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Home » NewsLest we forget: Army Chief visits wounded soldiers
The Army’s new Commander Shavendra de Silva visiting wounded soldiers at the Mihindu Seth Medura rehabilitation centre in Ratmalana. Lt. Gen. Silva and his family gave gifts to the wounded soldiers and had a long conversation with them. These soldiers were with him in the final battles that defeated the LTTE. Pic by Reka Tharangani [...]
Pre-election bonanza for top public servants
In a pre-election bonanza, the Ministry of Finance has sought cabinet approval to expand the duty free concessionary vehicles for senior public officials by including more categories entitled to the facility and offering them a duty free vehicle permit equivalent to Rs 22 million. The move will enable officials not holding posts of Cabinet Ministry [...]
Waiting for Sirisena: Sri Lanka was without an Army Commander for almost a day
In an island nation where every politician is waxing eloquent about protecting national security, Sri Lanka was without a Commander of the Army for almost a day. Lt Gen. Mahesh Senanayake, now promoted General, ended his term as Army Commander last Sunday. Hours went by on Monday as Defence Secretary General Shantha Kottegoda waited for [...]
Emergency lifted but armed forces given powers to assist police
Despite Emergency Regulations being lifted after four months, the military will remain deployed across the country to assist the police to maintain public order and peace. This is in terms of a Special Gazette notification issued by President Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday . Military Spokesman Sumith Atapattu told the Sunday Times since emergency regulations had [...]
Activists decryshortcomings in MMDA changes
A Cabinet-approved proposal to amend the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) accepts the minimum age of marriage to be 18 for both men and women but still provides for 16 to 18-year-olds to wed with Qazi permission. Campaigners for MMDA change are now fighting this. They oppose the exception because a majority of underage [...]
Wildlife Minister to remove protected status for areas from Wilpattu Park
Government plans to remove several acres of the protected Wilpattu National Park where a church is located from ‘Protected Area’ status has shocked conservationists. Serious concerns are being raised with strident calls to “leave valuable Wilpattu alone”, as the Sunday Times learns that Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga had instructed [...]
DNF formation at final stage; Sajith group hands over amendments
United National Party Chairman Kabir Hashim on Friday handed over amendments to the proposed Democratic National Front (DNF) from the Sajith Premadasa faction, as party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday that the formation of the alliance was now at its “final stage.” Speaking at a public event in Ankumbura near Kandy, Mr Wickremesinghe said agreement [...]
Youth dies four months after road crash
A 22-year-old man succumbed to his injuries at the National Hospital this week, four months after he was knocked down by a car in Kirulapone, a coroner’s court was told. The deceased was identified as L.S. Harshana, a sales assistant at a spare part shop in Malabe. He was a resident of Hanwella. He was [...]
New alert system offers lifeline to small fishing boats
The Department of Fisheries is to introduce an island-wide mobile alert system for one-day fishing boats and other small fishing vessels. While multi-day fishing trawlers are fitted with VHF radios, there is no way to contact small fishing vessels in case of an emergency. Moreover, multi-day trawlers can only leave from designated harbours while small [...]
World Wildlife Conference pays tribute to Lankan victims of terror
The 18th World Wildlife Conference convened by the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora (CITES) is being held in Geneva, from August 17-28. Delegates from 183 countries along with other participants observed a minute’s silence, before starting proceedings, to pay tribute to victims of Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday terrorist attack, the [...]
Yala Park closed for two months
The Yala National Park will be closed in September and October for road repairs, tank renovation, maintenance work and insemination activities, the park’s warden said. He said that while the Yala Park’s zone 1 and 2 would remain closed for two months, the Udawalawa Park’s zone 4 and 5 would be kept open for visitors. [...]
Lifting ‘State of Emergency’ a huge boost to tourism industry
The lifting of Sri Lanka’s ‘State of Emergency’ on Thursday will give a huge boost to the revival of tourism, which took a major hit after the Easter Sunday terror attacks. Tourism industry officials said that, even though several countries had relaxed their Travel Advisories (TA), these TAs are still at the Category 2 and [...]
Hundreds of drugs not available in public hospitals
A shortage of medical supplies, including drugs and consumables has been reported from hospitals, although health officials have been disregarding the shortfalls. A senior official of the Matale District General Hospital, told the Sunday Times, that there is a drug shortage and this happens from time to time. “Out of 19,000 drugs imported to Sri [...]
