News
Home » NewsFR petition seeks action against Treasury chief, CB Governor
A group of trade unions has petitioned the Supreme Court demanding action against Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera and Central Bank Governor Ajit Nivard Cabraal among others for misusing and abusing the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) which is worth a trillion (1,000 billion) rupees. The petitioners have specifically raised the issue of EPF investments in loss-making [...]
Lightning kills Korean tourists at Liptons Seat
Two Koreans were killed and three others injured when lightning struck while they were at a well-known scenic tourist spot, Liptons Seat, in Dambetenna, Haputale. Police said the tragedy occurred around 6.30 p,m when the area was experiencing heavy rains accompanied by thunder and lightning. The three women who sustained injuries were rushed to Haputale [...]
Hottest weather in three decades
Temperatures in some parts of Sri Lanka rose to a record high in three decades this week with Vavuniya and Polonnaruwa recording 40 degrees Celsius. The Meteorology Department’s Duty Meteorologist, Jeewan Karunaratne, said Vavuniya recorded 40.1 degrees Celsius while the temperature in Polonnaruwa District reached 40 degrees Celsius after fluctuating between 38.8 and 38.9 degrees [...]
Divineguma ‘urgent’ Bill in Parliament on Wednesday
The government will go ahead with the Divineguma Bill as an item of “urgent business” in Parliament on Wednesday (October 10). Government parliamentarians have been told that their presence in Parliament would be essential on that day. A day ahead, on Tuesday, President Rajapaksa is to address members of the Government parliamentary group. Among other [...]
Cardinal Ranjith raises concern over plight of Negombo fishermen
The Negombo fishing community has requested Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith to intervene to save their livelihood in the face of wanton destruction of mangroves and unchecked land filling in the lagoon area. The fishermen had complained that these acts had drastically reduced the number of fish in the lagoon and the area Catholic priests had taken [...]
ACF petitions for UN probe into killing of its 17 Aid workers
Action Contre le Faim (ACF) or ‘Action Against Hunger’ which had 17 of its aid workers killed in Mutur in August 2006, has launched a petition requesting an independent United Nations (UN) investigation into the killing, ahead of the Sri Lanka Universal Periodical Review (UPR) UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) scheduled for November 1. “ [...]
FUTA, PBJ showdown tomorrow to end Uni crisis
The Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA) will tomorrow meet with Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jaysundara for a crucial round of talks aimed at settling the three-month long university strike by academics. A FUTA delegation led by its President Dr. Nirmal Ranith Devasiri last night met with Economic Affairs Minister Basil Rajapaksa University of Peradeniya, [...]
Wildlife officials attacked, office smashed over cricket-cracker row
Two officials of the Galgamuwa Wildlife Conservation Department were allegedly assaulted when they refused to give in to the demand of two drunk cricket fans to light sound crackers to mark Sri Lanka’s semi final victory on Thursday. These sound crackers that are in the custody of wildlife officials are generally used to scare away [...]
Tax revenue falls short; Treasury takes tough action
Officers of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) have been warned against offering undue concessions to politically influential persons and could lose their jobs, pension and even end up in jail if they don’t comply, a senior Treasury official said.The warning comes amidst frantic efforts by the Finance Ministry to lift its revenue collections through various [...]
May this dream come true for Lanka!
Tens of millions of cricket fans in Sri Lanka and elsewhere will watch today’s ICC T-20 cricket final between Sri Lanka and West Indies at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Yesterday, the two captains held a media conference at the Premadasa Stadium and the Caribbean skipper, Darren Sammy, looked on while Sri Lanka’s captain [...]
India works out deal with President
The Government is to resume bilateral talks with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) simultaneously whilst the latter will agree to participate in the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) in terms of a deal being brokered by India. The broad outlines were discussed when President Mahinda Rajapaksa held talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently. [...]
Gayle’s girls: President no-balls ASP
Police have launched an investigation to ascertain whether an Assistant Superintendent attached to the Ministerial Security Division (MSD) made a wrongful arrest of three British students who did not violate any Sri Lankan law. The arrest has been made when the university students had gone to West Indian cricketer Chris Gayle’s room on the seventh [...]
Losses mount onboard SriLankan Airlines
SriLankan Airlines has incurred a whopping Rs. 17 billion loss for the 2011/12 financial year ending March 31, and the national carrier attributes this loss to the increased costs in jet fuel for which it will be adopting a hedging policy this year to curtail costs to some extent. Compared to a Rs. 176 million [...]
NSB-TFC deal: Report goes to AG
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption has submitted a report and the files connected to the controversial share transaction between the state-owned National Savings Bank (NSB) and The Finance Company (TFC), to the Attorney General’s Department to ascertain whether action could be taken against persons involved in the deal. Officials said this [...]
Sweeping tax concession for Indian investor
The Government has announced several tax concessions to the Krrish Group of India which will develop the Transworks Square land in Fort with a total investment of around US$ 449 million (about Rs. 57.6 billion). The Indian investment has been identified under the Strategic Development Projects Act and will operate under an agreement with the [...]
Our next step will depend on B’desh Govt’s action against offenders: Bodu Bala Senawa head
Bodu Bala Senawa Chairman Ven. Kirama Wimalajothi Thera said the Bangladesh High Commission has intimated that the petition handed over during the protest, condemning the attacks against Buddhist temples in the coastal region of Cox’s Bazaar, has been given to the Bangladesh Government. Ven. Wimalajothi Thera said depending on the Bangladesh Government’s action against those [...]
Lack of equipment hampering Govt. relief effort in NCP
The lack of bowsers is hampering a Government initiated programme to provide drinking water to thousands of families in the drought-hit Polonnaruwa District. Upul Nanayakkara who heads the Disaster Management Centre office in the district said the number of families seeking Government assistance has increased to over 40,000 over the past week and the shortage [...]
