News
Editors Guild condemns CID for hounding editors
The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka (TEGOSL) strongly condemned a move by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to summon and record statements from three senior newspaper editors and several
journalists regarding the complaint lodged by Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena against former director of the Consumer Affairs Authority Thushan Gunawardena related to the Sathosa garlic scam.
In a statement signed by its Secretary, Sisira Paranathanthri, TEGOSL has questioned the right of the CID to pursue journalists including editors who reported certain incidents in the country by viewing what was believed to be an accurate report of an offence in a civilized society.
The statement said: “Instead of shamelessly hounding the media which exposed the scam, the CID should have questioned the parties directly accused by the minister and brought them before the law
after conducting proper investigations.
“We would like to question whether the CID, despite its professional responsibility, decided to summon the President of The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka, who is also the Chief Editor of the Lankadeepa, Siri
Ranasinghe, and its members, the Editor of Divaina, Anura Solomons, and the Editor of The Island,
Prabath Sahabandu, as though they were connected to the scam.
“The letter dated 28.09.2021 sent by the CID to the Lankadeepa Editor says that the Trade Minister has lodged a complaint claiming that he had been defamed and insulted by the print and electronic media publishing hateful statements by Thushan Gunawardena.
“It is shocking that Bandula Gunawardena, who sat as a minister in Parliament in 2002 was not aware that Parliament unanimously voted to repeal the criminal defamation laws in the same year. Under
what legal provision did the CID attempt to obtain statements from Lankadeepa Editor Ranasinghe
and other journalists at the Lankadeepa office on Sept 28.
“We once again denounce the shameless and ridiculous act of the CID hounding editors and journalists instead of dealing with the parties directly involved in the scam according to the law in a context
where the criminal defamation laws have been repealed in Sri Lanka. This is a huge threat and a danger on the freedom of media.”
Based on the prevailing disaster situation and the upcoming festive season, arrangements have been made to provide a nutrition allowance worth Rs. 5,000 to pregnant mothers.
This allowance, which will be provided only once, will be given to pregnant mothers who were registered at maternal clinics on or before 30 November 2025.
The distribution will take place through the Divisional Secretariat offices from 16 December, as a program of the National Secretariat for Early Childhood Development, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs.
The Situation Report released by the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) at 6:00 AM today (13th December 2025) confirms that 640 persons have died and another 211 persons are missing due to flooding and landslides that took place in Sri Lanka within the past two weeks.
A meeting between representatives of UNICEF and Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya was held on the 10th of December at the Prime Minister’s Office.
During the discussion, an initial review of the new digitalization policy draft was conducted, and it was emphasized that the new digital policy must be formulated to align with the ongoing education reforms.
The Prime Minister highlighted that the digital policy should be developed in a way that supports all five core pillars of the current education reforms, including curriculum reform, infrastructure development, and administrative restructuring.
It was further noted that the current draft is primarily focused on curriculum-related matters, and the digital policy should be structured to influence the overall education reform process.
Extensive discussions were also held on the importance of digital literacy, NEMIS, the provision of digital infrastructure, and minimizing the existing digital divide.
Attention was also drawn to the gaps in the current teacher training mechanisms , and the Prime Minister stressed the need to reduce paper usage.
The meeting was attended by the UNICEF representatives Dr. Emma Brigham and Deborah Wyburn, Secretary to the Prime Minister Pradeep Saputhanthri, Additional Secretary A.B.M. Ashraff, and several other officials.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
Pregnant Mothers to receive Rs 5000 Nutrition Allowance in December
640 deaths, 211 missing as at 6:00AM today (13)
New Digitalization Policy draft reviewed
The government is taking steps to streamline trade facilitation, customs processes, investment approvals, and improving export facilities – Prime Minister
Showers will occur in the Northern, North-Central, Eastern, Uva, Central and North-Western provinces.
Big fossil fuel companies are responsible for climate crisis but poor countries like Sri Lanka are battered by it – Greenpeace South Asia
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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