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A rehearsal at Fort Frederick in Trincomalee
A rehearsal being held yesterday at Fort Frederick in Trincomalee where Sri Lanka will tomorrow officially celebrate the 65th anniversary of its Independence. Pic by Amadoru Amarajeewa
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Fisheries Dept. gets tough on Lankans, ignores Indians
Detection of banned methods draws Rs. 500,000 reward By Leon Berenger The Department of Fisheries has upped the rewards for those helping to detect illegal methods of fishing, but says it is helpless to intercept Indian trawlers continuing to poach unhindered in the country’s northern and north western territorial waters. Hundreds of Indian fishermen cross [...]
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Britain yet to decide on CHOGM participation
By Namini Wijedasa Sri Lanka must demonstrate a commitment to Commonwealth values ahead of the 54-member group’s biennial summit in Hambantota in November, said Alistair Burt, Britain’s Minister with responsibility for Sri Lanka. Britain is yet to decide on attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) —whether the country will be represented and, [...]
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A land like no other: 5 rapes a day, but does anyone care
= Women activists decry public apathy to curb increase in incidents = More police posts to be set up in tourist areas By Nadia Fazlulhaq Last week’s alleged rape of a 47-year old woman in Wijerama and an attempted rape of a 25-year old German tourist in Chilaw, have once again raised the question, how [...]
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Govt. defends denial of visas to world jurists
The Government yesterday defended its decision to refuse entry visas to a group of international jurists headed by India’s former Chief Justice J. S. Verma saying it was in the best interest of the country. The three-member delegation from the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) was due to visit the country on Thursday [...]
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More women, elderly people in Lanka
The number of Sri Lankan women and the aging population has increased, according to latest population census. The second preliminary report of the 2011 Census says Sri Lanka’s female population was about 51.5 per cent of the total. It also says the population of elderly people is growing while the number of those below the age [...]
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China gets Colombo 7 prime land free of tax
By Chandani Kirinde On an order by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the sale of 122 perches of prime land in Horton Place, Colombo 7 to the Chinese embassy has been exempted from taxes normally levied for the sale of property to foreigners. Under the provisions of the Finance Act, when there is a transfer of ownership [...]
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Tourist Police recruiting English-speaking cops
By Nadia Fazlulhaq The Government is recruiting more English-speaking policemen with computer literacy to the Tourist Police to handle the increasing number of complaints of harassment of tourists. Tourist Police Director Maxi Proctor said the cadre would be increased and more units set up in new tourist destinations. At present there were only two Tourist [...]
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Rebuild your walls, CMC tells Kollupitiya residents
Admits walls were on private land and should not have been pulled down; compensation to be discussed The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) this week asked residents living in Kollupitiya to rebuild the walls the authorities pulled down last week, admitting they had made a mistake. Angry residents had complained to Colombo Mayor M.J.M.Muzamil after workers [...]
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Major clash at Moratuwa Uni highlights long standing dispute
What lies behind the tension between National Diploma in Technology students and Engineering Faculty students? Charundi Panagoda speaks to parties from both sides of the divide to find out the reasons and seek solutions On Jan. 16, Engineering and National Diploma in Technology (NDT) students at the University of Moratuwa violently clashed, in the latest [...]
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Beware! Bangladeshi Grey Hat, Jones and others on the prowl
Lack of proper web security and failure to update software give hackers a field day By Nadia Fazlulhaq Visiting websites to obtain information is a growing trend in the country, but so is the risk of being hacked, warn web security experts. This warning follows a recent series of government and private websites being hacked.The [...]
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Trincomalee all set for tomorrow’s celebrations
The stage is set to hold the 65th Independence Day celebrations in Trincomalee. Thousands of civilians who were directly caught up in the conflict will be able to witness parades and pageants. Rehearsals and preparations have been underway over the past few days for the event which will be held at Black-Bay. Some 2,400 soldiers, [...]
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Commitment and determination give WRNS duo top marks
By W.A. Nelka There was an air of excitement at the Weeraketiya Rajapaksa National School (WRNS) last Thursday, as two of its students achieved the highest marks in the island in the Mathematics and Biology streams at the Advanced Level examination conducted last year. The two students, Rusiru Gambiraarachchi and R.S.B. Kasun Lakmal excelled in [...]
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I will train my right hand says left-handed Achala
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi A fall, a fracture and a young life changes forever. Twenty-three-year-old W.K. Achala Priyadharshani was taking a break at home in Urubokka from her arduous studies at the Law Faculty of the University of Colombo. She would be sitting the final examination in June and being boarded in Colombo the break in [...]
