News
Govt. urged to defer ‘Anti-Terrorism Bill’
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has urged the government to defer ‘Anti-Terrorism Bill’ pending consultations with concerned parties, including the association.
The following is the text of the statement: “The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) observes that the Government published an ‘Anti- Terrorism Bill’, on the 22nd of March 2023. This Bill seeks to abolish the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and introduce an Anti-Terrorism Act.
The BASL is firmly of the view that no legislation should be introduced to curtail and/or suppress, directly or indirectly the fundamental rights of citizens, enshrined in our Constitution and that this Bill if passed into law will have far reaching effects.
The Bill has been published in the Gazette without adequate consultations with the relevant stakeholders including the BASL. Hence the BASL calls upon the Government to consider to defer the Bill until there is a wider stakeholder consultation and the concerns of stakeholders including the BASL are taken into account.
Furthermore, the BASL takes cognizance that the bill requires serious attention, and as such, has appointed a committee of senior lawyers to review the legality and the consequences of the bill, and report to the Management Committee of the BASL.
It must be noted that the BASL would not hesitate to challenge any bill that would deem to undermine the Rule of Law and the Liberty of the Citizen in our country.”
The Promotion of Export Agriculture Act, No. 46 of 1992 provides the legal provisions for regulating and promoting the export agriculture sector in this country.
Taking into consideration administrative changes and sectoral developments that have taken place over time, approval was granted at the Cabinet Meetings held on 2023-09-04 and 2025-08-11 to amend the said Act, which has not been updated for over 30 years.
The proposed amendments are intended to amend the designations of the Head of the Department of Export Agriculture and other officials, and to provide a clearer definition of the term “the export agricultural crop.”
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to publish in the Government Gazette the Draft Export Agriculture Promotion (Amendment) Bill, prepared in all three languages by the Legal Draftsman to amend the Export Agriculture Promotion Act, No. 46 of 1992, and thereafter submit the same to Parliament for its concurrence
Latest News
Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, appointed as Director General of the Department of Management Services
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, to appoint Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, an officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service in the Special Grade who is currently serving as an Additional Director General of the Department of Management Services, to the post of Director General of the Department of Management Services with immediate effect.
News
Cabinet approves collaboration agreement between Sri Lanka and Brazil for the implementation of the “Sugarcane Project in Sri Lanka”
At present, approximately 90% of the country’s sugar requirement is met through imports, resulting in a considerable expenditure of foreign exchange. Therefore, the necessity of obtaining international technological assistance for overcoming the loopholes and challenges existing in the local sugarcane
sector has been identified.
Taking that situation into consideration, the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development of Sri Lanka, the Sugarcane Research Institute, and the National Science Foundation, together with the Brazilian Cooperation Agency and the Federal University of São Carlos, have planned to implement a project titled the “Sugarcane Project in Sri Lanka.”
Through the proposed project, it is expected to obtain the expertise and experience possessed by Brazil, as a global leader in sugarcane production, for the purposes of increasing sugarcane yield and sugar production in Sri Lanka, enhancing the technical capacity of stakeholders through training and
knowledge exchange, promoting value addition and the efficient utilization of by-products, and strengthening institutional capacity within the sugar production sector.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development to implement the proposed project over a period of 36 months under the framework of
the Technical Cooperation Agreement signed between the two countries in 2008.
Amendment to the Promotion of Export Agriculture Act, No. 46 of 1992 to be gazatted
Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, appointed as Director General of the Department of Management Services
Cabinet approves collaboration agreement between Sri Lanka and Brazil for the implementation of the “Sugarcane Project in Sri Lanka”
Cabinet approval for Implementation of a Project for the Joint Exchange of Genetic Resources between Sri Lanka and Vietnam and the Development of High-Yielding and Salinity-resilient Rice Varieties.
Landslide Early Warnings issued to the Districts of Kalutara, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura extended till1600 hrs on Wednesday [27]
Wave of child abuse cases shakes schools in Paris
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Features7 days agoOctopus, Leech, and Snake: How Sri Lanka’s banks feast while the nation starves
-
Sports7 days agoSri Lanka women’s volleyball team ready for Central Asian challenge
-
Opinion6 days agoMurder of Ehelepola family, Bogambara Wewa and Sightings of Wangediya
-
Business5 days agoHistoric launch of CCWE Fashion Week & International Summit 2026
-
News6 days agoSteps underway to safeguard Sri Lanka’s maritime heritage
-
News2 days agoPolice probe underway to ascertain links between criminals deported from UAE and local politicians
-
Features3 days agoThe NPP’s pivot to the past
-
Editorial6 days agoA play without its protagonist