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While some British MPs relying desperately on vote-bank politics for re-election this year were lecturing Sri Lanka on how to run a country, British High Commissioner Andrew Patrick was engaged in a meritorious task of teaching English as a global language to Sri Lankan children at a storytelling event organised by the British Council in [...]
High-level Lankan teams to visit China and India
Two high-level government visits take place next week, with Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena heading to China and the President’s Chief of Staff and National Security Adviser Sagala Ratnayake due in India. The Prime Minister will be in China from March 25–29, accompanied by Finance State Minister Shehan Semasinghe and the Prime Minister’s Secretary, Anura Dissanayake. [...]
CID to question former president on Easter Sunday massacre
Former President Maithripala Sirisena will be questioned by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) over his statement that he was aware of who was responsible for the Easter Sunday terrorist attack that claimed 263 lives five years ago. A senior police officer said that since they had already received a complaint regarding a statement made by [...]
CB willing to revise salary increase
A majority of the senior management and professionals of the Central Bank (CB) have ‘made a collective decision to consider a revision to their salaries’, which were increased recently, the Central Bank (CB) said in a statement yesterday. It said this decision was communicated to the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on March 16 prior [...]
Statutory rape: Minister withdraws move to lower the age limit
The Justice Ministry has withdrawn its draft bill to amend the Penal Code’s Sections 363 and 364, which deal with statutory rape, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said yesterday. “We informed the Supreme Court on Thursday when the matter came up that we are not proceeding with this,” the minister told the Sunday Times. He has [...]
Drug rehab only on medical recommendation, commissioner decides
The Bureau of the Commissioner of Rehabilitation has decided that only addicts who are medically certified as drug-dependent will hereafter be taken into its centres–including Kandakadu–for treatment after an explosion in numbers during the past few months led to discipline and control issues. Hundreds of people arrested through the government’s “Yukthiya” programme were sent to [...]
Pakistan celebrates National Day
A ceremony to mark the National Day of Pakistan was held at the Pakistan High Commission yesterday. The event was attended by members of the Pakistani community-based in Sri Lanka. The National Day of Pakistan is celebrated on 23rd March every year in remembrance of the historic 1940 Lahore resolution which formed the basis of [...]
Lanka to donate US$ 1 million to Gaza children next week
The Sri Lankan Government’s donation of US $1 million for the “Children of Gaza Fund” in aid of Gaza violence victims launched recently will be handed over to the UN agencies next week. The funds would be used to assist the affected children in Gaza by providing them with medicine and food, the President’s Media [...]
Palestine Solidarity group decries Haifa consulate move
The Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestine (SLCSP) has expressed its disappointment over Sri Lanka’s decision to open a consulate in Haifa in northern Israel at a time when Israel is responsible for the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip Issuing a statement in response to a Foreign Ministry communiqué announcing the opening [...]
RPCs propose 33% wage hike for estate workers
Sri Lanka’s plantation companies have proposed a 33 percent increase in take-home wages based on a productivity model or a 22 percent increase in wages on the attendance-based model, a considerable wage hike compared to other agriculture workers. Based on President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s request to plantation companies recently, Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) and the Employers [...]
Sri Lanka condemns attack in Moscow, condoles loss of lives
Sri Lanka strongly condemned the terrorist attack that occurred at the Crocus City shopping centre in Moscow, Russia, on Friday, causing the loss of civilian lives and injuries. “Such cowardly acts of violence against civilians are abhorrent and have no place in civilised society,” a statement by the Foreign Ministry said. “The government and the [...]
IMF advocates property tax and ending corporate freebies amid ‘green shoots’
Sri Lanka must stay the course, collect more tax, end corporate tax handouts, endure macroeconomic reforms, and importantly, secure agreements with private bond holders and biggest bilateral creditor China, the IMF recommended Thursday, pointing to ‘green shoots’ of economic life, while also noting severe socio-economic costs of reforms. IMF Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka, [...]
Crackdown on unregulated foreigner-run businesses: Habaraduwa Pradeshiya Sabha officers in door-to-door inspection
As controversy grows over unregulated foreigner-run businesses, revenue inspectors from the Habaraduwa Pradeshiya Sabha—covering the main tourist towns of Unawatuna, Habaraduwa and Ahangama—started going door-to-door last week to gather registration details of companies to be given to the Immigration and Emigration Department. The inspectors were accompanied by police to eliminate the risk of any resistance, [...]
Recovering vehicle possessions from lessees in defiance of the law
A massive operation to reclaim vehicles is being carried out by several leasing companies despite new directives from the Central Bank. “Leasing companies are abusing their authority to take possession of people’s belongings and vehicles. The government is still keeping quiet about the leasing firms’ disregard for the debt moratorium that the Central Bank of [...]
Rubber exports to EU must not originate from deforested land: New regulations
As a direct beneficiary of the EU GSP+ concessions, Sri Lanka’s rubber exports to the EU market will have to adopt due diligence to prove that products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation. Foreign Secretary, Aruni Wijewardane chaired a meeting at the Foreign Ministry with the participation of [...]
