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Home » NewsMystery deepens over murders of women
With the crime rate rising to gruesome proportions, a huge police team with a police dog and hi-tech equipment is seen searching the recent crime scene at Kotaketana in Kahawatte where a woman was hacked to death and her body dumped under a bush in a tea estate. This was the 17th such brutal murder [...]
Money looted by former VIPs: Govt. faces dilemma
The Government’s campaign to recover foreign assets of leaders of the previous Government has set a poser.It is unable to offer a general amnesty to Sri Lankans as an incentive to bring money deposited in foreign banks, particularly in Switzerland. The move prompted Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, now on a campaign to shore up foreign [...]
Big increase in liquor, cigarette prices By Leon Berenger
The Government in a surprise pre-budget move increased the price of all alcohol products from seven to 10 per cent while latest statistics show that there has been a steep increase in the production, sale and consumption of alcohol countrywide during thefirst quarter of this year. The prices of popular products of local arrack were [...]
Geneva overshadows Lanka’s meetings in New York
NEW YORK – The Sri Lanka delegation — which spent nearly a week at the United Nations participating in the high-level segment of the annual debate, with over 150 world leaders in attendance — remained more focused on the meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva than on the General Assembly session in New [...]
SLPA headless; union claims Arjuna trying to appoint brother
The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has had no chairman, vice chairman or board of directors for the past one month and unions fear Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga wants his younger brother appointed to the topmost position. A union leader said he had no problem with Mr. Ranatunga but “if they bring family [...]
Inventors losing patience over patents
Long delays at the National Intellectual Property Office (NIPO) in Colombo in obtaining patent rights for new products are causing concern to local inventors who say their overseas competitors are winning out over them because of these delays. Officials at the NIPO, the body that gives patent rights for products, attribute the delay to a [...]
Northern fishermen stand firm, requests Minister to seek solution through diplomacy
Leaders of the fishermen representing those from the North met with Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera on Monday reiterated their stand on boycotting the next round of talks with their Indian counterparts. The leaders have raised the issue of ongoing poaching by the Indian fishermen and the Government’s position to solve the issue through diplomatic channels. [...]
Biodiversity conservation gets a big boost
Business and conservation, inextricably linked to each other, will be taken to a higher level with the launch on Tuesday of ‘Biodiversity Sri Lanka’ with a clear focus on national priorities. It would also see the metamorphosis of the Sri Lanka Business and Biodiversity Platform (SL B&B Platform) set up under the Ceylon Chamber of [...]
Seya case: Police handling of teenage suspect draws fire
The public focus on the Seya Sadewmini rape and murder case this week shifted to accusations of police brutality, prompting a police probe and sparking widespread condemnation from human rights activists and officials. Police Chief N. K. Illangakoon has ordered an investigation into the alleged assault on a 17-year-old schoolboy and a 32-year-old man taken [...]
Spate of crimes: What’s happening, ask people
A sudden rise in reports of child molestations, kidnappings and killings of children and women in the past two weeks and the brutality of the crimes, have created a fear psychosis among the people who doubt the law enforcement authorities ability to deal with the alarmingly increasing crime rate. The rape and killing of four-year-old [...]
Meticulous planning, ruthless execution net Rs 5.5 m sampath for a robber
Last Sunday’s bank robbery at Dharmapala Mawatha Colombo 7 lasted just two minutes, indicating the robbery was meticulously planned by the lone robber who got away with Rs 5.5 million, an officer involved in the investigations said. As the hunt was on for the robber, a week after the incident, CCTV footage from cameras fitted [...]
Wrong ‘generation mix’ led to islandwide power outage
Monday’s island-wide blackout was caused by high voltage in the power system that led to a “cascade collapse”, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) engineers said. It is the first time in five years that such an outage occurred. “There were nine island-wide power system failures from 2006 to 2010 but there were none since 2010 till [...]
Ten districts are disaster prone, says NBRO
Ten districts in the country are at high risk of landslides, cut slopes and rock falls, a senior official of the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) said. The districts are Kegalle, Ratnapura, Matale, Kandy, Badulla, Nuwara-Eliya, Kalutara, Matara, Galle and Hambantota, said R.M.S Bandara, Director of the Disaster Management Unit of NBRO. He warned that [...]
Ranil, Maithree in Japan for five days
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday commenced a five-day visit to Japan . Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held bilateral talks with Premier Wickremesinghe yesterday at the breakfast reception held at Kyoto International Conference Center to welcome the Sri Lankan delegation. In exceptional circumstances extended only to very few world leaders, the Japanese PM is to [...]
SriLankan for full re-fleet despite Rs 130 b loss- Report
SriLankan Airlines (SLA) will embark on a re-fleeting programme despite its accumulated losses reaching a staggering Rs 130 billion by April this year. In the first four months of this year alone, the Airline recorded a loss of Rs 4.9 billion, adding to its already heavy losses, according to the Midyear Fiscal Position Report of [...]
Sigiriya to be open from dawn till night
The historic Sigiriya rock is to be kept open to the public shortly before dawn and late into nights on Poya days in a bid to attract more visitors under a new proposal by the Central Cultural Fund (CCF), a senior officer said. The visitors will be allowed from 5.00 a.m. onwards to the rock [...]
