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Home » NewsVesak 2561 goes international
Vesak 2561 will be more than a thrice-blessed day this year, with the United Nations deciding to have International Vesak celebrations in Sri Lanka. A soldier in civvies is seen giving the final touches to lotus-shaped Vesak lanterns to be put up in the area around the Presidential Secretariat.
Anti-corruption body faces closure
 The Secretariat tasked to direct public complaints on bribery and corruption to different agencies is facing closure amid allegations that vehicles from the Prime Minister’s office have been used by it for surveillance work. The Anti-Corruption Committee Secretariat, located near Temple Trees, was set up after the presidential election in January 2015. It was an [...]
Top contender flies away; SriLankan Airlines rescue bid grounded
The Government is in a quandary over debt-ridden SriLankan Airlines after Texas Pacific Group (TPG), the only credible contender for a public-private-partnership (PPP), said it was not interested. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has now summoned three ministers for a meeting at 10am tomorrow. The struggling national carrier faces a particularly difficult year in 2018 with [...]
Hambantota deal: More major changes, 70-year lease on offer
The number of years that the Hambantota port is to be leased out to China Merchant Port Holdings Co Ltd (CMPort) could be brought down 70, instead of 99, authoritative sources said. A draft of the heavily-negotiated concession agreement was shared with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) this week. The shareholding ratio could also [...]
Action against Customs officer for leaking info to media
A senior Customs investigation officer, who was investigating an alleged fraud involving used vehicle parts, has been sent on compulsory leave on allegations of leaking information to the media. The officer, Assistant Superintendent W.MR.P. Wijekoon, is also the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Independent Government Trade Union Organisation. Mr Wijekoon and his team from [...]
Shortcomings in national carrier’s engineering unit
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has put SriLankan Airlines on notice after finding shortcomings in its engineering division. If the airline fails to rectify these within six months, it risks losing the EASA certification which allows it to do maintenance checks for other airlines. The deficiencies were found when EASA conducted an audit of [...]
Annual Bakthi gee event held at the Police grounds
The Police grounds, in Colombo was lit up yesterday as policemen and policewomen took to the stage to perform at the annual Bakthi gee event.
Shiranthi’s three nights in Paris cost the country Rs. 25 mn, charges Mangala
Former first Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa’s three night stay in Paris, in 2014, cost state coffers over Rs 25 million, Parliament was told this week. Ms. Rajapaksa had stayed with a relative at a super luxury hotel, King George V, during her visit. The cost included the amount incurred for hiring vehicles as well as a [...]
May Day Sirikotha shooting: Armed suspect had a self-drafted ‘constitution’
The policeman arrested for allegedly shooting at the UNP headquarters on May Day, was carrying with him what he called a self-drafted “Constitution”, said a senior police official. The suspect, Amaraweera Arachchige Sumith Amaraweera (44), currently in remand custody till May 15, in his document, had mentioned that, people under 21-years should be prohibited from [...]
GMOA, other unions will meet next week to decide on further TU action
The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) and several other trade unions will meet next week to decide on further trade union action similar to Friday’s strike that crippled state hospitals and railway services. Spokesman Dr. Samantha Ananda told the Sunday Times the GMOA leadership would hold a general meeting with 107 branch representatives on Tuesday. [...]
Ranjan pooh-poohs GMOA chief’s account; Padeniya blames hospital
Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya claimed yesterday that a communication delay between Nawaloka Hospital and an e-channeling website had allowed Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake to schedule an appointment with him on Friday, the day on which the GMOA launched an islandwide strike. Dr. Padeniya, a paediatric neurologist, told the Sunday Times [...]
Students affected: Ruhunu professors call on Govt. to solve SAITM issue
 Students passing out of both state and private medical universities are set to be delayed due to the ongoing protests over the SAITM issue. Pasan Hewawasam a representative of the Professors of the Medical faculty of Ruhuna said that Act 16 examinations (now known as ERPM) for students from the Kotalawala Defence University and students [...]
