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Losses sky high but Mihin Lanka seeks millions more
Wants Rs. 597 m to repair engines and return planes The Cabinet has been called upon to approve more than Rs. 597 million to repair two aircraft engines of the Mihin Lanka budget airline which is incurring colossal losses. From 2008 to this year, official accounts of Mihin Lanka reveal a loss of more than [...]
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Ekneligoda habeas corpus case before Appeal Court
By Wasantha Ramanayake The habeas corpus case of missing journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda will be taken up by the Court of Appeal when the Magistrate’s Court inquiry is concluded. Counsel Chrishmal Warnasuriya, appearing for the missing journalist’s wife Sandya Ekneligoda, told Court that if any problems or issues arose during the magisterial inquiry, he would take [...]
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S’pore polythene firm in Hambantota
The Sri Lanka Ports Authority is to tie up with a Singapore petrochemical firm for a multi-million dollar polythene manufacturing complex in Hambantota. The Cabinet has granted approval for the project following a recommendation by President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is also the Minister of Ports. For this new venture, Peak Energy Private Limited of Singapore [...]
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Don’t speed: New laws from next month
By Damith Wickremasekara The implementation of the speed limit regulations for motor vehicles which were held back following a Supreme Court ruling more than four years ago are to be reimplemented from January. Motor Traffic Commissioner General S.M. Harishchandra said the required Gazette notification defining speed limits on all roads in Sri Lanka was ready [...]
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Prorogue Parliament to settle crisis: UPFA allies
By Chandani Kirinde Leaders of three socialist parties, which are coalition partners of the ruling UPFA, have asked President Mahinda Rajapaksa to prorogue Parliament as a way out of the impasse between the Judiciary and the Legislature over moves to impeach the Chief Justice. LSSP leader and Minister Tissa Vitarana, CP leader and Minister D.E.W. [...]
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‘I too feel sleepy on the Bench’: Justice Salam
“What do you do if you feel sleepy on the Bench?” Appeals Court Judge Justice A.W.A Salam quizzed members of the Judicial Service Association yesterday. Justice Salam spoke on the independence of the judiciary at the Annual Judges Conference in Colombo. The audience chuckled as Justice Salam said, a litigant who sees a judge asleep [...]
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Prices of medicinal drugs, vitamins under CAA control from Jan 1
The Consumer Affairs Authority in a Gazette Extraordinary has directed the manufacturers and importers of pharmaceuticals and vitamins to mark the maximum retail price on the packs or containers. They have been also directed to specify the batch number, date of manufacture, date of expiry, the strength and name and address of the manufacturer or [...]
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Emigration Dept. probes illicit Lankan ‘deployment’ in Iraq, Afghanistan
By Leon Berenger A special team has been deployed to investigate an alleged racket involving fake UAE entry visas used by persons taking up clandestine employment at US and NATO bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, Immigration and Emigration chief Chulananda Perera said yesterdy. He said the team from the Dept’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) has [...]
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Big turnout at JSA sessions, judges pay Rs. 4,000 each
Judges of the Magistrate’s and District courts paid Rs. 4,000 each to attend the Judicial Service Association’s annual conference yesterday after UNDP funding for the event was unexpectedly cancelled. This came amidst a Government offer to meet the costs of the conference — even after it ended —provided the judges did not discuss the impeachment [...]
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CID bust Chinese business scam
More than 100 Chinese fraudsters living in luxury Colombo houses arrested for blackmail and bank account hacking in China By Damith Wickremasekara A gang of some 100 Chinese nationals, men and women, have been conducting a large-scale scam from Sri Lanka, blackmailing and hacking into bank accounts of wealthy fellow Chinese, the Criminal Investigations Department [...]
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Judicial service association of Sri Lanka – Annual Conference 2012
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012 ON 22nd DECEMBER, 2012 at Roof Top or Samudra Ballroom at Hotel Taj Samudra at 9.30 a.m. GUEST OF HONOUR – KEY NOTE ADDRESS I N D EP E N D E N C E O F T H E J U D I C I A R Y Gurur [...]
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Speech delivered at the Annual General Meeting of the Judicial
Services Association held on 22nd December 2012 By Dr. Shirani A. Bandaranayake, Chief Justice of the Republic of Sri Lanka It is indeed a great pleasure, privilege and an honour to be with you this morning. It is certainly not only due to the importance of the Annual General Meeting of the Judicial Services Association, which [...]
