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Amidst speculation of a presidential or parliamentary election next year, employees of state corporations and companies fully owned by the Government will receive a year-end bonus ranging from Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 12,500. A decision to make such payments until a permanent scheme is formulated has been approved by the Cabinet on a recommendation made by [...]
Note this note
Police have urged the public to be on alert for forged 2,000-rupee currency notes circulating after a series of detections of fake notes were reported during the past few days. Supermarkets, shop keepers and restaurants were seen carefully checking currency notes during the past few days. In a single case this week dud currency notes [...]
Summit traffic plans finalised tomorrow; Govt. mulls Nov.15 holiday
The traffic plan for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) would be finalised tomorrow, police spokesman Ajith Rohana said yesterday. He said that more discussions are due, to finalise the plans. Meanwhile, Public Administration Minister John Seneviratne said that, initially, there was a proposal that November 15 be declared a public holiday, but the rationale [...]
Attack on PC: Three suspects remanded
Three persons who allegedly dashed a police constable (PC) on the ground in Kandy town on Friday, when he intervened to prevent a foreign woman from being harassed, were remanded today, police said. The PC was on duty at the Deputy Inspector General’s office in Kandy, when he had noticed the foreign woman being harassed. The [...]
Lightning claims 2 lives as thundershowers prevail
The Meteorology Department yesterday warned of lightning related incidents with the onset of the inter-monsoon season, as two deaths caused by lightning were reported. Fifteen-year-old Hasitha Eranda, from Wanduramba, Galle and 57-year-old Premachandra Manamperi from Poddala, Galle died on admission to Karapitiya Hospital. Hasitha was playing with another boy when he fell victim to lightning. Met. [...]
Smoke alarm triggers emergency landing of Emirates flight
An Emirates flight from Bandaranaike International Airport was yesterday evening forced to make an emergency landing soon after takeoff, as a smoke alarm in the cargo area went off, airport sources said. The passengers were evicted and the flight checked, but no signs of a fire was detected. After the flight was checked and readied to [...]
FMM, IFJ see detention of media rights activists as threat to press freedom
The Free Media Movement (FMM) yesterday condemned the detention of International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)’s Asia-Pacific Director Jacqui Park and her deputy Jane Worthington on Wednesday FMM Convenor Sunil Jayasekara said the detention of the journalists was a clear case of intimidation aimed at curtailing the freedom of expression and it came at a time [...]
Poaching: Lanka rejects India’s ‘one-day’ proposal
Sri Lanka has rejected an Indian proposal that Tamil Nadu fishermen be allowed to fish in our territorial waters at least one day a week. The proposal had emerged from the Indian High Commission in Colombo during consultations with officials of the Ministry of Fisheries. Both Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne and a High Commission official declined [...]
Round-the-clock medical watch for CHOGM delegates
Visiting heads of government and their delegations attending this month’s Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka will have blanket medical coverage, with emergency teams on alert to tackle any crisis. Around 200 medical officers, a similar number of nurses and 70 fully-equipped ambulances have been commissioned as part of the exercise, it is learnt. It will not [...]
Hi-tech labs for thousand schools
Technological laboratories are to be established in thousand secondary schools in Sri Lanka. Known as the “Mahindodaya” project, it will involve the provision of some 62,000 computers and 1000 computer notebooks to these schools. It is estimated to cost Rs 1.7 billion for the initial stages of the The Government has decided to ask local companies [...]
Man convicted of rape wins appeal
A man who was convicted by a court in Embilipitiya of abduction and rape of a woman won his appeal at the Court of Appeal this week. The Embilipitiya High Court found Yahawela Vidanalage Appuhamy guilty, sentenced him to ten years rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs. 5,000. His lawyer Ranjit Fernando argued before the Court [...]
Southern Education minister orders probe on trouser-slitting teacher
The Southern Province Minister of Education Chandima Rasaputra has directed the Zonal Director of Weligama to inquire into an incident where a female teacher had slit a trouser of a male student saying it was tight and should not be worn to school. The student had said it was the only trouser he had. The [...]
Seeking divine blessings
The Deepavali festival was marked by Hindu devotees throughout the country yesterday. Here some devotees take part in rituals in Colombo. Pic by Indika Handuwala
German tourist drowns in rough seas off southern coast
A German national drowned while swimming in the sea at a location in Dickwella earlier today, police said. The victim, Stephen Hilsky aged 34, was on holiday with his mother and two friends, according to police. The group was staying at a seaside hotel and the victim had decided on a swim despite rough conditions in [...]
