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As the new Yahapalanaya Government celebrated the first anniversary of its election, the Attorney General’s Department and the Police took a major step in upholding the rule of law, arresting Government Parliamentarian Hirunika Premachandra yesterday on charges relating to an abduction of a young man. The 28-year-old MP was produced at the Hulftsdorp Magistrates court [...]
Unions give one-week deadline to Govt.
Public sector trade unions have given a week’s deadline to the Government to restore the pension scheme and provide a pay increase for private sector workers. The move came as the main body moving towards trade union action broadened its network to cover Customs and other unions. At present it covers the administrative services, doctors, engineers [...]
AG’s report warned of pipeline disasters
Months before last week’s oil leak into the Muthurajawela lagoon, the Auditor General’s Department had warned of the likelihood of a major disaster arising from the poor condition of other pipelines conveying fuel from ships to storage tanks. “The possibility of paralysing the whole country with a severe fuel crisis due to transporting the imported [...]
Ratwatte’s Entrust: Another huge gamble that failed
The collapse of Entrust Securities, a primary money market dealer run by the family of former Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte has triggered unpleasant memories of the infamous Ceylinco debacle, and came after the company’s political benefactors disappeared from the scene. The organisation, in which Chanuka Ratwatte, son of former cabinet minister, the late Anuruddha Ratwatte, is [...]
Rs. 30 more for your packet of lunch
Food outlets have increased prices of packets of lunch, pastries and other bakery products – passing on the extra taxes to unsuspecting consumers and thereby sending living costs higher. In line with the 2016 Budget proposals, the Government from January 1 doubled the Nation Building Tax (NBT) from 2% to 4% and increased other taxes also. [...]
As vegetable prices soar, thieves plunder the fields
The prices of vegetables in Nuwara Eliya have risen steeply as a result of rainy weather which caused much damage to crop fields. Prompted by the high prices, thieves have started entering fields at night and stealing root vegetables. Many such incidents have been reported in Nuwara Eliya. On the night of January 7, thieves [...]
British Minister in Lanka on Wednesday
Britain’s Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire returns to Colombo next Wednesday for talks with Sri Lankan leaders as the two countries continue their fence-mending efforts begun one year ago after President Maithripala Sirisena assumed office. Minister Swire’s second visit in almost a year is part of a wider western effort to engage with Sri Lanka. [...]
21st Century Constitution for a modern Sri Lanka: President urges Legislature
President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday asked lawmakers to reflect on the country’s bitter past experiences and work towards enacting a new Constitution to suit 21st century modern Sri Lanka, while urging his detractors to desist from uttering falsehoods about the process. “We must not create a “constitutional bogeyman” in this country. Doing so will be a [...]
Child dies when gate he was swinging on falls on him
A child of one year and nine months died when the iron gate he was swinging on gave way and he was crushed under it, a coroner’s court was told. The child’s father, 36-year-old Sugath Sunimal, an assistant manager at a private company in Wattala told the inquiry that his son was playing on the [...]
MS pardons his would-be assassin on 1st year in office
Sivaraja Jenivan never thought he would be able to walk out a free man one day, but it came true when President Maithripala Sirisena granted a presidential pardon on Friday, as he marked his first year in office. Jenivan, a onetime Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre, convicted on charges of attempting to assassinate [...]
Lanka hoping for US$ 1 billion from Saudi banks
Sri Lanka is hoping for an infusion of US$ 1 billion in the next few months from Saudi banks to prop up sagging foreign reserves. The offer came during discussions a delegation of Sri Lankan bankers led by Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran held with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Central Bank) and other banks [...]
School uniforms: Opposition grows over voucher system
Even a week after schools reopened in January 2016, the controversy over the school uniform vouchers continues with teachers complaining that the new system is subjecting the teachers and children to many difficulties. The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) last week claimed that in addition to focusing their attention on the school curriculum for the new [...]
Hedging deal cost CPC over Rs. 9 billion loss: Auditor General
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has incurred losses of more than Rs. 9 billion as a result of the disastrous hedging transactions, a report from the Auditor General’s Department says. The CPC was cited as a party in arbitration proceedings pertaining to the hedging contracts entered into with several commercial banks. In June 2013, US$ [...]
Rs 4.3b flyover at Welikade-Rajagiriya junction: Minister Kiriella
The Welikada-Rajagiriya junction, one of the most congested locations in Colombo, will have a flyover to ease traffic, said Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella. The flyover will be constructed with a soft loan of Rs 4.3 billion (euro 28 million) from the Spanish government. The loan agreement was signed this week. Mr Kiriella said the flyover [...]
