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An elderly Muslim kissing a Sri Lanka flag as a sign of ethnic unity during a demonstration held by civil society groups to call for unity in diversity. The demonstration was held outside the Fort Railway Station on Thursday. Pic by Sameera Weerasekera.
Facebook shut down till emergency is lifted
The temporary blockade of access to the social media site Facebook could remain in place till the State of Emergency lapses, authoritative sources said yesterday. The Government had initially conveyed to Facebook that the suspension was in place for 72 hours, the sources said. However, it has gone on for longer. Presidential Secretary Austin Fernando, [...]
Sweeping visa policy changes to attract professionals and investors
Sri Lankans who have obtained citizenship in other countries will be able to obtain a lifetime permanent resident visa in Sri Lanka for US$ 1,500, with permission to work. This will be one of the features of a new visa policy effective from next month, Immigration and Emigration Controller General S. Ranasinghe told the Sunday [...]
Indian firm gets another contract without tender
RITES Ltd, an Indian Government-owned engineering consultancy firm, has won without tender a contract to carry out a feasibility study for road improvement projects in Katugastota and Galagedara in the Kandy district. A Cabinet decision published online says it is proposed to expand the road from Katugastota to Galagedara to four lanes; and to build [...]
Three-judge committee to probe Kandy district violence
A three-member committee of retired judges to inquire into the incidents of Digana, Teldeniya and the outlying areas will be appointed after the return of President Maithripala Sirisena, Presidential Secretary Austin Fernando said. He said the retired judges were yet to be selected. Mr Fernando said that during a briefing given to the diplomatic community [...]
Performance on track, but economy still vulnerable to shocks, says IMF
While Sri Lanka’s economic performance is on track, based on the IMF-backed reforms programme, the economy remains vulnerable to adverse shocks given the still sizable public debt and low external buffers, the IMF said in statement on Friday. “Looking ahead, to secure these hard-won gains and support inclusive, sustained growth, the reform momentum needs to [...]
Central Expressway bid winner Taisei official arrested for rigging in Japan
Japanese prosecutors have arrested an official of Taisei Corporation–which is set to win a multibillion rupee contract for the third section of Sri Lanka’s Central Expressway (CEP III)–in an ongoing bid rigging investigation. On Tuesday, Japan’s Infrastructure Minister Keiichi Ishii told a news conference that he would consider excluding Taisei and other companies facing the [...]
Disturbance stirs up strong winds and heavy rains
Sri Lanka is experiencing weather extremes ranging from warm afternoons and isolated heavy rains to misty and cold mornings, along with the lingering drought. In some areas, strong winds of up to 45 kilometres per hour have damaged homes. The Meteorology Department said the prevailing cloudy and rainy weather is temporary and caused by “a [...]
PM visits Kandy, pledges speedy compensation to victims
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday assured victims of this week’s violent incidents in Digana, Teldeniya, Kundasale and surrounding areas that they would be compensated as soon as possible. The Prime Minister made this statement at a meeting he chaired at the Kandy Secretariat to discuss compensation for the victims. Among those who attended the meeting [...]
Senior Additional Solicitor General Murdhu Fernando appointed to Supreme Court
Senior Additional Solicitor General Murdhu Fernando was appointed a Supreme Court Judge by President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday (9). Justice Fernando served in the Attorney General’s (AG) Department for 37 years, and was also the head of the Civil section. She started her practice as an Attorney-at-Law in 1983, under Eardly Perera P.C. Subsequently, she [...]
Minister says Layards Road project was approved on justifiable grounds
A Development Plan drawn by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) is usually meant for ten years and shall not be regarded as ‘static’, Megapolis Minister Champika Ranawaka said this week, in a clarification to last week’s Sunday Times story titled ‘Minister allows 14-storey Blue Ocean project despite legal disputes’. The minister says in his clarification: [...]
Kandy District violence: 211 suspects including main suspect detained
A total of 211 people including the prime suspect involved in the communal disturbances in Kandy District are being held under emergency regulations, Police said. The ten main suspects including Amitha Weerasinghe of the Mahason Balakaya are being held by the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) for questioning. The investigations are aimed at ascertaining whether the [...]
HIV positive SriLankan steward loses Supreme Court battle to retain job
A SriLankan Airlines steward identifying himself as ‘Citizen X’ who kept his HIV status undisclosed lost his bid to retain his employment as a cabin crew member. The Supreme Court this week dismissed a Fundamental Rights petition filed by him on the basis that despite knowing he was an HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) positive person [...]
Cremation of the Sambodhi Viharaya Chief Incumbent
The cremation of the Sambodhi Viharaya Chief Incumbent and founder of ‘The Buddhist’ TV channel, Ven. Daranagama Kusaladhamma Thera took place at the Independence square on Thursday amidst a large gathering. Pic by Sameera Weerasekera
Former CMC chief posted to WPC “without a designation or any duties”
Former Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Commissioner V.K.A. Anura has been posted to the Western Provincial Council (WPC) “without a designation or any duties.” Mr Anura confirmed that he had received a letter from the Western Province Governor’s office informing him to report to the WPC “with immediate effect.” He however, said he has not been [...]