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Not the end of the world, but a great flood
With Sri Lanka experiencing one of its worst ever floods amidst warnings of more havoc for at least another week, this photograph shows helpless and desperate people carrying children and wading through hip-deep water at Adippala in Arachchikattuwa where the Deduru Oya is overflowing. Pic by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe
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Govt. appoints NDC to oversee changes to LG polls’ laws
By Chandani Kirinde The government has named five members to the National Delimitation Committee (NDC) that is entrusted with making recommendations for the division of each local authority area into wards, under the amendments introduced to the Local Authorities Elections laws recently. The five-member Committee appointed by Minister of Local Government and Provincial Councils A.L.M. [...]
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If PSC findings are invalidated, any further steps would be of no force, says Court of Appeal
Impeachment of Chief Justice By Wasantha Ramanayake Any step taken on the findings of the report by the chairman and the other seven members of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) would be invalid if the Court of Appeal ultimately nullified the findings, the Court of Appeal said on Friday. Therefore, the relevant authorities should advise [...]
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BASL wants security for its head
Police protection given to one lawyer under threat By Wasantha Ramanayake In the wake of the shooting incident outside the residence of Bar Association (BASL) President Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, the BASL Executive Committee had called upon the authorities to provide him adequate security. In an emergency meeting held on Friday evening the Executive-Committee unreservedly deplored and [...]
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IPS wins gold at UN press awards
UNITED NATIONS — At the annual UN Correspondents’ Association (UNCA) award ceremony/ black tie dinner in New York on December 20, Inter Press Service (IPS) was declared winner of a prestigious gold medal for its global and UN coverage of the environment – specifically climate change, biodiversity and water. IPS UN Bureau Chief Thalif Deen, [...]
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Tutor’s model questions too close to the real thing
Pupils aware that exam Q/As ‘surface’ in this tuition master’s exercise | Leak of GCE (O/L) Science Paper 1 By Hansani Bandara Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena yesterday conceded that the GCE (O/L) Science paper may have leaked to a tuition master, ahead of the examination. “Either he got these questions from someone involved in setting the [...]
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Flood havoc worsens: Bad weather for another week
By Nadia Fazlulhaq The early warning centre of the Meteorology Department yesterday issued a bad weather advisory on the reactivation of the Northeast monsoon as the death toll from severe weather reached 30 with more than 300,000 people being seriously affected. The prevailing adverse rainy conditions that have triggered flash floods and landslides had left [...]
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Suspect weaves elaborate plan to kill wife and children
Illicit lover says she was unaware that the man who befriended her was married A 34-year-old man being held in connection with the killing of his wife and two children, had made elaborate plans to kill them and wed the woman he had deceived into believing he was a bachelor, police investigating the triple murder [...]
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Flood, fret and tears
16 of the country’s 25 districts badly affected by heavy rains and strong winds By Nadia Fazlulhaq and Hansani Bandara Heavy monsoonal rains with strong winds lashed across the country this week, with earthslips and floods claiming 27 lives and affecting more than 300,000 people, especially in Central, Eastern, Southern and North-Western provinces. As the [...]
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Private bus operators pay ‘kappam’ to survive
By Damith Wickremasekara Private bus drivers are compelled either to speed and race with other buses or drive slowly to collect more passengers, as they have to find extra money to pay ‘kappam’ or extortion fee, a senior Transport Commission official said yesterday. Complaints lodged by private bus owners to the National Transport Commission (NTC) [...]
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Doomsday went like just any other day
By Sonja Candappa, Pic by K. Devapriya Ancienct Mayan predictions that the world would end on Friday, December 21, 2012, had people around the world worried, including Sri Lankans. The Sunday Times discussed the doomsday predictions with members of the public, including the clergy. Rev. Benedict Joseph, spokesperson for the Archbishop’s House, said the Roman Catholic [...]
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A healthy road map for alms and monks
By Nadia Fazlulhaq Sugar-free tea, non-fat yoghurt, green leaf sambol, boiled gram and breadfruit, bitter gourd, lotus root curry are some of the recommended healthy dishes for Buddhist monks included in a menu plan issued by the Health Ministry. The Medical Research Institute (MRI) prepared the menu following a request by the Health Minister to [...]
