News

Website mimicking that of EC traced to US-based Google server

Published

2 years ago

2024/08/12

Prabath

Ratnayake

By Chaminda Silva

The Election Commission (EC) has enlisted the help of the police cyber crimes unit to investigate a phishing website mimicking the EC’s official site and attempting to gather personal information from Sri Lankans.

Election Commissioner General Saman Sri Ratnayake said that the fraudulent website, hosted on a US-based Google server, had been flagged by the Computer Emergency Response Team (SLCERT).

Ratnayake said that a request had been made to the police cyber crimes division on Saturday, and a court order sought to ask Google to reveal the identity of the site’s creator. The fake site was detected by SLCERT on Friday night. Its link has been circulated via WhatsApp, X and other messaging platforms, falsely claiming the EC is recruiting for election-related roles and soliciting sensitive personal data, including full names, dates of birth, and contact numbers.

Ratnayake said that though the fraudulent web was hosted from a US based server, it could be operated from anywhere in the world, as such it was too early to attribute this fraud to a specific country.

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Petrol to cost less from midnight today (30)

Published

2 hours ago

2026/08/30

Priyan

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) has announced a reduction in the prices of Petrol 92 and Petrol 95, effective from midnight today (30).

The price of Petrol 92 has been reduced by Rs. 15 per litre, from Rs. 414 to Rs. 399 while the price of Petrol 95 Octane has been reduced by Rs. 20 per litre, from Rs. 495 to Rs. 475

There will be no change in the prices of diesel, Super Diesel and kerosene under the latest revision.

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“Rathuwewi Mihimadala” Book Launched with the Participation of the Prime Minister

Published

7 hours ago

2026/08/30

Priyan

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]

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Sun directly overhead Mannar, Periyamadu, Puliyankulam, Welioya and Pulmoddai about 12.11 noon today (30)

Published

17 hours ago

2026/08/30

Priyan

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.