Infant death: Coroner to give verdict
The father who protested against the doctor who failed to perform a surgery on his pregnant wife which led to the death of the infant, was asked to appear before the Coroner to give his verdict. G. Dayananda Dias (42), a driver at a construction company in Malabe, said at the Coroner’s Courts in Colombo that [...]
92-Octane for 90-Octane at same rate from January 2014: Govt.
Government will suspend the import of 90-Octane petrol and import only 92-Octane with effect from January, Petroleum Resources Minister Anura Priyadharsahana Yapa said. He said that one of the reasons was that the international market does not have 90-Octane. ‘This will be the standard, and even Lanka Indian Oil company will be told to follow the [...]
Colombo-Katunayake Expressway rakes in Rs 19.5 m in 5 days
The Colombo-Katunayake Expressway (CKE) which connects the Bandaranaike International Airport to Colombo city, earned Rs 19.5 million within five days of its commissioning last Sunday, with 71,129 vehicles using the Expressway, the Road Development Authority said. The CKE opened to vehicles from 6.00 pm on Sunday, October 27, and by midnight 8,500 vehicles had traversed [...]
Attendants want probe into colleague’s dengue death
A section of the staff of the Colombo National Hospital is calling for a full investigation into the death of one their colleauges whose request for leave had been turned down while suffering from dengue and died as a result. At least 40 staff members this week came to show their wrath when female attendant [...]
3 remanded for dashing PC who dared them against harassing foreign woman
Three persons who allegedly dashed a police constable (PC) on the ground in Kandy town on Friday, when he intervened to prevent a foreign woman from being harassed, were remanded today, police said. The PC was on duty at the Deputy Inspector General’s office in Kandy, when he had noticed the foreign woman being harassed. [...]
Tough new regulations for three-wheelers and taxi cabs
Three-wheelers and taxi cabs in the Western Province will be required to clearly display a formula on fares for the notice of passengers under new regulations. The rules have also made it compulsory for three-wheelers and taxi cabs to fix a fare meter and to follow regulations issued from time to time regarding the fare meter. [...]
Gang of four netted after tracking one suspect for two months
A four-member gang behind a spate of high profile robberies was busted earlier this week after the Police closely followed the movements of one of the suspects for more than two months. He was arrested in Ragama, police said yesterday. The gang led by a serving Army corporal was allegedly behind a dozen robberies where they [...]
Sterile males to tackle war against dengue
The latest weapon that Sri Lankan authorities are to brandish against the deadly dengue-carrying female mosquitoes is sterile males. The Sterile Insect Technique to prevent mosquito breeding is to be introduced next year (2014), the Sunday Times learns. Under the ‘Sterile Insect Technique’, laboratory-bred male mosquitoes which have been rendered sterile through irradiation will be introduced [...]
On the right path to minimising cerebral accidents
It was a simple but vital event, in a country with an ageing population and an increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases. With Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena registering a 57-year-old Montessori teacher as the first patient to the just-opened Stroke Unit of the Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama, on Tuesday, the message is clear. Sri Lanka is [...]
Rs. 2000: A note of caution
A court official in Puttalam called over at a State bank on Thursday October 24, to deposit the day’s collection of fines. Counting the money, the bank assistant detected a forged 2,000-rupee note. The police were called in and a statement from the court officer was recorded. On Tuesday, a shoe-shop owner paid in cash [...]
State-of-the-art CHOGM Media Centre at BMICH opens this week
A state-of-the-art Media Centre set up at the BMICH, to accommodate up to 800 local and foreign media personnel accredited to cover the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), will open this week. The Media Centre will be fully-equipped with live satellite and communication facilities, briefing rooms, work stations, among other services, Media and Information Ministry [...]
EAM yet to receive CHOGM delegates’ requests to visit North
The External Affairs Ministry (EAM) is yet to receive official intimation from any Commonwealth country of their delegates’ desire to travel to the north during their stay in Sri Lanka, a senior EAM official said. “We have not had such requests on behalf of any of the leaders of countries or other senior officials attending the [...]
Inconsolable parents remember promising youngest son brutally killed in Britain
It was that fateful day, Sunday, October 27, as Thavisha Lakindu Peiris, a loving son and a brilliant student with an ambition to be an IT consultant, was brutally stabbed to death and left to die inside a car parked on the streets of South Yorkshire, UK. As the investigations continue, his parents, relatives and [...]
