Author: Buzzer Editorial

Israeli authorities eased a travel warning for Sri Lanka on Wednesday, some three weeks after cautioning tourists at a popular beach town of an imminent terrorist threat.The National Security Council, which publishes travel advisories, said it was lowering the warning level for Sri Lanka’s Arugam Bay area from four, which indicates a highly credible threat, to two, indicating a more mild occasional threat.The high-level threat area had extended across Sri Lanka’s southeastern coast as far as the town of Hikkaduwa.The rest of the island nation was lowered from level three — moderate — to level two.The NSC says the threat…

The Meterology Department requests the general public to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning during thundershowers as the atmospheric conditions are favorable further for afternoon thundershowers in most parts of the island.Showers or thundershowers will occur in the most parts of the island after 2.00 p.m.Showers or thundershowers may occur in Northern and Eastern provinces and in Hambantota district during the morning too.Heavy showers about 100 mm are likely at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa and North- western provinces and in Badulla, Galle and Matara districts. Fairly heavy showers about 75 mm are likely elsewhere, it said.Misty…

Over 17 million Sri Lankans will have the chance to vote for the country’s tenth Parliament election weeks after Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won Sri Lanka’s presidential election after a historic second round of counting.This snap election, called by the new President, is expected to have significant ramifications for the nation’s political gridlock, particularly as the National People’s Power (NPP) party led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, which currently holds only three seats, seeks to establish itself as the dominant political force. A total of 17,140,354 Sri Lankans are eligible to vote in this year’s Parliamentary Election, with the Gampaha District…

The U.S. Embassy in Colombo has lifted the travel restrictions issued to American citizens on October 23, 2024, for the Arugam Bay area in Sri Lanka. In its latest travel security update, the U.S. Embassy in Colombo encourages all U.S. citizens to review the Travel Advisory for Sri Lanka, maintain vigilance, be aware of their surroundings and report suspicious activity and emergencies to local authorities (119).It was widely reported yesterday that the government had requested the US Embassy in Colombo to lift its adverse travel advisory warning its citizens to stay away from travelling to the east coast surfing resort of…

The Department of Examinations has issued a special notice regarding the issuance of exam certificates.Accordingly, the department announces that the issuing of exam certificates will not be carried out on November 14 due to the departmental staff being deployed for election duties.Furthermore, the examination department stated that all service counters and the online service will not be operational on Thursday (14).

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has requested the U.S. Embassy to remove the security alert issued earlier asking its nationals to avoid the Arugam Bay area until further notice, a spokesperson said yesterday.The U.S. Embassy issued the alert on October 23. It said, “The Embassy received credible information warning of an attack targeting popular tourist locations in the Arugam Bay area. Due to the serious risk posed by this threat, the Embassy imposed a travel restriction on Embassy personnel for Arugam Bay effective immediately and until further notice. U.S. citizens are strongly urged to avoid the Arugam Bay area until further…

The Chairman of the Election Commission, R.M.A.L. Ratnayake, stated that the counting of votes for the general election will commence at 4.15 p.m. on November 14.He made these remarks during a special press briefing held today (12) at the Department of Government Information, where he provided updates on the general election.Ratnayake also informed that the results from polling areas and district-level results will be released to the media only after being re-checked and approved by the Election Commission. Thus, he urged everyone to refrain from releasing unofficial election results.“Arrangements have been made to begin counting postal votes at 4.15 p.m.…

Two foreign national women who had arrived in Sri Lanka on tourist visas and were found engaging in business activities have been arrested in Kandy.According to the police, the women were apprehended at the Kandy Central Market during a raid carried out based on information received by officers of the Tourist Police in Kandy.The two women, aged 47 and 48, have been identified as Chinese nationals.Kandy Police are conducting further investigations into the incident.

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…