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Home » NewsChristmas in Bethlehem in solidarity with Gaza
A man lights a candle at the Church of the Nativity, believed to be built above the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank ahead of Christmas amid ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. Church leaders in Jerusalem and the Bethlehem city council have taken a [...]
Police justify op. Yukthiya, critics call it theatrics
Authorities insist that a week-long island-wide police operation to crack down on narcotics trafficking and underworld activities has brought significant results, particularly with the seizure of assets worth millions of rupees allegedly earned through drug dealing. Nevertheless, questions have arisen over heavy handed police tactics, mass arrests of persons and the low quantity of drugs [...]
China’s Colombo port logistic centre gets generous tax relief
By Namini Wijedasa The Government has granted generous 15-year exemptions on corporate income tax and tax on dividends to the proposed Chinese-led logistics centre in the Colombo Port. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as Investment Promotion Minister, on Friday gazetted the initiative under the 2008 Strategic Development Projects Act (SDPA), stating that the aim [...]
NPC faces legal issues in taking action against Acting IGP
The Supreme Court ruling to initiate disciplinary action against Acting Police Chief Deshabandu Tennakoon over a fundametnal rights violation is to be referred back to to the Court for a decision in view of a legal impediment that the National Police Commission (NPC) has run into in taking action against him. Mr. Tennakoon was recently [...]
1000 kilos of tea from Lanka to Gaza
Sri Lanka will send 1,000 kilograms of Ceylon tea to Palestinians via Saudi Arabian channels, a senior Foreign Ministry official said. The donation, which the Sri Lanka Tea Board is now collecting, will be airlifted by SriLankan Airlines to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, soon. Sri Lanka will look at similar donations in the future as a [...]
Yukthiya operation against narcotics traffickers: More than 12,000 suspects arrested
By Sandun Jayawardana More than 12,000 suspects have been arrested by police up to yesterday as part of the ‘Yukthiya’ (Justice) operation launched countrywide targeting narcotics traffickers and their distribution networks. The vast majority of those arrested, however, have been released on bail, police confirmed. Exact figures were unavailable as to how many remained in [...]
AG tells Acting Police Chief to act swiftly in cases against self-styled prophet
By Ranjith Padmasiri The Attorney General has written to Acting Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon, instructing him to hold an impartial inquiry and report back within two weeks as to why the police have been slow to provide details about the cases filed against self-styled prophet Jerome Fernando. The AG has also directed the [...]
Santosh Jha, new |Indian High Commissioner presents his credentials
The new Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Santosh Jha, presented his credentials to President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday. A senior Indian diplomat, Mr. Jha was India’s Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium & Luxembourg before taking up his assignment in Colombo. He had earlier served as Ambassador of India to Uzbekistan from 2019-2020, and [...]
Only employees of profit-making SoEs eligible for bonuses: Treasury
Officials attached to state-owned enterprises (SoEs) that recorded profits for the financial year of 2022 are eligible for a bonus of Rs 25,000 or Rs 20,000 depending on whether those institutions paid 30 percent of those profits after tax to the Consolidated Fund and received any incentives earlier. According to a circular issued by the [...]
Mega projects missing in Govt’s e-procurement portal
The Government’s e-procurement portal, which was launched to improve transparency and efficiency, is still being upgraded to accommodate costly large-scale international and national competitive bidding (ICB and NCB) projects. It continues to attract only “shopping tenders” for books, trolley wheels, envelopes, and other such items. The Finance Ministry has instructed all ministries, provincial councils, departments, [...]
Lanka votes against UN resolution criticising Iran
Sri Lanka was among the thirty nations that voted against a UN resolution that expressed serious concerns about the human rights situation in Iran at the UN General Assembly this week.Along with Sri Lanka, fellow South Asian countries India and Pakistan voted against the resolution titled “Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of [...]
More showers in the North: Met Dept.
The Meteorological Department forecasts more showers for the Northern, Eastern, and North-Central provinces, bringing little relief to the already affected farmers of these areas. The Department also said showers or thundershowers may occur in some areas of the Sabaragamuwa Province and in Kalutara, Galle, and Matara districts after 2 p.m. The inclement weather conditions in [...]
