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Home » NewsBooming tourism year for Sri Lanka
One of the positive features for Sri Lanka in 2024 was meeting its target of two million tourists visiting the island. This week saw the two millionth tourist arriving. Our pictures show a long queue at the historic Sigiriya Rock and tourists at picturesque Ella this week. The authorities say they hope to reach a [...]
No more talks with India at fishermen-level
Minister says only official-level engagement will continue By S. Rubatheesan The Fisheries Ministry has decided to scrap future Indo-Lanka talks at the fishermen level on the ongoing issue of illegal mechanised bottom trawling by Indian fishermen in Sri Lanka’s Northern waters while sticking only to official-level engagement between the two countries on technical assistance and [...]
Two major airport expansion projects see signal for take off
Sri Lanka’s state-run airport management firm has invited proposals from reputed companies to study the feasibility of expanding the Jaffna International Airport (JIA) but not from countries adjacent to Colombo’s Flight Information Region (FIR)—India, the Maldives, Indonesia, and Australia—citing a conflict of interest. Separately, Airport and Aviation Services of Sri Lanka Ltd. (AASL) has extended [...]
Import of electric vehicles: Audit Office says two companies dominate; basic rules flouted
The National Audit Office has found that 64 percent of permits issued under the last administration’s controversial electric vehicle (EV) import scheme were granted to just two out of 31 institutions that had registered to provide the facility for migrant workers. The NAO has now released to the public its special audit on the Foreign [...]
More police officers die of NCDs: Acting IGP orders exercises, sports activities
The soaring prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among police personnel has prompted a circular from Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Priyantha Weerasooriya directing all personnel to compulsorily engage in physical training exercises every Saturday morning. The circular has also instructed the 9,000-strong police service to carry out team sports like volleyball in the evenings. [...]
Coconut production drops sharply, while exporters rake in billions
By Kapila Bandara Sri Lankan exporters have shipped coconut and products based on coconuts worth US$782.32 million (Rs 228.84 billion) in the 11 months to November amid a severe domestic shortage, a sharp drop in production this year, and a substantial retail price increase of nuts as well as that of coconut oil. Data from [...]
Condolence book for former Indian PM opens at the High Commission
A Condolence Book on the passing away of former Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh will be kept open at the High Commission of India located at 36-38, Galle Road, Colombo, from tomorrow, December 30 to January 1, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The funeral of Dr. Singh who passed away in [...]
Sita Ratwatte passes away
Sita Rohini Ellawala Ratwatte, wife of late Dr. Seevali Ratwatte, passed away yesterday. She was 93. Ms. Ratwatte was the mother of Lakmini Welgama and Eranthika Kelegama and mother-in-law of Nimal Welgama and the late Dr. Saman Kelegama. Funeral arrangements will be notified later.
Forest and Wildlife departments face acute staff shortage
By Sandun Jayawardana The Department of Forest Conservation (DFC) and the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), the two premier agencies tasked with protecting the country’s natural habitat, are facing severe impediments owing to a deficit of human resources. The 2023 performance reports of the two agencies, which were recently tabled in Parliament, indicate that both [...]
Son dead, father and sibling injured in Seeduwa shooting
One person was killed and two others suffered injuries when unidentified gunmen in a car opened fire at a house in Liyanagemulla, Seeduwa last evening. The victims were a father and his two sons in what police say was a targeted attack. All three victims suffered serious injuries and were admitted to the Negombo Hospital, [...]
NMRA withholds licences of 60 pharmacies, emphasises need for qualified personnel
The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) has withheld the renewal of licences of 60 private pharmacies till they prove that they employ a qualified pharmacist in their business, Chief Executive Officer Saveen Semage said. The vetting process was done when the pharmacies came to the regulator for their annual licence renewal. Those who could not [...]
Following President’s visit to India Northern fisherfolk hopeful that govt. will protect their livelihood
By S. Rubatheesan Sri Lanka’s Northern fishermen continue to insist that Indian fishermen should abandon harmful mechanised bottom trawling immediately and are inviting Tamil Nadu-based politicians to see for themselves the destruction it has wreaked on local communities. Welcoming President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s request to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi this week [...]
Anura Meddegoda to contest for BASL presidency
President’s Counsel Anura Meddegoda has announced his candidacy for the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) for the 2025/2026 term. Mr. Meddegoda is the current President of BASL and was appointed to the post following the resignation of former BASL President Kaushalya Nawaratne. In announcing his candidacy, Mr. Meddegoda, PC said that [...]
Climate-related obligations go beyond territories and present generation: AG tells the Hague
While Sri Lanka has an obligation to its citizens to protect, preserve and improve the environment for the benefit of the community, it is prevented from fulfilling this to the fullest due to a breach of climate-related undertakings owed to Sri Lanka by other States at global level, Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe said. The AG [...]
Magistrate orders full report on lease deal involving Minister Samarasinghe
By Ranjith Padmasiri Mount Lavinia Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura has ordered the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau (FIB) to investigate and submit a comprehensive report into the incident where Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe is alleged to have used a forged deed to lease out a two-storey building in Dehiwela owned by the National Workers Institute trade union. [...]
