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The Kaffir community, descendants from East Africa, tripped the light fantastic at a Christmas carol service held on Friday night at the grounds of St. Mary’s Church in Puttalam. The service organised by the Army to mark the festive season attracted a large crowd and was attended among others by Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake and [...]
Ruggerite killed in elevator tragedy
A top rugby player, Kokila Sammandaperuma, was killed early yesterday when the elevator he was in elevator he was in spiraled down its shaft yesterday. The 25-year-old victim was a member of the Ceylonese Rugby Football Cub (CR&FC) and also former Captain of the Wesley College team. The tragedy occurred around 1.45 a.m. at a [...]
EAP companies sale to be finalised by January 4
The US$ 75mn sale of EAP Group companies to a consortium of foreign investors-led by the Singapore-registered Blue Summit Capital Management Ltd is expected to be tied up by January 4, authoritative sources said. Another tranche of US$ 10mn from the total sum will show up in the books by tomorrow, they said, adding that [...]
Avoid injuries this season: Words of advice from Health Ministry
The primary cause of hospitalisation in Sri Lanka is injury, the Health Ministry said this week, urging people to celebrate the New Year with adequate precautions while always keeping an eye on children. Annually, a staggering one million people are admitted to hospital with injuries. A further two to three million are treated in out-patient [...]
CEB charging points for electric vehicles in Kandy
The Ceylon Electricity Board has installed two charging units for electric vehicles in Kandy. The charging rates are nominal, said R S Ranatunga, CEB Deputy General Manager. He said the CEB found that Kandy had a large number of electric vehicles, prompting them to inaugurate the charging centres. Three more stations are to be set [...]
More suspects to be arrested for damaging Buddha statues
Two more suspects allegedly involved in damaging Buddha statues in the Mawanella area are being trailed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Seven suspects already arrested in connection with the emotive incident were remanded by the Mawanella Magistrate till January 2. CID Director SSP Shani Abeysekara visited Mawanella this week along with a team of [...]
New office bearers of Photojournalists Association
The annual general meeting of the Photojournalists Association of Sri Lanka was held at the Public Library recently. Photojournalists representing print media attended the AGM where the office bearers for 2018/19 were elected. Daminda Harsha Perera of the Daily FT was elected as president while Kushan Pathiraja of the Daily Mirror was elected as secretary. [...]
GCE A/L results out
The Examinations Department last night released the 2018 Advanced Level Examination results. Examination Commissioner Sanath Pujitha told the Sunday Times that the results can be viewed on the department’s website www.doenets.lk. A total of 321,459 candidates sat this year’s examination.
Elpitiya case a barrier for registration of new political parties: EC
The Election Commission will not register any new political parties until the conclusion of the Elpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha elections, for which no date has been set due to a fundamental rights case, officials said. Democratic United National Front (DUNF) Secretary Ariyawansa Dissanayake filed a fundamental rights petition in the Supreme Court in January 2017, challenging [...]
Akila, JSS in Buhari Hotel clash over cooking-the-accounts charge
The United National Party (UNP) trade union Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya (JSS) is on a collision course with its president Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, after he raised queries about the manner in which the union runs Hotel de Buhari in Maradana and proposed that it be handed over to a new management. Hotel de Buhari, a decades-old [...]
Private buses claim ignorance of fare cut order
Although the government announced a reduction in bus and three-wheeler fares last week commuters say private buses have not passed on the benefits of the fuel price cut by cutting their fares. Last week, the government reduced fares on state-run buses by 4 per cent following the reduction in fuel prices announced on December 21. [...]
New machines to monitor foul air quality
Long-overdue equipment to measure air quality will shortly be operating in two pollution hotspots, greater Colombo and Kandy, replacing old machines that should have been taken out of operation eight years ago. Air pollution has been increasing at an alarming rate in both cities, with irremediable lung diseases being reported among children in Kandy. The [...]
New Year is a time to learn from past mistakes and move towards progress: President
President Maithripala Sirisena in his New Year message says the dawn of the New Year is an occasion to recollect our achievements and failures as well as gains and losses in the year that ended. He says: “Through retrospection of the past, a person could make the future path of life fruitful and free of [...]
In New Year message, PM recalls victory for democracy
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in his New Year message says: “As the refreshing 2019 dawns with new hopes and goals, it is my utmost pleasure to wish all Sri Lankans a prosperous year ahead. “It was a real victory for all of us to ensure sovereignty of the people’s rule in the country to begin [...]
Did negligence drown Kilinochchi in floody misery?
A three-member fact-finding committee is investigating whether negligent provincial irrigation officials contributed towards the destructive floods that caused havoc in the Kilinochchi District last week. Set up by Northern Province Governor Reginald Cooray, the committee is tasked with probing claims that the water level of the Iranamadu tank was allowed to reach 39.5 feet (3.5 [...]
Once they were displaced by war; now by floods
The floods that affected the Kilinochchi District this week was a double whammy to families once uprooted by war. Kandasamy Vallupullai, who is in her sixties, said she was displaced by floods three times in her lifetime. The first was in the 1950s, then in the 80s. The waters that swirled through the district this [...]
First a clean-up and then to school
As the New Year dawns and children go back to school next week, an early warning to look out for dengue breeding spots and clear them out goes from the Head of the National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) and Consultant Epidemiologist Dr. Hasitha Tissera. “We are working in close collaboration with the Education Ministry and [...]
Downcast Xmas traders pin sales hopes on school
Christmas goods traders have turned quickly to selling items for the new school term wherever possible, hoping to recover from poor sales during the festive season. They are relieved at a lift in sales of festive goods in the days before Christmas but say the seven-week political crisis hit them hard. Roshan Samsudeen, who had [...]
