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Home » NewsEaster: The time to celebrate the promise of a better tomorrow
As Christians the world over celebrate Easter Sunday today, recalling the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion, in Sri Lanka, too, devotees attended midnight mass amid tight security. Our picture shows renowned pianist Soundarie David Rodrigo practising with her choir for the midnight mass at the Kollupitiya St. Anthony’s Church Pic by M.A. Pushpakumara
Foreign companies allowed to sell fuel below CPC price
Agreements to be finalised later this month, operations to begin next month By Damith Wickremasekara Three foreign companies entering Sri Lanka’s retail fuel market will be allowed to sell fuel below the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) prices, the government has decided. The agreements with the three companies are to be finalised later this month with [...]
NMRA orders withdrawal of three batches of Indian injections
The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) has ordered the withholding of three batches of injections manufactured in India. The NMRA order has been issued to a Sri Lanka representative company of the Indian manufacturer. A senior NMRA official said the three batches were withdrawn following incidents of adverse reactions on patients at Peradeniya Teaching Hospital [...]
SC suspends import of drugs from unregistered Indian company
Serious doubts about the quality, safety and efficacy of the drugs By Namini Wijedasa The Supreme Court has suspended the importation of medicines from a private Indian supplier under the Indian credit line (ICL) stating that serious doubts had arisen regarding the quality, safety and efficacy of the products bought from Savorite Pharmaceuticals (Pvt) Ltd. [...]
X-Press Pearl disaster: AG to file law suit in Singapore
By Yoshitha Perera and Ranjith Padmasiri Action will soon be filed in Singapore to claim compensation made over the X-Press Pearl shipping disaster based on advice rendered by a Singapore law firm on several key advantages such a move would entail, Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam said yesterday. This Singapore law firm, which has been retained [...]
Genesis Market: Popular cybercrime website shut down by police
By Daniel Sandford (BBC) – One of the world’s biggest criminal marketplaces used by online fraudsters to buy passwords has been closed down in a global law enforcement crackdown. Genesis Market sold login details, IP addresses and other data that made up victims’ “digital fingerprints”. Often costing less than $1, the personal information let fraudsters [...]
CEA recommends alternative route for proposed highway
The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) recommended that an alternative route be found for the section of the proposed elevated highway from the New Kelani Bridge (NKB) to Athurugiriya that crosses the Thalangama wetland, a draft Cabinet paper shows. The proposed Highways Ministry memorandum regarding the highway states that the CEA’s Environmental Council has suggested that [...]
Police blamed for Kalubowila hospital morgue crisis
The Colombo South (Kalubowila) Teaching Hospital mortuary has stopped accepting unclaimed bodies brought from outside as 28 unclaimed bodies have been lying there for 14 months without postmortem examinations being conducted. Hospital Director Dr Sagari Kiriwandeniya has conveyed the hospital’s decision to the Mount Lavinia Police division, hospital sources said. They said the decision was [...]
RTI Commission orders release of Port City Agreement
The Right to Information Commission has ordered the release of the Tripartite Agreement signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the CHEC Port City Colombo and warned that the failure to release the information could result in the prosecution of the relevant officials. The order came following two appeals by M.F.A. Mansoor from Puwakwatta [...]
Pamunuwa: Where people come, see the prices and leave
While traders lament that the high prices of garments are keeping shoppers away this season at this popular market in Maharagama, it’s a sweet tale for sellers of bottles of treacle By Sandun Jayawardana It is the Avurudu season and the Pamunuwa market in Maharagama should be a mass of people. While crowds are still around, traders [...]
Caution is the watchword for festive revelry
Celebrate the Sinhala and Tamil New Year without suffering injuries and causing grief to others. The police say 85% of accidents during this cultural festival is usually the result of negligence. Police spokesman Senior Superintendent of Police Nihal Thalduwa said people should try to prevent accidents. Security will be tightened by the armed forces throughout [...]
No Sunday Times next week
In view of the New Year holidays, the Sunday Times will not be published on April 16.
Chinese online scam suspects may be part of global crime ring
By Thusitha Kumara De Silva and Senuka Jayakody Dozens of Chinese online fraud suspects nabbed in Aluthgama may be linked to Chinese internet and telecom fraudsters operating across the world scamming people using the internet, social media, and smartphones, the police say. On April 1, police in Sri Lanka arrested 39 Chinese for alleged cybercrime in [...]
CJ unveils bust of Nihal Jayamanne PC at Law Library
The bust of onetime President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), Nihal Jayamanne, PC was unveiled at the Colombo Law Library on Monday by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya. Mr. Jayamanne was the son of former Justice Minister, Senator J.M. Jayamanne. A leading civil lawyer, he was also Chairman of the Law Commission, Chairman, [...]
WB, President’s Office discuss next steps in development policy
World Bank representatives and President’s Office representatives discussed the next steps to complete Sri Lanka’s development policy operational pre-actions, including the restructuring process. The discussion took place at the Presidential Secretariat this week. The establishment of the Parliamentary budget office, restructuring of State-owned enterprises, welfare benefit payment systems, social registry, and the respective timelines were [...]
Auspicious times for the New Year
Dawn of the New Year: April 14 (Friday) 2.59 p.m. Inauspicious time: April 14 (Friday) from 8.35 AM to 9.23 p.m. Preparation of meals: April 14 (Friday) 3.29 p.m. clad in multi-coloured clothing Commencement of Work, transactions and partaking of meals: April 14 (Friday) 5.05 p.m. clad in multi-coloured clothing Anointing oil: April 16 (Sunday) [...]
Resumption of Colombo-Jaffna train service further delayed
The resumption of train services between Colombo Fort and Jaffna has been delayed until November, Railways General Manager W.A.S. Gunasinghe said. Train services were suspended from January this year to faciliate the construction of a new track from Anuradhapura to Jaffna. Mr Gunasinghe said they had started laying a new track between Maho to Anuradhapura. [...]
Nurse poisoned his tea in hospital, alleges doctor
A doctor who is believed to have been poisoned by a nurse has been admitted to Tangalle hospital. The doctor who is attached to the Kariyamaditta hospital claimed that the nurse had mixed something poisonous into his tea on Thursday night and as he reached his place of lodging he had fainted. The doctor is [...]
Tons of produce and food dumped every day
By Nadia Fazlulhaq Post-harvest losses and food waste are at high levels in Sri Lanka despite the prevailing food insecurity. This week, farmers who arrived at the Dambulla economic centre complained that wholesale vegetable prices had dropped and they were willing to either sell at low prices or to dump them. There are no cold [...]
Fertiliser glitches persist, while food security improves and production recovers
By Senuka Jayakody A few more crop growing seasons will be needed for Sri Lanka to return to normalcy in food security, while a recovery is on the way. In December last year, UNICEF had reported that the food insecurity caused by the economic crisis since early 2022 “is predicted to deteriorate between October 2022 [...]
Govt.’s free distribution of rice to 2.5 mn people costs Rs. 10bn
By Nathara Abeywickrama The Government is spending about Rs 10 billion for the free rice distribution programme for low income families, a senior official of the Social Empowerment Ministry said. The rice is being distributed to 2.85 million families for the months of April and May. The Government has converted paddy purchased from farmers during [...]
Parliamentarian stands firm in his decision to support Law College exams in English
Says talented young people will suffer as major law books and latest developments in the legal field would not be in local languages The Parliament’s move to stop a decision by Sri Lanka Law College to conduct examinations only in English will end up in killing the talent of gifted young people who can contribute to the [...]
Tougher punishment if victims, witnesses of crime are threatened or harmed
Draft law addresses shortcomings in present Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act By Ranjith Padmasiri Those committing an offence against victims of crime and witnesses will face lengthy prison sentences and heavy fines under a new Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Bill. The draft law [...]
CEA recommends alternative route for proposed highway
The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) recommended that an alternative route be found for the section of the proposed elevated highway from the New Kelani Bridge (NKB) to Athurugiriya that crosses the Thalangama wetland, a draft Cabinet paper shows. The proposed Highways Ministry memorandum regarding the highway states that the CEA’s Environmental Council has suggested that [...]
