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An old party stalwart came through security barriers to greet Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe when he visited Ampara yesterday to open an economic centre there. The Premier also attended a ceremony to launch the handing over of Samurdhi benefits to thousands of families.
Presidential poll: NEC at variance with Sirisena over date
The National Election Commission (NEC) is at variance with President Maithripala Sirisena’s announcement in New Delhi that the presidential election will be held on December 7. A poll will not be possible on that date though it is a Saturday, due to a string of administrative issues, an NEC source said on condition of anonymity. [...]
Lottery sham: You don’t win big because DLB plays ball with probability games
Wonder why you never win big–or even decently–at the lottery? One reason is that the Development Lotteries Board (DLB) prints a strikingly smaller number of tickets for each draw than is required on the basis of the number of balls in the draw machine. This means the probability of there being a winning ticket in [...]
Fasting monk dehydrated, but physically stable
On the second day of his fast unto death, doctors found the Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera dehydrated but yet physically stable. The medical team which, examined the monk yesterday, checked his blood pressure. They noted that he was suffering from dehydration, but did not require any immediate medical treatment. The Ven. Rathana Thera had started [...]
Batticaloa private campus project put on hold
A project to construct a private campus in a 20-acre Batticaloa land provided by the state to the Ameer Ali Foundation has been put on hold on a directive of District Secretary M. Udayakumar. He told the Sunday Times the project had been put on hold following complaints that the land had been allocated for [...]
Dress code circular suspended
The Public Administration Ministry has suspended its decision to impose a dress code for state-sector employees. This came after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe opposed the move to re-implement a 30-year old circular which stipulates a dress code for public sector employees – shirt and trouser or national costume for men and saree or osari for [...]
Tests show Lakvijaya plant spews out dust 16 times over the limit
Tests in March and April at the Lakvijaya coal power plant in Norochcholai show particulate matter–or dust–sixteen times over the maximum permissible level in the stack emissions of unit one. The quantity of harmful sulphur dioxide is also over the limit in the stacks emissions of both unit one and two, with the latter performing [...]
Khashoggi awarded 2019 Golden Pen of Freedom
Saudi filmmaker Safa al Ahmad receiving the award on behlalf of the Khashoggi family from World Editors’ Forum President David Callaway yesterday Murdered Saudi dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi was awarded WAN-IFRA’s highest honour yesterday for furthering the cause of press freedom. Dave Callaway, World Editors Forum President, awarded the Golden Pen of Freedom Award [...]
Heartbreak hotel all over Lanka
The armchair view from Colombo’s Taj Samudra of the Galle Face Green and the blue waters of the Indian Ocean is breathtaking. Kings with their consorts, heads of state with their grandiose limousines, politicians, bureaucrats and food-loving Sri Lankans with a penchant for Indian cuisine have crossed the wide entrance day in and day out. [...]
Japan lends US$ 500mn for 2nd phase of East Container Terminal
As part of the agreement to be signed for the East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port, Japan will lend US$ 500mn at an interest rate of 0.1% to Sri Lanka to complete the second phase of the facility, which includes an 800m berth. The money will also go towards buying equipment to make [...]
IGP’s FR petition claims SIS requested suspension of investigations into extremist Muslim factions
The State Intelligence Service (SIS), in a letter dated April 8, 2018, expressly requested Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara to instruct the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in charge of the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID), to suspend all investigations into extremist Muslim factions associated with known international terrorist organisations operating within the country, according [...]
Medical fraternity divided over alleged unethical sterilizations at Kurunegala
Medical circles are abuzz with numerous stories doing the rounds of surreptitious and unethical sterilizations of mothers during Caesarean-sections (C-sections). While some Consultant Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (commonly called VOGs) said that such sterilizations could be performed by a skilled doctor, there was an outcry from others – both seniors and juniors – in this field [...]
Kurunegala doc also investigated for switching newborn
A week before Dr. Seigu Siyabdeen Mohamed Shafi was arrested, the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital had recommended disciplinary action over allegations that he forged documents of a newborn to give the baby to another party. The physician is facing hundreds of accusations of performing non-consensual sterilisations on women who delivered babies at Kurunegala and Dambulla hospitals. [...]
HRC calls out BASL for unethical behaviour of some lawyers
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has pulled up the Bar Association of Sri Lanka after members of some of its regional branches refused to appear on behalf of members of the Muslim community arrested in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks. The areas these lawyers belong to include Mawanella and Badulla. “As [...]
FR petitions against IGP and former Defence Secretary: AG seeks fuller SC Bench
The Attorney General (AG) on Friday sought a fuller Supreme Court (SC) Bench to hear the Fundamental Rights (FR) Petitions filed against Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary (DS) Hemasiri Fernando, over the Easter Sunday bombings. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Farzana Jameel, appearing for the AG, informed Court that the [...]
