President Anura Kumara Dissanayake directed officials to follow the proper mechanism when issuing excise licenses, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.

Stocks of imported rice will be released from the Colombo Port within four hours of their arrival, provided the necessary taxes are paid, Additional Director General of Customs, Seevali Arukgoda said.

Three-time Olympic dressage gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin has been banned for one year and fined 10,000 Swiss Francs (£8,886) for ’’excessively’’ whipping a horse.

The government today assured that the list of the politicians who had recommended the issuing of liquor licenses will be released after investigations.

Newly elected ICC Chair Jay Shah commenced his tenure with a trip to ICC Headquarters.

Deputy Solicitor General Madhawa Thennakoon informed court that the Central Information Unit of the Government Analyst’s Department has not been functioning for four months and that it was not possible to obtain any reports.

The Auditor General’s Department has reported that 78 railway engines that needs repairs are idling in the running sheds and the Ratmalana Main Railway Workshop without attention for seven years since 2017.

Vegetable prices in local markets have risen sharply following significant crop damage caused by recent adverse weather conditions. Pix by Nimalsiri Edirisinghe

The Health Ministry is grappling with a shortage of multiple drugs, including several essential drugs, a senior official said.

Farmers can take any action regarding damages to crops by wild animals within their cultivated lands, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation Lal Kantha said today.

The price of Bitcoin has for the first time broken past the $100,000 mark, hitting a new record high.

People are seen buying Christmas decorations from shops in the Colombo area in line with the Christmas season. Pix by Nimalsiri Edirisinghe

Claiming that there is no shortage of coconut in the country, Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe said today there is an attempt to create an artificial shortage in the market.

CBL Global Foods Limited (CBL GFL), a subsidiary of the CBL Group, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) this week released a practical handbook to improve coconut farming practices in Sri Lanka.

The Federation of Hindu Organisations of Sri Lanka staged a protest today in front of the United Nations Head Office in Colombo, demanding an end to violence against Hindus and temples in Bangladesh. Pix by Nisal Baduge

A group of schoolchildren from Colombo, who were on an excursion to Hanthana mountains during the school vacation and had lost their way, were rescued by the police and the army.

People, industrialists and entrepreneurs have volunteered to pay taxes where there was a long queue on September 31 to pay taxes while the online App of the Inland Revenue Department is congested with so many people trying to log in to pay taxes, Min

Former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte and his wife Shashi Prabha Ratwatte were granted bail by the Nugegoda Magistrate’s Court today.

Most lunch boxes and water bottles available in the local market are not suitable for children to store their food, Public Health Inspectors’ (PHI) Union Chairman Upul Rohana said.

The Government should obtain Parliamentary approval for the debt sustainability agreement with international sovereign bond (ISB) holders before implementing it, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Kabir Hashim told Parliament today.

At least 79 people have died from an unknown disease that is causing flu-like symptoms in south-western Democratic Republic of Congo, the health ministry says.

The vote on account through which the government is seeking Parliament’s approval to spend Rs. 1,403 billion (Rs. 1,402,886,263,000) from January 1, 2025, to April 30, 201,4 was presented to Parliament by Deputy Minister of Economic Development Ani

South Africa will take on Sri Lanka in the second Test of the twomatch series at St. George’s Park in Gqeberha, starting today.

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) arrested Renuka Perera, the Administrative Secretary of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) this morning.

The French government has collapsed after Prime Minister Michel Barnier was ousted in a no-confidence vote.

Despite several warnings issued over a span of one year, which were not being adhered to, the Department of Excise yesterday suspended the production licence of local liquor giant W. M. Mendis and Co. Limited for evading tax arrears of Rs.5.5 billion

The government is to carry out an investigation to determine whether any of the MPs who represented the previous Parliament or any one of their associates had received liquor licences as political bribes during the previous regime, a government spoke

During the post-mortem examination of Digadanthu 1, wildlife officers found a Rs. 10 coin in its abdomen, Wildlife Conservation Department veterinary surgeon Dr. Chandana Jayasinghe said.

Special operations have been planned to arrest individuals and groups who bring alcoholic beverages and drugs during the Sripada pilgrimage season starting this year, Hatton Police Superintendent Pradeep Weerasekara said.

Fair weather will prevail in most parts of the country today, but showers are expected in the Northern and Eastern Provinces as well as the Anuradhapura district, the Meteorology Department said.