A new concept paper proposing a “tobacco-free generation” for children born&nbsp;after 2010 has been officially submitted to Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health, Nalinda Jayatissa.&nbsp; Developed by the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA), the plan aims to eliminate future exposure to tobacco by implementing key legislative reforms, including restricting access for the younger population. The proposal highlights the urgent need to address the health, social, and economic burdens caused by tobacco and alcohol. Experts emphasize that these substances are major contributors to non-communicable diseases and act as gateways to other drugs.&nbsp; With around 22,000 deaths annually linked to tobacco and alcohol, the initiative seeks to curb initiation among youth, especially given rising smoking rates among schoolchildren. Minister Jayatissa welcomed the initiative, emphasising its importance for a healthier future.&nbsp; The Government and health stakeholders support measures to strengthen regulations and prevent access to tobacco for future generations, aligning with global strategies proven effective in reducing smoking-related harm.

Proposal submitted for smoking ban for people born after 2010 in Sri Lanka

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has called on the working people of Sri Lanka to unite and continue driving the nation forward, in his message marking May Day. The President said this year’s May Day comes at a key moment, as Sri Lanka records strong economic progress despite global challenges such as conflicts, rising tariffs, and natural disasters like Cyclone Ditwah.&nbsp; He highlighted that the country achieved its lowest budget deficit since 1977 and highest government revenue since 2007, while export earnings exceeded $17 billion. He also noted record-high foreign remittances, thanking workers for their vital role in these achievements. Recognising the value of labour, the government has taken steps to improve the lives of workers. These include salary increases for public sector employees, higher minimum wages in the private sector, and pension rights for newer public servants. Plantation worker wages have been raised, and laws affecting women working at night have been updated. The Mahapola scholarship has also been increased to support students from working families. The President acknowledged that recent disasters, especially Cyclone Ditwah, had heavily impacted workers. In response, the government provided its highest-ever disaster compensation, along with support for farmers, fishers, and small businesses. Through the “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” programme, efforts are underway to restore homes, livelihoods, and improve living conditions. Looking ahead, he stressed the need to modernise the economy and society through key programmes such as education reforms, the digital economy drive, the Clean Sri Lanka initiative, and the ‘Prajashakthi’ programme. Reaffirming his vision of building “A Thriving Nation – A Beautiful Life,” the President said the strength of Sri Lanka lies in its working people. He invited all citizens to come together with commitment and integrity to build a better future, extending his best wishes for a meaningful May Day.

President urges unity on May Day

The Ministry of Finance will make a special statement in Parliament on 5 May regarding the alleged misplacement of USD 2.5 million. Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Anil Jayantha is expected to deliver the statement. Treasury Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma is scheduled to appear before the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) today (30) at 1.00 p.m. Senior Finance Ministry officials are also expected to be questioned by the committee over the incident.

Finance Ministry to brief Parliament on USD 2.5M cyber incident

Treasury Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma is scheduled to appear before the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) at 1.00 p.m. today(30). He will appear following summons issued by COPF over the alleged misplacement of USD 2.5 million. Several senior officials of the Ministry of Finance are also expected to attend the meeting.

Treasury Secretary to appear before COPF today

The Colombo High Court (HC) has postponed the announcement of verdicts in four cases filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) against former Deputy Minister Sarana Gunawardena.&nbsp; The verdicts, which were initially scheduled to be delivered today (30th), have now been deferred to 26 May 2026.&nbsp; The cases concern allegations by the Bribery Commission that Gunawardena caused financial losses to the government in 2006 while serving as Chairman of the National Lotteries Board.&nbsp; The charges specifically relate to the leasing and hiring of vehicles for the institution during his tenure.

