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Home » NewsA picture speaks louder than words
They say a picture speaks a thousand words, but some pictures speak louder than words. Several such best of the best news pictures are displayed at Sri Lanka’s first ever photojournalism exhibition being held at JDA Perera Galley in Colombo 7. Seen through the lens of the Sunday Times’ Amila Gamage are photojournalists vying for [...]
DO jobs for 16,800 graduates; but audit report expresses concern
The government will on Tuesday present development officer (DO) appointments to 16,800 graduates, despite the Auditor General expressing serious concern over the poor performance of such officers already in the over-staffed public service. The new intake is the second phase of the Government’s jobs-for-20,000-graduates initiative. In a special audit report, the AG has questioned the [...]
Vel, Vel Muruga Vel
Devotees carrying out the tradition of breaking coconuts while the Vel cart proceeds along Kompannaveediya from the Sri Subramaniamn Swami Kovil yesterday. Pic by Indika Handuwala
Birth of NDF under UNP leader; 48-member Cabinet proposed
With the birth of a National Democratic Front (NDF) on August 5 under the leadership of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, moves are afoot to increase the number of ministries to 48 and deputies to 45. The new NDF is to be set up with the UNP’s existing parliamentary strength. With its allies, it now stands [...]
Lanka gets US nod for tea exports to Iran
Cabinet approval will be sought shortly for Sri Lanka to resume a limited quantity of tea exports to Iran, a senior official said. Plantations Ministry Secretary J.A. Ranjith told the Sunday Times the decision followed discussions between Minister Naveen Dissanayake and the United States ambassador, Alaina Teplitz, in view of the existing US sanctions on [...]
Heavy rain likely during presidential election campaign
The Presidential election campaign is likely to be hit by adverse weather conditions between September and November. Meteorology Department Director General Athula Karunanayake said inter-monsoon rains would be experienced from September to November. The rains would occur mainly in the evenings. He said there could be monsoon rains thereafter and possibly cyclonic conditions also. “The [...]
US company to modernise Sapugaskanda oil refinery
The Government is to award a multi-billion rupee contract to a United States-based company to modernise the Sapugaskanda oil refinery, a senior official said. Petroleum Resources Ministry Secretary Sunil Hettiaarachchi told the Sunday Times the contract amounting to US$ 100 million (Rs 17 billion) would be awarded to Honeywell UOP, formerly known as UOP LLC [...]
Kadirgamar killing: Germany declines to divulge identity of suspect
Citing privacy laws, German authorities have refused to divulge to the Sri Lankan Government the full identity of a suspected LTTE member who was this week charged by a German prosecutor as an accessory to murder in the 2005 assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. The suspect was identified only as Navanithan G and he [...]
Ministry secretaries monitoring more than 40 ‘slow-going’ mega projects
A committee comprising around ten Secretaries to Ministries has been appointed to monitor the implementation of 42 mega projects which have shown less than 25 percent cumulative physical progress last year, authoritative sources said. The high-level group is headed by Treasury Secretary R. H. S. Samaratunga and meets every week. It was appointed last month [...]
Gentlemen of the Jury, ‘Zorro’ is dead
To his fingertips, he was a gentleman of the jury and if a court verdict was forthcoming, it would be “well done thou sincere and committed journalist.” The long-serving and widely respected journalist M.J.M. Zarook died yesterday at the age of 89 after an outstanding career of more than half a century, during which he [...]
Construction worker dies after wall collapses on him
A 50-year-old man was killed when a wall collapsed on him at a construction site at Galle Face, a coroner’s court inquiry was told this week. The victim, Damith Bogahwatta a father of one, was a resident of Opanake South in Ratnapura. The incident occurred when he was welding a door on the 38th floor [...]
National conference on peace, harmony and coexistence on Tuesday
The National Conference on Peace, Harmony and Coexistence, organised by the Western Province Governor’s office, will be held on Tuesday, July 30 at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre. The event will be held from 4 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. President Maithripala Sirisena will be Chief Guest while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be the Guest of [...]
Canberra draws line in the sand for fake asylum-seekers
Five Sri Lankan men who attempted to reach Australian shores by boat were repatriated to Colombo this week. Several attempts by Sri Lankans to sail illegally into Australia the past three months have raised questions if human smugglers are probing Canberra’s resolve to stop such incursions following the federal election in May. Three such attempts [...]
