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Home » NewsRanjan to be pardoned after apology to judiciary
Actor-politician Ranjan Ramanayake who is serving a prison term for contempt of court is to be pardoned by President Ranil Wickremesinghe next week after he signed an affidavit apologising to the judiciary, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told the Sunday Times. He said all documents relating to his pardon have been finalised and measures had been [...]
World Bank imposes tough anti-corruption rules for fertiliser imports
US$ 110mn allocated, but all transactions to be inspected and audited by Bank officials Sri Lanka opened international competitive biddings for fertiliser imports with strict regulations imposed by the World Bank to ensure a fraud-and-corruption-free process, a senior Agriculture Ministry official said. In terms of the World Bank guidelines, contractors and sub-contractors are required to permit [...]
While two former Central Bank governors decline offer, Cabraal gets a pension
The Central Bank’s two former governors—Indrajit Coomaraswamy and Sunil Mendis—refused pension benefits that were introduced last year at the behest of another former Governor, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, a response to a Right to Information (RTI) application shows. Mr Cabraal was first paid pension arrears for his first term as governor from July 2006 to January [...]
Almost half of Lanka’s bilateral debt from China; Beijing’s position vital for IMF deal
Nearly half of Sri Lanka’s bilateral debt is owed to China, with Japan following at a close second, according to an official presentation to creditors prepared by the Finance Ministry. China’s position on debt restructuring will, therefore, have a significant bearing on Sri Lanka’s efforts to secure an early deal with the International Monetary Fund [...]
Nine deserting Navy personnel face legal action in US
Nine absconding Navy personnel who jumped ship after taking part in a joint exercise in the United States (US) and were later scheduled to join a Sri Lankan Navy crew to bring a decommissioned US Coast Guard Cutter back home have been referred to US law enforcement authorities, sources said. The Sri Lanka Navy officially [...]
Emergency ends, Govt. requests foreign countries to lift travel advisory warnings
By Damith Wickremasekera The Government, after allowing a month-long state of emergency to lapse, is to request foreign countries to lift travel advisories warning their citizens about their visits to Sri Lanka. President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday announced that the government had no intention of continuing with the state of emergency with the improvement of [...]
Kerry Properties project on Beira Lake site remains under review
By Kapila Bandara Hong Kong-listed Kerry Properties, a part of a large group which has interests in Shangri-La hotels in Colombo and Hambantota, said a residential and commercial property on a six-acre site overlooking Beira Lake, on Sir James Peiris Mawatha, is being reviewed considering Sri Lanka’s economic meltdown and the political turmoil. This property [...]
Russian firm picked to provide coal to Lakvijaya; further approval sought
By Niranjala Ariyawansha The Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) appointed to study the bids to supply 4.5 Metric Tonnes (MT) of coal for the Lakvijaya coal power plant in Norochcholai till 2025 has recommended that the tender be awarded to Russia’s Suek AG/Black Sand Commodity. In terms of the US$ 900 million deal, the company will [...]
PM in fresh bid to rally support for All-Party Govt.
By Damith Wickramasekara Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena will meet political party leaders separately next week in a fresh bid to convince them to join an all-party government. The move comes amid reluctance by several parties to join an all-party government, a senior official at the Prime Minister’s office said. The PM is also hoping to [...]
Public Finance com. gets new chairman, but uncertainty over COPE and COPA
By Sandun Jayawardana While the appointment of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dr Harsha De Silva as the new Chairman of Parliament’s Committee on Public Finance (CPF) has been confirmed, uncertainty surrounds the positions of new chairpersons of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) and Committee on Public Accounts (COPA). The SJB has requested its [...]
A highly competitive export-oriented economy is the only way out: President
President Ranil Wickremesinghe was the chief guest at the Organisation of Professional Association’s annual conference and awards ceremony held on Tuesday at Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel in Colombo. Excerpts from his speech. There is one profession you all have left out in the OPA (Organisation of Professional Associations). The professional politicians and I don’t think that [...]
50,000 hospitalised with dengue in eight months
CMC runs out of chemicals and insecticides used in the control of the aedes mosquito By Chrishanthi Christopher The number of dengue patients is increasing, with around 49,941 people admitted to public hospitals for treatment in the past eight months, the National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) said recently. More than half of the patients were [...]
Fire in private hostel in Peradeniya; students lose laptops, books and more
A major fire broke out at a private hostel that houses University of Peradeniya students on Friday night. The fire destroyed many personal belongings of the students, including books and laptops, Police officers said. Twenty three female students were in the dormitory when the fire broke out in the three-storeyed building but none of them [...]
CAA ready to provide rice at affordable prices–but farmers allege privatisation conspiracy
Vendors at Dambulla Economic Centre selling at their own prices to get rid of stocks Coconut growers get Rs. 55 to Rs. 60 at the auction, traders sell at more than Rs. 100 By Senuka Jayakody The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has convinced supermarkets to provide rice at revised prices, but it has not been [...]
