News
Raids lead to increase in Excise revenue
The excise revenue had increased by one billion rupees following raids on counterfeit revenue stickers affixed to bottles of liquor within a month after Chairman of the Parliament Committee on Ways and Means Champika Ranawaka threatened to replace the existing sticker with a new digital one, Parliament sources said yesterday.
The sudden increase in the number of raids and the revenue collected in the form of fines was observed during yesterday’s session of the Committee on Public Finance, according to Parliament sources.
During the one-month period following Ranawaka’s proposal to issue a fresh tender for the introduction of a digital sticker to replace the currently used one by the Madras Security Printers Company of India, over 100,000 bottles of liquor, with counterfeit revenue stickers, were identified in the raids, sources said.
Ranawaka’s proposal stipulated that the new digital sticker should feature a QR code for easy customer scanning and should include information such as the specific bottle’s amount of direct tax and a summary of the bottle’s content composition, Parliament sources said.
News
UPDATE: Seven killed and 23 missing after boat capsizes off northern Cyprus, says Turkish Cypriot PM
Seven people have died after a passenger boat capsized near northern Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot PM says. Search and rescue operations are under way to find 23 people missing, says Ünal Üstel, the prime minister of the self-declared territory
He says 267 people were on board the vessel when it capsized, and 237 have been rescued
[BBC]
News
“Rathuwewi Mihimadala” Book Launched with the Participation of the Prime Minister
The book “Rathuwewi Mihimadala”, written based on the life story of Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Leader of the Democratic Left Front, was launched on Friday [August 28] at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo, with the participation of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.
Speaking to the media afterwards about Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated:
“Vasudeva Nanayakkara is a prominent figure in Sri Lankan politics, particularly within the left-wing political movement. There were several influential figures within the left movement, and that left-wing influence also contributed to bringing the country to where it is today. Politically, there were areas where we agreed and areas where we did not. However, I have great respect for the contribution made by Vasudeva Nanayakkara to left-wing politics. When I entered Parliament in 2020, Vasudeva Nanayakkara was also in Parliament. We sat in the same row, and we spoke about many important as well as interesting moments in his political career. I believe some of these experiences have also been included in this book.”
The event was attended by members of the Maha Sangha, Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara, former President Maithripala Sirisena, former Speakers Karu Jayasuriya and Chamal Rajapaksa, as well as party members, family members and friends.


[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
Latest News
Sun directly overhead Mannar, Periyamadu, Puliyankulam, Welioya and Pulmoddai about 12.11 noon today (30)
The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.
The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (30) are Mannar, Periyamadu, Puliyankulam, Welioya and
Pulmoddai about 12.11 noon.
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