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This sad but proud woman was among those who gathered at the Parliament Grounds on Friday to commemorate the sacrifices their loved ones made to save Sri Lanka from terrorism. She is seen wearing the medal of honour she received at the war heroes’ day ceremony. Pic by Indika Handuwela
Trinco oil farm: PM to expedite deal with India
But CPC trade unions insist that Sri Lanka is selling ‘our fount of wealth’ By Namini Wijedasa Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has mandated the setting up of a committee to negotiate with India the development of the Trincomalee upper oil tank farm. “The matter was taken up at the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) [...]
After Geetha’s case, Foreign Ministry checks whether any diplomats are dual citizens
The Foreign Affairs Ministry has asked Sri Lankan diplomats here and abroad to notify it if any of them is a dual citizen. A circular was sent out this week pursuant to an inquiry by the Sunday Times whether any diplomats at the Foreign Ministry or in Sri Lanka’s missions overseas held dual citizenship. It [...]
All ministers invited for reshuffle
President Maithripala Sirisena has invited all ministers of the Cabinet, Deputies and State Ministers to be present at the Presidential Secretariat at 8.30 a.m. tomorrow (Monday). The move came as confirmation that the long awaited Cabinet reshuffle will take place tomorrow morning. Contrary to earlier reports that the upcoming reshuffle was to lead to a [...]
European Parliament to debate Lankan issues
Political and civil society groups, among them Tamil diaspora organisations, have pressured the European Parliament to debate the restoration of the GSP Plus tariff preferences to Sri Lanka. It will take place during the plenary sessions of the EU Parliament in Brussels on May 31. It will follow what is being billed as a “Commission [...]
More protests against Batticaloa liquor company, petition
Hundreds protested at Oddamavady and Valachchenai in the Batticaloa district on Friday against the setting up of an ethanol factory by a liquor company headed by Arjun Aloysius, who is associated with the Central Bank bond issue now under investigation. “Today, we proceed a mass rally [sic] against this liquor factory with many thousand people [...]
Vidya trial-at-bar delayed; no decision yet on whether it should be held in Colombo or Jaffna
By Ranjith Pathmasiri The trial into the rape and murder of 18-year old schoolgirl Sivaloganathan Vidya has been delayed because there is no decision yet on where it should be held. The three judges to the trial-at-bar to try the ten accused of the murder of the schoolgirl in 2015 at Punguduthivu in Kayts have [...]
Can vote on reaching 18: Polls Commissioner
By Damith Wickramasekara Election laws will soon be amended to ensure that citizens are eligible to vote at national elections on attaining the age of 18 years. Under current election laws, electoral registers are revised only annually in June. As such, even those who have reached 19 years of age on the day of [...]
House to debate new Foreign Exchange Bill on Tuesday
By Chandani Kirinde The new Foreign Exchange (FE) Bill which will relax Exchange Control by liberalising inward and outward remittances of both local and foreign currencies, will be taken up for debate in Parliament on Tuesday following The Supreme Court’s (SC) determination that the Bill is consistent with the Constitution. The new Bill will replace [...]
Nasty storms, destructive winds continue to pound island
By Anushiya Sathisraja Heavy rains, sometimes accompanied by strong winds, lashed many parts of the country including Colombo, Gampaha, Kandy, Galle, Rathnapura and Matara Districts, but sporadic rains in the drought- stricken areas, were insufficient to bring any relief, weather officials said. Meteorologists warn of thunderstorms, lightning, flashfloods, rock falls and landslides. Occasional showers [...]
Uni student whose boat capsised dies in hospital
A Moratuwa University student who fell into the Beira Lake, Colombo, when his boat capsised on Tuesday, while practising for a rowing competition, died yesterday, a coroner’s court inquiry was told. Isuru Sarathchandra an eye witness, said, 22-year-old Engineering student Tisara Dharmendra Warnapura, was rushed to a private hospital after the incident that occurred around [...]
SLPI launches ‘Hot Desk’ for journalists on the move
The Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) launched a ’Hot Desk’ with computers, for journalists on the move, to attend to their work. The computers were donated by Rangana Fernando, in memory of his late father, Elmo Fernando, a former BBC Correspondent in Sri Lanka. The computers were handed over at a ceremony held at the [...]
Cabinet approves 6,000 prefab houses in NE subject to beneficiary preference
Cabinet has approved a proposal to build 6,000 prefabricated (prefab) houses for the war-displaced in the North and East, on condition, the beneficiaries prefer them to masonry houses–an option the Ministry of Resettlement, ironically, never afforded them. Representatives of international steel giant ArcelorMittal–including a technical team–were in Sri Lanka over the weekend for discussions in [...]
No amount of attacks will intimidate me or the SLMC– Prof Carlo
The Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) will not bow to intimidation and threats, was the strong message delivered on Thursday. “Our duty is to secure the safety of patients and to ensure that, we look into the quality of medical education and the discipline of doctors,” SLMC President Prof. Carlo Fonseka told a media briefing, [...]
Carcass believed to be that of a whale washes up on Bambalapitiya beach
The decaying carcass of a marine organism, believed to be that of a whale was discovered at the Bambalapiya beach last Friday. The Head of the Marine Biological Division of the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) Dr Sisira Haputantri told the Sunday Times the carcass was decomposed beyond recognition. He explained that [...]
