News
Home » NewsGovt. allows import of high-powered motorbikes
The Government will allow the import of high powered motorcycles — from 450 cc to 1001 cc — upon payment of duty. The decision by the Cabinet of Ministers overturns objections earlier by the Police that they did not possess such high capacity motorcycles to cope with an influx. Ministers have decided to lift the restrictions imposed [...]
SriLankan office attacked in TN
The SriLankan Airlines office in Trichy, Tamil Nadu was damaged last night by stone-throwing mobs, Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner’s office in Chennai said. It said glass panels of the office were shattered. The attack came despite an advance request for additional security in view of Friday’s anti-Sri Lankan protests in Tamil Nadu over an [...]
Fiery faith of devotees
Hindu devotees, some of them carrying pots of fire, their cheeks pierced by ‘Vel spikes’, taking part in the annual ‘Adi Pooram’ festival of the Mayurapathi Badrakali Amman Kovil in Havelock Road, Colombo. Pic by Indika Handuwala
Wide-scale abuse of DPL bags
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detectives have been called in to probe a scandal in the External Affairs Ministry involving the abuse of diplomatic bags. The move came as the Ministry sent on compulsory leave the Director General, the Director and ten other officials who were dealing with bags and dispatches in its Consular section. Widespread [...]
Lanka offers unqualified apology to India over MoD website article
Sri Lanka on Friday extended an “unqualified apology” to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jeyaram Jayalalithaa after what New Delhi termed was a “derogatory article” published in Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry website. The move came after India’s High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha lodged a strong protest with External Affairs Ministry Secretary Kshenuka [...]
Major highways on pillars in and around Colombo
A major highway project to build elevated roads – built on pillars — in and around Colombo city and thereby reduce traffic congestion is to be launched next year.The project estimated to cost US$ 300 million (Rs. 39 billion) will provide for elevated roads from Kaduwela to Colombo Fort, from the Kelaniya Bridge to Kirulapone [...]
Poaching crisis: Lanka takes tough stand
As Tamil Nadu fishermen called off their planned protest in the Palk Strait, Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne declared that neither the 93 Indian fishermen in custody nor their boats would be released. “They will have to go through the legal process in Sri Lanka,” he told the Sunday Times. His remarks came as an estimated thousand [...]
Customs probe alleged vehicle racket by state-bank subsidiary
Allegations that a subsidiary of a state-run bank is importing vehicles at undervalued prices and thus depriving the country of revenue are being probed by the Customs. Customs officers on Thursday visited the head office of People’s Leasing PLC, a subsidiary of the People’s Bank, and another private company which imports vehicles on behalf of [...]
New envoy presents credentials to Indian president
Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner Sudharshan Seneviratne presented his credentials to Indian President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday. A high commission media statement said that at a cordial meeting which followed the credentials ceremony, Prof. Seneviratne conveyed the greetings of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to President Mukherjee. Reciprocating the greetings, President Mukherjee [...]
Candidates’ lists near completion as UPC nomination day draws close
With nominations for the Uva Provincial Council elections due to close on Wednesday, political parties and independent groups were finalising their candidates’ list amidst the formation of new alliances and some parties going it alone. Party secretariats have been instructed by Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya to obey election laws and not to pollute the environment [...]
A world without oil, gas and coal: Champika to launch his book
Technology, Research and Atomic Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka will launch his book, “Power and Power,” on Tuesday at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. This is the first book to descriptively explain nuclear energy in Sinhala, Minister Ranawaka said at a news conference held at the Ministry auditorium last Friday. People today consume 125 times [...]
Dead witness described councillor’s fury
Found dead in mysterious circumstances, the dead witness to the notorious act of bullying by a provincial councilor who ordered a teacher to kneel before him in public tellingly described the councillor standing next to the crying teacher, shouting at everyone. The body of Rajakaruna Abeyratne Mudiyanselage Punyasoma Bandara, a resident of Nawagaththegama, was found [...]
Premakeerthi’s wife drops bombshell at road-naming ceremony
An unexpected drama took place at the ceremony on Thursday to name the stretch of road between the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) and the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) after famous radio announcer and song writer, the late Premakeerthi De Alwis. It began when Nirmala De Alwis, the wife of the late song writer [...]
Environmental destruction under our noses
Because of illegal fishing practices adopted by migrant fishermen in the Puttalam lagoon, the traditional fishing community in the area is facing immense hardships. The Puttalam lagoon is the second largest of its kind in the country where around 6,000 fishermen earn a daily wage. According to a former Assistant Director of Fisheries in Puttalam [...]
Monday of misery in crime wave
A brave old man was shot dead, a child was kidnapped and five frightened workers were menaced by armed bandits on just one day this week that also saw a string of other murders and robberies. The owner of a distributing agency for soft drinks, Ivan Perera, 72, and his wife, both residents of Tudella [...]
Talk of Rs. 10 million marriage dowry prompts kidnap plan
A 32 year old resident of Galgamuwa was among a group that went looking for a bride for a friend. At the would be wife’s house, they discussed the betrothal. An offer of ten million rupees was made by the girl’s father as dowry. With the talks over, they withdrew. Just a year later, instead [...]
Editors’ Guild honours Sam Wijesinha for defending press freedom
The Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka this week honoured former Parliament Secretary General and former Parliamentary Ombudsman, Sam Wijesinha with the Sepala Gunasena 2013 Award for defending press freedom in Sri Lanka. Mr. Wijesinha who retired a few months ago as Chairman of the Dispute Resolution Council of the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka [...]
Govt. dismisses UN refugee agency’s concerns over repatriation of Pakistanis
Remarks made by the United Nations refugee agency that it is “deeply concerned” about the deportation of Pakistanis have received a sharp rebuke from the External Affairs Ministry (EAM) which said Government responsibility “on its international obligations are nuanced and balanced in the context of domestic compulsions.” Earlier yesterday, the Geneva-based UN High Commission for [...]
