News
Home » NewsOnly muddy water for Minneriya villagers
Villagers of Minneriya are seen getting water from one of the last remaining muddy water pools of the mostly dried-up Pathok Weva. The Disaster Management Centre estimates some 140,000 people in the area are without access to safe drinking water. Pic by Karunaratna Gamage
New look Colombo 2: UDA to acquire private land
A redevelopment and mixed development project on eight acres of land in Kompannaveediya will enable the Urban Development Authority to acquire private lands in underdeveloped or underserved areas of Colombo City, a gazette notification said. The project labelled as a pioneer concept for urban renewal is to be undertaken by a private company which will get [...]
Regional postal meeting enveloped in fund row
The loss-making Postal Department has decided to make use of funds meant for the postal network improvement project to host a regional gathering. The decision has been taken after the Cabinet turned down a request for funds to host the executive committee meeting of the Asia-Pacific Postal Union from September 15 to 19. Some 100 delegates [...]
Despite Mathata Thitha, more liquor licences issued in 2013
The Government’s much hyped “mathata thitha” policy to discourage liquor consumption may be in place but that has not stopped the Excise Department from issuing 62 new liquor licences last year. This is seven more than the number of licences issued in 2012, according to details in the Administrative Report of Excise Commissioner General D.G.M. Vasantha [...]
Move to import 50,000 tonnes of rice
Cabinet approval has been sought to import 50,000 metric tonnes of rice to keep as buffer stock to overcome any shortfall occurring due to the severe drought. Anticipating rice shortages in the market due to crop failures in the Yala and Maha seasons this year, the Ministry of Internal Trade had proposed the import of [...]
Ambassador recalled after exposing abortion scandal in Oman
Sri Lanka’s ambassador in Oman has been recalled after he ordered a probe on the activities of Foreign Employment Bureau labour officers allegedly involved in getting Lankan housemaids to undergo abortions there. At the centre of the controversy, are labour officers, who, it is alleged, had asked a housemaid who sought refuge at the embassy [...]
SC upholds death sentence on killers of garment factory executive
The Supreme Court has refused a special-leave-to-appeal petition filed by two death row inmages convicted of killing a garment factory executive in 2004, and affirmed the rulings of the Colombo High Court and the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Mohan Pieris, and Justices K Sripavan and P Jayawardena refused permission when [...]
10th AGM of SLPI after a year of challenges – Report
The Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) held its 10th Annual General Meeting on July 15 at its office at 96, Kirula Road, Colombo 5, attended by representatives of its stakeholders comprising the Newspaper Society of Sri Lanka, The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka, the Free Media Movement and the Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ Association. Presenting [...]
Cycling for a hearty cause
Jaffna undergraduates are making a fervent appeal to their peers at Peradeniya and Kelaniya Universities to cycle with them for a worthy cause — to raise funds for much-needed open-heart surgery in the North, North Central and Eastern Provinces. The pedal-off is scheduled for August 15 from Jaffna, with the first lap being up to [...]
Look after your aged parents, Justice Ministry Secretary advises
Children of elderly parents can be taken to court if they fail to look after them warned Justice Ministry Secretary Kamalini de Silva speaking at the 93rd Annual General Meeting of the Mallika Nivasa Samithiya (Society) on Thursday. She said there was a duty cast on children of elderly parents to protect and ensure they [...]
Mirigama’s baby jumbo happy at transit home
Since he was temporarily released to the wildlife authorities by the Gampaha High Court on July 18, the Mirigama baby elephant is now leading a healthy, playful life with fellow elephants his own age, officials at the Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home told the Sunday Times. The baby elephant, or Hamu, as his caretakers at the [...]
Media workshop at SLPI disrupted by mob
A workshop for journalists organised by a non profit organisation that was to be held at the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) yesterday was called off abruptly after a mob protested outside the institute in Narahenpita. SLPI Media Resource Centre Director Kumar Lopez said a crowd of around 30 to 40 people protested in front [...]
