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Heavy rains accompanied by wind speeds exceeding 60 km/h have caused chaos across many areas in the country and left the fishing community among the worst affected. With the Met Department issuing warnings of heavy winds today, at the Kandakuliya fishing village in Kalpitiya, these boats were seen lined up, unable to go out to [...]
UNHRC chief Türk to visit Lanka this month
Govt. remains opposed to OHCHR’s human rights violation probe The United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk will visit Sri Lanka this month or early July, a Foreign Ministry source confirmed. No dates have been finalised for the visit, though the government has agreed to the visit by Mr. Turk. It’ll be the first [...]
Met warns of heavy winds today
The Meteorology Department has warned the fishing and naval vessels of strong winds today. The warning came after gusty winds caused havoc in several areas, including Colombo, damaging houses, commercial buildings, vehicles and hoardings. The Department’s Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre says the seas off the coast extending from Chilaw to Kankasaththurai via Puttlam and [...]
Release of 323 containers: Conflicting reports on probe’s progress
By Sandun Jayawardana Almost four months into its appointment, the committee appointed by the Finance Ministry to investigate the release of 323 red-flagged containers from the Colombo Port without Customs inspection is yet to conclude its inquiry. Deputy Ports Minister Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku told the Sunday Times the probe was still continuing, but he was [...]
Govt.-to-Govt. medicine purchases planned; pharma industry protests
By Namini Wijedasa The Health Ministry will appoint a committee to facilitate direct procurement of medicines from foreign governments. The move, which is opposed by the pharmaceutical industry, was approved by the Cabinet. The ministry plans to obtain direct assistance from such governments “until present issues within the medicine supply chain are resolved and disruptions [...]
Aluthgamage and Fernando assigned printing work in prison
By Kasun Warakapitiya Former Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and former Sathosa Chairman Nalin Fernando, sentenced this week to jail for 20 and 25 years, respectively, have been assigned duties in the printing section at the Welikada prison, sources said. Both of them are being held together away from the main section of the prison’s ‘chapel’ section, [...]
Fresh regulations issued on freezing terrorism funds
By Chandani Kirinde The Defence Ministry issued fresh regulations on Friday freezing all funds, financial assets, and economic resources belonging to several designated groups and individuals involved in terrorism-related activities including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) and the National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ). The order was made under United [...]
IRD launches Tax Week drive to raise revenue and recover defaults
By Damith Wickremasekera The Inland Revenue Department (IRD), backed by the Excise and Customs Department, is to launch a fresh drive to collect taxes, including some Rs 780 billion listed as ‘collectable defaults’. It will kick off with Tax Week, which begins on Monday, IRD Commissioner General Rukdevi Fernando said. The IRD’s 2025 tax target [...]
President to visit Germany on June 12; investment and trade top the agenda
By Damith Wickremasekara President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will undertake a three-day official visit to Germany from June 12, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said. He said that the President would hold talks with German President Frank Walter and the minister handling trade while several trade agreements will be signed. The presidential visit will also include talks [...]
Central Expressway: Committee to study Chinese contractor’s US$ 190mn claim
By Namini Wijedasa The Highways Ministry will appoint a committee to analyse a claim of US$190 million (Rs 56 billion) from the Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC), the Central Expressway Part I (CEP1) contractor, even as the project’s physical progress remains stalled at a mere 36.38 per cent since construction started in September 2020. The [...]
Miss Thailand wins Miss World crown
Thailand’s Opal Suchata Chuangsri was crowned Miss World 2025 at the ceremony held at the HITEX Convention Centre in Hyderabad, India, last evening. The 24-year-old beauty queen secured the coveted title after a series of competitive rounds, and will receive a cash prize of USD 1 million dollars. Chungsri also emerged as the continental winner [...]
Savin Edirisinghe wins Gratiaen for his collection of short stories
The 32nd Gratiaen Prize for the best work of creative writing in English by a Sri Lankan was awarded to Savin Edirisinghe for his collection of short stories—Kata Katha: Gossip, Rumours, and Idle Talk. One of the youngest winners ever, Savin, 25, is from Imaduwa, Galle, and in a peppy acceptance speech thanked his parents [...]
Overhang issues and selection of women members delay council lists: EC chairman
By Ishu Bandara The ‘overhang issue’ and the selection of women to local councils are causing delays in finalising the lists of elected members, Election Commission Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake told the Sunday Times. As a result, most councils failed to submit their member lists by the May 30 deadline set by the EC for the [...]
New guidelines to track assets used in development projects
The Finance Ministry’s Department of Management Audit has issued guidelines to monitor and track construction and movable assets – such as vehicles, laptops and furniture – acquired in the execution of development projects after longstanding problems were identified. These projects are typically financed through foreign or domestic sources, and expenditures are incurred through the relevant [...]
