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Sri Lanka’s armed forces which defeated the ruthless LTTE terrorists in 2009 put up a spectacular display at the Independence Day ceremony at the Galle Face Green. Here, soldiers specially trained to survive chemical weapon attacks. However, overshadowing this was the visit of UNHRC chief Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein who arrived here yesterday to review the [...]
Geneva issue: Govt. earmarks 11-member Task Force
UN Special Rapporteur coming here to help in the consultation process Two-phase action plan shown to Western countries and India An eleven-member Consultation Task Force will enforce provisions of the US-backed resolution which was jointly sponsored by Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council in Geneva last year.Its work will be carried out with the [...]
UNHRC chief here for review of progress
The United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein arrived here yesterday for a four-day official visit. The main purpose will be to review the implementation of the recommendations made in his report to the United Nations Human Rights Council and the subsequent Resolution on “promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri [...]
Blowtorch turned on Sathosa over 32m kg of rotting rice
The discovery that container-loads of imported rice are rotting in storage facilities and container yards for the past 10 months has turned on the heat on Lanka Sathosa Ltd. The Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and inquire into serious acts of fraud, corruption and abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC) last week [...]
Estate workers see red over bogus rice
Upcountry estate workers are being enticed by traders to buy glossy “polished red rice” unaware that they are buying rice dyed red that is unfit for consumption. They are being cheated into paying more for this rice: normal red rice sells at Rs. 65 a kilo but they pay Rs. 70 for the so-called polished [...]
Poaching crisis: India admits strain on relations with Lanka
India yesterday admitted that the issue of its fishermen poaching in the Palk Bay was a strain on Indo-Lanka relations and decided to hold bilateral talks in New Delhi to find a solution before the end of the year – perhaps even within three months. Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who co-chaired the India-Sri [...]
Tax Appeals Commission defunct; Govt. may lose billions
More than 200 tax appeal cases have been put on hold for the past six months due to the failure of the Government to constitute the Tax Appeals Commission and the revenue loss to the state could be a staggering Rs. 6 billion, officials said. The Government risks losing the revenue due to it if [...]
President yet to nominate new AG
The appointment of a new Attorney General (AG) has been further postponed after President Maithripala Sirisena this week failed to forward his nominee to the Constitutional Council. Solicitor General Suhada Gamlath who was appointed acting AG till January 18, has been asked to stay on in the post till a permanent appointment is made, the [...]
Pakistani nabbed with 1kg heroin
A 55-year-old Pakistani national was yesterday apprehended with one kg of heroin in his possession, in Kollupitiya, police said The man was arrested after several days of surveillance by undercover sleuths from the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB), police added. They said it was suspected that the Pakistani was part of a larger heroin syndicate involving [...]
India ready to invest in IT sector here, says Indian FM
Visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday said that the Indian Government was ready to invest in the Information Technology (IT) sector in Sri Lanka and would set up an IT park in the country. She was speaking at the inauguration of the exhibition“Rise of Digital India” being held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International [...]
And now for the other independence
Another independence day – the 68th since we gave the British the brush off or so some say – has come and gone. The bugles are silenced. The swords are back in their scabbards, the soldiers back in their barracks. The high and the mighty who sat on the stage on Galle Face Green have [...]
Board coming up to oversee payment of welfare benefits
The Government is to start implementing a 14-year-old law called the Welfare Benefits Act that envisages the creation of a Board to oversee payment of all welfare relief benefits such as Samurdhi. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake this week signed the gazette to give effect to the Welfare Benefits Act No. 24 of 2002 from February [...]
Ex-Colombo HC lawyers’ chief also in fray for BASL post
Senarath Jayasundara a former president and the founder secretary of the Colombo High Court Lawyers’ Association is contesting the post of secretary of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) in a three-cornered contest for the post at the forthcoming election to be held on February 17. His nomination was proposed by Srinath Perera P.C, [...]
Appeal of the public of Meewalapathaha Pallanoya village
Meewalapathaha Pallanoya village in Galewela, Dambulla is accessible only through the Malawa Oya which has to be waded for half a kilometre to reach the nearest road. The alternative is to trudge seven kilometres on foot to reach the nearest road. In the past the villagers had appealed to the authorities about this situation but [...]
UNGA chief hails Lanka
The United Nations General Assembly President Morgens Lykketoft has congratulated Sri Lanka for positive contributions to the UN causes helping to build consensus on various international issues. Addressing a ceremony held at Sri Lanka’s UN mission to mark the 68th anniversary of our Independence, Mr. Lykketoft said that despite challenges and upheavals domestically, Sri Lanka [...]
