Appropriation Bill 2024 Recurrent expenditure cuts for some ministries

Recurrent expenditure for some ministries will be slashed in 2024, the Appropriation Bill which was presented to Parliament revealed yesterday. Accordingly, recurrent expenditure allocated for the Transport and Highways, Power and Energy, Tourism and Lands and Urban Development and Housing have been slashed. Focus has been made on capital expenditure instead for the said ministries. Only Rs. 910 million has been allocated for the power and ene

Danushka to file case to recover legal fees

Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka who was acquitted of rape charges by an Australian Court last week, yesterday said he respected everyone’s freedom of expression, in relation to those who accused and passed judgement on him on social media.

Kamanthi receives ‘Print Media Youth Journalist of the Year’ Award

Daily Mirror’s Deputy Features Editor Kamanthi Wickramasinghe received the ‘Print Media Youth Journalist of the Year’ Award at the New Generation Awards 2023 held on October 3 at the Galle Face Hotel. New Generation Awards 2023 was organised by the National Youth Services Council in collaboration with Women in Management New Generation Chapter for the fourth consecu

Death on the elephant corridor

Sri Lanka, a country that reveres elephants, is now thinking hard to combat the conflict humans have with these animals with the unprecedented number of shocking deaths of jumbos over the past few days raising eyebrows here and abroad. What’s ala

Alarming rise in heroin addiction among school children

Increasing trend of Hospital staff being addicted to pain relievers

Elephant Sita shot with live cartridges

Pellets had penetrated the body and their removal was yet to be decided

SLAF, Sri Lankan sign MoU

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed to strengthen the collaboration between the Sri Lanka Air Force and SriLankan Airlines, particularly in the fields of aviation training, education and other areas of mutual interest, the SLAF said. The MoU w

Edmund Ranasinghe a catalyst of transformative journalism

A glowing tribute was paid to veteran journalist Edmund Ranasinghe at the launch of a special book “ Edmondge Pathra Viplawaya ( Edmond’s revolution with Newspapers ) at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday where he was identified as a catalyst of transformative journalism and role model for today’s journalists. President Ranil Wickremesinghe identified Mr. Ranasinghe as a trailblazer and a catalyst of transformative journalism in Sri Lanka

Mandarina Hotel celebrates World Tourism Day with Gangarama Temple cleaning

Mandarina Colombo, a renowned hotel in Sri Lanka, celebrated World Tourism Day on September 27th with a series of events. One noteworthy event was a community care project focused on cleaning the historic Gangarama Temple in Hunupitiya. The dedicated staff of Mandarina Colombo actively participated in this initiative, showcasing their commitment to the community. In addition to the tem

SJB, GL go before SC against Online Safety Bill

Three petitioners including Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara and Parliamentarian Prof. G.L. Peiris yesterday filed a Special Determination petition in the Sup

Social media regulation an obvious scenario: President

Social media regulation could be an obvious scenario as the countries in the globe envisage signing an international convention on the same, President Ranil Wickremeisnghe stressed yesterday. The remark from the President came hours after the Online Safety Bill was presented to Parliament. The Bill was presented to the House last morning. “Many countries in the world are having

State land on lease basis for 100 MW solar energy project

The government approved a proposal for the acquisition of about 219.72 hectares of land in the Siyambalanduwa Divisional Secretariat Division of the Moneragala District by the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority for a 100 MW solar energy project. The decision was annou

President’s interview with Germany’s DW news agency Nonsense!

President, Ranil Wickremesinghe lashed out during an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle (DW) news agency saying there is no necessity to have an international probe into the Easter Sunday’s attacks. “You are talkin

Respect the media!