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Customs official seeks revision in FR case
Case against Chief Justice dismissed with costs Lawyers for the Customs official whose fundamental rights violation petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court in which Treasury Secretary P. B. Jayasundera and the former Attorney General Mohan Pieris were Respondents will file papers calling for a revision of the case. A two-member Bench of the Supreme [...]
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Two-way ‘Colombo Plan’ for mutual benefit: Aussie Opp. Liberal Party
By Dinoo Kelleghan – Sydney The original Colombo Plan is to be supplemented with a two-way scheme that will see Australia sending out its “best and brightest” to learn from Asia, as well as welcoming stars from Sri Lanka and other Asian nations to study in Australia, the Opposition Liberal Party has pledged. The news [...]
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Top US diplomat and ex-ambassador to Lanka dies
Christopher Van Hollen, a career State Department officer who became an authority on Southeast Asian affairs and leading administration voice regarding the newly forged and embattled country of Bangladesh, died on Wednesday in Washington. He was 90. In 1972, Dr. Van Hollen was appointed ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The United States and [...]
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Religious tension: Issues need to be resolved amicably through talks
= Bodu Bala Sena Organisation (BBSO) President and All Ceylon Jamiyyathhul Ulema (ACJU) General Secretary call for dialogue in interviews with Chandani Kirinde and Hansini Bandara The recent upsurge in tension between the Sinhala and Muslim communities in the country has prompted the Government to set up an all-party Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to study [...]
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Vishwaroopam screening subject to Censors’ review
By Sonja Candppa The decision to ban or not the screening of South Indian actor and director, Kamal Haasan’s film Vishwaroopam in Sri Lanka, will be made after the film is viewed by the Public Performance Board on February 4, while taking into consideration the views of the Muslim Media Forum, National Film Corporation Chairman [...]
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Nirupam Sen denounces emerging doctrine of ‘Responsibility to Protect’
Lalith Athulathmudali Memorial Oration | “It is a Trojan Horse for refurbished imperialism and colonialism to plunder on a massive scale” A senior Indian diplomat last week denounced the doctrine of ‘Responsibility to Protect’, saying it was a “Trojan Horse for refurbished imperialism and colonialism.” Former High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka and UN Advisor [...]
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UK to do utmost to see Lanka abides by C’wealth principles: Alistair Burt
By Namini Wijedasa Britain will do its utmost to ensure that Sri Lanka is able to recognise the principles on which the Commonwealth works and takes the right course, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the United Kingdom’s (UK) Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Alistair Burt said last week in an exclusive interview with the Sunday [...]
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Kalpitiya killer
The banned ‘laila’ net is steadily killing off the dolphins, writes Malaka Rodrigo Illegal fishing practices used in the seas off Kalpitiya have resulted in the death of more than 40 dolphins, investigations reveal. The dolphin casualties have sparked demands for a rigorous crackdown on banned fishing methods. Last week, Police arrested 14 fishermen and [...]
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Big brother’s trawlers carry on regardless
By Namini Wijedasa For three days a week, ten months of the year, Sri Lanka’s fishermen in the North are forced off the seas by a swathe of hefty Indian trawlers for which their fibreglass boats are no match. Residents of Pesalai and Talaimannar in the north-west coast can often see the trawlers bobbing on [...]
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Observing the law in the breach
Story and pix by Mangala Weerasekera Despite large warnings displayed at nearly all fuel stations requesting customers to switch off engines, avoid smoking, using mobile phones and blocking entrances and exits, most motorists tend to ignore them.The warnings are to avoid disasters and save lives. These scenes show what goes on at a number of [...]
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Black January journalists say dark days not over yet
By Mirudhula Thambiah Chanting slogans such as ‘Resist Suppression of Media’ and ‘Uphold Rule of Law’, hundreds of journalists held a demonstration on Tuesday to mark ‘Black January’ – a month that has recorded an unusually high number of attacks on media personnel. Gathering at Lipton’s Circus in Colombo, journalists joined by media activists and [...]
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Hakka pataas set to become Elephant Killer No. 1
The improvised explosive device put out to kill wild boar killed 35 jumbos last year, reports Malaka Rodrigo A six-month baby elephant is the latest victim of a “hakka pataas” – an explosive device designed to fatally wound an animal when it picks it up in its mouth. The wounded animal was found by Army [...]
