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Amidst the continuing political crisis and the proposed no-confidence motion against him, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday celebrated his 69th birthday, with cheers, wishes and religious ceremonies in various parts of the country. Our picture shows some of the wellwishers who came to Temple Trees to wish him all the best. Pic by Amila Gamage [...]
LIOC raises fuel prices, but CPC defers decision
Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC) increased petrol and diesel prices yesterday, citing heavy losses, but the State-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation pledged to maintain prevailing rates despite dire warnings by economists that the continued fuel subsidy was plunging the country into a crisis. The CPC was also incurring massive losses owing to subsidised fuel sales, Chairman [...]
CID finds children promoting ethnic and religious hatred
Using mobile phones of their parents, some school children have been involved in spreading hate speech against ethnic groups and religions, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has found. A senior CID officer said detectives had found that a number of school children had formed social media groups and were spreading hatred or promoting violence against [...]
Governors to switch provinces; North to get its first Tamil governor
The Government has decided to effect a mid-term voluntary transfer scheme of all serving governors in keeping up with the Government’s policy of ensuring an effective public administration system, an officials said. All serving governors who have completed three years of service in their respective provinces were called for a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat [...]
Cabinet divided over Glyphosate ban
The Cabinet is to decide whether the ban on the controversial Glyphosate weedicide should remain, amidst lobbying by ministers for and against the ban. The move comes after a committee of experts recommended to the Dovernment that Glyphosate was not directly linked to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKDU) epidemic, a cabinet minister said. Agriculture Minister Duminda [...]
CBK demands suspension of multimillion dollar Chinese water project
A multimillion dollar Chinese-funded water supply project has run into controversy with former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga openly demanding its suspension and an inquiry on the grounds that it is overpriced. In August 2016, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) awarded a contract to China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) for the Gampaha, Attanagalla [...]
Preference to vanquished over victors, post LG polls
Politicians of several parties, named on the Preferential List, have expressed their displeasure at their party leaders’ decisions to nominate members defeated at the local council elections. Several of them have openly condemned the manner in which nominees were selected, saying there were no criteria on how the defeated members were selected. In Kandy, a [...]
Man (56) dies from 30-ft fall from roof
A 56-year-old man who fell off a roof of a bookshop at D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha, succumbed to his injuries early this week. The deceased, Wijekoon Mudiyansege Piyasena, from Bandarawela, had come to Colombo on March 3, to repair the roof of his brother’s bookshop, before it was to be leased out. While the victim was [...]
IP dies following attack by armed gang
An Inspector of Police (IP) who was attacked by an armed gang while trying to prevent a robbery in Eravur, succumbed to his injuries in hospital yesterday, police said. The victim, IP H.M.C. Herath (51), attached to the Chavakachcheri police and a resident of Kurunegala, was in Batticaloa for religious observances at a local temple. [...]
Monitoring social media necessary to check hate speech: PM
Some form of patrolling of social media is necessary to prevent the spread of hate speech in the country, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe insisted yesterday. Speaking at the ceremony to induct U.R. de Silva, P.C. as the 24th president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), Premier Wickremesinghe said this was necessary following the [...]
Floating storage regasification unit: Expert says Sri Lanka must call for open tender
Sri Lanka must call for an open, transparent tender for its first floating storage regasification unit (FSRU), a global oil and gas industry expert said, warning that plans to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a single source could saddle the country with long-term overpriced contracts leading to high, not cheaper, electricity prices. The Government [...]
Govt Analyst report on 2 deaths by suspected poisoning
A Government Analyst report has been called on the deaths of two persons at a spice packetting plant in Dambulla. The deceased are suspected of having died after inhaling a poisonous gas at their workplace on Thursday (22) night, when they collapsed unconscious while working on the night shift. Police said the two employees are [...]
White rice turns to red
A trader who used dye to change the colour of Kekulu and Samba was fined Rs 15,000 by Kalutara Additional Magistrate Chandima Edirimanna recently. An order was issued to destroy 7,800 kilos of Kekulu and Samba rice which they were trying to sell as Red Kekulu and Red Samba. Public Health Inspectors who carried out [...]
‘Work to Rule’ in two weeks if Govt. apathy persists: CEBEU
The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) warns that power failures and unscheduled power-cuts can be expected, if it goes ahead with its planned ‘Work to Rule’ campaign in two weeks time. The ‘Work to Rule’ campaign comes after the CEBEU’s executive committee decided on Friday (23) to intensify its trade union (TU) action over [...]
