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Cops do a stickup, come unstuck over the spoils
Two of the gang absconding in Malaysia while CCD outwits hora police to bust them within a week By Damith Wickremasekara Colombo’s biggest heist of Rs 10 million from a forex dealer, was the brainchild of a communications agency owner and a Sub Inspector (SI) of the Ministerial Security Division (MSD). They also roped in [...]
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Promoting Indo-Lanka ties through dance
Sri Lanka’s dance legend Vajira Chithrasena was felicitated at India House by Indian High Commissioner Ashok Kantha on her 81st birthday on Friday for promoting Indo-Lanka relations through dance. Pic by Susantha Liyanawatte
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AG to directly indict Tangalle murder suspects in High Court
The Attorney General (AG) will directly indict in the High Court, the suspects charged with the killing of UK national Khuram Shaikh and the rape of his companion on December 25, 2011, in Tangalle, the External Affairs Ministry said. The direct indictment will be served under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Special [...]
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Do you know what’s in that bottled water?
By Charundi Panagoda Whether at a five-star restaurant in Colombo, at a neighbourhood kade or even backpacking though the countryside, locals and tourists alike rely on bottled water. However, Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) warn that they may not be as safe as you think. Last week, PHIs in the Eastern and North Eastern Provinces seized [...]
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New mobile equipment to check fuel imports on arrival
Petroleum Industries Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa told the Sunday Times that mobile equipment to quality check fuel imports, have been ordered. “This equipment will enable us expedite the process as soon as the shipment arrives,” Mr Yapa said. The moves come after Lanka-India Oil Company (LIOC) reportedly imported substandard fuel. LIOC Managing Director Subodh Dakwale [...]
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White house on beachrock above the law
Residence reportedly belonging to Presidential physician and spiritual healer Eliyantha White raises questions By Charundi Panagoda Under the Coast Conservation (Amendment) Act No. 64 of 1988, all construction along the coast must be built 45 metres away from the vegetation line. No building is allowed on the beach. Regardless, in scenic Ahungalla about 200 metres [...]
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CPC to review Vietnam oil deal following charges of overpayment to supplier
By Bandula Sirimanna State-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) says it will review a controversial Vietnam oil deal, following allegations that a higher-than-normal price was paid to the company, a top official said. The deal was clinched two years ago in October 2011, when the CPC signed an agreement with Petro Vietnam oil (PV oil) Singapore [...]
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Light bill won’t be light for the poor
Low-income groups hit hardest if CEB’s regressive tariff system comes into force; consumers call on Govt. to step in and stop it By Chamal Weerakkody The soon-to-be implemented electricity tariff hikes will hit the low-income group people the hardest, the Sunday Times learns. According to the proposed rates, households that consume less than 30 units [...]
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SC to inquire into discrimination against women at Golf Club
By Wasantha Ramanayake The Supreme Court decided to fully inquire into a fundamental rights petition filed by a female member of the Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC) alleging gender-based discrimination reminiscent of the Victorian era. Notably, the court decision, by a Bench which included two lady judges, came on International Women’s Day. The Bench comprised [...]
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Slave Island residents’ rights case before SC on April 4
Settlement with UDA not a possibility, says petitioners’ counsel The Supreme Court fixed the Slave Island residents’ fundamental rights application for argument on April 4, as petitioners’ counsel indicated that there was no possibility of a settlement in the rights case against the Urban Development Authority (UDA). The petition was mentioned before a Bench comprising [...]
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Blood ivory a topic at International Forum on Wildlife Crime
Suspect traffickers arrested, stock seized in Lanka vital as probe continues Malaka Rodrigo reporting from Bangkok The poaching of elephants for tusks was another issue discussed at the many side events held parallel to the 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) at the Convention of International Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). [...]
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11 Bills face SC test; petitioners say Parliament will lose control over public finance
By Wasantha Ramanayake The Government’s bid to amend the Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act and get 10 other bills passed on an urgent basis has run into trouble with at least 15 petitioners moving the Supreme Court and challenging their constitutionality. The petitioners charge the 11 Bills that were placed on the Order Paper of Parliament [...]
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Outsourcing backfires; airmail back to Sri Lanka Post
By Sonja Candappa The contract granted to a private company to deliver airmail was suspended this week due to its poor performance, Postal Services and Telecommunication Ministry secretary Hemasiri Fernando said yesterday. He said the the contract to the company was given in the hope that it would streamline matters, but the company failed to [...]
