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Don’t travel to Tamil Nadu: Defence Ministry
By Sunimalee Dias Defence Ministry officials are advising Sri Lankans against travelling to Tamil Nadu in the wake of recent attacks on Sri Lankans and Sri Lankan institutions there. Travel from Colombo to Chennai has also dropped by at least 30 per cent in recent weeks, travel trade sources said. A two-hour meeting was held [...]
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Offshore blocks for global oil-gas investors
The Government will shortly offer offshore blocks of the Cauvery and Mannar basins to global oil and gas investors, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has told the Cabinet. This is with Sri Lanka showcasing its second batch of offshore blocks at CERA Week, the global energy industry’s premier event in Houston, Texas, early this month. The Government’s foray [...]
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Cabinet subcommittee meets tomorrow
By Chris Kamalendran The Cabinet Subcommittee on religious harmony will meet tomorrow to draw up recommendations. The Committee headed by senior minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was appointed in the wake of religious and ethnic tensions in the country and it includes Ministers A.H.M. Fowzie, Maithripala Sirisena, Dinesh Gunawardena, Rauff Hakeem, Wimal Weerawansa, Champika Ranawaka, Arumugam Thondaman, Milroy [...]
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Govt. urges people not to fall prey to elements stoking racial tension
The Government urged people not to fall prey to elements inciting racial and religious tension in the country in the wake of the attack on a clothing store in Pepiliyana on Thursday night. Government Information Department Director General Professor Ariyaratne Atugala said in a statement after the incident said that elements with vested interest are [...]
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Wife of retired Army officer shot dead
The wife of a retired army officer was shot dead by suspected robbers in the Udahamulla, Gangodawila area on Friday night, a police officer attached to the Mirihana police said. The victim was identified as Susila Jayasinha, 65. Police said she was watching television when she was shot dead. “We believe the victim had shouted when the [...]
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CPC to resume refuelling ships at ports
By Damith Wickremasekara The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) will take over bunkering facilities at ports and resume refuelling ships from next week after a four year lapse. Petroleum Industries Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said the resumption of the service, first at the Colombo port and later at Trincomalee, was to cut down on the losses the [...]
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SriLankan pilot-selection review remains grounded
By Namini Wijedasa SriLankan Airlines is reviewing its entire trainee pilots’ selection process as a consequence of an ongoing dispute between its pilots and senior management. “There has been no final decision on the recruitment process,” said SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena. “The short listing process for the cadet pilots’ training programme is being reviewed [...]
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Energy drinks with caffeine may be fatal, cardiologist warns athletes
By Kumudini Hettiaarachchi Avoid caffeine-packed energy drinks during strenuous sports activity, cautioned a heart doctor, strongly urging coaches, trainers and parents to refrain from encouraging young athletes to take these drinks. Too much of caffeine can stimulate the heart to go into abnormal rhythms, said Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Gamini Galappatthy, stressing that this could even be [...]
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Sparks fly as proposed CEB mega rate hike meets stiff opposition
Corrupt, wasteful, mismanaged Board lives it up at overburdened consumers’ expense By Aanya Wipulasena A statutory body examining tariff hikes heard numerous complaints that consumers would pay for corrupt activity at the Ceylon Electricity Board if there is an upward revision of prices. Over a hundred proposals have been put forward this week to the Public [...]
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Illegal migrants use children in new ploy to enter Australia
A new ruse by Sri Lankans who attempt to enter Australia by boat illegally has been unearthed by authorities as they detected a boat of illegal immigrants – almost half of them children. The latest batch of 97 illegal immigrants was detected off Sangamankanda, in Oluvil in the Ampara district. Instead of attempts to travel individually [...]
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Maharagama MC member wanted for alleged rape of girl
A special team from the Maharagama Police has been assigned the task of apprehending the member of the Maharagama Municipal Council who is wanted in connection with the rape of a 12 year old girl. The mother of the child lodged a complaint with the Athurugiriya Police that her daughter was raped by the MC [...]
