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Home » NewsThe weeping mother of Weliweriya
Her only child, the 17-year-old student Akila Dinesh Jayawardana, lying in the coffin, the 34-year-old mother Priyangani Shiromi Jayawardene, whose husband has left her, breaks down in tears in the aftermath of the army shooting at people who were demonstrating against the pollution of their drinking water. Please see story on Page 10. Pic by [...]
Chinese firm to build multibillion sports complex in Nuwara Eliya
A Chinese firm is to receive the contract for a High Altitude Sports Complex in Nuwara Eliya and it will cost US$ 115 million or more than Rs. 15 billion. The man behind the move is Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Minister of Sports. He has said that the complex will have a 400-metre and 200-metre running tracks, [...]
New Zealand dairy giant issues global botulism alert
WELLINGTON, Aug 03, (AFP) – New Zealand warned international health authorities today of exported dairy products, including infant formula, containing a bacteria that could lead to botulism — a potentially fatal illness. The government said the contaminated whey protein concentrate, or products using this ingredient, had been exported to Australia, China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and [...]
NPC candidate found dead
An elderly independent candidate contesting the Northern Provincial Council elections was found dead inside a temple in Chunnakam in Jaffna last afternoon. The candidate contesting under the Independent Group 4 was identified as V. Ramachandran, 72. His body is lying at Jaffna Teaching Hospital. The post-mortem will be conducted today. He had earlier contested the [...]
Gota tells Packer’s casino to shift; no response from investors
Australian casino mogul James Packer’s Sri Lankan partner has been asked to shift the location of the proposed resort and gaming centre from the car park in front of Lake House in Colombo Fort, to another property along D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha. The land currently earmarked for the building is on the corner of D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha [...]
Customs bust major online vehicle racket
Customs have busted a major online vehicle-import racket involving a nonexistent company which was working in connivance with a leasing company owned by a leading private bank, a Customs official said.Vehicles had been advertised online in the name of a dummy company at slashed prices which were about Rs. 300,000 less than the market price [...]
SC again orders better facilities in buildings for disabled people
The Supreme Court has instructed state agencies to ensure compliance with the earlier court order of April 27, 2011 and implement comprehensive directions given to ensure that those with restricted ability be given every opportunity to integrate freely with the community. Supreme Court also directed the Attorney General to ensure the order was given its full [...]
Sand tippers destroy lives while speeding to help build livelihoods
Reckless, hit-and-run drivers take a heavy toll of motorists and pedestrians on roads that are already filled to capacity. Nadia Fazlulhaq reports Last week reported three-fatal accidents caused by speeding tipper lorries, or tippers, loaded with sand mined from rivers, and driven by reckless drivers. One such speeding tipper killed a mother and son on [...]
Deraniyagala Where people only know the meaning of fear
The tension that has gripped the Basnagala village, 10 kilometres off Deraniyagala town for the past 15 years, is far from over, though 21 people have been taken into custody for the recent killing of the Manager of Noori estate Nihal Perera. On Thursday, the sister of the main suspect, Anil Champika alias ‘Atha Kota’ [...]
Woes of Weliweriya water war
Weliweriya, a small peaceful town barely an hour’s drive from Colombo, resembled a war-torn area yesterday. Traffic moved but heavily armed Army and Police personnel patrolled the streets. There were hardly any people moving around. Shops remained closed. Shattered glass from homes and shops remained strewn on the road. There were even shoes and slippers. [...]
Dipped dismisses allegations
Dipped Products Limited which is in the centre of a controversy that led to the bloody mayhem on Thursday, yesterday denied accusations that it was responsible for the contamination of the water sources of the villages surrounding its factory at Nedungamuwa, Weliweriya. Here are excerpts from a statement issued by the company’s Managing Director Mahesha [...]
How many more lives have to be lost in this jumbo problem?
The human-elephant conflict that has claimed a number of lives has turned ugly with authorities failing to address the burning issue. Over the past decade more than 1,500 elephants and about 700 people were killed. Last year 66 people and 252 elephants died as a result of this on-going conflict. For villagers living near forests, it is [...]
SLBFE warns job agencies against opposition to new regulations
Authorities yesterday warned foreign job recruiting agencies to fall in line with the new set of regulations, or face the consequences that could include cancellation of their operational licence. But the industry said it would continue its agitation until there is a re-think on the issue.Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) General Manager Harischandra [...]
Showroom manager shot and stabbed to death while returning home
A manager attached to a showroom of the Timber Corporation in Ratnapura town was shot and stabbed to death while returning home in his vehicle yesterday night, police said today. The victim, Chandana Vijitha Kumara Manoratna (47), a father of two, was a resident of Eth Oya in Ratnapura, police said. According to police, the [...]
Two ministers instead of MR at Rowhani inauguration
External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris and Petroleum Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa will represent Sri Lanka at the inauguration of new Iranian President Hassan Rowhani in Teheran today. Earlier, Iran’s Majlis Protocol Office Director Mohammad Yasrebi had been widely quoted as saying that 11 presidents, including the Sri Lankan Head of State, would attend the event. [...]
Colombo, Hambantota Free Ports, Katunayake, Koggala, Mirijjawila EPZs Bonded Areas
The Colombo and Hambantota Ports have been declared as Free Ports, while the Katunayake, Koggola and Mirijjawila Export Processing Zones (EPZ) have been declared as Bonded Areas under new regulations made under the Finance Act. The regulation cited as the Commercial Hub Regulation No.1 of 2013, will apply to any new enterprise established or incorporated in [...]