UPFA PS members to face disciplinary action for ‘conduct unbecoming’
The UPFA is to soon commence an inquiry into a brawl this week between two members at the Bentota Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) meeting, Senior UPFA Minister A. H. M. Fowzie said. He said a panel would be appointed to look into the incident and if found guilty the members would face disciplinary action. The incident [...]
Mega mining mystery
Canadian firm purchasing shares and getting exploration licences transferred. Is it legal? Who are the players exploiting Sri Lanka’s graphite mining resources? A Canadian mining firm has entered into an agreement with a Sri Lankan company to acquire the local outfit’s exclusive exploration licences for a reported 113 graphite mining grids in the country. But [...]
Sri Lankan seafarer missing without a trace feared dead
A Sri Lankan seafarer on a foreign-flagged ship, has on October 22 gone missing without a trace and is feared dead. The ship was sailing to the port of Fujairahin the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a maritime union source said yesterday. Able Seaman (AB) Saverimuttu Alagu Samuel (45) a father of one and a resident of [...]
Minister Weerawansa grants house to inventor student
A 20-year old Sri Lankan student who won an award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona, United States for his invention and has a star named after him by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was this week provided a house by the Ministry of Engineering Services, Housing and [...]
106 Cabinet, Project, Deputy Ministers out of 161 UPFA MPs
With the recent appointment of nine Deputy Ministers, the total number of Cabinet Ministers, Project Ministers and Deputy Ministers in Government has reached 106, with only 55 remaining as MPs in the 161-member strong ruling United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The latest set of nine MPs who were elevated to Deputy Ministers, were those who [...]
Indo-Lanka fisher unions to aid counterparts held in respective jails
Local fisher unions, together with their Indian counterparts, have come together to bring about relief and related assistance to fishermen currently held in jails of the two countries, a maritime union spokeman said yesterday. National Union of Seafarers Sri Lanka (NUSS) President Palitha Athukorale said that the International Transport-workers Federation (ITF) were facilitating the move and [...]
Wet November with thunder and lightning, says Met. Dept.
Carry your umbrellas or raincoats when travelling outdoors in November as there will be rainy evenings for the next few weeks, advises the Meteorology Department. Deputy Director Anusha Warnasooriya said the inter-monsoon season is active now with light to heavy showers forecast throughout the island. “Special features of the inter-monsoon period are warm cloudless afternoons followed [...]
PHIs’ fruitful Food Safety Week as errant vendors fall foul
Public Health Inspectors (PHI) cracked down on 4,887 food outlets and food processing centres found to be unhygienic, during Food Safety Week, said Sri Lanka PHIs Association President, Upul Rohana. The PHIs inspected 38,291 food outlets islandwide where food was processed and distributed in an unhygienic manner. “Through the raids, we were able to grade 18,456 [...]
Fare hike not fair as service lousy, say angry commuters
It’s five in the evening; the traffic builds up as people start to fill the streets in Pettah to get home at the end of a working day. Dozens of buses on the road begin their evening routine with conductors shouting out their destinations to attract commuters. Soon the once empty buses turn into a [...]
Sex in the city: Legalise or not?
As the controversy over the government’s decision to introduce a casino zone in Colombo rages on, a government minister yesterday ruled out the possibility of legalising the sex trade in the face of calls from a section of womens’ rights activists who believe the casino boom would increase prostitution in the country. Child Development and [...]
A law unto themselves
Thugs have taken over parking slots in many of the areas of Colombo city, causing inconvenience to motorists. In areas demarcated as public parking, thugs have become ‘traffic wardens’ and charge varying rates for parking. In the event motorists fail to agree to their demands they turn abusive. ‘If we do not agree to park at the [...]
Customs BDPU detects illicit sandalwood exports
A series of recent cases of illegal sandalwood exports has been detected by the Customs Bio-Diversity Protection Unit (BDPU), Customs sources said. Accordingly, on October 7, Customs detected 50 kg of fragrant oil which the officials suspect was white sandalwood oil, being exported to Singapore. Meanwhile on October 16, Customs detected 600 kg of white sandalwood [...]
Gambling and bloodlust: Police raid cock-fighting pit
The barbaric blood sport of cockfighting –a fight to the death between two roosters bred solely for this purpose– is a fairly common, though illegal sport in the country. Hundreds of spectators baying like hounds crowd these illegal ‘sporting arenas’ while innocent birds are unleashed on each other to satisfy the bloodlust of the onlookers. [...]
