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After ending one of Sri Lanka’s worst ever political crises, President Maithripala Sirisena was the chief guest yesterday at a passing out ceremony at the Military Academy in Diyatalawa. Passing out were 234 cadets, including 41 females and six Maldivians. With the President are Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake and the Diyatalawa Academy Commandant Priyantha Senaratne. [...]
Ranil may form ‘national govt.’
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who will be sworn in today as Prime Minister, is likely to head a “national government” where the Cabinet will comprise those from the United National Front (UNF) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. Initially, 30 ministers are to be sworn in later today or tomorrow (Monday). A motion to increase the number [...]
Vote-on-Account for two months
The United National Front (UNF) Government will present a ‘Vote on Account’, a mini budget, effective for two months before presenting a formal budget for the rest of next year. UNP parliamentarian Eran Wickremaratne said the Vote on Account would make provision for payment of public sector salaries, emergency purchases, including fuel, and repayment of [...]
Rajapaksa quits but vows to put together anti-UNP power bloc
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa bid adieu to his highly contentious stint as “Prime Minister” yesterday vowing to put together a power bloc to take on the UNP. “The change of government the people expected has now had to be put off, but the people will definitely get the change they desire. The coming together of [...]
New Govt. to fire illegally appointed officials
The UNF Government, after re-assuming duties will review dozens of appointments and promotions granted during the seven week period after the removal of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardena said. He said that, in keeping with the court rulings this week, they would take action to remove officials who had been [...]
Prisons chief explains blunder in the death-row prisoner list sent to President
Prisons Department Commissioner General H.M.N.C. Dhanasinghe claimed the department was severely inconvenienced in tracking the records of prisoners on death row for narcotics offences, as the convicts are sent to prisons by Courts sans the relevant documentation. He was responding to an allegation made by President Maithripala Sirisena that some of the names of prisoners [...]
Air Force Christmas Carols
The Air Force held its annual Christmas Carols at the Defence School auditorium in Colombo on Friday. Pic by Priyantha Wickramarachchi
Misfit directors and over-intrusive politics caused SriLankan’s fall: Witness
Over-intrusive politics and a director board with little or no experience in the industry have been the chief reasons for a maimed national carrier since the 1980s, it was alleged. The allegations were made by Rajeewa Jayaweera, a former SriLankan Country Manager in France and Qatar, while testifying before the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into [...]
Bar Council head to write to President urging him to appoint judges to SC and CA
The Bar Council of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has resolved that the President of BASL should urgently write to President Maithripala Sirisena urging him to immediately swear in judges whose names were approved to fill the vacancies at the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. The decision was taken after the [...]
Laws need to be updated to facilitate disposal of narcotics in custody: Official
Large consignments of narcotics have been taken into custody by law enforcement authorities during the last few months. Hundreds of kilos of heroin, cocaine, synthetic drugs such as ‘Ice’ and the prevalent cannabis are held as evidence in courts across the island. However, little is known about what becomes of the stockpile of evidence. In [...]
To cope with higher maritime traffic, Sri Lanka Customs launches Vessel Rummaging Team
The Sri Lanka Customs last week commissioned a newly-trained Vessel Rummaging Team with assistance from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and in partnership with the UK Border Force. The Customs had not fielded a dedicated Vessel Rummaging Team since the early 1990s due to the closure of their Marine Branch (the [...]
Tea estate workers return to work; talks on unresolved wage issue resume today
Negotiations to try and resolve the estate workers’ wage dispute will resume today (16) between regional plantation companies and estate sector trade unions. The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon, which is negotiating on behalf of the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs), has invited the three trade unions who are party to the collective wage agreement, for talks [...]
Killings send shudders thru Kilinochchi
Once a bustling farming village, the northern town of Kilinochchi was the heartland of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the near three-decade long separatist war. It is here that Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his family spent time in secret hideouts, at least one with a swimming pool and other luxuries. It [...]
