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Home » NewsSri Lanka safe: Let it not go with the wind
This week marked World Tourism Day and the World Windsurfing Championship will be concluded today at the well-known Arugam Bay beach in the East. Military personnel were called in to provide security for the event, but such displays as seen in the picture can cause concern among tourists at a time when Sri Lanka is [...]
Sajith seeks consultation with SLFP, as SLFP-SLPP talks falter
Sajith Premadasa, just named the United National Party’s candidate for the November 16 presidential election, has sought a meeting with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to discuss recent political developments. His request has been channelled to Dayasiri Jayasekera, General Secretary of the SLFP, by Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, the UNP counterpart. It has been done [...]
Ministry proposes fourth coal unit at ‘always breakdown’ Norochcholai
The same company that built the ‘always breakdown’ US$ 1.34bn Lakvijaya coal power plant in Norochcholai—China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC)—will add a 300 megawatt “extension” to the existing facility using a one hundred percent loan from China, reveals a Cabinet paper approved by Ministers this week. Under the proposal from Power and Energy Minister Ravi [...]
Foreign Secretary slams UN for ‘cherry-picking’ peacekeepers
By seeking the replacement of Sri Lankan peacekeepers serving in a relatively safe location, while expecting them to continue in high threat locations, the United Nations was resorting to “cherry picking” on a questionable basis, which bears hallmarks of politicisation of a sacred duty, Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha has observed. His comments came during a [...]
Gota’s dual citizenship file cannot be traced, says CID; Court of Appeal petitioned
Both the Department of Immigration and Emigration and the Ministry of Defence claim they do not have records related to former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s dual citizenship, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court. Submitting a B report detailing the progress of its investigations into a complaint filed by two [...]
UN sends back Lankan troops from Lebanon
The United Nations Department of Peace Operations is sending back to Sri Lanka Army personnel who were deployed in UNIFIL — United Nations Forces in Lebanon — on completion of their term. This team is to be replaced by a contingent from the Indonesian Army, according to military sources in Colombo. As a result, the [...]
Inauguration of the 3rd annual academic sessions of the Neurosurgeons’ Association
The third annual academic sessions of the Neurosurgeons’ Asso-ciation of Sri Lanka was inaugurated last evening at the Marino Beach Hotel Colombo. The sessions continue for the second day today. The association’s president, Consultant Neurosurgeon Dr Maheshi Wijerathne, in a message to mark the event noted that the association has initiated various measures to increase [...]
High Commissioner J.C. Weliamuna presents credentials
J.C. Weliamuna PC, Sri Lanka’s new high commissioner to Australia, presented his credentials to Governor-General David Hurly at a ceremony held at the Government House last week. At the one-on-one meeting the governor, Mr. Weliamuna conveyed warm greetings from President Maitreepala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the people of Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner [...]
Colombo District Court, a disaster waiting to happen: CLL writes to Justice Minister
The Colombo Law Library (CLL) has written to Justice Minister Thalatha Atukorale appealing for immediate action to avert an “imminent disaster” at the Colombo District Court complex, which is on the verge of collapsing. In a letter addressed to the Minister, the CLL has drawn the Minister’s attention to the dilapidated conditions and lack of [...]
NPM to announce its presidential candidate today
The National Peoples’ Movement (NPM), a collective of civil organisations, will announce its presidential candidate today at a rally at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo. The movement’s leader and one-time Auditor General, Gamini Wijesinghe, said this could be the first time where a body of civil society organisations had decided on a candidate and a [...]
No more emergency power supplies: Ministry to CEB
The Ministry of Power and Energy has informed the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) that no more permission will be granted for emergency power supplies. This decision by the Ministry is because the CEB has, to date, failed to have any strategic plan to address the critical power situation in the country. “The only solution proposed [...]
PUCSL rejects CEB bid to hire 200MW barge-mounted plant
Electricity regulator, Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), has denied approval to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to hire a 200MW barge-mounted plant for anchoring in Galle on an emergency basis. The PUCSL says the CEB hasn’t submitted information to justify why it should be exempted from calling for competitive bids for the barge. [...]
“Sajith is a person who will never bow down to conditions, they know who I am”
National Democratic Front (NDF) Presidential nominee Sajith Premadasa insisted yesterday that he had not agreed to any conditions to become the candidate. “Sajith is a person who will never bow down to conditions. They know who I am. They will not place conditions,” he said at a news conference at the official residence of the [...]
MSC to look into salary anomalies, but TUs say strikes will continue
Several Trade Union (TU) collectives insisted they would not call off their strike actions, despite the appointment of a Ministerial Sub Committee (MSC) to look into salary anomaly issues affecting the public sector. The MSC was appointed on Friday night, after an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss the current wave of strikes was convened by [...]
Climate change has struck a chord with Lankans although we haven’t taken to the streets: Activists
This week saw a global wave of protests in many parts of the world with hundreds and thousands of youth and adults taking to the streets holding placards and shouting slogans. They all had a common cause–demanding action to tackle climate change. This global movement, Climate Strike, was initiated last year by a Swedish youngster, [...]
We will find solutions to the economic malaise affecting all sectors, says Gota
The country is currently facing its most severe economic crisis since the war, Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa said this week. Addressing a gathering of the business community at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre on Thursday, Mr Rajapaksa stated that Sri Lanka currently has the lowest rate of economic growth in South Asia. As [...]