Applications for scholarships for children of estate workers
Applications have been called from children of estate workers, for awarding of scholarships by the Ceylon Estate Workers’ Education Trust (CEWET). These scholarships are available for GCE Advanced Level, undergraduate courses and for students undergoing vocational/technical education in any government technical college. Students who have passed the GCE Ordinary Level (with minimum 6 credit passes) [...]
Concerns over alleged cancer-fighting product developed by Colombo Uni
The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) is scheduled to call a meeting in the first week of April of all those involved over an issue concerning ‘Vernolac’, a product which claims to “help control & eliminate cancer stem cells”. A CAA official said that the decision to hold the meeting was taken when the CAA was [...]
Microsoft supports grade eight trial in 20 schools to introduce Artificial Intelligence
In a landmark initiative aimed at advancing education in Sri Lanka, Microsoft has joined forces with the Sri Lankan Government to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) education to students in grade 8 and above. This pioneering project, supported by the country’s leadership, seeks to equip teachers and students with skills for the digital age. “The path [...]
Sandya who left to Saudi Arabia to help her family returns a broken woman
Kumudini Sandya Kumari, a mother of two, left for Saudi Arabia to work as a housemaid on May 10, 2023, via a private foreign employment agency in Kurunegala, to provide for her family amidst the economic difficulties. “As the fishing industry was unsuccessful, my wife suggested that she go abroad. I was helpless, so we [...]
Only time will tell if official and dissenting seers sort out auspicious day
Cultural Affairs Minister, Vidura Wickramanayaka has told astrologers who dispute auspicious times for next month’s New Year to reach a consensus. According to him, having one set of auspicious times would avoid causing confusion and build confidence in astrology. The request came after a state committee appointed to determine auspicious times (Nakath Committee) and a [...]
President launches several initiatives in Jaffna
A series of events to transfer land rights to people in the north took place this week. 408 land deeds were granted to people of Jaffna as part of the Urumaya programme, which aims to provide land rights to 2 million individuals. President Ranil Wickremesinghe participated in the awarding of the deeds. The President instructed [...]
Those fishing boats, with their sails afloat
The introduction of motor boats in the 1970s led fisher folk to deviate from using sailboats in the southern coast. However, the use of traditional sailboats have drawn the attention of tourists as the batik-like orange sails sway along the coastline of Negombo. The colour of the sail is extracted from a boiled leaf. Fisher [...]
Extreme heat: Caution is the watchword in tackling wild visitors to homes and gardens
The Department of Wildlife Conservation is advising people to stay calm if reptiles and amphibians come into their homes or gardens due to the soaring heat. Plants have withered due to prevailing arid conditions that have dried up the humid and cool natural areas where reptiles and amphibians spend the hottest part of the day. [...]
Influx of red onions from Jaffna brings good tidings; prices come down
An influx of red onions from Jaffna has brought down the price of red onions in markets in the south. Traders at the Dambulla economic centre said they had been receiving large quantities of red onions; therefore, the price of a kilo, which was at Rs 350, is now going at Rs 200. The merchant [...]
Open verdict on death of girl who fell sick after attending party
An open verdict has been returned over the death of a 27-year-old girl who fell ill and passed away after attending a private party in Yakkalamulla, Galle. The party had been organised for a friend by a newlywed couple. Suduweli Kondage Isanga Prasadini, too, had attended the party around 2 p.m. According to Prasadini’s mother, [...]
Kochchikade: Far from the great expectations the new bridge held
Kochchikade, the gateway to Colombo from the northern parts of the country, is a bustling city with rickety old road networks, the upgrading of which has not drawn the attention of the authorities. In 2019, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe declared open the new 105-metre-long bridge built across the Maha Oya, a perennial river, adding attraction [...]
Mankuliya bridge: A disaster waiting to happen
The Mankuliya bridge connecting Wattala and Negombo is in a dilapidated state. Many use this bridge to travel to the airport, religious sites, and the famous Negombo fish market. An activist in the area, Jayatissa Rodrigo, said the Road Development Authority (RDA) had put up a sign informing the public that the bridge was not [...]
Pera uni freshers participate in outbound training
The University of Peradeniya new student intake went on an outbound training programme for these undergraduates to blend in with the University’s culture, and to ward off any ragging activities. Nearly 150 freshers participated in the programme conducted by the University Security Division at the rugby grounds. One student pointed out that it was a [...]
Wilful forest fires devastate land and wildlife
Forest fires are on the rise yet again, as dry spells provide an excuse for some locals to set forests alight, while officials plead against such wanton destruction. Contrary to popular belief that burning forests is beneficial, blackening acres of greenery is a common occurrence every year. No sooner the dry spells take over, reports [...]
The heat is still on; take precautions stress health officials
The Department of Meteorology warns that high temperatures and windless conditions will continue until the onset of the Southwest monsoon. The duty meteorologist said, “The current condition is not a heat wave, as Sri Lanka does not usually experience such conditions. Actually, it’s because of the increased humidity. Monsoonal rainfall is anticipated, and the current [...]