Author: Buzzer Editorial

Indonesian authorities investigating graft have arrested a former trade minister turned government critic on suspicion of improperly granting a sugar import permit in 2015 that led to losses of $25 million.Thomas Trikasih Lembong was named a suspect and arrested late on Tuesday by prosecutors from the attorney general’s office, accused of giving the permit to a private company at a time when Indonesia had a surplus of sugar, the office said.“At that time, Indonesia did not need to import sugar but (Lembong) granted a permit to import 105,000 metric tons of raw crystal sugar,” prosecutor Abdul Qohar told a press…

The Railway Station Masters will refrain from all ticketing duties from 4.30 p.m. today (30), the Railway Station Masters’ Union announced.However, the union also stated that there will be no disruptions to train services.On Tuesday (29), the Railway Station Masters’ Union warned that they will launch a strike action starting from midnight today (30), if their demands are not met during the discussion with the subject minister.The union decided to launch an immediate trade union action, over issues pertaining to the post of Railway Station Master.However, President of the association Sumedha Somaratne mentioned that they arrived at this decision since…

Former Minister Johnston Fernando, who was arrested and remanded over the unregistered luxury vehicle allegedly belonging to him found parked in a star-class hotel premises, has been granted bail.He was ordered to be released on 5 surety bails of Rs. 5 million each by the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court, Ada Derana reporter said.Former Minister Johnston Fernando, was arrested by the CID on October 23 over an incident of an unregistered luxury vehicle allegedly belonging to him found suspiciously parked at a star-class hotel premises, and he was remanded until October 30 by Colombo Fort Magistrate.The Former MP was arrested after…

A special search operation conducted by the Navy off Venpuravinagar, Jaffna on 29th October 2024 led to the apprehension of 3 suspects with 291 illegally harvested sea cucumbers and seizure of a trawler. The Sri Lanka Navy carries out regular search operations and patrols in the coastal and sea areas around the island, with a view to preventing illegal fishing practices.In line with ongoing efforts, SLNS Kanchadewa in the Northern Naval Command apprehended 3 individuals in the sea area of Venpuravinagar. The suspects were found transporting 291 sea cucumbers ashore in a trawler without a valid fishing pass.The suspects held in this operation were identified as…

The Terrorism Investigation Division informed the Colombo Magistrate’s Court that two more suspects have been arrested on suspicion of planning an attack within the country, targeting areas frequented by tourists, at the behest of foreign terrorist organizations.Detectives eeported to the court that, under the orders of the Minister of Defense, the suspects are being held for further questioning under a 90-day detention order.A confidential report on further investigations related to the Arugam Bay incident was presented to Additional Magistrate Pasan Amarasekara by the officers of the Terrorist Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department.The suspects were arrested under the provisions…

The postal voting for the 2024 parliamentary election will commence today. Commissioner General of Elections, Saman Sri Ratnayake said that over 738,000 state sector employees are eligible to cast their vote in the postal voting for the parliamentary election.He further announced that having a valid identification card is mandatory for all postal voters.The Election commission said that the postal voting process will also take place on November 1st and 4th. For public servants who are unable to mark their postal votes on these dates, the commission has arranged for the necessary facilities on November 7th and 8th.

All government Tamil medium schools in the Central and Uva Provinces will remain closed on November 01 (Friday) following the Deepavali holiday on October 31.However, these schools will function on November 09 (Saturday) to cover this extra holiday, according to the Zonal Education Directors.

Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said on Tuesday it had elected deputy head Naim Qassem to succeed slain secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air attack on Beirut’s southern suburb over a month ago.The group said in a written statement that its Shura Council had elected Qassem, 71, in accordance with its established mechanism for choosing a secretary general.He was appointed as Hezbollah’s deputy chief in 1991 by the armed group’s then-secretary general Abbas al-Musawi, who was killed by an Israeli helicopter attack the following year.Qassem remained in his role when Nasrallah became leader, and has long…

The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SL CERT) today issued an alert to the public about the surge in fake messages being disseminated via social media and communication platforms, particularly WhatsApp. These deceptive messages are designed to fraudulently obtain personal and financial information by impersonating credible institutions, including banks, commercial organizations, and international bodies, according to the SL CERT.Recent observations by Sri Lanka CERT indicate that cybercriminals are using social media platforms, fake websites, SMS, and even postal services to reach potential victims. In many cases, these messages falsely promise donations, monetary rewards, high-value products, or services and request sensitive…

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) today rejected as ‘completely baseless’ the recent reports claiming that the CBSL has printed currency notes to the value of Rs. 100 billion through Sri Lanka’s open market operations.Issuing a clarification in this regard, the CBSL explained that providing liquidity through open market operations is among the general affairs carried out by the Central Bank.Further, the CBSL clarified that the open market operations are conducted to maintain price stability through managing the interest rate, and that this measure cannot be classified as mere money printing.Additionally, the statement highlighted that the said reports have…