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Home » NewsYoshitha, 4 others remanded for alleged money laundering
Ex-president’s son in Black Maria A handcuffed Lt. Yoshitha Rajapaksa gestures to supporters while being driven in a Black Maria to Welikada remand prison last night after he was produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate on charges of money laundering. Pic by Amila Gamage Lieutenant Yoshitha Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and four others [...]
New body under PM to oversee Foreign Ministry
A Global Affairs Committee under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will oversee the working of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), giving directions on foreign policy and all related matters. It is headed by Charitha Ratwatte, a former Treasury Secretary and currently a senior Advisor to the Prime Minister. This is one of a number of measures [...]
Freedom flushed down Railways toilet
Sri Lanka celebrates 68 years of independence from colonial rule this week but the Railways Department seems to have missed the message. In scores of railway stations across the country — from Colombo Fort and Mt Lavinia to Nanu Oya and Badulla —Sri Lankans are being condemned to decrepit, dirty toilets while non-Sri Lankans are [...]
Mixed system to buy coal
The Lanka Coal Company will float a fourth spot tender for coal next month, a senior official said. Coal purchased through spot tenders will supplement a one-year term contract which has been awarded to a company called Swiss Singapore Overseas Enterprise (Pte) Ltd, Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy Ministry Secretary B.M.S Batagoda said. He [...]
No visa; Cardinal cancels visit to Britain
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s visa application to travel to Britain has been turned down due to incomplete information, prompting the cancellation of an event due to take place in a London church. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, was to conduct mass at St. George’s Cathedral at Southwark in London, and address a meeting on [...]
Poor rubbish collection hatching more dengue menace
Councils’ failure to collect garbage is worsening the spread of dengue, Central Epidemiological Unit Director Dr. Paba Palihawadana said. About 4,500 dengue cases and eight deaths were reported in the country since early this month. Colombo has the highest dengue population with major breeding spots being Maligawatta West, Cinnamon Gardens, Kirulapone, Bambalapitiya, Wellampitiya, Modera, Mattakkuliya [...]
Religious observances and fanfare to herald the day
The public are cordially invited to mark the 68th Independence Day celebrations to be held under the theme ‘Ekama Deyak- Maha Balayak’ at the Galle Face Green on Thursday. A military parade in the morning and a cultural event later in the day are the two main events, while a string of celebrations are also [...]
Intensify war against dengue mosquito as it also carries Zika virus
Reports that Zika virus which causes microcephaly in newborns is spreading among Brazilians is a cause for alarm for most of the tropical countries such as ours The virus is thought to have travelled from Cape Werde in the Atlantic Ocean to Brazil and now it is expected to affect all Latin America countries. Although [...]
18-month jail terms for jewellery shop robbers from Pakistan
Two Pakistanis, who posed off as Indians and robbed gems and jewellery to the value of more than Rs. 10 million from a shop in Kollupitiya, have each been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. They were also fined Rs. 1,500 each by the Fort Magistrate. The suspects were arrested by the Kollupitiya police a day [...]
NPC to release interim report on Embilipitiya incident next week
An interim report based on investigations into the death of a young man during a clash with Police in Embilipitiya, will be released by the National Police Commission (NPC) in the coming week, its Secretary Ariyadasa Cooray said. A three-member team from the NPC has been dispatched to Embilipitiya to conduct separate investigations, where they will [...]
The Megapolis project was launched
The Megapolis project was launched this week at Independence Square with the participation of President Maithripala Sirisena. Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Champika Ranawaka looks on as the project chairman Ajith de Costa hands over a token to the President marking the launch of the project.
Forged asylum papers: BASL insists that Britain should reveal names
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka has asked the British High Commission to disclose to the Supreme Court and to the BASL the names of persons who, claiming to be attorneys-at-law, have provided false documents or certifications to Sri Lankans seeking asylum in Britain. The BASL has also said the British High Commission had not [...]
BIA targets Singapore-bound passengers to deter human smuggling
Sri Lanka is to step up screening procedures of foreigners and locals travelling to Singapore via Bandaranaike International Airport, following revelations that Colombo was being used as a hub for smuggling human cargo. The issue was a subject discussed by the Defence Ministry, Immigration officials, Airport Aviation Authority and SriLankan Airlines officials on Friday. The [...]
President to nominate new AG next week
President Maithripala Sirisena is expected to forward the name of his nominee as the country’s next Attorney General, to the Constitutional Council (CC) in the coming week. CC member MP Vijitha Herath said they expect the President to submit a name within the next few days. The AG’s position has been vacant since January 10 following [...]
Centre to screen passengers for zika virus at BIA
A monitoring centre to screen passengers infected with the zika virus, spreading fast in Latin American countries, is to be set up at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) with the assistance of the World Health Orgnisation (WHO). Country representative of the WHO in Sri Lanka, Dr. Jacob Kumaresan, told the Sunday Times that they have [...]
18-month jail terms for jewellery shop robbers from Pakistan
Two Pakistanis, who posed off as Indians and robbed gems and jewellery to the value of more than Rs. 10 million from a shop in Kollupitiya, have each been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. They were also fined Rs. 1,500 each by the Fort Magistrate. The suspects were arrested by the Kollupitiya police a day [...]
NPC to release interim report on Embilipitiya incident next week
An interim report based on investigations into the death of a young man during a clash with Police in Embilipitiya, will be released by the National Police Commission (NPC) in the coming week, its Secretary Ariyadasa Cooray said. A three-member team from the NPC has been dispatched to Embilipitiya to conduct separate investigations, where they [...]
Disgusting discriminatory practices at Lanka’s apartheid hotels
A growing and worrying trend seen at restaurants and hotels along the south coast is causing concern among Sri Lankan visitors. Segregation of visitors on the basis of foreign tourists and locals is real and apparent. Restaurants refuse to serve locals while hotels refuse to take bookings from locals. If you look South Asian and [...]