Court postpones verdict in 4 corruption cases against ex-Dy Minister Sarana Gunawardena

The Artemis II astronauts’ journey to the moon and back landed them at the White House Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon — standing by while President Donald Trump talked UFOs, the Space Force and the Iran war. Sporting blue jackets, NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen stood behind Trump at the Resolute Desk — which had a gold-plated model of the moon on it — as White House reporters were brought in. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman also stood alongside the astronauts. “I don’t know how they do it. I wouldn’t want to do it, but it takes people like this to make our country great,” Trump said. Trump briefly ran through his own space-related priorities, some at the prompting of reporters: touting his move to start the military branch Space Force in his first term, reiterating his intention to release classified material related to UFOs and saying there was a “good shot” that another person would walk on the moon during his presidency. “We don’t like to say definitely, because then you say, ‘Oh, we failed,’” Trump said. “So we have a good shot. We’ve authorized it.” Isaacman confirmed efforts to send a person to the moon’s surface again in 2028, as well as detailing continued plans to launch an Artemis III mission in 2027. He also said NASA headquarters will remain in Washington, DC, calling it an “advantage” to be in the nation’s capital — an assertion Trump agreed with. A gold moon gifted to the White House by Isaacman and a model of the Space Reactor-1 Freedom Rocket on loan from NASA were visible on Trump’s desk during the visit, according to NASA spokesperson George Alderman. The rest of the event became a somewhat freewheeling press conference, a common risk during most of Trump’s public events these days. About two weeks ago, Trump welcomed a DoorDash delivery woman to the White House in an effort to tout his party’s tax cuts. The woman then stood next to Trump while he answered questions about the Iran war and tried to solicit her opinion on transgender women playing in women’s sports. Trump didn’t ask the astronauts to weigh in on his comments Wednesday, but they stood by with carefully neutral expressions as he praised a Supreme Court decision to limit the Voting Rights Act, insisted that former FBI Director James Comey had threatened his life with a social media post and said the end of wars in Ukraine and Iran would probably happen on a “similar timetable.” There were parallels to the mission itself, as some of the Artemis milestones were eclipsed by the war with Iran. After the astronauts marked the achievement of traveling the furthest distance from Earth — as they circled around the dark side of the moon on April 6 — much of the news coverage the next day focused on Trump’s remarkable threat on Iran the next morning. He wrote: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.” Trump had watched the launch alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as photographed by the White House, and the president had touted the mission as an example of American dominance. “We are WINNING, in Space, on Earth, and everywhere in between — Economically, Militarily, and now, BEYOND THE STARS. Nobody comes close!” Trump wrote on Truth Social before liftoff. When the astronauts successfully returned, Trump congratulated them on their “spectacular” feat and invited the crew to the White House. “We’ll be doing it again and then, next step, Mars!” Trump said. Source: CNN

Trump welcomes Artemis II astronauts to Oval Office and fields questions on Iran, Comey and UFOs

President of the Republic of the Maldives Mohamed Muizzu, will undertake a State Visit to Sri Lanka from 4 to 5 May 2026, at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. This visit marks President Muizzu’s first official visit to Sri Lanka since assuming office in 2023. During his stay, he is scheduled to engage in bilateral talks with President Dissanayake aimed at further strengthening the enduring friendship and cooperation between the two nations. Several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) are anticipated to be signed during the visit, underscoring the shared dedication of Sri Lanka and the Maldives to deepen collaboration across various sectors. President Muizzu will be accompanied by First Lady Sajidha Mohamed, along with several senior Cabinet Ministers, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and other senior officials from the Government of Maldives.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu to Visit Sri Lanka

