News
Home » NewsThe forgotten COVID chapter at book fair
The ten-day Colombo International Book Fair began at the BMICH on Friday with more than 30,000 people attending. Though the organisers say all precautions were taken amid reports that people were ignoring precautions over COVID-19 pandemic, the Sunday Times team found that the physical distancing rule was not being followed despite boards appealing for compliance [...]
Three ministries work out plan to revive tourism
Three ministries will jointly seek approval for a plan to revive the tourism industry by opening up the airports for visitors from November after a six-month closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior official said. Tourism Ministry Secretary S. Hettiaarachchi told the Sunday Times that his ministry along with the Health and Aviation Ministries [...]
Repatriation and charter flights: SriLankan offloads ticketing agents
SriLankan Airlines has stopped the issuance of tickets for charter flights–including for repatriation–through agents as it was found they were charging exorbitant rates. The decision was announced at the Presidential Task Force meeting this week by Gen Shavendra Silva, head of the National Operation Centre to fight COVID-19. There will be no more agent-booked flight [...]
All clear for Bohra Chief and entourage to come to Sri Lanka
The Government has cleared the arrival of a special flight carrying the Head of the Dawoodi Bohra community and his entourage from Mumbai in India. His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin was first scheduled to arrive in June but the visit was delayed. The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) revealed this week that permission had [...]
New Diamond Captain to be indicted in Kalmunai High Court
The distressed oil tanker MT New Diamond’s captain is to be indicted by the Attorney General for violating the Marine Pollution Prevention (MPP) Act. The vessel’s Greek Captain, Steiros Ilias (60) faces a variety of charges under the Act. These include causing pollution to the territorial waters, maritime zone or coastal zone of Sri Lanka, [...]
Retired judges perturbed over proposed 20A
The Retired Judges’ Association (RJA) says it is “gravely perturbed” by the potential impact of the draft 20th Amendment on the constitutional separation of powers, particularly in relation to the selection and appointment of judges to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. In a letter to Justice Minister Ali Sabry, the association notes [...]
Treasury to begin talks with JICA to revoke light-rail loan deal
The Treasury will start talks with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with a view to cancelling the loan agreement to build the Colombo light rail transit system (LRT), an authoritative official source said this week. The Government’s priorities have shifted from mega projects to micro-level initiatives such as irrigation, agriculture, the 100,000km road project and [...]
State-job rejects’ appeals to be evaluated, as unemployed grads plan more protests
The Government will evaluate the appeals of thousands of graduates whose appointment letters were withdrawn on the basis that they once held jobs with EPF and ETF benefits, a top official said. This week, about 7000 graduates staged silent protests outside District Secretariats and presented petitions urging the authorities that the injustice done to them [...]
Cured COVID patient tests positive again
A recovered COVID-19 patient admitted to the Chilaw Base Hospital for a sudden illness was transferred to the Iranawila COVID-19 Treatment Centre yesterday (19) after he tested positive again, the hospital director said. The patient is a 23-year-old resident of Anamaduwa. He arrived in Sri Lanka on August 16 from Dubai. He was identified as a [...]
Final report on nationwide power outage delayed due to CEB withholding data
The final report of a committee appointed to investigate the countrywide power failure on August 17 has been delayed because the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) withheld crucial data, which it only handed over on Friday. The outcome of the inquiry is now expected to be handed over to the Power Ministry on September 25 or [...]
20A undermines free speech, democratic institutions, say professional media groups
Professional media industry bodies have raised concerns over certain clauses of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, saying it would have a detrimental impact on freedom of speech, expression and information in Sri Lanka. The statement has been issued by the Sri Lanka Press Institute, the Newspaper Society of Sri Lanka, The Editors’ Guild of [...]
Kandy lawmaker’s daughter called to court on Hantane land clearance
The Kandy Additional Magistrate issued notice on Chamindrani Kiriella to appear in court on October 11, following a case that has been filed by the Central Environmental Authority in regard to the violation of the 2010 Gazette Notification No: 1641/28. Kandy Police noticed seven organisations on a complaint by the Hantane Surakeema Sanvidanya that the [...]
Forest of evasions shields those who raze forests
Lack of co-ordination among state agencies and their failure to monitor and act on problems has resulted in a surge of mass-scale destruction of forests and environmentally sensitive areas including the Knuckles Range, investigations revealed. The destruction of forest in Eluwankulama, Wanathawilluwa and of wetlands in Anavilundawa – both in the Puttalam district – clearing [...]
