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Home » NewsHistoric day at Matale’s Aluviharaya
To mark yesterday’s historic declaration of the Tripitaka as a National Heritage, President Maithripala Sirisena is seen unveiling a plaque at Matale’s Aluviharaya where this sacred Buddhist text first came to be written on ola leaves some 2,000 years ago. Mahanayakes and about 1,500 monks were present at the ceremony. Pic by Sudath Silva
New rift between UNF and President in the making?
State enterprises chiefs, including directors, who will be appointed by the new United National Front Cabinet will be able to remain in office only if they have a degree from a recognised university after President Maithripala Sirisena’s directive this week to follow a circular from his Secretariat in making appointments. Those presently serving have been [...]
Tripitaka as world heritage document; President will appeal to UN Chief
The Government will appeal to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to declare the Tripitaka as a world heritage document to be protected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), President Maithripala Sirisena said yesterday. The President made this announcement at the ceremony held at the Matale Aluviharaya to declare the Tripitaka which [...]
Voter list update every three months
The Election Commission is seeking Government approval to update the electoral register every three months to include persons reaching the age of 18 so that they will be eligible to vote, a senior official said. The Commission also has proposed that the electoral register be updated in February, instead of the current practice in June, [...]
Yan Oya project likely to escalate human-elephant conflict, report warns
A severe escalation of the human-elephant conflict is likely to be caused by the resettlement of families under the Yan Oya Reservoir Project in the North Central Province, according to a recently published Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA). It also states that the number of families to be displaced by the initiative will be higher [...]
Kilinochchi floods: Questions over suspension of probe
Questions are being raised about the abrupt suspension of investigations by a committee to probe whether negligent provincial irrigation officials contributed to the recent floods in Kilinochchi.The committee, appointed by former Northern Province Governor Reginald Cooray, was headed by Prof S.S. Sivakumar of the Jaffna University’s Engineering Faculty. Other members were Northern Province Engineering Services [...]
New Navy chief Piyal de Silva assumes duties
Vice Admiral Piyal de Silva assumed duties this week as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy. Vice Admiral de Silva, a product of Dharmasoka College in Ambalangoda, joined the Navy as an Officer Cadet of the 12th Intake in 1984. He was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant in 1986. After being elevated within the [...]
CAA raids during holiday season nab errant traders
The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA), last week, collected over Rs10 mn in fines from several raids conducted in the two weeks running up to the Christmas and New Year season. Director General, CAA, M S M Fouzer, said that, in raids conducted beginning December 15, 2018, 3,343 traders were charged under consumer laws for selling [...]
Fr. Miller passes away
The American Jesuit priest, Father Benjamin Henry Miller, who documented thousands of cases of human rights violations during the conflict, has died at the age of 93. He came to Sri Lanka in September 1948, just after the country gained independence. He taught physics, history and English and coached the soccer team of St. Michael’s [...]
Geospatial data on locations accessible through new platform
The public can now obtain geospatial data from the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) platform launched by the Information & Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) recently at the Trace Expert City premises in Colombo. Accordingly, geographical information of a particular location could be obtained via this platform that comes with a website, a Metadata catalogue and [...]
Two killed, one injured in pre-dawn truck accident in Jaela
Two people were killed and another seriously injured when a container truck skidded across the road and smashed into a house at Weligampitiya in Ja-Ela early yesterday, residents said. They said the truck was being driven at high speed and the driver appeared to lose control of the vehicle, resulting it veering off course towards [...]
Four more Governors to be appointed soon
President Maithripala Sirisena is to appoint Governors to the remaining four provinces in the next two days, sources told the Sunday Times. Five Governors took their oaths before President Sirisena on Friday (4). They were Azath Sally (Western Province), Maithri Gunaratne (Central Province), Sarath Ekanayake (North Central Province), Peshala Jayaratne (North Western Province) and M.L.A.M. [...]
