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Rising veg prices turn tables on people

Rising veg prices turn tables on people

While the political turmoil and the fall of the rupee have dealt a body blow to the people, the heavy rain has also caused a major hike in vegetable prices as seen in yesterday’s picture at the Pettah market, where vegetable soared to prices not affordable to most people. Pic by Priyantha Wickremarachchi

Borrowing plans undermined due to political uncertainty, as major institutions await crucial court rulings

Lending institutions that had initially pledged money to Sri Lanka are now holding back till court decisions offer some clarity on the political situation, authoritative Government sources told the Sunday Times. “If we get the borrowing requirement to a manageable level, this situation can be managed,” said one senior finance official on condition of anonymity. [...]

What next after SC ruling? Sirisena weighs options

With the Supreme Court ruling on the dissolution of Parliament due likely next week, President Maithripala Sirisena is weighing his options on what next. If the court rules that the dissolution is constitutional, Mr Sirisena told the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Central Committee (CC) on Friday night that he would seek an electoral alliance [...]

Suspension of all payments to ministers and their staff

All payments to ministers and their personal staff have been suspended on a directive from the Public Administration Ministry, consequent on a Court of Appeal stay order which has restrained the functions of the ministers, a senior official said. Public Administration Ministry Secretary J.J. Ratnasiri told the Sunday Times the payments to ministers, state and [...]

Huge LNG contract deadline now extended after ST exposure

From as early as 2005, the Board of Investment (BOI) had received several proposals to set up liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plants and regasification units, but there was no progress till Cabinet approved a US$ 500mn plant by China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) in May this year. There is renewed interest in the subject [...]

Christmas event in Palestinian embassy

With the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal taking up cases that could change the course for Sri Lanka’s history, tight security has been imposed around the Court Complex.Pic by Lahiru Harshana

Political turmoil halts student insurance scheme

The Rs. 2,800 million worth ‘Suraksha’ insurance scheme launched last year to provide medical cover for Government school students has become the latest casualty of the ongoing political turmoil. The Education Ministry launched the scheme in 2017 and offered insurance cover valid from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018. However as 2018 draws to [...]

Monks, residents protest over last week’s assault on monk

Around 100 Buddhist monks and area residents yesterday staged a protest over last week’s assault of a resident monk at the Sudharshanaramaya in Maharagama The Ven Kottawe Hemawansa Thera was allegedly assaulted by an Urban Councillor of the area. The crowd gathered yesterday at the center of the town demanding action against the alleged suspect [...]

New Railway museum to bring open-air exhibits under one roof

Railway authorities are on track to build a new museum in Maradana, a senior official said. Railways General manager Dilantha Fernando said engines, compartments and other equipment of historical interest found in open-air museums in Kadugannawa, Avissawella and other train yards would be exhibitted at the new museum. He said one of the oldest buildings [...]

Irrigation Dept. distorts history at Iranamadu

Irrigation Dept. distorts history at Iranamadu

The plaque which acknowledged the contribution of late Prime Minister, D.S. Senanayake, and the opening of the renovated Iranamadu Tank in 1954 by then Agriculture Minister Dudley Senanayake has been completely destroyed and replaced with a plaque bearing the name of President Maithripala Sirisena. The construction of the Iranamadu tank which is regarded as the [...]

Nizamdeen’s friends reject allegation that he had any dispute with Khawaja

The brother of Australian Test star Usman Khawaja was this week charged over an alleged terror hitlist for which Sri Lankan Kamer Nizamdeen was wrongly blamed but Mr Nizamdeen’s friends rejected allegations that a dispute over a woman triggered the affair. Arsalan Khawaja, 39, appeared in court on Tuesday charged with perverting the course of [...]

Indefinite strike over unresolved wage dispute cripples estate sector

Indefinite strike over unresolved wage dispute cripples estate sector

The indefinite strike launched by estate sector trade unions this week had a crippling effect on plantations, with work at most estates grinding to a complete halt by the weekend. The workers are demanding their basic daily wage be increased from Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000. With Regional Plantation Companies (RPC) again doubling down on [...]

One and a half month long op. led to seizure of the second largest heroin haul

One and a half month long op. led to  seizure of the second largest heroin haul

The second largest haul of heroin seized in Sri Lanka, was detected by the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) officials in the seas off Beruwala last week. The 231 kilograms of heroin with an estimated street value of more than Rs. 2,778 million was believed to have been intended for transhipment via Sri Lanka. According to [...]

Drug menace getting out of control; most victims are school dropouts

The highest number of drug-related cases has been reported from the Western Province, according to the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB). PNB statistics reveal that for the first 11 months of this year, 36,339 suspects had been arrested countrywide for heroin-related offences. The amount involved was 198.6 kg. Some 50,074 suspects were arrested with cannabis in [...]

SC reserves order on petitions challenging President’s action

SC reserves order on petitions challenging President’s action

The Supreme Court on Friday reserved order on the Fundamental Rights petitions filed against President Maithripala Sirisena’s gazette notification to dissolve Parliament. Accordingly, the interim order suspending the gazette notification was extended until the court’s order is given. On four days this week, a seven-member bench headed by Chief Justice Nalin Perera heard submissions from [...]

Fear of the future freezes festive sales

Fear of the future freezes festive sales

Sharp rises in the prices of many goods and the unprecedented political crisis are affecting businesses at this critical sales time of Christmas and the New Year. Shoppers say the rising cost of living and political instability have made them cautious about how they spend their money. “I have worked here for 32 years and [...]

