A tense situation has been reported as a group of unemployed graduates surrounded the North Central Provincial Council building in protest and seeking solutions to their demands. According to the Police, a total of 22 persons including 11 females were arrested during the agitation.

Protest by unemployed graduates turn violent: 22 detained

The 2023 G.C.E. Ordinary Level examination started today (6) at 3,527 centres across the island and with 452,979 candidates expected to sit for the exam.&nbsp; Accordingly, the Commissioner General of Examinations requests candidates to arrive early at their respective examination centres with their admission and valid identity cards.&nbsp;

2023 O/L exam commences at over 3,500 centres

Grama Niladhari officers are engaged in trade union action by reporting sick leave today (6) and tomorrow (7), based on several demands. The All-Island Grama Niladhari Officers’ Association stated that the trade union action has been launched covering the entire country and that they will be withdrawing from duties and reporting sick leave. The General Secretary of the association Mr. Jagath Chandralal also stated that all the unions representing the Grama Niladhari Officers have supported this. According to him, strict measures will be taken if the government does not pay proper attention to their problems in the Cabinet meeting.

GS officers to report sick for two days

Israel ordered the local offices of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network to close Sunday, escalating a long-running feud between the broadcaster and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line government as Doha-mediated cease-fire negotiations with Hamas hang in the balance. The extraordinary order, which includes confiscating broadcast equipment, preventing the broadcast of the channel’s reports and blocking its websites, is believed to be the first time Israel has ever shuttered a foreign news outlet operating in the country. Al Jazeera went off Israel’s main cable and satellite providers in the hours after the order. However, its website and multiple online streaming links still operated Sunday. The network has reported the Israeli-Hamas war nonstop since the militants’ initial cross-border attack Oct. 7 and has maintained 24-hour coverage in the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s grinding ground offensive that has killed and wounded members of its staff. While including on-the-ground reporting of the war’s casualties, its Arabic arm often publishes verbatim video statements from Hamas and other regional militant groups.Israel ordered the local offices of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network to close Sunday, escalating a long-running feud between the broadcaster and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line government as Doha-mediated cease-fire negotiations with Hamas hang in the balance. The extraordinary order, which includes confiscating broadcast equipment, preventing the broadcast of the channel’s reports and blocking its websites, is believed to be the first time Israel has ever shuttered a foreign news outlet operating in the country. Al Jazeera went off Israel’s main cable and satellite providers in the hours after the order. However, its website and multiple online streaming links still operated Sunday. The network has reported the Israeli-Hamas war nonstop since the militants’ initial cross-border attack Oct. 7 and has maintained 24-hour coverage in the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s grinding ground offensive that has killed and wounded members of its staff. While including on-the-ground reporting of the war’s casualties, its Arabic arm often publishes verbatim video statements from Hamas and other regional militant groups. “Al Jazeera reporters harmed Israel’s security and incited against soldiers,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “It’s time to remove the Hamas mouthpiece from our country.” Al Jazeera issued a statement vowing it will “pursue all available legal channels through international legal institutions in its quest to protect both its rights and journalists, as well as the public’s right to information.” “Israel’s ongoing suppression of the free press, seen as an effort to conceal its actions in the Gaza Strip, stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law,” the network said. “Israel’s direct targeting and killing of journalists, arrests, intimidation and threats will not deter Al Jazeera.” The Israeli government has taken action against individual reporters over the decades since its founding in 1948, but broadly allows for a rambunctious media scene that includes foreign bureaus from around the world, even from Arab nations. It also blocked the foreign broadcasts of the Hezbollah-affiliated, Beirut-based Al Mayadeen news channel at the start of the war. A law passed last month allows the government to take action against Al Jazeera, Netanyahu's office said. Israeli Communication Minister Shlomo Karhi later published footage online of authorities raiding a hotel room Al Jazeera had been broadcasting from in east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians hope to one day have for their future state. He said officials seized some of the channel's equipment there. “We finally are able to stop Al Jazeera’s well-oiled incitement machine that harms the security of the country,” Karhi said. His office said it would bar Al Jazeera from operating in Israel for at least 45 days, a measure that can be renewed. The ban did not appear to affect the channel’s operations in the occupied West Bank or Gaza Strip, where Israel wields control but which are not sovereign Israeli territory. The decision threatens to heighten tensions with Qatar at a time when the Doha government is playing a key role in mediation efforts to halt the war in Gaza, along with Egypt and the United States. Qatar has had strained ties with Netanyahu in particular since he made comments suggesting that Qatar is not exerting enough pressure on Hamas to prompt it to relent in its terms for a truce deal. Qatar hosts Hamas leaders in exile in Doha. Those relations further deteriorated following the outbreak of Israel’s war against Hamas on Oct. 7, when the militant group carried out a cross-border attack in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. Since then, the Israeli military campaign in Gaza has killed over 34,000 people, according to local health officials there, who don’t break figures down into civilians and combatants. Israeli media largely has avoided the plight of those in the Gaza Strip, instead focusing on the Oct. 7 attack, the hostages held there and tales of Israeli military heroism. Meanwhile in December, an Israeli strike killed an Al Jazeera cameraman as he reported on the war in southern Gaza. The channel’s bureau chief in Gaza, Wael Dahdouh, was wounded in the same attack. Dahdouh, a correspondent well-known to Palestinians during many wars, later evacuated Gaza but only after Israeli strikes killed his wife, three of his children and a grandson. Al Jazeera is one of the few international media outlets to remain in Gaza throughout the war, broadcasting bloody scenes of airstrikes and overcrowded hospitals and accusing Israel of massacres. Criticism of the channel is not new, however. The U.S. government singled out the broadcaster during America’s occupation of Iraq after its 2003 invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein and for airing videos of the late al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden. Al Jazeera has been closed or blocked by other Mideast governments. Most notably in 2013, Egyptian authorities raided a luxury hotel used by Al Jazeera as an operating base after the military takeover that followed mass protests against President Mohammed Morsi. Three Al Jazeera staff members received 10-year prison sentences, but were released in 2015 following widespread international criticism. Source : Time

