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Home » NewsNew Year in Lankan politics
New Year is the time to celebrate a new beginning: On National New Year’s Day, Thursday, protesters extended a hand of friendship and offered sweetmeat to police officers guarding the highly barricaded Presidential Secretariat overlooking the Galle Face Green, the venue of the ongoing protest. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
President convenes emergency meetings to discuss ongoing crisis
Discussions centre on full-fledged new Cabinet, fuel crisis and measures to end queues Govt. prepares itself to face SJB’s no-faith motion; Gammanpila wary about the move President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last evening chaired an emergency high level Government meeting of former Cabinet ministers at the heavily guarded President’s House in the Fort to discuss the prevailing [...]
Govt. seeks US$ 700mn from World Bank to buy chemical fertiliser, revive agriculture
The Government has sought a loan of US$ 700 million from the World Bank to revive the agricultural sector by providing imported agrochemicals and seeds after setbacks suffered in the Maha season. Agriculture Ministry Secretary D.M.L. Bandaranayake told the Sunday Times that the funds had been sought for the ongoing Yala season and the upcoming [...]
High-priced diesel puchase from IOC : CEB suffers Rs. 2.1 billion loss
A decision by the Government to purchase 6,000 metric tonnes of diesel at a higher price from the Indian Oil Company (IOC) to reduce power cuts in the first week of April has added to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) losses, CEB sources said. The CEB had to pay Rs. 2.11 billion (Rs. 2112.5 million) [...]
CSE’s week-long closure draws criticism; ‘bad signal’ to outside world
A pillar of the free market economy, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has decided to close trading for the whole of next week (April 18 to 22), amid criticism that it sends a bad signal to the international community from a country that has declared itself “temporarily” bankrupt. Colombo University Economics professor Sirimal Abeyratne said [...]
SriLankan says Entebbe-bound cargo contained currency notes for Uganda
SriLankan Airlines this week said that 102 metric tonnes of “printed material” airlifted to Entebbe in February 2021 were Ugandan currency notes sent as cargo as an order of “a global security printer who operates several factories worldwide, including one in Sri Lanka, exporting to global markets”. The Sunday Times exclusively broke the story regarding [...]
Protests gather momentum across the country
Protests demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government are spreading across the country. Protests are underway in Kandy, Galle, Badulla, Anuradhapura and Bandarawela regions while one is to begin in Matara today. The protest in Kandy with over 50 participants has been continuing for two days in front of the Kandy Lake [...]
Power cut blamed for deaths of father-son duo at railway crossing and house blaze
A father and son were killed when their motorcycle collided with a train at the Balapitiya-Wellawatte railway crossing last morning. Villagers said that when the accident occurred the signal lights were not functioning due to a power cut. Meanwhile, a woman who lived in the vicinity and had rushed to the scene of the accident [...]
Fuel rationing leads to longer queues
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation’s decision to ration fuel has created more panic buying and longer queues at fuel sheds. Fearing that the restrictions are an indication of a more serious fuel shortage to come, the people are hoarding stocks of fuel. However, CPC chairman Sumith Wijesinghe told the Sunday Times that although the restrictions were [...]
From Beruwala to Colombo: JVP starts protest march today
Will not join youth led peoples’ protests in Galle Face, says Lal Kantha March to conclude in Colombo on Tuesday at Lipton roundabout The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has planned a three-day anti-government protest march demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation. The march that starts today at 9 a.m.from Beruwala will end in Colombo on [...]
Labour Tribunal presidents given more judicial powers
Presidents of labour tribunals are to get more judicial powers equivalent to Additional Magistrates to hear, try, determine and dispose of all suits or prosecutions, according to a Special Provisions Bill introduced under the Industrial Disputes Act. The Bill was submitted by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as Minister of Economic Policies and [...]
Week of religious significance
The week that ends today not only heralded the dawn of a New Year, but is also religiously significant, with the country’s Buddhists observing the Bak Maha Poya yesterday and the Christian community Good Friday. The pictures show devotees at the Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya and Colombo’s Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith conducting Good Friday Mass [...]
Kataragama New Year perahera: Rituals include Veddha ambush
The annual Kataragama perahera to mark the dawn of the National New Year was conducted on Thursday amidst a large gathering of Buddhist and Hindu devotees. After placing the casket containing the sacred relic on the perahera’s chief elephant, the Kirivehera Chief Incumbent, the Ven. Kobawaka Dhamminda Thera, administered Pansil to the Basnayaka Nilame and [...]
Litro Gas takes a holiday while gas shortage continues
Litro Gas Lanka claimed that internal order processes are taking place smoothly, but external hardships are affecting the market supply. Despite the assurance that orders were going through and shipments were coming in on time, it was difficult to predict what the next few months might be like because of the volatile state of the [...]
Court of Appeal dismisses Ruhuna Uni student activist’s writ petition
A Writ Petition filed by a student activist suspended for allegedly insulting the Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Ruhuna University has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal (CA). The petitioner had appealed to the CA to issue an order quashing the suspension imposed by the University on him pending the outcome [...]
Parliament staff also taking precuations
With the public protests on the rise against government members of parliament some have already taken precautionary action such as moving out from their houses and stepping up security. Now Parliamentary staff too have been forced to take security precautions fearing that the anger would turn against them. Buses transporting parliamentary staff will now operate [...]