Seesawing veg prices a headache for all

Seesawing veg prices  a headache for all

Vegetables have become 75 per cent more expensive in the peak season than in the off-season and somehow this gap must be bridged, a top research group said. The gap between peak and off-peak prices has been exacerbated by heavy showers in the past weeks, the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI) said. [...]

State sector workers become victims of political game of ‘musical chairs’

Many state institutions are in turmoil since the Wickremesinhe-led government was of a sudden, dismissed by President Sirisena who then installed a Rajapaksa-led regime. The sudden change in government led to a string of transfers and dismissals of workers in many government institutions. Some of the ministries and government institutions facing a crisis as a [...]

13.5 acres of land in eastern, northern provinces to be released to rightful owners today

About 13.5 acres of land that had been acquired by the army in the northern and eastern provinces will be released to their rightful owners today at the Governor’s office in Trincomalee. According to the Army Directorate of Media, five plots of land in Kuchchaveli, Serunuwara, Muttur and Kantale are to be released. “After a [...]

Drones used in Puttalam to track elephants and drive them back to Sellankanda sanctuary

The Wild Life Department has decided to use drones to track down wild elephants. The technology was used for the first time in the Kaladi Galwela area in Puttalam to track elephants that often enter villages and destroy crops and harm the villagers. It is believed that there are around 50 wild elephants in the [...]

Kotte MC passes 2019 budget

The Kotte Municipal Council last week approved its 2019 budget with 22 members of the Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna (SLPP) and 17 members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) voting in favour. Eleven Councillors of the United National Party (UNP), walked out at the time of the voting. The three JVP Councillors voted [...]

Low pressure in the Bay of Bengal: Heavy rains in East and other areas

The Northeast monsoon is on but the heavy rains being experienced now, especially in the East, are largely due to a low pressure condition in the Bay of Bengal, according to the Meteorological Department. Duty meteorologist Nadeeka Ranaweera said the low pressure formation in the Bay of Bengal was moving towards the southeastern parts of [...]

Prescribe the ‘pill’ of exercise for all ills

Prescribe the ‘pill’ of exercise for all ills

It was not merely a medical session — for at the head table sat a sports official with the doctors and in the audience were many well-known names including Asian medallist and acclaimed athlete Sriyani Kulawansa. It was also one pill for all, that was prescribed here and it certainly was not a bitter pill. [...]

SriLankan’s investigation unit comes under fire; questions over probes

SriLankan’s investigation unit comes under fire; questions over probes

The Investigations and Document Checking section of SriLankan Airlines had not maintained systematic records of reports and documents until 2015 and had never been subjected to an internal audit over the matter. This was revealed during evidence presented this week before the Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate alleged irregularities in SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering [...]

Investigations reveal elephant killed for its tusks, 2 suspects remanded

Investigations reveal  elephant killed for its tusks, 2 suspects remanded

Two villagers in the Udawalawe area have been arrested and produced in the Wellawaya Magistrate’s court over the killing of Mugalan, police said. The suspects identified as Tennakoon Mudiyanselage Kulatunga Banda and Abeysekara Chandrasena were remanded until December 19. Acting Officer in Charge (OIC) S.D Dissanayake said their investigations have revealed that the suspects had [...]

Use forensic science to drag Mugalan’s killers into court

Use forensic science to drag Mugalan’s killers into court

Investigations into crimes against animals should be handled as forensically as normal criminal investigations, a top animal crimes expert urged as sadness and anger swept the nation over the killing of the Udawalawe tusker, Mugalan, last week. The maximum penalty for the culprits was urged. “A proper crime scene investigation is the first step in [...]

The danger of communal rhetoric in the constitutional discourse

The danger of communal rhetoric in the constitutional  discourse

A dangerous trend that is developing in the country has largely gone unnoticed as a result of the public’s preoccupation with the Constitutional crisis and the political impasse that has brought the machinery of Government to a virtual standstill. This, is the attempt by certain elements to subtly and not so subtly interpret the consequences [...]

Pick of the Pix

Pick of the Pix

Pix by Priyantha Wickramarachchi, Hilton Berenger, Hiran Priyankara, Gamini Mahadura and Lal S. Kumara.

Christmas amid political crises

Christmas amid political crises

Political turmoil, depreciation of the rupee and bad weather conditions have all resulted in rising costs of essential ingredients ahead of the festive season. Cake ingredients and textiles have shot up in price. Traders claim the depreciation of the rupee is also affecting the cost of these items. Meanwhile, vegetable vendors say the recent spell [...]

Sri Lanka attends first-ever global summit on sustainable blue economy

Delegates from around the world gathered at Nairobi, Kenya, last week to discuss how to make the emerging ‘blue economy’ sustainable. The gathering is seen as the first global-level conference dedicated to discuss blue economy emphasising the need for sustainable use of oceanic resources. Sri Lanka sent a six-member delegation that included officials from the [...]

Handicapped soldier sets off from Dondra to Point Pedro on wheelchair

Handicapped soldier sets off from Dondra to Point Pedro on wheelchair

The Sri Lanka Army’s top brass including its Commander, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayaka were at Dondra Point, the southern most tip of Sri Lanka, on Monday morning to cheer on disabled war hero Corporal P. K. G. G. Karunarathna who set off by wheelchair to traverse the length of Sri Lanka to mark the International [...]

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