Railway toilets for locals to be on par with those for expats: GMR
“Foreigners Only” toilets will remain at railway stations in the country, while toilets for locals will be upgraded to the same standard, said General Manager of Railways (GMR), B.A.P. Ariyaratna. The move to upgrade toilet facilities comes following the exposure in the Sunday Times of January 31 that highlighted how locals were being discriminated with [...]
Marawila shooting death due to political rivalry: Police
The death of a businessman in Marawila, at an old boys’ function of a leading school in the area, was due to political rivalry between two parties, police said. The businessman shot dead at a reception hall in Marawila was Susantha Kurukulasuriya, 39, a father of two, who was planning to contest the upcoming local [...]
Nuwara Eliya blowing cold and hot; people falling sick
The weather in Nuwara Eliya is making people sick with patients seeking treatment in hospitals, a medical official said. Nuwara Eliya Hospital Director Dr Anura Jayasekera said the extreme cold weather experienced at night and early hours of the day and the increase in temperature towards afternoon had resulted in people suffering from skin ruptures, [...]
Hot- hot allegations over coal tenders
It is often labelled Sri Lanka’s most lucrative tender. It is also one of the most controversial. For half a decade, coal procurement for the power plant in Norochcholai has been dogged by allegations of corruption and bid rigging. Former Power and Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka coined the term “coal mafia” to allude to lobbyists [...]
Transiting Chinese FM meets Mangala and Harsha
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during a stopover in Colombo, met with his counterpart Minister Mangala Samaraweera and deputy Dr. Harsha de Silva on Friday. Mr. Yi was on transit to Beijing from an African trip. Dr. de Silva told the Sunday Times that, among the matters discussed were the visit of Prime Minsiter Ranil [...]
Tragedy at sea: Skipper survives to tell tale
It was a routine day at sea for Leelasena Wanigabadu (59) as skipper of the fishing trawler ‘Sagara Putha-3’. He and his crew were on their third day into a 15-day-long fishing stint after taking off from the Galle fishing harbour. Skipper Wanigabadu, with around 40 years of experience as a fisherman and five crew [...]
Fisheries Ministry casts the net wide: No more Laila and Surukku
The Fisheries Ministry has given a grace period till Sunday February 14, for fishermen to abandon the banned fishing gear and switch to environmental-friendly gear and warned tough action would be taken against those defying the ban. The warning comes days after the government announced it would strictly impose the ban on the use of [...]
Wildcats in the shadow of the leopard also vanishing
The death of a full-grown jungle cat at the hands of a speeding motorist late last month highlights the worrying fate of these animals while public concerns focus on fatalities of their more magnificent cousin, the leopard. Photographs of the dead jungle cat lying stretched across a road near Wilpattu were published on social media [...]
A whale of a problem; Saving sea giants or saving industry
There was heated debate over the problem of saving whales off Sri Lanka from ship strikes as a three-day forum last week heard the faster speeds at which ships now travel pose a heightened danger to these huge endangered creatures. A major maritime organisation, however, declared none of its members had ever experienced a ship [...]
President calls for unity and brotherhood
Sri Lanka’s 68th Independence Day was celebrated on Thursday with a simple but colourful ceremony at the Galle Face Green in Colombo, with President Maithripala Sirisena calling on all citizens to work collectively in harmony, friendship and brotherhood to face the decades ahead. President Sirisena in his address to the nation, recalled that, those who [...]
Robber who raided 40 homes arrested with accomplice
A 21-year-old youth who allegedly raided more than 40 homes late at night was arrested along with his teenage lover in the possession of 35 sovereigns of gold at a safe house in Navagamuwa-Kaduwela yesterday, police said. The suspect, a heroin addict, was on the run for nearly an year and court had issued 16 [...]
Fhoto focus: Ussangoda Park… a story of neglect
The Ussangoda Park at Ambalanthota, covers an area of around 100 hectares of land and locations of archeological value. The park once a tourist attraction is now in a badly neglect state. A unique feature of the park is its patches of red soil which resemble fiery lava pouring out of a volcano. These patches [...]
Let all beings be happy
All living beings, including humans, belong to the animal kingdom. Since even science holds this view, we need not elaborate further. Kindness to animals means that we show kindness to all animals just like we treat humans. All those who are kind to animals must have the same kind of attitude to nature and our [...]