Mr. Nimal Bandara, the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Israel, says that they are getting information about the Sri Lankans who were on a plane to Israel that was diverted in the face of the barrage of missiles and drone attacks by Iran last night (13).

Flight FZ1625, belonging to Fly Dubai, was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv last night at 20.10. When the information about the airstrikes was revealed, the flight was diverted and flew to Dubai.

He said that there were Sri Lankans who were going to visit Israel and that information about them is being disclosed.

The Ambassador also said that Israel’s Iron Dome system was able to destroy all of them in the air even though Iran had targeted Israel with more than 500 shells and missiles last night (13).

The ambassador’s statement said that apart from an injury to a little girl, no one in Israel has been reported to have suffered an accident.

In view of the current situation, the time taken for the related journeys and the ticket fees have increased due to the fact that the flights that take place through Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, etc. countries bypass the region and travel to European countries through other routes.

Therefore, Mr. Nimal Bandara informs the people who have obtained air tickets to travel to the Middle East region and European countries to check their air tickets again.

He points out that there are delays in flights arriving and departing from Israel.

The Ambassador also recalled that on April 13, 2024, the Bakmaha festival was successfully held at the Ganshakar Stadium in Jerusalem with the participation of about two thousand Sri Lankans.

The ambassador further informs that all the Sri Lankans who came there had left for their residences after the Bakmaha celebration and that the Sri Lankan Embassy in Israel is constantly paying attention to the safety of the Sri Lankans here and not to create any unnecessary fear about their safety.

Meanwhile, the country’s news reports indicate that the Israeli army announced that Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel in this unprecedented attack on Israel yesterday.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that 99% of these missile and shell launches were intercepted and destroyed.

170 drones and 30 cruise missiles were shot down before reaching Israel, and some of the 110 ballistic missiles were intercepted. However, the reports also indicate that 12 people were injured.

The forces had also said that this was a major escalation of the long-running secret war between the regional enemies.

The Iranian president had stressed that any new aggression against Iran would be met with a heavy-handed response.

President Joe Biden has stated that America will not join any Israeli attack against Iran.

The Ministry of Cultural Affairs has started an investigation into the distortion of a Sinhala New Year song and its circulation on social media.

A theme song prepared for the New Year Festival held by Independent Television in 2014 has been distorted in this way, by substituting other words.

This investigation has been started on the instructions of the Minister of Cultural Affairs Mr. Vidura Wickramanayake.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs Mr. Somaratne Vidanapathirana stated that the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission was instructed to find out about the people who released the distorted song on social media and give a report.

Accordingly, the Secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs said that legal action will be taken against the people who distorted the song in question.

As mentioned above, the song ‘Thun Hele Hada’ was sung by Mr. Rohana Beddage, composed by Mr. Sahan Ranwala, written by Mr. Geeth Tharanga and composed by Mr. Sadeeptha Gunawardena with the contribution of the Ranwala Force.

The original song ‘Thun Hele Hada..’ is shown below.

The progression of nations, countries and the global community is propelled by the perpetual cycle of renewal, where innovative ideas are nurtured and novel creations come to fruition.

Embracing renewal in accordance with the traditional New Year, the calendar year, or the changing seasons, individuals across the globe find themselves revitalized, endowed with fresh opportunities for growth and advancement. Beneath the surface of these myriad renewals lies a fundamental truth; the paramount importance of social relationships and collective unity.

During the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, we engage in a profound renewal of self, centering our focus on nurturing bonds and fostering a sense of gregariousness. This emphasis on interpersonal bonds is the cornerstone of traditional New Year rituals observed across diverse cultures worldwide.

It is important to emphasize the significance of this pivotal point, particularly during the New Year festivities, as it serves as a poignant reminder of the essence of human connection and communal solidarity.

In the dawn of the New Year, social relations and solidarity emerge as fundamental pillars essential for steering our nation forward along the path of progress and prosperity. With this understanding in mind, I extend my heartfelt wishes for a joyous and fulfilling Sinhala and Tamil New Year.

Ranil Wickremesinghe,
President,
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

The Department of Meteorology has warned 15 districts of the risk of thunderstorms and lightning from this afternoon (12) to night.

In the Western, Southern, Sabaragamuwa, North and North-Western provinces and Monaragala district, there is a high possibility of strong lightning with isolated thundershowers during the evening or night.

Temporarily gusty winds may occur in those areas during thunderstorms.

People are kindly requested to take necessary measures to reduce the accidents caused by lightning.

Meteorologists advise people to follow the following instructions during thunderstorms.

During the trip to several schools in the Chilaw area, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa met with the Catholic pastors of the Chillaw area, including Rev. Dr. Wimalasiri Jayasundara, the archbishop of Chilaw, for three phases of the Sakwala program to provide smart classrooms. The meeting was held in the archbishop’s official residence.