Where we must vaccinate
By Zulfiqar A. Bhutta and Naveen Thacker KARACHI/GANDHIDHAM-GUJARAT – With measles outbreaks currently spreading across Europe and the Midwestern United States, and meningitis infecting US college students, health experts are doing something they never thought they’d have to do in early 2017: reminding people in developed countries that vaccines save lives. Perhaps vaccines are a [...]
Asthma awareness walk
A walk was organised by members of the staff of the Hambantota Hospital to mark World Asthma Day this week. The aim of the walk was to raise awareness.
Coal power here to stay, who says otherwise: CEBEU
 Despite earlier Govt statements to the contrary, coal is set to play a major role in the Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) Long Term Generation Expansion Plan (LTGEP) 2018-2037, the Sunday Times learns. The CEB’s LTGEP) 2018-2037 was submitted to the country’s power sector regulator, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) on Friday, for [...]
GSP Plus: Four votes added to Lanka’s 436
Sri Lanka has earned four more votes in the European Parliament against a motion to deprive it of the GSP+ concession after four Members of the European Parliament (MEP) realised they had polled wrong. A few hours after the motion was defeated on April 27, Sri Lanka’s EU Ambassador Rodney Perera made a round of [...]
CBK derides MR for bellyaching on reducing his security
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has asked how, her successor, Mahinda Rajapaksa, can argue for more security and privileges than her, when there is no war and “the security situation is stable.” Her query came in a statement on the withdrawal of 42 Police officers attached to Rajapaksa’s personal security. The issue was raised by [...]
Abducted child found with uncle in Batti
The three-year-old boy who was abducted early this week, was found in the Urukamam area in Batticaloa yesterday, Gampola Police said. A special unit of the Gampola police found the child in an abandoned house at 10.30 a.m., and arrested a 25-year-old youth, under suspicion. Two others were also remanded in Kattankudy police station- a [...]
Mid-day meal on Midwives Day on Park bench
Midwives enjoyed a rare day off from their hectic work to enjoy a meal at the Viharamaha Devi Park in Colombo this week. They were in Colombo for celebrations associated with International Midwives Day that fell on Friday
South Asia satellite to facilitate communications in the SAARC region
After the successful launch of the South Asia satellite by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday, President Sirisena expressed hope that this will be networked with all other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries. As a partner in this effort, Sri Lanka can benefit from this satellite to successfully develop infrastructure [...]
AG requests CJ for 3-member High Court Trial-at-Bar
Indictments are to be served this week, on the 10 accused of the rape and murder of 18-year-old schoolgirl, P.S. Vidya in 2015, before Jaffna High Court Judge M. Illenchelian. Attorney General (AG) Jayantha Jayasuriya P.C. has written to Chief Justice Priyasath Dep on Friday, requesting the appointment of a three-member High Court Trial-at-Bar to [...]
All set to celebrate Lanka’s first UN Vesak Day
Cultural events, colourful decorations, discussions on Buddhism and other religious events will be part of the 14th United Nations Day of Vesak to be commemorated in Colombo and Kandy from May 12-May 14. This is the first time Sri Lanka is hosting the event which has earlier been hosted 11 times in Thailand and twice [...]
Local engineers don’t need foreign assistance: Ex-GM Railways
Local engineers are capable of installing Signals on the Matara-Beliatta line, a former General Manager of Railways (GMR) said this week, critical of the Transport Ministry’s decision to award a US$ 15 million (Rs 2.2 billion) project to a Chinese company. The Ministry has selected China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation (CNMIEC) for the [...]
Tragedy instils trash consciousness
Just as there is a silver lining in every dark cloud, a positive trend in garbage management is emerging from the Meethotamulla garbage tragedy — with more and more people acting responsibly while many public institutions have introduced garbage disposal guidelines and rules. The National Museum last week said visitors would not be allowed to [...]
