Govt’s pre-poll development drive met with stiff resistance from Election Commission

The government had decided to provide USD 25 million for the Smart Climate Irrigated Agriculture Project (SCIAP) for this year in many difficult districts through this project, Agriculture and Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.

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Astronomers have searched for years for rocky planets beyond our solar system with an atmosphere - a trait considered essential for any possibility of harboring life. Well, they finally seem to have located one. But this hellish planet - apparently with a surface of molten rock - offers no hope for habitability.

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A 32-year-old club dancer who attempted to smuggle a stock of Kush worth Rs. 500 million into the country was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) yesterday by the officers of the Police Narcotics Division.

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The former head of the Spanish football federation, Luis Rubiales, will stand trial for sexual assault over his unsolicited kissing of Women’s World Cup player Jenni Hermoso.

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Claiming that Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa must take full responsibility over the issues faced by the country, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said today that if Premadasa had taken up the premiership on April 10, there would have been no issues.

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Sri Lanka is slated to achieve a three percent economic growth while inflation has dropped to 1.5 percent by going along on a challenging and correct path, President Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament today.

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Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane announced in Parliament that a Parliamentary seat has fell vacant after the Supreme Court ruled that Diana Gamage is ineligible to be an MP.

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Following the successful acquisition of Liptons East African Tea Plantations across Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania, Browns has solidified its position as the world’s largest tea producer.

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Coral reefs in the sea around Sri Lanka risk die-offs if the current marine heat level persists for another one month or so, a top scientist said yesterday.

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There is no legal barrier for the non-citizens to register a political party, Former Chairman of Elections Commission Mahinda Deshapriya said yesterday.

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Another court case with regard to Diana Gamage is on the cards as anyone could file another court case calling the Supreme Court to declare whether Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MPs could remain in Parliament as per yesterday’s judgement, Minister Kanchana Wijesekera told Parliament yesterday.

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Plans are underway to introduce legislation in Parliament, which would ensure that all government policies focus on the transformation to a highly competitive export-oriented economy, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

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The government must fully digitalise the services offered by the border agencies, including Sri Lanka Customs, to ensure paperless trade, which will facilitate exports and bring down the cost of living.

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Following discussions with vehicle importers, the government is focused on resuming vehicle imports in four stages, Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.

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A retired Army Major General and a former Army Sergeant have been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department on charges of trafficking ex-military personnel to conflict zones in Ukraine.

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The former Chief Executive Officer of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) Dr. Vijith Gunasekera has been arrested.

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A 54-year-old man was shot dead by two unidentified men who arrived on a motorcycle and opened fire in Bogahapitiya, Ahungalla tonight.

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A Sri Lankan has been remanded in Malta on Tuesday after being charged with the rape of his ex-girlfriend.

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Leg-spinner Viyaskanth Vijayakanth was handed his Indian Premier League debut today after he was named in the Sunrisers Hyderabad playing XI against the Lucknow Super Giants.

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Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security along with Controller General of the Department of Immigration and Emigration have been summoned before the Committee on Public Finance tomorrow, CoPF Chairman Dr. Harsha De Silva said today.

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Following the deaths of two inmates at the Magazine Prison allegedly after consuming a parcel of rice containing pork curry, the Department of Prisons has announced an internal investigation into the incident.

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Following the Grama Niladhari examination conducted till December 2, 2023, a total of 2,100 letters were issued to new recruits appointed to Grama Niladhari positions.

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The OIC of the Anti-Vice Unit of the Medawachchiya police, who had been arrested by the CID for allegedly assaulting a young truck driver and which resulted in a surgery to remove his testicle, was produced before the Medawachchiya Magistrate Nimesha Dharmadasa and remanded till May 15.

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The government has provided a plot of land to a government MP at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to operate a jet fuel storage facility, Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara revealed today.

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AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a ’’surplus of available updated vaccines’’ since the pandemic.

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No airline in the world is making any profits and it is a situation inherent to all airlines, Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said today.

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Australia said on Wednesday it would raise the amount of savings international students will need to get a visa and warned several colleges of fraudulent student recruitment practices, as part of efforts to rein in record migration.

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Underscoring Emirates’ commitment to boost tourism inflows across its network, the airline has reaffirmed its strategic cooperation with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.

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The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) will hold a discussion shortly to decide on who will fill the national list slot that has fallen vacant as a result of the Supreme Court decision that Diana Gamage cannot function as an MP as she is not a citizen of Sri Lanka, party General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said today.

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The Supreme Court has ruled that State Minister Diana Gamage does not meet the legal qualifications necessary to hold a parliamentary seat.

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Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has filed a Fundamental Rights Petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the appointment of Kanishka Wijeratne as the Director General (DG) of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

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The remark made by National People’s Power (NPP) strongman K. D. Lalkantha at the recent May Day rally that a future NPP government will decentralize judicial powers to its cadres at village level, triggered a flare up in Parliament with both the ruling party and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) launching a verbal attack on MP Harini Amarasuriya.

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In light of emerging reports detailing the involvement of Sri Lankan veterans in foreign mercenary forces, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Shavendra Silva has issued a heartfelt plea to his fellow veterans, urging them to resist the allure of mercenary service.

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Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu hit a sensational hundred to set up a big win in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier final against Scotland.

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Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) founder Basil Rajapaksa reasserted yesterday that his party still believes the general election should precede the presidential elections but President Ranil Wickremesinghe has a contrasting stand, according to an informed source of the party.

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In the wake of perplexities surrounding the issuance of the on-arrival visa issuance at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), the Government is mulling to overhaul the visa issuance process, Daily Mirror learns.

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