Eleven cancers are becoming more common in young people in England, a major analysis shows. A full explanation for why levels of cancer are increasing remains elusive. But the study reveals that a decades-long pattern of people becoming more overweight is likely to play some role, even though it is far from the whole story. Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research and Imperial College London stressed cancer in young people is still rare and that everyone can reduce their risk by living a healthy lifestyle. Why cancer has been increasing in people's late teens, 20s, 30s and 40s has been puzzling scientists for years. Bradley Coombes, from Portsmouth, was just 23 when he died from bowel cancer. His mum Caroline Mousdale said that despite having many "red flag" symptoms of bowel cancer, her son was often dismissed as being too young to have the disease. She said he was "a really fit and healthy young man" about to sign a semi-professional football deal and was loving life. There was nothing that obviously put him at risk, she says. But after his first year at university he was losing a lot of weight and having pain in his abdomen. Then came diarrhoea and blood in his stools. It took 18 months of symptoms to get diagnosed. By the time he had a video examination of his bowels – called a colonoscopy – the cancer was so large it blocked the camera from getting in. Surgery and chemotherapy could not stop his tumour and Bradley died with his dog Buster by his side. "I really felt, like every parent, that he would have conquered his football dreams, he would have just had a fantastic life and that's been taken away from him, because early onset bowel cancer hadn't been identified," says Caroline. It is rare to ever know why one person develops cancer. But a team of scientists worked through national trends in both cancer and our lifestyles to see if they could find a pattern. They showed that as well as bowel cancer; thyroid, multiple myeloma, liver, kidney, gallbladder, pancreatic, womb lining (or endometrial), mouth, breast and ovarian cancers were increasing. Bowel and breast cancers are the most common in younger adults, with a combined 11,500 cases a year, while pancreatic and gall bladders are much rarer.Only bowel and ovarian cancers were increasing exclusively in the young, with the other nine increasing in older adults too. The study, by The Institute of Cancer Research and Imperial College London, also analysed patterns in behaviours already known to increase the risk of cancer. But it showed smoking levels, alcohol consumption, levels of physical exercise, the amount of red and processed meat and the number of diets low in fibre were all either getting better or staying the same. These behaviours all have a role in cancer, but don't explain why cancer has increased. The report said the only data that aligned with the increase in cancer was levels of overweight and obesity, which has been on the rise since the 1990s. Extra fat tissue is thought to alter hormones in the body, such as insulin, which can affect the risk of cancer. However, even this is an imperfect answer. For instance in bowel cancer, the researchers estimate that for every 100 extra cases, 20 may be due to excess weight while 80 are still unexplained. The researchers say it's important to prevent all cancers, not just the "extra" ones. It is estimated that nearly 40% of cancers worldwide can be prevented with lifestyle choices like not smoking. Seven million cancers a year are preventable, says report"It is very worrisome to hear the news that cancers are increasing in young people," Prof Montserrat García Closas, from The Institute of Cancer Research, told the BBC. "However, there are things that can be done to reduce the risk of cancer by having a healthy lifestyle - for instance, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight." The researchers also said that while cancers in young people were increasing, it was important to remember they were still dwarfed by cancers in older age groups. One in 1,000 young people (aged in their 20s, 30s and 40s) get a cancer diagnosis each year compared to around one in 100 for older age groups (in their 50s, 60s and 70s), they said. The search for other risk factor continues. Prof Marc Gunter from Imperial College London said there was discussion about ultra-processed foods, forever chemical (or PFAS) and antibiotic use, but said there's "a lot we don't know". Sweetened drinks, inflammation, air pollution, gut bacteria and weedkillers have all been suggested. It is also being investigated whether getting better at detecting cancers is leading to more being diagnosed at a younger age. The findings are published in the journal BMJ Oncology. Source : BBC

11 cancers on the rise in young people - scientists find first clue why it's happening

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to defend the Iran war in fiery remarks to Congress on Wednesday, saying it was not a quagmire and attacking Democratic lawmakers as “feckless” for criticizing the unpopular conflict. Hegseth was testifying before Congress for the first time since the U.S. and Israel launched a ⁠war against Iran on February 28 that has led to a surge in gasoline prices. Trump’s popularity has taken a pounding since the conflict began and just 34% of Americans approve of the U.S. conflict with Iran, down from 36% in mid-April and 38% in mid-March, the Reuters/Ipsos poll found. Democrats peppered ⁠Hegseth with questions about the open-ended conflict, with Rep. John Garamendi of California calling it a “quagmire” and “political and economic disaster at every level.” Hegseth responded angrily. “You call it ⁠a quagmire, handing propaganda to our enemies? Shame on you for that statement,” Hegseth said in response to Garamendi, and slammed “reckless, ⁠feckless, and defeatist” Congressional Democrats. “Don’t say: ‘I support the troops on one hand, and then a two-month ⁠mission is a quagmire.’ ... Who are you cheering for here? Who you pulling for?” Source: Reuters

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Hegseth defends Iran war in US Congress, says it is not a quagmire

Hegseth defends Iran war in US ...

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President urges unity on May D ...

Finance Ministry to brief Parliament on USD 2.5M cyber incident

Finance Ministry to brief Parl ...

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Treasury Secretary to appear b ...

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Trump welcomes Artemis II astr ...

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu to Visit Sri Lanka

Maldives President Mohamed Mui ...

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11 cancers on the rise in youn ...

Hegseth defends Iran war in US Congress, says it is not a quagmire

Hegseth defends Iran war in US ...

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