Moratuwa carpenters protest over permit issue

Some 500 carpenters in Moratuwa are staging a protest at Kurusa Junction on the Galle road against the Budget proposal enabling the transport of furniture without permits

SL says ‘nothing to hide’ as it counts war dead

Sri Lanka on Thursday said it had “nothing to hide” as it began compiling a death toll from its war against Tamil separatists, AFP reported today.

Video: Some elements trying to shatter unity with UNP - Kiriella

Rejecting claims that the UNP Leadership Council had no powers vested in it, UNP parliamentarian Lakshman Kiriella today said some elements were attempting to shatter the new unity that’s emerging within the party

Osu Sala to step in during strikes

Government hospital in-house patients could get medicines free of charge on prescriptions from nearby state Osu Sala outlets whenever hospital staff went on strike, the Health Ministry said

Stones pelted

An armed gang had pelted stones at Northern Provincial Council Fisheries Minister Ponnuthurai Aingaranesan and Council member Arnold’s houses in Jaffna this morning, sources said.

Audio: Abott urged to clarify Australia's stance on torture

A New York-based human rights group is calling on the prime minister to retract some comments he made during a recent visit to Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Sri Lankan fishermen detained

The Indian Coast Guard on Tuesday detained six Sri Lankan nationals on board a fishing boat in Indian waters. According to an official release, the Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Vishwast’ intercepted the boat off the Ramayapatnam coast.

British envoy in India justifies Cameron’s participation at CHOGM

Bharat Joshi, the new British deputy high commissioner to India, on Wednesday stressed that he believed that his country was right in attending the recently concluded Common Wealth Heads of Government Meet ( CHOGM) in Sri Lanka

Sampanthan at odds with Sritharan

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday distanced itself from the statement made by its MP S. Sritharan eulogising the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran

Customs seize 400 grams of gold at Madurai airport

Within days after catching a passenger who had stuffed two gold biscuits in his anus, the Customs officials at Madurai airport caught another passenger on Wednesday for attempting to smuggle four gold biscuits by tying them with a handkerchief under his left armpit

SL agrees to revise Sports Law-IOC

Sri Lanka today agreed to revise its sports law which is in force since 1973 in order to make it compatible with the basic principles which govern the Olympic Movement, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement.

Indian Naval Ship in Colombo

A Naval Ship of Indian Navy arrived at the Port of Colombo this morning on a goodwill visit, the navy said.

Food poisoning hits Cadet HQ

Fifty six student Cadets and twenty five staff of the National Cadet Training headquarters in Randenigala had been hospitalised due to food poisoning this afternoon. Pictures

Let the games begin…

Roads in Colombo Fort and Galle Face are seen barricaded with sand bags in preparation for the Colombo Night Races, which draws thousands of spectators to Colombo. It is held for the second time on December 14 and 15. Pix by Samantha Perera

Australia extends ban on LTTE

The Australian government on Tuesday extended its ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) for a further period of three years.

Health strike restrained by court

The Colombo District Court issued a restraining order against 16 Health Trade Unions preventing them from strike action till December 11, after a complaint was lodged by a patient

Peliyagoda UC budget defeated again

The Peliyagoda Urban Council budget presented by the UPFA administration was defeated at its second reading today with three UPFA Councillorsalso voting against the budget.

Video: Mobile phone ban violates workers’ rights: ACTWU

The All Ceylon Transport Workers Union (ACTWU) today lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission against a government circular which prohibits the use of mobile phones by SLTB bus drivers and conductors while on duty. The union said the circular violated the human rights of workers. Pix by Pradeep Pathirana

Jayapalan Deported

The Norwegian Tamil poet and actor V.I.S Jeyapalan who was arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Department last Friday in Vavuniya for violating visa regulations had been deported last night, Immigration and Emigration Department said today.

Three nabbed with crude jewellery at BIA

Two Lankan women and a girl were arrested while attempting to smuggle unfinished gold jewellery to Chennai this morning by the Customs officers at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Customs Director and media spokesman Leslie Gamini said

Video: Hospital on strike today

Thousands of patients were stranded when several Hospitals came to a standstill after Health officers including nurses and paramedics launched a strike today. Pix by Pradeep Pathirana

Four arrested at brothel in Maradana

Four suspects were arrested on charges of operating a brothel at Sangaraja Mawatha in Maradana by the Walana Police Crime Division yesterday, Police said

Kamburupitiya double murder; 2 more suspects killed

Two more suspects in the killing of a policeman and his wife in Kamburupitiya, drowned after jumping into the Denagama river, while they were trying to escape from the police custody in the early hours today, police said PICTURES

Kandy expressway to begin in Jan

The construction work on the northern expressway linking Colombo to Kurunegala, Dambulla and Kandy, will begin in January, Minister Nirmala Kotalawala said yesterday

National Olympic chief slams minister

Sri Lanka National Olympic Committee (NOC) chairman Hemasiri Fernando launched a scathing attack on Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage today, alleging that the minister has destroyed the autonomy of country’s sports associations by changing the sports law to allow politics to directly control the sports, creating a reign of “terror”

Cameron calls again for credible probe in SL

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday demanded a "transparent, credible and independent" probe into the alleged massacre of Sri Lankan Tamils, days after he pressed President Mahinda Rajapaska for an enquiry into rights violations during the final days of the civil war in 2009.

China, SL pledge to boost military ties

Senior Chinese and Sri Lankan defense officials agreed on Tuesday to promote military cooperation between the two countries.

New rules on taking out jewellery - Customs

The Customs Department intends to introduce new rules regarding the wearing and carrying of gold jewellery by people traveling abroad, after a gold smuggling racket was detected in Kochi, said a Customs Dept. spokesman

SL ranked 171 in Paying Taxes 2014 list

Sri Lanka has been ranked 171st on the Paying Taxes 2014 list of the World Bank.

Farah 3: Customs duty not paid for the scrap metal

The Custom Duty amounting to more than Rs.38 million on the scrap metal from the recently dismantled Jordanian-owned ship Farah-3 off the Mullaitivu coast have not been paid so far, Daily Mirror learns