Living a life of misery, ex-LTTE child soldiers battling to rebuild their lives
Text and pix by Wasantha Chandrapala Kandasamy Nageshwari had held an automatic weapon at the age of nine years after being conscripted to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorist group in Vakaneri, Batticaloa. “It was in 1996 that the LTTE took me away while in Vakaneri. Fours years later, I was sent to [...]
Homemakers wonder why bakers get eggs and not families
By Nadia Fazlulhaq The search for eggs this week has been far less fun than an Easter egg hunt for desperate households despite the Trade Ministry announcing that millions of eggs were imported from India. Eggs are not available at leading supermarkets, or grocery stores. Retailers do not know when supplies will arrive. ‘Not available’ [...]
Wide ranging plans to develop small islands in the Northern province
Economic potential for tourism industry, and projects to generate foreign exchange By Chris Kamalendran The consultation process of a Cabinet proposal on setting up an Islands Development Authority has begun in the North–the area where a majority of the islands are located. The Sunday Times learned that the proposals had been shared among experts and [...]
Tight security at churches for Easter Sunday services
By Chris Kamalendran Police Inspector General Chandana Wickramaratne has ordered the senior Deputy Inspector General to ensure security for churches throughout the country for today’s Easter Sunday services. He said special security arrangements will be in place within predominantly Catholic areas in the country. Officers-in-Charge (OICs) of respective Police stations had been told to have [...]
4 injured in accident involving multiple vehicles
Four persons were injured and hospitalised last evening after a boom truck collided with multiple vehicles at Kaleliya in Mirigama. The truck, suspected to have faulty brakes crashed into eight three wheelers, a car and a motorbike before coming to a stop along the Pasyala-Mirigama Road. Police arrested the driver while the injured were admitted [...]
Eight arrested over tree felling on Wilpattu border
Eight persons have been arrested for cutting down a range of old trees in the Wilpattu National Park. They had cut down 18 trees on the border of the buffer zone of the Wilpattu National Park, including a Goda Kirilla tree aged 300 years, on the basis of a licence provided by the Karuwalagaswewa Divisional [...]
Strawberry cultivation promoted as a home industry
Story and pix by K R Rajamanthri Strawberry cultivation is being promoted among housewives as a home cultivation to enhance their economies. Strawberries have a high demand due to their beauty, taste, and high nutritional value. Studies have shown that they can be beneficial for heart health; and as they are rich in antioxidants they could [...]
A call for blessings
Story and pix by Eshan Fernando The Gammadu festival, which seeks blessings from the deity Paththini, is held in many areas ahead of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Gammadu is an ancient custom aimed at offering worship for the goddess Paththini known for cleansing sins and help in achieving prosperity. This Gammadu shanthikarmaya held [...]
A/L student killed in road accident
A 19-year-old school boy was killed in an accident while returning from a batch party in Palapathwela, Matale yesterday. Dushmantha Sithul Wijesekara, a student of St Thomas’ College, Matale and a former cricket captain of the school team, had sat for the GCE Advanced Level examination this year. He had attended a batch party held [...]
Short people face tall order: New body formed to fight for their place in society
Text and pix by Rekha Tharangani Fonseka They call themselves ‘little people’ due to stunting and seek social recognition for special attention in getting about their day-to-day chores in public areas. They face difficulties in public places such as banks, supermarkets, hospitals and hotels, and in using public transport. Yet, there is little public discourse [...]
Increase in tourism: Russia a big player, roadshows planned for China
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has seen a significant rise in recent months with a 17 percent increase in arrivals–following a challenging period caused by various factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent economic crisis. During the first three months 335,679 tourists visited Sri Lanka, marking an increase of almost 17 percent from the same [...]
Sun directly over Sri Lanka till April 15; people told to take precautions
Scorching heat and high humidity to continue till end of this month, says Met Department Chief the Meteorological Department has said the sun will be directly over Sri Lanka from April 5 to April 15. The Health Ministry also advised people to remain hydrated and avoid being exposed to direct sunlight. Elderly people, children and [...]