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Home » NewsYoung Lankans make history in South Africa
Sri Lanka’s national cricketers conquered a frontier no other Asian team had conquered, when they won a test series in South Africa yesterday. Only England and Australia have won a series in South Africa; such has been that team’s dominance at home. The win ranks alongside Sri Lanka’s World Cup victory in 1996, the World [...]
Lanka mulls withdrawing from UNHRC resolution
Sri Lanka is considering withdrawing its co-sponsorship of the United States backed resolution at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council which wants the government to address accountability issues, including alleged violations of human rights during the final phase of the military operations to defeat the LTTE. The council wants Sri Lanka to set up a war [...]
Dubai arrests: CID sleuth going to UAE
The Defence Ministry has asked Police Chief Pujith Jayasundara to send a Criminal Investigation Department inspector to Dubai to obtain details regarding the arrest of 31 Sri Lankans, including underworld gang leader Makandure Madush. A senior Police officer said the decision was taken this week at a meeting at the Defence Ministry after the ministry [...]
Govt. implements new law to confiscate trespassing Indian trawlers
The Fisheries Ministry has decided to fully enforce the Foreign Fishing Boats Act under which foreign vessels could be confiscated after being seized for illegal fishing in Sri Lankan territorial waters, a senior official said. The move comes in the wake of Thursday’s landmark judgment which ordered the confiscation of a Indian trawler worth three [...]
Kantale sugar factory crisis: Indian investors take Govt. to arbitration in Singapore
The Kantale sugar factory’s Indian investors, whose bribery complaint led to the arrest last year of President Maithripala Sirisena’s Chief of Staff, have taken the Sri Lankan Government to arbitration in Singapore after it failed to transfer the lands and equipment necessary for the project to proceed. The former presidential chief of staff I.H.K. Mahanama [...]
Car registrations slow down
Car registrations have been on the decline in the past three months, Motor Traffic Commissioner General Jagath Chandrasiri said. Last month, 4,294 cars were registered compared to 6,016 registrations in January last year. From January 2018 to October 2018, car registrations ranged between 6,000 and 8,000 a month and started showing a decline from November [...]
Unruly incidents in Parliament: CID summons three MPs
Three Parliamentarians have so far been summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, as part of its probe into the unruly incidents that took place in Parliament last November. United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MPs Prasanna Ranaweera told the Sunday Times that he, along with UPFA MP Niroshan Premarathna and United National Party (UNP) [...]
Halal Accreditation Council confirms no pig fat in milk powder
The Halal Accreditation Council (HAC) confirmed there is no pig fat in milk powder, after the organisation obtained two test reports from an internationally endorsed laboratory. HAC Director & CEO, Ali Fatharally said in a press release issued on Thursday(21) that they wished to clarify their position following the confusion in the country over the [...]
Kataragama’s illegal fruit sellers harass devotees
The historic and sacred grounds of the Ruhunu Kataragama Temple, where one hoped to find peace and spirituality, is now threatened by commerce and chaos. One of the biggest issues is the presence of hundreds of salespeople in illegally set up stalls advertising “fruit baskets,” which devotees buy as an offering when entering the temple. [...]
STF commandos called to quell protesting crowds in Rathgama
Large crowds continued protesting yesterday in Rathgama near Galle, demanding justice over the abduction and killing of two businessmen. Special Task Force commandos were called in after the crowds turned unruly. They hurled stones, injuring 3 Airmen and an Airwoman who were travelling in a bus from Rathgama to Koggala. Whilst the sporadic protest continued [...]
Ministry pushes for Rs. 25,000 traffic fines
The Transport Ministry is again pushing for the enforcement of the maximum fine of Rs. 25,000 for major traffic offences, officials said. Driving without a valid licence, drunk driving or driving after using drugs, driving without a valid insurance cover, speeding, employing a driver without a licence and trying to drive past railway barriers have [...]
AI asks president to halt implementation of death penalty
Amnesty International (AI) has written an open letter to President Maithripala Sirisena urging that the implementation of the death penalty be halted. “Executions, Mr President, are not a show of strength but an admission of weakness,” Secretary General of AI, Kumi Naidoo said in the letter. Mr Naidoo added that the implementation of the death [...]
