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Home » NewsRice not boiled but set ablaze
Rice has been part of Sri Lanka’s civilization for thousands of years and our plate of rice still carries a degree of sanctity. Therefore it was shocking , if not sacrilegeous, to see how Consumer Protection Authority officials set ablaze more than 2,400 kilos of rice in Polonnaruwa. This came after a court ordered the [...]
Foreign job industry at stake
Minister seeks revision of budget decision on minimum salaries for migrant workers By Sandran Rubatheesan With a significant decrease in the number of Sri Lankans going overseas for jobs, the Foreign Employment Ministry is to seek Cabinet approval to reverse a budget decision on a minimum salary for skilled and unskilled Sri Lankan workers, a [...]
Horana tyre factory: Legal tangle over land ownership
By Namini Wijedasa A land transaction between the Board of Investment (BOI) and controversial businessman Nandana Lokuwithana has become more complicated. Mr. Lokuwithana’s Rigid Tyre Corporation (Pvt) Ltd is tipped to receive 100 acres of land from the gazetted BOI industrial zone at Wagawatta in Horana. The deal was negotiated by the Development Strategies Ministry [...]
Dispute between UDA and PCs goes to President
President Maithripala Sirisena’s intervention is being sought to resolve the tussle over the Urban Development Authority (UDA) now exercising some functions of the Provincial Councils. “This has become necessary as there is a clear dispute and a solution has to be found,” Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Faiszer Musthapa told the Sunday Times. “As [...]
Attack on Noyahr: Three army men remanded, shocking details emerge
Criminal Investigation Detectives yesterday arrested an Army officer and two Sergeants over the May 2008 attack on journalist Keith Noyahr. The arrests came after the trio were summoned to CID headquarters on Friday and interrogated. The trio are Major Prabath Bulathwatte, Sergeant Duminda Weeraratne and Sergeant Hemachandra Perera. The formal arrests were made yesterday after [...]
New highways: Govt. won’t seek foreign loans
By Damith Wickremasekara The Government has decided not to obtain foreign loans for mega road construction projects, Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella said. He said that instead, the Government would rely on Private Public Partnership (PPP), Build-Operate- Transfer (BOT) or Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) systems to finance the major road projects, including expressways. Mr. Kiriella told the Sunday [...]
Ports Ministry wants ownership of artificial island in HambantotaA proposal by Ports Minister Arjuna Ranatunga that the Sri Lanka Ports Authority retain the ownership of an artificial island built with soil dug out during the construction of the Hambantota port is to be taken up during talks with the Chinese company vying to take over [...]
Presidential Secretariat suspends BIA tender, initiates inquiry
The Presidential Secretariat, following complaints of irregularities in a tender award pertaining to the upgrading and construction of a new aircraft refueling facility at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake, on Saturday suspended the award and called all concerned parties for an inquiry. Informed sources said some of the other bidders who had objected to [...]
Remove PM, SF if statements on Trinco port are false: NJC
The National Joint Committee (NJC) has called on President Maithripala Sirisena to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Minister Sarath Fonseka from their posts, if they are found to have made false statements with regard to alleged negotiations on handing over the Trincomalee Port to India. In a letter sent to the President, the NJC [...]
Man gets 20-years in jail for raping teenager
A man who raped a 16-year-old girl was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay Rs 100,000 as compensation by Monaragala High Court Judge Wasantha Jinadasa. The 50-year-old convict, D. M. Wimalasena alias Wimale mama, raped the teenager in her house in May last year. State Counsel Sumudu Seneviratne appeared for the [...]
College of Journalism: Apply before Feb. 28 for the 2017 diploma course
The Sri Lanka College of Journalism (SLCJ) has begun registering students for its 13th intake. The diploma is a full-time one-year course, the College said. The four core subjects of the diploma are print, television, radio and social media. During the course, internships are provided at recognised media institutions as part of the curriculum, a [...]
Asleep three-wheel driver hits lorry causing fatal fall of child (3)
A three-wheel driver responsible for an accident leading to the death of a three-year-old child, had fallen a sleep during a long distance trip from Bandarawela to Colombo, a Coroner’s court inquiry was told. The 24-year-old driver, Sena Maddumage Sanjeewa said his vehicle collided with a lorry, after he fell asleep, in the Getahetta area [...]
Enforced disappearance: Bill holds superiors also accountable for the crime
The Bill, to be enacted shortly, to give effect to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, provides for the sanctioning of superiors who, by commission or omission, are party to such crimes. The Law also provides for the extradition of a person, including those holding citizenship of other countries [...]
CEB Engineers to ‘push’ MS towards “clean coal power plants”
The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU), due to meet President Sirisena on Tuesday (21) say, they would attempt to convince President Maithripala Sirisena towards accepting “clean coal power plants” amidst warnings that the country risked spiraling towards a major power crisis. CEBEU President Athural Wanniarachchi stressed there was no “low cost solution” to the [...]
CID probes forged driving licences at MTD’s request
The Motor Traffic Dept (MTD) has requested the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to conduct a probe into the alleged forging of Driving Licences (DL). MTD Commissioner General, Jagath Chandrasiri told the Sunday Times that, both new and old versions of DLs are being forged. While the CID investigates, the MTD has also initiated its own [...]