How the public beat counterfeiters
People are increasingly canny about spotting counterfeit notes, and this is leading to the spate of reports about forged currency, says Central Bank Currency Department chief Janaka Karunaratne. “If you really look at why incidents on currency counterfeiting are being reported continuously, it is because people are being educated,” Mr. Karunaratne said. The public are [...]
Friends, relatives, henchmen gear for Sept.21 PC polls
Campaigning for September 21 elections to three Provincial Councils in the North, Central and the North Western (NW) provinces will get under way in earnest this week with nominations closing last Thursday. A total of 3,785 candidates will vie for 142 seats in the three PCs — 56 in the Central PC, 50 in the [...]
Yet another instance of militarisation of society: Media groups
Two of Sri Lanka’s leading media organisations condemned the Army assault on the media covering the Weliweriya protests. The Free Media Movement (FMM) said,”this brutal assault” is “one more instance of militarisation of post war Sri Lanka society. Peaceful protests are part and parcel of the people’s right to free speech.” Here are excerpts from [...]
How many Udaras are left orphans after the December 2004 tsunami?
Has the State failed in its duty towards the children left without parents after the tsunami, discarding them to a personal whirlpool of misery and fraud by their foster parents? This is the issue which comes to the fore in the case of A.H. Udara Chinthaka de Silva of Seenigama, Galle, who was 12 plus [...]
Lanka among world’s top 20 shark killers
An international study has placed Sri Lanka among top 20 countries that catch sharks. Noting that these 20 countries account for 80% of the world’s annual shark catch, a report based on the study puts the survival of many shark varieties in their hands. This report titled “The future of the Shark: A Review of [...]
Hard landing UL-266 flight recorder France-bound for reading
The cockpit voice recorder of a SriLankan Airlines A340 aircraft damaged while landing at Bandaranaike International Airport on July 2, was sent to the French Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses (BEA) for reading, Civil Aviation Director General H.M.C. Nimalsiri said. The BEA is the French authority responsible for safety investigations into accidents or incidents in civil aviation. [...]
The missing portrait of an Army Commander
Lt. Gen. Daya Ratnayake, the country’s 20th Army Commander who assumed office on Thursday unveils a portrait of the outgoing Army Commander Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya at Army Headquarters. It is clear that the portrait of former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka has been removed as the second frame indicates. In the second frame the former Army [...]
4 Lankan seafarers’ fate unknown as their hijacked vessel sinks
The fate of four Sri Lankan seafarers held by Somali Pirates for more than two-and-a-half years were unknown yesterday, after their vessel took in water and sank while on anchorage earlier this month, a maritime trade union said.The four seafarers were a part of a larger group that included two more Sri Lankans, as well [...]
Another four-tunate Lankans return
A group of four Sri Lankan seafarers who were stranded on a fishing vessel in Panama for eight months, returned to the country this week, after their air fares were met by the local recruiting agents on the persuasion of a maritime union in Colombo.Palitha Athukorale-President of the National Union of Seafarers Sri Lanka (NUSS), [...]
Two new mosquito species found here
Two species of mosquitoes belonging to a genus new to Sri Lanka have been discovered, scientists at the Medical Research Institute (MRI) have announced. The mosquitoes of this genus, known as Topomyia, are found in countries like India and Thailand. These species are also known to feed on the larvae of other mosquitoes, therefore they have [...]
Garden plants new breeding ground, warns MRI
Mosquitoes have been found to be breeding in a number of garden plants, a study conducted by MRI has revealed. The study is aimed at finding out whether mosquitoes have found alternate breeding spots, in garden plants, as the fight to control the spread of dengue intensifies. P. Ranasinghe, researcher at MRI said that mosquito larvae [...]
DCD in milk: More tests needed before action
Despite finding traces of dicyandiamide (DCD) in four imported milk powder samples, no immediate action will be taken to withdraw stocks from the markets as more tests will have to be carried out, a top official said yesterday. Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) Chairman Wimaladharma Abeywickrema said the institute would conduct more tests on imported milk powder [...]
Attack on Malaka a professional job, says senior detective
The police were yesterday matching images captured by CCTV cameras during the attack on Malaka Silva – son of Public Relations Minister Meryvn Silva on Monday, a senior investigator with the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) said. He said the CCTV cameras installed inside the premises of the up market clothes store Odel near the Town Hall [...]
Court sees attack on singers by CBK-era PSD men as subversion of democracy
People in a democracy are free to have political preferences of their choice and those who try to subvert this right cannot be dealt with leniency by the law, said a high court judge while sentencing ten presidential guards who threatened to kill a popular singing couple in 1999. Panadura Provincial High Court Judge Kusala Sarojini [...]
Appeal Court to hear petition requesting NPC polls be put off
The petition seeking to indefinitely postpone the Northern Provincial Council election will be supported before the Court of Appeal next Tuesday. Petitioner Jayantha Liyanage, general secretary of the Sihala Jathika Peramuna wanted the election indefinitely postponed till the Government takes some corrective measures. The completion of de-mining and the resettlement of the displaced Sinhalese and [...]
Five judge Bench to decide whether PSC can try a judge
A special Bench of five Supreme Court judges allowed Sri Lanka Progressive Front leader Nelson Perera to intervene in three rights applications and seek to overturn the Supreme Court determination that held the Parliamentary Select Committee appointed to try a judge is illegal.The Bench comprised Justices Saleem Marsoof PC, Chandra Ekanayake, Sathya Hettige PC, Eva [...]
Wildlife officials log onto online sale and smuggling of exotic fauna
Wildlife officials have commenced investigation into social media pages, free online classified advertising sites and websites for possible smuggling of indigenous fauna, following a recent raid in Colombo. Acting on a tip-off and using two young men as decoys, Wildlife officials raided a house that was also a sales point situated in Kirulapone, Colombo 6. The [...]
