Ganeshan accuses Dilan, SB of batting for the JO

Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) Leader and Minister Mano Ganeshan today accused some government members of helping the joint opposition which is trying to sabotage the activities of the government.

Govt. attempting to postpone LG polls: JO

The Government is attempting to postpone the Local Government election by diverting the delimitation committee report to political parties, joint opposition MP Dullas Alahapperuma said today.

US threat on UN, a further waning of US influence: Kohona

Former chief of the UN treaty section and a former permanent representative of Sri Lanka to the UN, Palitha Kohona said that the US threatening the UN with financial sanctions would only result in the further waning of US influence in the UN and globally.

NWPC rejects Dev. Draft Bill

The controversial development (special provisions) Draft Bill was rejected by a majority of 20 members in the North Western Provincial Council (NWPC) today.

No National Day of Mourning for late premier

The Home Affairs Ministry today confirmed that the government will not declare December 30 as a national day of mourning for former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake.

Susanthika still in ICU: Hospital

Olympic Silver Medalist Susanthika Jayasinghe who was admitted to the Diyathalawa Hospital yesterday with an attack of dengue was recovering from the fever but still undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Diyathalawa Base Hospital Director Dr. RanjithAmarakoon said.

CPC rejects Development (Special Prov.) Bill

The Central Provincial Council (CPC) today rejected the Development (Special Provisions) Bill with a majority of 32 votes.

Johnston’s son removed from NWPC Chief Govt. Whip post

Councilor and Chief Government Whip of the North Western Provincial Council Johann Fernando, son of former minister Johnston Fernando, has been removed from his post by the cabinet of the Council yesterday.

Wimal at FCID

National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader MP Wimal Weerawansa arrived at the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) this morning to give a statement in connection with his alleged involvement in misusing government vehicles.

Dec.30 declared a National Day of Mourning

The government has declared December 30, as a national day of mourning as a mark of respect for the late former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, the Home Affairs Ministery said.

Veteran photographer Dunstan Wickramaratna passes away

Veteran photographer Dunstan Wickramaratna passed away last night. He was 80. His funeral will be held at 4.30 p.m. at the General Cemetery, Borella this evening. Cortege will leave A.F.Raymonds parlour at 4.00p.m.

Patrol bike issued to escort bride and groom

Heads of the Police Traffic Headquarters are baffled by the act of a junior officer who had permitted a powerful highway patrol motorcycle (worth Rs.3.5 million) to be used to escort a wedding car in Modera last week.

Rising price of rice/Rice miller blames minister

The main reason for the price of rice rising is that the Rural Economic Affairs Minister does not release the paddy stocks held by the government into the market in a systematic manner, a major rice miller said yesterday.

Snatch thief killed, two others arrested

One suspect was killed and two arrested when Police fired at suspects who were attempting to get away in a three-wheeler after snatching a necklace from a woman in Kantale.

FEB at BIA closed until further notice

The Foreign Employment registration counter of the Foreign Employment Bureau (FEB) which was at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) would be closed until further notice from January 1 due to renovation.

Mine Ban Treaty (MBT): SL yet to decide

Defense Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi said today the Defense Ministry was yet to give the green light to go ahead with the signing of the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) also known as the Ottawa Convention.

Don't proceed with H'tota lease: Handunnetti tells MS

COPE Chairman and JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti today requested President Maithrirpala Sirisena not to go ahead with the signing of the lease agreement to hand over of the Hambantota Port to a Chinese Company.

Tamil politicians squabble over damaged Gandhi statue in Mullaitivu

Two leading Tamil politicians of North Sri Lanka, both belonging to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), are squabbling over a controversial statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Mullaitivu town which was found destroyed on Monday.

Susanthika in ICU

Olympic Medalist Susanthika Jayasinghe was today admitted to the Diyathalawa Hospital due to a sudden illness, Hospital sources said.

MS invites Andhra Pradesh CM for 2nd anniversary of Unity govt.

President Maithripala Sirisena has invited India’s Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu as guest of honour at the second anniversary celebrations of Sri Lanka’s National Unity government, The Hindu reported.

Ratnasiri Wickremanayake passes away

Former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake passed away a short while ago at the age of 83 at a private Hospital in Colombo.    

Carol mix-up: Organizers apologize for error in hymn sheets

Those responsible for the error in the carol service hymnal have apologized to Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and the Catholic Church, a spokesman for the Colombo Archdiocese said today.

Southern, S’gamuwa PCs reject Dev. draft Bill

The controversial Development (Special Provisions) draft Bill was rejected by members in the Southern and the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councils today.

IndiGo, SpiceJet flights come face-to-face at Delhi’s IGI airport

A major accident was averted today after two aircrafts came face to face at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport.

Jet Airways flight skids off runway at Goa airport

Jet Airways flight 9W 2374 veered off the runway at Dabolim airport in Goa while aligning for takeoff. A total of 161 people, including seven crew members, were on-board the plane. The flight was scheduled to travel from Goa to Mumbai.

Three killed in head on collision in Vavuniya

Three people were killed and another injured when a container and a cab collided head-on in Vavuniya on the Jaffna-Kandy A9 road this morning.  

283 new diplomatic passports issued

Some 423,066 new passports have been issued within the first nine months of this year by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, statistics revealed.

Bond issue: People waiting to see action on report: Handunnetti

COPE Chairman and Parliamentarian Sunil Handunnetti said that as there is a reasonable doubt that the government was attempting to protect the persons involved in the Central Bank Bond issue, the country was looking what further action would be taken with regard to the COPE report into the bond issue.

Private media gets police updates again

The Police Headquarters today resumed sending daily police news updates to private media institutions, after a lapse of six days.

Bomb scare delays Colombo – Badulla train

The passengers of the Colombo -- Badulla train (which was scheduled to leave at 8.00 pm.) were evacuated this evening after a telephone call was received by the 119 police emergency unit about a bomb, a Railway security source said.