Author: Buzzer Editorial

Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Jennifer R. Littlejohn is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka today (19).In Sri Lanka from August 19 to 21, she will meet with government officials and partners, visit U.S.-supported wildlife protection projects, and explore opportunities for connecting Sri Lankans with U.S. experts in priority areas, such as hydrography and climate change.Littlejohn is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and serves as the Acting Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs where she most recently served as the Principal Deputy…

On 19 August 2003, a bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers, including the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. Five years later, the General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 19 August as World Humanitarian Day (WHD).Each year, WHD focuses on a theme, bringing together partners from across the humanitarian system to advocate for the survival, well-being and dignity of people affected by crises, and for the safety and security of aid workers.WHD is a campaign by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs…

The National Election Commission has announced that strict action will be taken against individuals who use the national flag as propaganda during presidential campaigns.The commission has issued a circular outlining this directive.Additionally, the National Election Commission emphasized that the use of religious symbols for campaigning purposes is strictly prohibited.

A group of election observers from the European Union and the Commonwealth have arrived in Sri Lanka to monitor the September 21 presidential election, Election Commission officials said on Sunday.They are here at the invitation of Sri Lanka’s Election Commission.The EU has previously done election monitoring in Sri Lanka six times with the last being at the presidential election of 2019.“The deployment of the Election Observation Mission in Sri Lanka this year confirms our long-standing commitment to supporting credible, transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections in the country,” the head of the observer group said in a statement on Saturday.“The forthcoming…

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa pledged to abolish the Executive Presidency if he is elected President next month.Premadasa made this pledge during a rally at Ruwanwella.”A number of past Presidents have pledged to abolish the Executive Presidency but never did it. I will do it and introduce a system based on the legislature,” he said.

The National People’s Power (NPP) will bring back former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran, who fled to Singapore, to Sri Lanka as the first priority of a NPP government, NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said today.Speaking at a rally in Kiribathgoda, he said the NPP will take over power with plans to raise state revenue and said the NPP government will stop fraud and corruption.He said Rs. 1,100 billion in taxes have been defaulted by various people and assured that the NPP government will recover all the defaulted taxes.”At least Rs. 169 billion can be recovered initially without any issues.…

Today (19) is the Full Moon Poya day of the Sinhala month of Nikini, where many religious services were held in this country, including the holding of the first Dharma Sangayana.Gauthama Buddha’s dharma treasurer, Ananda Thera, passed away on a Nikini Full Moon day, and the construction of the Seruvila Mangala Chaitya started on a Nikini Full Moon day like today.According to the Sasana rules, the Upasampada or senior monks who could not perform the Perawas ritual on the previous full moon day, perform the Pasuwas ritual on this Poya.Ancient Buddhists of Anuradhapura carried bundles of firewood to protect the…

The Sri Lanka Election Commission has released the full list of candidates contesting the 2024 Presidential Election.The list includes the names of all candidates, their assigned symbols, and the order in which they will appear on the ballot.

The Meteorology Department says showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Matara districts.Fairly heavy showers above 75 mm are likely at some places in Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle and Matara districts.Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places elsewhere over the island during the evening or night, it said.Fairly strong winds of about 30-40 kmph can be expected at times over Western slopes of the central hills and in Northern, North-central and North-western provinces.The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize…

Palestinian health officials on Friday reported the first case of polio in an unvaccinated 10-month-old child in the Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, the first case in years in the coastal enclave that has been engulfed in the Israel-Hamas war since Oct. 7.After discovering the child’s symptoms, tests were conducted in Jordan’s capital of Amman and the case was confirmed to be polio, the health officials said.The potentially fatal, paralyzing disease mostly strikes children under the age of 5 and typically spreads through contaminated water. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where the spread of polio has never been stopped.The World Health Organization…