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Home » NewsFalse start: Public handicapped by the night races
Visitors to Kandy town were severely inconvenienced by the night races held there yesterday despite protests from the Mahanayakes, civic groups and opposition politicians. With public roads that were used as the track being closed, even elderly people were forced to walk and jump over sand bags placed on either side of the road as [...]
Forex scam: CB checks on money changers
Authorised money changers have come under Central Bank scrutiny following allegations that they are siphoning off vast amounts of foreign currency. Authorised dealers are required to hand over the foreign currency they buy to the Central Bank and obtain proceeds in Sri Lankan rupees. As part of the investigations, Central Bank officials are visiting authorised [...]
Pensioners given gratuity option; but TUs threaten to strike
Despite President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s orders to revert to the old system, pensioners are to be given two options to obtain gratuity — through a bank loan or from their respective state institution. The decision to introduce the new system was taken to expedite gratuity payments which were now subject to long delays, Public Administration Ministry Secretary [...]
Lanka seeks early release of 74 fishermen
Sri Lanka will make a fresh appeal to the Indian Government, requesting the early release of 74 Lankan fishermen in custody there, a senior Fisheries Ministry official said yesterday. “We have made such requests earlier also. We hope the Indian government will consider the request this time,” Ministry Secretary R.M. Dissanayaka said. The fresh appeal came [...]
Probe flagrant acts of BBS, Bar Council tells Govt.
The Bar Council of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) wants the Government to probe what it calls “three instances of blatant violations” linked to the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). The decision was made at a meeting of the Bar Council yesterday. The Council decided that the BASL president should issue a statement condemning the [...]
Ramadan fast begins today
Muslims begin their month-long Ramadan fast today after the new moon was sighted last night in Kinniya and several other areas in Sri Lanka. The Colombo Grand Mosque, the All Ceylon Jamiathul Ulema and the Sri Lanka Thowheed Jamath confirmed the sighting of the moon.
GMOA elects office bearers; no polls for disputed posts
Elections to the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA), one of Sri Lanka’s most powerful trade unions, went ahead as planned yesterday amidst a ding-dong court battle among three factions and despite a last- minute attempt to suspend the poll. An order suspending the election was issued on Wednesday (June 25) by the Mount Lavinia District [...]
Ven Vijitha Thera says the truth will soon be revealed
Ven Watareka Vijitha Thera at the centre of a controversial incident where, he says he was abducted and sections of his body slashed, would only say, “in time people will get to know what happened”. Those remarks came when he was receiving treatment at the National Hospital earlier this week. His bed was covered by [...]
PS seizes 14-acre Nuwara Eliya land for UDA development
A 14-acre plot of land in Ihala Wewa Road, Nuwara Eliya, was this week taken over by the Pradeshiya Sabha Secretary under a special gazette notice, and handed over to the Urban Development Authority (UDA), officials said Having received a complaint on May 2, 2013, that a private company was allegedly trying to sell the [...]
Arson burns out 25 acres of precious forest
Fires deliberately lit in the jungle caused one of several man-made fires that have burned out 25 acres of precious forest in the past fortnight. The army yesterday joined fire-fighting efforts in Horombuwa, the latest of several recent blazes. People going into the jungle to collect tobacco leaves had reportedly set fire to the jungle. [...]
Soon a 3D view of the stars, planets at the Colombo planetarium
Visitors to the Colombo planetarium, that is undergoing a facelift, will soon have a three dimensional or 3D view of stars and planets, officials said. The Ministry of Technology, Research and Atomic Energy has made a Rs. 200 million investment to upgrade the 49 year old planetarium, that is presently closed to the public. Assistant [...]
Launch of system to keep track of trains
A new train tracking system to enable the public view coastline train movements, has been launched. The train tracking system named Railway Traffic Optimisation System (RTOS) was launched today at the University of Colombo’s School of Computing (UCSC), and could be viewed on www.slrail.info General Manager Railways, B.A.P Ariyaratne said the system was developed based [...]
