 - 8     - 494

The Deputy Postmaster General informed the Police Traffic and Road Safety Division that several post offices within the Western Province will be kept open 24 hours to pay traffic fines, the Police Media Division said.

02 Dec 2023 - 14     - 728

The depression over the South-West Bay of Bengal will develop into a deep depression during the next 12 hours and further into a cyclonic storm by tomorrow (3), the forecasting division of the National Meteorological Centre said.

02 Dec 2023 - 0     - 1470

The government is reportedly considering decisive action against a high-ranking officer within the Excise Department following allegations of soliciting bribes from liquor manufacturing companies, a source said .

02 Dec 2023 - 15     - 1595

Defending League champions, Kandy Sports Club, under the newly appointed Skipper Lavanga Perera, will face the CH and FC in their opening game of the SLR Nippon Paint Inter-Club League Rugby Tournament encounter at the Nittawela Stadium in Kandy on Sunday. The kick-off is scheduled for 3.45 p.m.

02 Dec 2023 - 0     - 414

While nations across the globe are battling with climate change and the impacts that follow, the Environment Ministry cautioned that Sri Lanka is in a conservation crisis.

02 Dec 2023 - 3     - 368

The judiciary is yet to respond formally to the request by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana as the head of the Constitution Council to submit the details related to the performance of judges nominated to be picked for key positions.

02 Dec 2023 - 7     - 842

A group of young Pakistani females accompanied by their male manager, who had been brought into Sri Lanka by a local man claiming to be a filmmaker and had exploited them to work as belly dancers at a Colombo nightclub, was rescued by the Department of Immigration and Emigration yesterday.

02 Dec 2023 - 10     - 3643

Israel’s military was aware of Hamas ’ plan to launch an attack on Israeli soil over a year before the devastating Oct. 7 operation that killed hundreds of people, The New York Times reported Friday.

01 Dec 2023 - 2     - 2354

A group of creditors holding Sri Lanka’s international bonds said on Friday it welcomed the country’s debt restructuring agreement with official creditors, though it said a lack of transparency on deals struck so far was regrettable.

01 Dec 2023 - 4     - 753

A fruitful discussion between Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Palitha Mahipala and World Health Organization (WHO) Representative to Sri Lanka Dr. Alaka Singh took place today with the latter assuring financial and technical support to Sri Lanka.

01 Dec 2023 - 2     - 248

Meteorological authorities have issued a weather warning for several provinces in Sri Lanka, predicting heavy showers exceeding 100 mm in the Northern, North-Central, Eastern, North-Western, and Western Provinces.

01 Dec 2023 - 0     - 409

The principal of the Badulla Tamil Girls’ Maha Vidyalaya who was allegedly compelled to kneel down and worship State Minister Chamara Sampath Dassanayake in 2018 while he was functioning as Uva Chief Minister, yesterday withdrew her Fundamental Rights petition filed before the Supreme Court.

01 Dec 2023 - 15     - 1259

The President’s Fund has taken steps towards empowering the youth by introducing a scholarship programme tailored for students who participated in the 2022 (2023) G.E.C. A/L Exam.

01 Dec 2023 - 0     - 493

The Constitutional Council has given its nod to the appointment of Deshabandu Tennakoon as the Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP).

01 Dec 2023 - 13     - 1068

The eagerly awaited minimum Z-scores for university admissions for the academic year 2022/2023, based on the 2022 G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination, have been officially announced.

01 Dec 2023 - 3     - 1139

Chief Incumbent of the Sithulpawwa Raja Maha Vihara and Chief Sanghanayake of the Malwatta Chapter in the Southern Province, Ven. Metaramba Hemarathane Thera passed away at the age of 83 at a private hospital in Colombo.

01 Dec 2023 - 0     - 518

An unidentified group of individuals had pelted stones at the Colombo bound night mail from Jaffna on Thursday (30) night, when the train was passing the Kondavil area.

01 Dec 2023 - 10     - 1470

Pastor Jerome Fernando, who was arrested in connection with his controversial Sunday sermon, was today ordered to be remanded till December 13 after being produced before the Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage.

01 Dec 2023 - 14     - 6480

It has been decided to revise the opening hours of liquor shops, and related discussions have already started, Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said today.

01 Dec 2023 - 13     - 1866

The fourth T20 international between India and Australia will be played today at Raipur’s Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh stadium. But with just hours to go for the crucial encounter, there is no electricity in parts of the stadium. Reason: An electricity bill which hasn’t been paid since 2009.

01 Dec 2023 - 7     - 1671

Compared to other countries, the highest number of elephant deaths are reported in Sri Lanka every year due to the elephant-human conflict in this country, the Sectoral Oversight Committee revealed.

01 Dec 2023 - 10     - 775

A student from Mahamaya Girl’s College, Kandy has topped the island rankings at the GCE Ordinary Level Examination in 2023, while the second place has been achieved by a student from Vembadi Girls’ High School in Jaffna, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said.

01 Dec 2023 - 4     - 10276

Even though the first term of 2022 had begun on April 18, textbooks had not been distributed to the schools until December, the 2022 Annual Auditor General’s Report said.

01 Dec 2023 - 3     - 235

Three individuals have been detained for 48 hours for questioning over an explosion in a house at Nikapitiya, Gallawatta in Ridigama.

01 Dec 2023 - 4     - 1259

Israel’s military said it had resumed combat against Hamas in Gaza on Friday after accusing the Palestinian militant group of violating a seven-day temporary truce by firing towards Israeli territory.

01 Dec 2023 - 0     - 652

The Customs Department is currently conducting an investigation into the under-invoicing of values of three LED screens imported by the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) at three international cricket stadiums in Sri Lanka, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe told Parliament today.

01 Dec 2023 - 9     - 1678

State Minister Diana Gamage, SJB MPs Rohana Bandara and Sujith Sanjaya Perera are to be suspended from Parliament for a month for brawling near the MPs’ library.

01 Dec 2023 - 15     - 2467

Considering the recent fuel price revision, the Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA), the Inter-Provincial Private Bus Owners’ Association (IPPBOA), and three-wheeler associations claimed that there would be no fare revisions to bus and three-wheeler fares.

01 Dec 2023 - 8     - 580