is calico cat lucky
is calico cat lucky
Warning! Oil Prices Are About to ChangeEPL: Silva names two Chelsea players Fulham targeted during 2-1 win
Meanwhile, Xiao Hua was busy chatting animatedly with her stylist, her infectious laughter filling the room. She was known for her ever-changing hairstyles, and this visit was no exception. With each snip of the scissors, a new look emerged, each more stunning than the last. Fans gasped in awe at the sight of the glamorous star, her beauty shining as brightly as ever.NATCHITOCHES, La. (AP) — Chris Mubiru had 13 points to lead Northwestern State to a 71-58 victory over North Alabama on Sunday. Mubiru finished 5 of 6 from the field for the Demons (3-4). Jerald Colonel scored 12 points and added six rebounds. Landyn Jumawan had 12 points with two 3-pointers. Jacari Lane finished with 14 points to lead the Lions (4-3). Will Soucie added 13 points and Canin Jefferson scored nine. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
‘General Hospital’ Alum Ingo Rademacher Reignites Legal Battle With ABC After Steve Burton’s ReturnFor those who enjoy outdoor activities, winter in the south can offer a unique range of opportunities. From hiking in the crisp, cool air to exploring frost-covered landscapes, there's plenty to see and do during the winter months. Just be sure to dress appropriately and take precautions to stay safe in potentially icy conditions.
Furthermore, the Honor GT is expected to come equipped with the latest hardware and software technologies, ensuring that it can handle the most demanding games and applications with ease. With a focus on performance, power efficiency, and overall user experience, the Honor GT is set to be a game-changer in the world of mobile gaming.Brock Bowers sets NFL rookie records as the Raiders roll to a 25-10 victory over the SaintsMURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — Brandon Nunez threw just two passes, each for a score, and New Mexico State beat Middle Tennessee 36-21 on Saturday to end a three-game losing streak. Nunez tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Seth McGowan to give the Aggies a 20-7 lead midway through the third quarter. After Middle Tennessee pulled to 26-21 early in the fourth, Nunez tossed a 4-yard TD pass to Cooper Sheehan that made it 33-21 with 7:43 left. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
In the aftermath of the sharp price drop, many investors are left reeling from the losses, reassessing their strategies, and questioning the long-term viability of cryptocurrencies as an investment. Some have called for stricter regulations to protect investors from excessive risks and market manipulation, while others see the recent crash as a buying opportunity to accumulate more digital assets at a discounted price.Newcastle will feature an unforgettable fireworks display at 9pm on December 31. or signup to continue reading The Queens Wharf precinct will be prime position for the extravaganza, with family-friendly activities, bike parades, live music and local food providers adding to the fun from 5pm. Wollongong will be illuminated by its iconic harbourside fireworks on New Year's Eve. When the show starts at 9pm there will be two great viewing spots: Osborne Park and Lang Park. From 5pm, families can make the most of food trucks near the harbour in Osborne Park. A New Year's Eve carnival will also run between December 31 and January 5 in Lang Park on Marine Drive. Gear up for Australia's most famous fireworks display over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The colossal New Year's celebration has dozens of vantage points to best view the show, with a 'family friendly' 9pm show as well as the midnight extravaganza atop the Harbour Bridge. Enjoy fun with the whole family on Lake Burley Griffin this year. The two separate shows are back after 2023 featured one longer show. The first display is at 9pm for families, followed by another at midnight. Fireworks will launch from the Central Basin and Commonwealth Bridge. This will ensure maximum visibility across four celebration hubs. These will be at Rond Terrace, Queen Elizabeth Terrace and two hubs will be at Regatta Point, one in front of the Canberra and Region Visitors Centre and one near Nerang Pool. Head to Maitland Riverbank, Riverside Carpark and RH Taylor Reserve, Lorn to ring in the New Year with a bang. A family-friendly event from 5pm will offer free amusements, face painting, live music and a disco reliving the year's top hits. Celebrations will conclude with a fireworks display from 9pm onward. Welcome 2025 on Wagga Wagga's iconic Lake Albert. Family fun kicks off at 6.30pm at Apex Park, Lake Rd with food trucks and fun activities for the whole family. The regional centre's traditional fireworks will light up the sky at 9.30pm. Watch Melbourne sparkle on New Year's Eve with the annual fireworks display. Melbourne's night sky will light up across free celebration