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Home » NewsHigh prices spoil Good Market
Organically-grown vegetables and other produce, natural food, non-toxic home and garden products are part of The Good Market at the Race Course. But with vegetable prices soaring, even foreign vendors at this vegetable stall had to fix high prices for their non-toxic produce. Pic by Indika Handuwala
Customs take over vehicle valuation, prices soar
In a bid to curb a major tax fraud, the Customs Department is to decide on the value of brand new vehicles instead of accepting the declaration by the importer, Customs Director General Jagath Wijeweera said.The move comes after investigations revealed that vehicle importers, including leading companies, were undervaluing the vehicles to get a lower [...]
No plans to pull Lankans out of Ukraine
Sri Lanka is monitoring the unrest in Ukraine where about 200 Sri Lankans live but there are no plans to ask them to leave, according to Udayanga Weeratunga, who is Ambassador to Russia with concurrent accreditation to Ukraine. Mr. Weeratunga said that of the 200 Sri Lankans in Ukraine, about 60 are students but the situation [...]
Flour price up by Rs. 1
The price of flour was increased by one rupee a kilo from yesterday, a Trade Ministry official said. The increase was made by Prima Ceylon Limited which controls more than 90 per cent of the flour market. Consumer Affairs Authority Chairman Rumi Marzook declined to comment saying that company had not informed the CAA about [...]
President going to Bolivia
President Mahinda Rajapaksa is to visit the South American nation of Bolivia in the middle of this month to attend the Summit on the 50th Anniversary of the Group of 77. The summit is being hosted by Bolivia which holds the chairmanship of the Group which represents 133 countries – more than two thirds of [...]
Four-floor ministry building to be sold to private company
A Nawam Mawatha prime building that comes under the purview of the Ministry of Livestock and Rural Community Development is to be sold to a private company despite protests by workers. The four floor building which earlier housed the Sri Lanka Libya Agriculture and Livestock Development Co (Pvt) Ltd (LANLIB) has been offered to a private [...]
C’wealth adjusts programmes to cope with Canadian cut
The Commonwealth Secretariat is still making adjustments to development programmes to cope with the withdrawal of Canadian funds in protest over Sri Lanka’s Chairmanship of the Commonwealth Organisation, a spokesperson said. The Canadian Government announced in April that it was suspending its voluntary contribution of 10 million Canadian dollars (Rs. 1.2 billion) to the Commonwealth [...]
“We don’t want Deyata Kirula’
Ruhuna University students held a protest on Wednesday against the government’s division to hold the next Deyata Kirula within the university premises. Pic by Krishan Jeewaka Jayaruk.
JMO calls for Govt. Analyst’s report into hospital employee’s death
The Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) of the Colombo National Hospital has called for the Government Analyst’s report to determine the cause of the death of an administrative secretary of a private hospital in Narahenpita after a gas cylinder fell on her. JMO of the Colombo National Hospital -Dr. Uppala Artigala- called for the Government Analyst’s [...]
After 22 years, suspects own up to crime
Two policemen pleaded guilty after 22 years to a charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder before Kandy High Court Judge Manilal Waidyatilleke, who sentenced them to two years rigorous imprisonment. The two accused Katugastota Arambegedera Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Nandini Katugastota and Matalpuragedera Nilaraja who were Reserve Police Constables had committed the offence in or [...]
Wet weather sends dengue figures up
With intermittent showers in different parts of the country sending dengue numbers up, fear is gripping men, women and children. The dengue death toll for this year is 39 with this dreaded disease sending 10,700 people to hospitals across the country. If a child or an adult has fever what should be done? The ‘action [...]
All 5 accused identified at parade, though Victoria failed to point out a single
Enlarged photographs showing the injuries sustained by murdered British tourist Khuram Shaikh taken by Inspector Chandana Nishantha, the former Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Crime Scene Investigation Unit of the Tangalle Police were shown in court this week as the High Court inquiry into the murder continued. The photographs were projected on a screen [...]
‘Delayed Transmission’ needs new equipment further delaying telecast of House proceedings
The telecast of Parliamentary proceedings will be delayed, as the private cable operator on whose channel the earlier telecasts were shown, wants to import new equipment to allow for a delayed transmission. Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa announced in April that telecasts would re-commence in May, initially for one hour covering Question Time. However, it was decided [...]
Ex-Chairman CPC Saliya Dissanayaka passes away at 49
Saliya Dissanayaka, former Central Provincial Council (CPC) Chairman and brother of Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayaka, passed away on Friday. He was 49. The late Mr Dissanayaka lost his seat in the CPC at the 2013 elections.
Ex-Air Force chief passes away
Former Air Force Commander Terrence Gunawardena passed away yesterday. An old boy of Wesley College, Air Chief Marshal Gunawardena commanded the Air Force from August 1990 to February 1994 during the height of the separatist war. He joined the Air Force in December 1959 and was commissioned in 1961.
Coup in Thailand has SL tourists, travel agents in a quandary
The military coup in Thailand has translated into a drop in both business and leisure travel from Sri Lanka to Thailand. As confirmed by travel agents operating in the sector, many travellers who had previously planned for vacations or business travel to the country, which underwent a military coup two weeks ago, have either rerouted [...]
