News Room : Court Rejects Request to Name Wasantha Samarasinghe, Others as Suspects
The Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court today (26) rejected a request made by the complainant to name Wasantha Samarasinghe, Mahinda Jayasinghe, and Ranjan Jayalal as suspects and to produce them before court. Delivering the order, Magistrate Pasan Amarasinghe noted that an investigation into the disputed property is still ongoing by the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau and that steps have already been...
News Room : Govt Moves to Tighten Online Safety Laws – Minister
Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament today that the government is stepping up efforts to combat hate speech, ethnic incitement, terrorism-related content, and other illegal activities spread through social media. He also announced that amendments to the Online Safety Act of 2024 are currently being drafted. Wijepala said authorities are collaborating with major social media companies to curb harmful...
News Room : Pre-Trial Conference on Namal Rajapaksa ‘Krrish’ Case Fixed
The Colombo High Court has scheduled a pre-trial conference for 18 December in the case filed by the Attorney General against Namal Rajapaksa over the controversial ‘Krrish’ project. When the case was called today, Rajapaksa was present in court. The High Court also directed that the original case report from the Fort Magistrate’s Court be summoned before the next date. The Attorney...
News Room : ‘Keheliya’s Rs. 230,000 Phone Bill Was Paid on His Secretary’s Request’ – Ex-SPC Manager
Colombo High Court yesterday (25 September) heard evidence in the case filed by the Bribery Commission against former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and former Chairman of the State Printing Corporation (SPC) Jayampathi Heenkenda. The case concerns the payment of Rambukwella’s personal mobile phone bill—amounting to Rs. 230,945.45—for the period between 15 March and 17 April 2012 using SPC funds. Testifying as...
News Room : Trump Signs Order Declaring TikTok Sale Ready and Values it at USD 14B
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday declaring that his plan to sell Chinese-owned TikTok’s U.S. operations to U.S. and global investors will address the national security requirements in a 2024 law. The new U.S. company will be valued at around $14 billion, Vice President JD Vance said, putting a price tag on the popular short video app...
News Room : SL High Commission, NCC host round table discussion on future of Sri Lankan crafts in London
The Sri Lanka High Commission in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with the National Craft Council of Sri Lanka (NCC), hosted a RoundTable Discussion on the future of Sri Lankan crafts, bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders to explore opportunities and challenges facing the sector. Held at the Sri Lankan High Commission in London last week, the event drew...
News Room : Wildlife census only 50 percent reliable – The Island
Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne yesterday (25) informed the Houset that he was not in a position to accept the no-confidence motion submitted by the Opposition against Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General (retd.) Aruna Jayasekara by a group of MPs. He claimed parliament procedures did not provide for such a motion. The motion was signed by the Opposition Leader Sajith...
News Room : X-Press Pearl: SC Tells AG to Act After Company Refuses USD 1B Payout
Supreme Court has directed the Attorney General to explore legal action against a foreign shipping company accused of misappropriating compensation payments related to the MV X-Press Pearl maritime disaster, following the company’s refusal to comply with a court-ordered US$1 billion damages payment. In July, the Supreme Court ordered the Singapore-headquartered X-Press Feeders to pay an ‘initial’ US$1 billion within one...
News Room : B’desh EC’s Refusal to Grant Demanded Symbol Angers Students’ Party
In a politically charged atmosphere leading up to the February polls in Bangladesh, a fierce dispute has erupted between the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) and the nation’s Election Commission (EC). The crux of the conflict lies in the EC’s refusal to grant the NCP its desired electoral symbol, the ‘shapla’ (water lily), a decision that has drawn sharp...
News Room : Manusha Summoned by CIABOC Over Israel Employment Issue
Former Labour Minister Manusha Nanayakkara has been summoned by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to provide a statement regarding the investigation into the deployment of Sri Lankan workers to Israel. According to the commission, Nanayakkara has been instructed in writing to appear before the Bribery Commission tomorrow (26) at 9:30 a.m. Earlier, on 8 September, he...