News
Lankan peacekeepers in Mali suffer first casualties
Detonation of an improvised explosive device (IED) in Mali had injured four UN peacekeepers from Sri Lanka, Xinhua news agency reported.
Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said, on Monday, the injuries were not serious.
Dujarric said that the peacekeepers from the UN mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, are receiving medical treatment.
The incident occurred on Sunday, about 12 km northwest of their camp, in Tessalit, in the Kidal region, Dujarric added. When the blast occurred, they were in an armoured vehicle providing security for a logistics convoy.
“About 40 minutes after the incident, a search of the surrounding area discovered a second IED which was successfully detonated,” he said.
“Earlier in the day, the mission had detonated another IED, discovered some 23 km northwest of the Tessalit camp.”
The spokesman added the attack on the peacekeepers was indicative of the continuing violence in Mali.
The UN staff union reported earlier this year that the MINUSMA mission was the most deadly of any world body assignment for the ninth year, with 14 personnel killed in 2022.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to award the contract for printing and supplying vehicle number plates for the Department of Motor Traffic for a period of five (5) years to M/s South Asian Technologies based on the recommendations of the High-Level Standing Procurement Committee and the Procurement Appeal Board.
The National Lotteries board has been established subject to the Finance Act No. 11 of 1963. Having identified the requirement of amending that act which was imposed around 62 years to cater the current requirements of the lottery market, the Cabinet of Mnisters at their meeting held on 14.02.2017 granted approval to draft a new bill for the purpose.
Accordingly, the National Lotteries Board has recognized further amendments to be performed to the fundamental draft bill prepared by the Legal Draftsmen.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the
resolution furnished by the President in his office as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to direct the Legal Draftsmen to finalize the formulation of the draft bill for the National Lotteries Board as soon as possible including the proposed new amendments as well.
The Werahara office of the Department of Motor Traffic performs issuance of temporary driving licenses in this country based on the driving licenses issued overseas, and measures have been initiated to render the service from a service window of the Department of Motor Traffic established at the Bandaranayake International Airport from 03.08.2025.
The fees charged for issuing temporary driving licenses have been published in Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 prepared under the provisions of the Motor Traffic (Authority 203) Act.
But, as the fee of Rupees 2,000/- charged for the service is not sufficient, the requirement of amending the regulations has been recognized.
The regulations for introducing the revised fees have been published in the government extraordinary gazette
notification No. 2463/04 dated 17.11.2025. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development to
submit the regulations to the Parliament for its concurrence.
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Selfies and smiles: South Korea seeks ‘new phase’ in ties with China
M/s South Asian Technologies awarded contract to supply vehicle number plates
A new act for National Lotteries Board to be introduced
Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 to be amended
Mrs. P. K. L. S. Panduwawala appointed to the post of Surveyor General
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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