A number of committees including the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) are scheduled to meet next week.
Accordingly, Lanka Coal Company (Pvt) Ltd has been summoned before the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) on the 9th.
Furthermore, the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) is scheduled to meet on the 8th, and is scheduled to look into the special audit report on performance in the process of producing vegetable seeds locally. Also, the respective departments have been summoned before the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) on the 11th to for the purpose of the evaluation of the performance of clinical waste management.
Meanwhile, several Ministerial Consultative Committees are scheduled to meet next week. Accordingly, the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Justice, the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Education and the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government are scheduled to meet on the 8th.
Furthermore, the Ministerial Consultative Committees on Women, Children Affairs and Social Empowerment and the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Foreign Affairs are scheduled to meet on November 10th.
The Parliamentary Caucus for Children and the Committee on Ethics and Privileges are scheduled to meet on the 8th.
Sri Lanka Police have launched an investigation into a video going viral on social media, which depicts a female tuition teacher being escorted by police motorcycles and vehicles to an event organized by her.
Police Media Spokesperson SSP Buddhika Manathunga confirmed that the individual in question is a private tuition teacher who conducts classes for students preparing for the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination.
Addressing the controversy, SSP Manathunga explained that the Sri Lanka Police may provide officers and vehicles for specific public affairs — such as for filming a movie — but only after a thorough intelligence review of the request and its context, including the script.
He further clarified that police officers may also be deployed for public events such as musical shows or ticketed functions, but this is permitted only upon payment of a required fee.
In this particular case, the teacher is reported to have requested police support, claiming it was needed for a ceremony honoring students who had successfully passed the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination. The event was said to involve nearly 8,000 students and 35,000 parents.
However, preliminary investigations have revealed that the teacher may have used the police escort to boost her personal image, raising serious concerns about the misuse of state resources.
Police have since launched an inquiry into how the vehicles and officers were allocated for the event, and whether any police personnel were complicit in the unauthorized use of official resources, SSP Manathunga said.
According to reports, the SriLankan Airlines’ management has decided to immediately call up retired cabin crew members to service, following the ‘work to rule’ campaign launched by the Cabin Crew Members Association.
The SriLankan Airlines Cabin Crew Members Association launched a ‘work to rule’ campaign in April, citing several demands, including the reallocation of their onboard meal allowance.
In this backdrop, the national carrier is said to be operating with a reduced number of cabin crew which was further affected by the recent retirement of a significant number of experienced senior staff.
The staff were retired stating that individuals over the age of 60 would no longer be retained.
Efforts to extend the retirement age had been unsuccessful.
Even though they had directed a formal request to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Dec. 12, 2024, no response was received, reports add.
