Feb 29 (DM) Claiming that Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane had acted in violation of the Constitution when appointing Deshabandu Tennakoon as the IGP, NPP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said today they were planning to go before the Supreme Court against the appointment of the IGP. He told a news conference that the Speaker had given his consent to the appointment of Deshabandu Tennakoon as the IGP even after the decision of the Constitutional Council was conveyed to Prez. more..

Feb 29 (AD) Former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has been produced before the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court. The former Minister is currently under remand custody over the import of substandard human Immunoglobulin vials. On 15 Feb, Rambukwella and six others including former Health Secretary Janaka Chandragupta were remanded until 29 Feb on orders of the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court. CID arrested Rambukwella on 02 Feb in connection with the procurement more..

Feb 29 (FT) NPP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake seized the opportunity at the recent NPP Banking and Finance Sector Stakeholder Forum held in Colombo to address and clarify any misconceptions or false information circulating about the party, especially among those in the upper echelons in SL society. Dissanayake highlighted that a significant obstacle encountered by the party in its endeavour to mobilise more..

Feb 29 (DM) The construction of SL's first ever wildlife tunnel to prevent elephant-train collisions will begin on March 1 in the Kasikota area of Galgamuwa, Gatadivula, Transport and Highways Ministry said. They said the number of elephants killed due to train collisions is increasing and it has become an environmental and development issue that has attracted national and international attention. "Various govt and non-government organizations have proposed and more..

Feb 29 (FT) General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Uni (KDU), in collaboration with Japan, has embarked on a transformative journey to boost the tourism industry through groundbreaking research initiatives focused on sustainable development. Prof. Hajime Tozaki, a renowned expert in tourism and economics at the Department of Airline Management at the J.F. Oberlin Uni in Japan (JFOU) along with Dr. Hemantha Premarathne, Head of the Department of Social Sciences at KDU, more..

Feb 29 (AD) Dept of Meteorology has cautioned the people of rising temperatures in the North-western, Western and Southern provinces and Ratnapura and Mannar Districts in the coming hours. The advisory, issued at 03.30 p.m. today (29), will be in effect until tomorrow evening (1). “Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is expected to increase up to Caution level at some places in North-western, Western and Southern provinces and Ratnapura and Mannar Districts”, it warned. more..

Feb 29 (FT) SL Tourism Alliance has announced the launch of SL’s first travel agent training portal The Sri Lanka Travel Expert, a pioneering initiative to elevate the standards of tourism expertise. Developed in collaboration with the EU and USAID funded Tourism Resilience Project, this platform marks a significant milestone in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector. “Travel Agent Training Portal represents a concerted effort to enhance the skills and knowledge base of travel professionals more..

Feb 29 (EN) SL will expand its ambitious social welfare programme Aswesuma to 2.4 million households which is likely to cover around 40% of the island nation’s population ahead of the presidential elections later this year. Aswesuma poverty alleviation programme, financially backed by the World Bank, is designed to protect lower income groups under severely poor, poor, vulnerable, and transitional categories. more..

Feb 29 (DM) A four-member delegation of the German Parliament led by former Federal Minister Renate Kuenast, is scheduled to pay an official visit to Sri Lanka from March 1 to 5, 2024. The multi-party delegation will hold several official meetings during their stay. They are expected to have discussions with Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena as well as with the Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa. The delegation will discuss with the newly more..

Feb 29 (CT) A tense situation occurred yesterday (28) in front of the regional office of the Department of Registration of Persons (DRP) in Kandy, as many individuals were unable to obtain tokens to access services and had to leave. This particular office, as part of its one-day service, issues about 200 passports per day. However, more than a thousand persons arrive from various parts of the country seeking its services. People known to join the queue on the afternoon of the previous day more..

Feb 29 (DM) China is reported to have expressed its dissatisfaction to SL over the decision to bar Chinese research vessels from carrying out any study in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for one year starting from Jan 3, 2024. SL imposed a one - year moratorium on such activities with the involvement of any foreign research vessel. The decision was taken in the wake of the Chinese research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 3 more..

Feb 29 (DM) A Fundamental Rights petition filed by MP M.A. Sumanthiran challenging the Speaker's act of certifying the Online Safety Bill has been dismissed by the Supreme Court. SC 3-judge-bench comprising Justices Priyantha Jayawardena, Shiran Goonaratne and Achala Wengappuli refused to grant leave to proceed with the petition taking into account the preliminary objections raised by Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam. The AG raised objections citing that the Supreme Court more..

Feb 29 (FT) Lyca Group owned by SL born Allirajah Subaskaran has gone to court against it being disqualified from bidding for the Govt’s stakes in Sri Lanka Telecom and Lanka Hospital Corporation PLC. Lyca Group companies were among those figured during the Request for Qualification (RfQ) stage of these two SOE divestitures but were rejected for the next stage of Request for Proposals. Lyca Group challenged the outcomes in the Court of Appeal which issued an interim order more..