Forensic analyst’s digital unit server to be replaced
A process to replace the central storage server that broke down at the Government Analyst Department’s digital forensic laboratory a few months ago has begun. “The central server broke down three months ago because it was a very old system that we received in 2016 through a donation from Korea International Corporation Agency (KOICA),” said [...]
No show by Western Province on banning teachers tutoring their school students
By Dilushi Wijesinhe The Western Provincial Council (WPC) Education Ministry has withdrawn a circular that bans teachers from tutoring students from their own schools despite several other Provincial Education Ministries having adopted similar directives this year. The measures are in effect in the Southern, Central, North-Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces. But the Western Provincial Council withdrew [...]
Ranil remembers Lanka’s friend in need, delivering the 7th Atal Bihari Vajpayee Lecture
Late Indian Premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a close friend who went out of his way to help Sri Lanka, former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said while delivering the 7th Atal Bihari Vajpayee Lecture in India this week. Even in the “dark days” of Indo-Lanka relations (1983-1987), then President J.R. Jayewardene had insisted that [...]
100 days of AKD presidency: So far so good, notwithstanding hiccups
It is a long journey from the house near the signal post at Thambuththegama Railway Station in Anuradhapura to the President’s House at Janadhipathi Mawatha, in the heart of Colombo. In the lead-up to the presidential election, at one particular interview, then-presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake related how his humble home next to the railway [...]
In memorial – families of loved ones remember lives lost
A moment of silence was observed nationwide on Thursday from 9:25 am to 9:27 a.m. in remembrance of the lives that were lost to the tsunami. A commemorative ceremony was held at the Disaster Management Centre in the presence of Deputy Minister of Defence Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd.) and Defence Secretary Air Vice Marshal [...]
20 years on new threats loom over tsunami-hit coastal areas
By Tharushi Weerasinghe Twenty years after the Boxing Day tsunami, Sri Lanka’s coastal areas are still healing from the waves that came crashing in on December 26, 2004. While communities have been rebuilding lives and livelihoods, a new threat looms with coastal vegetation, natural barriers against disasters like tsunamis, becoming casualties of urbanisation. “When the [...]
Floating market in dire need of makeover, say tenants, tourists
By Ishu Bandara Plans are afoot to renovate Colombo’s floating market which has fallen to neglect with poor facilities for shop tenants and visitors. The Urban Development Authority (UDA) will carry out repairs and then explore management and maintenance partnerships. The Colombo Regional Development Committee meeting was held at the Colombo Divisional Secretariat auditorium on [...]
Overlooked crafts
Text and pix by D Gnanasiri Hettiarachchige A group of women in Panama village in the Lahugala Divisional Secretariat Division are self-employed producing items from Palmyra leaves. They are urging authorities to create a conducive environment for them to sell their products. About 30 women are engaged in making various products from Palmyra leaves including traveling bags, [...]
Unlawful modifications, reckless bus drivers a deadly combo on roads
By Mimi Alphonsus The private bus that crashed into a precipice in Malliappuwa in Hatton on December 21 killing three including a 14-year-old boy has stirred a debate yet again about reckless drivers and unlawfully modified buses. Seven passengers were seriously hurt and 43 suffered minor injuries after the driver appeared to lose control, as [...]
Job hunters tormented and traumatised by cybercrime gangs in Myanmar
By Nathara Abeywickrema Sri Lanka recently rescued 32 citizens from cyber-scam complexes in Myanmar, but 14 remain trapped, underscoring the need for stronger anti-trafficking measures and for creating greater awareness of risks. They had all been lured with promises of lucrative employment abroad and ended up in cyber-scam operations in Myanmar, where they were forced [...]
Former WP councillor and another arrested allegedly accepting bribe of Rs 9 mn
By Ranjith Padmasiri Former Western Provincial Councillor and businessman Salochana Gamage and another businessman who were arrested while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs. 9 million were remanded in custody till January 6 after being produced before Colombo Additional Magistrate Bandara Illangasinghe yesterday. The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), which arrested [...]
Rambukwella’s wife asks to travel abroad for medical treatment
Former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella’s wife has requested the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to allow her to travel abroad for medical treatment. Mrs Rambukwella is barred from travelling abroad and an investigation into the properties acquired by members of the Rambukwella family is currently ongoing. Having considered her request, the [...]
15 million Rupees worth of ambergris seized with two suspects
By Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe Two suspects were arrested with nearly two kilograms of whale ambergris worth nearly Rs. 15 million during a joint operation conducted by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) and the police on Friday (27). The operation was launched following intelligence received by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF). The suspects are [...]
Galle Fort gate closed for repairs
The old gate in the historic Galle Fort is undergoing renovations for which the Archeology Department has decided to close it for four days. The old door which features a British coat-of-arms carved into the top of the gate was closed on Saturday and will reopen on January 1, 2025, the Southern Province Archaeology Office [...]