lankanNews

Sri Lanka is among the South Asian countries gearing up for elections at different levels in 2024, alongside India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Maldives, the UK government said. In response to a written question in UK Parliament about the South Asian countries elections, Anne-Marie Trevelyan Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) stated that India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives are all expected to hold elections at different levels in 2024. “The UK believes transparent, democratic governance is in the interests of all people and the long-term stability of every nation. We raise the importance of free and fair elections in our discussions with South Asian governments, and with opposition parties and others,” the Minister of State stated. “We press for an end to harassment and intimidation of civil society, media and opposition parties. Ministers and HMG officials visiting the region, regularly convey that respect for the rule of

Colombo (Daily Mirror) - The Government is exploring the option of providing Rs 5,000 of the proposed pay increase of Rs. 10,000 from January 2024, followed by the balance from April. Discussions were held regarding this during a recent meeting of the State Revenue Unit chaired by President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The discussions were based on the figures presented in the 2023 expected financial report of the State Revenue Unit from the President's Office, which indicated that the salary increase can be feasibly implemented as early as January. Accordingly, starting from January, government employees can expect a raise of Rs. 5,000, while pensioners will receive a full increase of Rs. 2,500. During the budget speech, it was announced that government employees would receive a cost of living allowance of Rs. 10,000 in two instalments, with Rs. 5,000 in April and the balance Rs. 5,000 in October. Pensioners, on the other hand, will receive a lump sum increase of Rs. 2,500 in April 2

Sri Lanka (Daily Mirror) - More than half the Sri Lankan population – 53% – believes local political forces were involved in the Easter Sunday attacks carried out in 2019, according to a survey commissioned in October by Syndicated Surveys. According to Verité Research, those surveyed were given the following three views prevalent in the country about who was behind the attacks and asked to select the one they most agreed with. 1) It was carried out by Sri Lankan extremists who were working with dangerous foreign forces. 2) It was carried out by Sri Lankan extremists who were working with local political forces. 3) It was carried out by Sri Lankan extremists who were working with both local political forces and dangerous foreign forces. As such, 53% believed local political forces were involved -- 30% selected the second answer, and 23% selected the third answer. Only 8% believed that it was carried out without the involvement of local political forces (the first answer). A high p

President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday appointed Senior DIG Deshabandu Thennakoon as the acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) after months of speculation as to who would get the seat.

The recruitment of Sri Lankans for around 1000 employment opportunities offered by Israel recently is mired in controversy due to lack of transparency in the process, Daily Mirror learns.

The Government of Sri Lanka is set to borrow USD 60 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the Second Integrated Road Investment Programme – Tranche 4.

The Department of Immigration and Emigration has busted a major child smuggling racket that operated between Sri Lanka, Malaysia and the UK and has handed over findings of a lengthy probe to the CID after examining over 20,000 child departures from Colombo, the Daily Mirror learns

Harin Fernando has been appointed as the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has sacked Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe from his portfolio.

The life span of over seven million doses of Pfizer vaccines worth Rs.10,736 million expired in 2022 and thus were destroyed without being used.

The position of Sri Lanka’s Inspector General of Police (IGP) remains vacant, with Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena, in-charge of Administration, overseeing the duties of the IGP until an official appointment is made, police said.

Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe said the recently resigned Sri Lanka Cricket Board Secretary Mohan de Silva contacted him from Australia, exposing corruption within the SLC.

The Government is exploring the option of providing Rs 5,000 of the proposed pay increase of Rs. 10,000 from January 2024, followed by the balance from April.

Sri Lankan expatriate workers who are sent to Israel are to be given military training, MP Rauff Hakeem alleged in Parliament today.

The prolonged saga of appointing a new Inspector General of Police (IGP) has reached a critical juncture, leaving the country’s law enforcement in a state of uncertainty and raising concerns about the government’s ability to address rising crime rates.

Former Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) President Saliya Pieris PC today rejected the claims by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament that Pieris had ambitions to be Prime Minister prior to May 9, 2022.

Police who prosecuted a Sri Lankan cricket star later cleared of sexually assaulting a woman at her Sydney home acted “unreasonably”, a court has been told.

The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) will initiate a probe into incidents in which stocks of coal imported for the Norochcholai thermal power plant have been under-invoiced for the evasion of due amount of Value Added Tax (VAT) , an official said.

The recruitment of Sri Lankans for around 1000 employment opportunities offered by Israel recently is mired in controversy due to lack of transparency in the process, Daily Mirror learns.