Public still unconcerned over dengue danger, say health officials
The anti dengue campaign is well into three months but breeding sites are still prevalent primarily due to public negligence, health officials said. Although 8,322 cases have been filed in courts against offenders, the risk still persists, the recently concluded phase three of the emergency dengue programme revealed. Phase three targeted high risk areas that [...]
Prison guard transferred for obstructing media personnel
A prison guard was transferred from Colombo to Pallanchena, Negombo, for obstructing journalists who were covering the sentencing of former Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Sampath Vidanapathirana -one of the accused in the murder of British tourist Kurham Shaikh and the gang-rape of his girlfriend Victoria Alexandrovna. Prison guards who led Sampath Vidanapathirana out of the [...]
TUs welcome MR’s about-turn on imposition of new taxes
Trade unions have welcomed President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s decision to remove newly imposed taxes on public and private sector employees, but await fresh gazette notifications to ensure there are no implications on the employees. President Rajapaksa who met with Ceylon Bank Employees’ Union (CBEU) representatives on Monday, said the tax imposed on housing loans, distress loans, [...]
Minister orders probe into MP’s assault on Grama Niladhari
The Ministry of Public Administration has begun an inquiry into the assault of a Grama Niladhari by a ruling party MP in Kurunegala last week. “I have asked for a report in a week or two from the Additional Government Agent (AGA) of Kurunegala,” Public Administration Minister John Seneviratne said. The attack by Kurunegala district [...]
Conflicting statements on A/L admission for intl. school students in state-run schools
Cabinet Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the Education Ministry would consider applications from international school students to follow G.C.E Advanced level classes in state schools pending the outcome of a proposed cabinet committee to look into it. Minister Rambukwella said that the earlier cabinet proposal had been put on hold and students of international schools could [...]
Stage set for Kandy Esala Perahera
The first of the rituals connected with the Kandy Esala Perahera, that starts on August 1, took place yesterday at the auspicious time of 5 a.m. when a young jak plant (kap) was obtained from a tree at the Dedimunda Devale in Aluthnuwara, The Basnayake Nilame of the Maha Vishnu and Alutnuwara Devales Mohan Panabokke [...]
Hospital minor staff to report sick on Wednesday
Minor Staff of state hospitals are set to go on sick leave on Wednesday in protest against the government’s failure to clear salary anomalies as agreed in a circular issued in 2006, a spokesman for the trade unions said. The employees hope to march to the Presidential Secretariat to hand over a petition. The Convener [...]
Red alert as corruption, addiction feed tidal wave of heroin
Heroin smuggling into Sri Lanka is reaching unprecedented proportions as agencies tasked to combat the menace are struggling to combat it, an investigation by the Sunday Times has revealed. It was only this week that 93.76kg of heroin with a market value of more than Rs. 700 million was seized in an Orugodawatta container yard. [...]
Railway station master arrested for alleged possession of a galkatas
A station master at South Payagala was yesterday taken into custody for possessing a firearm, police said. Railway General Manager B.A.P. Ariyaratne said police raided the station master’s office and found a locally manufactured galkatas in a drawer. He said the station master was suspended while Police investigations were ongoing.
Chicken kotthu warning after lorry seizure
Kotthu roti fans beware: Health inspectors who stopped a lorry with 100kg of chicken unfit for human consumption this week were told the consignment, cleared out of supermarket fridges, had been destined for fast food outlets. A Public Health Inspector (PHI) said bad chicken was mostly used in chicken bites and kotthu because consumers were [...]
Justice delayed but not denied clears blind masseur of operating a brothel
A veteran blind masseur whom the police tried with false charges of running a brothel, and was cleared of the charges by Court, said that, despite a legal battle that lasted more than three years and cost him thousands of rupees in legal fees, he was confident the truth would prevail in the end. E.M. [...]
JVP, UNP go in hard on youth unemployment for Uva polls
The JVP, putting up at least two Tamil candidates, is campaigning strongly for the forthcoming Uva Provincial Council elections – the last election ahead of a possible presidential poll – saying it is the country’s most poverty-stricken province. “The upcountry workers have been working more than 180 years but they are not entitled to own [...]