Heartache for poor patients
Patients who turned up seeking free health care at the Colombo National Hospital on Friday when the Government Medical Officers Association had called for a strike, went away feeling sickened by the disruption. The doctors group halted work for a day to demand that the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine, SAITM, be nationalised, [...]
Rail commuters vent fury against politicians and unions
Angry commuters railed against the malfunctioning political establishment and unions that are continuing to agitate for demands, frustrated by the let down on Friday. The overstaffed, politicised railway, which is incurring billions in losses, and the main doctors’s group halted work on Friday to demand the continuation of state pensions, nationalisation of the South Asian [...]
Millions of mouths run dry in drought without end
A drop of water to drink has become a rare luxury for more than a million Sri Lankans who are still struggling through a drought that has lasted for months since it intensified in November. There had been warnings many months ago of the impending drought. The water shortage remains acute in 12 districts. Farmer [...]
Fading fortunes of the native Vesak flower
A species of orchid that blooms in May and commonly called Vesak mal is becoming rarer. Plant experts say habitat loss and over collection from the wild are causing its decline. Scientifically known as dendrobium maccarthiae, it may have got its local name because it blooms in the month of Vesak. It is a light [...]
CBSL Deputy Governor criticises Mahendran’s directives
The Central Bank’s former Governor, Arjuna Mahendran, walked into the Bank’s Market Operations Committee meeting on February 27, 2015 and told those present that the standard deposit rate of 5 percent would be removed and an auction held to issue 30-year Treasury Bonds, a senior official claimed. The former Governor claimed that the move would [...]
Six policemen to be charged for murder of torture victim
Six policemen who were found guilty of torturing a suspect in custody in Chunnakam, Jaffna are to be served fresh indictments for committing murder. The policemen were sentenced to ten years imprisonment by Jaffna High Court judge M. Illenchelian having been found guilty of torturing the suspect Sri Skandarajah Sumanan. Fines of Rs.25,000 each were [...]
Experts warn of e-waste being dumped together with garbage
 As the country mourns the dead of Meethotamulla and grapples with what to do regarding this mountain of garbage, a different danger signal lights up bright red. At the centre of the warning is the children’s toy – the Rubik’s cube with its reds, blues and yellows and the imminent dangers of recycling toxic electronic [...]
Experts flash red over Rubik’s cube’s reds, blues and yellows
Hazardous e-waste is what the Rubik’s cube controversy is all about, stresses CEJ’s Executive Director Hemantha Withanage, explaining that toxic chemicals in e-waste should not be present in children’s toys. Urging that this problem needs to be addressed globally and nationally, he says that the study was carried out on products in 26 countries including [...]
CEB powerless, bends national grid backwards to deliver
Failure of successive monsoons, the prevailing heatwave and a series of technical breakdowns are causing a severe strain on the National Grid (NG), as the country prepares to mark Vesak on a grand scale. According to the Power & Renewable Energy Ministry, daytime electricity demand soared by 18.4%, while nighttime peak demand, from 7 pm-10 [...]
Photo focus: In Galle the Morris Minor lives on
Production of the iconic “Morris Minor” may have ceased in 1971, but an estimated 60,000 such vehicles are still being driven on roads around the world and the demands for its spare parts are high. Sri Lankan mechanics have proved themselves capable of turning out a number of spare parts for this vehicle. In addition [...]
Geetha disqualified for ‘double acting’ in the House
Geetha Samanmali Kumarasinghe became the first Member of Parliament (MP) to be disqualified from her Parliament seat under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which disqualifies holders of dual citizenship from holding elected office. Her disqualification, after the Court of Appeal (CoA) held in favour of a petition filed by five citizens of Galle, who [...]
Declining loris populations risk lives on power lines
As tall trees in urban gardens become rarer, the loris appears to find electric wires an alternative way to move around. But many end up being electrocuted. One lucky loris that got stuck on a power utility post last Monday was rescued in Anuradhapura town. Young Tharindi Pathirana who lives near the SOS Children’s Village [...]