New applications called from College of Journalism
The Sri Lanka College of Journalism (SLCJ) has commenced registering students for its 13th intake, in 2017. The diploma is a full-time one-year course, the College said. The four core subjects of the diploma are print, television, radio and social media. During the course, internships are provided at recognised media institutions as part of the [...]
Sri Lanka’s economic freedom, ruler integrity worsen: Global study reveals
Sri Lanka’s ranking for economic freedom has worsened from last year and the integrity of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Government has been rated 141st out of 180 countries. The island’s malfunctioning judiciary, has been ranked 80th in the world. The efectiveness of Sri Lanka’s judiciary fares worse than the world’s biggest gambling haven Macau, which is rated [...]
RTI implementation: Communication gaps facilitate buck-passing
As the Right to Information (RTI) Act enters its second week, authorities conceded that communication gaps were making it difficult for proper implementation of the legislation. The first week of the Act was marred by confusion over what constitutes a Public Authority (PA) under the Act, and uncertainty regarding who the designated Information Officers (IO) [...]
Govt. sharply cuts prices of costly lenses used for cataract surgery
Months after reducing the prices of several essential drugs, the Government on Friday sharply cut the prices of costly lenses used as implants during cataract surgery and said it was eyeing another expensive but inevitable option in patient care – private hospitals and laboratories. The prices of 38 common varieties of intra-ocular lenses implanted during [...]
Rice, vegetables, fish, burn hole in pocket amid cheap political talk
In the biggest markets of the country, prices of our staple food, many vegetables, fish and meat, and spices have galloped away, doubling in some cases this month compared with the same month of last year. This has been the case even in the past three months. Politicians and the consumer watchdog are putting on [...]
Deal with SAITM in isolation of private medical education issue, says academic
For the third week running, the issues surrounding the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) turned explosive – street protests by state sector students — while the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) finally decided to appeal against an earlier court ruling to provide provisional registration to a SAITM student. The SLMC decision on [...]
Colombo garbage mountain dumped on the desks of leaders
The Colombo Municipal Council said it has abandoned seeking solutions to Colombo’s growing garbage problem and has declared it a national issue. Commissioner, V K A Anura said that it has handed over the problem to President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as it is unable to find landfills. This follows the Colombo [...]
‘Don’t make able- bodied people disabled’
They came in their numbers to Campbell Park in Borella. No it was not a May Day rally with red flags a-flutter but the commemoration of World Epilepsy Day to give out a loud and clear message. ‘Epilepsy is like any other disease. It is controllable. Men, women and children with epilepsy can lead a [...]
Mirissa whale boats to be reined in
More regulations and guidelines will be imposed on whale-watching boat operators in Mirissa. Licenses will not be issued to vessels this year as part of the measures planned, wildlife officials say. The Department of Wildlife Conservation says regulations will be updated, while the Ministry of Tourism wants to upgrade the infrastructure. Sri Lanka is famous [...]
Drought-bungling and graft-cries rise from a desperate million
People in many more districts are facing ruin because of the unprecedented drought, while farmer groups are insisting that the government pay Rs 50,000 for every acre destroyed. Farmers charge that government incompetence and corruption has made the situation worse. Some estimates suggest that at least a million Sri Lankans are desperate. Government officials say [...]
Wounded deer finds haven
Wildlife officials of the Wilpattu office and villagers on Thursday saved a wounded deer from a forest reserve in Rotawewa in the Saliya wewa area. The animal had sustained gun shot injuries believed to be from a trap gun. The animal is recovering under the care of the Wildlife officials. Pix by Karuwalagaswewa Jayaratna Wickremaarachchi. [...]
Ratmalana Airport comes into its own
The Colombo Airport, Ratmalana, inaugurated in 1935, is attracting many smaller aircraft, with renovations currently on at the Bandaranaike International Airport. Colombo Airport Manager, Aruna Rajapaksa told the Sunday Times that, with the re-opening of the airport for commercial flights, the revenue too has increased in recent months. He said that, among the flights landing [...]
Ignorance is bliss
Sri Lanka has a rich archaeological history. Thousands of tourists, both local and foreign visit the country’s many archaeological sites daily. Criticism is often leveled at authorities for not protecting these sites. Yet, visitors themselves are often disrespectful and desecrate the sites, many of which have religious significance. Visitors continue to pose for photographs in [...]
NDDCB plans residential rehab camps for drug addicts
The National Dangerous Drug Control Board (NDDCB) will launch a community based rehabilitation programme for drug addicts in a move to curb the increasing use of illicit drugs among the youth population. Under this initiative 50 camps that will conduct ten-day residential treatment programmes, will be setup islandwide, NDDCB Chairman Prof. Ravindra Fernando said. He [...]
Villagers dig in on land demand, military says not sitting on private property
When Sathees Kawsalya, along with her family of three children left their house in April, 2009, as the war entered the final stages, she was hoping to return home. She survived but has yet to go home. Since then, she along with other 243 families from Keppapulavu, Mullaithivu have been waiting for more than eight [...]