House to debate new Foreign Exchange Bill on Tuesday
The new Foreign Exchange (FE) Bill which will relax Exchange Control by liberalising inward and outward remittances of both local and foreign currencies, will be taken up for debate in Parliament on Tuesday following The Supreme Court’s (SC) determination that the Bill is consistent with the Constitution. The new Bill will replace the old FE [...]
The Excellency’s collapse unearths unauthorised constructions aplenty
With heavy rains hampering the Tri-forces’ search for survivors on Friday (19) among the rubble of the illegally built five storeyed building in Wellawatta which collapsed, agitated next-of-kin of missing persons were searching for the owner and management, demanding answers. They queried why the management of the collapsed banquet hall, ‘The Excellency’, well-known for hosting [...]
Police search for gunmen who shot at them in Pallai
An operation was launched yesterday to apprehend those responsible for firing at a Police vehicle in Pallai, a senior police officer said. Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) Eastern Province and Acting SDIG Northern Province (NP), Sumith Edirisinghe said officers investigating Friday’s shooting at police officers in Pallai, Kilinochchi, have uncovered several vital clues, [...]
Dog owners at wit’s end when companions disappear
Dog owners who experience the misfortune of their pets being stolen take the search into their own hands, rather than seek the help of the police, who are often indifferent. Besides, the existing punishments are inadequate. But recommendations in the Dog Registration Ordinance may help. A resident of Rajagiriya, Colombo who lost her pet dog [...]
Dengue wiping out whole families, state health services overwhelmed
A grieving young mother felt devastated after she lost her husband and four year old daughter to dengue fever within four days last week. “My life has come to a standstill after their deaths,’’ Renuka Rathnayake, 26, from Kirulapone said as she wept, blaming herself for trusting the state health services. The killer dengue claimed [...]
SL in ‘big’ trouble over dengue, warn experts
Hit out at lack of commitment by politicians of all hues, who are not exposed to the dangers unlike ordinary citizens Need to question how the number of people affected rose so sharply, look for the cause rather than holding onto traditional thinking The ‘mild and low’ dengue season from January to May has seen [...]
Lanka’s drug busters gaining ground in battle against heroin smugglers
Last week’s ill fated PNB op was led by an officer who had made several big raids Authorities say much of the heroin now being smuggled into the country is for local consumption This year’s seized heroin is set to surpass last year’s amount Last week’s ambush of officers from the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) [...]
Illegal use of Colombo tube wells endangering people’s health
Colombo’s water table is highly compromised, and using this water via tube wells can lead to the public contracting any number of diseases, and even death, say CMC officials By Kasun Warakapitiya Despite warnings from the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) to refrain from using tube well water obtained in Colombo city, small time hoteliers are [...]
Northern development: Prime Minister and Chief Minister at the same table
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, flanked by Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Vigneswaran, addresses the media after his meeting with politicians and administrative officers in the North where it was decided to set up a mechanism for the economic development of the province. Pic by Pradeep Pathirana.
New Govt. wanted CBSL to raise Rs. 172 billion in March 2015, bond commission told
By Manopriya Gunasekara and Ranjan Katugampola The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) had a mechanism to provide funds required by the Government, the Bank’s former Director General (Operations) M.S.D. Ranasiri told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (COI) probing the issue of treasury bonds from February 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016. The Commission comprises [...]
GMOA on token strike tomorrow too
The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) is to launch yet another token strike tomorrow (22). GMOA Media Committee member Dr. Sajith Mallawarachchi told the Sunday Times that it had initially intended to launch a four-hour token strike. However, the GMOA branch unions in the North Western and Central Provinces had decided on a 24-hour token [...]
Curb on threewheelers called for as drivers show criminal bent
The brutal assault, robbery and attempted murder of a woman in Matara by a threewheeler driver earlier this week highlights how the vehicle is increasingly being used for criminal activities. The 57-year-old victim had been waiting for a bus to travel home when a three-wheeler had stopped and the driver offered to drop her. The [...]
Widows of two ‘hero’ brothers tell their stories
Eranga Wikumsiri and Nadeesha Wikumsiri were two brothers who were buried under the landslide trying to rescue others. Eranga worked as an Economic Development officer in the Elangapitiya division attached to the Aranayaka Divisional Secretariat. According to M. Wickaramapala (61), the father of the two, Eranga had been asked by the Divisional Secretariat office to [...]
Assistance trickles in slowly to those still gutted by that fateful day in May
Aranayaka landslide tragedy-one year on By Pradeep Kumara Dharmaratne in Aranayaka A year has passed since the landslide on Samasara Hill in Aranayaka, but the painful memories are still fresh in the minds of the survivors. No longer do people traverse up and down that hill that came sliding down on that fateful May [...]
Lunawa lagoon –an environmental nightmare
The pristine Lunawa lagoon in Moratuwa -the only lagoon in the Colombo district- is in danger of turning into polluted eyesore with private sector factories as well as railway and bus depots discharging effluents into it. The biggest culprits are two government institutions –the railway workshop and the SLTB depot at Ratmalana which channel oil [...]
The last bastion of a profitable press
By Shashi Tharoor NEW DELHI – Around the world, newspapers seem to be facing imminent extinction, as a mass exodus to the internet causes their circulation to slump and their advertising revenue to collapse. But not in India. In the West, young people have largely dispensed with the home-delivered physical morning newspaper, and instead catch [...]