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With most schools scheduled to reopen on Monday after COVID-19 lockdowns, disruptions and prolonged holidays, parents are seen here washing and scrubbing the classroom and corridor floors of Anamaduwa Kottukachchiya Navodya Vidyalaya. Schools in the Western Province will remain closed for now, except for Grade 11 students. Pic Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe
Jaishankar expressed concerns over China’s ‘influence’ in Indian projects
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s whistle-stop visit to Colombo was prompted largely by New Delhi’s concerns that China was guiding the narrative on its pet projects such as the proposed partnership with Japan and Sri Lanka to run the East Container Terminal (ECT) in the Colombo Port, the Sunday Times learns. Less than five [...]
US indicts three Sri Lankans for Easter Sunday massacres; may seek their extradition
The United States has indicted three Sri Lankans for the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019. All three are in Sri Lankan judicial custody at the moment. The move came as Justice Ministry sources in Colombo said the US may seek an extradition of the three suspects. However, diplomatic sources said since they might face charges [...]
New tax laws delayed; huge revenue loss
The collection of Goods and Services Taxes by the Inland Revenue Department has been stopped until the introduction of the tax system proposed in the 2021 Budget and this has resulted in further revenue losses. Under the budget proposals, the Government was to introduce an efficient tax collection system through an online-managed single Special Goods [...]
Jaffna University war memorial demolished; hartal in NE tomorrow
Tamil civil society groups, political parties and Jaffna University student unions have called for a hartal to be observed tomorrow across the Northern and Eastern provinces to condemn the demolition of a memorial to remember those killed in the northern conflict. A tense situation erupted outside the gates of the Jaffna University on Friday evening [...]
COVID upsurge in Ukraine, but tourists will continue to come
Ukrainian tourists who are part of Sri Lanka’s “experiment to reopen the country for tourists” will continue to arrive on chartered flights till January 24 despite a partial lockdown being imposed in the Eastern European nation owing to a spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths. The lockdown came into effect on Friday and will continue [...]
SriLankan promises quarantine facilities for crew after spat with Pilots’ Guild
National carrier SriLankan Airlines said yesterday that it was in discussions with the Ministry of Health (MoH) to secure paid-quarantine facilities for all its employees – including pilots and cabin crew – that test positive for COVID-19. “Whist awaiting the written confirmation from the MoH, we have already transferred our asymptomatic COVID-19 positive staff to [...]
Newly appointed Superior Court judges will hear cases from this month
Six new Supreme Court (SC) Justices and 14 Court of Appeal (CA) Justices — appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in terms of the 20th Amendement — will start hearing cases from January 18 and 29 respectively. The judges will sit in new court houses in the building currently housing the Justice Ministry. The ministry, meanwhile, [...]
Former President Maithripala Sirisena’s allegations against former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
Last week, the Sunday Times published a letter from former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s lawyers responding to comments made by former President Maithripala Sirisena in an interview published in the newspaper’s Political Column of December 27, 2020 and giving an explanation to numerous allegations made by Mr. Sirisena. The letter also stated that those comments [...]
Currency swap with China and India: US$ 2.5 billion
Last week’s Sunday Times print edition front page story titled “US$ 3.5bn currency swap deals with China and India” erroneously reported the figure of US$ 3.5bn. Accordingly, the Central Bank hopes to enter into a currency swap of US$ 1.5 billion with the Chinese Central Bank and US$ 1 billion with the Reserve Bank India. [...]
Dr. Abeykoon: WHO special envoy to coordinate global COVID response
A senior Sri Lankan health expert is among seven Special Envoys handpicked by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Head to coordinate the global response to COVID-19. Dr. Palitha Abeykoon was chosen this week by WHO Director-General (DG) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for the South East Asia Region and will work in close collaboration with the DG’s [...]
WhatsApp new privacy policy raises concerns among cyber security analysts here
As social media messaging app WhatsApp introduced a new user privacy policy to extract sweeping personal user data to be shared with its mother company Facebook, users in Sri Lanka are less informed about its consequences in the absence of data privacy legislation, according to cyber security analysts. Early this week, WhatsApp users received a [...]
Schools given full list of instructions for tomorrow
With schools scheduled to start tomorrow in all areas except the Western Province and lockdown areas, principals have been ordered to have all health protocols in place to enable children to function without fear in the “new normal” environment. An instruction manual directs that school premises and equipment be disinfected frequently and adequate ablution facilities [...]
Tumult over turmeric – ‘no cause’ for fungus alarm
Turmeric cultivators in Ampara harvesting their produce after nine long months of toil announced last week – to the astonishment of consumers – that their crops are infested with fungus. The announcement came with the whole country agog for the prized spice, with imports being banned from December 2019. The Department of Agriculture Export has, [...]
Seeduwa hotel rebuts claim it started second wave
The CID resumed their investigations to ascertain whether the hotel where the Ukrainian airline crew were staying was responsible for originating the second wave of the pandemic. The probe was reactivated a day after COVID-19 Control State Minister Sudharshani Fenandopulle’s statement in Parliament. Ramada Hotel, Seeduwa, General Manager Asoka Jayamanne said the State Minister’s statement [...]
Archaeological site bulldozed by unidentified persons
An archaeological site at Galkiriyagama in Anuradhapura district has been bulldozed by unidentified persons, according to a complaint lodged with the police. The site, known as Mahahurullewa is gazetted under the Department of Archaeology. Stone pillars, a moonstone, an ancient stupa and other buildings now lie scattered in pieces. Officers from the Galkiriyagama Department of [...]
