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More than 20,000 people are attending the annual worldwide Bohra convention being held at their community centre at the Marine Drive in Bambalapitiya. Our picture shows an elderly Bohra lady waving while she is being taken on a wheelchair. Pic by Indika Handuwala
Political developments hot up on eve of nominations
This week’s two major political developments over the presidential election took Sri Lankans by surprise and portend a major change in alignments. One is the declaration by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that he would be the United National Party (UNP) candidate. On Friday he told a meeting of party leaders he would obtain approval from [...]
LCC makes spot tender for 2.7mn metric tonnes of coal
A long-term tender floated by Lanka Coal Company (Pvt) Ltd (LCC) for the supply of 2.7mn metric tonnes of coal for the Lakvijaya power plant had no takers at all. Officials opened the bid on July 26 to find that nobody had bid for it. Just three days before the closing date for the term [...]
Palaly set to begin flights to India from October 16
The Palaly International Airport will come into operation from October 16, with the start of flights between Jaffna and India, a senior Civil Aviation Authority official said. CAA Director General H.M.C. Nimalasiri told the Sunday Times all arrangements had been finalised to begin operations. He said flights would operate to Cochin, Mumbai and New Delhi. [...]
Tax Chief hopes to collect Rs. 40 billion from about 10,000 professionals
The Inland Revenue Department has set an additional target of Rs 40 billion to be raised from professionals who may be evading taxes, a senior official of the Department said. Commissioner General Nadun Guruge told the Sunday Times a special unit backed by two senior commissioners and 20 deputy and assistant commissioners had been set [...]
Around twenty candidates likely for presidential poll
At least 15 registered political parties have informed the Elections Commission that they would be contesting the upcoming presidential election, a senior official said. He said 12 of them had officially informed the Commission of their plans to contest the poll while three others had verbally conveyed their decision. “We believe there will be around [...]
Missing persons: Relatives wary about obtaining CoAs
Many relatives of the missing and disappeared are avoiding certificates of absence (CoA)–a new document that lets them address practicalities such as property transfers without confirmation of death–because they suspect the State will use these to dodge investigating the fate of their loved ones. Since CoAs were introduced by law in 2016, just 732 families [...]
Rapid rise in dengue cases, again
There has been a sharp rise in deadly dengue this year. So far, more than 44,000 dengue cases have been reported compared with 37,587 cases last year in the eight months to August, statistics from the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health, show. Several deaths too have been reported this year, but the Epidemiology [...]
Auditor General critiques NSB’s past recruitments, new chairman defends bank’s performance
Staff recruitments to the state-owned National Savings Bank (NSB) have been bottom-heavy for years with key executive grade positions remaining vacant while other categories were filled, some with ministerial nominees. Irregularities in recruitment at the NSB came up for examination before the Committee on Public Enterprise in Parliament this week. The bank’s Human Resources Manager [...]
Funeral of Gajadeera tomorrow
The cremation of former minister and Matara District UPFA parliamentarian Chandrasiri Gajadeera will take place at Uyanwatta at 3 p.m. tomorrow. He passed away on Friday at the age of 73. An attorney-at-law by profession, Mr Gajadeera represented the Sri Lanka Communist Party in Parliament and spent over two decades in politics. He served as [...]
UK containers to be checked for nuke waste dangers
The Government Analyst has called for reports from the Medical Research Institute (MRI) and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Council (AERC) on the containers reportedly loaded waste imported from the UK and now held at the Colombo Port. A.Welianga, the Government Analyst, warned that if the two institutes fail to submit their reports, they will not [...]
Cabinet rejects removal of Wilpattu’s ‘Protected Areas’
The Cabinet, on Tuesday, rejected a proposal to remove several acres of the protected Wilpattu National Park (NP), where a church is located, from ‘Protected Area’ status, an issue that was exclusively highlighted in the Sunday Times two weeks ago. The proposal put forward by Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga, [...]
Former People’s Bank Chairman, Finance Min. Add. Sec. up before House privileges committee
The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) this week decided to summon former People’s Bank (PB) Chairman Hemasiri Fernando and Finance Ministry Additional Secretary S. Semasinghe before Parliament’s Privileges Committee, for providing a 6-month service extension to former General Manager (GM) of PB Vasantha Kumar, despite COPE instructing them not do so. COPE Chairman Sunil Handunnetti [...]
Opposition, senior bankers cry foul over prospects of privatisation
The draft People’s Bank (PB) (Amendment) Bill risks leading to indirect privatisation of the State Bank, unless it is further amended, Opposition lawmakers and senior bankers warned this week. At a media briefing held in Colombo, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna Leader Dinesh Gunawardena insisted that the Bill has been brought by the Government with the intention [...]
