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Home » NewsBlazing ship ruins Indian Ocean’s pearl
The fire on the MV X-Press Pearl (see inset for pic taken yesterday) has caused devastating consequences on the coastlines of four districts in two provinces in Sri Lanka. Navy personnel wearing Personal Protection kits are seen clearing the plastic pellets and other debris at the well-known Uswetikeiyawa beach. Pic by M. A. Pushpakumara
Private sector to import, refine and distribute fuel
The Government has decided to open to the private sector the business of supply, refining and distribution of petroleum products which are at present handled by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC). Accordingly, the Government has decided to amend the Petroleum Corporation Act No. 28 of 1961 so that the authority of granting permission for such [...]
President’s Office says shift to organic fertiliser moving ahead
The entire Rs 50bn that the Government spends on agrochemicals will now be diverted to organic and bio-fertiliser use and to support those manufacturers, Presidential Secretary P.B. Jayasundera said. “Efforts to shift from agrochemicals to organic fertliser are moving forward. In fact, the shift to organic fertiliser will be one big agro-industrialisation activity that will [...]
Ban on chemical fertiliser: Experts call for phased withdrawal
An experts committee tasked with overseeing the recently announced ban on chemical fertiliser imports has recommended to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa not to impose the ban on the tea and rubber sectors until sufficient quantities of organic fertiliser were available and to defer the withdrawal of the subsidy until such time, Plantations Minister Romesh Pathirana told [...]
Govt. proposes merger of LAUGFS and Litro to stabilise LP gas price
The Government plans to merge LAUGFS Gas and the state-owned Litro Gas bringing the two-LP gas importing and distributing enterprises under one banner as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative. A Cabinet paper submitted jointly by the Finance and Trade ministries puts the blame on a large price reduction ahead of the Presidential elections in 2019 [...]
Marine life devastated by burning ship’s toxic debris
Authorities are still trying to determine the enormity of the environmental damage caused by the burning MV X-Press Pearl container vessel, with toxic debris from the ship washing up along an increasingly large stretch of coastline and leaving marine life devastated. As of yesterday, debris from the vessel had washed up along the coastline from [...]
China Harbour Engineering Corporation gets contract for linking Athurugiriya interchange and New Kelani Bridge
The Government is to build the elevated expressway linking the Athurugiriya interchange and the New Kelani Bridge as the first foreign direct investment project in expressway construction in the country, Cabinet was told this week. M/S China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC), which already has a large project portfolio in Sri Lanka, won the contract with [...]
“I want to go home, but I have no money and I don’t know what I will do”
More than five years after being arrested while at the helm of MV Avant Garde, Ukrainian ship captain Gennadiy Gavrylov is free to go home. But he has no job, no money and it will cost thousands of dollars to renew his paperwork at a time when the world is fighting a crippling pandemic. “I [...]
US firm’s bid to purchase power plant shares: President defers decision amid CEBEU protest
A United States-based energy company’s bid to link its proposal to purchase 23.9 percent shares of the Kerawalapitiya West Coast Power plant with projects to build a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) and pipelines has run into a storm. Amid opposition from the powerful Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union (CEBEU), President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has ordered [...]
Colombo Port West Container Terminal: Adani gets 51%, Keells 34%, Ports Authority 15%
The letter of intent for the West Container Terminal (WCT) of the Colombo Port was signed and accepted along with the initialed Build, Operate and Transfer Agreement on May 3, authoritative sources said. A consortium company has also been incorporated called West Container International Terminal (Pvt) Ltd. The final shareholding will be 51 percent for [...]
Turmeric: Hopes for price drop turn sour
Despite repeated assurances from the Government that the price of turmeric would drop from January this year with local farmers sending their harvest to the market, the price remains high, consumers complain. They say a 100-gram pack of turmeric powder is being sold at Rs 450 or more just as the case had been during [...]
An international celebration
The Permanent Missions of Sri Lanka and Thailand to the United Nations co-hosted a virtual commemoration on the occasion of the International Day of Vesak on Tuesday. The Commemoration commenced with the opening remarks by the co-hosts Ambassador Mohan Pieris of Sri Lanka and Ambassador Vitavas Srivihok of Thailand, emphasizing the importance of the day [...]
A muted Vesak
Despite the travel restrictions on, and the absence of large scale Vesak celebrations and religious events, many organisations and individual homes put up decorations to mark the event. Some security forces camps also put up decorations during Vesak. The Gangaramaya Temple and surroundings were illuminated and decorations were put up to mark the event. Many [...]
UN hosts virtual Vesak
The United Nations in Sri Lanka along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Member States represented in Colombo hosted a virtual commemoration of the International Day of Vesak this week. UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Hanaa Singer Hamdy addressing virtual commemorations said Vesak was brought to international attention thanks to the late [...]
At Panadura Covid ward, it was hell on earth, then a miracle happened
Sometimes, the Panadura Base Hospital (PBH) COVID ward got so cramped that doctors couldn’t reach patients at the far end for fear of stepping on someone. There were patients on, under and in-between beds. The first wave had been mild. The hospital wasn’t a designated COVID centre. So the dedicated Bhikshu ward held infected patients [...]
There was camaraderie in the COVID ward amidst gloom of death and fear of dying
One of the worst things about lying in a COVID ward is listening to others gasping for air, calling for their love ones and dying while fearing you might be next. Anuja Carmen Wickramasinghe is a 58-year-old restaurant owner from Boralesgamuwa who was recently released from the Homagama Base Hospital after five days of suffering [...]
