The Police sergeant who was assaulted during a clash at Kebithigollewa area recently has died last (31) night.
The clash was spawned as several Police officers of the Kebithigollewa Police Station were heading towards the scene following a report of a woman being killed by a wild elephant attack.
As the Police arrived at the location, about 100 people had blocked the road, leading to a tense situation.
The Police officers were assaulted by those who were wielding clubs at the scene. The Police fired shots in the air to dissolve the clash, but a Police sergeant who was assaulted by the crowd sustained injuries.
He was admitted to the Kebithigollewa Hospital and later transferred to the Anuradhapura Hospital, after which the sergeant succumbed to his injuries later to be pronounced dead, Police said.
The deceased Police sergeant was a 54-year old resident of Wariyapola.
Four suspects including a Buddhist monk were arrested.
Due to a low-level atmospheric disturbance in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, showery condition is expected to continue further, the Department of Meteorology warned in a statement today (01).
Showers or thundershowers will occur over most parts of the Island during the afternoon or night.
Showers will occur in Northern, Western and North-western provinces and in Galle and Matara districts during the morning.
Heavy showers above 150mm can be expected at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western, Uva and Northern provinces and Heavy showers above 100mm can be expected at elsewhere.
General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimise damages caused by temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Marine Weather:
Condition of Rain:
Showers or thundershowers will occur several places in the sea areas around the island.
Winds:
Winds will be north-westerly to westerly in direction. Wind speed will be (20-30) kmph. Wind speed may increase up to 50 kmph at times in the sea areas off the coast extending from Puttalam to Trincomalee via Kankasanturai and Mullaitivu.
State of Sea:
The sea areas off the coast extending from Puttalam to Trincomalee via Kankasanturai and Mullaitivu will be fairly rough at times. The other sea areas around the island will be slight. There is a higher chance of the occurrence of thundershowers in the sea areas off the coast extending from Batticaloa to Colombo via Trincomalee, Kankasanturai, and Puttalam due to the development of low-level atmospheric disturbance in the vicinity of Sri Lanka. Therefore, naval and fishing communities are requested to be vigilant during the activities in the aforementioned sea areas since there can be temporarily strong gusty winds and very rough seas during thundershowers.
The person who was collided with the jeep of State Minister Sanath Nishantha and hospitalised due to sustaining serious injuries several weeks ago has reportedly died.
The deceased was a 45-year old father of two.
The victim was travelling on his bicycle in Puttalam area on October 15 when he hit the Minister’s jeep.
Due to sustaining injuries from the accident, the victim was admitted to the Base Hospital of Puttalam and later transferred to the Teaching Hospital of Kurunegala as his condition was revealed to be critical.
Minister Nishantha was reportedly present inside the vehicle at the time of the accident and the driver was arrested by the Police.
The grace period given to public servants on the Official Language Policy of Sri Lanka through which they are required to master the languages they lack practice has been extended to 16.10.2024 from 16.10.2023.
The move has been made as per a recent Cabinet decision.
Below is the State Administration circular issued in this regard:
President Ranil Wickremesinghe says Sri Lanka has a very competitive tea industry: also says it needs to be modernized.
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena signs the 21st Amendment to the Constitution.
Department of Census and Statistics says the overall rate of inflation as per CCPI on Y-o-Y basis has decreased to 66% in Oct 2022 from 69.8% in Sep 2022: Food inflation down to 85.6% from 94.9%: transport inflation dips to 144.2% from 150.4%.
SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa says SLPP will support President Wickremasinghe although they are in separate political parties: admits differences when considering policies: explains the two sides will try to meet halfway to fulfil the needs of people in the country.
SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella says his party is demanding a Parliamentary Election: says the current Government is well past its expiry date: points out that many MPs have left their fold and now to sit with the Opposition instead.
SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage says the SLA plans to earn USD 600 mn from the sale of stakes of SriLankan Catering Ltd. and the airline’s ground handling unit: hopes to thereby reduce SLA’s debt by half.
Ministries of Transport and Energy together launch website www.wptaxi.lk to register passenger transport Three-wheelers in the Western Province for the 10 Litre weekly fuel quota.
Police fire gunshots onto the air to disperse a crowd during a tense situation in Rambakepuwewa, Kebithigollewa in Anuradhapura: one Police officer injured.
Ministry of Finance admits the new 2.5% Social Security Contribution Levy will apply to all State-owned utility service providers including CEB, CPC and NWSDB: levy likely to be passed to the consumer.
Softlogic Stockbrokers Head of Research Mahesh Udugampola says corporate earnings expected to rise 30% YoY in 2022, down from the 80% increase in 1H22: predicts corporate earnings would reduce by 20-25% in 2023.
On the 18th of October, a training was organised for the leaders of farmers organisations and cooperatives who are attached to the 8 collective businesses, incubated with the guidance and assistance of SEFEC, under the Farmers for Asia (Suhuru Govi) project.
The objective of the training was to educate the leaders about the policy and regulatory context within which they would have to operate their businesses and the challenges and way forward as small holder farmers in the current economic crisis.