There, there was a lengthy exchange of views between opposition leader Mr. Sajith Premadasa and Chilaw Archbishop Rev. Dr. Wimalasiri Jayasundara regarding the current situation in the country.

There, the opposition leader Mr. Sajith Premadasa promised before the Archbishop of Chillw that in order to do justice to the entire Sri Lankan people, including the Catholic people affected by the Easter attack, an impartial and independent investigation would be conducted under a Samagi Jana Balawega government and according to the law of the country, all parties responsible would be punished regardless of rank.

Also, opposition leader Mr. Sajith Premadasa further emphasized here that in order to conduct investigations in this regard, a more diverse and fair investigation will be conducted with the support of local and foreign security agencies.

There, Chilaw Archbishop Dr. Wimalasiri Jayasundara blessed opposition leader Mr. Sajith Premadasa for the success of his future political activities as well as his social mission.

On the occasion of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, the Commander of the Army Lt. Gen. Vikum Liyanage visited the Abimansala III Veterans’ Wellness Center in Pangolla to inquire about the well-being of the heroic war heroes who were rescued during the humanitarian operation for the unity of the motherland and are receiving residential treatment and rehabilitation.

The Army Commander visited the wards of the veterans undergoing residential treatment along with the officers and fellow officers to inquire about their well-being and presented them with special New Year gift parcels.

Simultaneously, the senior officers of the army came together to inquire about the well-being of the war heroes who are represented in all the war heroes’ wellness centers all over the island.

SriLankan Airlines, the exclusive ground operator at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), has initiated a phased upgrade of airport ground support equipment to accommodate the rising influx of flights and travellers transiting through the airport. Recently, the airline acquired three state-of-the-art passenger apron coaches, ensuring optimal comfort for passengers during transfers between the terminal and remote stands.

With airport traffic steadily increasing and nearing pre-pandemic levels, acquiring modern ground support equipment has become an urgent priority for SriLankan Airlines. This investment aims to ensure a seamless end-to-end travel experience for customers.

“It is an exciting time for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry; the number of visitors has doubled over the past year. We are delighted to introduce these modern apron coaches, along with other new ground support equipment, to our services at Colombo airport during this pivotal point. Our commitment to providing our passengers and the passengers of our customer airlines with a reliable and effortless travel experience remains steadfast, as does our dedication to supporting the national tourism strategy. With these incremental advancements, we anticipate substantial transformation in our operations,” stated Senior Manager Airport and Ground Services of SriLankan Airlines, Deepal Pallegangoda.

The passenger apron coaches, and ground support equipment were procured following a comprehensive and transparent competitive bidding procedure, consistent with all procurement exercises of the airline. The coaches, sourced from China International Marine Containers, represent the latest in comfort and technology. These operational enhancements will empower SriLankan Airlines to elevate both the standard of ground support services and the comfort of passengers at the airport.

Next Monday i.e. April 15th will be declared as a public holiday by the government.

This decision has been taken as the national hair oiling ritual of the Sinhala Tamil New Year falls on that day.

Rainy condition is expected to temporarily enhance over the island from tomorrow (11).

Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Eastern and Uva provinces and in Hambantota district. Showers or thundershowers will occur most places elsewhere over the island after 1.00 p.m.

Heavy showers about 100 mm are likely at some places in Western, Central, Sabaragamuwa and southern provinces.

General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

On the apparent northward relative motion of the sun, it is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka during 05th to 15th of April in this year. The nearest areas of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead tomorrow (11^th) are Baththalangunduwa, Medawachchiya, Horowpotana and Trincomalee at about 12:11 noon.

State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya says that if the country’s economy improves by next year, we can have optimistic hopes regarding the import of vehicles.

The reason for this is that the economy is moving in a good direction, the minister said while attending the opening of the Dematagoda outlet of the State Plantation Corporation (on the 9th).

Meanwhile, he also said that the program of providing 10 kilos of rice to 27 lakh families each for the months of April and May will start on the 21st.

Mr. Siyambalapitiya also said that more than half of the total number of families in Sri Lanka will receive this subsidy.

He said that an additional 13 billion rupees has been paid for the increase in government employee salaries, and accordingly, 107 billion rupees have been paid for government employee salaries for the month of April.

The Consumer Affairs Authority has taken steps to introduce a range of estimated retail prices for selected essential food items.

Accordingly, the authority has taken steps to release the price ranges of several foods once every week.

Accordingly, the price ranges for this week have been announced and those prices are shown below.

The government decides to raise the existing security deposit limits as per the provisions of the President’s Election Act, the Parliamentary Elections Act and the Provincial Council Elections Act.

That is after recognizing that it is appropriate to update the bail limits according to the current social, economic and political background.

The Council of Ministers approved the joint proposal presented by the Honorable President and the Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reform to prepare a bill to amend the relevant bail deposits as follows.

