The owner of Biyagama Village Hotel, Bernard Jayaratne (65) was hacked to death this morning in one of his estates in Pahala Dompe in Dompe by an unidentified person who had come on a motorbike, the police said. See pix

The international career of former captain Ricky Ponting could be over after the 37-year-old was dumped from Australia's one-day squad.

A well-known businessman has been duped by a Sri Lankan contractor, reports Al-Rai daily. The businessman filed a complaint at the Fahaheel Police Station

The Chilaw police stated that a necklace on the statue of Goddess Amma worth one million rupees as well as money from the tills in the temple worth around Rs.100,000 had been stolen from the Munneswaram Kovil

Minister of Trade Johnston Fernando busted a Paddy Marketing Board officer stealing 25 metric tons of paddy from a Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) warehouse in Diyabeduma, Polonnaruwa

Minister of External Affairs Professor G.L. Peiris left for Geneva this morning for the 19th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council to be held on February 27

All Ceylon Bakery Owners’ Association President N.K. Jayawardena said if they don’t reach an understanding with the Government by this week they will increase their prices by at least Rs. 5

M.S. Dhoni has been suspended for the second time this tour for a slow over rate and will miss India's vital clash with Sri Lanka tomorrow

It is compulsory for all the vans and buses in the country to be registered with the National Transport Commission the NTC chairman Roshan Gunawardana said. It has also been decided to introduce a uniform for drivers of the school vans and buses.

UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday said several political parties would join his party soon to form a mass movement to safeguard democracy soon.

The government is weighing the possibility of merging the Pelawatte and Sevanagala Sugar factories which were taken over under the Revival of Underperforming Enterprises and Underutilised Assets Act which was passed in Parliament last year.

The UNP said today that no action would be taken against parliamentarians who did not participate in Friday’s protest in Colombo Fort for genuine reasons.

UNP MP Jayalath Jayawardene who was hit by tear gas at the protest lead by his party at Colombo Fort last week and had a short spell in hospital claims that he has a bone to pick with the government and is planning to go on a legal path with a likely

A twenty-eight-year-old Sri Lankan woman committed suicide in the Jdeideh area in the Metn region. An autopsy report by a medical examiner revealed that the body had not been subjected to violence.

Three Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested in Sri Lankan waters on charges of smuggling narcotics, official said today.

The main opposition UNP today requested the government to credit the funds allocated to provide subsidies to the fisher folk to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation so that it would help bring down fuel prices.

Airport Customs arrested an airport electrician who attempted to take away gold worth close to Rs.7 milion and was arrested while taking the gold by hiding it in his two knee guards, the customs said

Two persons drowned in a well situated close to the Dambulla Cricket Stadium in Pohoranwewa in Dambulla last night

Fifteen policemen including three senior police officers were injured on Friday during a UNP led protest in Fort, Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said 

A manager of an Indian construction company and another were taken into custody by the Ingiriya police for illegally filling marshy land at Wagawatta in the Puruwadanda area. A backhoe and other equipment used by the suspect were also seized. 

A fashion model and teledrama actress, and another woman were fined Rs.250 each and imposed a three-month sentence suspended for five years when they were produced in a Mount Lavinia Court on charges of having engaged in mobile-phone prostitution.

The Public Administration Ministry said that a decision to increase salaries following the fuel price hikes which had resulted in the rapid increase in the cost of living would be a decision that would have to be put forward in parliament.

A six-year-old child suffocated to death after getting entangled in the rope of a swing, in Hettipola

A woman who stood indicted with murder was found guilty and sentenced to death by Kegalle High Court Judge Menaka Wijesundera on February 14.

A suspect produced in court on February 17 for allegedly selling 74 perch land belonging to an acting magistrate for Rs.10 million on a fraudulently prepared deed has been re-remanded till February 22 by the Kandy acting  additional magistrate M

The police have obtained a court order from the Chilaw Magistrate for the funeral of fisherman Anthony Fernando who succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday during clashes, which is to be held today

The Ministry of Highways will commence construction of the second phase of the Colombo Outer Circular Highway at an estimated cost of a staggering Rs.44.8 billion from Kaduwela to Kadawatha today, the Ministry said.

The manager and the eight women who were remanded on charges of having operated a brothel under the guise of a massage parlour at Sellamuttu Avenue in Kollupitiya were given bail by a Colombo Court yesterday.

One of the pioneering medical establishments in liver transplantation in the country, the North Colombo University Liver Transplantation Service (NCULTS) received a new ward complex constructed at a cost of Rs.35 million which will be a boost to live

The greatness of a school is determined by the contribution its students make to the nation, not by the number of students who get through examinations, Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said.