News Room : Update: Chamara Sampath Dasanayake Remanded Over Bribery Allegation
Badulla District MP Chamara Sampath Dasanayake has been remanded until 1 April in connection with a bribery allegation. The New Democratic Front (NDF) MP was arrested earlier today by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) in relation to three separate bribery cases. While he was granted bail by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court for one of the...
News Room : 24% salary hike for members of Indian Parliament
The central government on Monday announced a 24 percent hike in the salaries of members of Parliament, which will be effective from April 1, 2023. An MP will now get a salary of Rs 1.24 lakh per month, compared to Rs 1 lakh per month he received so far. The calculation for the increase will be done on the basis...
News Room : US adds dozens of Chinese entities to export blacklist, including Inspur units
US adds dozens of Chinese entities to export blacklist, including Inspur units – BusinessWorld OnlineWASHINGTON – The United States on March 25 added six subsidiaries of Inspur Group, China’s leading cloud computing and big data services provider, and dozens of other Chinese entities to its export blacklist. The Commerce Department said in a post that Inspur units were listed for...
News Room : Udugampola Acquitted: Court Concludes 20-Year Legal Battle Over Millennium City Raid
SP Kulasiri Udugampola was acquitted by the court in the case related to the 2002 disclosure of a Sri Lanka Army intelligence safe house in the “Millennium City” housing complex in Athurugiriya. Following nearly two decades of proceedings, Colombo High Court Judge Aditya Patabendige delivered the verdict today (27 March) In 2005, the Attorney General indicted Udugampola on 19 counts...
News Room : FIFA announces record prize money for winners of upcoming Club World Cup
The winners of FIFA’s first 32-team Club World Cup in the United States could earn a football record $125m as details of a $1bn prize money fund were finally published. FIFA said it allocated $525m in guaranteed fees for teams taking part in the June 14 to July 13 tournament, ranging from $38.19m to the top-ranked European team – likely...
News Room : MR Rejects UK Allegations, Calls for Defence of Former Military Leaders
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has categorically denied the UK government’s allegations of widespread human rights violations during Sri Lanka’s military operations against the LTTE and urged the incumbent government to stand by former armed forces personnel facing foreign sanctions. Issuing a statement on the UK’s recent decision to impose travel bans and asset freezes on former Chief of Defence Staff...
News Room : Govt: UK action complicates matters
Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath yesterday (26) told UK High Commissioner Andrew Patrick that unilateral action on their part would complicate the post-war national reconciliation process here. Sri Lanka’s position was made known to HC Andrew when he visited the Ministry. The following is the text of the statement issued by the Ministry yesterday: “The Ministry of...
News Room : Sri Lanka Decries UK’s ‘Unilateral’ Sanctions on Former Officials
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism has responded to the UK government’s decision to impose sanctions on three former military commanders and a former minister. In a statement, the ministry acknowledged the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO) press release, dated 24 March 2025, titled “UK Sanctions for Human Rights Violations and Abuses during the...
News Room : South Korea wildfire death toll rises to 16
Multiple wildfires raging across South Korea’s southeastern region have killed at least 16 people. Deadly wildfires swept through South Korea’s southeastern region on Tuesday, forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes and destroying neighborhoods, while hundreds of prisoners were transferred from prisons. As of 5 a.m. (2100 GMT) on Wednesday, four people had died in the wildfires that started in...
News Room : World’s longest-serving death row prisoner awarded $1.4 million after release
A Japanese man who was on death row for more than 40 years until his release last year has been awarded $1.4 million in compensation – roughly $85 for each day he was wrongly convicted, a court said Tuesday. Former professional boxer Iwao Hakamata, 89, was sentenced to death for the 1968 murders of four people despite repeated allegations by...