Rajeev Amarasuriya declares candidature for BASL Secretary
Attorney-at-Law Rajeev Amarasuriya has declared his candidature for the post of Secretary of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) for the year 2020-2021. Amarasuriya is a regular Practitioner before the Appellate Courts of Sri Lanka, engaged in Civil Litigation, including areas of Public Law and Commercial Law. He also provides Corporate and Legal Consultancy [...]
MEP special convention to announce support for Gota
The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) held a special convention in Seethawaka yesterday to announce its support for Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Presidential Candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa. MEP Leader Dinesh Gunawardena presided over the convention which was attended by a large number of party members and invitees including Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Shining lesson on zero food wastage policy at massive Bohra conference
In a collective effort to minimise waste, the Dawoodi Bohra community adopted a zero food wastage policy during their global conference in Colombo from September 1-10 which is being attended by more than 21,000 Dawoodi Bohra members from over 40 countries. As some 60,000 meals were being prepared daily, a Dana (Grain) committee including 6000 [...]
Newspaper editors resolve 243 complaints under the ‘Right of Reply’ option: PCCSL
National newspaper editors resolved 243 complaints made directly to them by aggrieved readers in 2018 and 31 complaints with the involvement of the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka (PCCSL). During the year under review, the PCCSL received 79 complaints from the public, of which 19 were outside its scope, a news release from the [...]
Mountain of child abuse cases pile up
Last Saturday, Nusra (not real name), an eight-year-old schoolgirl from the Ampara District was walking home in a by-lane when the father of her tuition teacher asked her to buy a bar of soap from a nearby shop. When she returned to the home of the 55 year old ‘uncle’, she had been abused. Neighbours [...]
Australia by boat an exercise in futility- Australian Govt.
The recent Australian Federal elections and the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka may have been contributing ‘push factors’ to the rise in the number of Sri Lankans attempting to reach Australia by sea, Head of Australia’s ‘Operation Sovereign Borders’ (OSB), Maj.Gen. Craig Furini, told the Sunday Times in an interview last week. “While the [...]
He left nothing unturned to uncover the truth
A pair of shoes in a polythene bag and a photograph of a colourful but pathetic-looking disabled aircraft sporting the monara on the tarmac! The inextricable link between these two unrelated items is Dr. Merennege Sumitra Lakshman Salgado who strode the forensic medicine firmament like a colossus. The shoes we see at the Institute of [...]
Blaming the politician–voter too must take responsibility
The main topic of conversation these days is the forthcoming Presidential Elections. The likely candidates, their merits or demerits, their past records and personal temperaments are subject to discussion. And finally, the conversation ends up with a favourite across the political divide, namely politico bashing. By near unanimous agreement, the popular view is that, it [...]
Strain on Colombo’s water supply feared despite overhaul of pipeline network
While much needed improvements to Colombo’s 130 year-old water pipeline network are now being made, officials insist that long-term solutions are needed to prevent serious water shortages in the coming years. The Colombo Water Supply Service Improvement Project (CWSSIP) has been ongoing since 2015. The project is being carried out by the National Water Supply [...]
UK containers to be checked for nuke waste dangers
The Government Analyst has called for reports from the Medical Research Institute (MRI) and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Council (AERC) on the containers reportedly loaded waste imported from the UK and now held at the Colombo Port. Mr A.Welianga, the Government Analyst, warned that if the two institutes fail to submit their reports, they will [...]
Cherry Blossom time at the Victoria Park
Visitors to the Victoria Park in Nuwara Eliya are greeted to the glorious sight of Cherry Blossoms in full bloom at the entrance as well as in other areas of the park. Introduced to Lanka in 2014 by Kazuchika Mori, the President of the Sakura Exchange Association in Japan, the blossoms are still a rare [...]
Pick of the Pix
From our readers Shutterbugs out there, here’s your chance to send in your contributions to this picture corner. Please send your captioned photograph along with your name, and the location of the photograph, to pictures, @sundaytimes.wnl.lk We would also appreciate if you mentioned the camera or cellphone that was used.
Blend of the usual & the unusual at CCP sessions
The usual with the unusual is what will come under the spotlight as physicians from Sri Lanka and across the seas meet for a two-day high-level session next Friday and Saturday. Everything has been planned and is on course for the 52nd Anniversary Academic Sessions, the highlight of the calendar of the Ceylon College of [...]
Elephant count method triggers debate on reliability
The islandwide elephant survey planned for September 13-14 is likely to be postponed due to bad weather in some parts of Sri Lanka, the Sunday Times learns. The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) Director General Chandana Sooriyabandara, said the survey will “most probably’’ be postponed and an official announcement will be made tomorrow. The survey [...]
Our cultural artefacts in ruins
The city of Colombo hosts many monuments which tell tales of years gone by. Sadly though, many of these old artifacts have been left exposed to the vageries of the sun, wind and rain, are neglected and are now in a badly dilapidated state. Among some of the more notable of these artefacts are the [...]