Journalism is one of the most powerful careers, with the pen holding more power than even the highest position in any country. The media works tirelessly every single day to feed the public with news, and that too in an accurate manner in order to fight disinformation and expose those corrupt. Howe

Shi Yang 6 visit Sri Lanka, China yet to see eye to eye on timeline

India, the United States and Japan remain inquisitive about the visit

Constitutionality of Online Safety Bill challenged in Supreme Court

Petitioner says unlike in the case of other independent Commissions, the Constitutional Council does not recommend the members of the Online Safety Commission

Drunken Traffic Cop flees after knocking down a man

The man suffered fractures in his hand and leg

Pregnant elephant shot dead

Jumbo shot in its head, most probably with a T56 rifle

Showery condition likely to continue 25,863 people from 6,250 families affected

453 houses were damaged partially, and two houses were damaged completely

SLMC in quandary as sacked Vice President breaks silence

The decision has been taken without consent of the council members

Killing of wild elephants going on unchecked

President of the Sri Lanka Janatha Workers’ Front, Chamira Perera said a secret ploy was being hatched by the government to exterminate the wild elephant population in the country as a short cut to resolve the human-elephant conflict.

Mullaithivu Magistrate’s resignation Lawyers in North staged a walkout

Lawyers in the unofficial bar in courts in the North yesterday staged a walkout demanding a formal investigation of death threats on Mullaithivu Magistrate T. Saravanarajah and adequate protection for magistrates in the North.

Rs.42Mn worth Hashish that came with biscuits, pampers, noodles seized

A large stock of marijuana based drug hashish worth over Rs.42 million, that came through air cargo from Italy amidst consumer goods of imported biscuits, pampers and noodles were seized by the Customs and Police officials yesterday. Sri Lanka Customs and Police Narco

Police officer allowed to give evidence from overseas via video technology

The Homagama High Court yesterday allowed a police officer, currently overseas, to give evidence remotely via video technology in connection with the arrest of a suspect with a weapon, while he was on duty in Sri Lanka.

JVP brainwashing youth, like Saharan’s destruction: Gnanasara Thera

While condemning the statement by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP Bimal Ratnayake, Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera said yesterday that the JVP is engaging in actions that are detrimental to the country by brainwashing young people. Addressing the media, he said the ongoing detrimental process by the JVP of brainwashing the young generation is similar to the destruction done by Zaharan. Bimal

Death sentence A barrier for nabbing SL criminals hiding in Europe

The existence of capital punishment in statutory books, though not implemented, remains a hindrance when seeking the extradition of Sri Lankan organized criminals hiding in European countries, a top government source said. The sources said that bringing suspects from overseas to Sri Lanka can indeed pose legal and logistical challenges due to several reasons, including international legal principles and extradition laws.

Recent flight delays due to trade union action, not due to technical faults -SriLankan

Contradicting recent claims that technical faults in the planes caused recent flight delays, Sri Lankan airlines yesterday revealed that recent delays in several Sri Lanka flights were due to a work-to-rule campaign by some trade unions of Sri Lankan Airlines, a statement said. This was revealed during a meeting to discuss the recent delays in flights. The meeting was attended by Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, the

IMF Report exposes alarming levels of corruption in SL’s revenue administration

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its technical assistance report, observes that Sri Lankan revenue administration is highly prone to corruption and rent-seeking and such perceptions are acknowledged by both insiders and external stakeholders to have progressively worsened in recent years, given the impunity of action against unethical and corrupt behaviour. There are three separate revenue collection departments of the Ministry of Fina

‘Sita’ received seven gunshot injuries

Prof. Ashoka Dangolla of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science of Peradeniya University said ‘Sita’ the domesticated elephant on chains shot by a Civil Defence Department (CDD) officer had received seven gunshot injuries. Prof. Dangolla said the jumbo was not able to move about due to the gunshot wounds penetrating the skin into the flesh and that it was now undergoing treatment. It is said that the CDD officer should not h

Leading businessman arrested for theft

A leading businessman who owns several supermarkets was arrested last morning by Meegoda Police on suspicion of stealing lubricant oil from a vehicle service station at Godagama Junction in Homagama. The proprietor of the service station had produced video recordings of the incident during investigations. Police arrested the suspect and seized a luxury vehicle used by him to transport the stolen oil. Police said an employee of the serv