- Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has congratulated the President-elect of the United States Donald Trump. Congratulating Trump, President Dissanayake said that he looks forward to engaging with the new US administration to realize common objectives that benefit the people of Sri Lanka and the United States.
- The Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government says that there are more than 1,200 vacancies in several government executive services, including the Public Administration Service. The highest number of vacancies are in the Public Administration Service and Accountancy Service.
- Sri Lanka’s Cabinet Spokesman and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath says that certain officials appointed to the country’s Foreign Service on a political basis have been instructed to return to the island by December 01. Addressing the Cabinet press briefing , he claimed that the children and spouses of MPs and Ministers have also been directly appointed to positions below top diplomatic positions.
- Specialist Dr. Shafi Sihabdeen has been acquitted from all charges by the Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court. The case against Dr. Shafi, who had been accused of allegedly amassing assets through suspicious means, performing illegal sterilization surgeries and having links to terrorist activities, was taken up for hearing
- Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been named as a respondent of the writ petition filed with the Court of Appeal challenging the previous government’s decision to purchase passports from two foreign companies. Wickremesinghe has been named as a respondent of the relevant writ petition filed by Epic Lanka Private Limited, through a motion submitted by the petitioning party, when the petition was taken up before the two-member Appeals Court judge bench comprising Justices Mohammed Laffar and P. Kumaratnam
- The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Andrew Patrick has expressed eagerness to further strengthen the strong bilateral ties between Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. The British High Commissioner has proposed that steps be taken to educate Sri Lankan parliamentarians about the British parliamentary system to further enhance governance in Sri Lanka, while emphasizing the significance of the British local government system, noting its potential to reduce fraud and corruption.
- The Colombo Magistrate’s Court ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to carry out a full investigation into a false report published on the internet regarding the incumbent President during the recent presidential election. It is alleged that the report in question, published during the election period, had made false claims concerning the health of the incumbent President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
- Russia’s Azur Air has officially resumed its seasonal winter flights to Sri Lanka, with the first flight arriving at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake. The inaugural flight arrived at the BIA at 10:05 a.m. this morning, carrying 332 passengers.
- Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya recently met with key figures from the International Cricket Council (ICC) Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), including Mr. Sumathi Dharmawardena, President’s Counsel and the newly appointed Independent Chair of the ICC’s ACU and Mr. Alex Marshall, General Manager of the ICC Integrity Unit.
- The Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee has selected the following squads to take part in the upcoming Sri Lanka ‘A’ Tour of Pakistan. During the tour, Sri Lanka will play two four-day games and three one-day games. The team will leave for Pakistan on November 7, 2024
