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Days after President Maithripala Sirisena stripped Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe of key subjects that had been assigned to his ministries, the two leaders were seen together for the first time at a public ceremony when they came for the Yovunpura youth gathering at Nikaweratiya yesterday. One need not be a body language expert to read [...]
CPC loses Rs. 266 million a week: Fuel pricing formula urgently needed
The Government has no funds to keep propping up the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), though it has chosen to keep selling fuel at current prices even after a petrol and diesel hike by rival Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC), a senior Treasury official said yesterday. The latest fuel crisis is “very difficult to control,” said [...]
Harmful emissions from Lakvijaya coal power plant
A crucial environmental protection device in one of the Lakvijaya coal power plant’s three units is functioning at below required efficiency, resulting in harmful emissions from its smokestack. The electrostatic precipitator (ESP) of unit 1 has been running at below optimum for nearly one month. There are conflicting reports about the level of efficiency, with [...]
Pandals and dansal: Minister says no ban at Vesak, Poson
Buddha Sasana Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera yesterday reiterated a request for the public to avoid exhibiting pandals on Vesak and Poson Poya days as the practice prevented mainly young people from taking part in religious observances during Poya evenings but said he never called for a ban. Minister Perera told the Sunday Times yesterday that [...]
After Lanka’s diplomatic battle, EU relists LTTE as terror outfit
The Council of the European Union has relisted the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a terrorist organisation. The decision came into effect on March 21, 2018, continuing the “specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism”. The LTTE is among 20 organisations named. The relisting is [...]
Aussie women cricketers are men?
Australian cricket already reeling with the ball-tampering-gate in South Africa plunged into a new controversy when the Cricket Australia authorities discovered that there were two males masquerading as women and representing the country in ICC events. The story leaked out when some Cricket Australia high-ups attached to the women’s cricket in Australia noticed the two [...]
Top US University to partner in Sri Lanka
The Government has signed an agreement to set up a Higher Institute of Technology, with the University of California in Berkeley — ranked among the top ten in the world. Dr Nalin Walpita, chairman of the Prime Ministerial Committee on the Centre of Excellence for Higher Education, told a news conference that they had signed [...]
Usually late: 900 SriLankan flights delayed in a month
More than 900 SriLankan Airlines departures were delayed in February, with 280 of them leaving Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and other airports more than one hour late, according to data obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The February on-time performance (OTP) of the airline was even worse than its January record when 840 [...]
CEB union backs LNG for power, but warns of pitfalls in unsolicited contracts
The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) has urged the Government to draw up a strategic plan to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) in meeting the country’s energy demand instead of adopting ad hoc measures from time to time. In a letter to the President, the Prime Minister, Ministers and MPs, the union says that [...]
Ministerial Committee recommends Railways Dept. be a closed service
A Ministerial Committee has recommended that the Railways Department (RD) be allowed to function as a closed service, so that, it can function more independently and address salary issues as well as internal administrative issues. The Committee comprising Secretaries of the Ministry of Public Administration, Transport, Health, Posts & Postal Services, representatives of the Salaries [...]
RTI Com dismisses SriLankan Airlines refusal to divulge info on CEO’s salary
The Right to Information (RTI) Commission has dismissed an objection by SriLankan Airlines that it was exempt from divulging such information as salaries and allowances of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on the grounds that it did not fall within the jurisdiction of the RTI Act. In its decision dated March 23, the Commission says [...]
14-year-old Lankan-born Yevin will carry Queen’s baton at C’wealth Games
A 14-year-old Sri Lankan born boy from Brisbane has been selected to carry the Queen’s Relay baton at next week’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, for which Sri Lanka, seven years ago, made an unsuccessful bid at a huge cost to the country’s coffers. Sri Lankan born Yevin Samararatne is a young golfer who has won [...]
UNFF leader bailed out on gun charge
The United National Freedom Front (UNFF) leader Maithri Gunaratne was arrested by the police in Kadugannawa, after they found two shot guns in his vehicle while he was leading a protest march against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Police said the guns did not have the necessary licence at the time of the detection though Mr [...]
Work with common goals and desist spread of hatred: President’s and PM’s messages to youth at finale of ‘Yovun Puraya’
President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said one of the key features of developed countries is that they had common goals and worked towards achieving them with dedication. Presdient Sirisena speaking at the final day of the ‘Yovun puraya’ organised by the National Youth Service Council at Nikaweratiya attended by some 7,000 youth from all parts of [...]
CoI Act and Bribery Act to be amended
The Commissions of Inquiry (CoI) Act as well as the Bribery Act are being amended to enable material collected by a CoI to be used by the Bribery Commission, to institute criminal proceedings, with the concurrence of the Attorney General (AG). The amendments to the CoI Act will enable the Commission to Investigate Allegations of [...]
No-faith motion accuses PM of violating 7 pieces of legislation
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been accused of violating the provisions of 7 pieces of Legislation, all financial Laws, in the ‘No-Confidence’ Motion (NCM) against him, to be taken up for debate on Wednesday (4). The debate will begin at 10 a.m. and continue till 9.30 p.m., after which it will be put to a [...]
President and Prime Minister reiterate the message of Easter
Wishing Christians a happy Easter, President Maithripala in his message said it is a day to reflect on the pain suffered by Jesus Christ, who sacrificed his precious life for the sake of the people, and on the greatest joy to mankind following the resurrection of Jesus Christ. “The message delivered to the people through [...]
Woman (39), daughter and 2 friends aged 14, drown while bathing in river
Four females, including 3 girls, all aged 14 years, drowned at around 2.30 p.m yesterday, while bathing in the Gin Ganga at Hiniduma, in the Galle district. Police identified the victims as a 39-year-old woman, her daughter and her two friends. Police identified the 4 victims as Shaymalee Anoma (39), her daughter Minurika Shaymalee (14) [...]