Director of the Medical Supplies Division of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Kapila Wickramanayaka and three others were arrested by the CID over the Immunoglobulin import case, police said.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa today revealed that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) president Shammi Silva had sent a letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) alleging that the Sports Ministry had made undue interferences in its activities and claimed that this had paved the way for the ICC ban on Sri Lanka Cricket.

While holding the guilty persons’ liable and naming them, including one member of the Monetary Board, the Supreme Court in its recent judgment regarding two fundamental rights petitions filed over economic crisis, decided not to make any adverse decisions or orders against two Monetary Board members President’s Counsel Dr. Sanjeeva Jayawardena and Dr. Ranee Jayamaha.

Both the Presidential and Parliamentary elections will be held next year, President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced today.

The Attorney General’s Department has informed the Court of Appeal that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) has issued a circular preventing police officers from conducting training sessions, lectures or seminars which dehumanize and discriminate against the LGBTIQ community in the country.

Sri Lanka has conveyed its preparedness for the second phase of the Belt and Road Initiative, with China expressing a keen interest in extending the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) to include Sri Lanka.

The second reading of the budget 2024 was passed in Parliament with a majority of 45 votes a short while ago.

The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) will initiate a probe into incidents in which stocks of coal imported for the Norochcholai thermal power plant have been under-invoiced for the evasion of due amount of Value Added Tax (VAT) , an official said.

Director of the Medical Supplies Division of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Kapila Wickramanayaka and three others were arrested by the CID over the Immunoglobulin import case, police said.

In what appears to be a staggering disclosure, the number of VAT (value-added tax) files registered is found to be way below the actual figure denying substantial revenue collected from end consumers of goods and services to the state coffers, an official said.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) today refuted the recent allegations by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa in Parliament regarding the communications between SLC and the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa today revealed that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) president Shammi Silva had sent a letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) alleging that the Sports Ministry had made undue interferences in its activities and claimed that this had paved the way for the ICC ban on Sri Lanka Cricket.

The service period of Health Ministry Secretary Janaka Sri Chandragupta will end today due to retirement, leaving a vacant position that has sparked intense competition, Daily Mirror learns.

The Constitutional Council (CC) appears to be divided, with the majority of members declining to approve the reappointment of Mr. C.D. Wickramaratne as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Daily Mirror learns.

The targets laid out in Sri Lanka’s 2024 budget, particularly with regards to revenue and fiscal defect, would be challenging to meet even with the economic recovery that is expected to continue next year, Fitch Ratings yesterday said.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe had a discussion with Asian Cricket Council president Jay Shah on Thursday to discuss the cricket crisis in Sri Lanka, Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said today.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has proposed a Rs. 10,000 increase in the Cost of Living Allowance for government employees while presenting the 2024 budget to Parliament.

A retired Senior DIG has shed new light on claims that the former Sri Lankan government may have colluded with a terrorist group for political gain, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people, including Australians, in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.

While highlighting that Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) Chairman Professor Ranjith Bandara’s son’s presence at the last meeting of the committee was wrong, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena assured that the matter will be probed into.

The targets laid out in Sri Lanka’s 2024 budget, particularly with regards to revenue and fiscal defect, would be challenging to meet even with the economic recovery that is expected to continue next year, Fitch Ratings yesterday said.

Sri Lanka’s cricket crisis has taken a chaotic turn with some members of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) and its chairman Ranjith Bandara accusing each other of mishandling the probe on Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

With a Presidential Election scheduled for next year, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said he had still not made a decision if he would re contest the presidency as his focus presently was to terminate Sri Lanka from bankruptcy.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board has suspended Sri Lanka Cricket’s membership of the ICC with immediate effect.

Court of Appeal President Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne, who was at the centre of the controversy surrounding the issuing of an interim order against Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee appointed by the Sports Minister, recused himself today from hearing the case.

Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon yesterday refuted the claim that he had accepted a confidential consultancy role with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and asserted that if there were any substantiated proof demonstrating that he had received any form of benefits from SLC, he would promptly resign from his current position.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has proposed a Rs. 10,000 increase in the Cost of Living Allowance for government employees while presenting the 2024 budget to Parliament.

Speculation is rife that Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe may not continue with the portfolio which he is currently holding and would resign or be removed.

Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has alleged that Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Jay Shah was responsible for the issues plaguing Sri Lankan cricket.

In a bid to address and resolve the ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka’s popular sport of cricket, Sri Lanka Cricket is to be governed by a Board of Directors comprising 18 members.