Falsified reports, forged signatures galore in jambo registrations
An Auditor General’s Department audit query sent to the Department of Wildlife and Conservation (DWC) last week has revealed that forged signatures, non-existent addresses, pre-dated applications, questionable veterinarian’s reports and documents containing blatantly false information have been used to obtain valid permits for wild-caught baby elephants. (An audit query only calls information for clarifying a [...]
Ben Eliatamby P.C. passes away
President’s Counsel Ben Eliatamby passed away on Friday night in Colombo after a brief illness, at the age of 74. A past student of Royal College and of S. Thomas’ Prep, he studied Law at Gray’s Inn in London and qualified as a Barrister, before returning to Sri Lanka for an illustrious 50-year career in [...]
Resounding call for media freedom after journalists claim harassment
More than 70 civil society organisations and rights activists have called for media freedom and freedom of assembly in light of recent incidents involving journalists being hindered in carrying out their jobs. The government has “clearly violated” its own assurances under the National Action Plan of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) to protect [...]
BASL Executives seek meeting with IGP regarding its President’s security
The executive members of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) have decided to seek an urgent meeting with the Inspector General of Police (IGP), following fresh incidents compromising the security of Association President Upul Jayasuriya. The members have unanimously decided to urge the IGP to take appropriate measures to ensure the security of Mr [...]
SL joins others in evacuating its nationals from Libya
Sri Lanka has joined a host of other nations in evacuating its nationals living and working in Libya due to growing civil unrest in the North African nation. The first batch of 17 out of a total of around 120 Lankans were evacuated this week, said Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Egypt Sudantha Ganegama Arachchi. The [...]
Probe report on baby elephants awaited
One baby elephant is dead and the other is very ill at the Ath Athuru Sevana in Uda Walawe. A post-mortem has been held by the Veterinary Surgeons of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) under which comes Ath Athuru Sevana but the cause of death has not ascertained. Some specimens have been sent for [...]
Doctors’ dispute now shifts to law courts
Opposing factions of the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA), Sri Lanka’s most powerful trade union movement, involved in a bout of fisticuffs at the National Hospital, Colombo on Wednesday, will shift their attention to the Mount Lavinia District Courts where a legal dispute continues. The case with regard to the suspension of the GMOA elections, [...]
CAA imposes maximum retail price on rice
The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has imposed a maximum retail price on several varieties of rice with immediate effect. Accordingly, the price of a kilo of de-stoned and cleaned samba, excluding keeri samba and suduru samba, has been fixed at Rs 77. For other varieties of rice, the fixed prices per kilo are white nadu [...]
Esala perahera: People complain they are being de-seated from the pavement
The streets of Kandy are resounding with the sounds of the annual Esala Perahera with the Kumbal Perahera starting on August 1. With an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people, both local and foreign, arriving daily at the hill capital to watch one of the most venerated and culturally significant events in Sri Lanka, Dalada Maligawa [...]
Boom times paid for in blood
Stoked on cannabis to raise energy and endurance levels, labourers work barefoot and bareheaded on construction and industrial sites where scores of deaths occur each year from the neglect of safety laws and the lack of resources to police industrial activity. As Sri Lanka sees a prolonged construction and industrial boom, the resources to ensure [...]
Adult movies, loud music in private buses to stop
Film scenes with persons inappropriately dressed and unacceptable language used, screened in private buses will be stopped with immediate effect, the Private Transport Ministry has decided.For this, the Transport Ministry backed by police, will conduct checks on “inappropriate” films being screened in private buses and take action against the drivers or bus owners. Minster of [...]
Five veterans who will be felicitated on Tuesday
D. Solomon Ranasinghe D. Solomon Ranasinghe began his career as a journalist in 1954 at the Dinamina. He has also worked on the Editorials of Silumina, Janata and Daly News newspapers of the Lake House Group. After his stint at Lake House, he started his own newspaper Thiramina. However, due to unavoidable circumstances, the newspaper [...]
Champika’s claim of DCD in dansal ice cream raises heat
A controversy is brewing over a claim by Technology and Research Minister Champika Ranawaka that DCD (Dicyandiamide) contaminated ice cream was served at dansals on Poson Poya day with the Health Ministry’s Food Advisory Committee (FAC) calling for the report of the tests carried out by the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI). FAC has appointed a [...]
Families, animals, suffer in a parched land
As drought tightens its grip in the north and east, drinking water now has to be distributed daily. Cattle lie dead on the roads. In the Yala jungle, wildlife walk long distances in search of water. “Our village is suffering from a severe shortage of drinking water. People in this area have no time to [...]
Big demand for Lankan spices abroad but supply not enough: Minister
The demand for spices from Sri Lanka in the international market is on the rise resulting in an increase of prices of the products locally, but exports will continue in view of the foreign exchange it gains. Minor Exports Crop Promotion Development Minster Reginold Cooray said every variety of spice has a demand abroad, but [...]
Health services, health tips: Call 1959
The National Hospital will launch a new service tomorrow where the public could call 1959 and ask for assistance from a centralised information hub for patient-care services, Hospital Director Anil Jasinghe said. Information pertaining to clinics, special patient care units, investigations and preparation for procedures, health education, health tips, and first aid tips for poisoning etc [...]
Dengue campaign re-starts on Thursday
The dengue prevention campaign headed by the Presidential Task Force will continue on August 7, 8, 18 and 19, particularly focusing on high-risk areas of the Western Province , the Sri Lanka Epidemiological unit said. Senior Consultant Epidemiologist, Dr Hasitha Tissera described this campaign as a “mop-up of the high-risk areas” and said the team [...]