PIU probes destruction of over 1000 valuable trees close to Sinharaja
The Presidential Investigation Unit (PIU) has stepped in to investigate the destruction of over 1100 valuable trees in an area of nearly five acres of land adjoining the Sinharaja Forest Reserve. The trees had been destroyed by injecting a poisonous substance into them. The land, though privately owned, contained a large number of valuable trees [...]
Today, a test rail run on the brand new Matara-Beliatta railway extension
A test rail run will be operated today on the newly constructed Matara-Beliatta railway extension under the patronage of Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Arjuna Ranatunga. The train is expected to leave Beliatta at 10 a.m. and stop at Wewurukannala, Bambarenda and Kekanadura. The 26.75 kilometre Matara – Beliatta extension is the first new railway [...]
Mass graves: The dead tell a tragic tale of delays and disputes
Within a sprawling plot of bare land near the beach at Kurukkalmadam in Batticaloa is a mass grave that has not been excavated. The bodies buried there are from 1990, according to the Muslim residents of the area. The deceased are members of their community, more than 150, some insist, massacred by the LTTE that [...]
Drink-driving op nets thousands
Some 6,500 culprits have been netted by police targeting drunken drivers over the festive season from December 15 to January 3. DIG (Traffic) Ajith Rohana said 8,000 police were used in the special operation, with increased numbers deployed in Colombo, Matara, Galle and Kandy and also on main roads such as the A9, A1, and [...]
Daily Mirror’s Kamanthi heads to MASCOM in India for post graduate course
Kamanthi Wickrama-singhe of Daily Mirror left this week, as the eighth Lakshman Kadirgamar journalism scholar, for a post graduate study course in mass media at MASCOM, the prestigious journalism academy in India, managed by the Malayala Manorama Group. Ms Wickramasinghe, 25, was the recipient of the 2014 Denzil Peiris Young Reporter of The Year Award, [...]
Tripitaka declared a national heritage; history is made again at Aluvihare Temple
The Tripitaka, the sacred Buddhist cannon, was declared a national heritage by President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday at a ceremony at the historic Matale Aluvihare Temple, where resident monks in the 1st century BC compiled it for the benefit of generations to come. As Buddhist flags were hoisted all over the island to mark the landmark [...]
President to hand over new Laggala town to residents
President Maithripala Sirisena will vest the new Laggala town with the public on Tuesday (8). The old Laggala town was submerged by the Kalu Ganga Reservoir due to the construction of the Moragahakanda-Kalu Ganga Multi-Purpose Development Project. The new Laggala town was built to meet the needs of 3,000 families of the old town who [...]
Airbus simulators: Captain says SriLankan paid US$12 million in excess
SriLankan Airlines paid a staggering USD 28 million to buy two flight simulators more than five years ago, completely ignoring the guidelines in the company’s procurement manual, a top official has revealed. The airline’s acting Chief of Service in charge of delivery, Rajind Ranathunga, who testified on Thursday before the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) appointed [...]
Gaping holes in gun control measures, despite Police going great guns
Police were going great guns last year as they confiscated fifty percent more illegal firearms than they did in 2017– and this week they announced a three-month-long operation to take still more illegal weapons off the street. Meanwhile, highlighting the absence of a centralised networked database of vital information, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) says [...]
Busting the Bangladeshi link in Lanka’s biggest heroin detection
Sri Lanka police will seek Interpol assistance to arrest a Bangladeshi woman suspected to be the mastermind behind a network, that was busted, and led to the discovery of the biggest single seizure of heroin in the country’s history. The Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) recovered 278 kilograms of heroin during a raid where they arrested [...]
Joint police, STF, army search for suspect in Puliyankulam
A joint search operation is underway in Puliyankulum, Vavuniya to apprehend a suspect who had fled into the jungle leaving behind a bag containing arms and amunition. “A cordon and search operation was underway in a joint operation conducted by the police, the Special Task Force (STF) and the army to apprehend the suspect. The [...]
