US President Biden revokes Keystone XL pipeline permit.

US President Joe Biden has cancelled permits for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office. The pipeline had been projected to carry oil nearly 1,200 miles (1,900km) from the Canadian province of Alberta down to Nebraska, to join an existing pipeline. …

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Iran holds ballistic missile, drones drill amid tensions.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces held a military exercise involving ballistic missiles and drones in the country’s central desert, state TV reported, amid heightened tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program and a US pressure campaign against the Islamic Republi…

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Hayleys Group announces massive share sub division.

The Hayleys Group of Companies has decided to increase the number of shares by way of a sub division . Accordingly, the existing shares of each company will be subjected to the following sub divisions. HAYLEYS PLC - 1:10 DIPPED PRODUCTS PLC - 1:10 ALUMEX PLC - 1:2 REGNIS (LANKA…

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Biden sets to work on reversing Trump policies with executive orders.

US President Joe Biden has begun to undo some of Donald Trump's key policies, hours after being sworn in. In his initial acts as the 46th US president, he signed 15 executive orders - the first to boost the federal response to the current pandemic  crisis. Other orders re…

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Electric car batteries with five-minute charging times produced.

Batteries capable of fully charging in five minutes have been produced in a factory for the first time, marking a significant step towards electric cars becoming as fast to charge as filling up petrol or diesel vehicles. Electric vehicles are a vital part of action to tackle…

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Colombo Stock Exchange's (CSE’s) All Share Price Index (ASPI) surpasses 8,000 points for the first time history.

The main index of the Colombo Stock Exchange, the All Share Price Index (ASPI) crossed the 8,000 point mark for the first in history today (21) , breaking all the previous records. The ASPI gained 246.80 points (or 3.13%) closing the day on 8,131.25. Meanwhile, The S&P S…

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Sri Lanka reopens its borders for tourists.

Sri Lanka reopened its airports for foreign tourists today (21) after a nearly 10-month pandemic closure that cut deeply into the nation's lucrative travel industry. As Sri Lanka opens the borders for international tourists detailed safety protocols and processes have be…

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Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) saves USD. 300 million in foreign exchange in 2020.

Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has saved USD 300 million in foreign exchange for the year 2020, CPC Chairman Sumith Wijesinghe told the Parliament Committee on Public Enterprisers (COPE) recently. He stated that the government was able to take advantage of this due to t…

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Lasith Malinga retires from franchise cricket.

Lasith Malinga, the leading wicket-taker in the history of the Indian Premier League, has opted to retire from franchise cricket, his former IPL team Mumbai Indians confirmed on Wednesday. The development comes hours after MI released Malinga from their squad, with the franc…

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IMF chief sees ‘high degree of uncertainty’ in global outlook.

The head of the International Monetary Fund on Monday said the global lender needed more resources to help heavily indebted countries, citing a highly uncertain global economic outlook and a growing divergence between rich and poor countries. IMF Managing Director Kristalina…

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Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to introduce priority sector lending targets for MSMEs.

The Central Bank will be introducing priority sector lending targets for the micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) to support a broad based economic revival, in consultation with the banking community, Chandranath Amarasekara, Director of Economic Research at th…

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New Zealand Captain Sophie Devine hits Fastest Century in Women's T20 History.

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine hit the fastest century in women's Twenty20 history on Thursday 14 January 2021, taking just 36 balls to reach 100 in a domestic match in Dunedin. Devine tore apart the Otago Sparks bowling attack, hitting nine sixes and seven fours to …

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Xiaomi and 8 More Chinese Companies Blacklisted by US Government.

The US government has blacklisted Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and China's third-largest national oil company for alleged military links, heaping pressure on Beijing in President Donald Trump's last week in office. The Department of Defense added nine companies to…

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Selling rate of US $ exceeds Rs.198 mark.

According to the daily exchange report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), the current buying rate of the US Dollar today (20) stands at Rs.192.85 and selling rate of the US dollar stands at Rs.198.26. Meanwhile, commenting on the continuous depreciation of the rupee ag…

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Joe Biden sworn in as 46th president of the United States.

Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States in inaugural ceremonies on the west front of the Capitol that have begun in Washington, D.C. on 20  January 2021.  The ceremonies have been scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic, with heightened security…

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India beats Australia and wins Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Gabba.

India has scored a famous victory in the Test series against Australia. India successfully chased the 328 on the last day of the final game at the Gabba to win the series 2-1 and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Explosive wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who was not picked for th…

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Netherlands PM Mark Rutte and his entire cabinet quits.

The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte and his entire Cabinet has resigned recently over the childcare subsidies scandal, in which thousands of families were wrongly accused of child welfare fraud. However, the Rutte government will stay on in a caretaker role until parliamen…

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Government of India decides to celebrate January 23 as Parakram Diwas.

The birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, on January 23, as ‘Parakram Diwas’ every year, the Ministry of Culture announced. The day is celebrated to honour and remember Netaji’s indomitable spirit and selfless service to the nation. Earlier this month, the Minis…

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Adani group signs concession agreement with Airports Authority of India (AAI)

Adani Group has announced that it has signed a concession agreement with Airports Authority of India(AAI) for Jaipur, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram airports. The concession period is 50 years from the commercial operation date. Adani Group had emerged as the highest bidder for…

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Tariff concession for Mongolia.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Trade for awarding tariff concession as well as conduct discussions with Mongolia for identifying tariff concessions that be mutually agreed upon between the two parties, the state information o…

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Drafting of Sign Language Bill approved.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal to make necessary provisions through an Act of Parliament for making Sign Language a recognized means of communication and to advise the legal draftsman to draft the relevant bill. The proposal has been tabled by Prime Minis…

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148th session of the Executive Board of World Health Organisation.

The 148th session of the Executive Board take place on 18-26 January 2021. The Executive Board is composed of 34 technically qualified members elected for three-year terms. The annual Board meeting is held in January when the members agree upon the agenda for the World Heal…

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International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) won't be held Men's World Championship 2021 in Belarus.

The International Ice Hockey Federation cited safety concerns and said it will seek a new country to co-host the tournament with Latvia or host it on its own. The tournament is scheduled to start May 21. Criticism of Belarus’ role as co-host grew after authoritarian presiden…

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Yonex Thailand Open Badminton Tournament - 2021.

Carolina Marin and Viktor Axelsen has won Thailand Open in Bangkok badminton tournament 2021. The Yonex Thailand Open Super 1000 badminton tournament was held from 12 January 2021 to 17 January 2021. It was the first badminton tournament of 2021 by Badminton World Federatio…

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Russia withdraws from Open Skies Treaty.

Russia said on Friday 15 Jan 2021 it will withdraw from an international treaty allowing observation flights over military facilities following the United States’ exit from the pact. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the US withdrawal from the Open Skies Tre…

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Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) keeps policy rates unchanged.

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at its meeting held on 18 January 2021, decided to maintain the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank at their current levels of 4.50 per cent and 5.50 per…

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Blue Origin launches New Shepard rocket mission.

Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin launched another version of his New Shepard mission Thursday 14 January 2020 in the remote west Texas landscape. Mission NS-14 took a little more than 10 minutes to complete and sent the crew capsule more than 350,000 feet into the a…

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US designates UAE, Bahrain as ‘Major Strategic Partners’.

The United States has recently designated the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the “major strategic partners” of the country. This has been announced before the formal transition of the president’s office from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.  This announce…

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Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE)'s All Share Price Index (ASPI) sets new all-time high among the best performing indices globally.

The All Share Price Index (ASPI) of the Colombo Stock Exchange reached its all-time high index tally today closing the 10th trading day of 2021 on 7922.66 points. The previous highest points figure recorded was 7811.80 points on 14 February 2011. The ASPI gained 188.09 poin…

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China's 'Bat Woman' honored as advanced personnel of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Chinese virologist from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) Shi Zhengli was honored as an "advanced worker of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)". Shi was also elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2019.  During the CAS 2021 annual work…

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