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Amid tight security, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday received a stream of visitors at his new bungalow at Malalasekara Mawatha in Colombo. Among those who visited him yesterday was his brother, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, followed by Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakshe, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Parliamentarian Seetha Arambepola and Uva Province Governor A.J.M. [...]
Govt. to mortgage paddy stocks to state banks
New move to obtain loans for PMB and prevent private sector domination By Damith Wickremasekera Government is to mortgage its paddy stocks to state-run banks to obtain the required cash to make purchases from farmers in the current season. The move came after the state-run banks declared they were not in a position to extend [...]
Upto 400 filling stations closed due to payment issue; 700 to be sold to foreign companies
By Sohan Vipulananda As many as 400 filling stations have been forced to close due to the new payment system introduced by the Ceylon Petroleum Cooperation (CPC), Petrol Shed Owners Association President Kumar Rajapakshe said. The CPC has introduced a payment scheme for filling stations to make the payment upfront to get the fuel load [...]
Audit report calls for action against officials, Chinese firm
Fertiliser scandal A special audit report has recommended prosecuting officials who were responsible for the transaction of USD 6.9 million (Rs 1.38 billion) for an unsupplied fertiliser stock and directed to claim compensation from the Chinese company for attempting to unload a stock of unsterilised fertiliser that contained destructive bacteria. The special audit report compiled [...]
Overseas Sri Lankan Coordination Secretariat to help expatriates; talks with Diaspora groups
The Foreign Ministry backed by the Justice Ministry is in the final stages of establishing a new office known as the “Overseas Sri Lankan Coordination Secretariat” to serve Sri Lankan expatriates with the aim of strengthening relations with the expat community. Work on the new office is now mostly complete and the government will also [...]
Police Force is 156 years strong
The 156th Police Day celebrations were held yesterday at the Police Field Force Headquarters with President Ranil Wickremesinghe as the chief guest. Pix by Eshan Fernando
Talks on with wheat flour exporters in Turkey and Dubai to bring down flour, says minister
By Chirs Kamalendran and Yoshitha Perera Negotiations are being held with wheat flour exporters in Turkey and Dubai to bring down the required quantity of flour to the country and meet the demand, Trade Minister Nalin Fernando said. Due to the shortage, the retail price of wheat flour has increased even at Sathosa and Co-operative [...]
Gazette notice issued declaring electricity, fuel and health as essential services
President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday issued an extraordinary gazette notice declaring electricity, fuel and health as essential services. Accordingly, electricity production and distribution, fuel production and distribution, all health services will be essential services. Further more, President Wickremesinghe has declared as essential service as any service related work or labour performed in connection with the maintenance, [...]
Tamil parties write to UNHRC urging fresh resolution against SL for alleged war crimes
Little over a week ahead of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva, a group of Tamil parliamentarians and civil society representatives have written to Foreign Ministers of the UN Core Group on Sri Lanka urging them to present a fresh UN Resolution on Sri Lanka. This they say is to achieve accountability [...]
Uphold rule of law, refrain from using PTA: C’wealth Lawyers Association urges Govt
The Commonwealth Lawyers Association has urged the government of Sri Lanka to uphold the Rule of Law in the use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979 (PTA) and refrain from relying on the PTA to restrict or negate the exercise of fundamental rights, vouchsafed in the Constitution of Sri Lanka. Issuing a statement [...]
No one party will dominate our new alliance: Weerawansa
By Sandun Jayawardana A group of former coalition partners of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) will launch a new seven party alliance today (4). The alliance will pose a formidable challenge to other parties as it will be “different from traditional politics and is centred on policies and visions rather than individuals,” former minister [...]
More aid to help feed children and worst off district
By Kapila Bandara UN humanitarian organisation, the World Food Programme, this week began handing out rice, lentils, and refined palm oil to 15,000 Sri Lankans in Nuwara Eliya, where poverty is highest, and Colombo. This assistance, at a time when 6.3 million Sri Lankans are in hunger, is made possible by a donation worth US$1.5 [...]
Agriculture: Seven decades of progress destroyed in days
High food prices deny nutrition and protein people need; hidden hunger will be seen in two years, expert says By Yoshitha Perea When one part of a food chain cannot sustain itself, it becomes difficult for us to sustain the whole. This is something we have scientifically recognised since childhood. Now a similar situation has [...]
Imports halt hobbles small business, IT workers, and builders
By Chrishsnthi Christopher A group representing small and medium enterprises hit hard by the import suspension of about 305 items last week, have raised their concerns with the Government. The Sri Lanka United Business Alliance (SLUBA), met President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday, August 1. The SMEs included apparel, construction, shoes, hospitality, printing, computer accessories and [...]
Phone accessory business collapsing; appeals fall on deaf ears
Pic and text by Rekha Tharangani Fonseka The suspension of the import of 300 items to ease the country’s financial burden is having an impact on the mobile phone accessory business also. Through a recent gazette notification, the government suspended the import of non-essential items such as electronic items, cosmetics, building materials, deodorants, shampoos, dental [...]
Urgent need to stagger retirement age for medical specialists to prevent collapse of state hospital system
Domino effect as specialist pipeline may dry up and floodgates open for brain drain, as retirement at 60 also comes into the picture By Kumudini Hettiarachchi The way to ward off a major ‘domino’ effect which could possibly lead to the collapse of the state health system due to recent developments and this week’s Budget [...]