Discrimination: Locals push for toilet equality at railway stations
Forty-five-year-old K. Jamis from Nuwara Eliya waits outside a public toilet at the Colombo Fort Railway Station. The foul smell from within could be smelt even from where he stood. A glance into the small room would be enough to witness the muddy and urine scattered floors and unattractive scribbling on the walls. A few [...]
More raids but less seizures of heroin last year
Despite numerous raids carried out in the country in 2015, the quantity of heroin seized by the police was only 46 kilograms, a figure much lower than in previous years, Narcotics Bureau (PNB) said last week that. Police spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekera said that although the police have been very active and had conducted several [...]
Two vie for BASL Secretary post
With the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) election for the key post of Secretary coming up next month, Eraj de Silva is to contest for the post along with Amal Randeniya who announced his candidature earlier. Mr. de Silva has been a member of the Executive Committee of the BASL for the past three [...]
HMS Defender comes a- calling
For the first time after four years a British Royal Navy ship has docked in Colombo. HMS Defender, one of the world’s most advanced warships is paying a routine visit to Colombo to take on stores and fuel before continuing with her duties in the Indian Ocean. HMS Defender is a Type 45 Destroyer, [...]
Transplant inquiry stumbles over lack of detail
Sri Lanka’s claimed urgent action to investigate a kidney transplant racket alleged by media in India has run out of steam over a lack of concrete information and steadfast denials of culpability by hospitals and doctors. The Health Ministry said January 22 that swift action was being taken to investigate the alleged racket. The ministry’s [...]
Toxic frog joins elite endemic club
Mihintale is recognised as one of the world’s oldest wildlife sanctuaries, so it is fitting that a new frog found to be endemic to Sri Lanka has been named after Mihintale to honour its ancient values. “On top of being a historic sanctuary, Mihintale is also the point of unison for two ancient cultures, when [...]
N’Eliya MC signs agreement with Chinese firms for cable car project
An agreement to set up and maintain a cable car transport project was signed on Friday between the Nuwara Eliya Municipality and two leading cable transport companies from China. The signing of the agreement opens up opportunities to cater to a long-felt need in the tourism industry and will enable tourists to better observe the [...]
Polythene baddies hammered from tomorrow
The Central Environment Authority (CEA) will from next month systematically begin raiding the manufacturers and sellers that do not comply with the ban on polythene less than 20 microns in thickness. “In January, we made some raids and those found guilty had been given chance to adjust to alternatives. But from February onwards, we will [...]
Sri Lankans at the top of the asylum queue in Hong Kong
Sri Lanka has earned the dubious distinction of topping the tally for the biggest number of asylum claimants in Hong Kong last year. Latest data from the Immigration Department show there were 14 Sri Lankan claimants among a total of 42 last year. And claims of 303 Sri Lankans are outstanding as of end 2015. [...]
Gratitude is the memory of the heart
Being grateful is not something peculiar to humans. It is found even in the animal kingdom with greater or lesser intensity. There is no caste or creed to show gratitude. An act of gratitude is appreciated by gods and men, and will be, through our sansara. The Mathuposaka Jataka and other Jathaka kathas tell us [...]
Maldives says sufficient evidence against jailed Lankan
The Maldives Government says it has enough evidence against the 27 year old Sri Lankan national they have been holding in custody since November last year in connection with an assassination attempt on the life of the country’s President Abdulla Yameen. Maldives Minister of Legal Affairs Uza Azima Shakoor told reporters in Colombo Friday that [...]
JVP says policemen are a frustrated lot, denied promotion and poorly paid
Moving the Adjournment Motion on the ‘conduct of the Police in the recent past’, Chief Opposition Whip and JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayaka said there are nearly 10,000 vacancies in all ranks of the Police force. “No measures have been taken to fill them for many years. There is a growing level of frustration among [...]
Homagama protest: More arrests soon
Two police teams have been deployed to identify and arrest the suspects who staged an unruly protest outside the Homagama Magistrate courts after the General Secretary of the Bodhu Bala Sena Ven Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara Thera was remanded on Tuesday. A senior police officer said the teams had been deployed following the Homagama Magistrate’s order to [...]
The media is engaged in a witch-hunt against the police, says Premier
Addressing the adjournment motion i Parliament this week, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said there are problems with regard to police worldover and they were not unique to Sri Lanka. In a hard-hitting speech, criticising the media’s role, the Prime Minister said some journalists used different yardsticks to assess the news worthiness of different issues. He [...]
Aussie police raid house of Lankan ‘doctor’ seen in ISIL video
Police have raided two Melbourne homes reportedly linked to a Sri Lankan born Australian man who appeared in a propaganda video for ISIL’s health services in Syria, Australian media said. Australia’s 9News (ninemsn) in a report said: Search warrants were executed at Meadow Heights and Craigieburn by counter-terrorism police searching for information about 41-year-old Sri [...]
Photo focus: One by one our elephants fall
Two days after the ‘grand’ public destruction of the blood ivory of 350 African elephant tusks at the Galle Face Green, a Sri Lankan tusker and an elephant fell prey to a fallen high tension wire at Welimada Yaya in the Haberewa area, in the Hambabtota districtGirandurukotte wildlife offers. In a separate incident early on [...]
Lanka’s token task for tuskers
The Government on Tuesday made its voice against the illegal poaching of tuskers heard by the world. In a state ceremony at Galle Face, some 359 tusks weighing 1.5 tons were crushed and burnt at an incinerator in Puttalam. The Government and the Customs Department organised this ceremony where the tusks worth Rs. 400 million [...]