New year festival

Dam Street Police and the local Community Committee celebrated their New Year festival at Gunasinghepura. Pix by Nimalsiri Edirisinghe

Expert committee to study free tourist visa programme

Colombo, The Sri Lankan government has established an expert committee tasked with exploring the viability of implementing free tourist visas in a bid to boost tourism in the country.

Matara Hospital gets state-of-the-art CT scanner worth Rs. 200 Mn

The Matara District General Hospital introduced its latest addition, a cutting-edge CT Scanner, worth Rs. 200 million, which is poised to help reduce the backlog of patients.

China launches historic mission to retrieve samples from far side of the moon

China on Friday launched an uncrewed spacecraft on a nearly two-month mission to retrieve rocks and soil from the far side of the moon, the first country to make such an ambitious attempt.

Bernard Hill: Titanic and Lord of the Rings actor dies

Actor Bernard Hill, best known for roles in Titanic and Lord of the Rings, has died aged 79. He played Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 Oscar-winning film and King Théoden in the Rings trilogy.

Suspect of Horana shooting arrested at BIA through automated facial recognition

The suspect of the shooting at Graceland Estate, Horana this morning was arrested after being identified by the Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS) installed at the airport departure terminal.

Sri Lankan passenger using carbon paper to conceal gems from X-ray scanners nabbed at airport

A local passenger who tried to smuggle a range of precious stones to India by concealing them in carbon paper to go undetected by airport X-ray scanners was nabbed by the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) security this afternoon.

Pathirana returns home to recover from injury in major blow to CSK’s playoff bid

Matheesha Pathirana has been the top performer for the defending champions with 13 wickets in just six innings at an impressive economy rate of 7.68 but is struggling with a hamstring injury and missed Chennai’s last two fixtures against Punjab Kings.

Buying veggies....

People are seen busy buying vegetables at the Delkanda Sunday fair, despite the higher prices. Pix by Kithsiri de Mel

Groups, fixtures revealed for Women’s T20 World Cup 2024

Six-time champions Australia will commence their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign against a qualifier as the groups and fixtures for this year’s event in Bangladesh were revealed on Sunday, 5 May.

Mindfulness advocacy to reach international level via UNESCO, UN

The importance of mindfulness is expected to be taken to the international level through UNESCO and the United Nations, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said.

India bears Sri Lanka ferry costs for one year

The Government of India has decided to bear the cost towards relevant charges and operating cost at Nagapattinam port to the tune of over LKR 25 million per month for a period of one year for the passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam in India and Kankesanthurai (KKS).

Sri Lanka Cricket awards US$30,000 to national rugby team

Sri Lanka Cricket has awarded the national rugby team a prize of US$30,000 in recognition of their victory at the Asia Rugby Division 1 Championship, where they defeated Kazakhstan in Colombo.

Offering alms to Bhikkhus

An afternoon alms offering was held today by several devotees for the Bhikkhus residing at the Siri Vajiragnana Dharmayathanaya in Maharagama. Pix by Kithsiri de Mel

Shooting in Horana injures one person

An individual was injured and hospitalized following a shooting incident at the Graceland Estate, Horana this morning.

'Wild Sri Lanka' Wildlife photography exhibition opens

The ’Wild Sri Lanka’ Wildlife Photography Exhibition will run for three days starting today at the JDA Perera Art Gallery in Colombo. Pix by Nisal Baduge

Soldier attacks OIC, wife over affair

The Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Padiyatalawa Police and a soldier’s wife were seriously injured after an army soldier attacked them with a pestle after he discovered his wife’s affair with the OIC.

Nearly 10,000 army deserters granted legal discharge during amnesty

Nearly 10,000 soldiers who deserted the Sri Lanka Army have received legal discharge as of May 4 during an amnesty period declared by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence.

Dhoni 'playing my father’s role’ in cricket: Pathirana

Sri Lanka and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana has called MS Dhoni a father figure in his cricketing career, saying the former CSK captain’s small advises have given him a lot of confidence.

Japan to provide vessel with underwater sonar

The Japanese government has finalized a plan to provide Sri Lanka with a vessel equipped with underwater sonar for detecting the location of other vessels in order to improve the country’s oceanographic survey capabilities, according to Japanese Deputy Press Secretary Kaneko Mariko.

GCE O/L rescrutiny results released

The Examinations Department issued the rescrutiny results of the 2022 (2023) General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (O/L) Examination yesterday.

Sri Lankan delegation to participate in Indian election programme ahead of Lok Sabha polls

The Election Commission of India is organizing the International Election Visitor Programme (IEVP) during the ongoing Lok Sabha 2024 elections, scheduled from May 4 to May 9, 2024, a statement from the Indian High Commission said.

Over 1.1 million painkiller capsules headed for Sri Lanka seized in Ramanathapuram

n a major seizure, the Tiruppulani police in Ramanathapuram district seized 11.88 lakh painkiller capsules stashed in a private goods vehicle on Friday (May 3, 2024) night near the Periapattinam seashore.

Japan urges Sri Lanka to restructure debt swiftly

Strategically placed Sri Lanka’s economic recovery is essential for stability in the Indo-Pacific region, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said Saturday, urging Colombo to swiftly restructure its foreign deb

10th anniversary commemorated...

The tenth anniversary of the All Ceylon United Cultural Foundation was held yesterday (4), in Colombo. Foundation President Dr. Kushan Jayamindah Silva, Gampaha District Coordinating Officer Hasitha Kosala and other members participated in this event where cultural performances, local medical professionals and artists were appreciated. Pix by Pradeep Pathirana

Japan’s Foreign Minister holds talks with President

Japan’s Foreign Minister Yōko Kamikawa called on President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat a short while ago.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa cannot deny my allegations: Cardinal

Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa cannot deny what he told me during the telephone conversation he had with me in 2021, Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said today.

Supreme Court decides to hear FR petition challenging Shani’s interdiction

The Supreme Court granted leave to proceed with the Fundamental Rights petition filed by former CID Director SSP Shani Abeysekara challenging the National Police Commission’s decision to interdict him from police service following the Presidential Election 2019.

Young lawyers flay Tiran for stating that eliminating criminals is not a sin

The most righteous statement to make would be to transform a society where criminals are not produced When the country has an accepted legal system in place, it is shameful and dangerous for a senior minister to say eliminate criminals and to threaten the lawyers not to appear for them, a lawyers’ collective said yesterday.

China assures fullest support to conclude Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process: Semasinghe

China assured its fullest support and cooperation to conclude the debt restructuring process in Sri Lanka, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe said.