Mighty monsoon slows to a worrying trickle
The intermittent monsoon rains may come as a breath of fresh air but the Met Department fears that sweaty days and uncomfortable nights will continue due to the humidity with little respite even from passing showers in the coming days. The department warns of less rain due to a weaker monsoon the result of El [...]
Buddhist Culture and Sinhala compulsory for freshers at J’pura varsity’s Humanities Faculty
Buddhist Culture and Sinhala have been made a compulsory subjects for first year students of one of the faculties at the University of Jayawardhanapura regardless of their religious beliefs and medium of study. First year students of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences are compelled to study the subject and its marks are considered [...]
Controversy rocks historic Dambulla temple
One of Sri Lanka’s most ancient and valuable archaeological monuments is at the centre of a worsening dispute that could imperil its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee that meets this month in the Qatari capital, Doha, will consider reports that activities in the environs of the Rangiri Dambulla [...]
Shocker: Brazen attack on traffic policeman by politico’s goons
A traffic policeman assigned to the Southern Expressway was attacked by goons of a local politician because he had booked him for an offence, police say. A police constable attached to the Southern Highway Traffic Surveillance Unit was hospitalized after being beaten up by a gang near his house in Bombuwala area in Dodangoda, may [...]
WNL’s Lankadeepa Poson Aloka Poojawa ready to set Tantirimale alight
‘Lankadeepa Poson Aloka Poojawa’ organised by the Wijeya Newspapers Ltd (WNL) for the 11th consecutive year, is all set to take place at the Tantirimale temple on June 12,13 and 14. The ‘Aloka Pooja’ was initiated in 2004, by WNL Chairman Ranjith Wijewardene, to mark Poson Full Moon Day. WNL’s Assistant General Manager (Electricity) said [...]
Five prisoner deaths since transfer to Pallekele
Less than five months after all inmates of Bogambara Prison were transferred to Pallekele, five have reportedly died so far due to various ailments. Not having a resident doctor in the prison, travelling difficulties and the time taken for a doctor to reach Pallekele prison from Kandy in an emergency are identified as the main [...]
PMRP says new Bill a distortion of Bibile policy
The People’s Movement for the Rights of People has rejected the new Medicinal Regulation Bill as a distortion of and insult to the policy of Prof. Senaka Bibile. A PMRP spokesman said a comprehensive national medicinal drugs policy based on Prof. Bibile’s essential medicines concept had been approved by Cabinet as far back as October [...]
Call to enforce school van laws after innocent’s death
Eight-year-old Tharindu Dilhara Jayakody was a cheerful kid. He was always eager to go to school and wave at his mother and the neighbours while running down the lane to the school van. They remembered him doing the same last Monday morning – but he never came back home. At 1.45 p.m. the students of [...]
Beware! Outdated chocolates re-entering the market
Chocolate lovers need to check twice their favourite international brands before buying as recent raids reveal outdated chocolates imported from India are introduced into the market with new labels or end up as chocolate delights, officials said.Large stocks of outdated chocolates with a market value of Rs. 100 million were seized from a warehouse in [...]
Erratic weather, market forces send veggie prices up
A scarcity of vegetables in the marketplace is pushing prices up steeply while continued drought in catchment areas has forced rice farmers to cut their cultivation by nearly half. Vegetable prices increased so sharply that the Government this week made provision for consumers in Colombo and the suburbs to buy cheaper produce through Lak Sathosa [...]
Dead gecko’s remains in the ice-cream? Welcome to a ministry kitchen
A dead gecko in a refrigerator, unhygienic conditions and rotten vegetables found in close proximity to food about to be cooked were some of the sights that greeted Public Health Inspectors this week in government canteens in Colombo. The inspection covered offices such as the Department of the Government Printers, Immigrations and Emigration and the [...]
The disappearing shoreline
The Norochcholai power plant is causing a fresh problem -sea erosion caused by the construction of its jetty. Fishermen and residents in the area claim the coastal area in Ilanthadiya in Puttalam, close to the plant have been subject to erosion as a result of the jetty used to unload coal. They said that though [...]
15,000 pensioners waiting for their lump sum dues
A retired jailer who worked at the Welikada Prison is among some 15,000 pensioners facing inconveniences due to delays in receiving her gratuity payment after retirement. Ms. S.A.Premalatha had served 38 years in various prisons including the Jaffna Prison. “I was there as a jailer of the female LTTE cadres. I worked in Anuradhapura, Jaffna [...]
Sit-ins and sit-downs give Govt. headaches
More than a thousand principals and teachers took to the streets demanding that the government take immediate measures and settle delayed promotions, salary increments and arrears on Wednesday. This was one of a string of protests this week by various sectors over a range of demands from salary issues to construction of roads. The teachers [...]
Kerosene subsidy loss a blow to small fishermen
The fishing community in Chilaw which engages in their livelihood using small boats with outboard engines allege that the scrapping of the kerosene subsidy given by the Government has left them in the lurch. They have come up with an alternative proposal aimed at economically empowering small scale fisherman. Giving an ultimatum, W. Roshan Fernando [...]
