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A top-level Sri Lankan delegation met the Governor of the Bangladesh Central Bank and other leading officials on the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF sessions in Washington DC. The picture shows the Sri Lankan delegation led by Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe and Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardene meeting Bangladesh Central Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder [...]
22nd Amendment hangs in the balance
SLPP lays down conditions on dual citizenship, independent commissions By Damith Wickramasekara The fate of the Constitution’s 22nd Amendment (22A) hangs in the balance with the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) laying down two “mandatory” conditions to ensure its passage—including a clause to make members of independent Commissions accountable for their actions. The SLPP also [...]
Sri Lankan officials meet creditors, Chinese Finance Minister calls President
The first round of talks was held on Thursday in Washington DC between a Sri Lanka delegation and a select group of sovereign bond holders, to whom the country owes nearly USD 13 billion, according to reports reaching Colombo. The Sri Lanka team was led by Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe and Treasury Secretary Mahinda [...]
Elevated highway EIA report: Resettlement costs alone will be a staggering Rs. 38bn
The Government will have to spend more than Rs 38bn in resettlement expenses alone for the construction of 9.5km of the proposed elevated highway from Rajagiriya to Athurugiriya by China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC), a new report states. This includes compensation for lands, homes and trees, self-relocation and rental accommodation, replacement of public and common [...]
Alleged plot to kill Sumanthiran: Suspects released on bail under new PTA provisions
The Colombo High Court has for the first time granted bail to four persons under new provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in relation to the alleged assassination attempt of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran. Court granted conditional bail, executing both personal and cash bonds to the four suspects on Wednesday [...]
Top US official coming to Lanka
Donald Lu, US Deputy Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Regions, is due to arrive in Sri Lanka on Wednesday. He will be joined by a high-ranking US Government delegation. Among the areas they are likely to discuss are the region’s and Sri Lanka’s economic crisis and the human rights situation. Mr Lu [...]
Australia arrests SMEC officials over bribery charges in Lanka; questions over Sirisena-era probe
A subsidiary of SMEC, a leading Australian project management firm, that is under investigation for bribing Sri Lankan officials to secure infrastructure contracts, was also debarred by the World Bank in 2017 in relation to its work in Sri Lanka. But no probe into SMEC’s activities made progress in Sri Lanka, officials said. Two Australian [...]
3 dead; heavy rains and strong winds cause mayhem in many areas
At least three people have been confirmed dead, while 55,435 people from 13,902 families have been affected by several days of adverse weather, including heavy rains, strong winds and severe lightning, according to figures released by the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) yesterday evening. Heavy rain and strong winds caused damages to property in 11 districts. [...]
STF to be removed from prison and highway security; re-deployed in drug operations
By Damith Wickramasekara The Government is to carry out a phased withdrawal of more than 600 Special Task Force (STF) personnel who have been providing security to the outer perimeters of prisons. The Justice Ministry has agreed to a request by the Public Security Ministry for the move. The STF is presently deployed for outer [...]
Police demo crackdown stirs debate on rights, obligations of children
By Nadia Fazlulhaq While the government is promoting its ‘leave no one behind’ programme, it wants parents to leave their children behind when attending rallies, protests, and demonstrations. National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), chairman Udayakumara Amarasinghe told the Sunday Times that discussions will take place in the coming weeks on how to legally prevent children [...]
Rights petition after Islam textbook withdrawn on one-country-one-law task force advice
By Sadisha Sapramadu Thousands of schoolchildren in grades 6, 7, 10 and 11 studying Islam as a subject have no textbooks since December 2021, after the Commissioner-General of the Educational Publications Department ordered principals to stop distribution and recall the books. The recall came after the “One Country, One Law” Presidential Task Force headed by [...]
More than 40 demining workers injured in major accident at Muhamalai
By Romesh Madushanka, our Vanni correspondent At least 47 workers of a non-Governmental demining organisation were injured in a major accident at Muhamalai in Kilinochchi yesterday morning. Twenty-five of them were seriously injured. Police said a fast-moving tipper collided with a private bus transporting employees of the demining organisation to work, on the A-9 road. The [...]
Yes and no to joining the poorest club for loans
In the first week of October, President Wickremesinghe had told Parliament that International Development Association loans had been sought, “because we cannot get IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development)’’. Then, the Cabinet on October 10, announced approval to seek World Bank designation as a, “lower income country”, from “lower middle income country”. However, later [...]
World Cerebral Palsy Day: Different and able, a message to society
By Ishan Samaraweera October 6 was World Cerebral Palsy (CP) Day. I am 24 years old and I was born with the condition. We are unique. We have our own strengths and abilities. It is only that we are physically restricted to a certain extent owing to moderate to severe brain damage. Each individual alive [...]
