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The Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, presided at a concelebrated Holy Mass at St. Lucia’s Cathedral in Kotahena to pray for the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks. Among those who took part in the service was a woman, who was injured in the blast. She came on a wheelchair to join the [...]
President rushes to China for confab on Asian civilisation
President Maithripala Sirisena will leave tomorrow for China on a three-day visit in a move that has surprised both political and diplomatic circles over its urgency. Formally, he is attending a “Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilisations” that will open on May 15. The official website of the event said, “more than 2,000 government officials [...]
New laws to regulate Madrasas; introduced by Muslim Affairs Ministry
The Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry has presented to the Government a bill called the Madrasa Education Regulatory Act that seeks to set up a Board with powers of regulation, registration, supervision, control and development of education within Madrasas in Sri Lanka. The Sunday Times obtained a copy of the draft which is seen [...]
Easter massacre: A Parliament Select Com.
A motion calling for the setting up of a Parliamentary Select Committee to inquire into the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks has been handed over to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. The motion, signed by MPs from all parties represented in Parliament, was handed over to the Speaker on Friday (10). The committee will be tasked with investigating [...]
Govt. Analyst to determine cause of British woman’s death in hotel
A Government Analyst’s report has been called for to determine the cause of the death of a newly wedded British woman, who died at a leading hotel in Galle. The woman, Usheila Patel, 31, and her husband Khilan Chandaria 33 had both fallen ill after they ate a sandwich ordered from the hotel and consumed [...]
Grandmother worries over future of grandchildren orphaned by Katuwapitiya blast
Three weeks after the Easter Sunday bomb blast at Katuwapitiya Negombo, the faithful of the Church of St. Sebastian’s are trying hard to come to terms with reality. While the church remains closed with army guards at its entrance, there were some devotees lighting candles inside the church. The iron fence surrounding the church was [...]
Terrorists destroyed my happy family, says Sanjaya
“We were a happy family. I was in Italy and I used to speak to my wife and my children two to three times every day. We built our lives around each other. Now some terrorist criminals have snatched our happiness away from us. I do not wish that such a sadness should ever be [...]
Residence visas for foreigners: SIS clearance needed
Clearance from the State Intelligence Service (SIS) will be required to obtain residence visas for foreigners, the Government has decided. Accordingly, those applying for residence visas for any category will have to be cleared by the SIS in contrast to the existing system where the line Ministry and the Defence Ministry clear the visas. The [...]
Sunday Mass resumes today; no decision on Catholic schools yet
Sunday Mass will resume in Catholic churches today (12) after a lapse of three weeks . The churches have been advised by the Archdiocese to appoint ‘vigilance committees’ made up of parishioners, who will liaise closely with the Police and Security Forces to ensure security of the congregation, said Rev. Fr. Edmond Thilakarathna, spokesman for [...]
One killed in Navy shooting in Wattala
A motorist was killed after Navy personnel manning a road checkpoint fired at his vehicle after he reportedly failed to stop when ordered to do so. The incident occurred early yesterday at Hunupitiya in Wattala. According to a media release issued by Navy, the driver of a Tata Nano car had ignored calls to stop, [...]
National Vesak festival restricted to two days
The National Vesak Festival will be held in a modest manner at Thotagamuwe Rahula Temple at Thelwatta in Galle on next Friday and Saturday, Buddha Sasana Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera said He said that the government had plans to hold the festival for five days, but had now decided to restrict it to two days, [...]
Sooka leads the charge against a debunked UN report
Sri Lanka governments, from the last Mahinda Rajapaksa administration to today’s Sirisena administration, came under attack for failing to address the issue of war crimes and accountability at a panel discussion last Friday here in London. Titled ‘Legal tools in the fight against impunity: The case of Sri Lanka’ it was organised by the Centre [...]
No phones please, this is a VIP wedding
President Maithripala Sirisena’s son Daham married Nipuni on Thursday. The wedding was limited to family and friends. No politicians were invited. Originally meant to be held at the Shangri La Hotel, the venue was shifted to the Hilton Hotel following the Easter Sunday bombing of the Shangri La. Guests attending the wedding of Daham, son [...]
