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Home » NewsClose encounter with 400-metre-wide asteroid
A 400-metre wide asteroid was orbiting close to Earth yesterday according to the European Space Agency, Sri Lanka Planetarium (SLP) officials said. The asteroid, which travels at a speed of 35 km per second, was orbiting at a distance 1.3 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon. “The asteroid numbered 2015TB145 was not visible to the [...]
Minister attacks police, blames director for Students’ riot
Higher Education Minister Lakshman Kiriella said yesterday that what he saw as a “highly uncalled for” police attack on students on Thursday could have been easily avoided if an official conveyed the ministry’s decision the previous day to heed all their demands. The official – Dr. W. Hilary de Silva, Director General of the Sri [...]
Officials get ready to collect hundreds of millions in extra taxes
With six finance bills coming into effect from Friday, the Government is taking measures to collect hundreds of millions of rupees in taxes, Inland Revenue Commissioner General Kalyani Dahanayake said. She said the department would be moving to collect the taxes with retrospective effect as provided for in the new laws. Among the taxes and [...]
At last, blanket ban on glyphosate
A blanket ban on herbicide containing the active ingredient of glyphosate has been finally imposed by the Government — but it has stopped short of ordering the companies to send back the stocks they have already imported. The ban was enforced through a Gazette notification issued by Pesticides Registrar G.A.W. Wijesekara. The notification said that all [...]
Tea Board moves into auction to save industry
The Government has decided to release funds up to Rs. 1 billion to bail out the tea industry which has run into a crisis because of low prices and other factors. Plantation Industries Minister Naveen Dissanayake told the Sunday Times that at a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday, approval was granted [...]
Dengue hits MPs’ hostel: Speaker orders immediate cleanup
The fear of dengue spreading through the MPs’ hostel at Madiwela in Kotte prompted public health officials to inspect the premises and fumigate it as several persons including a State Minister and members of the family of an MP were afflicted with the mosquito borne disease. State Minister for Education and Nuwara Eliya District MP [...]
NPC launches inquiry into police assault on protesting HNDA students
The National Police Commission has launched an inquiry into the assault on Higher National Diploma in Accountancy (HNDA) students by riot police this Thursday (29), said its Secretary N. Ariyadasa Cooray. The assault left at least 70 students with minor injuries, while 10 with severe wounds were admitted to the National Hospital. Over 500 students [...]
Cabinet approves up to Rs. 250 m fines to curb poaching in Lanka’s waters
The Cabinet has approved the imposition of heavy fines on foreign vessels poaching in Sri Lankan waters, Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told the Sunday Times last night. The memorandum submitted by his Ministry was to seek approval to strengthen the existing Foreign Vessels Act under which only a maximum fine of Rs. 1.5 million could [...]
Legal action to repossess official bungalows: Govt.
Government will take legal action against 20 former ministers and deputy ministers who have failed to vacate the official bungalows they occupied when they held office. Public Administration Ministry Secretary, J. Dadallage said the final warning letters will be sent to the occupants of these houses, situated mainly in Colombo 7, that the Government would [...]
CID to fight cyber crime with Hi-tech Crime Investigation Units
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has introduced a Hi-tech Crime Investigation Unit (HCIU) in SSP divisions to fight cyber crime, a senior officer of the CID said. The new unit will tackle the increasing internet related crimes taking place in villages and other districts, besides Colombo. “When these units are set up in all divisions [...]
Plantation wage agreement on the horizon
A final meeting to solve the wage issues of plantation workers with the Prime Minister and all other stakeholders has been scheduled for next Friday, a cabinet minister said. Minister of National Dialogue Mano Ganesan told the Sunday Times that the proposed meeting was a follow on from a meeting held on Thursday at Temple [...]
Collapsing commode leads to death
A coroner’s court inquiry was told that a woman died from injuries due to a commode in the toilet collapsing last Thursday. The victim was a resident of Kohilawatte, Angoda. According to the victim’s husband, his wife, Nona Margaret Violet (62) had gone to use the toilet at around 2 a.m. When her screams alerted [...]
Maldives awaits foreign intelligence reports on attempt on President
Maldivian authorities are awaiting reports from two foreign intelligence agencies assisting in the investigation into the attempted assassination of the country’s President Abdulla Yameen, a senior police official said. Assistant Police Commissioner of the Maldives, Abdul Manna Yoosuf who was in Colombo this week, said the reports from the U.S. FBI and the Saudi Arabian [...]
Priority to clearing backlog of complaints; NPC Chairman
Clearing the backlog of complaints will be among the priorities of the newly established National Police Commission (NPC), said Commission Chairman Prof Siri Hettige. He said the NPC has already held meetings on its future activities and discussed clearing the backlog which was a result of the non-functioning of the Commission for some time, and [...]
Piece from the sky is falling, but don’t be a Chicken Licken
Will you be fishing 100 km south of Sri Lanka on November 13? If so, for what it is worth, you’d better wear a steel helmet and, possibly, body armour to protect yourself from what is believed to be a falling leftover piece of a rocket, although scientists say much of this space debris will [...]