SC gives leave to proceed, but CA’s interim order remains
A three-member Supreme Court bench has granted special leave to proceed with a petition challenging the Interim Order issued by the Court of Appeal preventing Mahinda Rajapaksa and 48 other respondents from functioning as prime minister, cabinet ministers, ministers of state and deputy ministers. But after lengthy sittings on Friday, the Court refused to grant [...]
Dismayed by president’s actions, petitioner asks CA to inquire into the state of his mind
A woman, on Monday, filed a writ petition in the Court of Appeal seeking an order to institute judicial proceedings to inquire into the state of the mind of President Maithripala Sirisena. The Officer-in-Charge of the Fort Police and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) have been cited as the first and second respondents in [...]
Former CJ’s words have serious effect and impact on the esteem of the SC: Petitioners
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday (13) against former Chief Justice (CJ) Sarath N. Silva alleging that he is in contempt of court. The petition was filed by three senior academics, Senior Prof. Chandraguptha Thenuwara, Emeritus Prof. Hewa Waduge Cyril and Senior Prof. Prishantha Gunawardhana. The petitioners state that, remarks made [...]
Landmark judgment that ended constitutional crisis
With the words, “null, void ab initio and without force or effect in law,’ a seven member bench of the Supreme Court quashed the gazette notification issued by President Maithripala Sirisena on November 9, 2018 dissolving Parliament and thus bringing to an end a month- long landmark hearing before Court. The highly anticipated judgment was [...]
Bloody gang vendetta shows no sign of finale
Last Monday’s shooting in Modera that left six people injured was the latest act in a bloody feud between two rival gangs that goes back four years. According to police the bloodletting began in 2014, when the father of one gang leader and the mother of the other were murdered within hours of each other. [...]
Why Swiss Challenge LNG deal is disaster for Lanka
Oil, gas and electricity experts have torn into a Power and Energy Ministry call to international bidders to match an unsolicited Korean proposal for a 20-year supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG), pipeline and floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in just a matter of weeks. The Swiss Challenge was advertised on November 5, days [...]
Bus fare decision next Friday
A decision will be made on December 21 over a reduction in bus fares, National Transport Commission (NTC) Chairman, M.A.P. Hemachandra, said. “The Commission is currently conducting discussions, following which orders will be carried out by the respective authorities. However, further information cannot be disclosed on the matter,” Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) Chairman Ramal [...]
Police to enforce strict rules during the season to curb road accidents
The increasing number of road accidents countrywide has prompted the police to take strict measures during the upcoming festive season. According to police statistics around eight people die daily from motor accidents. According to the statistics, this year, the number of accidents up to September stands at 2269 with 2368 deaths. Among the measures to [...]
Lessons must be learnt from the October madness
As the country breathes a sigh of relief with the announcement that the Constitutional crisis is likely to end today, it is important that the lessons of the October madness must not be forgotten. At the time of writing it has come to light that Mahinda Rajapaksa is to submit his resignation and Ranil Wickremesinghe [...]
Youth dies at construction site
A youth died after falling from a height of about 15 feet in an accident at a construction site. The victim has been identified as W M Thusitha Kumara, a resident of Kahatagasdeniya, Anuradhapura. Giving evidence before the Coroner’s Court, contractor of the site, Priyantha Perera, said that he hired the youth on December 8 [...]
Taxi meters – the legend and the reality
While meters have been made mandatory for three-wheeled taxis, the authorities have, as yet, failed to enforce the new regulations. As a result, a majority of these taxis continue to operate without a meter, with unscrupulous driver’s ripping-off passengers by arbitrarily deciding on fares. Many of the three-wheeled taxis which do have meters, often pose [...]
Haul of military-grade weapons found at gem merchant’s residence
This week’s discovery of 13 firearms and a haul of ammunition at Beruwala are among a series of discoveries in recent weeks that show a proliferation of illegally acquired sophisticated automatic weapons. Among the weapons in the latest detection were a mini Uzi Sub Machine Gun (SMG), with two magazines and the 9 mm ammunition [...]