Tourist driver’s tragic trishaw death highlights lack of safety
A 36-year-old Spanish woman driving a three-wheeler at high speed was killed when the vehicle crashed into a wayside concrete post off Karuwalagaswewa this week. Kurera Jubis Anna Maria, a lawyer, had been visiting Sri Lanka with her fiancé. The couple had rented a three-wheeler from Negombo and travelled to Kalpitiya and were heading to [...]
A ‘first’ at Kurunegala Hospital gives hope for those with bad abdominal cancers
Wide smiles on their faces, all of them are eager to tell us their stories – they are survivors of not just cancer, but a very bad form of it. All of them had been referred to the Oncology Unit of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital as a last resort, with hope hitting rock bottom……..but here [...]
Colombo’s homeless left in the cold
The nip in the air this time of the year is welcomed by most in Colombo city. But for the scores of homeless people camped along the city’s pavements it’s a cold nightmare. Next week, Colombo’s temperature is expected to fall to a minimum of 21 degrees at night and thundershowers, too, are predicted. On [...]
Disasters ‘waiting to happen’ in mushrooming high-rises
Fears have risen over safety compliance in high-rise buildings following the recent tragic elevator crash, with concerns spreading to whether inadequate firefighting ability for tall buildings have made them fire traps. In Colombo, where 90 per cent of the buildings are residential apartments accommodating families, questions are being raised about elevator safety as investigations continue [...]
Overcrowding caused lift to plunge, crushing ruggerite
The elevator tragedy in which a well-known ruggerite was killed in a freak accident is believed to have been triggered by overcrowding of the lift, preliminary investigations revealed. The victim of the accident, Kokila Sammandaperuma, 25, played for the Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club (CR&FC) and was a former captain of the Wesley College team. [...]
‘In Charlie’s name’ – activists demand urgent vote on animal bill
A coconut plucker suspected of setting fire to a pet dog and killing it was set to face a magistrate yesterday over the horrific act amid renewed calls for the Animal Welfare Bill to be passed. Police said they had in the past received a complaint about the dog’s constant barking. The arrested man, a [...]
Policy discourse vital before future elections
With the Provincial Council elections followed by the Presidential and Parliamentary elections likely to be held this year, political parties are focusing a large part of their energy to plan for these polls. New alliances are being formed to strengthen political parties’ chances of success when they go before the people. Electoral organisers are being [...]
Maize cultivation in Moneragala ruined by ‘Sena’ caterpillar
The crop-destroying “Sena” caterpillar has been found in pods of maize being sold at temporary street-side stalls along the Chilaw-Colombo main road. The caterpillar was discovered by officers of the Agriculture and Agrarian Service who conducted inspections of street-side stalls in the Mahawewa area. Officers found that some husks contained fully grown caterpillars while others [...]
Pick of the Pix
Pix by Priyantha Wickramarachchi, Ishanka Sunimal, Gamini Mahadura, Jayarathna Wickramarachchi.
11 division army troops build home for their civil staffer
The 11th Division of the Security Force Headquarters – Central (SFHQ-Central), constructed a house on a 7-perch block of land, for a casual employee -Karunaratne -whose daughter was killed when a boulder fell on their house at Pallekele, Kandy on 28 October 2017. Seven-year-old Udari Shehara of Hindagala, Mahakanda Peradeniya succumbed to her injuries when [...]
Menace at the traffic lights
Police have been threatening to enforce the law against persons engaged in begging at traffic lights for sometime now. However, with no such action being initiated. both motorists and members of the public at traffic intersections being continually harassed on a daily basis. The problem at traffic lights is especially concerning, given that a large [...]
Commitment to research and ethics blossoms into recognition
It was a justifiably proud moment for him. Not only was Prof. Athula Sumathipala on the podium but it was cause for a double celebration as his team was there as well. The prestigious event on December 19 was the ‘National Awards for Science & Technology Achievements (NASTA) – 2018’. Prof. Sumathipala who is a [...]