22A needs to be approved by referendum costing Rs. 10 billion: Anura Kumara

Claiming that the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution is required to be passed by a referendum which costs Rs. 10 billion, NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said today President Ranil Wickremesinghe is plotting to bring in such an amendment at this juncture to create confusion among the people.

Prasanna urges Ranil to declare candidacy promptly

During a spirited rally in Kadawatha today, Minister Prasanna Ranatunga passionately urged President Ranil Wickremesinghe to promptly announce his candidacy for the presidency within the upcoming week.

Bangladesh court scraps job quotas after deadly unrest

Bangladesh’s top court has scrapped most of the quotas on government jobs that had sparked violent clashes across the country that have killed more than 100 people.

Asanga Abeygunasekara arrested at BIA over open warrant

Former Director of the Institute of National Security Studies, Asanga Abeygunasekara, was arrested this morning at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).

Government repays Rs. 129 Bn more debt than raised in bonds & Treasury bills

In the first half of 2024, the government has managed to pay off its debt of Rs. 129 billion more than the amount of debt obtained through bonds and Treasury bills, State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe said.

CCD arrests 16 suspects including woman in crackdown on organized crime

The Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) arrested a total of 16 suspects, including a woman, in connection with their alleged involvement in organized criminal activities.

Scam warning as fake emails and websites target users after outage

Cyber-security experts and agencies around the world are warning people about a wave of opportunistic hacking attempts linked to the IT outage.

Goa cargo ship fire kills one, firefighting efforts underway

Fire-fighting operations continued for the second straight day Saturday to contain a major fire that broke out on the Panama-flagged cargo merchant vessel ‘MV Maersk Frankfurt’, with the Indian Coast Guard confirming that one crew member had been killed.

Travel companies ordered to pay Rs 1 crore to man who lost family in Sri Lanka trip

The Delhi Consumer Commission directed travel companies Thomas Cook and Red Apple Travel to pay Rs 1 crore as compensation to Yogesh Saigal for the death of his family members in a road accident during a vacation in Sri Lanka.

Ali Sabri Raheem released on bail

Puttalam District MP Ali Sabri Raheem, who surrendered to the police this morning, was released on bail by Puttalam Acting Magistrate Indika Tennakoon.

It is regretted that President places blame on me for current constitutional error - Jayampathi

Dr. Jayampathi Wickramaratne , the former MP who played a key role in drafting the 19th Amendment , said the upper limit of the term of President and Parliament as mentioned in Article 83 of the Constitution was not touched at that time only to avoid a referendum, and therefore it is regretted that President Ranil Wickremesinghe placing the blame solely on him for the constitutional error.

MP Ali Sabry Raheem surrenders to Police

Kalpitiya police have arrested Puttalam District MP Ali Sabri Raheem after he surrendered to the police this morning.

Tusker Agbo shot in the eye with catapult, youth arrested

An individual who shot the tusker Agbo frequenting Tirappane area, in its eye with a catapult, was taken into custody by Tirappane Police yesterday. The suspect was a resident of Akkara Panaha in Ethungama, Tirappane in the Anuradhapura District.

Fire breaks out on cargo ship en route to Colombo off Goa

A major fire broke out on a container cargo merchant vessel about 102 nautical miles southwest of Goa, causing explosions on the front part of the ship on Friday evening. The vessel was on a passage from Mundra port in Gujarat to Colombo in Sri Lanka.

Trade Minister warns suppliers; lower prices or face price controls

Whilst the government issued a stern warning to suppliers of essential goods emphasising that they must promptly pass on the cost reductions resulting from its recent policy decisions by next week, some producers said it is not possible to reduce prices due to the high cost of raw materials.

Bangladesh imposes curfew, deploys army as job quota protests continue

Bangladesh has announced the imposition of a curfew and the deployment of military forces after days of clashes at protests against government job quotas across the country.

Imthiaz to be appointed new SJB Chairman

In what seemed to be a significant change in Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), the party is slated to appoint national list MP Imthiaz Bakeer Markar as its new chairman in place of Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka.

Bus carrying pilgrims overturns in Muttur, injuring 52

A bus carrying a group of pilgrims from Jaffna to Kataragama ran off the road and overturned this afternoon in the Muttur area resulting in 52 pilgrims being injured.

Pakistan announces plan to bear prisoner repatriation expenses from SL

Pakistani Federal Minister for Communication Abdul Aleem Khan has promised to bear the repatriation expenses of Pakistani prisoners in Sri Lankan jails, said an official statement on Friday, making it possible for them to return to their home country by removing a major obstacle.

EU scotches social media reports on election poll survey in Sri Lanka

European Union scotched rumours on social media that it conducted an election poll survey in Sri Lanka.

SriLankan Airlines back to normal after global outage

SriLankan Airlines said its internet booking services have been fully restored as of 2 pm today following the mass IT outage faced around the world.

No hindrance to declaration of Presidential election: EC confirms

In the wake of the gazetting of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, the Elections Commission (EC) has announced that there are no obstacles to declaring the Presidential Election which is due to be declared by the end of this month.

Ranil misusing state resources to boost image ahead of polls: NPP alleges

The National People’s Power (NPP) today alleged that state funds, vehicles and resources are being used to boost the image of the President ahead of the Presidential election and urged the Elections Commission to look into the matter.

22nd Amendment Bill gazetted by President

The bill titled the ’Twenty-second Amendment to the Constitution’ was published in a gazette notification, as ordered by the President.

Hingurakgoda airport to be modernised for international flight operations

The construction work to modernise the Hingurakgoda domestic airport for international flight operations commenced today under the initiative of Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva.

Anura Kumara to leave for Japan

National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake is scheduled to leave for Japan.

Mass IT outage affects airlines, media and banks

A raft of global institutions - including major banks, media outlets and airlines - have reported suffering a mass IT outage.

Plans afoot to position Sri Lanka as regional hub for human capital development: President

President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that efforts are underway to position Sri Lanka as the regional hub for human capital development.

New Vice Chancellor appointed to Peradeniya University

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed Professor W. M. T. Madhujith to the post of Vice Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya with effect from August 01, 2024, Presidetial Media Division (PMD) said.

Sri Lanka scraps plan to sell off SriLankan Airlines

Sri Lanka has scrapped plans to sell off its indebted national airline despite shortlisting three potential buyers, the government’s privatisation agency said Friday.