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Home » NewsSitharaman: One of three women who helped Lanka
India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, chief guest at the NAAM 200 event to mark the 200th anniversary of the arrival of Indian-origin plantation workers to Sri Lanka, responding to a roaring cheer from a large crowd of plantation workers at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium on Thursday. President Ranil Wickremesinghe once said Ms. Sitharaman was one [...]
Supplementary estimate of Rs. 238.9 billion to settle CEB, SLA debts
By Bandula Sirimanna SriLankan Airlines (SLA) and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will together receive Rs. 238.9 billion from the Treasury to settle their debts, enabling the two entities to restructure their balance sheets ahead of their divestment process.A top official said the Finance Ministry would present this supplementary estimate in Parliament shortly, seeking its [...]
PAYE tax on judicial officers: Court of Appeal dismisses petitions by majority verdict
By Ranjith Padmasiri In a majority decision, the Court of Appeal has dismissed three petitions filed by judicial officers associations seeking to prevent the imposition of the Advanced Personal Income Tax (APIT), formerly known as the PAYE tax, on judicial officers. In a decision reached by a majority of judges on the five-member bench, it [...]
Abuse of electric vehicle imports: President tells Treasury to act
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has directed the Treasury to take a final decision about the continuity of the facility for migrant workers to import electric vehicles on concessionary terms, following complaints of abuse. The presidential directive comes after the Treasury expressed concern to him over the facility being abused to a large extent amidst an inquiry [...]
Issues arise over move to send Sri Lankans to work in Israeli farms
By Damith Wickremasekara Moves by Sri Lanka’s Labour Ministry to fill vacancies created by departing Palestinian workers on Israeli-run agricultural farms owing to the ongoing war in the area have run into issues. While Sri Lanka’s Labour and Foreign Employment Ministry has initiated discussions with the Israeli embassy based in New Delhi to secure job [...]
Customs data show no records of immunoglobulin import by Isolez
By Namini Wijedasa The disgraced Sri Lankan company Isolez Biotech Pharma AG (Pvt) Ltd., which allegedly sold counterfeit human immunoglobulin vials to the Health Ministry, imported neither the medication nor the raw material required to manufacture it—human blood plasma—through official channels, Customs data obtained by the Sunday Times show. The company’s owner, Hewage Sudath Janaka [...]
Lawyers’ Collective raps President over ‘yet another extension’ to IGP
The Lawyers’ Collective has expressed deep concern over the failure to appoint an Inspector General of Police in keeping with the Constitution. The Collective noted that during the past eight months, the President has repeatedly extended the present IGP C D Wickremeratne’s tenure, even after surpassing the age of compulsory retirement. “Yet another purported extension, [...]
Promoting Buddhist affairs, building homes; Indian FM’s visit seals many projects
India has offered further assistance to Sri Lanka, including a project to construct 10,000 houses in the plantation sector, during the recent visit of Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Among the other financial grants are the immediate rollout of USD 15 million for the promotion of Buddhist affairs, USD 10 million for solar electrification of [...]
Bill to set up robust body to regulate money-lending, microfinance industry
An authority with a wide range of regulatory powers will be set up to regulate money-lending businesses and the microfinance industry to protect people from false, misleading schemes and scams, according to a new bill. The bill, published by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies this week, seeks to repeal the Microfinance [...]
UN officials express concern to Govt. over Draft Bill amending MMDA
By Namini Wijedasa Three UN Special Rapporteurs and a Working Group have expressed strong concern to the Sri Lankan Government regarding its Draft Bill for the Amendment of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) saying that, if it is adopted to include the recommendations of a group of 17 Muslim MPs, the law would [...]
Central Bank Treasury Bond fraud: SC stops High Court from releasing 10 accused
By Ranjith Padmasiri The Supreme Court (SC) has stayed the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar’s order releasing 10 accused including Perpetual Treasuries Limited indicted over the Rs. 15 billion Central Bank Treasury Bond fraud. The SC also issued an interim order preventing the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar from hearing the case. The SC issued the stay [...]
Committee to recommend relief for death-row inmates and those serving life sentences
Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has appointed a committee to examine and submit recommendations on the possibility of providing relief to inmates who are currently on death row or are serving life sentences. The committee is headed by former High Court Judge Sisira Kumara Ratnayake. Other members of the committee are former High Court Judge Ajith [...]
The 68th Anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lanka Press Association
The 68th Anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lanka Press Association (SLPA) took place at the BMICH on Wednesday with Media Minister Bandula Gunawardena as chief guest. Ten Journalists with longstanding service received the D.F. Kariyakarawana memorial felicitation at the event. They were Karunaratna Amarasinghe, S. Kanesan, Tulin Jayaratna, Shan Wickremasinghe, Pushpa Rowell, Christopher Kamalendran, Mohamed [...]
The dizzying costs of essentials play on the minds of budget sceptics
By Kasun Warakapitiya Hopes among people that the upcoming budget will provide relief remain low, while the need for a respite from the soaring cost of living is rising. The government is fixated on creating economic stability while providing relief to the people. The people said the government should take steps to reduce the soaring [...]
Shrinking education spending, income erosion rank high among concerns
By Nathara Abeywickrema The unevenly rising prices and surge in demand for goods and services in the face of an erosion of income have created hardships among the working class. A string of demands has been placed ahead of the budget, while strikes and protests are continuing. The Ven. Tempitiye Sugathananda Thera, general secretary of [...]
