President Maithripala Sirisena was quoted by media speaking at a rally on Sunday urging the Sri Lankan tea community not to panic, assuring them that the government would take necessary steps to settle the issue of tea imports being halted by Russia.
Sri Lanka is making a special appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to remove a ban on Ceylon tea. Two ministers are leading a delegation to Moscow to request the suspension on Sri Lankan tea imports is lifted, reports claimed.
Imports were halted last week after Russia found an insect in a tea consignment from Sri Lanka. President Sirisena told a rally on Sunday that he was optimistic that "as a friendly country", Russia would help Sri Lanka.
Plantation Minister Navin Dissanayake and Industry Minister Rishad Bathiudeen are leading the special delegation to Moscow to reassure the Russian government.
Russia is one of the biggest importers of Sri Lankan tea, which accounts for nearly a quarter of its $436m (£326m) market.
Sri Lanka has insisted that a thorough investigation will be carried out and that punitive measures will be taken against anyone found guilty of tampering with its consignment.
A Thai woman walking topless in Arugam Bay town has been arrested by the Police.
The UK government has unveiled a package of reforms to simplify imports from developing countries which allows for more garments manufactured in Sri Lanka to enter the UK tariff-free.
The Cabinet has approved a proposal for Sri Lankans overseas to apply for their passports through an online system via the Lankan diplomatic missions.
Villagers in Nirmalapura, Daluwa, Norochcholai today staged a protest over an incident where a group of Navy officials and sailors had assaulted a resident in the area over night, Police said.
A passenger attempting to smuggle the largest quantity of gold of 35 kilo grams was arrested by the Customs at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) today, a senior official said.
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