SL Air Force to celebrate 68th anniversary from Mar.2-6
The Sri Lanka Air Force will celebrate its 68th anniversary on March 2, with a special Exposition and Air Tattoo at the Higurakgoda Air Force Base, which will run from March 2-6, said SLAF Media Director Group Captain M.D.A.G. Seneviratne, at a press conference held last week. A number of Formations and Units will be [...]
Alleged assault on UNP MPs: H’tota mayor denies charges
Hambanthota Mayor Eraj Ravindra Fernando, in a dock statement, rejected allegations that he threatened or assaulted UNP Parliamentarians during their inspection tour to the Magampura Port and the Mattala Airport in 2014. Mr. Fernando told Hambanthota High Court Judge Thamara Tennakon this week that after he heard that Hambantota residents were agitating against the UNP [...]
100,000 pumpkins have their day on Green Path
In a move to help pumpkin farmers who are struggling with a bumper harvest, Green Path in Colombo became a colourful venue for a pumpkin festival on Friday. The aim of the Pumpkin Farmers Festival, organised by Sarvodaya Development Finance and Coexist Foundation, was to draw the public’s attention to the many benefits of this [...]
New locally made MPV better at withstanding mines: SLEME
The Sri Lanka Army is developing a new, indigenous, Mine Protected Vehicle (MPV) which is designed to have significantly better survivability characteristics than the current fleet of armoured vehicles in service. “The first batch of the new vehicles is due to roll out of the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (SLEME) production facility by [...]
Foreign nationals attempt to smuggle rare insects foiled
Two Chinese nationals who were arrested while trying to smuggle 14 insects out of the Horton Plains National Park, were again remanded till 7 March, by the Nuwara Eliya Magistrate Pamoda Jayasekara. The suspects were identified as Hu Wei (33) and Yuan Lingfeng (30). They were arrested within the Horton Plains National Park on February [...]
How forest officers pounced on species hunters from Slovakia in Sinharaja
Five Slovaks slept during the day in a lodge and wandered around at night in the Sinharaja Forest at night in a secret operation to collect species of insects including moths. The first tip-off to the forest officers came from their informants. They said they had seen persons carrying torches moving in the jungle at [...]
New Delhi’s Slovak embassy denies paying Rs 10.85m fine
RIGHT OF REPLY The Slovakian embassy in New Delhi has drawn attention to last week’s Sunday Times news item titled “Sinharaja Plunder-Slovak Government Pays biggest ever fine of Rs 10.85 million”. The Ambassador, in a letter, said, “The fine was paid by the family members of the accused, contacted by the Slovak Embassy operating from [...]
Best wishes from former Media Minister
Former Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera wishes newly appointed non-Cabinet Minister of Media Ruwan Wijewardene after he was sworn in before President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday. Mr Wijewardene will continue to function as State Minister of Defence as well.
‘IRONMAN 70.3′ Traffic Restrictions
Traffic will be restricted across several roads in Colombo due to the long-distance triathlon race ‘IRONMAN 70.3′ to be held today Accordingly, traffic will be restricted along the Marine Drive from Wellawatte to Galle Road, Kollupitiya, and then towards the old Parliament building. Traffic will also be restricted along Bank Street, York Street, and Sir [...]
On the trail of Rathgama ‘custodial killings’
CID takes over probe; remains of charred bodies sent to Govt. Analyst; more arrests likely Victims allegedly involved in drugs and arms business; family members have criminal cases Disquiet prevails over parts of Rathgama from where two young “businessmen” went missing last month and whose charred remains are now believed to have been found inside [...]
Customs adopt smokescreen to bust beedi racket
A suspect who obtained bail from Colombo’s Additional Magistrate after he was produced before him for allegedly making a false declaration to clear 12-tons of imported beedi leaves, has been remanded following an objection to the bail. The reversal of the bail order came after the Customs’ Central Investigation Bureau officials made representations to Additional [...]
Eateries endangering public health slip through legal loopholes
They hid a bin what would have been the night’s kottu roti – chopped bits of godamba roti in a polythene bag. Below what would have been a meal for a customer, lay rotten vegetables, pol kudu (waste of scraped coconut) rancid, stale meat, stinking carrots and peeled skin of onions. This is not a [...]
