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Home » NewsUnder lockdown, this is the way they get their extra needs
Near this specially set up police post at a Grandpass apartment complex under lockdown, most of the people get the Government’s relief package of essential goods valued at Rs. 10,000. But it does not cover all their needs and they often call friends or relatives in nearby areas that are not under lockdown to [...]
Stay-Safe QR code for state employees and those visiting Govt. offices
People visiting government offices and state sector employees will be required in the future to ‘check in’ by scanning the digital Quick Response (QR) code, using their smartphones to register with the ‘Stay Safe’ web-based portal, the President’s Office has directed. In a circular signed by Presidential Secretary P.B. Jayasundera and titled ‘Combatting COVID-19 at [...]
Ex-envoy Wickramasuriya’s fraud case: US dismisses immunity given by new Govt.
Jaliya Wickramasuriya, former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Washington, “does not enjoy residual immunity for his wire fraud, money laundering and his false statements on an immigration application, and it therefore is irrelevant whether or not Sri Lanka waived any immunity he continued to enjoy”, US Government attorneys said. They made the observation in a recent [...]
COVID Task Force to assess Colombo situation
The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 will meet tomorrow to review the Colombo City COVID situation and decide which areas could be opened for business activities, a spokesperson for the President’s Office said last night. “Opening isolated areas in Colombo will be the main topic of discussion with the health authorities giving their opinion on [...]
Engineers say new UDA regulations detrimental to national interest
Significant amendments are to be introduced to the Urban Development Authority (UDA) Act to meet the challenges in modern development while providing more legal teeth for land acquisition and mixed development projects, especially the construction of high-rise buildings, official sources said. While the new regulations will be gazetted soon to replace the UDA’s 34-year-old approval, [...]
Bitter battle over sugar prices: Traders resist CAA moves
Wholesale sugar importers this week resisted moves by the Government, holding back stocks and seeking permission to sell at old prices. The move has resulted in retail traders selling the stocks at old prices and the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) yet to take action against them. In a gazette notification issued on November 10, the [...]
Cabinet bends rules, CEB to sign up for LNG power plant
Cabinet has bent the rules to let the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) sign up for a liquefied natural gas (LNG)/diesel-fired power plant despite the Attorney General (AG) warning that changes to draft project agreements made after bid closure will have “significant cost implications”. The amendments also pose an “additional liability and risk” on the Government [...]
Crisis at Colombo Port: Govt. declares it as essential service
The Government has made an effort to put things in order at the crisis-hit and congested Colombo Port by declaring the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) as an essential service last Tuesday and bringing back workers. With large numbers quarantined, there are COVID-19 positive cases emerging from all three terminals — the Jaya Container Terminal [...]
Final rites of Ramanna Nikaya Chief Prelate today
The final rites of the Chief Prelate of the Ramanna Nikaya, Ven Napana Premasiri Thera, will be held at the Bandaranaike National School Grounds in Warapitiya, Kundasale under State patronage today (22). Issuing a condolence message, President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the demise of the thera was an irreparable loss to all Buddhists around the world. [...]
Detention of Hejaaz Hizbullah arbitrary and unlawful: LAWASIA
LAWASIA, the law association for Asia and the Pacific, expressed deep concern over the arbitrary and unlawful arrest and prolonged detention of prominent Sri Lankan human rights lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah for months without being produced before the Court. LAWASIA called on the Government to release Mr Hizbullah and to ensure that it meets its obligation [...]
Colombo SOS to young and old to enable curfew lift
From calling in all retired Public Health Inspectors to wanting medical interns to plug potential gaps in the Public Health Department, Colombo city is calling in all available resources as it juggles the need to open up after weeks of curfew yet control a virus outbreak. The city’s fears are real as COVID numbers keep [...]
Emboldened by Wilpattu ruling, NGOs ready to count reforestation cost
The decade-long Wilpattu controversy came to a conclusion earlier this week with a resounding win for Sri Lanka’s community of environmentalists. The Court of Appeal decided in favour of the petition filed by the Center for Environmental Justice (CEJ) and ruled that the seventh respondent, parliamentarian, Rishad Bathiudeen will be financially liable for the full [...]