According to the President’s Election Act No. 15 of 1981, increasing the security deposit of a candidate from a recognized political party to 2.6 million rupees and the security deposit of an independent candidate to 3.1 million rupees.

According to the Parliamentary Elections Act No. 1 of 1981, increasing the security deposit of one candidate from a recognized political party to Rs.11,000/- and the security deposit of one candidate from an independent group to Rs.16,000/-.

According to the Provincial Council Polls Act No. 2 of 1988, increasing the security deposit of one candidate from a recognized political party to Rs.6,000/- and the security deposit of one candidate from an independent group to Rs.11,000/-.

The Election Commission says that the preparation of voter lists for this year will start from today (09).

Election Commissioner General Saman S Ratnayake said that if anyone has not been able to include their names in the voter list, they will have the opportunity to do so from today until May 6th.

To enter a name in this way into the voter list, they can visit the village service officer, the election office, or the election department’s website.

The Sri Lanka Postal Department says that a special service for the distribution of postal items will be implemented throughout the island during the long weekend holidays of Sinhala, Tamil New Years and Ramadan.

On April 12, post/sub-post offices across the island with distribution available will implement a special service of Cash-on-Delivery, Foreign Courier Service, and General Parcel Distribution, even though it is a public holiday.

Issuing an announcement, Postmaster General Mr. S.R. W. M. R. P. Sathkumara said this.

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has been appointed as the Acting Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

It is also reported that national organizer Duminda Dissanayake has been appointed as its acting secretary.

These appointments were made at the SLFP Political Committee meeting held today at the Sri Lanka Foundation, Colombo.

The special political committee meeting of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party was held under the chairmanship of Mr. Nimal Siripala De Silva, Senior Vice President of the party.

It was also reported that the former President and former Sri Lankan National Party leader Ms. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has also participated in this meeting.

Last week, the Colombo District Court issued an interim restraining order preventing former President Maithripala Sirisena from serving as the Sri Lankan National Party President.

This court order was issued according to a complaint filed by Mrs. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.

Cabinet approval was received for the Electricity Sector Reform Bill yesterday.

Electricity and Energy Minister Mr. Kanchana Wijesekera said that approval was also given to gazette the revised version of the new electricity sector bill and submit it to Parliament for approval.

The Bill is to be gazetted this week for submission to Parliament in the last week of April.

The public will have a period of 2 weeks from the date of its submission to Parliament to challenge the Bill.

A special politburo meeting of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party will be held today (08).

The meeting will be held at the Colombo Foundation and was called by the Senior Vice President of Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva.

Sri Lanka Freedom Party Treasurer and Minister of State Mr. Lasantha Alagiyawanna mentioned that the crisis that has arisen in the party will be discussed there.

Apart from that, many decisions will be taken regarding the future political situation, he said.

Recently, the court had ordered to issue an interim injunction preventing Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena from holding the office in relation to a petition filed by patroness of SLFP former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.

Based on the reconciliation of the parties, it has been seen that the party is facing a number of crises due to changes in positions, dismissals, appointments, etc. in the party recently.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Freedom Party Treasurer State Minister Mr. Lasantha Alagiyawanna said that he completely rejects the statements made regarding the misplacement of files at the party headquarters.

Speaking to the media, he said that he will also give a statement to the police regarding the complaint made by several people including the Acting General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party regarding the missing files.

He further claims that all parties of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party should act according to the decision given by the court.

Under the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project, a contribution of 120 MW is to be added to the national grid by the end of this month.

The Minister of Irrigation, Wildlife and Forestry, Ms. Pavithra Wanniarachchi, lawyer, stated that President Ranil Wickremesinghe has given instructions for the opening of the Uma Oya Multi-Purpose Development Project at the end of April.

The Minister stated this while attending a discussion held at the Ministry of Irrigation recently (05) to discuss the progress of the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project.

The Uma Oya Multipurpose Project was started in 2011, and the estimated cost is US$513 million.

The amount was supposed to be received as a loan aid from the Iranian government, but due to the fundamental problem affecting the Iranian government, the country’s economy suffered a severe crisis. As the first installment of US$ 50 million had already been received and the construction of this multi-purpose project had started, the work of the Uma Oya Multi-Purpose Project was continued on the basis of Sri Lanka’s treasury allocation without stopping midway.

Through the Uma Oya project, the Puhulpola and Diabara reservoirs will be dammed and the water stored there will be brought through a 23 km tunnel to two turbines located underground. By doing so, hydroelectricity is produced, and an electrical capacity of 120 megawatts is added to the national grid through this.

After power generation, the water is brought to Alikota Ara, Handapanagala, and Kuda Oya reservoirs. By doing so, 20,000 acres of old and new fields will be supplied with water for both the Yala and Maha seasons.

Through the Kirindi Oya basin, Uva Wellassa farmlands will be fertilized, and this will enable the drinking water needs of the people of Badulla and Monaragala districts to be met.