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In an operation involving Sri Lanka’s missions in Jeddah, Cairo, Nairobi, and Muscat, the Foreign Ministry with the support of Saudi Arabia evacuated 14 Sri Lankans from war-torn Khartoum. They were the first group of Sri Lankans to be evacuated from the Sudanese capital. Foreign Ministry Consular Division Director General Sisira Senavirathne welcomed them at [...]
Scorecard for ministry and state ministry secretaries
President to analyse their performance based on marks; action against those receiving less than 50 marks By Damith Wickremasekara The President’s Office is to introduce a ‘scorecard’ system for ministry and state ministry secretaries from next month with the objective of reviewing the progress of their performance and making changes on a quarterly basis. Under the [...]
King Charles to host C’wealth ‘summit’ on Ranil’s proposal
King Charles III is to host a special meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government on May 5, the day before his coronation, after such a meeting was suggested to Buckingham Palace by President Ranil Wickremesinghe through Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland. President Wickremesinghe recently wrote to Ms. Scotland stating that, with the ascendance [...]
Some 2,000 state employees went abroad on five-year no-pay leave
By Yoshitha Perera Nearly 2,000 public sector employees have opted to obtain extended leave for a five-year period to travel overseas for employment. The scheme was introduced last year in view of an unprecedented move to tackle the economic crisis and reduce government spending. Public sector officers were allowed to utilise this no-pay leave to [...]
Foreign companies to provide fuel without QR; car wash, service and motels at sheds
Two of the foreign companies that are planning to enter Sri Lanka’s retail fuel market have proposed to set up all-purpose fuel stations complete with car wash, service areas, shops and motels and will be entitled to provide fuel without QR code systems. The proposal came up during recent discussions between government officials and representatives [...]
Sri Lanka gives Chinese company 50-year exclusivity for port logistics venture
By Kapila Bandara Sri Lanka has granted sole and exclusive rights to the Chinese state enterprise China Merchants Port Holdings Company for a logistics centre in the Port of Colombo for 50 years. The public-private venture on build, operate, and transfer (BOT) terms, involves Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), and civil engineers Access Engineering Plc [...]
Vesak activities to honour Buddha’s wisdom, celebrate co-existence
By Senuka Jayakody Religious activities will be prominent at the national Vesak celebration on Thursday and Friday next week at the Kebellawela Sri Rathanasiri Pirivena at Madampe in Chilaw. Activities for Vesak, when Sri Lankans celebrate the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death, will also be held in temples island-wide from Tuesday to Sunday. Religious activities [...]
Alleged online fraud: 25 Chinese suspects get bail; probe continues
By Senuka Jayakody Although 25 Chinese suspects have been released on bail, Police are continuing their investigations into the alleged online financial fraud, Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said. He said police computer crime division detectives were yet to complete their investigations as they had to examine a large number of electronic devices taken into custody [...]
Colombo trails in global trade logistics
By Kapila Bandara Sri Lanka is nowhere near the top 10 high-calibre performers in world trade logistics services, although a parade of national leaders is continuing to peddle the myth of a global or even regional logistics hub, cargo hub, shipping hub and the like. Trade logistics involves a chain of services to support goods [...]
Political parties gear up for low-key May Day
Political parties and trade unions are going ahead with May Day celebrations, but most have opted to curtail events due to high costs, adverse weather and delay in conducting local elections. The main parties have decided to suspend or limit their May Day processions and restrict the events to meetings in Colombo, while the Ceylon [...]
Lankan chef in Seychelles drowns trying to save two children
A Sri Lankan chef in the Seychelles has drowned at sea while trying to rescue two children, a family member said. The chef, W.A. Arunathissa, and some friends were at the beach on April 22 when the traegdy occured. His friends had gone for a dip but he remained on the beach as the tide [...]
Two State-owned fertiliser companies to be amalgamated to cut down costs
As part of the Government’s ongoing restructuring process of loss-making State-owned Enterprises (SoEs), two such bodies, Ceylon Fertiliser Company Limited and Colombo Commercial Fertilisers Limited, are to be amalgamated into a single fully State-owned entity. Since both SoEs are engaged in identical businesses, it was proposed to amalgamate these two entities into a single company [...]
Dissenting SDIGs face disciplinary inquiry
Senior Deputy Inspectors General (SDIGs) Ajith Rohana and Priyantha Weerasooriya are to face a disciplinary inquiry over the letters they wrote to the National Police Commission (NPC) protesting their transfers. The two officers are to be subjected to a disciplinary inquiry by the Ministry of Public Security on charges of violating the Establishment Code, a [...]
