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Home » NewsJaffna’s battle to beat the heat
With Jaffna boiling at nearly 40 degrees Celsius and little signs of rain, the municipal authorities try to provide some relief by sending bowsers to pour water on the main streets. Pic by N. Parameswaran
EU links human rights to trade: 58 conditions for GSP Plus
In its haste to regain the GSP Plus facility, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has agreed with the European Union (EU) to implement a sprawling list of 58 conditions linking human rights, national security and other domestic concerns with trade, a document obtained by the Sunday Times shows. Among the 58 conditions imposed are to [...]
President to meet Modi on Saturday
President Maithiripala Sirisena will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi next Saturday in New Delhi, a spokesman for the President’s Office said. The meeting will take place when the President comes back from Britain. President Sirisena is visiting India on an invitation extended to him by the ruling Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP) to attend a [...]
New bite for 500,000 stray dog menace
With some 500,000 stray dogs reported to be on the roads and some 300,000 people becoming dog bite victims every year, the Local Government Minister is drawing up an urgent plan to meet this crisis. Local Government Minister Faiszer Mustapha has been directed by the Cabinet to submit the plan within three weeks after he [...]
Major fraud: Check the ATM before inserting your card
Users of Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) have been warned by Police to be vigilant as a foreign gang is attempting to steal money from their credit and debit cards. This comes after yet another electronic device used to steal such information was found attached to the ATM of a state bank in Kandy on Thursday. [...]
10 Kelaniya undergrads face charges over ragging a fresher
Ten undergraduates of Kelaniya University allegedly involved in ragging a female fresher are to be charged under the Anti Ragging Act for which tough penalties could be imposed, police said. Officer-in-Charge of Kiribathgoda Police, Chief Inspector (CI) S.K. Meeallage said police had acted after the student complained to them of being assaulted and verbally abused [...]
Torture still continues: UN rapporteurs slam CID, TID
Two United Nations Special Rapporteurs yesterday accused the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Terrorism Investigation Divisions (TID) of using torture as a “common practice” in their probes. Juan E. Mendez, the Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment and Monica Pinto, Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, [...]
Drugs Authority says officials misleading minister
The sudden postponement of the National Medicinal Regulatory Authority’s first media conference scheduled for last Thursday has caused another major controversy, with an NMRA spokesman saying some officials are giving erroneous information to the Health Minister. He said the intention of these officials was obviously to create a rift between Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne and [...]
Karu J. appoints 4-member Committee to probe Supplementary Estimate vote
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on Friday appointed a four-member Committee headed by Opposition Leader TNA Parliamentarian R. Sampanthan to inquire into and report if the vote taken in the House, on a Rs 55 million supplementary estimate, was duly conducted, following allegations by some opposition MPs that the vote was irregular. The Committee was appointed after [...]
Differently-abled still denied their right to equality- Activists
Activists claimed that, while the Government is taking measures to enact Right to Information (RTI) legislation, the country’s differently-abled were still being denied their right to equality, despite Sri Lanka having ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. “Persons with restricted ability make up Sri Lanka’s largest and most disadvantaged [...]
NJC warns of pitfalls in ETCA, says process lacks transparency
The National Joint Committee (NJC), a non-profit organisation, has urged the Government not to enter into an Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India. Outlining its objections, the NJC said in a statement that the Government should not enter into ECTA because: (a) the objectives and strategies as to how Sri Lanka will [...]
Prices of bakery products, food parcels up, phone charges, doctors’ fees set to rise
The Value Added Tax (VAT) introduced this week (May 2) is causing confusion to both businesses and consumers with many complaining that there are many gray areas that have to be resolved. Wholesalers, retailers and service centres alike are charging that the reduction in the threshold of the turnover of businesses has created panic among [...]
Foreign criminals are targeting your ATM; two nabbed, more at large
CID launches countrywide hunt; skimming device found in Kandy machine week after Colombo arrests As a countrywide operation is underway to hunt down the remaining members of a foreign gang involved in stealing credit and debit card information from automated teller machines (ATMs), detectives have advised ATM users, especially those in the Kandy region, to [...]
9,000 Rotarians worldwide attend Vatican’s Jubilee Audience
Nearly 9,000 Rotary members worldwide attended the Jubilee Audience at the Vatican in St. Peter’s Square on April 30, at the invitation of Pope Francis. Rotary International President K.R. Ravindran who led the Rotarians, said, “It is a tremendous honour to be a part of this Jubilee Audience.” “Pope Francis has inspired men and women [...]
CEB powerless in event of major breakdown
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy claim that power outages experienced in certain areas of the country this week were mainly due to adverse weather conditions that prevailed in the evenings. Authorities however, concede that the national grid is still not fully prepared to meet the loss of [...]