Data Protection draft law in final stages of review
The Personal Data Protection Legislation bill is in its final stages of review and amendment by the Legal Draftsman’s Department. The legislation has been recognised as most urgently required in view of the digital strategies being adopted by the Government and private sector, such as contract tracing for effective management of COVID-19 by health authorities [...]
Pic of the Pix
FROM OUR READERS Shutterbugs out there, we would once again appreciate 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 mention the camera or cellphone that was used. Pic by Thusitha Kumara, Pic by Indika [...]
No takers for fish, fishermen despair
People in the fishing industry are urging the government to take measures to protect them from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. When the Peliyagoda cluster was detected, fish sales collapsed as a result of fears that the virus could spread through fish. This saw negative consequences, including the complete closure of some fish markets [...]
TRCSL expediting project to provide 4G and broadband connectivity to the entire country
The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka is expediting a project to strengthen mobile network services across the country. TRCSL Director General Oshada Senanayake said ‘the Gamata Sanniwedanaya’ project was initiated with the core objective of ensuring that no area was left uncovered with broadband connectivity. “We will continue to actively drive ahead with initiatives [...]
Opposition MPs allege false statistics in Budget, but Govt. says lots of relief for poor people
The Opposition has slammed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Government’s 2021 Budget as a “failure”, attacking it from different fronts. Opposition members accused the Government of failing to provide a lifeline to the COVID-19 pandemic-stricken people. But Government MPs hailed the Budget as a courageous attempt to revive the national economy amidst the pandemic and multiple challenges. [...]
Budget 2021: Disgruntled voices from different sectors
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in his Budget speech proposed to further extend loan recovery periods and other concessions granted under the Central Bank’s re-financing facilities programme until September 30, 2021 for the tourism sector, but those in the trade have expressed reservations. “I propose to provide the banks with a Treasury guarantee covering 50 percent [...]
There’s nothing for us: An unhappy tailor, driver
There was a mixed bag of reactions from the public regarding the Budget proposals. Here are some of the views expressed: M.F Fouzul (48): Tailor in Wellawatte This budget is almost 100 percent good if it is actually implemented. However, the Government has not paid attention to people like us who run small businesses. P [...]
Dousing the cluster-fires doable with public support
New DG pays tribute to public health staff & others firefighting COVID-19 flames, in wide- ranging interview with the Sunday Times Lockdown in Colombo city areas on for another 8-10 days The imagery from the top brass of the health sector is stark but the explanation underscores that the “work is doable” with the [...]
International Coconut Community says coconut oil not linked to heart disease
The International Coconut Community has sent us the following statement in response to an article published on October 25. The statement says: On behalf of coconut stakeholders in Sri Lanka and beyond, the International Coconut Community (ICC) strongly refutes claims aired in the Sunday Times article headlined ‘Now coconut oil is bad for your heart’, [...]
Sri Lankan face behind front-runner potential vaccine
As the race for a vaccine against COVID-19 hots up and a front-runner announces that its results from the late-stage trials should be out by December, a clear Sri Lankan link surfaced this week. A face behind the hard work of a front-running potential vaccine from Oxford University/AstraZeneca, is Dr. Maheshi N. Ramasamy who was [...]
COVID sinks the hopes of northern fisherfolk
For the past week, Anthon Santhanarasa, a fisherman from Munai, Point Pedro, has not ventured into the sea. Two others who used to help him on his boat fear they would have to find other jobs, perhaps masonry or daily labour, to support their families. Like Mr. Santhanarasa there are thousands of fishermen and fishery [...]
Bumper harvest falls victim to cooked-up rice prices
Despite a bumper harvest of paddy and the Government insisting there were plentiful stocks, rice shortages continued to be reported from the markets. The head of the Agriculture Department, Dr. W.N.W. Weerakoon, was blunt: there is enough rice to feed the nation until next February he said, with 1.1 million tons of rice taken from [...]
Life turns upside down in corona lockdown
The lock down imposed to arrest the spread of the second wave of the coronavirus in parts of the country stretched into a third week, stirring restlessness and mental strain among people. Residents of Mattakuliya, Dematagoda, Peliyagoda and Katunayake complain that restrictions have shut down their lives and they fear they will become jobless. The [...]