2018: Politics steals the show for all the wrong reasons
An unprecedented constitutional crisis plunged the country into political and economic turmoil for almost two months this year, with the matter eventually being settled by the country’s highest court. The crisis began on the evening of Friday, October 26 and took much of the country entirely unawares with President Maithripala Sirisena sacking incumbent Prime Minister [...]
With constitutional crises and high profile cases, 2018 makes history
The year that ends at midnight tomorrow will go into history as the year that saw many high profile cases, with even the actions of the country’s executive president being challenged. In what was described as a historic landmark case, 18 petitions were filed in the Supreme Court requesting that the gazette issued by President [...]
Projects that reached fruition this year
Several major development projects were completed and declared open this year while some government initiated programmes saw further expansion. The most significant development project was the opening of the sluice gates of the Moragahakanda Reservoir on November 30 by President Maithripala Sirisena. Launched in 2016, the project is the largest multipurpose development project in the [...]
Underworld executions and police killings mar year
A shootout between police and robbers, a string of murders caused by gang rivalry, the recent killing of two policemen at a checkpoint and numerous armed robberies were among major crime incidents reported this year. A policeman was killed during a shootout in Matara on June 22 in which three other police officers were injured. [...]
Eight deaths, 100 accidents a day: Questions over road safety measures
On an average eight people died in one hundred accidents every day on Sri Lanka’s roads this year also just as last year, showing no improvement with regard to road safety measures. Police statistics shows 2,835 people died in 2,710 fatal accidents reported from January 1 to November 30. The accidents left 7,686 persons with [...]
Bloody and tragic year for elephants
In the ongoing human-elephant conflict, 2018 is a bloody and tragic year for elephants, with more than 270 being killed; 15 of them dying after being hit by trains. According to Wildlife officials, this year’s elephant death toll of 271 upto November was 15 more than the figure for the whole of 2017. They said [...]
Are some of the road and rail accidents due to diabetic retinopathy?
Every single day, Sri Lankans hear news of horrific accidents, involving different types of vehicles, leading to death and injury. Have we checked whether they have eye problems in addition to the usual reasons of drinking and driving, speeding or falling asleep at the wheel? This is the pertinent question being asked by Consultant Physician [...]
Children harmed as schools manipulate exam results
Education officials resorting to questionable behaviour to boost their schools’ results in national examinations are jeopardising children’s right to education. Two weeks ago, parents of 20 children from Haputale went before the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) with complaints of discrimination. Some complained school authorities did not allow their children to sit the [...]
Sri Lankans united in adversity but divided thereafter
Sri Lanka is beset with a multitude of problems ranging from debt servicing to inadequate economic growth. The debilitating armed conflict drained not only the country’s economic resources but even its spiritual capital. Yet, despite such challenges facing the country, there are forces at work which have no reservations about creating conflict which can cause [...]
Trashed tsunami warnings endanger lives
Signboards telling people what to do if another tsunami washes over Sri Lanka have been trashed and defaced with reckless disregard for saving lives even as fears of new tsunamis were felt this month around Asia. Sri Lanka marked the 14th anniversary of the December 26 tsunami, with religious ceremonies and almsgivings to remember the [...]
Mean tricks to fool property buyers
Victims of land fraud, fooled by forged documents, continue to pile up despite increased awareness of such crimes, the Colombo Fraud Bureau (CFB) says. Most frauds are set in train when owners in a hurry to sell their property leave copies of deeds, plans and personal documents with brokers to expedite the sale, CFB Director [...]
Watch your wallets online: Fraud on the rise
Financial fraud tops the list of cyber crimes, and cyber-monitoring authorities note a rise in such crime in the past two months. There have been 19 incidents of online financial fraud in the 11 months to November 30, Sri Lanka’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) said, half of them in the past two months alone. [...]
Forget 2018′s political turmoil, Lankans all set to welcome 2019
Setting aside the political turmoil and economic sluggishness of the past 12 months, Sri Lankans are all set to usher in 2019 with firecrackers and celebrations, full of fresh hopes and aspirations. As in other years, a large number of people are expected to visit the Dalada Maligawa, the Kataragama devale, the Gangaramaya viharaya in [...]
Tampered scales and short-weight goods
The use of tampered scales to sell customers short-weight goods in the country is not uncommon. During festive season particularly, customer complaints regarding the use of tampered scales by traders abound. This in turn results in an increased number of complaints from the public and forces officials to take preventive measures. During the Christmas season [...]
Wildlife officers rescue injured turtle
A member of the Kalpitiya wildlife range told the Sunday Times a critically injured Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) was rescued by wildlife officials this week. Manjula Morathenna, a Ranger of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) said the turtle with a gaping wound in its head was unable to swim and was found stranded [...]
Surge in drug addicts sent by courts for rehab programmes
The number of drug addicts who have been placed in rehabilitation through courts has doubled in the past six months, the Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation (BCGR) has said. Drug addicts who are ordered to be sent to rehabilitation by court are placed in the BCGR-run centres at Kandakadu in Somawathiya and Navasenapura [...]
Pod of 50 Sperm Whales spotted off Kalpitiya
An official of the Department of Wildlife Conservation said a pod of 50 sperm whales were sighted off the Kalpitiya seas earlier this month. Manjula Kumara, a Wildlife Ranger in Kalpitiya, said between 21 – 23 December he witnessed the whales breaching or surfacing. A spokesperson for the Department of Wildlife said department believed the [...]
Delay in filling 14 key vacancies cripples Nuwara Eliya MC
The delay in filling 14 key positions in the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council is crippling the council’s administrative activities, Mayor Chandana Lal Karunaratne said yesterday. He said the important position of council secretary was still vacant. In addition, vacancies exist for two administrative officers, an engineer, a Public Health Inspector, a garden administrator, Chief administrative [...]