In response to Daily Mirror story headlined ‘AKD, Harini clashes over UGC Chairman appointment?’ in yesterday’s edition, the Prime Minister’s Office sent the following clarification.

“We wish to express our deep concern over the inaccuracies presented in this article. The claims made are false, baseless, and misleading to the public.

To clarify:

1. There has been no conflict or disagreement between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya regarding the appointment of the UGC Chairman.

2. The appointment of Senior Professor Kapila Seneviratne was made with the full consultation and concurrence of the Prime Minister.

The dissemination of such misleading information is a serious issue, as it undermines the integrity of our office and erodes public trust. The Prime Minister’s Office expects your prompt action to rectify this error.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has awarded Sri Lanka a $17 million grant for its proposal, “One Vision, One Shield,” aimed at strengthening pandemic preparedness and response.

The latest financial disclosures from the Election Commission reveal that Sajith Premadasa and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), lead in campaign spending for the 2024 Presidential Election, with a total expenditure of Rs. 1.13 billion.

Chanu Nimesha, the Secretary of Women's Affairs of the Sri Lanka Socialist party, has created history by becoming the first transgender individual to contest an election in Sri Lanka. Nimesha will contest from the Kegalle District.

The Department of Immigration and Emigration will visit the southern coastal belt in early November to look for any overstaying tourists from countries like Russia and Israel, where an influx of tourists are expected in the emerging South season for Christmas, the Daily Mirror learns.

The elite Special Task Force (STF) have heightened security in Colombo, Weligama and Ella as well, a day after the US Embassy in Colombo gave a warning of a possible terror threat in Arugam Bay, a senior defence source told Daily Mirror last evening.

While refuting claims by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe that his government had allocated funds required to increase public sector salaries, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that no such funds had been allocated.

A Fundamental Rights petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking an order preventing Ranjan Ramanayake from contesting the parliamentary election scheduled for November 14.

Claiming that Sri Lanka has come a long way in terms of undertaking reforms which have led to some hard won gains, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)said they could move fast towards the third review which will come up soon.

The Election Commission has decided to mark the voters' index fingers for this year's general elections, Commissioner General Saman Ratnayake announced. He said the elections are scheduled for November 14, 2024.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to hold a series of meetings with the High Commissioners of South Africa and New Zealand, along with the Ambassadors of Iran and Myanmar, as well as a delegation from the European Union today (25) at the Presidential Secretariat.