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Students warned and released for defacing Lions paw
Three students who had allegedly defaced the lion’s paw (sinha padaya) of Sigiriya with Tamil and English letters and names were arrested by the Sigiriya Police on Friday. The police took in for questioning two males and a female student from a school in Maskeliya and released them with a warning. Using rocks and bricks, [...]
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SL to be represented at Pope Francis I installation
Three Government Parliamentarians and one Opposition MP will constitute Sri Lanka’s official delegation for the installation ceremony of Pope Francis I, at the Vatican on Tuesday. The delegation will comprise of Social Services Minister Felix Perera, Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Neomal Perera, State Resources and Enterprise Development Deputy Minister Sarath Kumara Gunaratna and Chief Opposition [...]
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Customs want competent panel to review challenges to levies
By Chris Kamalendran Customs Unions have proposed that a competent panel be appointed to review appeals for tax amnesty, if Government intends to allow challenges to customs levies. The Customs Officers Union submitted their proposals to Director General Jagath Wijeweera, after raising objections that the proposed scheme could be advantageous to big-time racketeers. The proposals [...]
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Cabinet approves open-ended state immunity against prescription
The Cabinet recently approved a proposal by Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem to extend state immunity against prescription by amending Section 15 of the Prescription Ordinance. The Prescription Ordinance of 1871 regulates the time within which legal proceedings may be brought forth for cases pertaining to immovable property, contracts, mortgages, damages and so on. Section 15 of [...]
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Lack of qualified lifeguards, int’l warning signs send tourists to watery graves
Underpaid lifesavers at coastal resorts stand in as barmen and pool attendants to augment meagre income By Nadia Fazlulhaq Lack of international warning signs and insufficient professional lifeguards and watchtowers in coastal regions has resulted in a number of tourist deaths by drowning, warns a qualified and experienced lifesaver.This month, a British national, Richard John [...]
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Authorities say fertiliser, pesticides use not contributory factors
WHO study on kidney disease affecting Dry Zone farmers By Kumudini Hettiarachchi and Shaveen Jeewandara Top Government authorities, facing head-on the charges that agrochemicals may be a contributory factor in the mysterious kidney disease affecting mainly Dry Zone farmers, reiterated that there are rigid checks on imports of both fertiliser and pesticides.All fertiliser imported to [...]
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Heat wave will last till end April: Met. Dept.
By Hansani Bandara The first inter monsoonal period known for the warm and uncomfortable conditions it usually brings will prevail until end April with predictions by the Meteorology Department that showers can be expected in the forthcoming weeks. Met Department Duty Meteorologist Anusha Warnasuriya said the heat wave is a natural phenomenon in the first [...]
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President Rajapaksa ends Japan visit agreeing to increase maritime security cooperation
President Mahinda Rajapaksa wound up a four-day official visit to Japan on Friday, with the two countries agreeing to increase maritime security cooperation between them. President Rajapaksa met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last Thursday at a time of close economic relations between Sri Lanka and China, which has been viewed as matter for concern in [...]
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Fonseka’s new party gearing up for provincial polls
Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka is seeking to register a new political party to be headed by him so that its nominees can contest the Provincial Council elections scheduled for later this year. The former General said papers had been submitted to Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya for the registration of the Democratic Party (DP), whose symbol [...]
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Lanka won’t reveal shark secret
Malaka Rodrigo reporting from Bangkok Sri Lanka maintained total silence on how it voted as an important proposal to protect sharks and manta ray species was passed earlier this week at the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora (CITES) in Bangkok. The [...]
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Offshore oil: Lanka to exclude political firms
International companies and their “key shareholders” who have “known alignment in world politics” will not be considered when offers are invited to assess Sri Lanka’s offshore petroleum data, the Cabinet has decided. It came on a recommendation made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat (PRDS) comes within his purview. The Cabinet has also [...]
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Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
At the Ceylon Electricity Board headoffice in Fort, consumers line up to pay their electricty bills. Perhaps they are unaware that from next month that those who consume less electricity will have to pay more if a new CEB tariff hike proposal comes into force. See also Page 10. Pic by Mangala Weerasekera
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Lanka on alert for coronovirus
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi Sri Lanka is on alert for the new virus that could lead to serious illness but there is no cause for panic, assured a top health official. All hospitals have been alerted to be vigilant for any severe respiratory infections as well as any change in patterns in the light of the novel [...]