The training was held at Samanmal hotel with the attendance of 50 people, representing two districts of Southern province, Hambanthota and Mathara. Mr. Chinthaka Rajapaksa, Mr. Chaminda Paragodaaarachchi, Mr. Shantha Devapriya, Mr. Siriweera Nikathenna and and Ms. Smadani Kiriwandeniya were resource persons of the training.
The training was organised by Mr. Sisira Chaminda, the Enterprise Development Officer of SANASA international.
Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States, concurrently accredited to Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago Mahinda Samarasinghe met with Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Ambassador Luis Almagro, on Friday, 28 October 2022, at the Organization’s Headquarters in Washington DC. He presented letters of credence as a permanent observer to the Organization, one of 71 countries with this status. During the interaction with the Secretary-General (a former Ambassador, Foreign Minister and Senator from Uruguay), the Sri Lankan Ambassador briefed him on the steps being taken by the Government of Sri Lanka to overcome the present economic challenges and the progress achieved to date.
The Ambassador adverted to Sri Lanka’s relative lack of resident diplomatic representation in OAS countries with only four Missions operating in the 35 member states (United States, Canada, Brazil and Cuba). He inquired of the Secretary-General if Sri Lanka could use the good offices of the OAS to expand and strengthen ties with the other states, to which the response was encouraging and positive.
The potential for further enhancing trade with OAS countries was also mentioned during the discussion. The Secretary-General welcomed such initiatives. Ambassador Almagro was also invited to visit Sri Lanka and the Secretary-General responded positively to the proposal.
Permanent Observers attend the public meetings of the OAS General Assembly and the Permanent Council and of their principal committees and, when invited by the relevant presiding officer, the closed meetings of those bodies. They also receive the documents and publications of the Organization and are invited to attend specialized conferences and other meetings convoked by the OAS. The Permanent Observers provide cooperation, in the form of training opportunities, expert services, equipment, and cash contributions for various OAS programs. OAS cooperation with Permanent Observers includes: financial contributions dedicated to particular projects and priority areas; technical assistance, professional training opportunities, and sharing of best practices; as well as academic scholarships.
Among the main benefits accruing from Permanent Observer status are: The OAS offers a unique forum to strengthen relations with all Member States in one place and can serve as an effective cooperation facilitator, in particular for Permanent Observers that do not have a presence in all countries of the Western Hemisphere. As the main political forum for the convening of government authorities and stakeholders at the Inter-American level, Permanent Observers benefit from a more effective direct engagement and visibility among OAS Member States. In-depth knowledge of country needs, in particular of smaller countries and regions at the sub-national level where Permanent Observers may not have a direct diplomatic relationship or presence. The OAS presence with national offices in the entire Hemisphere allows Permanent Observers to interact at the local level through their Embassies.
Officers of the OAS Headquarters and diplomatic staff of the Embassy of Sri Lanka also were associated in the meeting.
All tri service members who have been absent without leave (AWOL) by 25 October 2022 or before that date can receive a legal discharge from their respective services under a general amnesty period declared by Ministry of Defence (MOD), effective from 15 November 2022, an MOD Media Release stated.
The general amnesty period ends on 31 December 2022 and those absentees before their discharge should settle any dues repayable to their respective service. The period of general amnesty will be in force from 15 November 2022 until 31 December 2022, the Release added.
Under the aegis of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Jordan, an MoU between SLASSCOM and INT@J was signed on 27 October, 2022. The MoU signing took place virtually between Chairman Ashique M. Ali on behalf of the Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Company (SLASSCOM) and Chairman Amjad Swais for INT@J in the presence of Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Jordan Shanika Dissanayake, CEO of INT@J Nidal Bitar and the membership of both Associations.
Under the terms of the MoU both parties will mutually collaborate to explore opportunities and investments and to maximize the outreach for networking for the ICT/BPM companies in their respective Associations. SLASSCOM under the guidance of its Chairman Ashique Ali will be hosting the B to B sessions shortly in order to maximize on potential areas for collaboration that are expected to open up for Sri Lankan software companies through this MoU.
Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Jordan Shanika Dissanayake stated that the signing of the MoU will open up avenues for the members in both SLASSCOM and INT@J to enter the entrepreneurial eco systems in Sri Lanka and Jordan. As digital transformation is a key pillar towards improving a business environment and attracting foreign investment, the MoU is expected to stimulate creativity in the different verticals of the software industry, particularly for Sri Lanka.
In the existence of many career opportunities for Sri Lankans at the Construction Sector in Saudi Arabia, the Foreign Employment Bureau of Sri Lanka has initiated a programme to gather information on qualified Sri Lankans who are expecting of receiving professional career opportunities in large-scale construction projects in the Middle-East country.
Accordingly, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Saudi Arabia and the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau are planning to hold negotiations with the Saudi authorities in this regard.
These career opportunities include vacancies for architects, engineers and quantity surveyors, and eligible Sri Lankans, accordingly, have been encouraged by the Bureau to visit the ‘Identification of Qualified Professionals for the Construction Sector in KSA‘ web portal, by visiting the Bureau’s official website, www.slbfe.lk before November 05, 2022 and to provide details.