Top police officers speak of multiple probes on Zahran ahead of Easter Sunday blasts
A host of high profile witnesses from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Terrorism Investigation Division (TID), the Special Task Force (STF), the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and the Attorney General’s Department appeared before the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probing the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. Sittings were held continuously over three days. Attention was [...]
AG excused on grounds of conflict of interest
Attorney General Dappula de Livera on Friday asked that he be excused from giving evidence before the PSC on the grounds that his appearance as a witness under oath would compromise him from performing his duties as AG. Making submissions before the Committee, the AG raised several matters such as the possibility of issues now [...]
Lanka’s new Qatar envoy looks to the future when forging ties
Kithsiri Athulathmudali will be Sri Lanka’s next ambassador to Doha, Qatar. His success story stems from thinking beyond the obvious. His work has never been about the money, rather about helping others. He is also a firm believer in earning respect through his work, a resolve he brings to his new appointment. A first cousin [...]
UK, Lankan Environment Ministries work together to solve container mystery
The Environmental Ministry in the United Kingdom was this week in touch with its Sri Lankan counterpart to unravel the mystery of 100 containers piled up at the Colombo Port for more than a year, reportedly containing waste from Britain. The move came as the Finance Ministry claimed that the containers consisted of mixed waste [...]
A child untouched by love is unguarded by law
Widespread ignorance about the psychological and emotional wellbeing of children nullifies any number of laws designed to protect the young from misery and abuse, one of the country’s leading child protection authorities said. Even in safe and loving homes, such ignorance can stultify a child’s cognitive development, said Dr. Charika Marasinghe, whose pioneering work in [...]
Deep in Sinharaja, hope rises for threatened jumbos
A hazardous operation to radiocollar one of the last remaining elephants of the Sinharaja rainforest has given new hope that both elephant and human lives can be saved when the two species collide. The elephant was radiocollared on June 1 by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) following a strenuous operation in mountain terrain amid [...]
Farmers ignored advice and now see crops wither
The Irrigation Department asked farmers to grow short-term crops to cope better with drought but many farmers stuck stubbornly to long-term crops – now their harvest hopes are bleak. The department’s Director-General, S. Mohanarajah, said cultivation has suffered in the drought conditions. “Farmers cultivated long-term crops despite the warnings issued by the department about the [...]
Multi-pronged battle against diabetes
As the world grapples with deadly diabetes which has gained ‘endemic’ status in many regions, top endocrinologists will gather in Colombo next week to discuss this silent killer at a three-day conference. Powerful action to prevent, control and eradicate diabetes will be the focus of ‘SLENDO 2019’ (Sri Lanka Endocrine Congress) from August 1-3 at [...]
Policy-driven candidate serves the national interest better than a “winning candidate”
Political observers and the media are currently obsessed with the question of who the candidates for the forthcoming Presidential Election will be. While different names are being bandied about, those from the respective political camps when questioned about their choice of candidate almost always come up with the stock answer: “We will decide on a [...]
Vehicle imports drop in first six months of the year
Registrations of new cars dropped by 36% in the first six months of this year, compared to last year’s corresponding period, Motor Traffic Department statistics revealed. Car imports have continued to fall following the 2019 budget which announced various measures to control the import of motor vehicles into the country. In an August 2019 pre-budget [...]
Muslim women activists insist on urgent reforms in personal law
Muslim women activists have called on their community’s parliamentarians and religious scholars to act urgently in implementing the reforms needed to make the Muslim personal law (MPL) compatible with “God’s compassion and justice” — and end the suffering of Muslim women and girls. Addressing a media conference in Colombo on Friday, the activists said they [...]
Minimal facial injuries evidence backs use of full-face helmets
Full-face helmets offer far greater protection against facial injuries, research on road traffic accident victims show, while human rights experts argue that public interest should be balanced against protecting the lives of motorcyclists. Full-face helmets were banned by police on a knee-jerk reaction to some crimes such as bank robberies, but the protection the helmets [...]
The ‘street food’ we consume
Farmers undergo untold hardships to obtain a successful harvest of their crops. They must then make their way to a market to try and sell their produce, which is a hardhip in itself. At the very least, one would expect that they will be provided with an area to properly sell their produce. The appalling [...]