Consumer Affairs Authority needs to go digital: Official
The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) Act of 2003 needs to undergo significant reforms to meet contemporary digital consumer needs, said an official of the Legal Draftsman’s Department. Ms Yamuna Ranawana of the Department said the CAA Act was enacted at a time of the traditional consumer and much has changed since then, with regard to [...]
How public spirited residents stopped the rape of Muthurajawela Sanctuary
The Presidential Investigation Unit (PIU) has launched an inquiry into alleged collusion among government officials regarding the Muthurajawela Sanctuary landfill, which, environmentalists say, has caused irreparable damage to one of the country’s most unique eco systems. The PIU’s Investigations Director Ruban Wickremaarachchi said President Maithripala Sirisena had called for a full report on the alleged [...]
Families pray for closure, Missing Person’s Office promises trust
The daily routine of Mutthan Theiventhiran, 72, involves first praying at the Kilinochchi Kandaswamy Kovil in the morning where he seeks divine help for the return of his missing son and then joining fellow protesters at a temporary shed near the kovil. This has been his routine for at least a year. Theiventhiran’s forehead bears [...]
Lanka has no gun lobby, but small arms freely available and used
As in the United States, Sri Lanka may not have Second Amendment or a powerful National Rifle Association, which has most politicians under its barrel, but small arms are freely available with unauthorised people and is the reason for the spree of Chicago style incidents in recent months. Police said there had been 12 shooting [...]
Police ask why BMW in canal crash had garage plates
The luxury BMW vehicle’s owner cum driver who was arrested 48 hours after he hit two vehicles and landed in a canal in Thalawathugoda last week is facing four charges including driving with a garage number despite having registered the vehicle. Businessman Mohamed Hussain, 47, was produced before the Kaduwela Additional Magistrate Prasanna Alwis and [...]
Rosy to prioritise development of Colombo’s underserved areas
With one third of the city’s population still living in underserved settlements, the new administration of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) will focus on improving the living conditions of people in such communities, Colombo’s new Mayor Rosy Senanayake stated. In an interview with the Sunday Times on Thursday (22); the day she assumed duties as [...]
Hell hath no equal to a private-bus ride
Reckless driving, callous disregard for road rules, failing to follow directives of the National or Provincial Transport authorities and lack of courtesy towards passengers are common complaints against private bus drivers. Most drivers engage in competing against other drivers, while others detour from the authorised routes, to gain more passengers or, to be the first [...]
Universities grind to a halt as strike goes into 2nd month
Empty campus classrooms, campus offices closed, exams postponed, university heads concerned over the daily maintenance of laboratories and farms, electricity and water facilities disrupted – the signs of a crippled university system are everywhere with the strike by non-academic staff reaching a 30-day milestone. Several rounds of negotiations have failed and more than 15,600 non-academic [...]
Unsorted garbage a headache for CMC despite mega cleanup
Garbage collection in Colombo city has resumed with Mayor Rosy Senanayake assuming duties but there is still no solution to the problem of residents failing to segregate their garbage. The huge garbage dumps at roadsides were cleared in what authorities called “a massive operation” by Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) trucks and tractors after weeks of [...]
Pick of the Pix
Pics by Indika Handuwala, Amila Gamage, M.A.Pushpakumara, Sameera Weerasekera, Shelton Hettiarachchi, Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa.
It’s time to save our artefacts
Today many antiques and precious collector’s items which should be preserved for posterity in museums are often found in private homes - most in a bad state of neglect as the owners do not recognize the value of the artefacts in their possession. In this situation Ven Walatara Sobhitha, Chief Incumbent of the Paramachithrananda Viharaya in Galle [...]
Open access to Yala shrine via Kataragama-Buttala Road: Jeep owners
Safari jeep drivers transporting pilgrims to Kabiliththa/Siyambalawe Devalya are calling on authorities to permit them to use the route via Galge off the Buttala-Kataragama Road to transport pilgrims to the Kabaliththa Devalaya where it is believed God Kataragama had taken abode. Recently there has been an increase in the number of pilgrims visiting the Kabiliththa [...]
Second stage of expressway plastic recycling programme launched
A project to collect and recycle PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles carried by commuters on the Southern Expressway was launched at the expressway’s Welipenna pit stop on the 22nd March. The project, a collaborator venture between the Expressway Operation, Maintenance & Management Division of the Road Development Authority and two private companies aims to handle the [...]