Hirunika finally arrested but released on bail
Colombo District UNP MP Hirunika Premachandra charged for aiding and abetting the abduction of a youth in Dematagoda, wrongful confinement and intimidation of the youth was arrested and produced before a magistrate yesterday ending nearly weeks of wrangling by the Police on taking action against her. Ms. Premachandra was arrested at her Havelock Town apartment [...]
President Sirisena marks one year in office
President Maithripala Sirisena celebrated one year in office on Friday with religious ceremonies as well as at a national ceremony held at the BMICH in Colombo. The keynote address at this ceremony was delivered by Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the grandson of the pioneer of India’s independence struggle – Mahatma Gandhi. The highlight of the celebrations was [...]
Teething problems exaggerated, say IRCON officials
In an interview with the Sunday Times, IRCON officials said the issues experienced along the Northern railway line were “teething problems” that were being “exaggerated out of proportion”. “The common man in Sri Lanka is very happy with the project,” said S.L. Gupta, theSri Lanka-based Project Director. “The Railway Department is earning a lot of [...]
All’s not well on reconstructed Northern Line
A curious advertisement appeared in local newspapers in the first quarter of last year. It invited expressions of interest for repairing building cracks and carrying out waterproofing treatment for various railway station buildings in the Northern Provine of Sri Lanka. The party that published the notice was Ircon International Limited, a Government of India Company [...]
Bus vendettas prod NPC to rush plans for transport body
The Northern Provincial Council (NPC) is rushing through statutes to form a provincial transport body after mob attacks on state buses by private bus operators spread beyond the province. Two years after its election the council has still not set up its mooted Road Passenger Transport Authority but the project will be speeded up following [...]
Oil pipe blunder leads to devastation
The oil leak from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) pipeline in ecologically-rich Muthurajawela has damaged the trees, mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, insects and mangroves and the after-effects may last for three to four years, experts warned. With the authorities calling off operations to mop up the oil by Wednesday, the leaked oil will remain in [...]
Metered parking will transform Colombo
There will be more fee-charged parking spaces within Colombo city limits if a Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) digital parking meter project is successful. From July 1, 150 solar-powered parking meters are to be installed along Duplication Road from Galadari Roundabout towards the flyover bridge at Dehiwela and along the Galle Road from the Liberty Junction [...]
Pak PM Sharif’s Lanka visit to boost closer cooperation
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif concluded a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka this week, with the pledge of enhanced cooperation between the two countries in a number of fields including trade, development activities as well as cultural affairs. On his arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport on Wednesday, Prime Minister Sharif was received by [...]
Can we control a murderous rage?
Mahesh Niranjan, 36, was hanging around in front of a house in the Kimbulawala area in Pitigala on Thursday night when two men stabbed him dead. He succumbed to his wounds upon admission to the Elpitiya Hospital. The two suspects, who were also injured in the attack, were treated at the same hospital under police [...]
Police face the music after party ends in deadly brawl
It was supposed to be a happy family dinner party in Embilipitiya but by the time it ended one person was dead, more than 10 injured, seven persons remanded and allegations made that police had brutally attacked the partygoers, including a pregnant woman. The party started shortly after dusk and went late into the night [...]
MS blows hot against global warming with ‘Sri Lanka Next’
President Maithripala Sirisena launched an ambitious campaign to fight global warming, following last month’s global agreement reached to reduce emissions. Named ‘Sri Lanka Next: Blue-Green Era’, the ceremonial launch took place at the BMICH on January 6 with schoolchildren and invitees in attendance. At the event, President Sirisena and those present read out a pledge [...]
Sirisena Presidency: Finding order in chaos
One year and one day ago, against the backdrop of a twilight sky and amidst chaotic scenes at Independence Square in Colombo, Maithripala Sirisena became the sixth person to be sworn in as the Executive President of Sri Lanka. That day, Independence Square was crowded and unruly. Various people from both major political parties were [...]
Performing open brain surgery with patient an active participant
The skull is open and the brain surgeons wielding scalpels are not only slowly and steadily zeroing-in on the tumour but also its fringes. The wonder is that 54-year-old Mallika Kumari lying on the operating table at the Lanka Hospital in Narahenpita is an active participant in the procedure. Readily come the answers to the [...]