New laws governing Civil Aviation
Parliament will approve new regulations on Thursday to deal with aircraft accidents and investigations into such incidents within Sri Lanka, and in respect of any aircraft registered in Sri Lanka. The regulations have been made under the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka Act by the Minister of Civil Aviation Priyankara Jayaratna.
EU wants response on Chinese bicycles to Europe via Colombo
Sri Lankan companies exporting Chinese built bicycles to the European Union have been given a deadline of November 2 this year to respond to EU queries on whether they were exporting Chinese built bicycles at lower tariffs from Colombo. Bernard Savage, EU’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka said it was the companies that will have to [...]
Parliament set to approve new election laws
Legislation to bring about the most significant changes in the election laws of the country since 1978 are set to be approved by Parliament on Wednesday, by way of amendments to the Local Authorities Elections Act. This is seen as the first step in the long drawn out efforts to do away with the Proportional [...]
Diesel price hike could push up transport and consumer item costs
Food items, essentials and other commodities are inching up in price after the Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC) increased the price of diesel by Rs. 4 last week. Among those who have hinted that transport fares will also go up are private bus operators, lorry owners and office and school van services. Meanwhile, the Ceylon [...]
Health Minister hits out at Legal Draftsman’s Dept.
Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena on Friday publicly lashed out at the Legal Draftsman’s Department for a mysterious two-year delay in finalising the draft legislation for a National Medicinal Drugs Policy through which quality drugs could be provided to all people at affordable prices. The minister said that when he inquired from the new Chief Legal [...]
SF still clueless of terms, conditions of his release
Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka who was released under a Presidential pardon in May this year, said he is still clueless about the conditions under which he was released, five months after the dramatic turn of events which brought an end to his two-and-a-half-year incarceration at Welikada prison. “We have not seen a legal document [...]
T-20 semi-finals, final ticket prices go sky high like sixes!
The T-20 Cricket World Championship frenzy is drawing to an end, but the ugly side of this tournament has surfaced with the resale of tickets in the blackmarket at prices 1000% over the marked price. While the International Cricket Council (ICC) priced tickets at a nominal rate to encourage and enable people from all income [...]
Piecing together the Kahawatte multiple murders
A suspect in the Kahawatte multiple murder case filmed the last crime scene and made a CD with the intention of perfecting his next murder, the police said. They said the suspect Namal Chaminda Silva used his mobile phone to film the crime scene after the killing of a mother and daughter – the last [...]
Counsel tells SC her arrest was aimed at harassing restaurant owner
When the Supreme Court took up the rights plea of night club dancer Nirosha Wimalaratne alis Dilani on Thursday, her Counsel told court the Kollupitiya Police arrested and remanded the dancer for possessing a cobra with the intention of harassing the night club owner as is evident from the ‘B’ report the police filed seeking [...]
SC suspends several injunctions allowing parallel imports of HP products
In a landmark order the Supreme Court suspended several injunctions granted by the Commercial High Court of Colombo in favour of Hewlett Packard (HP) AP (Pvt) Ltd., preventing Tech Information Solutions (‘Techzone’) from importing genuine HP products through alternative sources, thus on a prima facie basis sustaining the specific provisions of the Intellectual Property law [...]
Promoting changed lifestyles for longevity
With non-communicable diseases (NCDs) sending people to an early death, a different kind of festival is to be organized at the Viharamahadevi Park on November 17. Taking it as a responsibility to guide society onto a healthier pathway, the College of Community Physicians will organize a ‘Healthfest’ with innovative events, the Sunday Times understands.The Healthfest [...]
Rumpus at Vidyaloka: Mob education to the fore
Vidyaloka Vidyalaya in Galle, that was closed earlier this week following unruly behaviour reportedly by students and parents will open tomorrow, while police continue their investigations into the incident. Galle’s Senior Superintendent of police (SSP) Vas Gunawardena told the Sunday Times, that security has been tightened at the school to pre-empt a repeat of the [...]
Households urged to sort out garbage for environment’s sake
Western Province households will be urged to put a little extra thought and trouble into dealing with their garbage – for the sake of the environment. Homes will be requested to separate perishable and non-recyclable waste from the rest of their garbage. At present, all solid waste generated in households is disposed of in the [...]
6 to 7 die daily on our roads, what are we doing to stop this?
Last Friday, two people died when two private buses collided in Jaffna. Last Wednesday, a woman died from a motorbike-tipper collision, and in Katubedda, 11 persons including seven schoolchildren were critically injured when a bus collided with a school van. Last Monday, four people, including two policemen, were killed when their vehicle overturned on a [...]
Dust bowl
An allocation of Rs.14 million for the re-construction of the Kottukachchiya bridge in Puttalam. However, despite the allocation of these funds, the incomplete bridge has become a menace to residents -especially to students who have no other route to get to their destination. Residents complain a majority of students suffer from respiratory illnesses due to [...]
In India, verdant terrain conceals clues to a fatal kidney disease
UDDANAM, India – A tangle of green blankets the land amid thick tropical heat. Shady groves of cashew trees strew the ground with juicy, perfume-scented fruits. Men can be seen climbing coconut palms to tap into the trunks for wine. The region’s name, Uddanam, comes from a word in Sanskrit that means “Beautiful Garden” or [...]
SLMC betrayal: Muslims should return to mainstream parties
It was deliberate deception and calculated betrayal by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress. This is how most Muslims describe the SLMC’s decision to join the very party – in this instance the ruling United Peoples Front Alliance (UPFA) — which it severely criticised to win votes and deceive people during the recent Eastern Provincial Council elections. [...]
