The Spices and Allied Products Producers’ and Traders’ Associ-ation (SAPPTA) yesterday called on the Government to reconsider its decision to import spices for re-export, warning of potentially detrimental consequences for the local industry and economy. “The move could undermine the local spice industry, impacting numerous farmers, exporters, and stakeholders in the value chain,” – SAPPTA…
President’s Counsel Ronald Perera has placed deposits on behalf of President Ranil Wickremesinghe as an independent candidate for the forthcoming Presidential Election. He had placed the deposit this morning (26) at the Election Commission Office in Rajagiriya. The Election Commission announced that the deposit money for the 2024 Presidential Election can be deposited from 8.30…
The Election Commission of Sri Lanka has issued the Gazette notification announcing the date of the 2024 Presidential Election and the date for the accepting of nominations. Accordingly, the Presidential Election will be held on 21 September, 2024 and Nominations will be accepted on 15 August 2024, according to the Gazette notification. The Gazette states…
The Joint Federation of Samurdhi Trade Unions states that since the introduction of the Aswesuma welfare benefit program in July 2023 and the subsequent suspension of the Samurdhi program, approximately 18,000 Samurdhi Development Officers are left without work. Since around 1995, the Samurdhi movement has been operational with 1,097 Samurdhi Banks across the country. According…
The Welfare Benefits Board has announced that 450,000 new applications have been received for the Aswesuma welfare benefit program. The data collection process has already begun and is expected to be completed by the end of July. The data will be gathered via a mobile app, focusing on six key parameters: the household’s economic status,…
This year, under the overarching theme “Anyone can drown, no one should,” the World Health Organization has chosen the touching slogan “Seconds can save a life”. This highlights the dual nature of drowning: it can occur in a matter of seconds yet taking a brief moment to act—whether by wearing a lifejacket, keeping watch over…
The Supreme Court will decide today (24) whether to hear the fundamental rights petitions challenging Deshabandu Tennakoon’s appointment as the Inspector General of Police (IGP). The petitions, filed by multiple parties, allege Tennakoon’s negligence during the 2019 Easter attacks and the ‘GotaGoGama’ protest assault. The court may also issue an interim order preventing Tennakoon from…
The Department of Meteorology has issued a ‘Red’ warning for strong winds and rough seas for naval and multi-day fishermen communities in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. As per the warning, very strong winds of about 70-80 kmph, and very rough seas are likely over the Arabian Sea area and Bay of Bengal…
The issue of the proposed 22nd Amendment to the constitution which cast doubt about the holding of the presidential election in view of its requirement of a referendum and focus on the length of the president’s term of office has hopefully been dealt with. In his recent speech while opening the judicial complex in Galle,…
The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to publish the revised Online Safety Bill in the government gazette and to table it in Parliament. In line with the decision given by the Supreme Court on the draft bill on the security of online methods known as ‘Online Safety Bill’, and subsequent to being passed in…
