PM Rajapaksa obtains SLPP membership

A number of individuals including PM Mahinda Rajapaksa obtained membership of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) earlier today.

The event took place at the Wijerama residence of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Chairman of the SLPP Prof. G.L. Peiris was also present at the occasion.

The other individuals who obtained membership were Mahindanda Aluthgamage, Rohitha Abeygunawardene, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Jhonston Fernando and Namal Rajapaksa.

71 ex-MPs to miss out on pension

The sudden dissolution of the Sri Lankan Parliament means that over 70 of its former members are not entitled to the pension scheme provided members who have served the Legislature for a certain period.

This is due to the parliamentary pension law stating that only a person who has served as a Member of the Legislature for a minimum period of five years in the aggregate shall be entitled to monthly payment of a pension.

UNP, JVP & TNA to challenge parliament’s dissolution

Ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's party, the United National Party (UNP), said on Saturday it would file a case in the Supreme Court against the early dissolution of Parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena.

UNP Parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera told journalists that the party would early next week file a challenge in the Supreme Court, calling the President's decision to dissolve Parliament "illegal", Xinhua news agency reported.

Parliament dissolved from midnight

President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday night dissolved Eighth Parliament paving the way for a snap general election under the powers vested in him by the Constitution.

The relevant Extraordinary Gazzette notification signed by the President was released by the Government Press

Former UN chief Kofi Annan dies at 80

Kofi Annan, a former secretary-general of the United Nations and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has died aged 80.

The Ghanaian diplomat passed away at a hospital in the Swiss capital, Bern, on Saturday after a "short illness", his foundation said in a statement.

Rs.1 mn cheated from Actress Angeline Roshana

Mirihana Special Crimes Operations Unit said yesterday that a film director who had allegedly cheated a sum of Rs. 1 million from the actress Angeline Roshana Ondachchi on the pretext that a luxury vehicle would be imported for her.

A complaint had been made to Mirihana Special Crimes Operations Unit on October 28, 2017, by this actress against this suspect, no justice had been meted out and later she had complained about it to Western Province – South DIG Wasantha Wickremesinghe.

Veteran actor Roy de Silva passes away at age 80

Veteran actor and film director Roy de Silva passed away at the age of 80 last night.

He entered the film industry as an actor in 1964 with Sujage Rahasa directed by P. Neelakantan.

His blockbuster movies such as Re Daniel Dawal Migel series, Cheriyo series, Clean Out, and Sir Last Chance were economically successful and made hallmarks in the industry especially in the eighties and nineties.

New Qantas 17-hour flight breaks aviation records

The "Kangaroo Route" from Australia to Britain became a shorter hop Saturday (March 24) when the first direct passenger service left Perth for London, with the 17-hour flight set to break aviation records.

Qantas' 14,498km journey from the south-western city to London is the world's third-longest passenger flight, the Australian carrier said, and the first ever regular service to connect the two continents directly.