Author: Buzzer Editorial

The National Transport Commission (NTC) has announced that the annual bus fare revision will come into effect from today (04).Director General of the NTC, Naomi Jayawardena, stated that bus fares have been reduced by 0.55% in accordance with the annual revision.However, the Commission noted that the minimum fare of Rs. 27, as well as the second and third lowest fares of Rs. 35 and Rs. 45 respectively, will remain unchanged.From the fourth fare band onward, adjustments will be implemented, she said. Accordingly, fares such as Rs. 56, 77, 87, 117, 136, and 141 will be reduced by Rs. 1. Other selected…

A new VAT refund counter for tourists was declared open today (July 4, 2025) at the Bandaranaike International Airport by Minister of Industries and Enterprise Development Sunil Handunnetti and Deputy Minister of Finance and Labour Anil Jayanta.This initiative, implemented under a policy approval submitted to the President on March 14, 2025, by the National Gem and Jewellery Authority and the Ministry of Industries, allows tourists who have stayed in Sri Lanka for more than 90 days and spent over Rs. 50,000 on VAT to claim a refund.The service aims to encourage tourists to purchase locally made products and streamline VAT…

President Donald Trump said Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals.Acknowledging the complexity of negotiating with over 170 nations, Trump told reporters before departing for Iowa on Thursday that the letters will be sent to 10 countries at a time, laying out tariff rates such as 20% to 30%.“We have more than 170 countries, and how many deals can you make?” Trump said. “They’re very much more complicated.”The Republican president said he expected…

Former Minister S.M. Chandrasena was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) a short while ago. Chandrasena had appeared before the Commission earlier today (04) to record a statement regarding an investigation into a corruption allegation.

A wildfire fanned by gale-force winds on the southern Greek island of Crete has forced the evacuation of residents and tourists, officials said on Thursday (Jul 3).Hot, dry weather in Greece, which is not unusual for this time of year, has heightened the risk of a repeat of the summer wildfires that have hit the country in recent years.Media reports said around 1,500 people had to be evacuated because of the blaze, which broke out on Wednesday evening.“Evacuations took place in numerous hotels and tourists were safely transferred to a closed gymnasium in the municipality of Ierapetra,” vice-prefect Yannis Androulakis…

The National Transport Commission (NTC) has stated that the investigation into the recent incident involving a student falling from the footboard of a ‘Sisu Sariya’ school bus revealed that the accident was caused by the careless and negligent behavior of both the driver and the conductor.The incident occurred yesterday (03), and footage of the incident was also reported by Ada Derana.Issuing an official statement, the NTC noted that, following the preliminary findings, the Road Passenger Transport Authority of the North Western Province has taken steps to temporarily suspend the services of the driver and conductor involved.Additionally, the National Transport Commission…

The Attorney General informed the Supreme Court yesterday (July 4) that the Acting Inspector General of Police has issued a circular outlining the procedure by which individuals summoned to provide statements in connection with complaints must be informed of the contents of such complaints. The circular has reportedly been distributed to all police stations across the island, said Ada Derana reporter.This announcement was made during the hearing of a fundamental rights petition filed by energy expert Vidhura Ralapanawe against the Computer Crimes Investigation Division (CCID) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).The petition was taken up before a bench comprising Supreme Court…

The Delhi High Court on Thursday (03) turned down a plea filed by Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez seeking to quash a money laundering case registered against her by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).A Bench of Justice Anish Dayal declined to interfere with the ongoing trial proceeding based on ED’s prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.In April this year, Justice Dayal-led Bench reserved its decision after hearing oral arguments from senior advocate Sidharth Aggarwal representing Jacqueline Fernandez and ED’s special counsel Zoheb Hossain.The petition strongly denied any involvement on her part in aiding Chandrashekhar to launder allegedly ill-gotten…

The elderly Dalai Lama assured followers on Wednesday that upon his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and spelt out a succession process that sets up a renewed clash with China.The eagerly awaited statement, made days before the frail Nobel peace laureate turns 90, put to rest speculation, started by the Dalai Lama himself, that he may be the last of Tibet’s spiritual leaders, ending a line that stretches back centuries.Speaking during a week of celebrations in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala to mark his birthday, the Dalai Lama said a…

A coordinated search operation mounted by the Sri Lanka Coast Guard, the Navy and Police Narcotic Bureau led to the seizure of over 900kg of Kerala cannabis in Bolawatta area in Wennappuwa on July . The operation also led to the interception of a car in connection to the smuggling racket and a cab in which 02 foreign-made pistols, 04 magazines and 40 rounds of ammunition were found.The search operation was conducted based on credible intelligence information received by the Sri Lanka Coast Guard. Accordingly, a suspicious cab was intercepted in the Bolawatta area and the raiding party recovered over 900kg of…