Captain and seven others indicted in High Court

The Colombo High Court today served indictments on five accused including the Captain of the fire-ravaged container ship MV X-Press Perl and four other directors of the Local Agent of X-Press Perl vessel for causing damages to the country’s oceanic environment.

Family of five from SL reaches Dhanushkodi; 214 persons have arrived so far

Five people belonging to a family from Killinochi district, Sri Lanka, reached the Indian waters at Dhanuskodi first islet at around 5 a.m. on Thursday.

UK donates USD 1 mn to strengthen nutrition among marginal fishers

The United Kingdom is providing GBP 880,000 (USD 1,043,395) to strengthen the food and nutrition security of marginalised fishers in nine Fisheries Districts in the country.

Central Bank threatens with administrative controls to bring market rates down

The Central Bank forewarned that it would be compelled to bring in administrative controls such as deposits and lending rate caps unless the markets adjust their interest rates to reflect the easing inflation and improvement in money market liquidity.

Several thousands of liquor bottles with fake stickers have entered market: MP Pathirana

Subsequent to his revelation in the Parliament about forging the security sticker pasted on liquor bottles, Opposition MP Buddhika Pathirana yesterday said several hundred thousand liquor bottles with forged security stickers have already entered the market.

CBK is seeing things in the night: MS

Former President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said his party colleague Chandrika Kumaratunga is seeing things in the night and is imagining things.

Another blast from Fmr. Prez Chandrika Kumaratunga

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga set the stage for another controversy as she said the Easter Sunday terrorist attack was something orchestrated to enable former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to come to power in 2019.

Even if they chase us away we will not leave the party: Nimal Siripala

In the wake of Central Committee of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) decision to suspend the membership of nine members, Ports, Aviation and Shipping Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that they would not leave the party even if they hit or chased them away.

Sub Inspectors obtain a declaration from Supreme Court against IGP

The Supreme Court in a judgment delivered on Wednesday (23) has held that the category of special promotion which granted discretionary power to IGP in a scheme of recruitment adopted in 2020 is violative of the fundamental rights of the Police Officers.

President Wickremesinghe should seek a fresh mandate - MP Channa Jayasumana

President Ranil Wickremesighe should seek a fresh mandate if he wants to make fresh policy decisions with regard to security or any other matter, MP Channa Jayasumana told Parliament today.

Import restrictions imposed on 78 items relaxed

The government has relaxed the restrictions imposed on several items through a Gazette Extraordinary.

Bhanuka asks to be released from SL squad for Aghanistan ODIs

Batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa has been released from Sri Lanka’s squad for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, upon a request made by the player.

CB Governor gets candid about his salary, perks

The Central Bank Governor Dr.Nandalal Weerasinghe today rubbished the claims that he is receiving a salary of Rs.2.5 million along with a pension from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Drugs: India police say rats ate 200kg of seized cannabis

Police in India have blamed rats for destroying nearly 200kg (440lbs) of cannabis seized from pedlars and kept in police stations.

Do not leave the country on visitor visa in search of jobs: State Minister

Foreign Affairs State Minister Tharaka Balasuriya has advised aspiring migrant workers not to travel with visit visas hoping to find employment in the Middle Eastern countries.

Cristiano Ronaldo banned for two matches over phone incident with fan

Former Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been banned for two domestic matches for knocking a phone out of an Everton fan’s hand.

SJB will participate in APC: Sajith

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) would participate in the All Party Conference (APC) proposed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe today, Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa told Parliament today.

Gota made a respondent in Petitions against Presidential Pardon granted to Duminda Silva

The Supreme Court today permitted the petitioners to personally add former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as a respondent in the Fundamental Rights petitions filed challenging the legality of the Presidential Pardon granted to former Parliamentarian Duminda Silva.

Keeping 5g of Ice: Death sentence to anyone

As of yesterday, the Supreme Court has the power to award the death penalty to anyone for possession of five grams of crystal methamphetamine, which is known as ‘ice’, Justice and Prisons Affairs State Minister Anuradha Jayaratne said.

Teacher consumes 25 panadols for not getting permanent appointment: Dayasiri

A teacher who has got frustrated for not getting a permanent appointment had consumed 25 pills of Panadol and is in a critical state, MP Dayasiri Jayasekera informed Parliament.

Keheliya requests Korea co-operation in anti-malnutrition drive

Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella requested the Korean government co-operation with the anti-malnutrition drive to reduce starvation and malnutrition in Sri Lanka.

SriLankan Airlines says witnessing flight of pilots

National carrier SriLankan Airlines is faced with a fresh challenge to tackle, as it is currently witnessing an exodus of airline pilots, SriLankan Airlines CEO Richard Nutall told journalists in Colombo, yesterday.

CB eases liquid assets requirement for banks

In a bid to ease the liquidity conditions in banks, the Central Bank issued fresh directions allowing them to temporarily do away with the requirement to report the Statutory Liquid Assets Ratio (SLAR) separately for domestic and off-shore banking units and instead allowed reporting the ratio on a consolidated basis, effective from December.

Nandalal cracks the whip on exporters

Amid growing public pressure, the Central Bank (CB) this week said it stands ready to name and shame the exporters who fail to provide adequate reasons within next two weeks for falling behind to convert their export earnings to rupees within the mandated time periods.

Apparel industry forecasts 30% decline in export orders for Nov-Dec. period

Sri Lanka’s apparel exporters are forecasting a 30 percent drop in export orders with the main export markets, gripped by inflationary pressures, plunging into a recession.

Qatar World Cup: Japan stuns four-time champions Germany to win 2-1

Substitutes Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano scored late goals on Wednesday to give Japan a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Germany at the World Cup.

Security sticker on liquor bottles forged: SJB MP

The security sticker introduced last year by the Department of Excise to be pasted on the cap of liquor bottles sold in Sri Lanka has been forged, as per a revelation made by an Opposition MP in parliament today.

Each official, non-official participated in World Cup paid US$800 per day with all facilities

An amount of US$ 800 has been paid per day to each person with all the facilities who have  participated in the recent T20 World Cup held in Australia as officials with the sponsorship of Sri Lanka Cricket.

WHO to rename monkeypox as ‘MPOX’

The World Health Organization is planning to rename monkeypox, designating it as “MPOX” in an effort to destigmatize the virus that gained a foothold in the U.S. earlier this year, three people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO.

Fine, suspended sentence for Chamika

Chamika Karunaratne was fined 5,000 USD after he pleaded guilty for breaching several clauses in his Player Agreement during the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup.