GossipLanka: Know about Gossip Lanka News

GossipLanka (also known as Gossip Lanka News or Gossip Lanka) is a popular news website in Sri Lanka that covers a wide range of topics, including politics, entertainment, sports, and more. It is a leading online mews source in Sri Lanka. Locally it is know as ගොසිප් ලංකා පුවත්.

The website is updated regularly with the latest news and information from around the country, making it a go-to source for many Sri Lankans seeking the latest updates on current events.

Gossip Lanka News was founded in 2011 and has since grown to become one of the leading online news sources in Sri Lanka. The website is available in both Sinhala and English, making it accessible to a wide audience. In addition to its website, Gossip Lanka News also has a strong social media presence, with accounts on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

One of the things that sets Gossip Lanka News apart from other news websites is its focus on entertainment and celebrity news. In addition to covering political and current events, the website also features articles and updates on the latest happenings in the world of entertainment, including movie and music news, celebrity gossip, and more. This makes it a go-to source for many Sri Lankans looking for the latest news on their favorite celebrities and entertainment industry insiders.

In addition to its entertainment coverage, Gossip Lanka News also covers a wide range of other topics such as sports, business, technology and more. The website has a dedicated team of journalists and writers who work to bring the latest news and information to its readers.

Fact sheet: GossipLanka:

• Gossip Lanka News was founded in 2011 and has since become one of the leading online news sources in Sri Lanka.
• The website covers a wide range of topics, including politics, entertainment, sports, business, and technology.
• Gossip Lanka News is available in both Sinhala and English, making it accessible to a wide audience.
• In addition to its website, Gossip Lanka News also has a strong social media presence, with accounts on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• Gossip Lanka News is known for its focus on entertainment and celebrity news.

2023 Sri Lanka Public Holidays Calendar

Here is the 2023 public holidays in Sri Lanka, as well as the dates and names of the holidays.

Date	Holiday	Note
January 06, Friday	Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
January 15, Sunday	Tamil Thai Pongal Day	Bank Holiday, Public Holiday & Mercantile Holiday
January 16, Monday	Special Bank Holiday (In lieu of Tamil Thai Pongal Day which falls on a Sunday)	Bank Holiday
February 04, Saturday	Independence Day	Bank Holiday, Public Holiday & Mercantile Holiday
February 05, Sunday	Navam Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
February 18, Saturday	Mahasivarathri Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
March 06, Monday	Medin Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
April 05, Wednesday	Bak Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
April 07, Friday	Good Friday	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
April 13, Thursday	Day prior to Sinhala & Tamil New Year Day	Bank Holiday, Public Holiday & Mercantile Holiday
April 14, Friday	Sinhala & Tamil New Year Day	Bank Holiday, Public Holiday & Mercantile Holiday
April 22, Saturday	Id-Ul-Fitr (Ramazan Festival Day)	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
May 01, Monday	May Day	Bank Holiday, Public Holiday & Mercantile Holiday
May 05, Friday	Vesak Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
May 06, Saturday	Day following Vesak Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday, Public Holiday & Mercantile Holiday
June 03, Saturday	Poson Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
June 29, Thursday	Id-Ul-Alha (Hadji Festival Day)	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
July 03, Monday	Adhi-Esala Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
August 01, Tuesday	Esala Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
August 30, Wednesday	Nikini Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
September 28, Thursday	Milad-Un-Nabi (Holy Prophet's Birthday)	Bank Holiday, Public Holiday & Mercantile Holiday
September 29, Friday	Binara Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
October 28, Saturday	Vap Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
November 12, Sunday	Deepavali Festival Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
November 26, Sunday	Ill Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday
December 25, Monday	Christmas Day	Bank Holiday, Public Holiday & Mercantile Holiday
December 26, Tuesday	Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day	Bank Holiday & Public Holiday

Sri Lanka has several public holidays throughout the year, which are celebrated nationwide and often involve traditional cultural and religious events. These holidays can affect the availability of businesses and services, and may also impact travel plans. It is a good idea to be aware of the dates of these holidays in advance, so you can plan your activities accordingly.

Poya Days 2023

Date	Holiday
January 06, Friday	Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day
February 05, Sunday	Navam Full Moon Poya Day
March 06, Monday	Medin Full Moon Poya Day
April 05, Wednesday	Bak Full Moon Poya Day
May 05, Friday	Vesak Full Moon Poya Day
June 03, Saturday	Poson Full Moon Poya Day
July 03, Monday	Adhi-Esala Full Moon Poya Day
August 01, Tuesday	Esala Full Moon Poya Day
August 30, Wednesday	Nikini Full Moon Poya Day
September 29, Friday	Binara Full Moon Poya Day
October 28, Saturday	Vap Full Moon Poya Day
November 26, Sunday	Ill Full Moon Poya Day
December 26, Tuesday	Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day

All Saturdays and Sundays are Bank Holidays, and all Sundays are Public Holiday & Mercantile Holiday.

Sri Lanka Standard Time: Current Time and Time Zone Information

Sri Lanka Standard Time (SLST) is the time zone for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka observes UTC+05:30 which is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT/UTC (UTC+05:30).

Since 1880, the time zone in Ceylon (former name of Sri Lanka before 1972) has varied from UTC+05:30 to UTC+06:30. In 1880, during the British rule, Ceylon observed UTC+05:30 until World War II. In January 1942, the Standard Time shifted to UTC+06:00 due to Japanese attempt to invade Ceylon. When the WW II ended in 1945, British Ceylon reverted time zone to UTC+05:30.

In May 1996, Sri Lanka switched the time zone to UTC+06:30 for daylight saving. In October 1996, SLST was switched to UTC+06:00. However, time change not effectively observed in entire Sri Lanka, and Tamil Tiger controlled areas (most of North and East) observed the time zone of UTC+05:30. Again, on 15th of April 2006, the government switched the standard time to UTC+05:30. 

Sri Lanka observes Sri Lanka Standard Time which is similar India Standard Time all year, and it does not currently observe daylight saving time. There is no Daylight Saving Time, though it previously observed during Second World War. 

What is UTC+05:30? 

UTC+05:30 is an identifier for a time zone from GMT/UTC. This time zone is observed in India and Sri Lanka. It is five and a half hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. In this time zone, UTC+05:30, approximately 1.4 billion people which makes it the second most populous time zone after UTC+08:00.

SLST is used throughout Sri Lanka and is the standard time for all activities, including government operations, transportation, and business. The time zone is also used for weather forecasting and is observed by Sri Lankan media outlets.

List of Presidents of Sri Lanka: History and Legacy

The President of Sri Lanka is the head of state, chief executive, and de jure head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union government and the commander-in-chief of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The President of Sri Lanka is locally known in Sinhala as ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති (Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi) and in Tamil as இலங்கை சனாதிபதி (Ilankai janātipati). The office was created in 1972 as a ceremonial head of state. Until 1972, Ceylon was a Commonwealth realm with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state and Queen of Ceylon. It became an executive post in 1978, and since then has been the single most dominant political office in the country.

There were nine Presidents of Sri Lanka acted as head of state and eight of them were executive Presidents of Sri Lanka.

Here are details of presidents in nutshell as given below as timeline. The summery details state about lifespan, time in office, political party and notable notes.

	William Gopallawa		විලියම් ගොපල්ලව	வில்லியம் கோப்பல்லாவ
	Time in office	22 May 1972 - 4 February 1978
	Office duration	5 years, 8 months, 13 days
	Lifespan	1896–1981
	Political party	Independent
	Note	The last Governor-General of Ceylon and the first (non-executive) President of Sri Lanka.

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	Junius Richard Jayewardene		ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන	ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா
	Time in office	4 February 1978 - 2 January 1989
	Office duration	10 years, 11 months, 29 days
	Lifespan	1906–1996
	Political party	United National Party
	Note	Introduced the Executive Presidency to Sri Lanka, and the first executive President of Sri Lanka.

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	Ranasinghe Premadasa		රණසිංහ ප්‍රේමදාස	ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாசா
	Time in office	2 January 1989 - 1 May 1993†
	Office duration	4 years and 4 months
	Lifespan	1924–1993
	Political party	United National Party
	Note	The first President of Sri Lanka who was assassinated during his presidency.

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	Dingiri Banda Wijetunga		ඩිංගිරි බණ්ඩා විජේතුංග	டிங்கிரி பண்ட விஜேதுங்க
	Time in office	1 May 1993 - 12 November 1994
	Office duration	1 year, 6 months, 10 days
	Lifespan	1916–2008
	Political party	United National Party
	Note	Appointed as acting president when President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated and he was elected by Parliament to the office of president under Article 40 of the Constitution.

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	Chandrika Kumaratunga		චන්ද්‍රිකා කුමාරතුංග	சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்கே குமாரதுங்கா
	Time in office	12 November 1994 - 19 November 2005
	Office duration	11 years and 7 days
	Lifespan	1945 -
	Political party	Sri Lanka Freedom Party
	Note	The first non UNP president of the country and first female president of the Sri Lanka. Victim of multiple assassination attempts by LTTE, which were all unsuccessful, except injury.

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	Mahinda Rajapaksa		මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ	மகிந்த ராசபக்ச
	Time in office	19 November 2005 - 9 January 2015
	Office duration	9 years, 1 month, 21 days
	Lifespan	1945 -
	Political party	Sri Lanka Freedom Party
	Note	Ended the 25-year long Sri Lankan Civil War in the country, and alleged war crimes during the final stages of the war. Defeated in the 2015 presidential election.

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	Maithripala Sirisena		මෛත්‍රීපාල සිරිසේන	மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன
	Time in office	19 November 2005 - 9 January 2015
	Office duration	4 years, 10 months, 9 days
	Lifespan	1951 -
	Political party	Sri Lanka Freedom Party
	Note	Defeated Rajapaksa in his bid for unprecedented third term. Mainly backed by United National Party and other opposition parties nominated under New Democratic Front (Sri Lanka).

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	Gotabaya Rajapaksa		ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ	கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ச
	Time in office	18 November 2019 - 14 July 2022
	Office duration	2 years, 7 months, 26 days
	Lifespan	1949 -
	Political party	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
	Note	Mismanagement led the country to an economic crisis, political crisis, massive anti-government protests. After fleeing the country, resigned on 14 July, and designating Ramil Wickremesinghe as Acting President.

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	Ranil Wickremesinghe		රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ	ரணில் விக்ரமசிங்க
	Time in office	Present
	Office duration	13 July 2022 - present
	Lifespan	1949 -
	Political party	United National Party
	Note	Acting President following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and was elected by Parliament to the office of president under Article 40 of the Constitution.

Living former presidents

President	Term of office	Date of birth
Chandrika Kumaratunga	1994–2005 11 years, 7 days	29 June 1945
Mahinda Rajapaksa	2005–2015 9 years, 51 days	18 November 1945
Maithripala Sirisena	2015–2019 4 years, 313 days	3 September 1951
Gotabaya Rajapaksa	2019–2022 2 years, 238 days	20 June 1949

Nadungamuwa Raja: Tribute to Famous Tusker

Nadungamuwa Raja (aka Nadungamuwa Vijaya Raja) was the main sacred casket carrier of the Kandy Esala Perahera procession for more than a decade. He was an Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) subspecies and a tusker. Nadungamuwa Raja was the tallest tamed tusker in Asia during his lifetime, and it made him one of Asia's famous elephants. 

He was born in the Indian state of Mysore circa 1953. Raja sent to a native medicine monk who lived at Piliyandala Nilammahara Temple. Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, the Maharaja of Mysore, in gratitude for curing his relative’s long illness, gifted Raja. Then, Raja brought by Dharmavijaya Veda Ralahamy for Rs. 75,000 in 1978 when he was 25 years old from Herbert Wickramasinghe, a former politician from Bandaragama Electoral District (Kalutara area). Dharmavijaya Veda Ralahamy was a famous Ayurvedic physician at the time. Harsha Dharmavijay, Ralahamy's son and an Ayurvedic doctor, looked after Raja after his father died. Since then, the elephant's name has been changed to Nadungamuwa, the name of his residing village. Seaman, Soma, Simon, and Wilson Kodithuwakku aka Kalu Mama were the four mahouts of Raja.

Raja had already participated in various perahera festivities in Gampaha, Colombo, and other regions prior to the Kandy Esala Perahera. On the request of Pradeep Nilanga Dela, the Diyawadana Nilame of Sri Dalada Maligawa, Raja joined the Kandy Esala Perahera in 2005. When he first arrived for the Kandy Perahera, he was 52 years old. Raja was participating in the Kandy Esala Perahera for more than a decade. He was carried the relics casket 13 times during the Dalada Perahera and the last time he was carried the casket in 2021. 

