News

All political parties that supported former President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the recent Presidential Election are to contest the upcoming General Election under the New Democratic Front (NDF), with the ‘Gas Cylinder’ as their symbol.

Former President Wickremesinghe had also contested the recent presidential election under the symbol of the ‘Gas Cylinder’, albeit as an independent candidate.

Political sources told Ada Derana, earlier today, that former MPs who supported Wickremesinghe are preparing to contest the upcoming General Election under either the ‘elephant’ symbol or another common symbol.

It was reported that the opinion of the Election Commission had been sought to obtain the ‘Gas Cylinder’ symbol and that a final decision was to be taken after the commission’s decision is conveyed.

The group of former MPs had gathered at the Election Operations office of the former president at Flower Road in Colombo today (02), in order to reach the final decision regarding the symbol and the alliance they will contest under in the upcoming election.

It was further reported that if the former MPs were unable to obtain the ‘Gas Cylinder’ symbol, they would most likely contest under the symbol of the ‘Elephant’ or another common symbol.

Earth is about to have a temporary visitor a “mini moon”, though much smaller than its regular one.

This mini moon is actually an newly discovered asteroid which is about the size of a school bus, measuring 10 meters across. On Sunday, it will pass close enough to Earth that our planet’s gravity will temporarily trap it, causing it to orbit Earth for about two months.

While this “mini moon” won’t be visible to the naked eye, it offers an intriguing opportunity for astronomers to study these short-lived space companions.

Bus fares have been reduced by 4.24%, effective from midnight today (Oct. 01), according to the National Transport Commission (NTC).

Meanwhile, the minimum fare has been reduced by one rupee to Rs. 27.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed Senior Advocate J.M. Wijebandara as the Director General Legal of the Presidential Secretariat.

The appointment letter was presented to Mr. Wijebandara by Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, the President’s Media Division stated.

An alumnus of Ananda College, Colombo, Wijebandara holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Colombo and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (Honours) from the Open University.

Additionally, he is a former lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Colombo.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has ordered a two-week suspension of the evaluation of answer sheets for the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination.

According to a press statement from the President’s Media Division, the decision followed discussions held last evening (30th) with a group of parents protesting issues related to the examination.

During these discussions, parents claimed that not five, but eight questions from the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination had been leaked prior to the exam. They requested the President to instruct officials to re-conduct Paper One of the examination.

In response, the President directed that the evaluation process be halted for two weeks to address the concerns raised.

The Inland Revenue Department has urged all taxpayers to ensure that their final income tax payments for the 2023/2024 Year of Assessment are made by September 30, 2024.

The Department said failure to make the payments by the deadline will result in penalties and interest charges and that the penalties and interest imposed for non-payment or late payment of income tax will not be waived off or reduced.

The Inland Revenue Department also urged taxpayers to clear outstanding default taxes on or before October 30, 2024 and that any unpaid default taxes by that date will be subject to rigorous collection actions, including legal proceedings in terms of the Inland Revenue Act

Channa Gunawardena has been appointed as the new Chairman of Litro Gas.

The company announced that Gunawardena assumed his duties today.

This appointment follows the resignation of the former Chairman, Muditha Peiris, creating a vacancy that has now been filled by Gunawardena.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has signed his first gazette summoning all members of the Armed Forces for the maintenance of Public Order in specific areas

The gazette was issued Under the Public Security Ordinance, by the President on September 27, 2024.

The Gazette makes way for the deployment of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to exercise police powers in maintaining public security in Administrative Districts and territorial water adjacent to such Districts.

The previous gazette summoning the military for maintenance of public order was issued by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday, 27 August 2024.

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has announced a revision of fuel prices effective from midnight today (Sept. 30).

Accordingly, the price of Petrol 92 Octane has been reduced by Rs. 21 to Rs. 311 per litre, while Auto Diesel has been reduced by Rs. 24 to Rs. 283 per litre.

The price of Super Diesel has also been slashed by Rs. 33, bringing the new price to Rs. 319 per litre, and Kerosene has been reduced by Rs. 19 to Rs. 183 per litre.

However, the price of Petrol 95 remains unchanged, according to Ceypetco.

Former Minister Kumara Welgama has passed away at the age of 74.

He had passed away while receiving treatment at a private hospital, family sources said.

From 1984 to 2000, Welgama served as the chief organiser for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in the Agalawatte electorate.

He later held key ministerial roles, serving as the Minister of Industrial Development from 2007 to 2010 and the Minister of Transport from 2010 until early 2015, under SLFP-led governments.

Since 2020, he has led the New Lanka Freedom Party and contested elections in alliance with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).

The Department of National Zoological Gardens has announced that all zoos in the country will offer free entry to children under the age of 12 tomorrow.

This initiative is in celebration of World Children's Day, which falls on October 1st.

Anoma Priyadarshani, the Director of Operations at the Department of National Zoological Gardens, stated that this decision was made to mark the special occasion.

As a result, children can visit the Dehiwala Zoo, the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, the Pinnawala Zoo, and the Ridiyagama Safari Park in Hambantota free of charge.

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has pledged its full support for the transparency initiative of the current government.

This commitment was made by a delegation of high-ranking KOICA officials during a meeting with Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake at the Presidential Secretariat today (27).

KOICA has also agreed to offer loan assistance for projects aimed at preventing fraud and corruption in Sri Lanka.

Representatives from the agency emphasized their intention to tailor loan support to meet the specific requirements of the country.

Korean Ambassador to Sri Lanka Miyon Lee, Deputy Ambassador Songyi Jeong, Country Director of KOICA Sri Lanka office Kim Myungjin, Deputy Country Directors Yongwhan Kim, Yunsoo Jeon, DIMO General Manager Roshan Seransinghe, and Sri Lanks Railways Deputy General Manager B.M.U Banneheka were also present at the meeting.