How researchers co-opted a remote village to save rare fish
An attempt by villagers and wildlife enthusiasts to save a rare fish from extinction is a rare ray of hope amid the gloom of the gradual loss of biodiversity. Last week, ignoring blood-sucking leeches, dozens of volunteers got their hands dirty and pants wet on the muddy banks of the Galapitamada stream, known to be [...]
Despair reigns in drought-stricken areas
Schoolchildren walking in the scorching sun, men and women carrying cans and pots trudging long distances searching for drinking water, farmers crying over lost crop, scrawny cattle desperately looking for green patches—these are common sights in the drought-stricken remote villages in the districts of Hambantota, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Moneragala, Puttalam, Trincomalee, Kurunegala and Matale. J. Peetin, [...]
People-centred Water Trust soon to be Govt. dept.
Weerasinghe Liyanagamage Ranjith, 42, greets us with a big smile. The smile is marred because his teeth are stained a dark brown. Not only the staining of the teeth but numerous other issues had been the bane of the lives of a huge 1,500 families comprising about 5,000 men, women and children of Thunkama in [...]
Karainagar child abuse case put off for July 31
The Karainagar sexual abuse case involving Navy personnel was postponed to July 31 by Jaffna Juvenile Court Acting Magistrate M. Thirunavukarasam after a hearing held on Friday (25). On the previous Friday (18), the Navy produced seven suspects for an identification parade before the Jaffna Juvenile Court Magistrate K. Jeewarani. The 11-year-old victim present could [...]
Commando four-wheel rally upsets environmentalists but Army is gung-ho
A four-wheel-drive motor rally organised along east coast early next month has raised concerns among environmentalists. Commando 4×4, the six-day rally planned to start on August 4, is being organised by the Commando Regiment under its “Experience Sri Lanka with Commandos” project. The rally will start from Point Pedro in Jaffna, ending at the Commando [...]
Bus travellers to get better deal
Bus commuters may get a much needed respite from bad drivers, rude conductors and generally poor service they experience while using private bus transportation services once tougher regulations to discipline and train the operators come into effect from January 2015, Motor Traffic Commissioner-General S.H. Harischandra said. He said the Motor Traffic Department and Police will [...]
People cannot be deceived all the time
Kohonawala is a remote village in the Uva province located at the top of a mountain range in the Badulla district. The village has a population of around 48 families. Nicknamed “Ira payana nathi gama,” -the village where the sun does not rise the village has neither water, electricity nor a proper roadway. Indeed the [...]
Widespread forest fires a burning issue among environmentalists, conservationists
Over 400 hectares of forest have been destroyed by fire this month raising serious concerns among environmentalists. While they warned of serious repercussions on both the biodiversity and the eco tourism industry, authorities say ignorance, inadequate funding and the inability to apprehend perpetrators were major obstacles to controlling the situation. Of the 400 hectares gutted [...]
Miracle fat-buster could be cash crop but the devil is in the detail
Western dieting and fitness fads have focused on the humble goraka (Garcinia), triggering a shortage in local markets as foreign buyers snap up supplies to make slimming and cholesterol-lowering products. As a result, a kilo of processed (dried) goraka now sells for Rs. 1,200 and the government is trying to ramp up cultivation so that [...]
Ranil queries gaps in registration details of MTD’s database
Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe questioned in Parliament on Friday why no details are available in the database of the Department of Motor Traffic in respect of either the motorcycle or the three-wheeler which had allegedly followed President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Upul Jayasuriya. “Apparently, no details are available in the database of [...]
Dialogue between ethnic parties in Parliament – is there convergence or divergence?
Half the political parties (11 of 21) in the Sri Lankan parliament can be termed ‘ethnic parties’: that is, explicitly or implicitly, they represent a specific ethnic group. To what extent do ethnic parties talk to each other and manage to advance inter-ethnic understanding? Manthri.lk is a pioneering online platform that monitors and ranks all [...]