zones at 9.30pm and again when the clock strikes midnight. Find family-friendly celebration zones at Docklands, Flagstaff Gardens, The Shrine and Treasury Gardens offer the best inner-city views of fireworks and lasers. See the best spots: https://nye.melbourne.vic.gov.au/ Head to the Geelong Waterfront for the best seat in the house. Roll out a rug at Eastern Beach when the annual fireworks displays at 9.30pm midnight light up the night sky. The Bendigo sky will be illuminated not once, but twice, on December 31. A family-friendly display will run at 9.15pm, and another will explode at midnight. Both displays will be let off from the Poppet Head lookout in Rosalind Park. For the first time, Ballarat will have its own New Year's Eve fireworks. The annual display usually comes in mid-January, but it has been shifted to the iconic December 31 timeslot. Lake Wendouree will host the show, which kicks off at 9.30pm. Warrnambool will feature two extraordinary fireworks displays on New Year's Eve. The first show will start at 9.30pm and the second kicks off at midnight, both launching from the Breakwater. The Lady Bay beachfront is the best seat in the house, but Cannon Hill and Flagstaff Hill are also prime viewing spots. Head to the Hobart waterfront to witness an amazing fireworks display at 9.30pm. An amazing midnight show will follow over Sullivan's Cove over the Derwent River at midnight. This year, the Regatta Grounds will have a designated viewing area on the grassy hill looking over Macquarie Point to the Derwent and fireworks. Celebrate New Year's Eve on the Riverbank at Elder Park. Enjoy free fireworks displays at both 9pm and midnight at Elder Park on King William Road. Festivities include food trucks, live entertainment and family-friendly activities. Perth features an incredible 11 fireworks displays throughout December and January, including two shows on New Year's Eve. Families can ring in the New Year at Elizabeth Quay with a fun fair and fireworks. The displays kick off at 8.30pm and midnight over the Swan River. New Year's Eve at the Darwin Waterfront will offer two firework displays, a neon disco for the kids and a New Year's themed show from Liquid Light. Local musicians will wow crowds from 5pm onward. Two fireworks displays will light up the sky at 9pm and midnight, with liquid light and neon fairies promising to entertain the children for hours on end. Brisbane will feature two action-packed fireworks shows on December 31. Held at the South Bank Parklands, one display will take off at 7.45pm and another at midnight. Lay out the picnic blanket and watch the firework action from Wilson's Lookout, City Botanic Gardens, Kangaroo Point Cliffs, Bartley's Hill Lookout or Captain Burke Park for a relaxed viewing with the family. The best viewing locations at South Bank include the Clem Jones Promenade, the Cultural Forecourt, Riverside Green and River Quay. Enjoy amazing fireworks displays across the Gold Coast this New Year's Eve from 8pm onward. Broadbeach, 8pm and midnight at Kurruwa Park, Broadbeach. Coolangatta, 9pm and midnight at Coolangatta beach. Paradise Point, 9pm at Paradise Point Parkland. Coomera, 8pm at Coomera Sports Park. Robina, 10pm at Robina Town Centre, Robina Town Centre Drive, The Promenade. Southport, 9pm at Broadwater Parklands, Marine Parade. Surfers Paradise, 8pm and midnight at Surfers Paradise Foreshore. The Sunshine Coast will have just one fireworks event, a family-friendly display at Mooloolaba at 8.30pm. There have traditionally been two events, but the midnight show was cancelled in November due to safety concerns. Amazing fireworks shows will light up the sky across Springfield Central, South Ripley, Ipswich Central, Chuwar and Goodna at 9pm. The Springfield Central, South Ripley and Ipswich Central fireworks locations have been chosen strategically in central locations so some residents can view the displays from their home backyards or in large, open public spaces nearby. The best public viewing locations include Ironbark Park, South Ripley, the Springfield Central Sporting Complex, Bill Paterson Oval, Limestone Park and the Tivoli Drive In. Find out more: Correspondent covering key issues across regional Victoria, based in Melbourne. Correspondent covering key issues across regional Victoria, based in Melbourne. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Advertisement AdvertisementDarts prodigy Luke Littler, the much-anticipated Oasis reunion, and the Euros were among the most searched topics by UK Google users this year, according to data released by the tech giant. The company's annual "year in search" report revealed that the Euros - where England's men's team made it to the final before being defeated by Spain - was the top general search term of the year. This was followed by searches for late One Direction member Liam Payne and Jay Slater, who tragically passed away while holidaying in Tenerife earlier this year. Teenager Littler, who exploded onto the darts scene at the start of the year, not only topped the trending athletes list but also ranked third - behind only the Princess of Wales and US president-elect Donald Trump - on the most searched people list. In a year dominated by sport, queries such as "when is the Euros final? " featured prominently in the most searched questions list. American gymnast Simone Biles was third on the most searched athletes list, and "how to watch the Olympics" was a popular search as the Games took place in Paris in August. Away from sport, politics also featured heavily in many of the trending topic categories due to elections in the UK and US. Popular searches included "how to vote in the UK", "when is the General Election", "when is the US election", and Donald Trump, who was second on the most searched people list. The Oasis reunion took centre stage in a monumental year for music, with the band's announcement of their comeback tour igniting a surge in searches for "how to get Oasis tickets". The group outshone even pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter on the musicians list. Matt Cooke from the Google News Initiative remarked: "2024 has been a year of comebacks, curiosity, and community. Whether it’s fans reuniting for Oasis, young sports stars like Luke Littler making waves, or Brits voting in everything from elections to Eurovision, these searches show a nation full of passion and interest."
Leading the attack in this year's Best XI is Paris Saint-Germain's young sensation Kylian Mbappe, whose blistering pace, skill, and goal-scoring prowess have captured the hearts of football fans worldwide. Mbappe's inclusion is a reflection of his stellar performances both domestically and on the international stage, cementing his status as one of the brightest talents in the game.IDB Invest – Blue Like An Orange To Advance Sustainable Development In Latin America
The body language between the two leaders spoke volumes, with Macron's discomfort palpable as he struggled to maintain his composure while Trump held on firmly. The tension in the room was palpable, and it was clear that the dynamic between the two leaders was anything but harmonious.Season’s greetings to all readers! Let me begin the second part of this article on the speakers of Sri Lanka with a reference to former Speaker Asoka Ranwala. A source who is usually well-informed about matters concerning the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the National People’s Power (NPP) got in touch with me a few days ago. He said that ex-Speaker Ranwala had indeed acquired a doctoral degree from Japan. According to this JVP/NPP “partisan” source, Asoka Ranwala has indeed acquired a PhD from a Japanese institution of higher learning and is therefore entitled to the prefix “Dr”. Apparently Ranwala, a longstanding activist of the JVP, had “escaped” from Sri Lanka when the Ranasinghe Premadasa regime had cracked down hard on the JVP in the 1989-90 period. Ranwala had made his way to Japan and resided there for several years, stated this source. Ranwala had pursued further studies while being in Japan during those years and had obtained a doctoral degree, claimed this source. Due to some procedural difficulties, Ranwala had been unable to get accredited documentation to clearly establish his bona fides in this matter. The JVP hierarchy was convinced that Ranwala had a doctorate and was prepared to give him time to produce documentary proof of his PhD. But when the Opposition was preparing to present a no confidence motion in Parliament, the JVP leaders had felt it was better for Ranwala to resign from his post and then restore his tarnished image by procuring documentary proof of his qualifications. As such Asoka Ranwala is scheduled to go to Japan soon (he may have gone already) and take steps to get proof of his doctoral degree. “Asoka Ranwala will soon prove that he does indeed have a doctorate from Japan,” emphasised the source. I am inclined to treat this claim with more than a pinch of salt, but let us wait and see what happens. As stated in the first part of this article published last week, both Asoka Ranwala and yesteryear speaker Anandatissa de Alwis have one thing in common. Both were first-time entrants to Parliament who served as speakers. Anandatissa de Alwis had entered the National State Assembly as Parliament was called then for the first time in July 1977 as MP for Kotte when he was elected speaker. Being a former journalist himself, Anandatissa de Alwis was the darling of the media but it was during his period as Speaker that the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act was given new teeth. To demonstrate the power of the amended law, two senior editors of Lake House were summoned to the House over a mix up of a photo caption allegedly affecting then Foreign Minister A.C.S. Hameed. It was a trivial mix up of captions between pictures of an event concerning minister