“A good journalist has qualities such as independence”
Editor in Chief of the daily Lankadeepa newspaper Siri Ranasinghe who has held the post for 33 consecutive years was felicitated at an event this week, attended by senior journalists, academics and politicians. The event ‘Sri Asiri’ was held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute during on Wednesday, December 20. The event was attended by [...]
Take precautions, stay safe as respiratory illnesses including COVID-19 doing the rounds
This is the season for all viral diseases but do not panic. Take precautions to stay safe and if ill seek medical advice, says an expert, while a senior Virologist allays fears about the coronavirus’s latest ‘variant of interest’ JN.1. “Many respiratory illnesses such as Influenza A and B as well as para-influenza are doing [...]
Festive time precautions will help save homes from break-ins
By Nadia Fazlulhaq Police request the public to avoid updating their travel details on social media and to check the functionality of the household Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras before going out during this festive time. “Organised groups closely monitor social media updates of people. Therefore, it is advisable to post photos of trips here [...]
Axe the knowledge tax: Book industry pleads for VAT relief
By Senuka Jayakody Book prices, which escalated over the past year owing to the rupee devaluation, are set to skyrocket next year with the government’s imposition of an 18 percent value-added tax (VAT) for the first time on the sector. The levy will especially affect imported books, which are already “prohibitively” expensive. The impact on [...]
Make Christmas more meaningful by sharing with the impoverished
By Nathara Abeywickrema At a time when millions more in Sri Lanka have fallen into poverty and hundreds of thousands of children are facing malnutrition, Christians are having to mark Christmas in a more meaningful way and without extravagance. Taking the true essence of Christmas into account, Reverend Father Shantha Sagara Hettiarachchi of St. Joseph’s [...]
Christmas decor spreads Christmas cheer in the city
Colombo city has come alive with many areas being decked with Christmas décor. Although the festive spirit is markedly less with many people facing economic hardships, people can still enjoy the sights and sounds of the season. The lit up lotus tower stands out among the sights while Christmas cheer is abundant at Galle Face [...]
OOSLA commemorates International Migrants Day
The Office for Overseas Sri Lankan Affairs (OOSLA) of the Presidential Secretariat commemorated International Migrants Day 2023 on December 18 at the Chamber Hall of the Secretariat under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Professor emeritus at the University of Hong Kong Lakshman Samaranayake delivered the keynote address. A panel discussion moderated by senior lecturer [...]
IIT-Madras plans to set up campus here
Officials of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) will visit Sri Lanka in February to begin the process to set up a branch of its campus here. According to plans, IIT-Madras will first set up a branch of its tech university next year. The decision follows a recent meeting between Education Minister Susil Premajayantha [...]
“Find joy in giving than receiving; in sharing than gathering”: Cardinal
The Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith called on all the parish priests of the Archdiocese of Colombo to organise Christmas day feeding programmes for the underprivileged, particularly children, to demonstrate solidarity. Cardinal Ranjith placed emphasis on feeding the poor, in a Christmas message. “I myself will be having lunch on Christmas Day with the [...]
Paddy growers of the north troubled by pest infestations and flooding
By S. Rubatheesan and Dilushi Wijesinghe For the northern farmers, the ongoing heavy rains and severe flooding have turned out to be a double whammy, as they had witnessed another challenge just weeks ago—a severe pest outbreak. Thousands of acres of paddy land are underwater in the Kilinochchi, Mullaithivu, Vavuniya, and Jaffna districts following heavy rains, [...]
Raids expose Dambulla onion mafia involved in price manipulation
As sky-rocketing onion prices hit consumers this festive season, raids on warehouses in Dambulla on Thursday revealed that an organised group was hoarding large stocks of imported onions to make huge profits through price manipulation. Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) officials who conducted the raid said they believed the stocks imported from Pakistan, Iran, and [...]
Airmen to speed up children ward project at Apeksha Hospital
The paediatric unit of the Maharagama Apeksha Cancer Hospital will expand with a new building and playground, thanks to the Sri Lanka Air Force’s voluntary work. The construction of the building is being funded by the Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Devalaya following a proposal by Basnayake Nilame Dishan Gunasekara. On Friday, during an inspection tour of [...]