New appointments at AG’s Dept.
Senior Additional Solicitor General Dilrukshi Dias Wickremasinghe has been recommended to the Public Service Commission (PSC) to be the new Solicitor General. The recommendation has been made by the newly appointed Attorney General, Dappula De Livera, who held the post before being appointed as the AG. In other recommendations, Additional Solicitor General Sarath Jayamanne’s name [...]
Muslim leaders condemn bombings but plead that the whole community not be tarnished
Muslim leaders are speaking out against the atrocities committed by the Easter Sunday bombers while also urging other communities not to tar all Muslims with the same brush. “There are so many things the Muslim community itself has to do,” said Ali Sabry, President’s Counsel. “There are no two words about it. Some reforms have [...]
Those who perished in the attacks are Saints of the Church: Cardinal
There were somber and emotional scenes at St. Lucia’s Cathedral Kotahena yesterday, as family members of victims of the Easter Day bomb attacks gathered with other devotees for a Memorial Service in remembrance of those killed on the fateful day. Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith led the congregation in prayer and later consoled family [...]
Lanka’s new normal
While tourists are leaving Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday massacres, life goes on for others as seen in this Kingsbury hotel wedding reception picture where the bride is not bodychecked but her bouquet and the bridesmaid were carefully checked by a female security officer. Pix by Priyanka Samaraweera and M A [...]
Airport bedlam mirrors havoc in tourist industry
The Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) is a two-way gateway to Sri Lanka and the world for visitors – officials on business, tourists coming to see the picturesque resplendent isle and many others – and Sri Lankans. Since the military defeat of the Tiger guerillas, the airport has provided an increasingly pleasant entry and exit point [...]
Easter Sunday bombers used high-tech communication: Army Chief
The terrorists who carried out the Easter Sunday bombings used a Swiss developed, highly encrypted mobile communication App named “Threema”, Army Chief Lt.Gen. Mahesh Senanayake told the Sunday Times. The mobile phone App boasts ‘best in the class’ end-to-end encryption and allows a user to generate a random Threema ID, thereby giving anonymity to the [...]
Parents mourn loss of two children in Kochchikade bomb blast
A couple in Wellampitiya lost both their children in the Kochchikade bomb blast on Easter Sunday. Medha Thathsarini aged 23 and Imash Thiwanka aged 19, perished in the explosion. They were the only offspring of S.N. Sirimanne and his wife, W. Shriyani. It was revealed that the two youth had gone to church on Easter [...]
Easter Sunday attacks-The need to act with foresight
In the wake of unexpected and unprecedented terror attacks unleashed on innocent human beings on Easter Sunday, it is not surprising that the country is still trying to figure out what went wrong and why it happened. In a democratic society, where informed discussion and decision making plays a big part in addressing issues faced [...]
Court of Appeal’s new President highlights dangers of law delays
Speeches made at the Ceremonial Sitting to Welcome Justice Yasantha Kodagoda, PC who was appointed as the President of the Court of Appeal Speech of Yasantha Kodagoda, PCPresident, Court of Appeal The Attorney General, President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, I once again thank both of you for the kind words of [...]
‘Soba Pana Sara’ Inter-School Quiz on World Water Day
Focusing attention on the importance of water and the need to guide students in the right direction, a thought-provoking and stimulating Inter-School Quiz Competition; ‘Soba Pana Sara’, was held for the second consecutive time at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, to commemorate World Water Day. This was organised by the Ministry of Local Government, Economic [...]
SLMC to assist Muslims apprehended without just cause
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress has discussed ways of providing relief for persons who may be unduly affected by ongoing security operations. The SLMC said, consequent to the chain of arrests made during police inspections in connection with the recent serial bomb blasts, SLMC leader, Minister Rauff Hakeem, chaired a meeting with parliamentarians and senior [...]