Hameed and a woman clad in a bikini. The two editors were grilled exhaustively and hauled over the coals by Government parliamentarians. An exasperated leader of the Opposition Appapillai Amirthalingam called for an end to the comic inquisition. The editors were let off with a fine. The talk among journalists then was that the captions had been deliberately mixed up to enable the staging of this parliamentary drama. Anandatissa de Alwis became a Cabinet minister in 1978. He was succeeded as Speaker by the deputy speaker Beruwela MP, Bakeer Markar in September 1978. It was during Bakeer Markar’s tenure that the no confidence motion against Opposition leader of the time, Appapillai Amirthalingam was moved by government MPs in 1981. Such a development was unheard of in parliamentary history. Government MPs don’t bring votes of no confidence against the leader of the Opposition. Not only did Bakeer allow the motion but also failed to restrain the “criminal” remarks made by MPs against an absent Amirthalingam during the one-sided debate. The lone communist party MP Sarath Muttetuwegama walked out of Parliament after criticising Bakeer Markar for letting Government backbenchers run Parliament instead of asserting order in the House as Speaker. Bakeer Markar also failed to check the vituperatively racist outpourings of Cyril Mathew in Parliament on more than one occasion. In spite of appeasing hawkish elements in Government ranks and disgracing the office of Speaker in the process, Bakeer Markar was unable to continue as Speaker for his full term. After the anti-Tamil pogrom of July 1983, sections of the Buddhist clergy exerted pressure on J.R. that a Sinhala Buddhist, E.L. Senanayake of Kandy should replace Bakeer Markar the Muslim Speaker. This was acceded to and the old trooper E.L. served as speaker from September 1983 to December 1988. Bakeer was inducted into the cabinet as a minister without portfolio. The 1989 to 1994 Parliament saw the veteran Muslim leader from Colombo, M. Haniffa Mohamed function as Speaker. M.H. Mohamed’s crisis hour came during the impeachment motion moves against president Ranasinghe Premadasa by the trio comprising Lalith Athulathmudali, Gamini Dissanayake and G.M. Premachandra. After being initially favourable to the rebels, Mohamed changed track swiftly and switched loyalties in favour of President Premadasa. A fresh breeze blew in the musty corridors of power in 1994 when the 17-year-long UNP rule was terminated in 1994 by a People’s Alliance (PA) Government led by Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. In 1994 it was the turn of Rajarata’s K.B. Ratnayake to be Speaker. The former Anuradhapura MP was an old student of Hartley College, Point Pedro and spoke Tamil well. K.B. was perhaps the first Sinhala speaker to speak all three languages fluently in the House. Most of the Muslim speakers too were trilingual. The new millennium in 2000 witnessed what was then the rare spectacle of both Government and Opposition electing a consensus candidate as Speaker. That singular honour went to Chandrika Kumaratunga’s brother and Ranil Wickremesinghe’s old school chum Anura Bandaranaike. The PA Government had won the elections with a slender majority. Though Anura was then in the UNP and therefore in the Opposition, Chandrika and Ranil agreed to make Anura the Speaker, much against the wishes of party stalwarts on both sides. A crisis arose when Kumaratunga prorogued Parliament after she lost her majority in parliament. Efforts were on to impeach the president and the then Chief Justice Sarath Silva. Sarath Silva tried to restrain the speaker from accepting the impeachment motion. Though initially hesitant, Anura Bandaranaike ruled later that Parliament was supreme. He said the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to issue interim orders restraining the Speaker in respect of the steps he is empowered to take under Standing Order 78 (a). As stated earlier, the ruling was prompted by the issue of a restraining order on Speaker Anura Bandaranaike by then Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva because there were moves for an impeachment motion against him (Silva) in Parliament. By then, no motion was placed on the Order Paper and only signatures were being collected. The restraining order was based on two fundamental rights petitions heard by a Supreme Court bench presided by then Chief Justice Silva himself. However, the motion did not materialise since the then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga later dissolved Parliament. Summarising his decision, Speaker Anura Bandaranaike declared that: 1. The Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to issue the interim orders restraining the Speaker of Parliament in respect of the steps he is empowered to take under Standing Order 78(a). 2. The interim orders dated 6 June 2001 are not binding on the Speaker of Parliament. 