The Department of Meteorology has released a weather report, stating that the sun will be directly over Sri Lanka’s latitudes from today, 5th April until 15th April. The department has provided details on the apparent northward relative motion of the sun and indicated that the sun will be directly over a few areas in Sri Lanka at noon today.

Thalpe, Walipitiya, and Thihagoda are the nearest areas to Sri Lanka where the sun will be overhead today at around 12:13 noon. Along with this information, the department has also predicted showers or thundershowers in several places in the Uva, Central, Southern, Sabaragamuwa, Western, North-Western, and North-Central provinces, as well as the Mannar and Vavuniya districts during the afternoon or night.

The Met Department has warned that some areas may experience fairly heavy showers above 50mm, and a few showers may occur in the Anuradhapura, Vavuniya, and Mannar districts during the morning. It has requested the public to take adequate precautions to prevent damage caused by temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

Furthermore, the department has predicted that showers or thundershowers will occur in several places in the sea areas off the coast extending from Mannar to Hambantota via Puttalam, Colombo, Galle, and Matara during the evening or night. Wind speed is expected to be (20-30) kmph, and winds will be south-easterly to south-westerly. The sea areas around the island will be slight. However, the department has warned that temporarily strong gusty winds and very rough seas may occur during thundershowers.

The Department of Meteorology is urging the public to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions during this period of direct sunlight and anticipated rain.

Hon. Speaker announced that the Ballot Papers used in the secret ballot to elect a Member of Parliament to the office of President has been destroyed

Hon. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana, Speaker of Parliament stated that the Ballot Papers used in the secret ballot to elect a Member of Parliament to the office of President on the 20.07.2022 has been destroyed.
The Speaker announced that the Ballots were destroyed by the Secretary-General of Parliament following the procedure in terms of the provisions of Section 18 of the said Act and with the approval of the Committee on Parliamentary Business held on 24.03.2023.

1. Apparel industry insiders say buyers’ orders have dropped by a massive 20-25%: also say the industry is facing tough times as it’s biggest players operate at half-capacity while some factories have closed.
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference urge the Govt to uphold the Constitution and ensure democracy: asks to desist from interfering with the independence of the Judiciary: says to preserve freedom of speech & expression of all citizens.
3. CPC says the existing fuel quota has been increased for the New Year festive season as follows: 3-wheeler quota from 5L to 8L, Motorcycles from 4L to 7L, Buses from 40L to 60L, Cars from 20L to 30L, Land Vehicles from 15L to 25L, Lorries from 50L to 75L, Quadric Cycles from 4L to 6L, Special Purpose Vehicles from 20L to 30L and Vans from 20L to 30L.
4. Supreme Court declares many clauses of the proposed Central Bank Bill as being inconsistent with the Constitution: directs Parliament to amend 39 clauses: one of the Petitioners against the proposed Bill Ms Jehan Hameed says the SC Order has ensured continued Parliamentary control of the nation’s finances.
5. Central Bank says it’s gross official reserve including the SWAP facility from PBOC of USD 1.4bn, has risen to USD 2.7bn at end-Mar’23: IMF says Sri Lanka’s external debt due but not paid as at end-Dec’22 was USD 3.0bn: Monetary Board maintains policy interest rates at current levels of 15.5% and 16.5%.
6. LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index regains some lost ground to register 72 points: however, it’s still 60 points lower than the level prevailing an year ago of 132 and 52 points below the all-time average of 124 points.
7. Centre for Environmental Justice Senior Scientist Hemantha Withanage says Sri Lanka may lose compensation of around USD 10bn for the MV X- Press Pearl disaster, if the Govt does not take legal action within the next 45 days: also says a new report has found heavy pollution in the marine environment around the shipwreck.
8. State Ministry of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and Covid Disease Control Secretary Dr. Amal Harsha de Silva says former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s involvement in Covid-control made it difficult for those engaged in it to function to their fullest capacity.
9. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says it is laughable that the Govt is trying to “buy over” SJB MPs by giving them Rs.20 mn each: asserts SJB MPs will never betray the masses: a few days ago, some media reports claimed that former Ministers Harsha de Silva, Kabir Hashim and Eran Wickremaratne were planning to cross over to the Govt.
10. Indian Premier League (IPL) side “Gujarat Titans” acquires Sri Lanka’s ODI and T20I Captain Dasun Shanaka in place of New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, who was injured a few days ago.

 K.B.K. Hirimburegama, a retired High Court Judge, was sworn in as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman) in the presence of President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat this afternoon (04).

The appointment was made with immediate effect by the President under Article 156(2) of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Section 3(1) of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration Act No. 17 of 1981.

Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake was also present on this occasion.

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): The existing fuel quota will be increased with effect from midnight today (04), revealed Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara.

The move comes in for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season.

As previously planned, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) has ordered and procured the necessary stocks of fuel for the increased quota, the Minister noted.

He added that the Three Wheel (Special) category – registered taxis, have been allocated extra fuel allocations.

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): Private LP gas vendor LAUGFS has announced that it will reduce the prices of domestic gas cylinders with effect from midnight today (04).

Accordingly;

• The price of a 12.5 kg domestic gas cylinder will be slashed by Rs. 1,290 and it will be sold for Rs. 3,990.
• The price of a 5 kg gas cylinder will be slashed by Rs. 516 and the new price will be Rs. 1,596.

The decision comes in following the announcement of the state vendor LITRO on slashing LP gas prices.