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Home » NewsRain brings about rare unity among rival parties
At the Puttalam District Secretariat premises, members of varied party members after submitting nominations on Friday took shelter in a marquee together because of the heavy rains. A passerby commented that if rain could bring rival party members together, then more rain was welcome during the campaign period. Pic by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe
More than 100 Lankan peacekeepers under fire in Lebanon war
UNIFIL in stand-off with Israel over demand for withdrawal, as two Lankan soldiers are wounded By Dilushi Wijesinghe andMimi Alphonsus The United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) command centre in Naqoura, Southern Lebanon, which was attacked from air and ground by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Friday, injuring two Sri Lankan soldiers serving at the base, [...]
50 election-time bar licences put on hold; they will be reviewed or cancelled
By Damith Wickremasekera Fifty bar licences issued during the presidential election period have been put on hold and will be reviewed before they are re-issued or cancelled, a senior official said. He said that around 50 licences had been issued to various people through political connections in the lead up to the elections. Several recipients [...]
Despite minister’s assurance, delays continue in obtaining passports
By Namini Wijedasa The first batch of machine-readable passports (MRPs) being bought as a stopgap measure to solve an unprecedented shortage of travel documents is yet to arrive, despite Public Security Minister Vijitha Herath saying they were due between October 12 and 15. The letters of credit (LCs) pertaining to the purchase of 750,000 MRPs [...]
High-level committees to probe corruption, address reconciliation and review Easter attacks
By Damith Wickramasekera The government will appoint three high-level committees before the general election to look into large-scale financial crimes, address the issues of reconciliation, and take a fresh look at the Easter Sunday terror attacks. This is in keeping with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s election pledges to prioritise ethical governance, including addressing issues of [...]
Major presidential candidates fail to submit campaign finance details
By Thrushi Weerasinghe None of the four leading presidential candidates—current President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa, and Namal Rajapaksa—had made their campaign expenditure declarations as of Friday, in keeping with the campaign finance laws. The parties and candidates were due to submit election expenditure details relating to last month’s presidential election [...]
Leak-marred Grade 5 scholarship exam won’t be cancelled; digitalisation coming to minimise fraud
By Nathara Abeywickrema No compelling reasons have emerged to cancel the grade five scholarship examination or hold back the results, following question leaks, Examinations Commissioner General Amith Jayasundara said. He said the report of the seven-member committee had been handed over to the Education Ministry Secretary for a decision by the Ministry. Describing the leak [...]
Top business leader Ricky Mendis passes away
Well known business leader F.G.N. (Ricky) Mendis, 91, who headed the Delmege Forsyth Group of companies, passed away on Thursday and a private funeral was held the same day. Mr. Mendis was the only son of the late N.S.O. Mendis, a well known lawyer and business leader who headed the Mackwoods and Delmege Groups. Ricky [...]
Undocumented Lankan workers in Lebanon could face hurdles if the need to evacuate arises
By Miriam Alphonsus An estimated 40 percent of some seven thousand Sri Lankans working and living in Lebanon lack proper documentation like passports and visas, posing registration issues for the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) if the need for evacuation arises. Explaining the situation, Lalani (name changed), a Sri Lankan in Beirut, said, [...]
Sri Lankans ploughing into Rs 75m plus apartments, reviving sales
By Kapila Bandara There has been an uptick in sales of apartments priced above Rs 75 million in Sri Lanka in the second quarter, compared with the preceding three months, a market report shows. Most sales are in the Colombo District followed by Gampaha and Kalutara districts. Sales are rising in a low interest rate [...]
Kalutara train accident claims two men and toddler
By Sarath Siriwardena Three persons including a child were killed after they were hit by a train near the Katukurunda railway station in Kalutara last evening, police said. Two males were killed instantly while the child around three years succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. They were residents of Rajawatta, Kalutara south. Police said [...]
Know your candidates: New names and old
A total of 690 nomination lists from political parties and independent groups were handed over for the 2024 general elections to the Election Commission (EC) on Friday (11). According to the EC, 74 nominations that had been submitted were rejected. Many of the major recognised political parties have submitted nominations to contest in all of [...]
Disruptive heavy downpour will stretch into Monday
By Jayanie Madawala Heavy rains over the past few weeks in Sri Lanka have triggered severe flooding in the South Western part, disrupting public transport and day-to-day life of hundreds of families and causing damage to property. Meteorological Department Director General Athula Karunanayake said the downpour, caused by an atmospheric disturbance in the vicinity of [...]
National Audit Office sees irregularities in EV imports, calls for probe
By Namini Wijedasa In a scathing special report on the Labour and Foreign Employment Ministry’s controversial remittance-based electric vehicle permit scheme implemented in 2022–23 for Sri Lankans working abroad, the National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed that the facility was granted to four people who were not confirmed to have been overseas during the stipulated [...]
Highlights of progress made in ensuring blood health
Prof. S.N. Wickramasinghe Oration looks at ‘Surviving Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia in Sri Lanka: Imagining the possible’ By Kumudini Hettiarachchi It was all about that vital fluid which takes oxygen and nutrients to our body’s cells and carries away carbon dioxide and other waste products. Blood and blood disorders were the focus, when the Sri Lanka [...]