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Afghanistan wants professionals and skilled labour from Sri Lanka
By Chamal Weerakkody Afghanistan is to offer Sri Lankans employment opportunities in a range of fields. The country needs engineers, architects, information technology professionals, technical personnel and accountants for development and cultural work, said visiting Afghanistan Foreign Minister Dr. Zalmai Rassoul. Dr. Rassoul. The Afghanistan Foreign Minister gave a talk on “Afghanistan today and beyond [...]
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Police ask Christmas tree sellers to get permits, then relent
Vendors selling cypress trees near the Town Hall in Colombo ahead of Christmas were in for a shock yesterday when the police informed them they had to have permits to sell the trees on the side of the road. These sellers were dismayed when officers from the Cinnamon Gardens Police Station informed them yesterday to [...]
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Raining fish‘n’frogs instead of proverbial cats‘n’dogs
Not a sign of doomsday but a tornado/twister sucking aquatic life in its path of destruction and ditching them once powerless By Malaka Rodrigo Raining of fish is not a doomsday prophecy, but a normal meteorological phenomenon, experts assured. ‘Fish-rain’ was reported at least from two places in Embilipitiya and Kamburupitiya this week, while a [...]
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Under-investigation red rain declared harmless but not indigenous
Yellow rain adds to the mystery as experts research samples while Kerala still grapples with the issue 10-years on By Usman Iqtidar Wanduramba in Galle, Seelapura in Dimbulagala, Kirinda Puhulwella in Matara are some of the areas experiencing a mysterious red rain. Riding on a comet, these miniscule creatures came crashing onto earth. The micro-organisms [...]
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Christmas time: Bad weather and high costs
By Aanya Wipulasena The adverse weather conditions and the high cost of living have put a damper on the usual seasonal shopping spree, heralding a not so bright Christmas for many. Malini Perera (62) from Rattanapitiya, a mother of two said celebrations were on a low key this year round. “We didn’t buy any decorations [...]
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The law has become a dead letter
Story and pix by Susantha Liyanawatte Recently police introduced a new law, making it compulsory that three-wheelers carry a maximum of no more than three passengers Despite being punishable by law, overloaded three-wheelers are a common sight in Colombo and its suburbs. Police spokesman SSP Preshantha Jayakody has pointed out that there have been [...]
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Gone forever
Sri Lanka has permanently lost 19 amphibian species and five flowering plants. Malaka Rodrigo reviews the National Red List 2012 Here is sad news for those of us who care for the country’s endemic natural wealth. In fact, the news should sadden everyone, not just animal and plant lovers and conservationists. It appears that we [...]
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Lost on Hantane
Poorly ‘equipped’ undergrads overcome by dark swirling mist, heavy rain and numbing cold in nightmare descent to safety By Aanya Wipulasena Inoka Sanjeewani from Embilipitiya was amongst nearly 400 undergrads from the University of Sri Jayawardhanapura, looking forward to an adventurous trip last Sunday, when they decided to climb the Hantane mountain off Kandy, but [...]
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Katunayake expressway to be ready in August
Colombo to BIA in 20 minutes with additional safety features By Damith Wickremasekara Facilities to minimise glare for motorists from headlamps of vehicles coming from the opposite direction, reducing stagnation of water and easy access for emergency vehicles will be some of the added features included in the Katunayake Expressway project. The project is due [...]
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UN classifies Lankans for refugee status
Journalists, gays, lesbians, suspected LTTE supporters favoured; but warns of armed forces personnel The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has listed persons suspected of LTTE links, journalists, opposition politicians, political activists, and gays and lesbians, as being among the categories of Sri Lankans “likely to be in need of international refugee protection.” On [...]
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The worst judge is one who succumbs to pressure: CJ
18th Amendment to the Constitution is a national calamity that has made the hegemonic Executive President a juggernaut: Retd. SC Judge Wigneswaran By Namini Wijedasa “The worst judge is not merely one who is deaf, but one who succumbs to pressure,” Chief Justice (CJ) Shirani Bandaranayake said yesterday. Addressing the Annual Judges’ Conference of the [...]