All times the elephant walked from Gampaha to Kandy, covering a distance of about 90 kilometers, and it did not like vechile transport. In September 2015, a motorcyclist very nearly crashed into the elephant, and the government gave military security when it traveled.

Rs. 15 worth of postage stamp and first day cover were issued in 2019 for appreciation of the Raja's contribution of religion and culture. Issuing postage stamp and first day cover were the second occasion for the appreciation of an elephant.

Nadungamuwa Raja died on 7 March 2022 at the age of 69. The tusker elephant was honored as a national treasure by the Sri Lankan government. The President instructed to preserve the body as a stuffed body.

2022 Sri Lanka Public Holidays Calendar

This is 2022 Sri Lanka public holidays and observances. This 2022 national calendar common and it might be subjected to modification if there any future official change.

Popular Sri Lankan holidays are National Day, May Day, Sinhala and Tamil New Year, Vesak Day, Christmas, Deepavali, Milad un-Nabi, Tamil Thai Pongal Day, Easter, Id Ul-Alha, Id Ul-Fitr and all Poya Days.

Date	Day	Name	Type
				14 Jan	Friday	Tamil Thai Pongal Day	Public Holiday
17 Jan	Monday	Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day	Public Holiday
4 Feb	Friday	National Day	Public Holiday
16 Feb	Wednesday	Navam Full Moon Poya Day	Public Holiday
1 Mar	Tuesday	Mahasivarathri Day	Public Holiday
17 Mar	Thursday	Madin Full Moon Poya Day	Public Holiday
13 Apr	Wednesday	Day prior to Sinhala & Tamil New Year Day	Public Holiday
14 Apr	Thursday	Sinhala and Tamil New Year's Day	Public Holiday
15 Apr	Friday	Good Friday	Public Holiday
16 Apr	Saturday	Bak Full Moon Poya Day	Public Holiday
17 Apr	Sunday	Easter Sunday	Observance
1 May	Sunday	May Day	Public Holiday
3 May	Tuesday	Id Ul-Fitr	Public Holiday
15 May	Sunday	Vesak Full Moon Poya Day	Public Holiday
16 May	Monday	Day after Vesak Full Moon Poya Day	Public Holiday
14 Jun	Tuesday	Poson Full Moon Poya Day	Public Holiday
10 Jul	Sunday	Eid al-Adha	Public Holiday
13 Jul	Wednesday	Esala Full Moon Poya Day	Public Holiday
11 Aug	Thursday	Nikini Full Moon Poya Day	Public Holiday
10 Sep	Saturday	Binara Full Moon Poya Day	Public Holiday
8 Oct	Saturday	Milad Un-Nabi (Holy Prophet's Birthday)	Public Holiday
9 Oct	Sunday	Vap Full Moon Poya Day	Public Holiday
24 Oct	Monday	Deepavali	Public Holiday
7 Nov	Monday	Ill Full Moon Poya Day	Public Holiday
7 Dec	Wednesday	Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day	Public Holiday
25 Dec	Sunday	Christmas Day	Public Holiday

Sinhala & Tamil New Year and Christmas are most popular holidays in Sri Lanka. These are most important business calendar days that trigger most sells and buys in the country.

Red mercury price: Everything You Need to Know

Red mercury price creates curiosity among some people. Do know how much is the red mercury price in Sri Lanka? Some brokers and backdoor business people say about 1.5 kg red mercury is about 500 crores Sri Lankan rupees which is equal to about 251 million US dollars. 

What is Red mercury?

Red mercury is a substance of uncertain composition that believed to use to create of nuclear weapons. However, there is no proof about existence of red mercury. It is a hoax, created to take advantage of gullible buyers on the black market. It is reported that "red mercury" existence was on the international black markets since 1979.

In 1997, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists stated that “the asking price for red mercury ranged from $100,000 to $300,000 per kilogram”. In 2004, some men were arrested in Britain, and they were trying to purchase a kilogram for £900,000. As per the reported by, the New York Times in 2015, Islamic State group had been arrested in Turkey attempting to purchase red mercury.

The red mercury is a fiction like mermaid, unicorn, etc. Some people believed that red mercury could found in the throats of mummies of Egypt. Some people believed red mercury could be found in the nests of bats. But, the fact is that bats do not build nests. The story developed further, and said that red mercury comes from vampire bats. 

There are so many rumors about red mercury; including it have powers to summon jinns (an evil spirit as per Islamic view), high power to heal any decease, main component to create nuclear /powerful weapon. The hoax developed further and further about it origin, exist, value, etc.

Red mercury in Sri Lanka

Like other countries, trickery theory in Sri Lanka linked the red mercury with the Nazi Germany and Hitler. It says Sri Lankan scientist obtained red mercury from Nazi Germany links, and it was purposely built for nuclear projects or mysterious military weapons. Price of 1.5 kg red mercury is LKR 500 crores (about US$ 251 million). 

Here is a video footage of red mercury in Sri Lanka and basic analysis.

As in the video, 5 basic facts tell about it.

• This object is claimed as Nazi Germany product. Nazi Germany always used Deutsch (German language), not English. In the object, main language is English.
• This ensign or symbol never used in Nazi Germany.
• Nazi symbol was right-facing, not left-facing symbol.
• There are so much can do by magic sticks. Million worth object is not just for magic work.
• This biological hazard symbol, but object is claimed to ionizing radiation.

Somebody has spent about 2000 rupees to lathe work, painting and miscellaneous. 

Conclusion

Actually, there is a red color mercury-containing ore and minerals. Mercury sulphide is a red color chemical compound, and its chemical formula is HgS. Mercury sulphide has two crystal forms; red cinnabar and black metacinnabar. Red cinnabar is useful for decorating pottery. It cannot cure, it has no power to summon evil or create nuclear bomb.

Spa App: Everything You Need to Know

Spa Lanka can send spas, massage centers and therapists’ information / contact details to subscribers. It is applicable to Dialog, Hutch, Airtel and Etisalat users. If you have one of these mobile networks, you can register by sending a SMS for the app. You can do the following:

• Type REG spas
• Send SMS to 77000

Spa App

If you do so, you will get massage center, beauty parlor and spa information such as contact telephone or mobile number(s), address, price and more information through SMS. The SMS will be sending on regular basis.

The app is free. However, you will be charged Rs. 30.00 + tax per month. If you do not need the service, you can unsubscribe by sending a SMS to 77000 with UNREG spas.

Note: For more details, click Spa App.

Tsunami 2004 image archive (Batticaloa)

A devastating natural tragedy, the tsunami that struck Sri Lanka in 2004 had a significant impact on both the nation and its citizens. A significant earthquake off the Sumatra island (Indonesia) on December 26 triggered a series of enormous waves that rushed over the Indian Ocean and struck Sri Lanka (southern and eastern coasts).

About 30,000 people died due the tsunami. The country's economy was severely harmed as a result of the damage or destruction. The fishing industry sustained significant losses due the destruction of boats and equipment.After the tsunami, numerous nations and organizations from all over the world helped Sri Lanka and support in order to assist those who were harmed by the disaster and with the subsequent recovery efforts.

The people of Sri Lanka demonstrated incredible resilience and tenacity to rebuild their lives and communities in spite of the enormous loss and destruction. The memories of the tsunami continue to linger and serve as a reminder of nature and the necessity of being ready for such events, despite the country's progress in rebuilding its infrastructure and economy.

Batticaloa

The tsunami that hit Sri Lanka in 2004 had a devastating impact on many parts of the country, including the Batticaloa. In Batticaloa, the tsunami caused extensive damage and fatalities, and the force of the waves severely damaged or completely destroyed a number of homes and buildings. 

Archive Images

In the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, volunteers in Batticaloa worked to document the devastation. The result was a remarkable archive of images that captured the impact of the disaster on local communities.

These images have been gifted to us. They are available for anyone to use (under CC BY 4.0 license) with proper attribution to our blog.

Despite this, the archive remains a valuable resource for those interested in learning about the impact of the 2004 tsunami on Batticaloa. By making this archive available for educational use, the creators of the project have ensured that the memories and lessons of the 2004 tsunami will continue to be remembered and shared for generations to come.

Images have been intentionally blurred. This was done to avoid potentially distressing or disturbing viewers. If you agree to see, click on the image.

Click on an image to display it. If you want to see in full view, right click on the image and the select "Open Image in New Tab".