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Home » NewsLankans flown in from Wuhan – coronavirus ground zero
A SriLankan Airlines flight yesterday flew in Lankans who were living in the Chinese city of Wuhan, epicentre of the coronavirus, which has prompted the World Health Organisation to declare a public health emergency. At the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, Army medical personnel, wearing personal protective clothing, are seen examining one of those who came [...]
No pension hikes: Previous Govt.’s proposal quashed
A proposal to provide increased pension benefits for those who retired after 2017 has been abandoned as the plan would cost the government a staggering Rs 130 billion annually. A senior Treasury official said that instead of increasing the pensions, the Government would come up with a revised scheme where the pensions of those who [...]
Wife of ex-SriLankan executive in huge Airbus bribery scandal
Airbus SE hired the wife of a SriLankan Airlines (SLA) executive as a business partner through a dummy company she registered in Brunei. The corporation then paid into this entity’s account US$ 2mn (Rs 362mn) out of a total US$ 16.84mn (Rs 3bn) promised in return for ensuring that the national carrier bought aircraft from [...]
Stats show pedestrians an endangered species
Pedestrians run the highest risk of dying on the country’s roads, police statistics show, with pedestrian deaths causing the most mortalities in accidents for the second consecutive year. The good news is that the number of accidents and deaths has dropped. Last year, there were 2,839 deaths in accidents out of which 766 were pedestrian [...]
Special team to tackle coronavirus threat; first patient cured and cleared
As health officials fine-tuned Sri Lanka’s multi-pronged campaign to face the threat posed by the new coronavirus, the Chinese tourist who was detected with the infection (2019-nCoV) has been declared safe to be discharged from hospital. “She doesn’t have the virus now,” Director-General of Health Services, Dr. Anil Jasinghe told the Sunday Times on Saturday [...]
Independence Day ceremony: Face masks if necessary
The Public Administration Ministry will consider providing face masks to invitees and people attending Independence Day celebrations on Tuesday, if more coronavirus cases are reported in the country by today. The ministry’s Additional Secretary, K.G. Dharmathilake, said liquid hand wash would be provided while water would be supplied by the Water Board at makeshift washrooms. [...]
Suspected coronavirus patient flees Tellippalai hospital before transfer
Police have launched a search for a patient who went missing yesterday from a hospital in the north, before he was transferred to the Jaffna Teaching hospital to be checked for suspected coronavirus, officials said. Police were acting on a complaint from the Tellippalai hospital that the patient who had last week returned from Qatar, [...]
Drastic drop in Chinese arrivals; tourism industry beefs up health measures
From 1,300 Chinese nationals arriving in the country to a mere 100, a sharp drop in daily arrivals is presently recorded, according to Immigration Controller General Pasan Ratnayake. He said daily about 800-1300 Chinese nationals arrived in the country as tourists, businessmen, students and workers. But since January 28, the rate has fallen to about [...]
CEB Engineers Union clashes with Govt. over emergency power purchases; vs. coal plants
Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Engineers have warned the government that power cuts would be inevitable by next month, if a decision to purchase emergency power supplies is not taken soon as the government was trying to push forward with coal power projects. The Union, which represents a majority of CEB engineers, has conveyed its position [...]
Police hunt for men who killed lorry driver in Ja-Ela
Police are searching for men who are believed to have killed a lorry driver on Friday night in Ja-Ela before getting away in his vehicle. The victim identified as 55 year-old Dixon Jayaratna, from Delathura Ja-Ela had left home on Friday on a hire. Police said their emergency service received a call on Friday night [...]
AG to go ahead with case against Karannagoda and Dassanayake
The Attorney General’s Department will proceed with the case against former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda and former Navy Spokesman D.K.P. Dassanayake — accused in the abduction of 11 youths — unless there is a court order otherwise. This is after the AG wrote to the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) inquiring into alleged political victimisation that [...]
Tree planting programme highlight of Independence Day celebrations
Independence Square is being decked up in preparation for the celebration of the country’s 72nd Independence Day, on Tuesday. State buildings and institutions have been asked to fly the National flag from February 1-7, while the buildings should be lit up on February 3-4, according to a circular (01/2020) issued on January 25. The circular [...]
Gopal Baglay appointed new Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced yesterday that Gopal Baglay has been appointed as India’s new High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. He will take over from High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu, who left on Thursday as India’s Ambassador to the US. Mr Baglay is a 1992-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service and is [...]