Voter registry ready online for scrutiny
Sri Lankans have been asked to go online at the Elections Commission website to check their name in the draft voter registry for 2020. The site is at www.elections.gov.lk “Those whose names are not included in the 2020 voter registry draft are eligible to make a request on or before January 19. We have given [...]
Top vet virologists warn of new viral disease spreading among cattle
A new viral disease is spreading fast among cattle in Sri Lanka, veterinary virologists have sounded the alarm. Addressing a news conference on Friday in Kandy, Animal Production and Health Department virologist Dr. Pradeep Kumarawadu said the virus was first detected in Jaffna in September last year, but it had now spread to 14 districts. [...]
Sri Lanka erroneously shamed as top-5 polythene polluters by WB in 2012; error remains uncorrected
Sri Lanka is still haunted by an old erroneous and unsubstantiated World Bank statistic that caused it to be labelled the fifth worst plastic polluter of the seas. Six years ago, Science Magazine–one of the world’s two top peer-reviewed journals –published an article by eight academics about plastic waste pollution of the ocean. Based on [...]
That label that won’t go away
In early December last year, Sarath Wijesinghe, Managing Director of Aqua Packaging (Pvt) Ltd, contacted this newspaper. Along with two sister companies, his business produces plastic bags for export to the US and Europe. One of the products that go to the US is the newspaper bag. Folded newspapers are inserted into them before delivery. [...]
Colombo Port backup team at the ready for virus emergencies
About 100 skilled workers, including marine pilots and crane operators, are on standby to respond to a coronavirus-related emergency at the Colombo Port, now declared an essential service. The chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) General (retd) Daya Ratnayake indicated it was necessary to be prepared. An extraordinary gazette was issued on December [...]
Rehearsal at Wattala for robbery at Enderamulla
Police have launched a search for two suspects involved in an attempted robbery and a robbery at two supermarkets in the Wattala area on New Year’s Day. Police said the two men first tried to rob a Wattala supermarket on January 1 night and then they proceeded in their motorcycle to rob another supermarket at [...]
Vital aspects being drawn up in National Vaccination Deployment Plan
A crystal clear National Vaccination Deployment Plan (NVDP) covering all vital aspects is being drawn up, the Sunday Times learns, with health officials looking at the Electoral Register to get accurate and up-to-date data when selecting the target group for vaccines. Conceding that there is much work to be done, the Principal Advisor to the [...]
Chief Epidemiologist spells out new quarantine rules
There have been changes in the period of quarantine imposed on different categories of people who are exposed to the new coronavirus. “Any COVID-19 positive patient who is mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic (without symptoms) and is kept at an intermediate care centre does not need to undergo home quarantine after discharge,” said Chief Epidemiologist Dr. [...]
Outrage over plan to plant a golf resort in treasured Muthurajawela
Moves to build a luxury hotel and golf course in the rich eco-system of the Muthurajawela Wetlands, a critical flood retention area, are under the spotlight with officials professing bewilderment at the discovery. Senior religious leaders this week publicly condemned the resort plan, with one saying he had been threatened over his stance. Environment Minister [...]
CEA seeks AG’s advice on proposed elevated highway across Thalangama wetland
The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has sought the Attorney General’s advice on whether it can grant approval for any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that is done on the Road Development Authority’s proposed elevated highway across the protected Thalangama wetland and Averihena tank. The 10.4km stretch of highway is the second phase of a 17.3km project [...]
Lost in transit?
Accusations are being levelled at different parties by the Sri Lanka Customs and local importers regarding the 28 containers of agricultural waste that were shipped to Sri Lanka as coriander. Sri Lanka Customs Superintendent, Ashraf Samusdeen told the Sunday Times that discrepancies seemed to arise on the part of multiple parties involved in the supposed [...]
Hell is better than life in Lanka’s prisons
From rats, cockroaches and mosquitoes to ill-lit overcrowded cells, muddy kitchens infested with flies and shopping bags used as makeshift toilets in the night, HRCSL study exposes inhuman, nauseous and ghastly conditions inside the country’s jails Survey shows detention conditions are far below “the threshold of basic living standards”; the nation’s prisons breed criminality, corruption [...]
Detection of ecstasy pills: Customs seeks Belgium’s help to track down the sender
Sri Lanka Customs’ Central Intelligence Directorate will reach out to its counterparts in Belgium on the possibility of tracking down those responsible for sending the largest stock of ecstasy pills ever recovered by a Sri Lankan agency. Customs has valued the drugs, found from the Central Mail Exchange (CME) at Rs 135 million. “Sri Lanka [...]
Pick of the Pix
Pix by Hiran Priyankara, Karuwalagaswewa Jayarathna Wickramarachchi and Priyanka Samaraveera 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 [...]
2,000 road deaths despite shutdowns
Despite several parts of the country being under lockdown or travel restrictions for several months last year, more than 2,000 people were killed in traffic accidents. Accidents dropped by less than a third despite the long shutdowns, with 2,095 deaths last year compared to 2,852 deaths in 2019, according to police statistics. Traffic and Road [...]
Rain ruins sesame harvest
Acres of white sesame cultivation are at the risk of being destroyed due to heavy rain fall experienced in the North Western Province. Farmers in Anamaduwa, Mahakumbukkadawala, Nawagattegama and Wanathawilluwa areas in the Puttalam District are complaining of rotting harvests as their agricultural produce does not fetch a good price in the market. Though it [...]