Council formations in crisis 2 months after local govt. polls
Nearly two months after the local council polls, confusion reigns over the formation of councils with less than half of 340 being constituted. Here again contrary to democratic principles, losers have also found seats in councils amidst allegations of bribery, corruption intimidation and violence. In several of the councils including the Kandy Municipal Council members [...]
Army finalising early release of lands to the public, says Army Chief in Jaffna
The Army is in the process of finalising the early release of lands to the public, after a careful study of national security concerns has been made, said Army Chief Lt.Gen. Mahesh Senanayake in Jaffna this week. Addressing a ceremony held in Thellipalai to hand over 25 houses built for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), Lt.Gen. [...]
Christobel Weerasinghe passes away at 96
Christobel Weerasinghe, the wife of the late Oliver Weerasinghe, considered Sri Lanka’s Father of Town Planning, passed away on Thursday. She was 96. She is the only daughter of politician and philanthropist, the late Sir Henry Kotelawala, a relative of former Prime Minister, the late Sir John Kotelawala, of Badulla. Mrs. Weerasinghe carved out a [...]
The dirty stinky Dambulla bus halt
The Dambulla bus halt which caters to large numbers of commuters, is also used by many local and foreign tourists. Unfortunately the bus halt and it environs have turned into a place of high risk for commuters using the facility due to it being in a badly neglected state. Open drains, metal exposed from damaged [...]
Back in the wild
Nine orphaned elephant calves that were brought up at the Udawalawa Elephant Transit Home were released into the Maduruoya National Park on Friday (30) by Wildlife Minister Ravindra Samaraweera. The five male and four female elephant calves all have GPS tracking collars fitted to them, which would enable authorities to track where the animals are, [...]
Estate worker alleges manager pushed him into fridge, manager says allegation politically motivated
Police have received a complaint against a senior manager of a leading plantation company that he and other estate managers forcibly locked up an estate worker inside an empty fridge during their weekly get-together in Agarapathana in Nuwara Eliya district. Police said that the complaint was against the manager of “Glasgow Estate” managed by Agarapathana [...]
Lives at risk as kerosene is pumped illegally into private bus tanks
The widespread practice of buses and other commercial vehicles using kerosene mixed with diesel is posing a high risk to passengers in addition to causing heavy losses to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), officials and bus operators warned. In order to increase profits, private bus companies are putting kerosene oil, which is heavily subsidised for [...]
No-faith motion against PM: Litmus test for our legislators’ integrity
The Joint Opposition’s no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is scheduled to be taken up in Parliament on April 4. The resolution is primarily based on the issues revolving around what has come to be popularly known to as the “bond scam” involving the Central Bank’s former Governor Arjuna Mahendran and company. Almost as [...]
Glyphosate back on the table as Govt. bows to pressure
The government of Sri Lanka, one of the first to ban glyphosate, then used indiscriminately as a weedicide in the agriculture sector, is now pondering a lifting of the ban. Bowing to pressure from the tea industry, which has suffered losses worth billions of rupees in foreign exchange, the government has appointed a committee to [...]
Tenants in for shock as strangers occupy the house
A family who had legally rented a house in the Dehiwala area were in for a shock last week when they found that another family claiming ownership to the place had broken into the premises, removed their goods and was forcibly occupying the house. The house, located on Siriwardena Road, was used by the tenant, [...]
Urgent call to stop the clearing of Hantanne land
The Hantanne Nature Conservation Society is demanding that authorities call a halt to the ongoing ‘rape’ of virgin lands in Hantanne which have been declared Biodiversity areas. The society’s president Amith Senanayake said certain individuals backed by a local politician have cleared nearly one hundred acres of forest land. Mr. Senanayake added the clearing of [...]
Army’s Signals Corps: Cyber soldiers’ diamond jubilee events to showcase skills, challenges
The Army’s Signals Corps will hold a cyber security symposium and an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) exhibition on November 28 and 29 at the BMICH to mark 75 years of the unit’s service to the nation. The announcement came at a ceremony on Wednesday to launch the logo and website for the diamond jubilee [...]
President, now a political orphan, wandering in the wilderness
It was President Ranasinghe Premadasa, who, on winning the presidential election in 1988, declared that what he had inherited was a ‘torch lit at both ends’. Premadasa was referring to the twin insurrections then raging in the North and the South of the country, due to actions of the Liberations Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) [...]
Illicit sand mining uncovered in Galewela district
A large scale illegal sand mining racket carried out in the Galewela district has been uncovered. Acting on a tip off last week, the Divisional Secretary M. U. Nishantha, along with a group of journalists and grama niladhari officers, set out to the suspected site, the banks of a canal that runs from Dewahuwa to [...]
Save our treasures: Plea to Archaeology Dept. by chief incumbent of twice robbed temple
Twice robbed of some of its priceless artefacts, the Kotasara Piyangala Rajamaha Viharaya in Bibile, an ancient temple dating back to the Anuradhapura era, has sought assistance from the Archaeology Department to ensure that its remaining artefacts are safeguarded. The chief incumbent of the Viharaya, Ven. Badullagama Gunaratana Thera said that he is eager to [...]
Lasindu stands straight and tall
It could very well have been ‘touch and go’ ending in paralysis. On Thursday, as 16-year-old Lasindu Perera walks along the corridor between his Amma and Thaththa towards us, the wide smiles wreathing their faces tell a different tale. It is only the braces around Lasindu’s chest and stomach that provide tell-tale signs that he [...]