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Home » NewsHeartfelt gift for kidney patients
A state-of-the-art kidney hospital was declared open in Polonnaruwa on Friday by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa accompanied by former President Maithripala Sirisena. This China-Sri Lanka friendship hospital was built with a Chinese grant of US$ 60 million and was worked out by Mr. Sirisena during a visit to Beijing while he was president. Polonnaruwa is one [...]
Gas companies also seek price hike, CoL likely to soar
While the cost of living is likely to soar in the wake of yesterday’s fuel price hikes, a government-appointed ministerial committee is due to study a proposal to increase gas prices. Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena told the Sunday Times that the committee would meet tomorrow to discuss a request made by the two companies – [...]
Torture: New bill seeks enhanced fines upto Rs. 200,000
Those found guilty of torture or attempting to commit torture will have to pay increased fines in addition to jail terms in terms of an amendment to be presented to Parliament soon. Accordingly, those found guilty will be liable to a fine of between Rs 50,000 and Rs 200,000 along with the existing 5-7 years [...]
Urgent moves to increase oxygen supply capacity, as covid cases rise
The Health Ministry has decided to increase the capacity of providing oxygen for medical purposes in view of a dramatic increase of the requirements needed to treat COVID-19 patients, officials said. Urgent imports, setting up of new plants and reducing supplies to industries are among some of the emergency plans approved by the Cabinet . [...]
Importers who made billions in profit reluctant to provide sugar at lower prices for three months
Sugar importers who made massive profits due to a tax concession given by the Government have expressed reservations to a Trade Ministry request to provide sugar to the state-owned Lak Sathosa franchise at lower prices for the next three months. Sugar importers expressed their reservations during a meeting attended by Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena. At [...]
Luxury vehicle import plan for “fieldwork” suspended – not cancelled
The decision to buy a large number of tax-free SUVs using money from the Treasury was “held back or postponed” at the suggestion of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to the Cabinet, Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said. “The subject initially came up when there was no COVID-19. It was decided to bring down vehicles [...]
Fuel price hike: SLPP says energy minister must quit
The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has called for the resignation of Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila over his failure to prevent yesterday’s fuel price increase. In a statement issued last night, SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam said the subject minister must take complete responsibility for pushing the people into more difficulties with a fuel [...]
SLMA recommends extension of ‘lockdown’ till June 28
The Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) has urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to extend the ‘lockdown’ (travel restrictions) for two weeks more (till June 28) and ban tourists from countries that have an ‘ongoing COVID-19 transmission’. On Friday, the Government extended the lockdown by a week till June 21. In a letter to the President on [...]
Pharmaceutical zone in Hambantota: Environment disaster in the making if strict guidelines not followed, warns EIA
The Government’s proposed pharmaceutical zone in Hambantota will cause vast damage to the environment and disrupt lives unless strict guidelines are introduced and followed to lessen impacts, the environmental impact assessment on the project shows. The project will cover 400 acres in Arabokka, north of Magampura port. Phase 1 will be for 20 pharmaceutical formation [...]
Expectant fathers wait patiently
With the authorities deciding to vaccinate pregnant women, many expectant mothers turned up at vaccination centres to get their covid-19 jabs. At a vaccination centre in Colombo, while the women were taken in, their spouses and those who accompanied them were told to sit outside. Pic by Indika Handuwala
BASL calls on police not to abuse hate-speech laws to stifle free speech, right to dissent
The authorities must ensure that laws relating to hate speech and incitement to violence are not used to stifle genuine expressions of dissent and criticism, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) stressed. The BASL Executive Committee made the remarks in a statement expressing concern over the contents of a recent Police circular titled “Circulation [...]
How the X-Press Pearl sailed into catastrophe
Heads were turned away, solutions were blocked … then it was too late CID questioning reveals story of a reluctance to act Both the X-Press Pearl’s chief engineer and second engineer have told the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) they were not informed about an acid leak in one of the containers on the vessel responsible for one [...]
