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Home » NewsParliament’s darkest hour
In one of Parliaments most riotous days on Friday, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya is seen being given a cordon of protection by Police who interlocked arms to form a protective human barrier. The seemingly unruffled Speaker is seen speaking into a mic with the Serjeant-At-Arms, Narendra Fernando who is seen holding the Mace. Several MPs and [...]
Sirisena to meet Ranil today
By Our Political Editor President Maithripala Sirisena will today meet leaders of political parties represented in Parliament including ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in a bid to resolve the three week long deepening political crisis. This follows a telephone call made by Mr. Wickremesinghe yesterday to President Sirisena. The meeting has been scheduled for 5 [...]
STF guards ministries
The Special Task Force (STF) has been deployed to thirty ministries to enhance security, Police Headquarters said last week. The STF deployment will supplement Police officers already assigned to the ministries. The move comes in the wake of information that some MPs who held ministerial portfolios were making attempts to return and resume duties. “They [...]
UNF asks Rajapaksa to move Resolution; take a vote
The United National Front (UNF) is to ask Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to prove his majority in Parliament when the House meets tomorrow afternoon. UNF leaders are expected to ask President Maithripala Sirisena who appointed Mr. Rajapaksa as Prime Minister, to ask him to move a Resolution in the House, setting aside the proceedings that [...]
All party committee to probe knife incident
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya will appoint a committee of MPs drawn from all sides to inquire into the incident in Parliament where MP Palitha Thevarapperuma was seen with what appeared to be a sharp instrument in his hand during the fracas in the House on Thursday. Parliament officials said the Speaker had called for all the [...]
Treasury buys time by shuffling funds around
The Treasury will shuffle around funds of Ministries to complete some of the existing projects and to allocate funds required to buy medicines until the end of the year, a senior Finance Ministry official said. Finance Ministry Secretary S.R. Attygalle told the Sunday Times that funds from Ministries which do not have urgent projects would [...]
Three in the dock for Rs 4.7m cheque fraud
Police have uncovered a Rs 4.7 million cheque fraud by a financial institution employee and two accomplices. The employee had stolen a blank cheque and forged the signatures of the company heads and cashed it, the director of the Colombo Fraud Bureau, SP Rohan Premaratne told the Sunday Times. The theft had taken place on [...]
So much at stake, US warns Sri Lanka
There may be consequences for current and future defence and security projects between Sri Lanka and the United States if the Sri Lankan government does not uphold the law and democratic principles, the US Embassy said. In August, the US State Department announced it would provide $39 million – pending Congressional approval – to the [...]
Veteran journalist Sarath Malalasekara passes away
Veteran journalist Sarath Malalasekara passed away yesterday at the age of 84. Mr Malalasekara had a distinguished career at Lake House, where he served for more than 60 years. His forte was the police and court rounds for the Daily News and Sunday Observer. Most of his court reports were translated into Sinhala and published [...]
Two funeral parlour staff enlarged on bail for alleged theft
Two employees of a funeral parlour were released on Rs 500,000 personal bail by Mahara Chief Magistrate Heshan De Mel this week, after they were produced in court in connection with the theft of goods from the parlour, including two artificial tusks and vases. The two men who had allegedly stolen goods from their workplace [...]
Constitutional crisis: Sanity must prevail
As events unfolded in Parliament last week the political crisis that resulted from the fateful gazette issued by President Maitripala Sirisena on October 26, reached a climax, with Parliament being continuously disrupted and the Legislature unable to carry on with its business, as usual. The incidents that took place in the August Assembly during Wednesday, [...]
SL Army on ‘war footing’ for Cyber Security
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has begun training communications specialists to counter emerging Cyber Security (CS) threats, Army Commander Lt.Gen. Mahesh Senanayake said this week. “With the rapid growth of technology and connectivity, CS is fast becoming a domain of war, espionage and criminal activity which constitute national security threats to nations, irrespective of their [...]
Historic ‘stay’ order on dissolution of Parliament
For the first time a court order was issued to suspend a Dissolution of Parliament, when the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued its order ‘Staying’ the Gazette notification issued by President Maithripala Sirisena to Dissolve Parliament and hold fresh elections on January 5, 2019. Political parties, organisations representing civil society and individuals filed 17 Applications, [...]
Serjeant-at-Arms, Parliament police save the day for Parliamentary democracy
Friday could be considered the worst of days for Sri Lanka’s Parliament, but it was also a day when the mettle of Parliamentary officials were tested to the limit, as much as that of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, in their efforts to ensure that Parliament sittings were conducted amidst all adversity . For Parliament’s Serjeant-at-Arms, Narendra [...]