Israel moves to kick out Al Jazeera, calling Qatari news network an ‘Incitement Machine’

The Department of Meteorology stated showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in Western, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces and in Galle and Matara districts today (6) Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in North-western and North-central provinces and in Mannar, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu districts during the afternoon or night. A few showers may occur over the coastal areas of Puttalam to Galle via Colombo during the morning too.

Showers expected in parts of the country

<ul><li> Pre-election laws still in effect despite the indefinite postponement of the LG election; PAFFREL</li><li>Raises concerns about political advantage for the ruling parties</li></ul>&nbsp;&nbsp;The People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) has urged the Elections Commission (EC) to address the alleged Government-run political promotion programmes disguised as development projects, occurring while the Local Government (LG) election has been called and the Presidential Election is expected to be announced soon.In a letter addressed to EC Chairperson R.M.A.L. Ratnayake, PAFFREL Executive Director, Rohana Hettiarachchi pointed out that even though the LG election has been postponed indefinitely, the election has not been cancelled, meaning that the pre-election laws are still in effect.He also highlighted that political parties and candidates could gain unfair advantage from the planned implementation of development projects by the political authorities, especially in the context of the upcoming Presidential Election, which, according to the Constitution, could be announced in August this year (2024).He highlighted a circular bearing number MF/02/2023 allegedly issued by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies, instructing District Secretaries to finalise all development projects slated for completion in 2024 under the Decentralised Budget Programme 2024 by 31 July. Hettiarachchi claimed that the circular suggests that projects initially planned to be completed over a year are now to be completed within seven months, which would allow the ruling party to claim credit for the projects ahead of the expected Presidential Election announcement in August.Hettiarachchi also notified the EC about another circular bearing number PS/FID/ID/Circular/1/2024 issued by the Presidential Secretariat under the theme of 'Kandukara Dashakaya' - Integrated Rural Development Programme 2024-2033. He said that the circular stipulates that project proposals pertaining to the segment of the ten-year development plan relevant to 2024 must be submitted to the Presidential Secretariat by 10 March for approval, with all such development activities to be completed by 31 July. "This timeline provides just four months to obtain approval, allocate funds, and complete the projects. Given this tight schedule, there could be issues regarding the quality and effectiveness of these projects," he warned.In the letter, PAFFREL drew the Election Commissions attention to Government’s current subsidy programmes, such as the distribution of rice, land, housing, and employment applications, noting how politicians are actively participating in these initiatives. He said that it seems such activities are also aimed at upcoming elections. He added that while they have no objection to the implementation of welfare programmes, especially in times of hardship faced by the people, or to the execution of development projects funded through budgetary allocations based on Government policies, they oppose the planning of such programmes in a way to promote political parties and candidates.Hettiarachchi has accordingly requested the EC that attention be given to these issues and that steps be taken to prevent the political use of state power and resources, as well as the promotion of political parties and politicians through these programmes.Ratnayake and the Cabinet Spokesperson were not available for comment regarding the matter.