3. There are no legal obligations to comply with the said orders. Later Anura crossed over to the PA after Parliament was dissolved. December 2001 elections saw the UNP-led UNF win. Ranil Wickremesinghe became premier while Chandrika Kumaratunga remained executive president. Gampaha District MP, Joseph Michael Perera was elected Speaker. During his term of office Joseph Michael Perera made a controversial ruling where he emphasised that the President could not unilaterally prorogue Parliament. The Speaker’s (Joseph Michael Perera) ruling reiterated the position that the executive power of the people is vested in the president and Article 70 of the Constitution confers on the president the power to summon, prorogue and dissolve parliament. However, Article 70 of the Constitution, Perera ruled cannot contravene Articles 3 and 4 of the Constitution. Parliament has been elected by the people in whom the sovereign power is vested under Article 3 of the Constitution. Under Article 4, this sovereignty is divided and exercised by the executive president, parliament and the judiciary. In addition, under Article 4, parliament also exercises the judicial power of the people through the courts and tribunals established by the constitution or created and established by law. The Speaker J.M. Perera pointed out in his order that an examination of the scheme of the Constitution shows that Article 70 appears in Chapter XI titled, “The legislative procedure and power.” This makes it clear that this aspect of the president’s power is not an attributive of his executive power set out in article VII, but rather an administrative function vis-a-vis parliament. The exercise of the power to summon, dissolve and prorogue must therefore always be exercised in consultation with parliament and this function must be accepted at all times as being subordinate to the legislative power of the people conferred on parliament by Article 4 (a). Joseph Michael Perera therefore determined that were it not so, it would lead to a situation where one arm of government is able to completely suppress another equal, but separate arm. Interestingly Joseph Michael Perera’s ruling features prominently in the 2018 situation where President Sirisena arbitrarily prorogued Parliament without consulting the Speaker. Political cohabitation came to an end in 2004 and Parliament was dissolved by the then president Kumaratunga. Elections were held and the SLFP led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) came to power. The communist party’s D.E.W. Gunasekera’s name was proposed as Speaker by the UPFA. However, the Opposition nominated UNP’s Badulla District MP, W.J.M. Lokubandara instead of the incumbent Speaker Joseph Michael Perera. Though Perera could have been fielded as a speaker candidate, a change was necessitated due to political exigencies. Joseph Michael Perera was a Catholic. Given the rising tide of anti-Christian feeling among sections of the Buddhist clergy and laity prevailing at that time, a man like Lokubandara with impeccable Sinhala Buddhist credentials was seen as more suitable. The phenomenon of nine Buddhist monk MPs of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) holding the power balance in a hung parliament saw the need for an avowed Sinhala Buddhist nationalist like Lokubandara as opposition candidate for Speaker. It was hoped that Lokubandara could win Jathika Hela Urumaya support or at least ensure their neutrality. The election results indicated that the stratagem had succeeded to a great extent. W.J.M. Lokubandara became Speaker after a bitter and closely contested election. He won with one vote (110-109) in a tussle that went down as a shameful episode in the parliamentary history of this country. In a fracas occurring while Parliament was in session, a Buddhist monk MP was manhandled by a group of MP’s. The chief culprit in this instance was the infamous Mervyn Silva. The 2010 Parliament saw Hambantota District MP Chamal Rajapaksa become Speaker. It was a time when the Rajapaksas of Ruhunu were riding high with Chamal’s younger brothers Mahinda, Basil and Gotabaya being the President, Cabinet Minister and Defence Secretary respectively. It was during Chamal Rajapaksa’s tenure as that Parliament impeached Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. Chamal Rajapaksa completed his full term as Speaker from April 2010 to June 2015. Mahinda Rajapaksa was defeated by Maithripala Sirisena in the presidential poll of Jan 2015. Parliamentary polls in August 2015 saw the UNF forming the Government Karu Jayasuriya became speaker in August 2015 as the latest in a long line of illustrious Speakers who served the legislatures, people and country for many decades. Fate seems to have decreed that Karu Jayasuriya should don the mantle of speaker when parliamentary democracy was facing danger. In an unimaginable political twist, President Maithripala Sirisena conspired with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to