Colombo (LNW): The Bogala Graphite Mine in Kegalle, one of the oldest graphite mines in the country, welcomed Sri Lanka’s fist ever ‘underground dining experience,’ Ada Derana reported.
The new underground restaurant has the capacity to accommodate fifteen (15) guests at a time for its dining experience.
Given the disconnection from the surface, the new restaurant facility has been provided free wifi connection for its diners.
The Bogala Graphite Mine is 127 metres below the ground level, and the new underground restaurant is operated by Bogala Graphite Lanka, a processing and exporting company with over 150 years of experience.
First ‘underground’ dining experience launched at Bogala Graphite Mine
Sri Lanka’s first ‘underground’ dining experience was launched at the Bogala Graphite Mine 127m below ground-level, with an accommodating capacity of upto 15 persons at a time#lka#SriLanka#AdaDerana… pic.twitter.com/3v19RgcHhe
Colombo (LNW): Six persons including two women were arrested by the Crimes Unit of the Jaffna Police for allegedly beating a 52-year-old man to death in Kopay, Jaffna.
The deceased was assaulted for sexually abusing a nine-year-old, who is identified as the daughter of one of the suspects, Police said quoting the arrestees.
The deceased was initially assaulted with clubs, after which the brother of one of the women suspects had arrived at the scene with a group of others, and repeatedly assaulted him, Police added.
Thereafter, the deceased was thrown into a well having tied his feet.
The arrestees have been identified as residents of Kopay, Arsadi and Sithankeni.
The suspects are to be produced before the Jaffna Magistrate Court later today (14).
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) lawmaker Chandima Weerakkody has been appointed as the President of the Sri Lanka – United Kingdom Parliamentary Friendship Association recently (08).
The meeting to elect office bearers for the Sri Lanka – United Kingdom Parliamentary Friendship Association of the Ninth Parliament was held at the Parliament under the chairmanship of Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana.
Acting High Commissioner of United Kingdom in Sri Lanka Lisa Whanstall was present at the meeting as the Chief Guest. Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakse, Ministers and Members of Parliament and the Secretary General of the Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera were also present.
State Minister Diana Gamage and MPs S.M.M. Muszhaaraff and Ashok Abeysinghe were appointed as the Vice Presidents of the Friendship Association. MP M. A. Sumanthiran was appointed as Secretary, MP Harshana Rajakaruna, as Assistant Secretary, and MP Sagara Kariyawasam as Treasurer.
Speaking at this occasion, Speaker Abeywardana said he would like to express his gratitude for all the support given to Sri Lanka through the bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom for seven decades. Furthermore, he also expressed gratitude for providing opportunities for MPs and Parliamentary staff through seminars, workshops and study tours through the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD).
Addressing those present the Acting High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Sri Lanka, Mrs. Whanstall said that the United Kingdom is happy to support Sri Lanka through multilateral organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB) and the United Nations (UN) to overcome the economic crisis.
Also, she added that she is ready to work with other lenders and the Government of Sri Lanka to restore debt sustainability.
New President of the SL-UK Parliamentary Weerakkody, who spoke at the meeting expressed his gratitude for appointing him as president. The Ruling Party lawmaker also stated that through this he hopes to further strengthen and develop the relations between the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka.
Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) indicates a slight fluctuation – both appreciation and depreciation – against the US Dollar today (14) in comparison to last week, as revealed by the official exchange rates released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).
Accordingly, the buying price of the US Dollar has increased to Rs. 313.78 from Rs. 313.99, and the selling price has dropped to Rs. 326.88 from Rs. 326.95.
Today’s figures are compared with that of last Friday (11).
The Sri Lankan Rupee also indicates a slight appreciation against several foreign currencies, including Gulf currencies.
Colombo (LNW): The Polish border guard’s attempts to crack down on illegal migration from Belarus to Poland ended up in apprehending 160 people, among whom were Sri Lankans, Sky News reported.
Quoting border officials, Polish media is reporting that 160 people tried to cross into Poland yesterday (13), including citizens of Somalia, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka.
They added that three Ukrainian nationals were also arrested for trying to help four Syrian and three Bangladeshi citizens into Poland.
According to Sky News Report, more than 500 people have been detained already this year for assisting illegal border crossings.
Yesterday’s figures fit into a picture that Polish officials have been painting for weeks, suggesting that crossings have rocketed this year.
The head of the border guard says 19,000 people have tried to cross the border illegally since January – up from 16,000 in all of last year.
The surge caused officials to ask the Polish government for 1,000 troops to secure the border earlier this week. Warsaw ended up sending double that amount on Wednesday, “to stem illegal crossings and maintain stability”.
Colombo (LNW): More than 170,000 (171,781) people living in over 50,000 (51,641) families have severely been affected by the prevailing dry weather conditions, a situation report by the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) of Sri Lanka disclosed.
These families are living in 13 districts and a majority of them are from the Sabaragamuwa, Eastern, North-Western, Northern, Uva and Southern Provinces, the report pointed out.
The affectees have been subject to drinking water scarcity due to prevailing dry weather, the DMC report added.
Meanwhile, the Public Health Inspectors’ (PHI) Association cautioned about a potential upsurge in the spread of Leptospirosis, also known as “rat fever”, amidst the ongoing dry weather conditions.
Colombo (LNW): Former Sri Lankan Cricketer Sachithra Senanayake who is subject to allegation of ‘match-fixing’ at the Lanka Premier League (LPL) in 2020 will be facing an overseas travel ban as ordered by the Colombo Magistrate Court today (14).
The Attorney General’s Office yesterday (13) instructed the Special Investigation Unit of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs to file criminal charges against the ex cricketer on the allegation of match-fixing with the presence of sufficient evidence.
Senanayake is accused of approaching two cricketers participating in the first edition of the LPL in 2020 via phone calls from Dubai, instigating them to ‘fix’ matches during the tournament, and reports thereafter stormed across the media that the ex cricketer was of corrupt cricket practices.
The LPL in which Senanayake was allegedly involved in match-fixing was held from November 27 to December 17, 2020 in Hambantota.
Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) happens to remain steady against the US Dollar as revealed by leading commercial banks in the country today (14), in comparison to last week.
At Peoples Bank, the buying and selling prices of the US Dollar remain unchanged at Rs. 311.42 and Rs. 326.74, respectively.
At Commercial Bank, the buying and selling prices of the US Dollar remain unchanged at Rs. 309.78 and Rs. 325, respectively.
Sampath Bank also provides similar indication that the buying and selling prices of the US Dollar remain steady at Rs. 315 and Rs. 327, respectively.
Colombo (LNW): A total of 217,000 objections have been received regarding the implementation of the ‘Aswesuma’ Welfare Benefit Scheme, announced the Welfare Benefit Board.
As of now, these objections are being examined commencing from Monday (14), and the Welfare Benefit Board has already instructed the District Secretaries and Divisional Secretaries to initiate the investigations into the objections.
The objections concerning the Aswesuma Welfare Benefit Scheme are to be meticulously reviewed and processed within a period of five days, the Board noted.
Meanwhile, the examination process will also extend to the review of 800,000 appeals that have been submitted regarding the scheme.
Colombo (LNW): Eleven (11) development projects initiated by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) are currently stalled due to inter-agency conflicts within the government, disclosed the Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development.
A sum of approximately Rs. 2,531 million had been invested in these projects, said Committee Chief MP Ajith Mannapperuma.
In the backdrop, the people are ultimately losing out on the anticipated benefits that these development projects were ought to deliver, the Sri Lankan lawmaker lamented.