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Round-the-clock security for Lankan centres in TN
By Chandani Kirinde Round the clock armed security has been provided to Sri Lankan centres in Tamil Nadu amidst growing anti-Lankan sentiments there ahead of next week’s resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva.Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner Ameer Ajwad, who is based in Chennai, said they had [...]
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No entry for Briton with Buddha tattoo
By Deepa Adikari A 24-year old Briton was refused entry into Sri Lanka as he had a tattoo of the Buddha on his arm. The visitor was spoken to by Chief Immigration Officer Jayantha Ratnayake at the airport, but he maintained he was entitled to his freedom. “We contacted Immigration Controller Chulananda Perera and the [...]
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Alcohol importer paints himself white, but officials unconvinced
By Aanya Wipulasena The Excise Department and the Customs yesterday gave a Padukka businessman time till tomorrow to show the reason for the import of 62,000 litres of ethyl alcohol valued at more than Rs. 110 million. Ethyl alcohol is generally used for the manufacture of liquor, but the businessman had declared to the Customs [...]
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There is no catch in it for our Northern fishermen
Its straightforward poaching by TN’s mechanised trawlers ravaging SL’s fishing grounds, driving Northern fishermen’s livelihoods into Davy Jones’s locker. Namini Wijedasa reports from Karainagar The sun sets on a row of fishing boats idling on the shore in North-West Karainagar, Jaffna. Some, anchored in shallow waters, rise and fall with the swell of the sea. [...]
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SriLankan pilots protest but settlement likely
By Namini Wijedasa SriLankan Airlines passengers were hit by significant delays last week as pilots continued to protest over management interference in the cadet pilot selection process. For instance, one flight left Paris 14 hours after its scheduled time of departure, company sources revealed, adding that further delays could be expected. But a spokesman for [...]
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This land belongs to us say washer families facing eviction
By Tharooshie Mahahewage Traditional washer families evicted from a plot of land in Colombo have failed to make the Rs. 50,000 deposit demanded by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) for each new workspace being built for them in a separate location, a spokesman said. “The deadline for payment was March 12 but none of these [...]
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CMC reduces worker cadre, adds two more Deputy Commissioners
Employees to stage massive protest as Council bypassed their TUs when taking decision By Aanya Wipulasena The Colombo Municipal Council’s (CMC) Commissioner and its members have agreed to reduce the CMC cadre -and will come up with a new recruiting system. Accordingly, a reduction of 3,476 positions from the original cadre of 12,121 positions will [...]
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Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport opens tomorrow with pomp and pageantry
Tourist hotspots easily accessible from Hambantota, says SriLankan CEO By Chandani Kirinde Sri Lanka’s second aerial gateway to the outside world, built at a staggering 26 billion rupees, will be opened with pomp and pageantry tomorrow. Built with Chinese assistance, the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) is situated close to an elephant infested jungle stretch. It [...]
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Prime State land changes hands with livelihood loss to stakeholders
Army insists on part of plantation rich in mineral deposits despite being offered alternate block By Leon Berenger The management and the authorities on a State-owned estate in Matale are in a heated stand-off, after some 100 acres of prime land from the plantation was handed over to a nearby Army cantonment, made possible through [...]
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Fonseka’s new party gearing up for provincial polls
Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka is seeking to register a new political party to be headed by him so that its nominees can contest the Provincial Council elections scheduled for later this year. The former General said papers had been submitted to Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya for the registration of the Democratic Party (DP), whose symbol [...]
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Allegations of nepotism
SriLankan Airlines pilots, who are embroiled in a dispute with the company’s senior management, became the subject of allegations themselves. Written representations to the Sunday Times claimed that the eight cadet pilots selected at the last batch (before the pass mark was lowered and two more trainees taken) were “well connected to the so called [...]
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Cracked walls and broken foundations
An on-going 1.7 billion rupee sewerage project that cuts through Ratmalana and Moratuwa areas has caused walls of houses in the vicinity to crack and left foundations of many houses broken.The damage caused to homes is a result of construction work on the sewerage system with the use of heavy equipment. The project aims to [...]
