Sri Lanka government has decided to consider the suspects of cases of possessing less than two grams of heroin as drug addicts and to grant them bail, fine or rehabilitate them as a measure to reduce the congestion in prisons.The Minister further stated that over 7,000 drug-related convicts and suspects are in Sri Lanka's overcrowded prisons now. In the prisons built for about 12,000 prisoners,
Sri Lankan cricket veteran Asanka Gurusinha who was a key player in the World Cup-winning team in 1996, will be appointed from December 1st, 2020 as the head coach and high-performance manager of Nigeria, Nigeria Cricket Federation announced. Gurusingha, 54, has an 11-year international career, playing 41 Tests and 147 One Day Internationals for Sri Lanka.
"As of last week, the Sri Lankan importers returned 106 containers to the UK because the recyclable goods were unrecyclable," Forbes reported on 29th November 2020. The website further said, "Sri Lanka complained that of the 263 recyclable waste containers that came to them from the UK in October, about 10% of them had more inside than what they asked for ...
At least one prisoner was shot dead while some others were injured in Mahara prison in Sri Lanka's Gampaha district. The authorities claim the shooting has taken place due to an escape attempt. Remand prisoners in congested prisons in Sri Lanka agitate demanding release on bail. The chaos continued in Mahara prison in the evening. Police Special Task Force was deployed for suppression.
Dean of the Medical Faculty of Colombo University Prof. Vajira H. W. Dissanayake has been appointed as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Medical Council. He is a Past President of the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) and regarded as a pioneer in Genetic and Genomic Medicine, Biomedical Informatics and Bioethics in Sri Lanka. He replaces former Chairman Prof. Harendra Silva.
A fleeing illegal sand transporter knocked down a police intelligence constable of Nikaweratiya police station Sri Lanka on November 28. The 32-year old police officer, identified as Rathnayaka succumbed injuries at Nikaweratiya hospital. He was a father of two children. The constable was in an operation to thwart illegal sand mining in River Deduruoya in Kobeigane with four other police officers ...
Xinhua News Agency published five photos depicting scenes at Galle Face with the title 'People's daily life in Colombo, Sri Lanka.' Some of the photos are taken in the background of China-built Colombo Port City that is under construction.
New Zealand Immigration Protection Tribunal has rejected a Sri Lankan prisoner's appeal against deportation. He claims there will be threats to his life if he returns to Sri Lanka. The 37-year-old man who migrated to New Zealand on a work visa in 2016 was subjected to two years and four months’ imprisonment in New Zealand for sexually assaulting a massage therapy student. He ...
Sri Lankan Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila said at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Energy that the government's policy was maintaining a fixed fuel price amidst the fluctuating world oil prices. Accordingly, the present government has given up the fuel price formula introduced by the previous government to adjust petroleum prices according to the market prices.
UN Resident Coordinator of Sri Lanka Hanaa Singer welcomed the decision of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) to publish a list of complaints and information regarding missing and disappeared persons received by the OMP. Singer tweeted, "Families grieving for their loved ones for too long deserve answers. The UN welcomes the publication by the @ompsrilanka of the list of complaints ...
While social media in Sri Lanka raised suspicions on foul play and life threat behind the actions taken regarding SSP Shani Abesekara, latest reports say he is being transferred from Polonnaruwa to Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) in Colombo. The former Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is despised by the present government and he was arrested four months ago. The charges
Sri Lanka government has designed a system of public field officials to monitor the home quarantine. So far, the home quarantine was monitored and administered by Public Health Inspectors and the police. People who undergo quarantine lack official support unless the neighbours help them. Previously, the society was afraid of the epidemic and the persons who were under home quarantine had to face
Sri Lanka police media spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana warned today to the persons who ignore summons for PCR tests, especially in isolated areas. He said that police had reports about the persons who had avoided PCR tests which were prescribed to them by the health authorities. The police media spokesman said that persons who avoid prescribed PCR tests could be penalized under the quarantine
Arch Sinhala nationalist politician, former senior naval officer Sarath Weerasekara was sworn in as the cabinet Minister of Public Security of Sri Lanka. Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara, RSP, VSV, USP, MP holds the post of State Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government also. Under an extraordinary Gazette notification dated November 20, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa established two
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Sri Lankan government signed a 165 million U.S. dollars loan agreement Wednesday to provide immediate financing support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.This loan agreement will also provide long-term financing to underserved SMEs, including businesses led by women and tea smallholders, a statement
Sri Lanka Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi said that the government would support the people who could not bear expenses for the cremation of COVID-19 deaths. She said that a family member of a deceased bears the cost for a coffin. Answering a question by Opposition MP Mujibar Rahuman regarding charging Rs. 58,000 at IDH hospital for a coffin, Minister Wanniarachchi said that the
Sri Lanka police say that an engineer in public service has been arrested for assaulting a female junior officer. The arrested engineer works in the Provincial office of Road Development Authority in Udugampola. The victim of the violent act is a female Management Assistant who worked in his office. A video is going viral on social media in Sri Lanka that shows a person suspected to be an
Former Minister of Finance of Sri Lanka, Mangala Samaraweera said that the taxes on sanitary napkins totalled 101.2% when he removed 30% import tariffs in October 2018.However, the present government says that they have restructured the taxes. Several Ministers said in social media that taxation on sanitary towels has not been increased. Accordingly, the pre-budget import tax on sanitary towels
Several Ministers of Sri Lanka said in social media that taxation on sanitary towels has not been increased. Accordingly, the pre-budget import tax on sanitary towels was 30% and there was no CESS tax on them. The government has reduced the custom import duty to 15% and added a new CESS tax of 15%. As a result, the tax amount remains the same. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's son
A video is going viral on social media in Sri Lanka that shows a person suspected to be an engineer of Udugampola office of Provincial Road Development Authority assaulting a female officer.The incident is suspected happened on 23 November 2020. Social media posts say the perpetrator of violence against women in this video is a man with political backing.A few weeks ago, a lady doctor in