Sri Lankans overseas provide lifeline for desperate hospitals
Government doctors are once again raising the alarm over the severe shortage of essential medicines, surgical tools, and even cotton wool and gauze in state hospitals, which are getting by with aid from generous Sri Lankans working in foreign lands. Surgeries are being delayed. Antibiotics are hard to come by. As usual, corruption claims have [...]
Army accelerates agriculture drive
The Sri Lanka Army has accelerated its green agriculture drive around the country with multiple cultivations of agriculture crops on different scales. The Army recently boosted this mega drive by cultivating kirby cucumber in 1500 acres of abounded government-owned lands in the general area of Kandakadu with human resource personnel and agricultural experts of the [...]
More needs to be done to give push to cycling as travel option
By Yoshitha Perera Due to rapidly increasing travel demands, urban cities in developing countries such as Sri Lanka face major challenges. People have no choice but to switch to cycling or walking due to the poor standards of public transportation and the current fuel crisis. However, there have been numerous irregularities in cycling, and the [...]
Rabies scare in Homagama residential area: Officials blame rise in stray dogs
Wildlife Chief says cannot relocate over 400 deer at risk due to lack of funds and logistic issues By Chris Kamalendran More than 400 deer at the centre of a rabies scare from a residential area in Homagama cannot be relocated due to a lack of funds and other issues including the unavailability of [...]
Give us our own funds, says Director
Wide-ranging National Mental Health Policy 2020-2030 launched on Tuesday By Kumudini Hettiarachchi The long-awaited revised National Mental Health Policy for Sri Lanka covering the 10-year period 2020-2030 was launched on Tuesday. Amid the joy of giving birth to it after much labour, a fervent plea went out from the Health Ministry’s Director of the [...]
Wild creatures that wreck crops scrutinised
Crop damage being caused by wild creatures, including some deemed to be ‘national animals’, is to be estimated in the wake of complaints by farmers. The secretary to the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resource Conservation R.M.C.M Herath who is also a member of a committee that has been appointed said Govi Jana Seva officials [...]
Producers blame ingredient costs for pricey biscuits and buns
By Chrishanthi Christopher The absence of price controls on wheat flour and other key ingredients used by manufacturers of bakery and confectionery products is causing concern among those in the industry, while consumers complain of the high retail tab. Manufacturers say they are compelled to raise retail prices and Government intervention is needed to rein [...]
The bell tolls for the ‘Gathering’
Ghostly creatures haunt Minneriya-Kaudulla where majestic elephants roamed before By Kumudini Hettiarachchi Emaciated and just skin and bone, ghostly creatures are haunting the Minneriya and Kaudulla areas, where once roamed the majestic wild elephant in numbers as large as 400, drawing excited tourists to the acclaimed ‘Gathering’, bringing in the much-needed dollars. Wild elephants, especially [...]
Irrigation ready to work with others
What is DWC doing, ask experts During the panel discussion, Irrigation Director Abeysiriwardena quoting Parakramabahu the Great stated that Sri Lanka should “not allow a single drop of water falling from the sky to flow to the sea without serving mankind”. He stressed that the country needed to optimize the returns of water resources so [...]
Electric shocks killing jumbos by the dozen
By Malaka Rodrigo Just this week, three elephants, including a tusker and a calf, died from electrocution in Mihintale. One tusker was only about 15 years old, and the calf was about five years, according to sources of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC). Mid week, another elephant died of electrocution in Vavuniya and at [...]
Reappointed minister draws fishing community ire
Fishing communities on the coastal belt are continuing their protests demanding kerosene and action against Indian raiders from Tamil Nadu. Anthony Jesuthasan, project manager of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement, said the community has not got kerosene for a few months. The scarcity of kerosene has brought them on to the streets again. Several associations [...]
Going back in time
With the increase of fuel prices and the lack of fuel, three-wheeler drivers in both cities and villages have been charging extra. In some village areas, people have resorted to the bullock cart system. This scene was captured in the Badalkumbura, Kirigalpoththa village in the Badulla District. (Pix by Palitha Ariyawansha)
Shramadhana volunteers suffer tragedy
Three women were killed and 18 others sustained injuries after a tractor veered off the road and crashed in Muttur, Trincomalee yesterday. The victims had been on their way to take part in a Shramadhana campaign being held at the Kottiyarama Moola Maha Viharaya in Muttur when they met with the tragedy. The ancient temple [...]
Trains gather moss, public transport stands still
Story and pix by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe Railway trade unions say that Chinese manufactured railway carriages worth millions of rupees have been left to rot near the Puttalam Railway Station. Ten railway carriages brought to the railway station and left there have been exposed to the elements over the past two months. The carriages were [...]