Video: Pharmaceuticals categorised as a special commodity

Pharmaceuticals have been categorized as a special commodityand as such it is compulsory for importers to obtain the approval of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) before increasing prices,the Ministry of Cooperatives and Internal Trade said today.

Video: Check your land deeds: Police

Police warned the public today to check their land deeds after it was revealed that the CID arrested a man who cheated a lady engineer of Rs.42 million by selling a plot of land using forged documents.

Court orders release of 116 Indian fishermen

Ahead of the proposed talks between Sri Lanka and India to sort out the vexed fishermen issue, a court in Sri Lanka today ordered release of 116 fishermen, arrested over the last two months for allegedly crossing the IMBL and fishing in the island nation’s waters

Video: Don’t vote for small parties-UNP

United National Party (UNP) today requested the people not to vote for any other small party if they are fed up with the ruling party as the UNP is the only alternative for it ???

SL regrets removal of Ukrainian President

The Sri Lankan government said that in keeping with country’s consistent policy of recognizing democratically elected Heads of State, the unconstitutional removal of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych from office is regretted, and has aggravated the present political uncertainty in Ukraine.

Glyphosate to be banned in Sri Lanka

The use of the weedicide Glyphosate has been banned on a directive from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Deputy Minister S.M. Chandrasena said. He said this weedicide is known to be linked to the rapidly spreading kidney disease in Sri Lanka

Video: UNP aide stabbed

In another case of election violence, a UNP aide was stabbed during an altercation with some UPFA supporters at the Yala junction in Anguruwatota last night, police said.

Victory Day jumbo won’t fly to Korea

The donation of the five-year-old baby elephant named ‘Dinuda’ to a private zoo in South Korea has been halted on the intervention of President Mahinda Rajapakse. 

TNA meets British and US diplomats

A Tamil National Alliance (TNA) delegation led by R. Sampanthan met US and British envoys in Colombo on Monday and discussed the US-led resolution to be submitted at the ongoing United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva, informed sources said

Missing Malaysian airlines passengers' phones still ring

Relatives of Chinese passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 were still clutching to faint straws of hope for their loved ones Tuesday, four days after the aircraft went missing

Hangman hangs in balance

The Prisons Department had not decided whether to call for fresh applications or not for the position of hangman, Prisons Commissioner General Chandrarathna Pallegama said

DMK manifesto calls for a referendum in N/E

The manifesto of DMK party led by M. Karunanidhi said that the DMK would urge the Indian government to take immediate actions for conducting a ‘referendum’ under the supervision of United Nation among Tamils in northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka and migrated Tamils to choose a permanent political solution of their choice

UNP’s manifesto tomorrow

United National Party (UNP) will launch its manifesto for the provincial council election at its headquarters Sirikotha tomorrow

Malaysia military tracked missing jet to Strait of Malacca-source

Malaysia's military believes it tracked the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner by radar over the Strait of Malacca, far from where it last made contact with civilian air traffic control off the country's east coast, a military source told Reuters

Video: Govt. must uphold democratic values: CBK

Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga said today the government should uphold internationally accepted norms of democracy if it was to protect the country from international interference.

Audio: Mervyn throws challenge at other UPFA candidates

“I’m making an open invitation to anyone who is contesting from the UPFA to come forward and bring victory for the Kelaniya electorate if they can at this month’s election to the Western Provincial Council under the betel symbol of the UPFA,” Minister Mervyn Silva said at a public meeting in Hunupitiya, Kelaniya yesterday.

Underworld gangster ‘Heen malli’ shot dead

Notorious underworld gangster ‘Palankada Heen malli’,alleged to have been responsible for several killings including that of a Ratnapura gem businessman, last month was shot dead in a police shootout today

Australian police declined to interview alleged 'tortured' Lankan-report

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) declined the opportunity to interview a Sri Lankan asylum seeker sent back from Christmas Island who alleged he had been “severely tortured” by local police on his return, a cable obtained under freedom of information laws has revealed, The Guardian reported.

Two Lankans with fake passports nabbed

Two Sri Lankan nationals, who were allegedly travelling on fake passports to Dubai, were apprehended by airport security officials last morning in Pune, India

NZ must support Int'l inquiry into SL war crimes allegations

New Zealand needs to lend its support to an independent international investigation into allegations of war crimes in Sri Lanka, Green Party human rights spokesperson Jan Logie said today

4,000 Tamils protest in Geneva for SL war crimes probe

Thousands of Tamils demonstrated in Geneva on Monday to protest Sri Lanka's rejection of calls for an international probe into alleged war crimes at the end of its civil war

14 injured in Fort bus accident

About 14 patients were admitted to the Colombo National Hospital following a bus accident in Colombo Fort this morning, the hospital sources said

SL missions report sharp drop in cases of runaway maids

Following the end of the amnesty, the Sri Lankan missions in Jeddah and Riyadh are witnessing a sharp drop in the number of runaway housemaids

Lankan maid jailed for six months

A maid who was arrested shortly before attempting to flee the country with Dh55,000 worth of her sponsor’s jewellery has been jailed for six months.

CBK seeks meeting with MR on religious harmony

Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga has sought an appointment with President Mahinda Rajapaksa today in her capacity as the South Asia Policy and Research Institute (SAPRI) representative, to submit the organization’s recommendations for religious harmony, sources close to her said

Hangman quits over fear of gallows

The newly appointed hangman has quit his job soon after seeing the gallows, Prison Department sources said.

‘We still don't know what happened to flight’

The fate of the missing Malaysian Airlines jet that disappeared three days ago with 239 people aboard remained a mystery Monday as the latest possible clues to the plane's whereabouts were discounted, authorities said

Baba, pay the money or I’ll take poison: alleges teacher

A former Rahula College teacher with tears streaming down her cheeks read a letter in Court sent by a bank to parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake seeking arrears of a payment she made on his behalf

Committee appointed on social media awareness

A committee will be appointed to investigate the use of Internet and Social Media Networks, Sri Lanka's Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRCSL) Director Anusha Palpita said

Video: No T-56 for policemen

Taking into consideration the safety of police personnel on duty the Police Department has decided to arm each policeman with a pistol or a revolver.