http://www.sundaytimes.lk Official website of the Sunday Times Newspaper in Sri Lanka Sun, 05 Dec 2021 00:29:56 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/is-it-a-case-of-playing-with-the-lives-of-the-people-464493.html 5 December 2021 @ 12:05 am lt;img class= quot;aligncenter size-full wp-image-464495 quot; title= quot;EFP_0121 quot; src= quot;http://sundaytimes.lk/211205/uploads/2021/12/EFP_0121.jpg quot; alt= quot; quot; width= quot;600 quot; height= quot;348 quot; / gt; Amid a growing crisis over the explosions and fires linked to LP gas cylinders, these workers of Litro gas agents are seen playing softball cricket with a gas cylin... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/talks-with-india-for-two-more-swap-deals-totalling-us-1-4-bn-464489.html 5 December 2021 @ 12:04 am The Government is holding talks with India for two separate currency swap arrangements to the value of US$ 1.4 billion, in addition to an already announced US$ 500 million credit line. Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivad Cabraal told lt;em gt;the Sunday Times lt;/em gt; the terms and conditions for the new US$ 1.4 billion swap deal would be disclosed after the talks were completed. He said th... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/a-century-of-caregiving-mallika-nivasa-takes-mission-to-the-next-level-464477.html 5 December 2021 @ 12:03 am lt;div gt; [caption id= quot;attachment_464482 quot; align= quot;alignright quot; width= quot;500 quot; caption= quot;Chief Guest Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa garlands the portrait of Mrs Mallika Hewavitarne. On the left is the President of the society, Damayanthi De Alwis Fernando. Pix by Indika Handuwala quot;] lt;img class= quot;size-full wp-image-464482 quot; title= quot;_PMO2083 quot;... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/pak-police-arrest-113-over-barbaric-murder-of-lankan-factory-manager-464481.html 5 December 2021 @ 12:03 am Sri Lanka yesterday called for a full investigation into the brutal killing of a 48-year-old Lankan factory manager in Pakistan by a politically motivated once banned group as widespread local and international condemnation continues. [caption id= quot;attachment_464483 quot; align= quot;alignleft quot; width= quot;300 quot; caption= quot;Wife and two children quot;] lt;img class= quot;size-ful... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/brawl-in-parliament-sjb-mps-walk-out-demand-security-464479.html 5 December 2021 @ 12:01 am Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MPs walked out of the Parliament chambers yesterday, claiming that their security within the House was threatened after a confrontation between Galle District SJB MP Manusha Nanayakkara and several Government MPs outside the Parliament chambers on the Opposition side. The confrontation occurred after the SJB MP had just concluded a speech where he exchanged angry wo... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/business-plan-between-cpc-and-lioc-for-trinco-oil-tanks-464476.html 5 December 2021 @ 12:00 am The Energy Ministry is to finalise a business plan between the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC) for Trincomalee oil tanks, an official said. To finalise the plans, the Ministry has requested the Survey General Department to carry out a survey of the 677 acre land in which the 99 oil tanks are spread over. Following a request from Ministry Secretary K.D.R. ... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/gas-for-domestic-use-resumes-govt-reverses-decision-464473.html 4 December 2021 @ 11:59 pm The Government has revised its decision to suspend the supply of gas for domestic use, 24 hours after ordering the dealers to stop selling it. Despite an announcement that gas supply to the markets has been suspended, many dealers ignored the government ban and continued to sell gas yesterday. Dealers said they were not informed to stop selling the cooking gas. Consumer Protection State M... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/experts-urge-tighter-airport-screening-to-check-omicron-464470.html 4 December 2021 @ 11:58 pm With a Sri Lankan woman who arrived from Nigeria on November 24 being detected with Omicron this week and neighbouring India also reporting this lsquo;variant of concern rsquo;, experts are urging the health authorities to bring in tighter screening of all arrivals at the airport. Many experts stressed that it would be advisable to conduct RT-PCR tests on all those coming into the country, whe... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/heavy-price-tag-for-scarce-home-gadgets-stationery-spare-parts-464452.html 4 December 2021 @ 11:58 pm lt;div gt; [caption id= quot;attachment_464454 quot; align= quot;alignright quot; width= quot;500 quot; caption= quot;K. Krishnakumar at his stationery shop in Pettah. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara quot;] lt;img class= quot;size-full wp-image-464454 quot; title= quot;9Y1A9530 quot; src= quot;http://sundaytimes.lk/211205/uploads/2021/12/9Y1A9530.jpg quot; alt= quot; quot; width= quot;500 quot; heig... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/death-of-veteran-journalist-editors-guild-issues-condolence-message-464466.html 4 December 2021 @ 11:57 pm lt;img class= quot;alignleft size-full wp-image-464467 quot; title= quot;Kana-mayil quot; src= quot;http://sundaytimes.lk/211205/uploads/2021/12/Kana-mayil.jpg quot; alt= quot; quot; width= quot;200 quot; height= quot;281 quot; / gt;The Editors rsquo; Guild of Sri Lanka has issued a condolence message on the death of veteran journalist M.V. Kanamaylnathan. The Guild in a statement said that Mr... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/dr-padeniya-prevented-from-being-gmoa-president-464463.html 4 December 2021 @ 11:56 pm The Moratuwa District Court has issued an interim injunction preventing Dr Anuruddha Padeniya from being appointed as President of the Government Medical Officers rsquo; Association (GMOA) uncontested for the 2021/2022 period. The interim order prevents the GMOA rsquo;s Election Committee chairman from installing Dr Padeniya as the President for 2021/2022. The order by District Judge Daminda... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/writing-on-the-wall-yugadanavi-name-board-disappears-464458.html 4 December 2021 @ 11:55 pm lt;img class= quot;aligncenter size-full wp-image-464459 quot; title= quot;EFP_0167 quot; src= quot;http://sundaytimes.lk/211205/uploads/2021/12/EFP_0167.jpg quot; alt= quot; quot; width= quot;600 quot; height= quot;400 quot; / gt; With the US-based energy firm, New Fortress Energy Inc. announcing that it had executed a definitive agreement with the Sri Lankan Government to invest in West Coas... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/charges-and-countercharges-as-power-outage-probe-focuses-on-sabotage-more-unions-mull-strike-464445.html 4 December 2021 @ 11:44 pm The probe into Friday rsquo;s hours-long countrywide power failure will focus on whether it was caused by sabotage, with several Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) engineers being questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department over a previous outage on November 29. Within hours of Friday's power outage, CEB General Manager M.R. Ranatunga told the media he suspected sabotage due to CEB engineer... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/tragic-tale-of-tea-and-roti-many-estate-workers-go-to-sleep-hungry-464443.html 4 December 2021 @ 11:43 pm lt;div gt; [caption id= quot;attachment_464447 quot; align= quot;alignright quot; width= quot;500 quot; caption= quot;The hike in flour price has hit their staple diet of roti quot;] lt;img class= quot;size-full wp-image-464447 quot; title= quot;Photo-(7) quot; src= quot;http://sundaytimes.lk/211205/uploads/2021/12/Photo-7.jpg quot; alt= quot; quot; width= quot;500 quot; height= quot;282 quot;... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/countrywide-power-outages-similarities-differences-and-questions-464442.html 4 December 2021 @ 11:41 pm Sri Lanka experienced two total blackouts between February 2020 and December 2021 with Friday rsquo;s outage prompting suspicions of sabotage amidst trade union action by Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) engineers. There have also been two serious partial blackouts during the same period. Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has questioned several CEB staff regarding the power f... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/myanmar-rice-unlikely-to-stop-skyrocketing-keeri-samba-prices-464438.html 4 December 2021 @ 11:41 pm Rice traders like K. Ananda Thavam believe that the Government's decision to import rice from Myanmar will control the skyrocketing prices in the retail market, but doubt it could bring down the prices of keeri samba, a variety much in demand in urban areas. The Cabinet this week decided to import 20,000 metric tonnes rice from Myanmar to stem the rising rice prices. The rice will be imported a... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/official-apathy-over-mrajawela-flooding-464431.html 4 December 2021 @ 11:40 pm ldquo;I am standing in ankle-deep flood water as we speak, this has been happening for 20 years. rdquo; Sixty-year-old company secretary A.H.W. Mahinda has been a resident of lsquo;Nilsirigama rsquo; scheme in Muthurajawela for the past 21 years. And twice a year without fail, his house gets flooded when the monsoon arrives. The drains and irrigation channels are blocked. The Muthurajawela... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/inhumane-and-degrading-living-conditions-in-line-houses-un-special-rapporteur-464350.html 4 December 2021 @ 11:39 pm A visiting United Nations rapporteur has urged the government to improve the living conditions of all workers, particularly plantation workers, noting that the community continues to face multiple forms of discrimination based on their origins. ldquo;Child labour is particularly severe in poor rural areas populated by Tamils and some children are forced to drop out of school to support their f... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/national-outrage-halts-exploding-litro-cooking-gas-can-of-worms-464404.html 4 December 2021 @ 10:26 pm lt;img class= quot;alignright size-full wp-image-464405 quot; title= quot;Gas-cylinder-issues quot; src= quot;http://sundaytimes.lk/211205/uploads/2021/12/Gas-cylinder-issues.jpg quot; alt= quot; quot; width= quot;400 quot; height= quot;609 quot; / gt;As the domestic cooking gas crisis deepens with multiple explosions reported across the country and suppliers refusing to take responsibility for t... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/people-fear-to-cook-by-gas-some-switching-to-alternative-modes-464400.html 4 December 2021 @ 10:24 pm Amid the fear of COVID-19 and the rising cost of living, many Sri Lankan families have had another tale added to their woes. This concerns the use of cylinders of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) for cooking, after several gas cylinder incidents and explosions took place over the past few weeks. More than 40 cooking gas related incidents or explosions were reported from many parts of the country. The... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/omicron-is-here-but-dont-panic-says-top-expert-464396.html 4 December 2021 @ 10:22 pm lt;strong gt;Omicron is in Sri Lanka. nbsp; nbsp; lt;/strong gt; ldquo;Don rsquo;t panic. Vaccines work. Get vaccinated to prevent hospitalization, severe disease and death and take all preventive measures, rdquo; is the advice of Prof. Neelika Malavige. It is Prof. Malavige rsquo;s team that worked exhaustively night and day to perform genetic sequencing in over two days and alerted the H... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/slda-marks-89-years-amidst-pandemic-challenges-464392.html 4 December 2021 @ 10:10 pm It is amidst many challenges particularly in the unprecedented times of a pandemic that the Sri Lanka Dental Association (SLDA) celebrates its 89th birthday tomorrow, December 6. The simple celebration will be the launch of its brand-new website, as usually the SLDA rsquo;s flagship event including its scientific sessions is held in June. Before dealing with how the SLDA armed its members ag... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/satellite-tracked-gull-reveals-migratory-secrets-464385.html 4 December 2021 @ 10:04 pm [caption id= quot;attachment_464386 quot; align= quot;aligncenter quot; width= quot;770 quot; caption= quot;This Heuglin rsquo;s Gull has become the first migratory bird to Sri Lanka tracked with GPS to have completed a full migration cycle. It is also the first known bird to have flown to the European Arctic from Sri Lanka. quot;] lt;img class= quot; wp-image-464386 quot; title= quot;8 quot; src... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/coastal-dwellers-alerted-to-cyclone-heading-from-india-464373.html 4 December 2021 @ 9:44 pm [caption id= quot;attachment_464374 quot; align= quot;aligncenter quot; width= quot;770 quot; caption= quot;Scenes from Mannar quot;] lt;img class= quot; wp-image-464374 quot; title= quot;98 quot; src= quot;http://sundaytimes.lk/211205/uploads/2021/12/98.jpg quot; alt= quot; quot; width= quot;770 quot; height= quot;280 quot; / gt;[/caption] A cyclone is heading for the coastal areas of India a... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/sc-rejects-objections-made-by-ag-grants-cej-leave-to-proceed-in-elephant-ownership-case-464360.html 4 December 2021 @ 9:32 pm [caption id= quot;attachment_464361 quot; align= quot;alignright quot; width= quot;420 quot; caption= quot;Allegations that PM, Wildlife Minister directing AG to withdraw cases against those illegally keeping tamed elephants Pix by M A Pushpakumara quot;] lt;img class= quot; wp-image-464361 quot; title= quot;9Y1A4339 quot; src= quot;http://sundaytimes.lk/211205/uploads/2021/12/9Y1A4339.jpg quot; ... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/boi-resignations-expose-crisis-within-464352.html 4 December 2021 @ 9:21 pm [caption id= quot;attachment_464353 quot; align= quot;alignright quot; width= quot;210 quot; caption= quot;Mohottala: Resigned as BOI chairman quot;] lt;img class= quot; wp-image-464353 quot; title= quot;sanjaya-mohottala quot; src= quot;http://sundaytimes.lk/211205/uploads/2021/12/sanjaya-mohottala.jpg quot; alt= quot; quot; width= quot;210 quot; height= quot;260 quot; / gt;[/caption] This we... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/pick-of-the-pix-4-464327.html 4 December 2021 @ 8:54 pm [gallery link= quot;file quot; columns= quot;4 quot; orderby= quot;rand quot;] lt;p style= quot;text-align: left; quot; align= quot;center quot; gt;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: nbsp; lt;em gt;pictures@sundaytimes.wnl.lk lt;/em gt;... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/highway-access-broken-kerawalapitiya-road-rolls-out-as-symbol-of-disconnected-development-463998.html 4 December 2021 @ 3:54 pm lt;div gt; [caption id= quot;attachment_464048 quot; align= quot;alignright quot; width= quot;500 quot; caption= quot;The state of the road. Pix by Akila Jayawardana quot;] lt;img class= quot;size-full wp-image-464048 quot; title= quot;_DSC1247-copy quot; src= quot;http://sundaytimes.lk/211205/uploads/2021/12/DSC1247-copy.jpg quot; alt= quot; quot; width= quot;500 quot; height= quot;334 quot; ...