Pick of the Pix
Pics by Amila Gamage, M.A.Pushpakumara, Priyantha Wickramarachchi, Jayarathna Wickramarachchi, Eshan Fernando
Navy nabs eight persons engaged in illegal fishing
The Navy apprehended eight persons engaged in illegal fishing in seas off Kokkuthudai recently. A group of a naval personnel attached to a craft in the Eastern Naval Command, during a patrol carried out in the seas off Kokkuthudai, apprehended these eight persons for using banned nets for illegal fishing activities. Along with the suspects, [...]
Bus drivers – the other terrorists on the prowl
Private and SLTB bus drivers in Colombo and the suburbs had a field day flouting traffic rules openly, in the immediate aftermath the Easter Sunday bombings, as most of the the traffic police were deployed to provide security to the public. Last week motorists took advantage of the shortage of traffic police along roads in [...]
Govt. upbeat on security while detractors are sceptical
A 3-day debate on the current situation in the country following the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks again showcased a Government still struggling to project a unified message and assure the country’s citizens of their security, almost 3 weeks after the carnage. Confused signals were projected from Day 1 of the debate on Tuesday (7). Prime [...]
Human Rights Commission warns against harassment of Muslims
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) is receiving complaints from Muslims about widespread harassment tied to “cultural misunderstandings, stereotyping and insensitivities to a way of life,” said Deepika Udagama, its Chairperson, this week. The whole Muslim community was being branded for acts of terrorism perpetrated by a few amongst them, Dr Udagama said, [...]
Dappula De Livera PC sworn in as new Attorney General
Dappula De Livera PC was sworn in before President Maithripala Sirisena as the new Attorney General (AG), on Friday (10) at the Presidential Secretariat, following the Constitutional Council’s approval of his appointment as the new AG, on May 7. He was the Solicitor General. Mr De Livera is an Attorney-at-Law, with a Master of Laws [...]
Desperate, poor and homeless
The number of homeless people country-wide keeps growing and in desperation they seek out the most unimaginable places to seek shelter ranging from the rooftop of abandoned buildings, to public toilets, to disused carts and cemeteries On a single midnight of a particular night when the Census was taken in 2012, enumerators counted 3,418 homeless [...]
Nation too jumpy after bombings to resume normal life
The sight of mothers and fathers sitting on pavements outside their children’s schools, forming a pathetically brave line of defence against suicide bombers, is emblematic of the heavy strain gripping the country three weeks after the Easter Sunday Terror attacks. Parents, school authorities, traders, daily wage earners, large companies and many others are struggling to [...]
An uneasy calm haunts Negombo
In Negombo, beneath the outward calm lies a simmering tension. Three weeks after the Easter Sunday bombings, the city is not at peace. Catholic leaders say it will take a while, as well as reassurance from local Muslims, for their community to feel safe. “There is tension among the people,” said Father Clement, a [...]
Refugees have no place to lay their heads as Southern Governor, UNHCR squabble over site
Southern Province Governor Keerthi Tennakoon has lashed out at the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) for rejecting his offer of the Ridiyagama State detention centre to house 1,063 refugees and asylum seekers evicted from their rented homes after the Easter Sunday bombings. But the UNHCR said the location was turned down after a [...]
Persecution follows Ahmadi Muslims even in the land they found refuge
Around 550-600 Ahmadiyya Muslim families fleeing persecution from mainstream Muslim groups and terrorism linked to extremists in Pakistan, sought refuge in Sri Lanka, only to find themselves stranded between the forces of terrorism and communal rejection yet again. Aided by the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, these families made their way to Sri Lanka and [...]
SriLankan HR division had no guideline manual; bosses wielded unbridled powers
SriLankan Airlines’ Human Resources chiefs were allowed to act freely and as they saw fit due to the absence of an HR manual until 2016 and this enabled them to wield unbridled decision-making powers. Controversial former HR Chief Pradeepa Kekulawala made this admission in his defence, while giving evidence before the Commission that investigates corruption [...]