Severely understaffed LD Department constrained to draw and re-draw Bills
The State Land (Special Provisions) Bill, which the Government withdrew from Parliament this week, was sent back to the Legal Draftsman’s (LD) Department a total of 22 times before a final draft was deemed suitable for Cabinet approval. But the Government was forced to retract the bill after having it listed in the Parliamentary order [...]
State Intelligence Service must be independent by Act of Parliament
Police failed to act on Intelligence in the days leading up to the attacks; Officers falsified log entries to cover their tracks The 3-member Committee appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena to look into lapses in the lead-up to the Easter Sunday bombings, gave evidence this week before the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probing the same [...]
Call for urgent action as 22 injured in latest bus crash
The National Council for Road Safety has called an urgent meeting to address mounting accidents on the roads, the latest being a head-on crash on Friday between an SLTB bus and a van on the Dambulla-Habarana road. “We are discussing with the relevant stakeholders how best to address the issue,” the council’s Chairman, Dr. Sisira [...]
Ministry of Megapolis introduces water-way transport system
The Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) plans to expand the existing passenger transport system via the use of boats along existing waterways in the city. The plan envisages use of boats for the transport of passengers and cargo. As a pilot project, a passenger boat transport [...]
Provincial Councils polls determination by end August: SC
After hearing over 10 submissions on the Presidential Reference (PR) seeking a Supreme Court (SC) ruling on the possibility to conduct the much delayed Provincial Councils (PC) polls, the 5-member Bench comprising Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justice B.P. Aluwihare, Justice Sisira J. de Abrew, Justice Prasanna S. Jayawardena and Justice Vijith K. Malalgoda, on Friday [...]
Fruit growers of Katana seek better prices for produce
For several years since 2014, the people in the Gampaha District have been encouraged to become fruit growers, while there have been efforts to revive rice growing. In the hinterland of the district, in Katana, some have taken up the challenge of growing fruit either as self-employment, or for commercial gains, and have sought support [...]
Daring hero crashes to death in parachute tragedy
On Tuesday, one of the army’s top parachutists, Sergeant Major Champika Kumarasiri, 42, waved a salute at the soldiers lined up behind him and leapt out of a plane on his 681st parachute jump – it was to be his last, as he fell to his death in the Ampara jungles. The shocked jumper whose [...]
Curbing corruption can result in economic benefits to the people
It is increasingly becoming evident that the level of corruption in the country is an impediment towards providing a better life to the poor and marginalized. The cost of corruption is now an integral part of the price of goods and services that the public has to pay for. Economists will, undoubtedly, confirm that, if [...]
Lanka’s young stellar great’s tryst with two new exoplanets
Mahesh Herath knows that science fiction and space art can be wild pipe dreams. The decade, whose end we are now approaching, was predicted to foster human colonies on planet Neptune — “whereas we haven’t even been to Mars yet!” Nevertheless such visions are what shape great astronomers and scientists: the enigma of the night [...]
Extra security to ‘ride shotgun’ on rubbish convoys as residents revolt
Police have been forced to pay on special security for garbage convoys from Colombo heading north to the Aruwakkalu tip to fend off a string of attacks and interruptions, and say they are prepared to call in the Special Task Force and army if needed. A senior police officer said armed Police security escorts were [...]
‘White elephant’ concentration camp for problem jumbos
The proposed $5 million elephant holding ground inside Lunugamwehera National Park for so-called problem elephants has drawn criticism from environmentalists who say it will become a prison and also harm free-ranging elephants in the park. The Sunday Times has learned that the World Bank, which was to fund the project, withdrew its offer because the [...]
Humble Hunas highlighted in Hansard
The naming of six recently-discovered geckos after past Sinhalese warriors created controversy this week with Member of the Parliament Wimal Weerawansa calling it disgraceful. The leading scientist behind the discovery, Sameera Karunaratne, protests that the new geckos, which are found only in Sri Lanka, were named thus simply to honour the forgotten national heroes. Two [...]
Pity the cashew growers
Despite high cashew prices and a demand for exports due to a demand for high quality cashew products, growers complain they receive very low prices for their product. One such badly affected area is Vanathavilluwa, where around 15,000 acres of land has been brought under cashew cultivation. Cashew growers claim, that despite there being a [...]