Parliamentary committee to recommend Batti Campus be brought under Eastern University
The Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Education & Human Resources Development (POC-EHRD) which is inquiring into the controversial Batticaloa Campus (Pvt) Ltd [BCPL], intends to recommend that the institution be taken over by the State-run Eastern University and brought under the purview of the University Grants Commission, MP Prof Ashu Marasinghe told the Sunday Times. Prof. [...]
Dismissive stance on serious intelligence warning on impending terror attacks
PSC hears shocking revelations from Defence Secretary and National Intelligence Chief Some elements are trying to create ethnic tensions; added burden on security forces Evidence given by the first two witnesses to appear before the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) appointed to look into the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks has indicated that a glaringly lackadaisical attitude towards [...]
Bureaucracy denies church bomb victims medicine, payouts
While the shock of the suicide bomb attacks on Easter Sunday is beginning to fade and the people are resuming their day-to-day activities, the injured and the families of the dead are struggling to return to a normal life. Many are still unable to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones and [...]
Nuwara Eliya’s parks do not have qualified supervisors
For decades residents of Colombo and its suburbs have been in the habit of taking a break from the severe heat in this part of the island by making their way to the cool climes of the city of Nuwara Eliya. The city also presents an escape from the hustle and bustle of big city [...]
Is human-elephant conflict ‘mitigation’ whacking elephants?
The cake came last for it was celebration time for an organisation considered one of the oldest in the conservation arena in Sri Lanka and the third oldest in the world. As Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) President Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne sang happy birthday and everyone else joined in lustily, it was Immediate [...]
Government must wake up before it is too late
Sunil Perera of Gypsys fame, several years ago, composed and sang a popular song which went somewhat like this– “me rate minissu thanikara kelinne pissu”, which translated, means, “the people of this country have gone mad.” Looking around Sri Lanka today, one wonders whether it is more apt today than ever before. A random look [...]
Air Marshal Sumangala Dias assumes duties as Commander of SLAF
Air Marshal Sumangala Dias assumed duties as the Commander of the Sir Lanka Air Force last week. He was promoted to the three star rank of Air Marshal by President Sirisena prior to his appointment. He is the 17th Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force. Air Marshal Dias was appointed the Chief of Staff [...]
New SDIG in charge of Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces
The National Police Commission (NPC) has approved the appointment of Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) Roshan Fernando as SDIG in charge of the Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces with effect from May 25, 2019. SDIG Fernando was the SDIG in charge of the Northern Province for two years prior to his latest appointment. He [...]
Unplanned land use and elephant encroachment
Unplanned and illegal utilisation of forest reserve land has led to an exacerbation in the human-elephant conflict in the Hambantota district. The loss of elephant habitat due to short sighted use and misappropriation of forest reserve is forcing the elephants to encroach into populated areas while transit to their breeding grounds or to forage for [...]
Famed beaches could disappear
Illegal sandmining and construction work in the coastal zone are increasing the speed by which our sandy beaches are being swallowed by the sea. Coastal erosion is sometimes inevitable, occurring when the transportation of sand from riverbeds to the sea is disrupted due to wither natural or human-influenced factors. Sea-level rises, global warming wave patterns, [...]
Shortage of technical officers impedes work in Nuwara Eliya District
The activities of the Nuwara Eliya District Secretary’s Office have been interrupted due to a shortage of technical officers, a senior officer said. The Planning Director of the Nuwara Eliya District Secretary’s Office, Chinthaka Hettiarachchi pointed out that they are short of 11 technical officers. He said this at the District Coordination Committee, which was [...]
LRH doctor ordered to appear for inquiry into child’s death
The Colombo Coroner, Deshani Samaraweera has ordered the ward doctor of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) to report to the Court on June 15 for the inquiry into the death of an eleven-year-old child admitted for treatment of a spinal injury which had led to the death of the child. The child is reported to [...]
Two women poisoned then robbed in Thalpawila, Matara
Police are probing a case where an elderly woman was injected with poison and another was force-fed a poisonous drink. Police suspect the women were killed to rob them of their gold chains. The elderly victim was identified as H B Karunawathi, a mother of eight, residing in the house belonging to the youngest son. [...]
Soldier killed clearing mines
One soldier was killed and four others injured in an accidental explosion inside the military complex in Palali, Jaffna last evening. The incident had occurred when soldiers were clearing old mines within the complex. The injured soldiers were admitted to the Palali Military Hospital.
Pick of the Pix
From our readers Shutterbugs out there, here’s your chance to send in your contributions to this picture corner. Please send your captioned photograph along with your name, and the location of the photograph, to pictures @sundaytimes.wnl.lk We would also appreciate if you mentioned the camera or cellphone that was used. Shutterbugs out there, here’s your [...]
Police hope lane law blitz will help traffic flow
Police are confident that their decision to enforce traffic lane laws, including priority bus lanes, will cut congestion by 35 per cent in Colombo city and reduce accidents. From June 10, people who break the laws would face legal action and Rs. 2,000 fine, Deputy Inspector General (Traffic) Ajith Rohana said. Motor Traffic Act regulations [...]