News

Two Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIGs) and two Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) have been transferred and given new appointments, the National Police Commission announced.

The transfers have been made with the approval of the Election Commission and are effective immediately.

The Third Reading of the 2025 Budget was passed in Parliament with amendments by a majority of 114 votes this evening (21).

A total of 159 members voted in favour while 45 parliamentarians voted against the inaugural budget of the NPP government.

The vote on the Third Reading of the budget for the financial year 2025 took place at 7.45 p.m. this evening (21) following the President’s speech.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, presented the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill for the year 2025 (Budget Speech) to the Parliament on the February 17.

From February 18 to 25, the debate on the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill (Budget) was held for seven days.

Accordingly, the Committee Stage debate was held for 19 days from February 27 until today (March 21).

Meanwhile, President Dissanayake arrived in Parliament this evening to participate in the final day of the Third Reading debate on the 2025 Budget and delivered a special statement before the vote on the budget.

Deshabandu Tennakoon has been granted permission by the Department of Prisons to consume food brought from home.

This follows a request made by him.

Meanwhile, Prisons Spokesperson Gamini B. Dissanayake said that, considering his request for enhanced security, Deshabandu Tennakoon has been placed in a suitable location within the prison.

The Matara Magistrate's Court recently ordered that he be remanded until the 3rd of April.

He is currently being held at the Dumbara Prison in Pallekele.

The Commissioner General of Elections, Saman Sri Ratnayake, says that the nominations process for the 2025 Local Government Elections was conducted across 25 districts from March 17 to 12 noon yesterday (20).

According to the Election Commissioner General, nominations were accepted for a total of 336 local government institutions.

Nearly 2,900 groups are contesting the elections, with around 2,260 of these representing political parties.

Additionally, he stated that of the total nominations submitted, nearly 425 have been rejected.

Commenting further, Saman Sri Ratnayake explained that nominations are reviewed by a Nomination Board.

“Nomination papers must be submitted in accordance with Section 28 of the Act. Based on this legal framework, the Nomination Board rejects any submission that fails to meet the required criteria. Each rejected group is then informed in writing about the reasons for the rejection,” he stated.

The Ministry of Education has warned the public against a fake announcement being circulated on social media regarding the 2025 G.C.E. O/L Science examination paper.

The false statement, which misuses the names of the Ministry and the Department of Examinations, claims that the Science paper was leaked and restructured, and that all candidates will be awarded 08 extra marks, with grading thresholds reduced by 10 marks.

The Ministry has confirmed that no such decision has been made and that all official announcements are only issued to registered media outlets via the Ministry’s Media Unit with proper authorization and official letterheads.

The public is urged not to be misled by such false information.

Matara Magistrate Aruna Indrajith Buddhadasa today ordered legal action against individuals who aided and abetted suspended Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon in evading arrest.

The decision follows a Court of Appeal ruling that strongly condemned Tennakoon’s actions.

On March 17, the Court of Appeal dismissed Tennakoon’s writ petition seeking to prevent the execution of an arrest order issued by the Matara Magistrate’s Court in connection with a shooting incident.

The court then directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to take immediate steps to arrest Tennakoon and present him before the court.

Tennakoon was wanted over a 2023 shooting incident near a hotel in Weligama, involving officers from the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD), Weligama Police, and the Special Task Force.

The incident resulted in the death of a CCD officer and injuries to another, with investigations alleging Tennakoon’s involvement.

A warrant for his arrest was issued on February 28, 2025, along with an international travel ban. Despite this, he evaded capture, prompting the launch of a joint-special operation to capture Tennakoon.

(Newswire)

Printing of ballot papers for the local government elections has commenced.

The Election Commission said that by this afternoon, ballot papers for 20 local government institutions had been sent to the Department Of Government Printing.

Meanwhile, the acceptance of nominations for the Mannar, Poonakary, and Dehiattakandiya Pradeshiya Sabhas will begin tomorrow.

Nominations will be accepted until 12 noon on the 27th March, while the deadline for depositing bonds for these Pradeshiya Sabhas is 12 noon on the 26th March.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and Attorney-at-Law Buddika Manathunga has resigned from his position as the Police Media Spokesman, Ada Derana reported.

According to reports, Manathunga has submitted his resignation letter citing personal reasons to Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Priyantha Weerasooriya.

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has expressed gratitude to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Health Minister for addressing their demands through a budget amendment proposed during the third reading.

Speaking to the media, GMOA spokesman Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe stated that the solution, which aligns with the association’s initial request, does not impose any additional financial burden on the state. Instead, doctors have agreed to contribute one-third of their additional duty and holiday payments for the country’s benefit.

Initially, as part of the budget proposals, doctors’ basic salaries were increased, but the payment rates for additional duty and holiday work were reduced to 1/120 per hour and 1/30 per day. Unhappy with this revision, the GMOA held a series of discussions with the authorities to negotiate a more favorable solution.

Following these discussions, the government has agreed in principle to maintain the previous calculation—1/80 of the basic salary per hour for additional duty and 1/20 per day for holiday work—while paying only two-thirds of the amount, considering the country’s economic challenges.

The GMOA emphasized that the issue was resolved through a flexible, discussion-based approach, leading to a positive outcome for medical professionals.

The 2025 Local Government Election will take place on the 6th of May 2025, announced the National Election Commission on Thursday (20).

The submission of nominations for the local government elections concluded today at 12 noon.

The process of accepting nominations began on the 17th at 8:30 AM.

Around 40 people have been injured in a bus accident in Halagala, Warakapola along the Colombo-Kandy road.

Police said that the accident occurred when two SLTB buses, one travelling from Colombo to Kandy and the other travelling from Kandy to Colombo collided with each other.

The injured people have been admitted to Warakapola Hospital.

A spokesperson for the Warakapola Hospital said that one of them in critical condition was transferred to the Kegalle Hospital.

A container truck transporting beer bottles has met with an accident on the Colombo-Ratnapura main road in the Meennana area in Eheliyagoda, completely blocking the road.

Heavy traffic congestion has been reported in the area due to the incident, said Ada Derana reporter.

A large number of beer bottles have fallen on the road and shattered after the container truck reportedly toppled while taking a bend.