Tourism makes another overseas pitch amid shortages
By Wasantha Ramanayake Sri Lanka will pitch its hospitality and attractions in London, India, and Berlin, but the sector is trying to come to grips with a suspension of imports by the Government. Sri Lanka’s tourism promotion authority along with travel industry figures will participate in the London Travel Market (WTM London) in November. The [...]
Shootings body count adds up to 30
By Damith Wickramasekera and Senuka Jayakody A spate of shootings that claimed at least five lives, were reported this week, raising the death toll in such crimes to more than 30 over the past 12 weeks. The shootings were widespread and involved the remote Middeniya area in the south and Mattakkuliya in Colombo city. One [...]
7-year-old in ICU after knife attack to grab Rs. 100 from him
A seven year old child who survived a knife attack after an attempt to grab 100 rupees from him in the Badulla area is currently in the Intensive Care Unit of the Badulla hospital. The child had visited a phone shop with Rs 100 to purchase a phone card when he was attacked. The villages [...]
Man who hid body of woman in oven before dumping in well arrested
As underworld killings and shooting incidents continue the number of gruesome murders have increased too. In one incident reported this week a kottu-bas who allegedly killed a woman and hid her body in a bakery oven before dumping it into a well was arrested by Welimada police. The 36-year-old suspect had reportedly had an affair [...]
Quadruplets born in Puttalam healthy and safe: Doctors
The Puttalam Teaching Hospital – with its 70-year service in healthcare – created history by assisting in a quadruplet birth this week. This was the 24-year-old mother’s first delivery. The caesarean birth produced one boy and three girls. The baby boy weighed 1 kilo and 600 grams, while the baby girls weighed 1kg 655gm, 1kg [...]
Kandy primary school moved to verdant land
By L B Senaratne “A school is to be established on a 12-acre land at Kundasale to fulfill the need for a school in the Central Province.” Central Province Governor Lalith U Gamage made these remarks at the opening of a primary school attached to Hemamali Balika College away from the Kandy City centre. The [...]
A trade fast losing its cutting edge
By Chris Kamalendran P. Baskaran (53), has been sharpening knives since he was 14 years old. Born and bred in Modara, he had studied only up to Grade 3. This has been his life for nearly 40 years. Today, he is only one of three knife sharpeners working in the Pettah area. He is part [...]
Bouquets and brickbats for interim budget amid fears of soaring price hikes
By Senuka Jayakody and Sohan Vipulananda The government’s interim budget has created more apprehension among the people already facing effects of the country’s worst economic crisis, of another wave of price increases, while it has also drawn criticism and praise from different sectors. Raising the Value Added Tax from 12 to 15 percent would result in [...]
Bangladesh raises Chinese ‘Belt and Road’ loans as cautionary tale
By Kapila Bandara Citing the economic devastation in Sri Lanka after piling up unpayable foreign debt including that from old friend China, the official handling Bangladesh’s finances says developing countries will “be thinking twice’’, about loans from the communist state’s Belt and Road Initiative projects. “Whatever the situation (that) is going on worldwide, everybody will [...]
Elephants destroy paddy land
As many as 12 acres of paddy lands were destroyed by 25 elephants in the Kottukachchiya area of Anamaduwa on Thursday. Farmers said they had cultivated the lands despite difficulties arising from fertiliser and fuel issues. A farmer said that, on that particular day, he could not stay overnight at the field as his son [...]
Council member up a gum tree over allegations she felled jak trees
The crisis-ridden Maharagama Urban Council was shaken by allegations that a member had misused council machinery to cut down four jak trees on different occasions in a land belonging to the Urban Development Authority at Thalapathpitiya in Nugegoda. The matter was brought up at this week’s council meeting by opposition leader Ruwan Jayasinghe. He claimed [...]
Nevertheless, they learn
Pix and story by Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa Free education is a right in Sri Lanka, but anyone witnessing the plight of students at the Rathmalgaha Ela Junior School, Dambulla will see how unequal that right is in this country. The school is attended by over 350 students, the vast majority from families facing severe economic [...]
A blue gathering
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) annual convention was held on Friday. Party stalwarts and new faces were seen at the event.
Forest damage around Idalgashinna eroding land and springs
Due to occasional fires in the Idalgashinna and Ohia High Reserve Zones, which are located on the border of the Central Highlands Railway, the forest has been extensively destroyed. Due to this, water springs in the area are at risk of drying up. About 30 families were evacuated from the area about 7 years ago [...]
Researchers confirm new species of bat
By Kasun Warakapitiya A species of bat has been discovered in Sri Lanka by a team of Sri Lankan and overseas researchers. Biologist and researcher, Mr Tharaka Kusuminda, who led the team, cautioned that most species of bat face habitat loss. Bats that eat fruit and insects are losing their roosting places as forests are [...]
Rains to continue; rivers swell amid flood and landslide warnings
By Jayanie Madawala Heavy rains have been lashing several districts for the past few days, with more than 2,000 people being affected by floods and landslides. Heavy rains accompanied by winds would prevail over most parts of the island today and tomorrow due to a low-level atmospheric disturbance in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, the [...]