Livelihoods of fishermen sink deep in troubled waters
While the ship disaster has left small and medium scale fishermen in the western and northwestern coasts struggling to keep their livelihoods afloat, the demand for deep sea fish has triggered a price increase in some varieties. Prices of deep sea fish such as tuna, snapper, seer fish (thora), paraw, thalapath (sailfish) continue to soar [...]
Sea life at great risk from 70bn plastic pellets
For nearby marine life, the explosion and fire in the ship carrying hazardous chemicals that sank off Sri Lanka would have had an impact akin to an atomic bomb blast, with some sea creatures going into shock and others dying due to lack of oxygen from the chemical reaction, experts said. About 19 turtle carcasses [...]
Garment workers in the claws of Covid-19 virus
Trade unions allege factories are concerned more with their export targets than with workers’ health, demand priority be given to them in vaccination programme PHIs say garment factories are no-go zones for them; no way of monitoring adherence to health guidelines within factories; northern workers complain of intimidation by security forces Labour officials deny irregularities [...]
Landslide warnings continue to be in place for many areas
With the floods receding, and other risks posed by the torrential rains fading, people evacuated from high-risk zones are slowly returning home. About 22 persons were killed in the recent floods and landslides, and over 250,000 affected. The Ratnapura, Galle, Colombo, Kalutara and Kegalle Districts were the worst affected. Assistant Director – Disaster Management Centre, [...]
Polluting soils lead to greater havoc than polluting oceans
The consequences of wastes released from the burned ship to our ocean have become the priority in many news bulletins of all media during the last few days. The immediate impacts of waste on aquatic living creatures were evident and heartbreaking. However, damages caused by wastes on the delicate network of marine food webs of [...]
More than 50 giant beehives safely removed from Peradeniya University water plant
An extraordinary feat was accomplished by members of the Bee Protection and Conservation Association, when they removed 57 giant beehives from a water tank more than 100 feet above ground level at the University of Peradeniya water purifying plant, opposite the Faculty of Engineering, on the Kandy-Gampola road These giant bees were living alongside around [...]
Good data & proper vaccination need of the hour – Experts
Consistent and disaggregated data vital to track epidemic pathway Lockdown has been porous Deaths-by-date important in analysis Sri Lanka has been under a lockdown since May 25 but as many experts underscored a lot of people were going around and no one seemed to know whether they were truly a part of essential [...]
Caught in-between “absurd and unscientific” quarantine decisions
Returning to Sri Lanka from the United States of America, a senior Consultant Cardiologist is caught in-between “absurd and unscientific” quarantine decisions and is in isolation at a Negombo hotel without being in his home in Colombo. “I am very comfortable at the hotel with good food and service,” says Dr Hemal Fernando who is [...]
Ad hoc jabs don’t work – vaccinate to prevent deaths & severe disease
Many hailed the decision by the Health Ministry to vaccinate the at-risk over-60 year group of people, while urging that strict implementation of this decision at ground-level is critical. “The primary aim now should be to reduce deaths and severe disease. The data suggest that a majority of people affected by severe disease are those [...]
‘Not bad, not good’
The COVID-19 situation in the country is not bad but not good as well, a senior health official said. “We cannot say that the situation is bad but at the same time we have to admit that it is not good as well, because we are still getting over 2,500 positive cases,” the Health Ministry’s [...]
‘Let’s analyse our findings’
A doctor who peers at bugs and also examines patients shares some of his findings so that all those treating COVID-19 can pool their views and analyze their data to deal with the pandemic better, both short-term and long-term. The bug – SARS-CoV-2 – which is on the rampage is “very deadly”, says Consultant Microbiologist [...]
Over 4,000 test samples ‘unprocessed’ on June 8 & 9, while health official says backlog is “minimum”
With controversy riddling the Covid-19 testing programme and many charging that there was inadequate testing along with a lag-time for results to be issued, the Sunday Times contacted the Health Ministry’s Deputy Director-General (Laboratory Services), Dr Sudath Dharmaratne for some answers. When asked how many RT-PCR tests are being done per day currently, he spoke [...]