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Home » NewsRapid Response Unit after drug criminals
Amid grave concern over narcotics smuggling and drug-related crimes, the Police have set up a ‘Special Road Blocks and Rapid Response Unit’. Special unit members are seen in action on a Colombo main road. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Tea-oil deal with Iran to overcome sanctions issues
The Sri Lanka Tea Board has proposed that the payments due from Iran for tea purchases from Sri Lanka be offset against the US$ 250 million that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) owes to Tehran for oil. The proposal was made to the Central Bank in the wake of fresh regulations Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry [...]
Legal action against nearly 500 dons who broke the bonds
Legal action is to be filed against nearly 500 university lecturers who went overseas for higher education and have not returned to their universities, in keeping with the bonds they have signed, Higher Education Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe warned yesterday. He told the Sunday Times that those who had violated their contracts had been informed of [...]
More bonus seats; 50:50 ratio for provincial councils
The Delimitation Commission has proposed to increase from two to five the number of bonus seats for provincial councils to ensure more stability in the PCs. Delimitation Commission Chairman K. Thavalingam on Friday briefed political party representatives on the proposal. The meeting was presided over by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. The Commission is recommending that distribution [...]
Worms in imported canned fish: 190 containers detained
Health inspectors have intensified checks on canned fish in Sri Lanka following reports that some imported consignments contained worms, Health Services Director General Dr Anil Jasinghe said yesterday. According to the Customs Department more than 190 containers of canned fish have already been held back after the Health Ministry and the Sri Lanka Standards Institute [...]
Welikada mobile phone jammers disrupt Government Press and others also
The installation of jammers at the Welikada Prison to prevent prisoners from using mobile phones has affected the operations of the adjoining Government Printer, other institutions and residents, prompting them to take counter measures. Government Printer Ganga Liyange told the Sunday Times their mobile phone services had been disrupted as jammers had been set up [...]
SriLankan’s million plus salary details out following pilots’ RTI petition
A year-long effort by the Airline Pilots Guild of Sri Lanka (APGSL) to secure details of salaries, allowances and other benefits of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Head of Human Resources and the Chief Commercial Officer of SriLankan has borne fruit, with the details being released to the Right to Information Commission (RTIC) this [...]
Criminals or victims? How men entangle women in drug trade
Women engaged in the drug trade are mostly traffickers rather than users and are pushed into that dark world by their husbands or partners, according to drug control officials who say the need for rehabilitation resources is urgent, with lonely women who come to Colombo looking for work the most at risk. Their perilous situation [...]
State-run Milco in a muddle owing millions to farmers
A leading state-owned dairy producer, Milk Industries of Lanka Company, or Milco has for years not been able to manage its liquidity risk — not having cash to meet its financial commitments — and once again, it owes million of rupees to its supplier famers. Milco, however says it is awaiting billions of rupees in [...]
Maharagama MC opposition members blow hot air
The issue of hazardous fumes issuing from low level chimneys of crematoriums within the Maharagama Municipal council limits was raised at this week’s council meeting. Opposition members said people in the vicinity of the crematoriums were affected by the fumes reaching their houses. The chimneys in these crematoriums were only 30 feet high while the [...]
Manzil CMC Opposition leader
H.M.Manzil has been appointed as the CMC Opposition leader after a letter signed by a majority of the Council was submitted. He received a total of 27 votes, while the rest of the 119 members abstained or were not present. A senior SLFP member and chief organiser for Colombo West, Mr Manzil will assume duties [...]
1990 emergency ambulance service now in Jaffna
The 1990 Suwaseriya Emergency Ambulance Service was yesterday launched in Jaffna under the patronage of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi too joined the occasion via a video conferencefrom New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, Premier Wickrememsinghe thanked the government of India for the generous assistance, and noted that this was an [...]
13 companies vie for new 4-tower court complex in Hulftsdorp
Seven Chinese companies are among 13 construction companies that have bid to build a new courts complex in Hulftsdorp, Colombo. Estimated to cost Rs. 16 billion, the complex is to be designed and built by the developer who will then lease it to the government for 15 years to recover the cost of construction before [...]
Micro Finance Cos. lend money sans Central Bank authority
Many Micro Finance Companies (MFCs) operating in Sri Lanka, only use a Business Registration Licence to provide loans to low income people, including farmers, without Central Bank (CB) authority to do so. Hence, when a problem arises between the lender and the borrower, the CB cannot intervene, said senior officials at the CB’s Non-Banking Section. [...]
Demining op: Former foes now working hand in hand
While tens of thousands of landmines, booby traps and unexploded ordnance have already been cleared from former conflict zones, much work still needs to be done to complete demining activities in Muhamalai, Jaffna. The area, which served as the Forward Defence Line (FDL) separating the Army from the LTTE, saw some of the worst fighting [...]
Now driving licence test at the touch of a screen
The Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) head office at Werahera will from next week, provide ‘Touch Screens’ (TS) to applicants sitting for the written exam to obtain their Driving Licences (DL). The DMT has set aside 143 TSs for this purpose, in what will be the first step towards expanding the new examination method throughout [...]
