News

Congestion in some prisons, up by 300% – 400%!

Published

2 years ago

June 14, 2023

editor

It has been revealed that congestion in prisons has increased up to 259 percent.

The revelation was made during a meeting of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) held on June 09.

Speaking, Commissioner General of Prisons – Thushara Upuldeniya has said in some prisons congestion has increased to 300% – 400%.

Secretary of the Justice Ministry – Wasantha Perera has also stated that the total number of prison inmates are 26,791 despite all the prisons in the country being capable of accommodating only 11,762 inmates.

Prisons Commissioner Thushara Upuldeniya has said 17,502 inmates are remand prisoners while 9,289 are convicted prisoners.

It has also been revealed that 1,309 inmates were languishing in prisons while being unable to pay fines imposed by courts.

BIZ

Price of ‘Beedi’ products upped

Published

5 minutes ago

April 3, 2025

editor

The Ministry of Finance has increased the Tobacco Tax on all ‘Beedi’ products,with effective from yesterday (April 02).

Accordingly, the relevant tax will be increased from Rs. 02 to Rs. 03, resulting in the price hike of a rupee.

News

Trump announces 44% tariffs on Sri Lanka

Published

25 minutes ago

April 3, 2025

editor

Donald Trump announced a sweeping new set of reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday (April 02), arguing that they would allow the United States to succeed.

Trump’s tariffs, which he imposed via executive order, are expected to send economic shockwaves around the world. The White House released a list of roughly 100 countries and the tariff rates that the US would impose in kind.

The tariffs will come into effect on different dates over the next week as follows :

Today, 00:01 ET (05:01 BST) 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles
April 5 12:01 (ET) (05:01 BST) baseline 10% tariff for all countries
April 9 12:01 (ET) (05:01 BST) higher reciprocal rates

U.S. stock futures dropped sharply after the announcement, following weeks of volatile trading as investors speculated about how the incoming tariffs might affect the global economy, inflation and corporate earnings. U.S. stocks have erased nearly $5 trillion of value since mid-February.

In the Asian region, tariffs range from Singapore’s relatively low 10% and Philippines’ 17% to 48% on Laos and 49% on Cambodia.

34% tariffs have been imposed on China while 26% tariffs have been imposed on India.

According to the list, Sri Lanka will face 44% tariffs which will be a significant blow as 25% of Sri Lanka’s exports are sent to the US.

News

Suspect arrested in triple murder case

Published

50 minutes ago

April 3, 2025

editor

A suspect wanted in connection with a triple murder committed on February 02 in the Alegoda West area of Ambalantota has been arrested by the Ambalantota Police in the Biyagama Police Division yesterday (April 02).

The arrested individual is a 42-year-old resident of Mamadala, Ambalantota.

Three people were seriously injured after being attacked with sharp weapons during a dispute between two parties and all three had died after being admitted to the Ambalantota Hospital.

Further investigations are underway.