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Recognising ourselves as our worst enemies
With a foreign policy in tatters, the judiciary and the legal system in deep crisis and the state of the economy looking more perilous with each monumentally wasteful government extravaganza, the seasonal call of the koha heralding the Sinhala and Tamil New Year sounds more eerily mocking than musical. Racist extremism has no boundaries On [...]
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High prices drive Avurudu shoppers away
By Mirudhula Thambiah It’s going to be an expensive National New Year this time. This was the general sentiment among shoppers in Pettah, the place where many head to, to get a good bargain during any festive season. P.H Wijedasa, a public sector employee from Elpitiya was among those who the Sunday Times spoke to to [...]
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TN’s anti-SL mood continues despite lull in related protests
Significant drop in bilateral trade and travel to Chennai By Namini Wijedasa Tamil Nadu (TN) police continue to maintain round-the-clock security at key Sri Lankan offices, despite a lull in politically-motivated protests, Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai Ameer Ajwad said. Arts and Science colleges throughout TN remain closed. On Wednesday, there was another [...]
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We can’t monitor all children’s homes, admits child protection authority
By Hansani Bandara The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) says it lacks sufficient officials to monitor and inspect all the children’s homes in the country. Assistance had been sought from the Department of Probation and Child Care Services (DPCCS), the authority’s Director, Anoma Dissanayake, said. The director revealed the state of affairs when questioned about the [...]
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Wanton destruction of vegetables queried
By Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa Thousands of kilos of vegetables brought to the Dambulla Economic Centre have been thrown away during the past few days, much to the dismay of farmers. On Friday, 40,000kg were destroyed, dealing farmers a devastating blow. Despite this, neither the government nor the administration of the Dambulla Economic Centre has intervened [...]
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Dreams of a trip to museum come crashing down
By Aanya Wipulasena For 14 year old Sachini Sewwandi, a student of Sumanajothi Maha Vidyalaya, Welimada, it was a dream come true when she learnt that she was coming to Colombo. There was added joy when her trip with fellow students included a visit to the National Museum. There were scores of other students who were [...]
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Giant tarantula that ‘stings like a bee’ part of north’s peace dividend
By Malaka Rodrigo A tarantula almost as big as a dinner plate has been discovered in northern Sri Lanka by a team of researchers who named it after a keen police officer who helped track down live specimens of the giant spider. The researchers fortuitously happened to be in Mankulam, conducting an island-wide tarantula survey, [...]
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Pangolins at high risk, warn conservationists
By Malaka Rodrigo Conservationists have called for the protection of pangolins, a type of ant-eater known as “kaballawa” or “eya” after it was named the animal at the highest risk in the National Red List of Threatened Fauna and Flora’s “Near-Threatened” category. Pangolins are found throughout Sri Lanka and used to be seen living close to [...]
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The end of an era
Story and pix by Amila Prabhoda As the Hamilton Canal development project nears completion a boat service which operated across the canal over the generations will come to end. But hundreds of families in the area stand to benefit. Developing the Hamilton Canal, Negombo was initiated under the Economic Development Ministry’s Tourism Resources Development Programme [...]
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CJ 43 Shirani B shows up at BASL convocation
Chief Justice 43 Shirani Bandaranayke made her first public appearance yesterday after she was controversially impeached by Parliament and forced out of office. The occasion was the 39th sessions of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) at Navarangahala where Upul Jayasuriya was inducted as the new president. As she walked into the auditorium, she was [...]
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Prof. Gamlath, Sinhala literary luminary, no more
Professor Sucharitha Gamlath, a prominent academic in Sinhala Literature and Literary criticism passed away at the Colombo National Hospital yesterday morning (30). He is known for compiling and editing the largest English Sinhala Dictionary in the history of lexicons in Sri Lanka. He was also a renowned Marxist literary critic and an expert in oriental [...]
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Bodu Bala Sena says it aims to create a moral society
By Hansani Bandara The Bodu Bala Sena Organisation (BBSO) will set up youth corps to educate youth about the dangers of smoking, alcohol and drug abuse. Among other things, BBSO will hold monthly conferences in all districts to make Buddhists aware of the challenges they face and to advise them how to overcome these problems. [...]