New Bill to replace Strategic Development Act
The Strategic Development Act introduced by the former government will be replaced by a new investor-friendly Act that will ensure that the country does not suffer revenue loss when incentives are offered to local and foreign investors, a senior official said. Development Strategies and International Trade Ministry Secretary Chandani Wijewardena told the Sunday Times the [...]
SLT chief bangs phone on critics
If ever he used his brother’s name or family connection, it was for the benefit of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) and never for personal gain, SLT Chairman P.G. Kumarasinghe Sirisena, younger brother of President Maithripala Sirisena, said this week. He was responding to highly-publicised allegations that he would often drop his brother’s name at SLT [...]
SriLankan won’t be sold, public-private partnership likely: Chairman
Sri Lanka’s loss-making national carrier, despite reporting accumulated debt of Rs. 64 billion, says it is confident of recovery under a public-private partnership, ruling out any total sale of the national carrier. The Government will retain ownership — either part or fully — while management will change hands, the Sunday Times reliably learns. A committee [...]
15-month-old unattended girl drowns in pond at home
A 15-month-old infant drowned in a pond in its house in Wellawatte, the Coroner’s court was told this week. The infant, Nathisha Munsoor, had fallen into the pond about 3.5 ft in depth, without anybody noticing it. On that particular day, Nathisha had been playing with her mother’s sisters who had come from Dickwella. After [...]
Don’t get burned by the fire in the sky
Health officials and weather forecasters are advising precautions for the vulnerable including the elderly and children, because soaring temperatures are expected to last a while longer despite intermittent rains last week. Weather watchers are raising the alert over the actual temperature felt by the human body, or the human discomfort index. Extreme caution is the [...]
VRS for 5,000 excess SLTB office staff
The over-staffed Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) intends to rid itself of some 5,000 employees by offering them a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS), said Deputy Transport Minister Ashok Abeysinghe. He said, compensation between Rs 1.2 million and Rs 2.5 million will be offered, in addition to their EPF-ETF. Mr Abeysinghe said the SLTB has 36,700 [...]
Longer life for Lankan fruits
The time is now ‘ripe’ to discuss the headway made in extensive work to keep the freshness of fruit, especially mango, from tree to table. What started off as a three-country project, including the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) in Sri Lanka, to enhance the preservation of fruit, has now expanded to six, with the next [...]
Rare transit of Mercury across the Sun on Monday (9) evening
Sri Lankans will be able to catch a glimpse of a rare transit of the Planet Mercury tomorrow (May 9). The phenomenon will see the smallest planet in the solar system glide across the face of the sun. The transit occurs when Mercury, the sun and Earth are all exactly in line with each other. [...]
Human – crocodile conflict poses conservation challenge
Riverside dwellers of Kelanimulla who are in the habit of taking a dip in the Kelani River or collecting water for their households suspect they are witnessing an increasing number or crocodile attacks. But wildlife conservation specialists point to human factors that lead to conflicts with crocs in urban settings in the first place. Six [...]
Hamilton Canal: A lifeblood of travel and transport that flows unnoticed
In Sri Lanka, irrigation channels are complex ones as their engineering technology is considered to be highly advanced compared with other countries. In the past, canals in the west were connected to lagoons and rivers, as they were used for travel and transport goods. Negombo is a tourist hub, and is a pivotal junction only [...]
Photo focus: Anawilundawa wetlands under threat
The Anawilundawa Sanctuary, a bird-watcher’s paradise has a multitude of both resident and migratory birds and has been designated an international RAMSAR wetland ( the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides a framework for the conservation of wetlands), is under threat from several different fronts. It has a total of 131 species of birds and 74 [...]
Toxic trash spells destruction and death
For every short-lived compact fluorescent bulb, (CFL bulb), thrown in the garbage, at least four milligrams of deadly mercury could leach into Sri Lanka’s precious soil. Researchers have found that mercury spells death, and if not, could damage the nervous system, digestive and immune systems, lungs and kidneys. A shattered CFL bulb releases mercury vapor [...]
Spike in accidents in Nuwara Eliya district
According to police reports, during the past few weeks there has been an increase in the number of accidents in the Nuwara Eiliya district. More than 50 accidents have been reported in the Hatton area including Maskeliya, Norton Bridge, Hatton, Nallathanni and Ginigathhena A total of five persons have died and around 50 people were [...]
Probe on demolishing doctor’s parapet wall in ownership dispute
One suspect arrested, identification parade tomorrow to nab others Police investigations are underway to apprehend 20 suspects in connection with an incident where a parapet wall belonging to a doctor’s house in Mulgampola, Kandy was allegedly demolished over a dispute regarding ownership of a roadway leading to the house. The complainant doctor had lodged an [...]
London creates history at Mayoral elections
London, one of the world’s leading international cities created history last Friday by electing its first Muslim mayor in an acrimonious and bruising campaign that often evoked memories of Sri Lankan elections. While there were elections for assemblies in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and cities in England, attention was largely centred on the London Mayoral [...]