Driver’s licences change hands to save costs
Driver’s licences will be printed by the military from next year to help rein in the high costs of a private contractor. The monthly requirement of 75,000-90,000 digital driver’s licences will be printed by the army from next year, the Motor Traffic Commissioner General, Sumith Alahakoon, said. Licences will be printed at Werahera. At present, [...]
SLMC tainted by trade unionism, alleges specialists’ association
Expressing grave concern about the recent developments at the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC), the Association of Medical Specialists has said the current crisis is strongly linked to trade unionisation of the premier body. “There is an imminent threat of a trade union taking reins of the SLMC which would mark the beginning of the [...]
RIBA members holds AGM
The Annual General Meeting of ‘RIBA members Sri Lanka’ which was established by the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA) was held recently. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the parental body of Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA), formerly known as the Ceylon Institute of Architects (CIA), established in January 2015 “RIBA Members [...]
Lack of laws, lack of awareness sink Lanka’s right to make claims over MT New Diamond fire
In the aftermath of the incident involving the stricken oil supertanker MT New Diamond, authorities here have acknowledged local laws have not been properly updated to meet such potential disasters. While the current Marine Pollution Prevention Act did not limit Sri Lanka’s ability to place claims, the Act was still severely limited in other ways, [...]
Rules a mockery in Ramsar wetlands, report finds
Prawn farming was rampant in Sri Lanka’s globally-recognised Ramsar wetlands despite local authorities claiming no permits had been issued after 2018, an expert committee investigating the destruction of a section of the Anawilundawa sanctuary said. These wetlands are designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental environmental treaty established by UNESCO [...]
Biodiversity finale beckons: UN
Biodiversity, the variety of life on earth, will continue to decline until 2050 and beyond if the world continues with “business as usual”, a United Nations report said this week. The increasing impacts of land and sea use change, overexploitation, climate change, pollution and invasive alien species are some of the contributory factors,The Global Biodiversity [...]
Trial and error for traffic lanes
The police will continue with trials of moving peak hour road traffic in dedicated lanes in select roads of Colombo and suburbs after shelving a decision to impose a fine of Rs 2,000 from tomorrow on offenders. “We will not impose fines immediately, but we plan to call those violating rules for [road] traffic classes,’’ [...]
Serious concerns over non-compliance of all-important health measures
Many were the voices of caution that came to the fore with strong calls not to forget the all-important health measures that are essential to keep COVID-19 from beginning a rampage through the people of this country. These cautionary notes rose to a shrill crescendo as more people viewed COVID-19 with lethargy and complacency. Many [...]
Rabid jackal alert following girl’s agonising death
Any sightings of jackals exhibiting violent behavior should be reported immediately, the wildlife department said, following the death of a child believed to have been attacked by a rabid jackal. The Director of Wildlife Health, Dr. Tharaka Prasad, advised the public not to approach aggressive jackals. “Normal jackals flee from people but rabid jackals are [...]
Health guidelines not followed properly on Day 1 of the Book Fair
While a high official of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association assured that health guidelines (fever checks, hand hygiene, face-mask wearing and social distancing) were followed at the Colombo International Book Fair being held at the BMICH, a team from the Sunday Times which visited the venue on the first day (September 18) found it [...]
CIFL crisis exposes weakness in Central Bank’s regulatory systems
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has petitioned the Commercial High Court of Colombo to wind up Central Investments & Finance Ltd (CIFL). It was the latest in a string of failures involving regulated finance companies. And the company’s balance sheet had long indicated to the regulator that a collapse was looming. A Ponzi [...]
Ten-shun! Army begins to shake up lacklustre public service
Military-led training for future government servants commenced this week in 51 army centres, with the first batch of 10,000 graduates learning how to work more efficiently and earn respect as the government resolves to energise the public sector. Participants will receive three-week residential training at security force headquarters, regimental headquarters and army training schools. Army [...]
Turmeric haul drags two customs suspects into net
Two customs officers are among 10 suspects arrested by police for releasing three container loads of turmeric, which is now a prohibited import. Containers of turmeric had been cleared under a false declaration. The import ban on the commodity has also led to an increase in smuggling from India and yet another load of turmeric [...]
Pick of the Pix
From our readers: Shutterbugs out there, we would once again appreciate 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 mention the camera or cellphone that was used. Pic by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe, Pix by [...]
Mounting waste
Alongside the high-rise buildings in the Western Province are the high rising garbage mountains. With over 25 such garbage dumps (21 active) and a daily collection of 3,500 metric tons of garbage joining the existing dumps, solid waste is an immense threat to all lives and the environment. At present, over seven local government institutions [...]