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Old rape allegation supposedly prompts attack on Fashion Bug
Temple premises used to launch attack , BBS denies responsibility and Army called in to restore order By Damith Wickremasekara Shortly after dusk on Friday, a mob armed with clubs, stormed a heavy machinery hiring place in Pepiliyana, Boralesgamuwa, set fire to its administrative office and went on to damage some of the equipment within. “It [...]
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Govt. creating rift in Buddhist clergy with Norway providing benefits to some :UNP
The United National Party (UNP) says it has received information that with the intervention of top persons in the Government, an attempt is underway to get money and other benefits from Norway for certain sections of the Buddhist clergy. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayaka said this in a statement issued after Thursday’s incident at Pepiliyana. It [...]
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Tackling heart disease the tried and tested way
Multiple risk factors to be treated with drugs, changed lifestyles for single risk cases By Kumudni Hettiarachchi A drastic but tried and tested change is being introduced in the management of risk factors that are harbingers of diseases of the heart or blood vessels. Not just a part, but the whole picture is being looked at [...]
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100 SLFP supporters attack TNA meeting, 13 injured
At least 13 supporters of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) were injured when pro- Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) men stormed a meeting of the TNA in Kilinochchi yesterday, officials said. The meeting to prepare for the proposed Northern Provincial Council elections was in progress at the TNA Jaffna district Parliamentarian S. Sritharan’s office in [...]
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Change in issuing authority for duty free vehicle permits
With effect from tomorrow Secretaries of Ministries and Chief Secretaries of Provincial Councils will be entrusted with the task of issuing vehicle permits to senior Government officials who are entitled to import motor vehicles on concessionary terms Ministry of Finance and Planning Secretary P.B.Jayasundera said. The task was previously entrusted to the Trade and Investment [...]
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With eye on CHOGM, nettled Lanka protests against illogical British travel advisory
The Government has instructed its High Commission in London to object to the British Foreign Office’s revised travel advisory on Sri Lanka which holds, among other things, that there is still an underlying threat of terrorism in the country. Updated on Thursday, the advisory assumes increased relevance in view of the Commonwealth Heads of Government [...]
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IPL crisis: Govt. seeks security assurance from India
Minister says players won’t be allowed to take part unless such a guarantee is given by New Delhi By S.R. Pathiravithana and Damith Wickremasekara The Government will not permit Sri Lankan players to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament which begins on April 3 unless the Indian Government gives an assurance about [...]
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Mattala-Colombo SriLankan flight hit: Ice or birds?
By Namini Wijedasa A SriLankan Airlines aircraft has been damaged when it ran into a “burst of hail” while descending into Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, official records show. The incident, which occurred on Monday, left a crack in the aircraft’s windshield. The Airbus 330 was flying from the Maldivian capital of Male to Katunayake via Mattala [...]
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Quarrel over price of sold baby leads to arrests
By Hansani Bandara The Central Province Department of Probation and Childcare is conducting an inquiry to decide whether an infant sold in Pussellawa for Rs. 35,000 should be returned to its parents. The baby had been sold to a couple in Negombo. The parents — Rajasingham Wasanthi, 26, and Ramalingam Subramaniam, 28 — are under arrest. [...]
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All over in half an hour!
The launch of ‘Irangani as told to KumardeSilva’ By D.C. Ranatunga For the first time I was at a book launch which lasted just half an hour. The packed hall at the Lionel Wendt Art Studio in a way liked it being over soon – it was so warm that evening! No one complained it [...]
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New BASL chief on mission to restore public confidence in judiciary
Following is the text of the advanced copy of the inauguration address delivered yesterday by Upul Jayasuriya, the newly elected president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, after he was inducted at the convocation held at Navarangahala in Colombo. Ven. Maha Sangha, Ven. Catholic Clergy, Your Lordships Judges of the Supreme Court, Hon. Attorney [...]
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The crisis within and a question of
Point of view Stop and think before the Sinhalese become a race silenced by their own cries for isolation and no metre to measure their distinction, says Sunela Jayewardene An oyster sucks in particles from its environment and creates a pearl. If instead, it filters out every particle, it is destined to be a lesser [...]
