News
Home » NewsIndo-Lanka talks on crucial issues
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi seen at New Delhi’s Hyderabad House yesterday after they held one-hour talks on crucial bilateral and multilateral issues.
Energy Ministry seeks Rs. 10 billion loan to prevent power cuts
A stoppage of fuel supplies by the Petroleum Corporation to the Electricity Board due to non-settlement of an outstanding bill — which triggered an unannounced all island power cut last Monday morning — is pushing the Power and Energy Ministry to fast track negotiating a Rs 10 billion loan from state banks. The Ceylon Petroleum [...]
Airbus bribes: CID probe on Lankans who got money from Kapila and wife
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has opened investigations to track the foreign bank accounts maintained by two or three Sri Lankans who have received funds from former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena and his wife accused of accepting bribes from Airbus for re-fleeting the airline. Mr Chandrasena and his wife, Priyanka Wijenayake, were remanded on [...]
IMF calls for structural reforms in Sri Lanka
While the economy is recovering from the terrorist attacks in April 2019 and GDP growth is projected to rise to 3.7 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday that ambitious structural and institutional reforms were needed to anchor policy priorities, bolster competitiveness and foster inclusive growth in Sri Lanka. The statement came [...]
Poaching discussed in Rajapaksa-Modi talks
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday raised the issue of Indian fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters during talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. The issue of poaching along with a range of subjects was taken up during the hour-long discussions between the two prime Ministers at ‘Hyderabad House’ in New Delhi, where foreign dignitaries [...]
Mobile app to check health condition of Chinese visitors
The Health Ministry has introduced a mobile app to track down the movement of visiting Chinese nationals and help medical and public health officers to monitor their health condition. Sri Lanka usually was receiving 800 to 1,200 Chinese tourist a day, but after the coronavirus scare the figure has dropped to 10 to 15 a [...]
I want justice for what happened to me, says pandal victim Surali
A young woman who was seriously injured when an unauthorised pandal put up to welcome then Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa collapsed in Maharagama will never walk again, doctors have confirmed. Meanwhile, the victim alleges that those responsible for erecting the pandal are now threatening her not to file legal action against them. Sulari Laknima (27) [...]
Coronavirus guidelines for SriLankan crews flying to China
A Health Ministry Experts Committee met last morning to draw up guidelines for SriLankan Airlines crews who fly in and out of China which has been hit by the spread of a new coronavirus, the Sunday Times learns. Health Services Director-General Dr. Anil Jasinghe appointed the four-member Experts Committee to set out the guidelines on [...]
Airbus bribery scam: How racketeers piloted SriLankan into disaster
When the Board of SriLankan Airlines in 2013 approved the purchase of a new fleet of Airbuses with Rolls Royce engines for Rs 146.1bn, the company’s total assets were at Rs 89.4bn. This meant the planes cost nearly double what the entire national carrier was worth at the time. Kapila Chandrasena, then Chief Executive Officer [...]
Colombo’s colourful pageant
The 42nd annual Navam Maha Perahera of the Hunupitiya Gangaramaya Temple paraded the streets on Friday and Saturday. The perahera is a much looked forward to cultural and religious event in Colombo. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Raids on leading food chain prompt check-label advice from chief medical officer
Colombo’s Chief Medical Officer has urged consumers to be more vigilant when buying food products or ingredients because they may be buying outdated items with new expiry date labels. His instructions were issued following a raid on a Mattakkuliya food outlet, where shop assistants were found replacing the expiry date label on packets and bottles [...]
Hotel Developers PLC’s new Chairman assumes duties
Former UDA Chairman and Noritake Company Executive Consultant Nimal Perera assumed duties as Hotel Developers (Lanka) PLC’s Chairman recently. The other directors appointed by the Finance Ministry are Ishan Priyantha Dantanarayana, P. Priyantha Deniyaya, J.M.U. Priyantha Jayamaha, V. Kanagasabapathy, Dheeshana S. Ameresekera and M. K. Pradeep Kumara. Prior to his current position at Hotel Developers [...]
Faith-based barriers in schools endure
The clause in the Act of 1960 and 1961 in the government takeover of assisted schools in the early 1960s is causing serious problems to grade 5 scholarship students when choosing a school, a spokesman of the Ceylon Teachers Union, said. Last week a grade 5 scholarship student from the Nawala Janadhipathi Primary School who [...]
Three die in poisonous mine at Avissawella
Considering a number of recent fatal accidents, authorities are warning the people not to go into abandoned mines due to the danger posed by poisonous gases. In the latest incident at Avissawella, three people died after being exposed to poisonous gas at a mine. Coroner H. M. Wijepala said the mine, which was illegally excavated, [...]