No reprieve in lockdown restrictions until June 7 as public failed to follow rules, says Govt.
The public’s failure to adhere to rules when travel restrictions were eased last Tuesday (May 25) has resulted in the extension of travel restrictions, without a break, until June 7, the Government said on Friday. The Government had earlier said there would be easing of restrictions tomorrow and June 4. Although it was stipulated that [...]
Little price controls, little options for public hit in the stomach
Prices of essential goods continue to soar with home-bound public forced to pay higher prices whether they are being delivered from the local grocery store, ordered online or bought from mobile vendors. For many, buying rice was a problem with several rice varieties unavailable in supermarkets, while those available at retail stores were being sold [...]
Northern farmers in woe as Cyclone Yaas leaves a trail of destruction
While the country is struggling with a pandemic-hit economy coupled with the increasing cost of living, the Northern farmers lamented that the recent Cyclone, Yaas, made things worse for them. They said some of their crops and cultivation were destroyed by the cyclone. Yaas that passed through the province last week destroyed banana and papaya [...]
Plantation companies say helpless to stop large-scale land encroachment in estates
The exodus of workers from the Western Province to the safety of their homes in the plantation sector in the wake of the worst COVID-19 upsurge in the country has aggravated the land encroachment problem in estates managed by Regional Plantations Companies (RPCs). Regional Plantation Company (RPC) officials said the issue had become more acute [...]
Southwest monsoon forecast to make a storm
Strong, gusty winds will continue over the weekend, the Meteorology Department warns. Southwest monsoon conditions are gradually establishing over the island and showers can be expected in the southwest and southern parts of the island, a spokesperson for the department said. Duty Meteorologist (Forecasting) Kasun Pasquel said they expect thunderstorms to occur these days due [...]
Sri Lanka sinking deeper into murky waters over burning ship
The local agents of the doomed MV X-Press Pearl this week refused to comment on Government claims that vital information about a nitric acid leak from an on-board container had been withheld from Sri Lankan authorities for at least ten hours after the vessel reached anchorage outside the Colombo Port. A senior official from Sea [...]
After Yaas, seawater algae on Mannar coast
In the aftermath of cyclone Yaas’s impact on Sri Lanka, massive saltwater pool algae are being washed ashore along the Mannar coast, making it difficult for fishermen to engage in fishing activities. Local fishermen complained that soon after the cyclone and the adverse weather due to the depression in the Bay of Bengal, large amounts [...]
Pic of the Pix
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Homes without inhabitants
Railway staff quarters located in Aruwakkalu, Chilaw have been abandoned for over a year, and the public have appealed to the authorities to utilise the building. According to railway employees, the official quarters are owned by train drivers, station masters, engineers, road maintenance workers and other officials. These railway quarters are located in the vicinity [...]
‘SL should be proactive not reactive to virus’
Being proactive and not reactive is what we need as a country especially from the health authorities, said former Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe on Friday. The “sure and logical” way forward is to appoint a strong team with health experts at the helm and consisting of experts from all other fields including the security [...]
‘Only the range of groups tested will give a reading whether caseload is dropping or not’
Sri Lanka which is in lockdown needs to keep a close eye on the situation to check whether the number of infections and deaths is coming down. This was the call from public health expert Prof. Kamini Mendis who reiterated that such monitoring should be transparent. There should be clarity on how testing is being [...]
How to handle working from home
Sashi was relieved when she was asked to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Life would be better, she thought, as there would be no travelling in the rush hour traffic, getting home late and hurriedly preparing dinner. She would have more time with her family too. Two months later, however, she [...]
Vaccine roll-out: Clear and strict plan need of the hour
The vaccine rollout against COVID-19 has been mired in controversy since its very inception. While ugly scenes were witnessed this week with powerful people demanding priority for their ‘personal lists’, nearly 600,000 men and women who received the first dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine are sick with worry that they will not be able to get [...]
No continuous increase of infections – health official
“We are seeing a kind of flattening of the infection curve,” said a senior health official, explaining that “a continuous increase of cases is not seen”. This means that we are not fully under control, but we are not losing control, we can confidently say, the Health Ministry’s Head of the Disaster Preparedness and Response [...]
‘Restore priority plan and vaccinate the elderly & those with co-morbidities’
The current vaccination strategy in Sri Lanka is not effective in preventing mortality (death) and severe complications due to COVID 19, warned the former Chief Epidemiologist, Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe. He reiterated that it will not be possible to reduce disease transmission by immunizing selected people in the age-group above 30 years in areas selected, based [...]
Lanka’s zoos welcome baby boomers
The stork is busy, visiting animals at Sri Lanka zoological gardens and giving them glad tidings that they are going to be parents. As the Dehiwala zoo, the Pinnawela zoo and the Ridiyagama safari park remain closed due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions, the animals are left to themselves and seem to be having more time [...]
Pandemic? No, it’s party time in Lanka’s wildlife parks: Animals are free, happy and making love
In Sri Lanka’s wildlife parks and zoological gardens, animals are free, happy, making love and leading a stress-free life because humans who disrupt their lifestyles have been placed under a lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The wilds have come alive. Rarely seen animals are coming to the open, as human activities have come to [...]