PSC members not bound to appear before Appeal Court – Deputy
Speaker
Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody said that the
Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) members are not bound to appear
before the Appeal Court in response to the notice issued on them on
Friday nor will there be any necessity for the Speaker to
communicate this information to the Court. “Under Section 9 of the
Parliamentary Privileges Act (PPA), proceedings of Parliament or its
committees cannot be influenced or obstructed by any third party,”
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Discredit President for everything:
New UNP strategy to capture power
It is only by holding President Mahinda
Rajapaksa responsible for all that happens in the country that this
Government could be defeated, said UNP MP, Joseph Michael Perera at
the 45th Anniversary of the UNP affiliated Government Press Trade
Union Federation held at Sirikotha last week. Explaining in detail
the new strategy to discredit the government the UNP veteran
reiterated the need to hold the President responsible for all that
happens in the country.
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Over 100,000 affected by floods
Over 100,000 people from 90 Grama Niladhari
divisions were affected in the recent floods experienced in the
Puttalam district, Deputy Minister of External Affairs and
Parliamentarian for the district, Neomal Perera told the Sunday
Observer. People on either side of the Deduru Oya were badly
affected with their houses inundated, valuables washed away and
rendered homeless, he said.
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IRCs and pickpockets nabbed in shopping malls
Several plainclothes police women along with
their male counterparts have been detailed in shopping areas such as
Pettah, Kollupitiya, Bambalapitiya and Wellawate to keep an eye on
pickpockets where large numbers of shoppers congregate. “From the
day the operation commenced we have arrested around 20-30 persons
against whom warrants have been issued by various courts.
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To curb people smuggling :
Sweeping changes in Immigration Act soon
The current Immigration and Emigration Act of
1948 is to be revised with sweeping changes by the Government by
April next year to combat people smuggling and to deter the flow of
unlawful sea migrants to Australia. The Department of Immigration
and Emigration has prepared a draft with the proposed amendments
which involve revising 90 percent of the existing provisions in the
Act.
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President Maithripala Sirisena is in Thailand making a three-day official visit and attending the second Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit. The Dialogue Summit that brings together 34 nations in the Asian region takes place from October 8 -10 in Bangkok under the theme "One Asia, Diverse Strength".
Official level discussions have commenced between Sri Lanka and Iran on reviving trade agreements that were signed between the two countries and will be put into operation soon after ironing out technicalities, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rishad Bathiudeen said. 
Pakistan on Friday (September 30) officially postponed the 19th SAARC Summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad on November 9 and 10. A new set of dates for holding the Summit will be announced soon through the Chair of SAARC (Nepal), reports said. 
Due to the prevailing drought, water levels of the main reservoirs have dropped to half its capacity, with authorities warning that drastic measures may need to be taken if water is to be continuously released from the reservoirs for power generation. 
To avert a possible dengue outbreak in the next three months, when the number of mosquito breeding sites are likely to surge with the monsoon rains, the Dengue Control Unit of the Health Ministry will launch an island-wide Dengue Control Week starting on Tuesday, September 27 to Monday, October 3.
Sir Richard Jolly, former Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF, and Special Adviser to the Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (1996 to 2000), and Principal Coordinator of the widely-acclaimed Human Development Report will deliver a lecture on, “Development: Can Sri Lanka be a model for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs)?” on September 28 at 5 pm at the BMICH Committee Room D, on the invitation of the Gamani Corea Foundation. 
Richmondite Charith Asalanka joined the elite band of school cricketers by winning the coveted Schoolboy Cricketer Of The Year 2016 title for the second year in succession emulating the feats of former Sri Lankan greats Arjuna Ranatunga, 1980/82' ( Ananda) Roshan Mahanama, 1983/84'(Nalanda) Thilan Samaraweera 1994/95' ( Ananda) 'Lahiru Peiris 2004/2005 (St.Peter's) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa 2010'2011 (Royal) who had also won the award twice .
Cricketing legend and former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene will grace the occasion at the 38th Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year awards night scheduled to take place at the Galadari Hotel on September 20. 
Stern action will be taken against traders who sell sugar above the controlled price of Rs. 95. Instructions have been given to the relevant authorities to launch island-wide search operations, a press communique from the Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake said. 
Refuting speculations, Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said, no decision has been taken to impose power cuts on account of the current dry spell in the country. 
