Srilanka

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday agreed in Parliament that the demands of the disabled War Heroes who staged a Sathyagraha opposite the Fort Railway Station were reasonable and said that the government was in the process of solving the issue.The Minister explained that the proposals had been sent to the Defence Ministry for their recommendations regarding the grant of a 100 percent pension and 75 percent pension to the fully and partially disabled War Heroes respectively at their retirement and the Defence Ministry has responded to it. He added that hence the issue would be solved without delay.

The Colombo International Book Fair 2019, organized by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association for the 21st consecutive year, begins today at the BMICH, Colombo.The exhibition will run till September 29, from 9 am to 9 pm every day.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the Enterprise Sri Lanka Programme held in Jaffna was highly successful.The Minister said that during the four days, over 200,000 people visited the programme and that the public said that it was the most successful exhibition held in Jaffna after the war.

The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to inquire into the Easter Sunday terror attacks have concluded the hearing of evidence from President Maithripala Sirisena.Committee member MP Nalinda Jayatissa says that the final report of the PSC will be submitted to the Parliament of Sri Lanka at the end of October.