Author: Buzzer Editorial

The website of Sri Lanka’s Meteorological Department is currently being restored after a cyber attack disrupted its services early last week. Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SL CERT), the country’s lead body for cyber security, said that they’re currently managing the response and recovery efforts.Senior Information Officer at SL CERT Charuka Damunopola said the attack was reported on November 01, noting that “Due to this cyber attack, changes were detected on the Meteorological Department’s official website. Following preliminary investigations, necessary measures are underway to restore the website, with further inquiries ongoing to assess the full impact.”Mr. Damunopola confirmed that initial…

Police have arrested six individuals, five men and one woman, involved in a fraudulent scheme that led to a robbery under the guise of offering massage services. The suspects allegedly deceived a man with the promise of a massage service, only to assault and threaten him at knifepoint, forcing him to transfer Rs. 1 million through online banking.Police reports indicate that the perpetrators further robbed the victim of Rs. 15,000 in cash from his wallet.Following a complaint received by Bambalapitiya Police in this regard, the police arrested two individuals, including a 44-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman from Piliyandala, along with…

A special meeting was held today (11) at the Presidential Secretariat to address relief measures for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) facing financial challenges. The meeting was led by the Senior Additional Secretary to the President for Finance and Economic Affairs, Mr. G. N. R. D. Aponsu, and included officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka Banks’ Association (Guarantee) Limited, the PMD said.The discussions focused on the financial difficulties encountered by SMEs due to loan obligations.Currently, debt recovery processes under the Parate law have been temporarily suspended for SMEs, with this suspension set…

The election campaign activities for the upcoming parliamentary election concluded at midnight on November 11, marking the start of the silence period, which will remain in effect until Election Day on November 14. During this period, no campaign activities are permitted, according to the Election Commission.However, the Election Commission has given candidates time until midnight tonight (12) to remove their campaign offices, said the Chairman of the Election Commission, R.M.A.L. Ratnayake.“Currently, candidates have set up campaign offices. All offices at the constituency level must be removed by midnight on the 12th. After that, only one office per constituency can be maintained…

The Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court has ordered to record statements from 18 then-Cabinet Ministers pertaining to the alleged importation of substandard human immunoglobulin vials.The Attorney General’ Department has informed the court that statements are required to be obtained from 18 individuals including former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, former Ministers Tiran Alles, Mahinda Amaraweera, Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, Harin Fernando, Roshan Ranasinghe and Nimal Siripala who were members of the Cabinet which approved the Cabinet paper presented by former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella for the import of the drugs in question.Maligakanda Magistrate Lochani Abeywickrema who granted permission for the request,…

Police Spokesman DIG Nihal Thalduwa announced that approximately 64,000 police officers will be deployed from today (12) to ensure security during the general election across all constituencies. He stated that “13,383 polling stations have been set up for the total 13,314 constituencies. To cover this period, we deploy police officers on duty on the day of the election and the day after, and if necessary, even after that.”The deployment includes nearly 3,200 Special Task Force (STF) officers prepared for duty, with 12,227 people directly involved in the election. In total, approximately 70,000 police officers will be involved in election security efforts,…

The Ministry of Trade assures that there are sufficient stocks of ‘Nadu’ rice available within the country, as per the recent report prepared by the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) pertaining to the national rice stocks.The Secretary to the Ministry of Trade M.M. Naimuddin accused rice mill owners of creating an artificial shortage in local markets to drive up prices, and he promised immediate measures to address the issue.Meanwhile, the Maradagahamula Rice Traders’ Association says that due to the shortage and high prices of certain types of rice in the market, the sale of rice has dropped by about 50%.In recent weeks,…

The Supreme Court has fixed for hearing the Fundamental Rights (FR) petitions filed challenging the appointment of Deshabandu Tennakoon as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on February 24, 2025.The petitions, filed by several parties including the Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, were taken up before a three-member Supreme Court judge bench led by Justice Yasantha Kodagoda today (11).During the trial, the court also granted time for the Attorney General to file objections for former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has been named as a respondent of the petitions.On October 29, the Supreme Court allowed naming former President Ranil Wickremesinghe…

The Court of Appeal has fixed for consideration a petition filed by former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte requesting him to be released on bail, on November 19.The relevant petition was taken up before the two-member Appeals Court judge bench comprising President of the Court of Appeal Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and Justice Shashi Mahendran this morning (11).Furthermore, the judge bench has ordered the petitioning party to issue notices to the respondents of the petition including the Inspector General of Police to present facts before the court on that date.Former Minister Lohan Ratwatte and his wife, who were arrested over the charges…

The Election Commission has announced a key measure for the upcoming Parliamentary Election scheduled for November 14, 2024. Accordingly, voters will have their left hand’s index finger marked with an appropriate sign to prevent double voting and ensure transparency, the election regulatory body said.This decision comes in light of concerns about possible confusion during the polling process for the Presidential Election 2024, which took place recently.Meanwhile, if a voter’s left index finger is unavailable, the mark will be applied to another finger, as suitable, according to the Election Commission.