18-hour water cut in Colombo and suburbs on Saturday, Sunday

An 18-hour water cut will be in effect in Colombo and its suburbs from 8.00 a.m Saturday (September 3) till 2.00 a.m on Sunday (September 4) the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NSWDB ) said.

Prez has a challenge to setup credible mechanism to probe enforced disappearances: Sandya Eknaligoda

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has a challenge to introduce a credible and internationally trusted mechanism to probe the enforced disappearances and mete out justice to those who affected, missing journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda’s wife Sandya Eknaligoda said today.

University admissions from Monday: UGC Chairman

Students who had got through the 2021 (2022) GCE Advanced Level (A/L) examination can apply for university entrance starting next Monday, University Grant Commission (UGC) Chairman Prof. Sampath Amaratunga said.

Textbooks for 2023 to reach students on time

The Education Ministry has taken the necessary measures to print the required school textbooks for the coming year.

Water levels in several rivers rising; flood warning issued

The Irrigation Department today issued a possibility of floods in several areas following heavy rains.

IUSF protesters tear gassed

The police fired tear gas on students of the Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF) who were protesting near the Technical College Junction in Maradana a short while ago.

Road accident leaves one dead, two critically wounded

A 33-year person had died and two others were seriously injured when a bus and a lorry crashed head on at the Samudra Mawatha in Galle on the Galle-Matara Main Road this morning.

Technical Junction blocked due to protest

Heavy traffic was reported in and around the Technical College Junction in Maradana due to a protest by the Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF), police said.

Pregnant mothers to get Rs. 2,500 monthly allowance

Pregnant mothers would be provided with an additional monthly allowance of Rs. 2,500 in addition to Rs. 20,000 already provided for them, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said in his budget speech.

Bangladesh will never face situation like Sri Lanka: Sheikh Hasina

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today expressed her firm conviction that Bangladesh will never plunge into Sri Lanka-like situation for its development spree, rather the country will continue to move ahead overcoming all global challenges.

VAT to be increased to 15%

The Value Added Tax (VAT) rate will be increased to 15 percent from the current rate of 12 percent with effect from September 1 2022, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said today.

5-year multiple entry tourist visa with 6 months stay for 35 countries: Harin

Cabinet has approved a 5-year multiple entry tourist visa with 6 months stay for 35 countries to help boost tourism in Sri Lanka, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said.

Sri Lanka rerun, Iraq protestors storm presidential palace, take dip in pool

Two months after the unprecedented Sri Lankan political turmoil wherein thousands of protestors stormed the presidential palace in Colombo, similar sights were visible in Baghdad city in Iraq.

Pakistan secures $1.1bn in IMF bailout funding

The International Monetary Fund released about $1.1 billion to Pakistan as part of its seventh and eighth reviews of the country’s bailout programme helping it avoid a Sri Lanka-like default crisis.

Tokyo will coordinate with other Sri Lanka creditors on debt: Japan Finance Minister

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday it was important for all creditor nations of Sri Lanka to gather to discuss Colombo’s debt issue, adding that Tokyo would coordinate with other creditors on the matter.

Three arrested over assault on Senior DIG Thennakoon

Three persons were arrested by the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) over assault on Senior DIG in charge of Western Province Deshabandu Tennakoon and two other police officers in early May.

Sweden and Denmark eases travel advisory to SL

Sweden and Denmark have joined the growing list of countries to ease travel advisory to Sri Lanka, which further imporves the chances of the hard-hit tourism sector witnessing signs of revival earlier than expected.

Jet fuel shortage worsens SLA’s woes

SLA posted a loss of US $ 1.5 million in July, as the airline was forced to make fuel stops outside the country, due to the jet fuel shortage in the country.

Govt. to present interim budget today

The government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe is scheduled to present an interim budget to Parliament today for the remainder of 2022, as the crisis-hit nation tries to stay afloat.

Update: Shooting at Mattakkuliya kills one

A 26-year-old from Mattakkuliya was killed in a shooting at Aliwatta in Mattakkuliya last night, police said.

Import ban delivers hard blow on soft tissue paper industry

The suspension of the importation of raw materials for soft tissue paper products has hit the manufacturers hard and the industry stakeholders have expressed fears of potential closure of factories.

Govt. urged to do its utmost to discourage demands for domestic debt restructuring

Although Sri Lanka may have to consider restructuring its domestic debt in the upcoming debt restructuring negotiations, the government is urged to do its utmost to dissuade the external creditors from such a counterproductive exercise that exacerbates Sri Lanka’s economic woes.

US will support SL through IMF, if agreement reached: Julie Chung

The US will support Sri Lanka through International Monetary Fund (IMF), if Sri Lanka could reach an agreement with the IMF, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung said.

Price of bread could rise to Rs.300? - Assn.

The Price of a 450g loaf of bread has to be sold at Rs. 300 in the coming days, if the price of a bag of wheat flour does not come down and the shortage is not resolved, according to the All Ceylon Bakery Owners’ Association (ACBOA).

Mobile phone, accessory prices to go up again: Communication Owners’ Assn

After the government’s decision to ban the importation of 300 consumer items, the All Ceylon Communication Owners’ Association (ACCOA) today said that the prices of mobile phones and accessories would go up again as per the prices announced by the major importers.

Power cut schedule until Friday announced

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has approved the power cut schedule from tomorrow (30) to Friday (September 2), PUCSL Chairman Janaka Rathnayake said.

Court grants interim protection to lesbian from abusive parents

A local court has issued a historic ruling ordering protection for a lesbian woman from her abusive parents.

CEB should be restructured; excess staff retrenched: Aluthgamage

Over-staffed Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) don’t have much work today as new connections, disconnections and erecting poles are carried out by outsourced companies, a government MP said today.

Lawyer files contempt of court case against Sanath Nishantha

A lawyer today filed a contempt of court application in Court of Appeal seeking an order directing the Attorney General to draft charges against Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) parliamentarian Sanath Nishantha for committing the offence of contempt of court.

Move to privatize CEB on IMF conditions; similar move thwarted by JVP in 2005: Vijitha

Claiming that the government is planning to privatize state-owned enterprises such as the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) in accordance with the IMF conditions, National People’s Power (NPP) MP Vijitha Herath today said that similar move to privatize the CEB on IMF conditions were thwarted by the JVP in 2005.