Treasury bonds: Parliament can act on forensic audit reports, say officials
With all the documents released to Parliament by the Central Bank on the forensic audits on Treasury bonds, the Speaker can instruct the Attorney General to file a case against those implicated in the losses from Treasury bond sales, officials familiar with the process, said. This, however, can happen only after Parliament debates the five [...]
Guidelines for care and use of lab animals launched
It was not just another scientific session, but a significant one for the welfare of laboratory animals. For, the ‘Guidelines for the Care and Use of Animals in Laboratory-based Research in Sri Lanka’ were launched at the inauguration of the two-day Seventh Annual Scientific Sessions of the Sri Lanka Association for Laboratory Animal Science (SLALAS) [...]
SC lost a brother judge who lived up to the prestige the profession demanded: CJ
The untimely death of Supreme Court Justice Prasanna Jayawardena PC, denied the entire justice system the opportunity to reap the benefits of the complete tenure of a Judge who was “forthright, courageous and committed,” Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya PC, said. He was speaking during the Reference held for Justice Jayawardena at the Supreme Court recently. [...]
Board hammered over water cuts points finger at CMC
The long hours of water interruptions in Colombo city and suburbs are the result of the council preventing the water board from working in daytime on repairs and projects, board officials said. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) revealed that the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) does not allow it to work on any [...]
Don’t let rumour spread faster than coronavirus
Don’t panic, but be vigilant. Act but don’t react. Get information from credible sources, as rumour is spreading faster than the new coronavirus. Sri Lanka has put in place measures to ward off this threat. These were the key messages with regard to the 2019-novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) reiterated by health authorities, as a rational voice [...]
Lankans in Wuhan come back home
The whole of Friday night, the close kith and kin of the 33 Sri Lankans who left China early yesterday morning were up tracking UL 1423 and sighed in relief as it landed at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA). It was while enjoying a plate of Kiribath (milk rice) at Diyatalawe that Chamara Wickramage [...]
Living hell for families of Lankan students holed up in coronavirus ground zero
Thankfully, it happened during the Chinese New Year. University students or teachers who had chosen to remain in their Wuhan hostels and apartments while the sprawling city emptied out for the holidays had stocked up on at least two weeks of provisions. As it happens here during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, entire [...]
Alagalla: Has the rape of forest reserve begun?
A chance sighting of an illegal structure in-the-making raises questions The Naranbedda Forest Office–the relevant area authority lacks resources to do regular patrols The only building that has got authorisation is the existing temple, say officials Environmentalists on a research expedition two weeks ago stumbled upon building materials and the signs of a “house” [...]
National health system copes with the Coronavirus crisis
The novel Coronavirus (or Wuhan Coronavirus as it is sometimes called) has emerged to pose a threat to the health of thousands all over the world. It has today reached a sufficient level of threat for the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the outbreak sparked by the Coronavirus a Global Emergency. According to WHO, [...]
New Buddhist radio channel launched in Sri Lanka
The first Buddhist radio channel in Sri Lanka, was launched on 27 January 2020 by the Ven.Weliweriya Gothami Mehenin Whanse, chief incumbant of the D.V.P. Wijesinghe Daham Sevana Saha Samma Sambodhi Bhavana Bharaya, Alubomulla, Panadura. Together with the launch of the Buddhist Radio channel, a YouTube channel was also launched the same day. The Ven. [...]
Badulla village is fighting fit
Villagers in Koradekumbura, in Uva Paranagama are practising traditional martial arts, or Angam Pora, indigenous to the Uva Province to stay physically and mentally fit. They are being seen as an exemplary community in a country where many suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes, and conditions such as high blood pressure. Regardless of the [...]
Pick of the PIx
Pix by Indika Handuwala, Lahiru Harshana, M.A. Pushpa Kumara, Amila Gamage and M. Munaf
Kerala evil destroys Jaffna youth aspirations
Talented footballer Thaas* (name withheld) was once expected to become the first Jaffna youth to represent Sri Lanka’s national football team after the end of the 26-year war, but a puff of a special smoke changed his destiny. The 19-year old still remembers the last tournament he played on a Saturday in July, 2017, scoring [...]
Colombo’s dilapidated floating market
Colombo’s floating market shopping complex has not maintained over the past years, with many a shopkeeper being forced to shut down their bussiness. The floating market complex –a brainchild of then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa- was initially opened as part of Colombo’s beautification project in 2014. The market however, lies in a disreputable state. The [...]