AG petitions SC about acquitted drug traffickers
The Attorney General (AG) this week petitioned the Supreme Court to set aside the acquittal by a High Court-at-Bar of five persons accused of importing, possessing and trafficking nearly 200kg of heroin, saying the prosecution was not able to obtain a fair trial and judgment. The bench comprised Justices Adithya Patabendige (President), Majula Tilakaratne and [...]
Wimal and US envoy trade barbs over conspiracy allegations
US Ambassador accuses NFF leader of publishing a book containing fiction and blatant lies Parliament approves agreement with IMF; SJB and Sirisena’s MPs stay away at voting time Proposed Anti-Terror Bill put off after sharp criticism by BASL and opposition parties Major row over transfer of Senior DIGs; two officers defy orders; one accuses minister [...]
Long wait for compensation; payment of rents stopped two years ago
Residents forced to relocate or rent houses due to damage complain that compensation payments have been delayed for six years. One of those who suffered, Lalith Wijesundara, 60, a businessman from Udaperuwa, Bandarawela told the Sunday Times that he had rented a house for six years as his house was deemed unsafe when cracks appeared [...]
Uma Oya victims ponder overdue damages payout
Pix and text by Indika Handuwala Alikota Reservoir: All set for opening As the controversial Uma Oya project nears completion, residents of Badulla District and suburbs say compensation for the damage to their homes and land have been delayed for long, while a part of the project aimed at irrigating agricultural land downstream continues. Some [...]
Water and hydropower project leaves soiled legacy
Since the inception of the US$548.15 million Uma Oya project, which was inked during a visit to Iran by Mahinda Rajapaksa, the then president, from November 26-28, 2007, multiple socio-economic problems have remained as its tarnished legacy. It was a project undertaken with a financing facility from Iran’s Export Development Bank and was to have [...]
Canal network to help improve irrigation
Reservoirs and canals will be built as a priority by the Ministry of Irrigation, under the Uma Oya downstream development project to channel and store water which will be released when the Karandagolla power station comes on line, along with the completion of the Uma Oya upstream project in June. Irrigation Minister Roshan Ranasinghe told [...]
Students agony deepens amid delays in exams, paper marking
By Senuka Jayakody Trade union action by university lecturers boycotting GCE (A/L) paper marking may be nearing an end, but the impact of the postponement remains long-lasting. A meeting between the Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA) and President Ranil Wickremesinghe is likely to take place next week to officially call off the boycott. The [...]
Stay hydrated; hot weather to continue despite evening showers
By Nadia Fazlulhaq As people suffering from the current hot-and-humid weather conditions see this week’s evening thundershowers as a welcome relief, experts still warn of daytime high temperatures and urge people to take precautions. According to the Meteorology Department, the current weather pattern will continue till the end of May until the onset of the [...]
IMF deal gets Parliament nod, but its opposition supporters choose to give vote a miss
By Sandun Jayawardana Amid a walkout by the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Parliament passed the Resolution on the implementation of the arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The resolution received 120 votes in favour and 25 against. The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) voted in [...]
Blowing the lid off gas explosions that shook the country
The Sunday Times reveals hitherto unpublicised findings of the committee set up by then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to investigate and propose solutions to “fires and explosions related to gas cylinders” after obtaining report through a hard-fought application under the Right to Information Act By Namini Wijedasa It was one of 2021’s most shocking stories: hundreds [...]
Frequent earth tremors prompt thinking on risk reduction
By Nadia Fazlulhaq In districts where frequent earth tremors have caused alarm this year, disaster management officials have begun preparing people to respond to a possible higher magnitude earth tremor. This week, an earthquake of 4.4 magnitude in the Richter scale was reported in the sea about 26 kilometres off the coast of Hambantota. Similarly, [...]
First-ever dengue ‘census’ in SL yields valuable data
Infection trend-changes send flood of patients to hospitals By Kumudini Hettiarachchi The red alerts are coming in speedily – dreaded dengue is flying high, deviating from its usual pattern to cause disease and a flood of patients. The need of the hour is a multi-pronged strategy to wage war against the tiny mosquito with black-and-white [...]
Trillions borrowed to keep economy hobbling along in 2022, while expenditure galloped
By Kapila Bandara The Government, which does not have much fiscal leeway, continued to borrow heavily domestically to keep the economy on life support, while tax revenue improved, recurrent expenditure ticked over like a filling station meter, and jobless ranks thinned because hundreds of thousands took flight in 2022. Domestic borrowing was Rs. 2.03 trillion [...]