State of confusion
Three weeks of political turmoil have had a crushing effect on the functioning of the entire state apparatus, with tourism, the economy and many other vital sectors also being hit. Since President Maithripala Sirisena abruptly sacked one government and installed another on October 26 the functions of many state agencies have been severely affected, with [...]
The unsung people’s resistance movement at Temple Trees
Since October 26, Temple Trees has been a camping ground for United National Party (UNP) supporters who see themselves as defenders of its beleaguered resident, Ranil Wickremesighe. “Why am I here?” said 62-year-old Manel Jayasuriya from Maharagama. “To protect the Prime Minister.” “To lessen my pain,” interjected 68-year-old Chandrasena Waduge, also from the same area. [...]
Dramatic struggle through mist and dark to bring back tourist’s body
Soldiers spent a night in treacherous terrain huddled around the body of German tourist Julia Helga, who fell to her death from World’s End trying to take a selfie, after thick mist prevented them from reaching safety. It took the army almost two days to recover 35-year-old Ms Helga’s body and take it to the [...]
Angry Sirisena breaks foundations of the pillars of democracy
In an extract that is circulating in social media, Chathurika Sirisena, daughter of President Maithripala Sirisena describes her father in her book Janaadhipathi Thaaththa (‘Presidential Father’) as a very innocent man who however doesn’t know what he is doing when he is angry. The younger Sirisena recalls an incident in Maithripala Sirisena’s childhood where he [...]
Precise and speedy treatment for malignant tumours
The room plunges into darkness as the light switch is hit – but all those around the sophisticated machine, having accessed the area after walking literally through an airy maze, suddenly see green beams crisscrossing here and there. They are laser beams that will be used to position the patient before the TrueBeam Radiotherapy System, [...]
Central Bank raised loans, issued Treasury Bonds ignoring regulations
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CB) failed to comply with mandatory regulations and issue prior gazette notifications before raising loans, including the issuance of Treasury Bonds since 1997, due to practical difficulties, till the regulations were amended in 2016, CB Governor (Gov.) Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy told the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) Investigating Alleged Irregularities [...]
Pick of the Pix
Pix by M.A.Pushpa kumara, Amila Gamage, Shelton Hettiarachchi, Jayarathna Wickramarachchi, Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe, Tusitha De Silva
Austrian-funded bridge being readied for traffic
The yet-to-be named new Maha Oya bridge, built with a Rs 651.9 million grant from the Austrian government across the Maha Oya at Kochchikade, is nearing its completion and is to be handed over in February. The existing bridge (Bridge No.38/3) constructed in 1936 was known as the ‘Suruwama langa maha palama’. Almost every traveller [...]
Father of 3 dies after workplace gate falls on him
A 49-year-old man succumbed to injuries to his head and spinal chord, on Tuesday (13), after an iron gate at his workplace fell on him. Alagumalai Vijekumar, a resident of Peliyagoda, was employed, along with his wife, at a private company in Peliyagoda. As part of his daily work, he had been separating vegetables near [...]
Rider suffers fatal injuries after mobike falls on him
A 40-year-old father of two succumbed to a head injury on Tuesday (13), when his motorbike fell on him after he fell off while riding. Jayasekara Siriwardenage Yasantha, resident of Paragasthota, had gone to witness the Perahera organised by the village temple, when the accident occurred. According to eyewitnesses, no vehicle had knocked him down. [...]
Water level at Moragahakanda hydro-power resevoir at 84%
The Morakanda reservoir of the upper Elahera project will feed 1200 tanks and the Wayabha canal will feed 303 village tanks and 31 tanks in the Matale – Laggala area alone, in addition to nearly 13 small tanks along the way. P.G. Dayananda, project PRO, during a media briefing on the progress of work on [...]
Waiving the rules
Road rules are formulated to ensure the smooth flow of traffic and to ensure the protection of pedestrians. But drivers and riders are often seen brazenly flouting traffic rules especially during the rush hour with no consideration for safety of pedestrians. This appears to be the new normal. It is common to see motorcyclists habitually [...]
Relief in battered north as cyclone moves away
The Meteorological Department said the damaging winds and rain along the northern coast have been decreasing from Friday as the cyclonic storm Gaja weakened into a deep depression and moved westwards away from Sri Lanka. The severe weather destroyed 52 houses in the Jaffna district and left 700 other homes partially damaged, the Jaffna District [...]