Ensuring we leave no one behind
Today is World Food Day and the day assumes added significance to Sri Lanka this year as it faces an acute food crisis. The World Food Programme has said that 6.3 million people, or over 30 percent of Sri Lanka’s population, are “food insecure” and require humanitarian assistance, while the United Nations has issued an [...]
India’s youngest state and growing IT hub opens doors to Lankan startups
By Sandun Jayawardana Sri Lankan startups considering the Indian market are invited to seize opportunities provided by Telangana, India’s 29th and youngest State, which is making a name for itself as a technological innovation hub, particularly in IT. As of now, one Sri Lankan startup is working with the Telangana’s T-Hub to enter the Indian [...]
Mechanical deficiencies, suspected sabotage, politics endanger rail services
By Senuka Jayakody Police investigating the delay of an Anuradhapura-bound train from the Fort owing to a cable issue suspect drug addicts for causing damage at the Kelaniya railway station. Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana, who suspects sabotage, has sought a CID investigation into the incident. Peliyagoda police are continuing day-night patrols at the location. The [...]
Psychiatrists sound alarm over moves to legalise cannabis, call for meticulous research
By Wasantha Ramanayake Meticulous research should be carried out before legalising cannabis, states the Sri Lanka of College Psychiatrists of (SLCP). It has warned lawmakers that cannabis is a factor in drug abuse–as it is widely taken for non-medical reasons–and that the legalisation of it would adversely affect the entire population. The SLCP does not [...]
‘Human rights centres’ mooted for State universities as ragging issue comes up again
Study shows 51 percent of students surveyed were subjected to verbal harassment; 34.3 percent to psychological violence; 23.8 percent to physical abuse; and 16.6 percent to sexual harassment through ragging Educational Institutions Act of 1998 which prohibits ragging and other forms of violence hasn’t been implemented, says parliamentarian Dr. Harini Amarasuriya By Yoshitha [...]
Dr. Palitha Abeykoon appointed to world body monitoring preparedness for health emergencies
A Sri Lankan health expert has been appointed to the high-level Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) co-convened by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank. Dr. Palitha Abeykoon, Senior Advisor to the Health Ministry and a former WHO Special Envoy for COVID-19 Preparedness and Response, has been appointed to the new board membership [...]
Celebrity scam worth Rs 3b and counting
By S Rubathesen A businesswoman who is facing multiple allegations of financial fraud is suspected to have cheated more than Rs 3 billion so far, from a diverse range of victims including businesspeople, politicians, and professionals. Thilini Priyamali, chief executive officer of Thico Group of Companies (Pvt), who is now in custody, is alleged to [...]
Western Province sitting atop a mounting disaster
21 active garbage dumps pose health hazards to people Pix and text by Rekha Tharangani Fonseka Not even the Meethotamulla garbage disaster of 2017 has taught a lesson: Scattered all over the Western Province are 21 active garbage dumps in close proximity to human settlements–and people are suffering. Residents of Muthurajawela and Karadiyana told the [...]
Search on for missing sailors
The Navy is yet to locate a fishing trawler that disappeared at sea on September 17 with six Navy personnel on board, a spokesman said recently. The sailors were on patrol duty aboard the vessel and had reportedly radioed back saying they were going after a suspicious movement, before they vanished. They were not heard [...]
Cash crop pays first dividend
More than two dozen farmers from 10 villages in Wanathavilluwa, Puttalam have reaped a good harvest of big onions by using ‘organic’ fertilisers in half an acre each. The project, involving 25 farmers, was launched jointly by the North-Western Province Department of Agriculture and the Korea Program on International Agriculture (KOPIA). None had cultivated big [...]
Marine turtles get a second chance while nets still pose risks
By Malaka Rodrigo Abandoned fishing gear in Sri Lankan waters continue to pose dangers to marine turtles, and there is little help on shore for creatures that are seriously injured. The bycatch remains problematic. But, in nearby Maldives, a group is helping to rescue and rehabilitate injured marine turtles. Three types of fishing gear have [...]
Zoo keepers concerned over visitor- behaviour towards ‘Cuban’ the old croc
By Kasun Warakapitiya “Cuban” is a favourite among workers at the Dehiwala zoo. She is believed to be the zoo’s oldest crocodile and they want visitors to stop throwing things at her to elicit a reaction—because enough is enough. The most common items to land on Cuban are plastic bottles and coins. The Sunday Times [...]
As construction costs rise, demand turns to houses and apartments
By Sadisha Saparamadu The rate of increase in Sri Lanka’s land prices has slumped as consumers turn to houses and apartments due to rising construction costs. A recent survey by Lanka Property Web (LPW) shows that between 2021 and 2022, the increase in land prices was just 10 percent. This is in contrast to the [...]