The party that turned into a murder spree
The former Special Forces soldier organised a party for his friends at a guesthouse in Anuradhapura last Saturday. About 40 pals turned up, and with plenty of liquor and bites on offer, were enjoying the occasion. Around midnight, the host made a request: he asked his guests to join him in wrecking a nightclub run [...]
Ear-splitting noise of the new age alarm health experts
Noise pollution is increasing, with people largely unaware of the consequences of being exposed to loud noise over the long term, and concerned officials are reviewing laws to ease the public’s pain. Continuous exposure to loud noises can cause stress, increased blood pressure, speech communication interference, mental distress, disturbed sleep, heart-related diseases and hearing impairment. [...]
True loyalty need of the hour
We have heard the story of the dog in the manger. Our ancient kings are known to have disguised themselves and travelled about to obtain vital information directly from the people. They ruled the country without listening to gossip. It is not so today. I believe the affairs of the country are now looked after [...]
Panic buying drives car market
Panic buying is driving the vehicle market ahead of the November 20 Budget, despite a price escalation. Sales are going up, despite a request by Finance Minister Ravi Karunayake to the Sri Lankan business community in Japan not to send vehicles here until the budget was tabled in Parliament on November 20. Thilak Gunasekera, immediate [...]
End of the rainbow for two smalltime lottery ticket counterfeiters
The National Lotteries Board (NLB) directed Lottery ticket sellers to be more vigilant when handing out prize-money to winners, after a scam where forged lottery tickets bearing the winning numbers to obtain money fraudulently, came to light. The lottery agents have been instructed to note the National Identity Card (NIC) numbers and names of the [...]
NCCP conducts breast cancer awareness campaign
The National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) is conducting breast cancer awareness programmes in schools throughout the island to mark World Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. NCCP is targeting school children in Colombo and its suburbs in an attempt to spread the message. Consultant, Community Physician, Dr Suraj Perera said the programme aims to spread [...]
Lankans high on road rage
There is high prevalence of ‘road rage’ in Sri Lanka.This conclusion has not been arrived at from scenes beheld oft on the road — provocative gestures among road users, verbal abuse and sometimes even fisticuffs – but by a research study in three districts. This is the first-ever study on road rage in Sri Lanka [...]
Fed up with rudeness and cheating on buses
The conductor who spat at a passenger who asked for his change is typical of a large percentage of bus conductors and drivers whose behaviour is being condemned by the public and senior transport officials. Many conductors are only in the job for a short time and do not bother to deal ethically with passengers, [...]
Weather patterns have turned chaotic: Met. Dept. Chief
The chilly weather caused by winds blowing over the island from the north–east during the monsoon is set to continue for the next two weeks, the Met. Dept. said. This would result in chilly weather during the day and night, Duty Meteorologist Dharshana Premathileka said. Explaining the phenomenon, Met. Dept’s former Director K.R. Abeysinghe said [...]
The misunderstood role of the Attorney General in Sri Lanka
I have been concerned by comments I read in the newspapers that there appears to be a misconception in the minds of the public of the role of the Attorney General in Sri Lanka. This is not surprising as the Attorney General is a public servant who holds the power to make quasi-judicial decisions. While [...]
Will baby jumbos snatched from the wild find justice?
Wildlife Conservation Director-General H.D. Ratnayake has directed his officials to work speedily with the CID to capture dozens of elephants caught illegally from the wild and kept captive in private hands following a stern order by the Colombo Chief Magistrate. Environmentalists say as many as 47 elephants have been caught from the wild illegally, Twenty [...]
Stinking, filthy mess!
Bags full of garbage strewn across the road, crows peck away and flies swarm the area—these are the sights that greet passersby. This is amidst the recently paved streets and the newly constructed jogging tracks along the Mattakkuliya road, Elakanda. The garbage trucks have not visited this area for nearly a month, the Sunday Times [...]
Injured boy’s mother beaten by employer when she asked for leave
The mother of the 16-year-old boy who died tragically after being impaled on a stick after falling from a tree, had to endure beatings from her Kuwaiti employer and borrow money from a friend to make it back home to see her son who was in hospital critically injured. Her son , Ileperumage Thushara Indunil [...]
The state of the city’s streets
On rainy days huge pot- holes and open storm drains turn into veritable death traps to both man and beast, while vehicle users are jolted to and fro as they attempt to manoeuvre between potholes and scarred road surfaces. Unfortunately the citizenry appear to be getting accustomed to our fatally flawed bad stretches of road [...]
International wildcat experts to meet in Sri Lanka
An international summit on Asian wildcats begins tomorrow in Mount Lavinia as local concerns rise over the number of leopards – Sri Lanka’s most charismatic wild cat – killed in the span of a few weeks, some through reckless driving. Sri Lanka is home to four wild- cats: leopards, fishing cats, jungle cats and rusty [...]
Basnayake Nilame-elect vows to restore Kandy Perahera to its authentic traditions
The ‘newly’ elected Basnayake Nilame of the Kandy Kataragama Devale, Gemunu Walisundera, yesterday vowed to restore the traditions associated with the Kandy Perahera as at present it is not held in the manner it should be. He said, as the most Senior Basnayake Nilame in the country, he will teach how the Kandy Perahera should [...]