VAT hike will disproportionately affect the poor: Experts
By Tharushi Weerasinghe The government’s decision to increase the Value-Added Added Tax from 15% to 18% in January will disproportionately affect the poor, dealing them yet another blow in the wake of recently increased personal income taxes and electricity tariffs, experts say. “The VAT hike will increase the prices of VAT-applicable goods and services, and [...]
Sri Lanka one in seven spots in the world with high concentration of vulnerable amphibians
Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats in India are two of seven areas in the world with the “greatest” concentration of threatened species among amphibians, a global assessment has determined. Reiterating that amphibians are the most threatened vertebrate group in the world, this global assessment has been published in the prestigious journal ‘Nature’ of Springer [...]
Watch out for exhausted feathered migrants in your home gardens
By Malaka Rodrigo ‘Tis the season when our feathered winter visitors arrive in Sri Lanka, and ornithologists have urged the public to keep a lookout for them. October is usually the month when the majority of migratory birds arrive. However, some of them are exhausted after their long flight. The Indian Pitta (Pitta brachyura), known [...]
No fire safety laws despite widespread risks
Sri Lanka is yet to introduce a national fire safety act, which will make it compulsory for high rises, old and new, authorised and unauthorised buildings to adopt fire safety measures, Colombo’s chief fire officer, P.D.K.A. Wilson, said. He said most of Colombo’s old buildings, especially those in the busy Pettah area, pose great fire [...]
Remains of second Lankan who died in Hamas attack to return home
11 Sri Lankans stranded in Gaza Strip make it to Egypt following opening of Rafah Border Crossing By Sandun Jayawardana The remains of the second Sri Lankan confirmed to have died during Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7 are expected to arrive in the country early next week. The remains of Sujith Bandara Yatawara [...]
Children fleeing oppressive conditions at probation and child care facilities
By Nadia Fazlulhaq Lack of security within premises, inadequate training for staff handling adolescents from troubled backgrounds, and financial restraints are driving young inmates away from homes for children. Eight girls, between the ages of 13 and 17, from a children’s home in Meetiyagoda, Galle, left the facility last week. Some of them were found [...]
Bus-priority lane rule hits the roads again in Colombo
By Dilushi Wijesinghe Drivers will have to pay a fine of Rs. 2000 if they are caught flouting the bus priority lane rule, Traffic Police Chief Indika Hapugoda told the Sunday Times. The usual school-and office-hour traffic jams are expected to subside with the traffic police re-implementing the bus-priority lane rule from Wednesday, November 1. [...]
Unresolved dearth of medical specialists could be fatal blow to state health system
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi The final count is in and it bodes ill for the thousands of humble men, women and children who seek medical treatment at state hospitals across the country. Sri Lanka is facing a dearth of around 790 medical specialists, the finalised 2023 Annual Transfer List shows, the Sunday Times learns, while between [...]
Sale of rice: CAA conducts more than 2,500 raids
If traders are selling rice or sugar above maximum retail price, people advised to call hotline 1977 By Minaza Hassan The Consumer Affairs Authority’s (CAA) Raids and Special Investigations (RSI) unit has carried out 2,631 raids across the country over the past three months, a CAA official said. The official said the raids were carried [...]
Agbo the ten-foot-tall tusker suffers more gunshot wounds
By Dilushi Wijesinghe The tusker Agbo suffered another gunshot wound on October 28, following the first incident on June 12. The ten-foot-tall tusker was roaming freely in the Thirappane area of Anuradhapura when it was found with a gunshot wound on its front left leg, suspected to be the result of a hunter firing a [...]
Diana Gamage case: CA slams petitioner, but dissenting judge agrees with him
By Ranjith Padmasiri Key facts in the writ petition seeking to disqualify State Minister Diana Gamage from serving as an MP “remain in dispute,” and she has not been arrested to date or named as a suspect in the case regarding her citizenship issue, the Court of Appeal (CA) said as it dismissed the petition [...]
Risks abound at Chinese-built Moratuwa-Modara fishery harbour
story and pix by Rekha Tharanganee Fonseka The Moratuwa-Modera fishing harbour is in a state of neglect, causing misery to fishermen. It has become a death trap for them. More than 200 families here depend on fishing for a living. “I have been a fisherman for more than 25 years. We have cold rooms built by [...]
Waiting for a fix
Story and pix by Nilan Maligaspe Several bus stands in Colombo have been occupied by the homeless, posing a great inconvenience to commuters. The unhygienic nature of the stands contrasting with its well-constructed structure have caused passengers to avoid the use of the stand, leaving its purpose futile. Like most of the stands, the physical hygiene [...]
Dengue Control Unit stresses importance of public cooperation as dengue cases soar
Dengue has claimed 39 lives up to date this year, and the number of patients stands at 69,008, according to the National Dengue Control Unit. The Western Province has the largest number of cases, with three districts in the province leading. The National Dengue Control Unit said clean-up operations of mosquito breeding places are continuing [...]
Some relief from wet weather as heavy rains will turn milder, says Met Dept
By Jayanie Madawala Heavy rains that have been pounding many parts of the country will subside, and milder rains can be expected for the rest of the week, the Met Department said. More than 6,000 people from 1752 families from the Uva, Southern, Sabaragamuwa, North Western, Northern, Central, and Western provinces faced a lot of [...]