Election influence: PAFFREL calls for action on Govt. projects

<ul><li>Cites lack of time for candidates to prepare for exams</li></ul> Ceylon Teachers' Union (CTU) yesterday (5) criticised the Department of Examinations over its delay in releasing the re-scrutinised results of the 2022 (2023) Ordinary Level (O/L) Examination in the context of 2023 (2024) O/L examination are scheduled to start today (6).The re-scrutinised results of the 2022 (2023) O/L Examination have been released around midnight on Saturday (4). The Examinations Department said that it received 49,312 applications in total for the re-scrutiny of exam results, and 250,311 answer sheets were re-scrutinised accordingly.When contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday (5), CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said that the Examinations Department should have released the re-scrutinised results at least a month before as the candidate could prepare for the exams. He noted that the candidates have the right to get their results before a considerable period, but the Examinations Department has seemingly disregarded their responsibility under the guise of various reasons.Stalin noted that the candidates who applied for re-scrutinising results had to pay a certain amount of money; therefore, the Examinations Department should be more responsible towards the release of results before the exam. Stating that the candidates who do not know what their result is have no idea whether they should prepare for the exam or not, Stalin said that the Education Ministry should look into the possible grievances raised by the candidates regarding their results.Meanwhile, speaking to the media yesterday, Commissioner General of Exams Amith Jayasundara said that there is no issue of the re-scrutinised results being delayed, as the candidates must have the ability to prepare for the exam in advance in a context where a very small number of results are changed after the process.

Education: CTU blames Dept. of Examinations over delayed results review

Renovations to begin with support from UDA and CECBBudget allocation for renovations approved: Min. Siyambalapitiya Required renovations for the 40-year-old Parliament building have been identified and preparations are underway to commence them soon, State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said yesterday (5).It was recently reported that some sections of Parliament building are in a dilapidated condition due to lack of renovation in almost 40 years.Speaking to the media, the State Minister said that both the Government and Parliament were aware of the issue, and that urgent renovations needed to the building complex were identified during a recent session of the Parliamentary Staff Advisory Committee. He said that a decision was reached to carry out the renovation work with the support of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB)."The budget allocation designated for this year (2024) was promptly approved for this purpose. Additionally, the said Advisory Committee comprising Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, the Leader of the House, Minister, Dr. Susil Premajayantha, and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa reached a policy agreement to provide further necessary funding as needed." he said.In 1979, then-Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa obtained approval from Parliament to build a new Parliament Building on a five-hectare island in the Diyawanna Oya in Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte. The building's design was crafted by renowned architect Geoffrey Bawa, and construction was undertaken by a Japanese consortium at a cost exceeding $ 25.4 million. The project was completed within the scheduled time frame of 26 months and officially inaugurated in 1982 by then-President J. R. Jayewardene.

Protest by unemployed graduates turn violent: 22 detained

2023 O/L exam commences at over 3,500 centres

2023 O/L exam commences at ove ...

GS officers to report sick for two days

GS officers to report sick for ...

Israel moves to kick out Al Jazeera, calling Qatari news network an ‘I ...

Israel moves to kick out Al Ja ...

Showers expected in parts of the country

Showers expected in parts of t ...

Election influence: PAFFREL calls for action on Govt. projects

Election influence: PAFFREL ca ...

Education: CTU blames Dept. of Examinations over delayed results revie ...

Education: CTU blames Dept. of ...

Parliament: Renovations begin after 40 years

Parliament: Renovations begin ...

Adam's Peak Off-Season Ban: Discussions underway, ban not finalised ye ...

Adam's Peak Off-Season Ban: Di ...

2023 O/L exam commences at over 3,500 centres

2023 O/L exam commences at ove ...

GS officers to report sick for two days

GS officers to report sick for ...

Israel moves to kick out Al Jazeera, calling Qatari news network an ‘I ...

Israel moves to kick out Al Ja ...

Showers expected in parts of the country

Showers expected in parts of t ...

Election influence: PAFFREL calls for action on Govt. projects

Election influence: PAFFREL ca ...

Education: CTU blames Dept. of Examinations over delayed results revie ...

Education: CTU blames Dept. of ...

Parliament: Renovations begin after 40 years

Parliament: Renovations begin ...

Adam's Peak Off-Season Ban: Discussions underway, ban not finalised ye ...

Adam's Peak Off-Season Ban: Di ...

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2023 O/L exam commences at over 3,500 centres

2023 O/L exam commences at ove ...

GS officers to report sick for two days

GS officers to report sick for ...

Bringing the news paper to your fingertips

Israel moves to kick out Al Jazeera, calling Qatari news network an ‘I ...

Israel moves to kick out Al Ja ...

Showers expected in parts of the country

Showers expected in parts of t ...

Election influence: PAFFREL calls for action on Govt. projects

Election influence: PAFFREL ca ...

Education: CTU blames Dept. of Examinations over delayed results revie ...

Education: CTU blames Dept. of ...