Advancement and dignity of farmer community foremost: Anura Kumara Dissanayake
The National Peoples’ Power presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake, addressing a mass rally at Dambulla, assured that, all factors hampering the advancement and the dignity of the farmer community will be addressed if he is elected. He pointed out that, those farmer communities he met in many areas of the country, strongly requested to end [...]
National Election Commission to act tough on propaganda material
The National Election Commission (NEC) said last week that structures set up on roads and public places by political parties advertising their candidates will be stripped off once nominations for the presidential election closes next week. Additional Director Saman Ratnayake said from October 8 all posters, hoardings and cutouts will be removed in keeping with [...]
Poll monitors receive complaints: Several ministries are accused of violating election laws
Complaints have started reaching election monitoring bodies, as election laws are already in operation from September 18, the day on which the National Election Commission published the Gazette announcing the election date.Most complaints relate to job appointments given by the government and government programmes seen as propaganda. Monitoring officials said such activities also went against [...]
Environment group calls for plastic free campaign
An environmental organisation has called for a plastic – free election campaign ahead of the polls. Centre for Environmental Justice Executive Director Hemantha Vithanage has called the Commission of Elections to take action to prevent environmental pollution during elections. While posters billboards and hoardings on highways are a visual pollution, obscuring scenic views the campaigning [...]
Three more elephants found dead at National Park , Thandikulam
Three more elephants have been found dead yesterday at the Thumbikulam reserve at Habarana, bringing the total number of elephants found dead at the park to seven, Wildlife Conservation Department (DWC) officials said. In a pathetic scene, a five-year-old calf was seen refusing to leave the site of one of the elephants, believed to be [...]
Govt.-TUs wage war paralyses public sector
A wave of strikes continued to cause chaos throughout the country this week with the Government and Trade Unions (TU) trading accusations, even as a Cabinet appointed ministerial committee was appointed to take a fresh look at the issues. President Maithripala Sirisena convened an emergency Cabinet meeting on Friday (27) night to discuss the prevailing [...]
Gas leak accidents raise safety concerns
Recent incidents where people have sustained injuries, sometimes fatal, due to gas leaks in households, have health officials concerned. On September 17, two people in a house in Dematagoda sustained severe burns following a gas cylinderexplosion.One of them died at the National Hospital due to the severity of the burns, police said. According to the [...]
Vital to keep scourge of malaria at bay
‘Operation Containment’ worked with military-precision. Fanning out for a two-mile radius in rough and rugged terrain in remote Madu Gama, Siyambalanduwa in the Moneragala district, the operation was all about vanquishing a parasite and eliminating the mosquitoes which may be carrying it. It was a war launched about a year ago by all those who [...]
Sierra Leone keen on an Agricultural FTA with Sri Lanka
West African, coastal country Sierra Leone is interested in signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Sri Lanka. The country is vigorously re-branding itself, after it elected a new president, Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) candidate, Brig.(Rtd ) Julius Maada Bio, in March last year. Sierra Leone Vice President (VP) Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, in an [...]
Armed with expertise in immunology and allergy he wants to spread the word here
He is living in Oxford and working in London, but flying in and out of Sri Lanka often – in fact, he is here at least 8-10 days every month. This is what is intriguing and when asked, 53-year-old Prof. Suranjith Seneviratne says that he is now holding a joint appointment at the Royal Free [...]
NEC guidelines on new appointments must extend to demands of striking workers, too
With the announcement last week that the UNPs Presidential candidate will be Sajith Premadasa, there will be an inevitable increase in the tempo of campaigning by the respective aspirants, for the plum on November 17. The onus will now shift to the National Elections Commission (NEC), whose main task will be to create a level [...]
Power generation project spells doom to white water rafting
White Water Rafting at Kittulgala, once enormously popular not only among Sri Lankans, but among foreign tourists as well is facing closure according to area residents. The sport has also served as an economic base to many local entrepreneurs as well. They complain that during the past year the sport has been barely able to [...]
Flood waters recede, but health officials warn of threat of disease
This week’s flooding in parts of the country that has affected nearly 140,000 people could result in the spread of respiratory illnesses, infectious diseases including water borne diseases and dermatological issues, Health officials have warned. The warning came as flood waters were receding in the districts of Galle, Colombo and Gampaha. The Health Ministry’s National [...]
Galle’s heritage site is crumbling
The Galle Fort Heritage Site -launched by the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa (in 1991) lies in a badly neglected state. Several of its buildings have started collapsing raising concerns, it may soon resemble the ruined cities at Anuradhapura and Pollonnaruwa. Under late President Premadasa’s plan the site was to house a Postal Museum, Tourist Information [...]
Experts assess Sri Lankan species for Global Red List
Sri Lanka’s reptile experts gathered last week to assess the latest threat levels facing the country’s lizards and snakes. During a six-day workshop at the Simpson’s Forest Hotel, they used some of the modern techniques to assess the threat levels these species have been exposed to, says Dr. Anslem de Silva, one of the organisers [...]
Farmers savour sweet success with thumba karawila
Thumba Karawila may taste slightly bitter for some people, but this medicinal vegetable has brought sweet success to some 100 farmers in Anamaduwa and Mahakumbukkadawala. Business is booming, say farmers who sell a kilo of thumba karawala at Rs. 150. Thumba Karawila is known among villagers and ayurvedic physicians for its healing power for a [...]