The two Sri Lankan soldiers who were on peacekeeping force under the UN flag had been promoted posthumously, the Army said.

The government intends to complete construction of 4,750 houses within six months for the benefit of the people in the North under its plan to build 10,000 houses in stages, an official said today.

Sri Lanka Navy, in coordination with Sri Lanka Coast Guard, released another thirteen Indian fishing trawlers which had been apprehended on several occasions due to trespassing and illegal fishing in the Sri Lankan waters, yesterday.

Salaries and other entitlements of soldiers who had been killed or disabled on duty would be extended to lifetime of their widows and wives, the President’s Media Division said yesterday.

Two bombs at a Roman Catholic cathedral in southern Philippines have killed 27 people and injured dozens more, local officials say.

The ‘Uttara Devi’ train commenced its maiden journey this morning from the Fort Railway Station to Kankesanthurai Station in Jaffna.

Power, Energy and Business Promotion Minister Ravi Karunanayaka  has  instructed ministry officials to restrict to the minimum the controversial spot purchases of electricity, a spokesman said. 

Mullaitivu Magistrate S. Lenin Kumara has ordered that all construction work on the Gurukanda Purana Rajamaha Viharaya in Nayaru, Mullaitivu be stopped till February 12, 2019.

The  Director General  of Agriculture, Dr M.W. M. Weerakoon has warned that the use of chemicals to kill the normal caterpillars mistaking them for the fall armyworm or the Sena Caterpillar is not advisable. 

UPFA MP Dinesh Gunawardene yesterday called for a change in the composition of  Constitutional  Council in order to maintain its independence.

One Sri Lankan Army Captain and a trooper were killed and three others were injured when their convoy came under an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack in Mali today, the Sri Lanka Army said.

President Maithripala Sirisena today informed Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that Sri Lanka would expect to add amendments to the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA), the President's Media Division said.

The adjournment debate on the provincial council elections ended abruptly in parliament today in the absence of quorum. It ended two and a half hours earlier than the scheduled time of 7.30 pm because there were

At least 24 Indians were arrested by the Department of Immigration and Emigration for overstaying their visas today.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya rejected the claim made by TNA Leader R. Sampanthan for the second time yesterday that the UPFA could not hold the post of Opposition Leader.

JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake yesterday asked the government whether there was any plan to sign a Status of Forces agreement between Sri Lanka and the United States.

Public Administration and Disaster Management Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara said despite the claims, the government would hold the presidential election first and that the general election and the provincial council election would follow.  

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne would be brought before the Presidential Commission appointed by the President to probe allegations of corruption that had allegedly taken place from January 15, 2015, to December 31, 2018, the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) said.

The Constitutional Council has rejected President’s Maithripala Sirisena’s nominee Judge Deepali Wijesundara as the Appeal Court President, Parliamentary sources said today.

Arjun Aloysius, who was in remand in connection with the Central Bank bond fraud, alleged that the investigating officers of the Central Bank bond scam had set scot-free two main suspects in the case without charging them though there was ample proof against them.

Buddhasasana Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera today said that he will discuss with President Maithripala Sirisena to secure a pardon for Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera as soon as the President arrived in the country.

SLFP parliamentarian Shanta Bandara yesterday alleged the UNP 'fraudulently' introduced a clause to the 19th Amendment to the Constitution to limit the term of office of the current President Maithripala Sirisena to five years although he was elected to serve six years.

The eight youths, who posted photos taken on top of the ruins of Kiralagala Cheithiya in Horowpothana on social media, were remanded till February 5 by the Kebithigollewa Magistrate today, Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said.

JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said today the government had suspended the recently increased commuted travelling allowance to the police department and inquired whether it would take steps to pay it.

Two Sri Lankan passengers were arrested with various medicines including pills said to be aphrodisiacs and with 57 live birds at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Customs Spokesman Deputy Director Sunil Jayaratne said.

The Ministry of Finance and Mass Media has called all stakeholders including the general public, to make their proposals for the Budget 2019 before February 11 to “ensure introduction of a successful budget targeting building a strong Economy and an Enriched country.”

The blue hue seen in the packaging of potable drinking water (PET) bottles would be changed to transparent to help consumers see the water they were about to consume, Environment Deputy Minister Ajith Mannapperuma said yesterday.

The losses at the national carrier, SriLankan Airlines, widened during the nine months ended December 31, 2018, despite the gains at the top line level, due to currency depreciation and higher oil prices, the airline said yesterday in a statement.

An accomplice of notorious underworld figure ‘Angoda Lokka’ who operates from overseas, has been arrested by the Organized Crimes Unit officers with 1.15 kg of Kerala Cannabis at Udumulla in Mulleriyawa yesterday.

Law enforcement officers are in the search of a Turkmenistan couple suspected to be the mastermind of the heroin distribution racket that operated from a luxury apartment in Kollupitiya.

The seven youths, who had posted photos taken on top of a ruined Cheithiya in Kiralagala, Horowpothana on social media, were arrested by the police this evening.

In response to President Maithripala Sirisena’s recent comments that the files of convicted drug dealers have been withheld or disappeared from prisons, sabotaging his decision to activate  death  penalty on them, the Justice and Prison Reforms Ministry today issued a  time line  on the process it adopted to implement the death penalty on death row p

Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, in a statement on the constitutional reforms, said that the draft constitution seeks to weaken Parliament and immeasurably strengthen the provincial legislatures, and it will compromise the unitary character of the Constitution.

The government is to allocate Rs.two billion to develop the Palali airport runway in Jaffna as an initial step of using it for flight operations to regional destinations, particularly those in India, it is learnt.

Fines imposed on errant drivers who cause fatal road accidents would rise appreciably in order to dissuade motorists from driving recklessly, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said yesterday.