Desperate northerners lose millions in overseas visa scams
By Mimi Alphonsus “You sell tea in Jaffna town, but my fiance has a restaurant in Canada,” a woman tells her boyfriend in an advertisement for emigration services. “I’m ending things.” Among youth in the North and East, emigrating has become a dream, but most end up with the nightmare of trying to recover their [...]
A time to rest, produce films and pursue higher studies…
By Chandani Kirinde Several members of the last parliament who have decided to either retire from politics or not contest this year’s general elections explained the reason for their decision. Here are some of their views: Wimal Weerawansa who leads the National Freedom Front (NFF) announced that his party will not contest the upcoming elections, [...]
Heavyweights and others who have opted out: Some bowing out of politics
By Chandani Kirinde More than 50 MPs from the ninth parliament including three former presidents, several cabinet ministers and MPs will not be contesting in the November 14 general election, some retiring from politicis while others are taking a hiatus. Of these over 40 are from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) which won 145 [...]
Northern parties splinter; breakaway groups emerge
By S Rubatheesan In both Jaffna and Vanni electoral districts where six MPs each will be returned to the House, more than 400 nominations were filed on Friday afternoon by political parties and independent groups. The significant number of nominations filed for each electorate in North reflects the state of Tamil nationalistic political parties which [...]
General Elections: How the race began
Ratnapura Monaragala Puttalam Anuradhapura Hambantota Pix by Alugolla Wickramasinghe, Pix by Sumanasiri Gunathilaka, Pix by Hiran Priyankara Jayasekera, Pic by Dayarathna Embogama, Pix by Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi and Pic by Mahesh Keerthirathna
Beechcraft gifted by the United States to be used in maritime security: SL Air Force chief
By Dilushi Wijesinge The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) inducted the Beechcraft King Air 360ER aircraft gifted by the United States on Thursday (10). The SLAF base in Katunayake welcomed the aircraft with a water cannon salute. “This is a mission of camaraderie, where both nations come together to enhance the competencies in maritime security, [...]
Report reveals several top health officials were involved in massive drug racket
By Namini Wijedasa Shortcomings in the entire public health sector procurement system resulted in the fraudulent purchase of falsified human immunoglobulin and rituximab injections that were then administered to patients around the country, an internal preliminary Health Ministry inquiry has found. The procurement system includes the Health Ministry’s Pharmaceutical Production, Supply, and Regulation Unit (PSRPU), [...]
Shangri-La’s Sri Lanka hotels revenue growth surpasses all its markets
By Kapila Bandara Shangri-La hotels in Colombo and Hambantota were the top performers in the group in revenue growth in the first half of the year, rising at a high double digit rate, while overall group profit dropped. The One Galle Face mall and luxury apartments also generated high double digit revenue growth and Sri [...]
40,369 dengue patients raise fears of more infections
By Nathara Abeywickrema The National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) of the Ministry of Health has warned of a potential increase in dengue cases in the coming weeks, citing reduced public vigilance in dengue prevention. This concern is heightened by the rains, which create favourable conditions for mosquito breeding. As of October, Sri Lanka has reported [...]
Domestic violence kills over 350 Lankan women in past 4 years
Most cases are not reported to the police, even in the reported cases, few women seek protection orders against their partners due to stigma, lack of knowledge about legal protection and lack of financial independence By Ishu Bandara Domestic violence, or Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), is leading to more deaths of Lankan women, with over [...]
Sri Lanka fast becoming hub for international scam operations
Globally known as scam camps, scam farms or scam factories, the existence of these in Sri Lanka came to light only this year Law enforcement authorities fear its widespread nature in the country could seriously impact the banking system By Sandun Jayawardana Sri Lanka has evidently become an attractive destination for international criminal networks [...]
Businessman who refused to give into ransom demand by underworld figure shot dead
Incident, one of recent deadly shootings, say police By Damith Wickremasekara Despite the election of a new President, the formation of a new Cabinet and the appointment of an Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), incidents of deadly shootings continue, posing a serious challenge to maintaining law and order in the country. In the latest such [...]
Former BASL Secretary running for its Presidency
Dr Sunil Abeyaratne, former BASL Secretary, is contesting for the BASL Presidency. Dr Abeyaratne, an attorney-at-law with 38 years of experience as an active practitioner in the legal profession, will contest for the post of President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) for 2025-2026. He was elected secretary to the BASL (2006-2008). He [...]
CEB’s Rs 17.2bn loss from costly naphtha in 2023 passed on to consumers
By Niranjala Ariyawansha The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) suffered a significant loss of Rs. 17.27 billion in 2023 due to the high cost of purchasing naphtha for the 165 megawatt Kelanitissa Combined Cycle Power Plant. The CEB bought naphtha from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) at inflated prices, ranging from Rs. 161 to Rs 263 [...]
Tuks not troubled as fuel prices topple
By Dilushi Wijesinghe Despite a reduction of Rs. 22 in fuel prices on September 30, three-wheeler passengers are yet to benefit from it. A price revision for three-wheelers in the Western Province was announced on October 7, with implementation set for Tuesday, October 15. Under the new pricing structure, fares will be set at Rs. [...]