Residents demand inquiry against developer constructing on fraudulent letter
A group of residents in Welikada, Rajagiriya, are calling for an inquiry, after a Right to Information (RTI) request revealed that, a letter issued by an official at the Sri Jayewardenepura-Kotte Municipal Council (S’P-KMC), related to a condominium project, is fraudulent. They claim that approval was granted for a local condominium project based on the [...]
Detractors have their say, Govt. has its way
A debate on the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was held in Parliament on Tuesday, where several members expressed their views. Following are excerpts of the speeches. UPFA MP (Joint Opposition Group leader) Dinesh Gunawardena: The FTA has been signed but, neither the country nor Parliament has been kept informed. If the Government of [...]
To Vietnam with love
A Buddhist delegation from Vietnam this week visited the Sri Maha Bodhi to receive a sapling from the sacred Bo tree on an initiative of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. Deputy of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Most Ven. Thich Thanh Nhieu, of the Quang Su Pagoda, received the sacred sapling. Most Ven. Thich [...]
Further amendments to ‘Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters’ Bill
An amendment to the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (MAICM) Act of 2002, which the Government presented to Parliament recently, will be further amended in keeping with the determination of the Supreme Court (SC), which found several of its Clauses inconsistent with the Constitution. One of the features of the Bill that will be amended [...]
Resurgent dollar, perilous public finances, put businesses in a bind
The US dollar vaulted to its highest level in a year this week, putting further strain on emerging markets currencies including the local rupee that had been under heavy pressure, aided in no small measure by Sri Lanka’s perilous public finances amid profligate spending on luxuries for politicians and yet more vanity projects. For the [...]
HRC Chair hits out at dangerous moves to undermine independent body
The Human Rights Commission’s (HRC) Chair Deepika Udagama this week denounced what she said were sinister efforts to interfere with the work of her institution and to bully it into adopting specific positions. In recent weeks, the HRC–and, in particular, its Chair–was targeted by nationalist politicians. The attacks were so inflammatory that the Prime Minister’s [...]
President’s ‘death to drug offenders’ bid hangs in the air
Confusion regarding President Maithripala Sirisena’s claim that he would re-implement the death penalty on convicted drug traffickers deepened this week with the government yet to clarify if and when the death penalty will be implemented. Confusion reigned as civil society organisations and foreign governments continued to ramp up pressure on the government to halt any [...]
Traffic speed down to a crawl not just in the city
The thousands of vehicles jamming city roads have reduced metropolitan speeds to an agonisingly slow 10kmph on average despite all the spending on new highways, a transport expert said. Outside cities the picture is almost as bad: the average speed on Western Province roads in general is 15kmph, with traffic congestion at record levels – [...]
President to inaugurate filling of Kalu Ganga reservoir tomorrow
President Maithripala Sirisena will tomorrow inaugurate the filling of Kalu Ganga reservoir tomorrow. This reservoir was built parallel to the Moragahakanda reservoir under the Moragahakanda-Kalu Ganga Multi-Purpose Development Project. The canal taking water from the Kalu Ganga reservoir to Moragahakanda reservoir will also be inaugurated. A granite Buddha statue built opposite the Moragahakanda reservoir will [...]
Who needs glyphosate when friendly weeds can fight for you?
The government last week lifted the ban on glyphosate, in deference to complaints that the tea and rubber industries find it difficult to control weeds without the popular weedkiller – but a project successfully proves that weeds among tea bushes can be controlled without chemicals. “You do not need agro-chemicals to control weeds in tea [...]
With security forces at the helm SL finally on a holistic approach to tackle drowning
Sri Lanka is to finally introduce a national policy for drowning prevention, the second most common cause of accidental death after traffic incidents. The effort is being led by the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) on the instructions of President Maithripala Sirisena. It has been tasked with coordinating all institutions involved in [...]
Child guardian playing politics, 40,000 innocents await justice
Two people were convicted this week of cruelty to a child and molesting a child. A three year jail term was imposed on a former school principal in Kurunegala for thoroughly beating a student, while a school van driver was sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the Colombo High Court for molesting a preschool child. [...]
TNA’s commitment to unitary state –biggest achievement of Constitutional reforms
A worrying and critical feature of Sri Lanka’s current political discourse is the absence of policy-based national dialogues in respect of the issues facing the country. A democracy functions best when there are contending points of view in respect of matters of Governance, which can inform any decision the country takes. Instead, what we witness [...]
A disheartening end of the road
With Sri Lanka’s elderly population on the increase, the related social issues have also been on the rise. Often cases have been reported where elderly persons or parents have been dropped off by children or others on the roadside, or persons admitted to hospitals have not been picked up though they are ready to return [...]
Pick of the Pix
Pix by Nissanka Meegoda, Indika Handuwala, M.A.Pushpakumara, Shelton Hettiarachchi, Sunil Thathiriarachchi, Jayarathna Wickramarachchi.