oust the then Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and seize power. Sirisena arbitrarily replaced Wickremesinghe as Prime minister with Mahinda Rajapaksa. It was Wickremesinghe who had the majority of MPs on his side. The Mahinda-Maithripala duo was engaged in cobbling together a parliamentary majority by enticing MPs through incentives. Karu Jayasuriya in his capacity as Speaker provided courageous leadership to those resisting unconstitutional moves by the Maithripala-Mahinda duo to seize de facto control of Parliament followed by de-jure control. He even risked physical danger to himself in doing so. Karu refused to be cowed down by the “terror tactics” of pro-Mahinda MPs. For the first time in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary history, a group of MPs tried to attack the speaker physically. Jayasuriya was compelled to enter and exit the chamber with Police escort. Not all the waters of Diyawanna Oya are sufficient to wash off the black mark imposed on 16 November 2018. Karu Jayasuriya’s strength and courage to stand firm in this exercise in the face of violent hostility from the Maithripala-Mahinda forces was derived from his belief of being morally and legally correct. Karu Jayasuriya fought that political battle with the noble aim of safeguarding parliamentary democracy. His courageous defiance of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s MP’s in Parliament was a key element of that fight. It was the outrageously anti-democratic power grab – aided and abetted by Maithripala – of Mahinda Rajapaksa that impelled Karu to enter the fray and spearhead opposition to the illegal attempts. Karu Jayasuriya by his courageous defiance of Maithripala and Mahinda demonstrated that he was no pushover as envisaged by his political adversaries. Moreover, his brave conduct in those dark times resulted in posterity acknowledging Karu Jayasuriya as the most heroic Speaker in Sri Lanka’s Parliamentary history. Karu Jayasuriya as speaker also presided over the Constitutional Assembly tasked with the duty of formulating a new Constitution. The Constitutional assembly succeeded in bringing out a very worthwhile interim report that was approved unanimously by all party representatives. However several parties changed their stances thereafter resulting in the Constitutional exercise reaching a dead end. The 2020 elections saw Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna becoming speaker. He was the first SLPP MP to be elected as speaker. The Matara district MP who served two terms as Southern province chief minister had been first elected Hakmana MP on the UNP ticket. He was removed from office as MP by the then president J.R. Jayewardene for opposing the Indo-Lanka accord and violating party discipline. Abeywardena served as speaker when history of a peculiar variety was made in Sri Lanka. The “Aragalaya” protests resulted in the fall of the SLPP Government. The SLPP president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled from Sri Lanka and went abroad. President Rajapaksa was met in Singapore by the Sri Lankan envoy Sashikala Premawardhane. Gotabaya t signed his letter of resignation in the presence of High Commissioner Sashikala Premawardhane. She e-mailed it immediately to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene in Colombo. However, some doubts regarding the authenticity of the e-mailed resignation letter were raised in Colombo. Therefore, High Commissioner Premawardhane despatched the original letter through a High Commission staffer, who personally delivered it to the Speaker in Sri Lanka. The letter was read out to Parliament by the Parliament Secretary-General. Thereafter the Speaker Abeywardena officially announced the resignation of President Rajapaksa at a news conference on 15 July 2022. The name of speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena was bandied about as a potential president in those crisis times. In fact some powerful western diplomats tacitly backed the speaker to take over the presidency. Abeywardena refused and Ranil Wickremesinghe became the eighth executive president of Sri Lanka. Presidential and Parliamentary elections in September and November 2024 saw Anura Kumara Dissanayake being elected as President and the National People’s Power (NPP) PP winning 159 seats in Parliament. The NPP Gampaha district MP Ranwala Arachchige Asoka Sapumal Ranwala served as Sri Lanka’s Speaker from 21 November to 13 December 2024 for 22 days. On 17 December 2024, Idampitiyegedara Wanigasuriya Mudiyanselage Jagath Wickramaratne was elected as Speaker. The election was unanimous. Dr. Jagath Wickramarathe who was elected on the NPP ticket from Polonnaruwa district is a medical doctor. This then is the story of the speakers of Sri Lanka from 1931 to 2024.
Don't miss out on the action - get ready to speed into the New Year with Sonic the Hedgehog 3!What the Options Market Tells Us About Chevron
