Petitions allege Rajitha, Wimal biased

Two senior lawyers in a petition filed in the Appeal Court alleged that Cabinet Ministers Rajitha Senaratne and Wimal Weerawansa were not eligible to sit in the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to investigate the charges against the Chief Justice as they might be biased having received judgments unfavourable to them in the Supreme Court

Tiger flag hoisted at VVT

A large LTTE flag is reported to have been hoisted today by an unidentified pro LTTE group at Velvettithurai in Jaffna, the hometown of slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, police said

Karu criticises govt. for promoting car races

UNP MP Karu Jayasuriya today slammed the government for promoting costly Lamborghini car races in the midst of an unstable economic climate that had left a majority of people struggling to make ends meet

Fmr SL diplomat found guilty of sexual assault in UK

Former Sri Lankan MP Tudor Gunasekara, 77, who said he was one of Sri Lanka's leading businessmen, was fined at the Old Bailey today after being convicted of groping a masseur's breast.

Aluthgamage backs Lorgat's report on reforms

Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage is in agreement with the former ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat's report, which has advocated sweeping changes to the way Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is administered and the game is managed in the island.

Private buses to strike on Nov. 28

Private Bus Owners Association said today private buses in Western Province would launch a token strike on Nov 28, against the increase in the route permit fee.

Australia returns 100 SL asylum-seekers

Australia on Wednesday sent 100 Sri Lankan men deemed not to be refugees back to their homeland, bringing to 426 the number involuntarily returned to Colombo in the past three months.

Two killed due to heavy rains

At least two people were killed in while several low lying areas and roads in the Matara District inundated due to heavy rains, the Disaster Management Centre said.

Mumbai gunman Kasab executed

The sole gunman to survive the attacks on Mumbai in 2008, Mohammed Kasab, has been executed in an Indian prison, an official says.

Lankan maid jailed in Dubai

The Dubai Criminal Court awarded a 34-year-old Sri Lankan maid six months in jail after she was found guilty of stealing jewellery and other items worth about Dh300,000 from her employer.

National Action Plan given boost in budget-US

While stating that Sri Lanka had made significant progress in implementing the LLRC report, through the National Action Plan (NAP), the US yesterday said the Budget 2013 that was presented recently was very encouraging as each government department was being given budget allocations to implement the NAP.

EPF share deals revealed in Parliament

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has bought 3,937 shares and sold 1,453 shares through the Colombo Stock Exchange during the few years, Parliament was informed today.

Maldives intercepts SL fishing vessel

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has captured a Sri Lankan fishing boat in Maldives Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

CA refers petitions to Supreme Court

The Court of Appeal today referred to the Supreme Court for its constitutional interpretation of Article 107(3) of the Constitution on the procedure to be adopted on the impeachment of a Judge.

Video: Govt. mum on UN report-UNP

The main opposition United National Party (UNP) said today the government should state its stance on the United Nations Internal Review Panel report on why the UN officials had failed to prevent the heavy civilian casualty toll during the last phase of the war in Sri Lanka.

Allergic condition spreads to Colombo

At least 86 students in Minuwangoda, Dematagoda, Ampara and Balangoda have been admitted to hospitals today, as a result of an alleged allergic reaction, hospital sources said. Pictures

Legalize Prostitution-Provincial Councillor

The Member of the Southern Provincial Council (UPFA) Ajith Prasanna has proposed to legalize prostitution to boost tourism in the country.

Historic printing machine damaged

The printing machine that printed the first Sinhala newspaper Lankalokaya in 1860 was badly damaged due to a fire at Ranwella temple, Kathaluwa in Galle

Video: Rs.2.3m worth Ganja nabbed at airport

A Sri Lankan Youth who attempted to smuggle 15 kgs of Kerala Ganja worth Rs. 2.3 million from India was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport by the customs this morning

Three persons found dead in Bulathsinhala

A father, mother and their son have been strangled with pieces of wire allegedly by some gangsters who had broken into their home at Kudahintenna in Halwatura, Bulathsinhala, this monring, police said.

Bodies of mother and son found in Kiriella

The charred bodies of a 32-year-old woman and her 7-year-old son were discovered in their home at Mudunkotuwa, Kiriella this morning. The Kiriiella police said they suspected the woman committed suicide over a family dispute

Karunanidhi wants UN intervention

DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Monday said he was hopeful that the United Nations could effectively intervene in the Sri Lankan Tamil issue, notwithstanding an internal report that spoke of the UN’s failure to prevent mass civilian casualties during the civil war that ended in 2009

Petitions on impeachment before Appeal Court

The Court of Appeal yesterday nominated a Three-Judge Divisional Bench to hear the Writ applications seeking to prohibit the members of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) from continuing the probe on the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Shirani A. Bandaranayake

Russian embassy visits detained Russians

Russian embassy representatives met on Monday with the five people who were arrested in Sri Lanka over a credit card scam and confirmed they were indeed Russian nationals.

Audio: ‘This is what winning Test matches is all about’

“This is what winning Test matches is all about,” Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said after his team took a 1-0 lead in the Sri Lanka-New Zealand test series

Allergic reaction psychologically motivated-Ministry

The allergic reaction spreading among school children in some parts of the country was due to psychological factors, so there was no reason to panic, the Colombo Epidemiological Unit (EU) said

‘School allergy’ spreading

At least 20 students of Gampola Muslim Maha Vidyalaya have been admitted to the Gampola hospital today, as a result of an alleged allergic reaction, hospital sources said UPDATE

Tangalle PS Chairman granted bail

Eight suspects including the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman who were in remand for nearly 11 months over the alleged killing of a Briton and criminal assault on a Russian woman in Tangalle on Christmas Day last year were today released on bail

SL beat NZ by 10 wickets

Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 10 wickets on the third day of the opening Test in Galle on Monday to gain a 1-0 lead in the two-match series

Gold medalist remanded for robbery

Former South Asian Games gold winning athlete Ranga Wimalawansa and a former Police Constable who were arrested for allegedly robbing Rs. four million from a Chinese national were remanded till November 29 by a Colombo Court.