Underage unions leave a trail of problems
They spoke not of love nor of tenderness – but of dire need due to poverty, lack of opportunities and much more and acceptance with stoic resignation. They cohabited or lived together, had babies and even faced abandonment……..a majority were between 15-17 years of age, while some were even 13 and 14. This was below [...]
Japanese experts study coastal erosion in SL
Teams of Japanese experts are conducting research on coastal erosion taking place in Sri Lanka, a senior official from the Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management (DCCRM) said. He explained that engineers and professors attached to the Yokohama National University of Japan have initiated a series of experiments. Chief Engineer of the Coastal [...]
Humans and elephants are living together
Pioneering study finds 42% of Sri Lanka being the habitat of both ‘Co-existence’ model the only way forward The cat, nay the elephant, is out of the bag! A majority of wild elephants live in areas where men, women and children live and have done so for a long time. This is fact and [...]
Is the Counter Terrorism Act really necessary?
For several years the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has troubled Human Rights (HR) activists as one of the most draconian pieces of Legislation on the Statute Books of the country. The Legislation which was hurriedly passed by the Legislature, included many provisions that were clearly problematic from the perspective of the Fundamental Rights of [...]
Navam Maha Perahera enthrals
The annual religious and cultural pageant, the Navam Maha Perahera, was held at the Gangarama Temple last week. The event started on February 19 (Tuesday) and spanned two days, with the colourful procession winding its way along the streets of Colombo 2. Thousands of schoolchildren from several schools in Colombo participated in the procession waving [...]
Confessions by the 2 LTTE suspects were made voluntarily: Panadura High Court
The Panadura High Court has ruled that confessions made by two LTTE suspects in a deadly 2007 claymore bomb attack were given voluntarily. The court made the ruling after holding a “Voir Dire” inquiry. The accused, Thangavelu Nimalan alias ‘Selvam’ and Nadesan Kugadasan alias ‘Thenral’ are charged with exploding a claymore bomb that destroyed an [...]
Pick of the Pix
Pix by Sameera Weerasekera Ishanka Sunimal Eshan Fernando Gamini Mahadura and Jude Samantha From our readers The saying goes that a picture is worth a thousand words. So shutterbugs out there, here’s your chance to send in your contributions to this picture corner. Please send your captioned photograph to pictures@sundaytimes.wnl.lk
Lack of professionalism when procuring aircraft cost SL billions
Lack of professionalism among the senior management at SriLankan and failure to comply with Co. rules and regulations during the procurement process of aircraft, led to the loss of billions, over the past decade, it was revealed by the evidence of a key witness at the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into Irregularities at SriLankan Airlines [...]
Double torture at Wanathamulla
Residents of the Wanathamulla flats are in a dilemma, amid the extreme heat, they have been left without water for over a week. The complex, divided into 18 blocks, contains 352 different units. This also meant the people had absolutely no toilet facilities for the past week. Residents claim authorities had turned a blind eye [...]
Historic Kadugannawa tunnel under restoration
Moves are underway to restore the historic Kadugannawa tunnel and preserve it for future generations . The Road Development Authority (RDA) has been granted Rs. seven million for this venture. The vibrations from container vehicles and heavy traffic along the road and the foliage above the tunnel have put the tunnel at risk RDA officials [...]
Navy and GSMB conduct survey on sand mining
The Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) and the Navy have conducted a survey to identify sand mining areas of the Mahaweli River in the Trincomalee District. The GSMB has issued a temporary prohibition order on sand mining in the Mahaweli River basin from February 15 to 28. The Navy said, accordingly, a number [...]
SL Air Force to celebrate 68th anniversary from Mar.2-6
The Sri Lanka Air Force will celebrate its 68th anniversary on March 2, with a special Exposition and Air Tattoo at the Higurakgoda Air Force Base, which will run from March 2-6, said SLAF Media Director Group Captain M.D.A.G. Seneviratne, at a press conference held last week. A number of Formations and Units will be [...]
Milky dream turns sour Farmers
These cows don’t have a pedigree, claims Amal Suriyage The project was the first step towards making Sri Lanka self-sufficient in fresh milk and reducing the dependence on powdered milk. Many were the traditional dairy farmers and also entrepreneurs who were lured by full-page advertisements with the slogan ‘High-yielding imported pregnant cows’ placed by the [...]