News

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.

The Police security provided to former Parliamentarians has been recalled, with the exception of those assigned to the former Speaker, former Deputy Speaker, and the Opposition Leader, Police confirmed in a statement

Several former MPs confirmed to NewsWire that they have been informed of the withdrawal of their security personnel.

This decision aligns with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s campaign promise to reduce unnecessary security provided to politicians, aimed at cutting down on excesses in governance.

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.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed Senior DIG Priyantha Weerasooriya as the Acting Inspector General of Police.

This decision was made under the constitutional powers vested in the President.

The official appointment letter was handed to him by Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake at the President's Office today .

At the time of his appointment as Acting IGP, he was serving as the SDIG in charge of the North Central Province.

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

Muditha Peiris has stepped down from his position as the Chairman of the Litro Gas Company.

He has tendered his resignation effective from tomorrow (27).

Peiris was appointed as the Chairman of Litro Gas on June 13, 2022.

Prior to that, he had served as the Managing Director of the state-owned LP gas supplier.

Peiris had held the position of Managing Director at both Litro Gas Lanka Ltd and Litro Gas Terminal Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.

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.

Minister of Public Security Vijitha Herath said that the government has taken steps in the past 24 hours to address the visa issuance issues that have arisen.

Accordingly, effective midnight today (26), people will once again be able to obtain visas using the previous system.

The government has also initiated an immediate audit to examine the irregularities related to the services provided to VFS. This audit will thoroughly investigate the discrepancies, and appropriate legal action will be taken as required.

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).

Officials from the Ministry of Power and Energy have informed President Anura Kumara Dissanayake that the country currently has sufficient fuel reserves to meet consumption needs, the President’s Media Division (PMD) reported.

The President stressed the importance of maintaining these reserves to ensure uninterrupted fuel availability for the public and urged officials to efficiently plan for fuel procurement for the upcoming year. The President further assured his full support in facilitating these efforts, the statement said.

During the meeting held today (26) with Ministry officials, President Dissanayake directed them to devise a plan for distributing solar panels, received through Indian aid, to 800 Piriven. He emphasized the need for a clear roadmap from the Ministry to ensure smooth implementation of this initiative.

The President also highlighted the importance of expediting projects financed by the Asian Development Bank and other foreign loans. He announced plans to establish a committee tasked with approving foreign-aid projects within three months, with the aim of accelerating their execution. Through this process, he noted, projects supported by foreign aid can be implemented more efficiently.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake underscored the urgency of accelerating rural development projects and swiftly implementing a system to ensure funds are directed to villages, noting that this approach would rapidly strengthen the rural economy.

He expressed confidence in the vital role that government officials play in these efforts and emphasized his expectation that all will work with dedication to achieve these goals.

The discussion was attended by Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the President; Prof. Udayanga Hemapala, Secretary to the Ministry of Energy; and a group of other officials.

--PMD--

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.

Controller General of Immigration and Emigration Harsha Illukpitiya has been ordered to be remanded in custody by the Supreme Court today.

This order comes as a result of his failure to comply with the interim order issued by the Supreme Court on August 2, which voided the government's decision to issue visas under the electronic visa system.

The ruling was made by a bench comprising Justices Preethi Padman Surasena, Kumuduni Wickramasinghe, and Achala Wengappuli.

The court had previously issued an interim order suspending the issuance of online visas and directing the controller general to issue visas under the old visa issuance system, thus voiding the electronic visa system.

Although more than a month has passed, the Controller General has willfully disregarded the court's order, leading petitioners, including Patali Champika Ranawaka, Rauff Hakeem, and M. A. Sumanthiran, to inform the court on September 13 to take appropriate legal action against him.

Considering the submisions made in court the supreme court justices noted that the Controller General had willfully ignored the court's order and therefore was in contempt of court.

As a result, during today's hearing, the petitioners filed contempt of charges against the Controller General.

The Supreme Court Justices emphasized that ignoring the Supreme Court's orders is a serious matter and that it is the responsibility of Supreme Court Justices to uphold the rule of law, instructing prison officials to take him into custody.

The Supreme Court Justices ordered that he be remanded in custody until the conclusion of the petition examination.