Vice Admiral Jayantha Perera 19th Navy Commander on July 1
Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Jayantha Perera will assume duties as its 19th Commander on July, 1. A student of Thurstan College, Colombo, Vice Admiral Perera joined the Navy in 1978 and underwent basic training at the Naval and Maritime Academy in Trincomalee. He is a gunnery specialist trained at [...]
Fish attacks and chokes Maldivian fisherman to death
A Maldivian died after a fish pierced his throat and choked him to death, the Colombo Coroners’ Court was told this week. On Tuesday (24), around 10.30 am, 41-year-old G. Abdullah, a father of five, was fishing with his brother-in-law and friend off Sithir Island, Maldives, when a long fish latched on to his body, [...]
Whirlwind over windmill contracts
A proposal to distribute lucrative wind energy contracts to local investors bypassing tender procedure continues to draw strong criticism, including from a former Minister of Power and Energy. Champika Ranawaka, who is now Minister of Technology, Research and Atomic Energy, calculates that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will lose around Rs. 62 billion within a [...]
Blame game over Pak asylum seekers
Uncertainty looms over the fate of the Pakistani asylum seekers who were arrested and are being detained at the Boossa Terrorist Investigation Department detention facility, amidst a blame game between the Government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Pointing out that any move by the Government to deport them would be “problematic”, [...]
South Korean job seekers accuse minister, official of verbal abuse
South Korean job seekers protesting outside the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) accused Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera and SLBFE Deputy General Manager and media spokesperson Mangala Randeniya of verbal abuse directed at them for protesting. The job seekers have been protesting since March and “about 12″ of them were [...]
Tourists will shy away from dengue land, official warns
Dengue fever, which has claimed 50 lives and made 17,000 people ill, will put the country’s lucrative tourism sector in danger if the current outbreak continues, a top health official warned. Colombo Municipal Council (CMC)’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ruwan Wijeyamuni said peaks of dengue outbreaks are experienced in June and July and a lack [...]
Another pyramid scheme busted
Around September last year, Malin, a businessman from Beliatta, received a phone call from his elder sister who happily informed him about the “really high” returns she was receiving from an “investment” at a company called Panora Advertising. She talked about receiving some Rs. 40, 000 a month from this company.His sister had heard about [...]
Need to avert incidents like Aluthgama through openness, says Champika
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) General Secretary Minister Champika Ranawaka called for a speedy return to the rule of law and declared it was necessary to avert incidents like the ones that broke out in Aluthgama. Though he did not agree with statements made by Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera, he defended the role of the [...]
Lankan Muslims in the US voice concern
The Sri Lankan-American Muslim community in the US staged a rally last week to protest the alleged killings and violence against Muslims back home. Over 400 Sri Lankan Muslims, mostly from Chicago, New Jersey, Washington DC, Virginia and Connecticut, turned up for the demonstration which took place across from the United Nations in Dag Hammarskjold [...]
Chaos and confusion over night races in Kandy
The move to hold night races in the historic city of Kandy for the second year in a row has drawn the ire of opposition members of the Kandy Municipal Council (KMC). Mayor Mahindra Ratwatte informed the Council that Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage had written to him on behalf of Carlton Sports Club seeking the [...]
Safety compromised
Story and pics by Nilan Maligaspe The safety of children and the public have been compromised during ongoing construction work in and around the Colombo city. Many of the construction sites on roads have been kept open without proper markings or warnings. Some of the pictures captured near a leading school in Colombo show the [...]
Highway robbery with no shortage of gullible victims
A businessman in Kandana reading the newspapers in April this year noticed an advertisement calling for the supply of vehicles for a company. Thinking of making a good profit he decided to respond to the notice. He found that the advertisement had been placed by a person from Kottawa operating a rent-a-car service. The businessman [...]
