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In a historic presidential election where every vote was vital, the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna parliamentarian Saman Priya Herath was brought to Parliament from hospital, with a bottle of saline attached to him and carried by parliament staff.
New PM on mission to form all-party govt.
Immediate talks on common programme; SJB and SLFP give positive response By Damith Wickremasekara The new Prime Minister Dinesh Gunwardena is to co-ordinate talks with political parties in an effort to form an all-party government with options open to expand the Cabinet, the Sunday Times learns. Premier Gunawardena will be tasked to negotiate with the [...]
Covid on the rise again: People urged to take precautions
By Chris Kamalendran The number of COVID-19 cases are on the rise with at least eight deaths during the week, the Health Ministry said yesterday. The death toll this month has risen to 13. COVID cases have increased with about 60 people being tested positive daily. Majority of those who died are above the age [...]
WHO declares global health emergency over monkeypox
GENEVA, July 23 (AFP) – The World Health Organisation has declared the monkeypox outbreak, which has affected nearly 17,000 people in 74 countries, to be a global health emergency — the highest alarm it can sound. “I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern,” WHO chief Tedros [...]
What you have done is a serious betrayal, US judge tells former Lankan envoy
Jaliya Wickramasuriya, Sri Lanka’s former Ambassador in Washington, DC, got off lightly this week for defrauding the Sri Lanka Government in the purchase of a new embassy building on account of having taken a plea bargain in April this year. Plea bargains are agreements between defendants and prosecutors in which defendants agree to plead guilty [...]
President’s Office back in operation from tomorrow
The Presidential Secretariat will be fully operational from tomorrow after more than three months, a senior official said yesterday. Cleaning up and repairs were being carried out to doors and windows damaged during the occupation by protesters in parts of the building. Meanwhile, a specialised squad of crime scene and fingerprint officers has been established [...]
Millions of Lankans facing food insecurity, UN warns
WFP and FAO say situation may get worse; and seek more world assistance More than one-fourth of the country’s population is facing food insecurity and millions are not consuming acceptable diets while the ongoing situation is likely to deteriorate as the crisis unfolds, a United Nations agency has warned. In its latest situation report released [...]
Railway guard pushed to his death from train
A railway security guard was killed after he was allegedly pushed out of a moving train on Friday night, Police said. The incident took place between Mirigama and Weyangoda when the security guard tried to stop two passengers consuming liquor in the Jaffna-bound train from Colombo. Two people, including a cafeteria employee, were arrested over [...]
Tear gas purchases: RTIC orders police to release details
By Namini Wijedasa The Right to Information Commission (RTIC) has issued an interim order instructing the Police Department to release withheld information related to teargas purchases between January 1 and May 24 this year. The Police Department had refused a request filed in May by the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) under the Right [...]
Govt. ready for school reopening but not teachers and students, say unions
By Chrishanthi Christopher The Education Ministry has decided to reopen schools tomorrow for the second academic term, but unions say the move is premature as issues facing the education sector arising from the fuel crisis have not been solved. The Ministry has directed that schools be opened on three days of the week — Mondays, [...]
A president, PM and cabinet within 48 hours
A new President, Prime Minster and a cabinet were sworn in within a span of 48 hours during the week. Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as the country’s 8th Executive President by Parliament on Wednesday by a majority of 52 votes. Mr. Wickremesinghe polled 134 votes while his challengers Dullas Alahapperuma and Anura Dissanayake polled 82 [...]
Chinese rice donation for school children
About 1,000 metric tonnes of rice received from China as a donation will be distributed among low-income families with school-going children, the Education Ministry said. It said the consignment, which arrived last week, was part of the 10,000MT donation China had pledged to Sri Lanka. Accordingly, around 1,080,000 children in 7,925 schools would benefit from [...]
Govt. ready for school reopening but not teachers and students, say unions
By Chrishanthi Christopher The Education Ministry has decided to reopen schools tomorrow for the second academic term, but unions say the move is premature as issues facing the education sector arising from the fuel crisis have not been solved. The Ministry has directed that schools be opened on three days a week — Mondays, Tuesdays [...]
The long wait is over
Ranil’s rocky ride to presidency It is not without reason that the United National Party or the UNP is called the ‘Uncle Nephew Party’. Forty-four years ago, on February 4, 1978, its leader Junius Richard Jayewardene (JR), then seventy-two years of age, was sworn in as the country’s first Executive President. He was not elected [...]
Stunned protesters scrambled out of tents as military might descended on them
A handful of protesters were singing and dancing at the occupied Presidential Secretariat on Thursday (21) night as a last hurrah before they would hand it and “Gate Zero,” a gate to the Secretariat, to the authorities on Friday afternoon. Rumours of buses carrying military personnel circling the area had reached the crowd but rumours [...]
Thousands of dengue patients trigger epidemic alarm
By Renishka Fernando Dengue-infected Sri Lankans have now increased to 44,084 in the country and health officials fear an epidemic, with a sudden surge in cases this month. Nimila Samarasinghe, 29, from Wellawatte, was diagnosed with dengue for the first time in his life. He had started to show symptoms of fever on July 11. [...]
Community kitchens pick up steam islandwide
By Yoshitha Perera Community kitchen programmes are picking up islandwide with many people giving a helping hand. In the face of Sri Lanka’s worst ever economic and political crises people have stepped up to to help many families who would otherwise go hungry. In small neighbourhoods and communities people are concerned about the plight of [...]
Foreign earnings from Sri Lankans overseas, exports fluctuate
By Renishka Fernando Sri Lankans working overseas have been the biggest contributors of foreign exchange to the country. But their remittances have been declining since 2021. Data from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) show that remittances from Sri Lankans overseas reached its peak in 2016 at US$7.241 billion. From that year up to [...]
Perahera arrangements get underway; accommodation an issue
By L B Senaratne A meeting to review the arrangements for the Kandy Esala Perahera – which commences on August 2 – was held at the maligawa auditorium on Friday. The meeting was chaired by Diyawadana Nilame Pradeep Nilanga Dela and District Secretary C Tennakoon. At the meeting, Basnayake Nilame of Kandy Kataragama Devale Gemunu [...]
Running on a rim
Story and pix by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe The Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) Depot of the North Western Province has been hit by a shortage of tyres; as a result, half of its buses are out of service, a senior official of the Depot said. Officials of the North Western Province SLTB Depot said that [...]
Fuel pass goes islandwide tomorrow despite teething troubles
By Kasun Warakapitiya and Sohan Vipulananda The fuel pass system will be operative island-wide from tomorrow even though many a teething trouble is yet to be rectified. After the pilot project was tried out at six fuel stations in Colombo and suburbs, suggestions flowed in for improvement, but officials said they believe they should go ahead [...]