Deaths in state custody: Committee studying new scheme for conduct of inquests
A Justice Ministry committee is examining the possibility of adopting a new and special scheme for the conduct of judicial investigations and inquests pertaining to deaths in the custody of the Police, armed forces and other State authorities. The 10-member committee is headed by Ravindra Fernando, Senior Professor of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at the [...]
Archaelogical head stops renovation work on old Kandy Municipal Council building
Renovation work in a part of the Kandy Municipal Council was halted this week by the Regional Archaeological Commissioner L. W. Gunatilleke as it is protected under the Archaeological Ordinance. The building that was being renovated has connections with the family of Mollie Dunuwille, wife to the first Prime Minister of Ceylon, D. S. Senanayake, [...]
Constitutional Council receives over 500 nominees for Independent Commissions
The Constitutional Council (CC) has received names of over 500 nominees from professional bodies to be considered for appointment to the 10 Independent Commissions set up under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. The CC had written to professional bodies including the Organisation for Professional Association (OPA) requesting for names to be forwarded to the [...]
New formula for Customs valuation of motor vehicles: Finance Ministry
The Finance Ministry has announced a new formula for Customs valuation of motor vehicles. The Customs value of motor vehicles henceforth will be based on four items, namely the Customs Value determined by the Director General of Customs, based on the Price furnished by the manufacturers of such vehicles, cost of Transport to the port [...]
Implement OHCHR, TNA tells Govt.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday said it will continue to engage all domestic and international stakeholders, including the Government in the process of accountability in Sri Lanka and would fully support the implementation of the recommendations of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) Report and the related resolution. “It is now incumbent on [...]
What is happening to our children?
Cruelly ironic, the weeks preceding this year’s Children’s Day were gruesomely marked by many fatal tragedies involving children. Although October 1 this year dawned as usual, with much hype by the media, no number of shows or carnivals for children could dispel the thick gloom and uncertainty: what is happening to our children? In every [...]
LECO, Railway Dept play blame game while powerless crossings become deathtraps
Lanka Electricity Co. (Pvt) Ltd blames the Sri Lanka Railway for events leading to the disconnection of electricity supplies to the signal system at the Magalkanda, Ambanpalla, Maggona crossing. The disconnection of supplies caused serious concern among the public, as there were a couple of instances where accidents were narrowly averted. The Sunday Times published related [...]
Lanka’s efforts to be rid of criminal defamation lauded by Indian editor
Well known Indian editor and newspaper owner N. Ram this week praised Sri Lanka’s decision to repeal laws of criminal defamation and its self-regulatory mechanism for the press saying they were pioneering ventures in South Asia. Delivering the keynote address of the inaugural Esmond Wickremesinghe award for media freedom, Mr Ram said the credit for [...]
MS redirects foreign policy but doesn’t go offroad on Silk Route
President Maithripala Sirisena’s description of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy as “absolutely non-aligned” is highlighted in the Annual Review of World Affairs published by the prestigious London-based International Institute of World Affairs (IISS). In a four-page review of Sri Lanka in its 2015 Strategic Survey released late last month, the Institute devotes about a third of [...]
BASL ExCo to discuss UN Resolution on SL and its implications
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) will discuss the UN Resolution on Sri Lanka and its implications, at their next Executive Committee meeting scheduled for next week, said BASL President Geoffrey Alagaratnam. The Resolution has recommended the inclusion of foreign Judges, Defence Lawyers and authorised Prosecutors and Investigators within the Judicial Mechanism the government [...]
Delay in Kandy North water project causes hardship
The Rs. 3.4 billion Kandy North and Patha Dumbara water project is at a standstill causing hardship to the residents of the area who are awaiting the supply of drinking water. It is reported that the project which was introduced in 2013, is still awaiting government approval despite foreign contractors being screened and approved. This [...]
Save your children from preventable accidents
The fourth leading cause of death among children below the age of five, is accidents, a senior official of the Family Health Bureau told the Sunday Times, while stressing these were preventable fatalities. These accidents include road accidents, home injuries and drowning. Around 600 children die of these various accidents annually, while around 270,000 are [...]
Sri Lanka to set up Secretariat to monitor development goals
The Ministry of Wildlife and Sustainable Development is to set up a Sustainable Development Secretariat, in keeping with President Maithripala Sirisena’s pledge at the UN Sustainable Development Summit. The initial task of the Secretariat would be to raise awareness on how Sri Lanka can develop sustainably, a spokesman for the Ministry of Wildlife and Sustainable [...]
‘Millenium’ makes way for 17 ‘sustainable’ development goals by 2030, at UN Summit
The UN’s Sustainable Development Summit opened with both gravitas and glamour. The opening address was by His Holiness Pope Francis, a vocal champion of the poor, the powerless and the environment. Later, renowned singer Shakira belted out the Beatles hit ‘Imagine’, dedicating it to the two little Syrian boys who died seeking safe passage to [...]
Environmentalists derail garbage train to Aruwakkalu
Garbage disposal has been a major headache for Colombo which generates as much as 1,200 metric tonnes of rubbish every day. The dumping sites, some of them in the midst of residential areas, are also bursting at the seams. As the crisis aggravated, a new project to collect the garbage, transport it by train and [...]
Putting the country on the correct path
The cooperative movement which belonged to the ordinary people was taken over by the Government. The people now have only the death donation society for themselves. Unless we have a replacement to obtain the produce of the village we will have to go to the blackmarketeer. If we can make a change through the temple [...]