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Duruthu Poya, first Poya of 2023, falls today!

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Today (6) marks the Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day, the first full moon of the new year.

This poya day is a great religious and historical day specially for Sri Lankans because it marks the Buddha’s first visit to Sri Lanka after attaining the Enlightenment.

Upon the request of God Sumana Saman, the Buddha offered his hair relics (Kesha Dhathu) to the god and those relics are enshrined in the Mahiyangana Stupa.

The Buddha visited Uruvel Danawwa on a day like today and explained the way of Dhamma to about a 1,000 people, including Uruwela Kashyapa, Nadi Kashyapa and Gaya Kashyapa. It is believed that on this day, the Buddha visited Magadha Kingdom and preached dhamma to King Bimbisara and the citizens.

It is said that King Bimbisara offered the Veluvanarama to the Buddha and the Mahasangha on a Duruthu Poya day.

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Combating corruption, a top priority of govt.

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President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that rural development and upgrading the rural people’s social and economic well-being is one of the primary objectives of the government during this term. 

The President expressed these views during a discussion held today (Nov. 05) at the Presidential Secretariat with members of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service Association (SLAS).

The President highlighted the necessity of public officials cooperating with the government  to successfully implement government initiatives, noting that the experiences of government officials is valued and instrumental to implement government policy. 

The President pointed out that there is a gap between the government’s objectives and the traditional operational modalities of the public service. To ensure the effectiveness of government programs aimed at national development, he stated that the functioning of public administration also has to change.

President Dissanayake highlighted that combating fraud and corruption is a top priority for the government, stating that failures to implement projects with attention have caused significant damage to the country’s economy. 

He also emphasized that the political leadership will not interfere in the public service protecting their capacity to operate independently.

President Dissanayake mentioned that government officials have a unique responsibility to play in regional development and stressed the need to minimize unnecessary expenses in the public service without cutting public services. 

The event was attended by members of the Sri Lanka Administrative Services Association, including President Mahesh Gammanpila and Secretary Jayaveera Fernando.

(PMD)

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Easter attacks: SC orders to recall defence over acquittal of ex-IGP and Defence Secretary

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The Supreme Court has ordered the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar to recall the defence following an appeal filed by the Attorney General (AG) challenging the verdict issued by Colombo High Court to acquit former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former IGP Pujith Jayasundara from the charges of failure to prevent 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks despite receiving prior information.

The appeal was filed against the verdict issued by the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar to acquit the former Defence Secretary and the former IGP from the charges of Criminal dereliction of duty and murder through their failure to prevent 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks despite receiving information prior to the attacks.

This decision was taken by the five-member Supreme Court judge bench led by Justices Preethi Padman Surasena following an extended hearing of the relevant appeal filed by the AG.

The Colombo High Court had earlier ordered to acquit and release Hemasiri Fernando and Pujith Jayasundara without calling for defense testimonies, following the hearing of a case filed by the Attorney General.

The AG had later filed this appeal with the Supreme Court challenging the Colombo HC’s decision, seeking to invalidate the relevant verdict and for it to be declared unlawful.

Following the hearing of the appeal, the Supreme Court judge bench declared that the High Court should have called for defense during the hearings of the case.

(adaderana.lk)

(This story, originally published by adaderana.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

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3 districts to have different format of ballot paper

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The Election Commission released a statement regarding a different format of the ballot paper for three districts in the country for the upcoming Parliamentary Election.

The ballot papers of the Polonnaruwa, Monaragala and Kegalle districts will be printed in only one column for the 2024 Parliamentary Election, the EC said. This is due to the number of recognised political parties and Independent groups and the number of candidates contesting from these three districts is lower than the other districts.

According to the Election Commission, the ballot papers in the other districts of the country have been printed in two columns.

The ‘X’ symbol should be marked in the empty box in front of the name and symbol of the recognised political party or the number and symbol of the Independent group for which the voters will be casting their vote on the ballot paper.

Also, preference votes can be marked for three candidates on the ballot paper after marking the ‘X’ symbol in front of the name and recognised political party or the number and symbol of the Independent group. The preference votes can be marked for up to three candidates of the voter’s choice by marking ‘X’ on the box containing the number allotted to each candidate on the ballot paper, the Election Commission stated.

(dailynews.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by dailynews.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

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