The Government has recently issued a series of best practices to all ministries with a view to rationalizing the prevailing mechanisms on engaging with Investors, Lending Agencies, Foreign Organizations and Missions.

A National Policy and Plan Implementation Bureau is to be set up to achieve the targets of the economic policies spelt out in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election manifesto.

The Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and the Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations Development Programme Kanni Wignaraja says it is timely for the new Government to take forward the economic development drive.

State Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara said yesterday they had news that former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran had reportedly escaped Singapore and moved to other hideouts.

Indian Union Home Minister Amit Shah is learnt to have conveyed to Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami that the State government’s proposal for providing dual citizenship for refugees from Sri Lanka will be examined.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa as Finance, Economy and Policy Development Minister have issued directives to Chairmen and CEOs of all banks to suspend the recovery of loans obtained by the SME sector.

The Colombo High Court today released former media minister Keheliya Rambukwella and former State Printing Corporation chairman Jayampathi Bandara Hinkenda from the Bribery case filed by the Bribery Commission (BC) against them for causing a loss to the government by obtaining Rs.230,984 to pay the former minister’s phone bill.

Senior Superintendent of Police Shani Abeysekera has filed a Fundamental Rights petition before the Supreme Court calling for him to be reinstated as the Director of the Criminal Investigations Department.

While expressing the regret at the decision by the examining magistrate to place the Swiss local employee concerned in pre-trial detention, Switzerland said that it has sent former ambassador Jörg Frieden to Sri Lanka to find out the security incident at the Swiss embassy in Colombo.

The Colombo Chief Magistrate today rejected the anticipatory bail application filed by UNP MP Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, in connection with the ‘white van’ media briefing.

Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said Thursday the alleged kidnapping of a Swiss embassy staffer which triggered a diplomatic spat between Colombo and Bern had been concocted to discredit his election victory.

Former Minister Rajitha Senarathne today filed an anticipatory bail application at the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court, seeking an order to prevent his arrest in relation to the ‘white van press conference’.

The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to appoint a four-member committee study the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement.

Former President Maithripala Sirisena’s chief of staff I.H.K. Mahanama and State Timber Corporation (STC) former chairman P. Dissanayaka, were sentenced to 20 and 12 rigorous imprisonment respectively after they were found guilty of accepting a bribe of Rs.20 million by the Special High Court today.

Swiss Embassy local staffer, Garnier Banister Francis, who is in the remand custody, was taken to the National Institute of Mental Health, Angoda this morning.