Playing pandu with Bandu
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that comedian and popular actor Bandu Samarasinghe will not be appointed the Consul General in Milan. However, on Friday the Ministry said that his name was considered for the appointment.
Beefed-up maritime patrols to stop Lankan economic refugees fleeing to TN
Navy and security authorities have stepped up security and patrolling activities along the North-East maritime border to prevent Sri Lankan economic refugees from fleeing to Tamil Nadu citing food scarcity. On Thursday, a family of four, including an infant, and the skipper of the fishing boat were arrested by Navy teams deployed in the Gulf [...]
GTF says protests should lead to meaningful, long lasting changes
A Tamil diaspora organisation has urged that the current momentum caused by the ongoing protests against the government should not be lost but instead should lead to a historical transformation in the country with meaningful and long lasting changes. Global Tamil Forum (GTF), an umbrella organisation of Tamil diaspora outfits based in North America and [...]
Diverse but determined; the people keep coming to Galle Face
Hunched over a parcel of rice and curry, five adults and a child share a meal on Galle Face Green. It’s past 4 p.m. on Avurudu day. All are cultivators: One from Hambantota, another from Kotadeniyawa, a third from Anuradhapura, and the couple and child from Neluwa in Galle. At night, they unfolded a tarp, [...]
Calls ring out for justice for Easter Sunday terror and trauma
Church bells will ring and worshippers will pray for 269 departed souls — Sri Lankans including 82 children and 47 foreign nationals from 14 countries — to mark the church bombings by extremists on Easter Sunday three years ago on April 21. The Archbishops House will mark the day with prayer and service. The two [...]
Debate and key questions over killers
A war of words erupted between the government and the Catholic Church following allegations by the Archbishop’s House that not enough is being done to ensure justice to victims of the Easter Sunday bombings three years ago. This week, Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne, in a press briefing on the eve of the Sinhala Tamil New [...]
Rains stir hope, then betray power-cut-hit Lanka
Weather gods have not been much of a help to overcome the present power crisis as the rains that stirred much hope earlier this week gradually decreased, with some reservoirs receiving zero rainfall on Friday. “We expected the rains to continue, especially in the catchment areas. A few days of rain increased the power generation [...]
Before setting O/L question papers, verify schools have covered syllabuses: Teachers tell Ministry
With little more than a month left for the GCE Ordinary Level examinations, teachers have urged the authorities to verify whether the syllabuses have been covered before the question papers are set. Their call came amidst reports that many schools have not covered the syllabuses due to shutdowns prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Ceylon Teachers [...]
Traders lament people in no mood for traditional celebration
At a time of unbearable hardship when family incomes of Sri Lankans are evaporating, traders have found to their dismay that festive spending has shrunk. Sinhala-Tamil New Year is the time when the majority of Sri Lankans spend on new clothing, gifts for children, the elderly, friends and relatives, and most of all, for traditional [...]
New ways to greet the New Year
The Sinhala and Tamil new year was marked this week with many trying to keep to the auspicious times and the traditions, irrespective of the difficulties faced. However, some people were forced to be out on the roads due to the circumstances that prevailed. Among them were those in the queues trying to purchase fuel. [...]
Safety device for motorbike riders
A motor mechanic based in Jaffna has produced a device which helps reduce the damage in motorcycle accidents. Edwin Morris, a motor vehicle repairman for 30 years, who made the device, says his motive was to reduce the number of fatal road accidents. The device, when fitted on the helmet and motorcycle, prevents the rider [...]
Safari drivers’ suffering worsens as economic crisis sees drop in tourist arrivals
More than 600 Yala National Park safari drivers are among those severely impacted by the ongoing economic crisis with the shortage of fuel and a drop in tourist arrivals threatening their livelihoods, Save Yala Association President Tharindu Gihan said. Tourism as a whole had suffered in the Southern Province due to power cuts, gas and [...]
Tourism sector warns of collapse
Continuing shortages of fuel, cooking gas, regular power cuts, and import restrictions on housekeeping and kitchenware will lead to the collapse of the tourism industry, stakeholders warn. Hotel Suppliers Association president Azad Manzoor warned that the introduction of licences last month by the Finance Ministry for imports of kitchen and housekeeping equipment and items such [...]
Why no protests in the north? War time survival techniques back in use
Why aren’t the northern people protesting over rising prices and shortages of essential items? The answer: Economic hardships are not new to them. When the war was raging in the Northern Province just over a decade ago, electricity was a luxury for many families in the region. To survive and overcome life’s difficulties, people were [...]
Deprivation fuels widespread rage on the streets
Millions of furious Sri Lankans have spent days and nights at fuel stations during the New Year. Such desperation had not even been seen during the coronavirus disease pandemic when panic set in amid hundreds of deaths of innocents. At New Year, most small-scale fuel stations were closed and long lines formed at those that [...]
Shortage of rice imminent, warn small scale rice millers
Price of 1kg of rice could increase to Rs. 400 by end August Paddy yields drop by 50 percent; rice imports become mandatory The country is in the midst of a worsening financial and essential items shortage crisis, with fears that it could go bankrupt as inflation reaches new highs, food prices skyrocket and the [...]
BASL drafting proposals to find solutions to prevailing crisis
Group within pushes for sweeping political reforms The Executive Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has appointed a sub-committee to formulate proposals regarding ways to resolve the country’s prevailing crisis. Headed by BASL President Saliya Pieris, PC, the sub-committee is drafting its proposals and these will be placed before the Bar in [...]