SC dismisses HIV-positive ex-SriLankan staffer’s FR petition for reinstatement
The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed a Fundamental Rights (FR) Petition filed by an individual who alleged he was denied employment as a Cabin Crew member by SriLankan Airlines, based on his Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) status. The Petitioner, identified as ‘Citizen X,’ had kept his HIV status undisclosed to the public. Justice Sisira J. [...]
Buildings can be rebuilt, but not broken hearts
Helpless and hopeless. These are the words used by members of the Muslim community to describe their feelings in the aftermath of this week’s wave of communal violence that swept across several areas in the Kandy District. The swiftness and the ease with which the attacks were carried out have left them in shock and [...]
We don’t want anyone harmed in the name of Kumarasinghe, we only want justice for his death
M.G. Kumarasinghe (41), the lorry driver whose death triggered a spate of attacks on members of the Muslim community in areas around Kandy, was a mild mannered man who divided his time between work, family and religious activities. In the far flung village of Posgohuwa in Meda Mahanuwara, the closely knit extended family of Kumarasinghe [...]
More than 200 Lankan doctors say there’s no ‘wanda pethi’
Debunking the canard about wanda pethi or infertility pills, a powerful group of medical specialists reiterate that no such medicine has been developed in the world so far. “The pharmaceutical industry has been searching for a medicinal drug that can cause temporary infertility so that it can be used as a male contraceptive agent, similar [...]
Manhunt intensifies for Ampara suspects after pill turns to flour
With the Government Analyst debunking a claim that ‘sterilization pills’ had been found in meals served to customers at an Ampara eatery, police have intensified the hunt for those who used the claim as a pretext to launch a mob attack on Muslims in Ampara town. On Monday, Police arrested four persons. They were produced [...]
Recent violence will not adversely affect tourism: Authorities
Certain groups involved in the tourist trade believe the impact of the recent incidents in the Kandy district will have a short-term detrimental effect on the industry. However, many countries have issued travel advisories to their citizens visiting Sri Lanka. Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Kavan Ratnayake earlier expressed concern on [...]
Important gestures by monks bring spirit of healing to Friday prayers
Security throughout the country was stepped up in the wake of the violence around Kandy, but it was assurances from the clergy as well as from the public in most areas that boosted public confidence as Muslims flocked to mosques for Friday worship. More efforts at reconciliation are expected this coming week. In several areas [...]
Officialdom’s dereliction of duty caused avoidable disaster: Report
A number of government authorities and their senior-most officials were aware of the imminent danger posed by the Meethotamulla garbage dump, to area residents, but through their negligence, they failed to take whatever immediate steps necessary to avert the imminent disaster, states the one-man Presidential Committee chaired by Retired Appeal Court Judge Dr Chandradasa Nanayakkara, [...]
Digana: No communal conflict, but organised anti-Muslim violence by outside forces
The Kandy district which was paralysed for the past one week is slowly limping back to normal due to the heightened law-enforcement measures by the authorities. After a declaration of a State of Emergency, daily curfews, closing of schools, restrictions imposed on social media and the meticulous investigation leading to the arrests of over 100 [...]
Veggies trashed and thrown to jumbos
Gunny bags full of vegetables being thrown in corners to rot, wild elephants gorging on discarded vegetables, piles of produce discarded at economic centre garbage dumps – these have been common sights over the past weeks. A glut in vegetable supply raised hopes of a drastic price drop in cities and towns but, unfortunately, both [...]
Paddy farmers battered ‘black and blue’
The Sinhala and Tamil New Year is around the corner. However paddy farmers claim they will face a bleak ‘blue’ New Year, unless the state steps in to ensure the guaranteed price scheme for the purchase of paddy is implemented throughout the country. Farmers in the Matale DS Division of Laggala and Wilgamuwa complain that [...]
Disturbance stirs up strong winds and heavy rains
Sri Lanka is experiencing weather extremes ranging from warm afternoons and isolated heavy rains to misty and cold mornings, along with the lingering drought. In some areas, strong winds of up to 45 kilometres per hour have damaged homes. The Meteorology Department said the prevailing cloudy and rainy weather is temporary and caused by “a [...]
Pick of the Pix
Pix by M.A.Pushpa Kumara, Amila Gamage, Sameera Weerasekera, Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa, Tusitha Kumara De Silva, P.De Silva and Lambert Rosarian.
Troubled villagers question Matale quarry
Residents of Rathwatta, Udathenna in Matale are calling for an inquiry into extraction activity at a rose quartz quarry over concerns of public health and damage to the environment. They claim activity has damaged the Elkaduwa-Matale Road. Chaminda Abeyratne, who lives near the quarry estimated to be more than two acres-wide, suspects that environmental laws [...]
Rogue polythene makers get around CEA blocks
The Central Environment Authority (CEA) says its effort to clamp down on polythene lunch sheet and shopping bags by restricting the major manufacturers has been a failure as small-time industries have stepped into the void, selling the prohibited product freely. A survey carried out by the CEA has revealed that although the registered companies have [...]
Workshop to focus on protecting digital consumer’s rights
Galvanising multiple stakeholders committed to the protection of today’s digital consumer, an ITC-assisted (International Trade Centre) 2-day workshop will kick off on March 15 in Colombo. The event facilitated by the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) is aligned with this year’s theme of World Consumer Rights Day, ‘Making Digital Market Places Fairer’. The ITC is a [...]