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Harming animals: No action against both Minister father & son

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The Director General of Wildlife Conservation and the Head of Legal Department has failed to give a proper answer when the environmentalists had asked whether an investigation is being conducted over the death of a deer which was hit by the vehicle of Minister Mahinda Amaraweera at Udawalawe National Park a few months ago.

A group of environmentalists including Nayanaka Ranwella and Senior Advisor of the Centre For Environmental Justice Hemantha Vithanage met with Director General of Wildlife Conservation Chandana Sooriyabandara Yesterday (26) and held a discussion regarding the investigations being carried out in relation to the incident where animals in Yala National Park were harassed by a group of people arrived in jeeps.

Both the Director General and the Head of Legal Department have failed to give a proper answer about the progress of the investigation.

They have informed the environmentalists that an investigation is being conducted by the Southern Wildlife Zone over the incident. 

However, the environmentalists said the Wildlife Conservation Department cannot be expected to carry out a proper investigation on the Yala incident, since they have not been able to conduct a proper investigation into the Udawalawe incident.

The environmentalists also said that the Director General that the Wildlife Conservation Department’s actions seemed passive regarding the Yala incident.

When the environmentalists had asked the Director General if the son of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Minister Mahinda Amaraweera was involved in the Yala incident, he had said it has not been determined yet.

Following the discussion, Environmentalist Ranwella said,”They told us that they are still investigating the Yala incident. When asked if Minister Mahinda Amaraweera’s son was involved in this incident, they said that they are investigating that too. They neither denied nor accepted the fact that there was a minister’s son involved.

“There should be a more formal investigation into this incident. It is clear that this group has behaved recklessly and violated the laws within Yala National Park. If the investigations are not conducted properly, we have to make a more formal objection in a scientific manner.

Also, a deer which was hit by the vehicle of Minister Amaraweera has died. We are disappointed to note the death of animals by the vehicle driven by the drivers of the Minister of Wildlife. Action in this regard is still in unsatisfactory,” Ranwella said.

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03 Lankans featured in 2025 Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia list

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03 young Sri Lankans have been featured in the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia list for 2025.

They are :
Nikin Matharaarachchi, in 2021, founded Sri Lanka-based Synapse AI Labs is the company behind Kommon Poll, an AI-powered social listening tool. Kommon Poll provides businesses marketing insights by analyzing keyword performance across multiple online platforms, including news sites, blogs and social media.

Charith N Silva, known for videos showing him preparing dishes in outdoor settings, launched the YouTube channel ‘Wild Cookbook’ in 2020 during the pandemic. With over 600 videos, ‘Wild Cookbook’ is now Sri Lanka’s largest YouTube channel with over 10 million subscribers, and Silva has over 2.3 million Instagram followers. In November 2024, he opened a restaurant in Colombo called Wildish.

Yanika Amarasekera-Siyaguna, a UC Berkeley and Imperial College London alumna, founded Silver Aisle, Sri Lanka’s first online wedding registry, in 2019. The e-commerce platform has since expanded beyond wedding gifts to include presents for all occasions as well as dining ,vacation packages and lessons in horse riding, golf and pottery, among others. In 2023, Amarasekera-Siyaguna was appointed an independent director of LB Finance, one of Sri Lanka’s largest finance firms.

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SL & India sign USD 930.8 Mn. debt restructuring deal

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Sri Lanka and India have signed a USD 930.8 million debt restructuring deal recently on Sri Lanka’s present External Debt Restructuring Process. 

The signing of Bilateral Amendatory Agreements between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) of India took place on March 25, 2025 and April 03, 2025, respectively. 

The deal concerns 07 Line of Credit and 04 Buyer’s Credit Facility agreements with the Government of India.

Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, Mr. K.M. Mahinda Siriwardana, signed the agreements on behalf of the Sri Lankan Government.

General Manager of the EXIM Bank of India, Mr.Nirmit Ved, signed the Line of Credits, and Deputy General Manager of the EXIM Bank of India, Mr. Amith Kumar, signed the Buyer’s Credit Agreements.

Issuing a statement, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development stated that the signing of these bilateral amendatory agreements marks a significant milestone in Sri Lanka’s ongoing External Debt Restructuring Process.

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965 lives lost in road accidents during last 05 months

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A total of 965 people have died between January 01 – May 13 due to various road accidents across Sri Lanka.

During this period,1,842 accidents including 902 fatal accidents were recorded, according to police reports.

The main causes cited for these accidents include negligence, reckless driving and improper vehicle maintenance.

To address the rising number of accidents, police have planned a special island-wide program focused on reducing traffic incidents, including driver awareness initiatives.

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