A zoo we don’t want in our backyards
Peacocks, monkeys, wild boar and porcupines are descending on urban areas and farmland, emboldened by a lack of predators and tempted by edible garbage. The new pests are causing huge damage to crops and homes, leading to an outpouring of complaints, but there is a reluctance to crack down on the pests. Farmers in the [...]
Special measures in SL to be in place until ‘all clear’
Sri Lanka will keep in place all special precautionary and surveillance measures, until the infection spread by the new coronavirus abates abroad and the disease is brought under control, assured a high-level health official on Friday. “We will be extra-vigilant even after the last few patients – in Wuhan, China where the 2019-nCoV epidemic [...]
All at sea on coronavirus checks as 7,000 arrive on liners
Despite strong assurances that cruise ship passengers, marine crew members and others would be tested for coronavirus, a Sunday Timesinvestigation revealed that checks at sea ports were inferior to procedures at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). More than 7,000 passengers and crew members arrived in Sri Lanka on three cruise liners this week, mainly through Colombo [...]
Youth takes deadly Facebook bait
False information on social media has led to the death of a youth who drank the juice made by blending the leaves of a poisonous plant that has no known ayurvedic benefit. His life had hung in the balance for six days at Gampaha District Hospital, a coroner’s inquiry had been told. Former sailor Ishan [...]
No light at end of Lanka’s power plan tunnel
Energy experts say power cuts and blackouts have become a regular occurrence due to a collective failure on the part of the authorities to bolster the country’s national grid in keeping with the rising demand. With no major power plants being established since 2015, island-wide power cuts are inevitable, they warn, pointing out that [...]
D R Wijewardene: An architect of Independence
When a nation wins independence, individual credits quite often get muted into silence. The victory is celebrated as a communal achievement and, with the exception of a few prominent actors occupying centre stage, most others in the drama tend to get forgotten, or to be overshadowed by larger and more flamboyant reputations. Some do not [...]
72nd Independence Day, simple but significant ceremony
On the same square where Sri Lanka marked its first Independence Day, a brief ceremony was held to mark the 72nd Independence on February. This was President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s first Independence Day. There were no school children or wounded soldiers at the event but it was elegant with different drills and march past by troops. [...]
Excluding National Anthem in Tamil at Independence Day a retrograde step
The 72nd Independence Day celebrations took place this year at the Independence Square under the auspices of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Those interested in national unity and national reconciliation anxiously waited to see whether the National Anthem would be sung in Tamil this year too as had been done in previous Independence Day Celebrations since 2016. [...]
Jaffna University probes alleged sexual harassment of female fresher
A group of students from the Technology Faculty of the Jaffna University are being investigated and may even face dismissal following a complaint that a first year female student was being harassed to an extent that she had even attempted suicide. This follows a complaint by the student’s father to Northern Governor P.S.M. Charles that [...]
Ignore dengue symptoms at your peril
Thirty-four year old Daraniya Gouthaman from Kallady, Batticaloa left behind a grieving husband and two children, who are in shock following their mother’s death. She had ignored the basic symptoms of dengue fever, caused by a mosquito. While Sri Lankans remain fearful of the coronavirus outbreak from China, dengue is claiming lives and putting [...]
Celebrating the legacy and looking to the future
Unique is what is being stressed, as the countdown for the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, reaches the final days, minutes and seconds. While the finishing touches are being done, the landmark Koch Memorial Clock Tower down Kynsey Road has got a coat of white paint and nestling within [...]
Kandy Judge sentences absconding sexual offender to 17 years RI
Kandy High Court Judge Ms. Meneke Wijesundera sentenced H.Asanaka Wickramasinghe de Silva alias Hakim Asanka Wickramasinghe de Silva who stood accused for removing a minor girl -aged 13- from the custody of her lawful guardian and committing a sexual offence on her eleven years ago. The accused who is absconding was sentenced to seventeen-years rigorous [...]
Badulla killing: Contents in polythene bag lead police to suspect
An extensive investigation conducted on the contents of a polythene bag led police to the alleged killer of a 48-year-old mother of two in Badulla. The victim, R.A. Gauridevi was found stabbed in a pool of blood on the upper floor of her two storey home. The killer had been seen by two sisters [...]
Children of a lesser God
Under ILO rules, the minimum age for children to engage in mild work is between 14 to 15 years of age. Likewise for anyone to be involved in a hazardous occupation, he or she MUST be over the age of 18 years. Unfortunately among poorer sections world-wide this rule is often observed in the breach. [...]