Local police was afraid to act against ‘Harak Kata’, says Deshabandu
By Ranjith Padmasiri The suspended Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon this week told the committee investigating allegations of misconduct and gross abuse of power of his office that the main reason why he opted not to deploy officers from Weligama and Matara to raid the hotel in Weligama was because they were afraid [...]
Govt. on the back foot amid allegations of mishandling Malini’s funeral
Public criticism mounts as state honours for the funeral are downgraded to state sponsorship Local council inaugurations likely delayed as major parties continue talks with smaller parties and independent groups SJB hit by resignations as calls for reforms grow; UNP celebrates what it sees as gains in local council polls, Ravi K claims party leader [...]
No reason given yet for KDU closing its doors to paying civilian MBBS students
By Namini Wijedasa and Dilushi Wijesinghe The General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) has abruptly stopped the enrolment of fee-paying civilian students to its undergraduate medical degree programme, despite there being no written directive to its Vice Chancellor (VC) to do so. The matter came to light in Parliament on May 22 this year when [...]
Corrupt politician, official dragged Sri Lanka into bankruptcy, court says
By Manopriya Gunasekara Actions of certain public representatives who claim to be working for the development of the nation and senior government officials are responsible for the bankruptcy of the country, a three-judge bench observed as they passed judgment on former sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and former Sathosa chairman Nalin Fernando, who later became trade [...]
Fans bid adieu to the queen of Sinhala cinema
By Ishu Bandara Lankan fans gathered to bid their final farewell to veteran actress Malini Fonseka, arguably the queen of Sinhala cinema, in a heartfelt tribute. Songs from her films were played on a screen projected by a drone that flew above the crowd, adding an emotional touch to the farewell. The funeral of the [...]
Government plans to take over Puttalam Salt Limited as ‘white gold’ gets imported
By Ishu Bandara The government plans to take over Puttalam Salt Limited by 2027, following the end of the lease agreement that has been in place since 1997, the Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe told the Sunday Times. He said as ownership will automatically revert to the state, no [...]
Pensions Dept. steps up data protection after hackers’ raid
Strictly warns pensioners not to share OTPs and sensitive information with others By Tharushi Weerasinghe The Pensions Department is overhauling its internal computer systems and software following the recent ransomware attack that compromised pensioner data. A breach was first reported to the Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) on April 2. While emergency protocols were activated and systems [...]
Gambling Regulatory Authority with sweeping powers: Bill in Parliament soon
Conducting gambling without a valid licence would be an offence liable to a fine not exceeding Rs 10 million, to an imprisonment for not exceeding two years or both the fine and imprisonment, under the proposed Gambling Regulatory Authority bill to be presented to Parliament shortly. The bill envisages the setting up of a Gambling [...]
City of Dreams casino flags August debut, project capex rises to Rs 33.6b
Kapila Bandara City of Dreams Sri Lanka casino, operated by Macau casino owner and developer Melco Resorts & Entertainment in a strategic partnership with diversified conglomerate John Keells Holdings, is preparing to open in August. The casino project including hotels, mall and conferencing spaces, has been 10 years in the making. Housed in a standout [...]
Kandakuliya beach disappoints tourists as sea erosion takes its toll
By Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe The recent rains have aggravated the sea erosion at the Kandakuliya beach, a popular destination for foreign tourists. Local tourism businesses said the beach’s beauty has attracted a large number of tourists over the past 20 years, generating significant foreign exchange. But the sea erosion had caused a decline in tourist [...]
After the mayhem, the Southwest Monsoon expected to mellow down
By Jayanie Madawala Strong winds experienced in 15 districts including Colombo caused widespread damage to houses, buildings, hoardings, and caused power interruptions over the past three days. The extreme weather is expected to ease gradually from tomorrow; but rainfall may continue in the next two days, the Meteorological Department warned. Further the department said the [...]
Spate of abuse at schools and campuses highlight the underbelly of our education system
By Tharushi Weerasinghe A senior lecturer has been suspended pending investigations following the suicide of a student at the Wayamba National College of Education in Bingiriya earlier this week. The 23-year-old student, from Teldeniya, Kandy, was found by her roommates, who called emergency services. The student had passed by the time she arrived at the [...]
Recurring legal problem: SC raises concern over discrepancies in Sinhala and English texts
The Supreme Court (SC) has once again raised concern over a “recurring problem”—discrepancies between the Sinhala and English texts of bills during enactment or drafting legislation. A three-judge SC bench comprising Chief Justice Murdu Fernando, Justice Janak de Silva and Justice Achala Wengappuli highlighted the problem in their ruling on the case involving an employee [...]
Surge in drug-related arrests in 2024
By Dilushi Wijesinghe Sri Lanka witnessed a sharp surge in drug-related arrests in 2024, with 228,450 individuals taken into custody nationwide, official data from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB) and Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) reveals. Heroin remains the most prevalent drug linked to arrests, with 75,097 individuals, accounting for 32.9% of total detentions [...]
Thai woman arrived from Doha with cocaine stuffed toys
Pix and text by T K G Kapila A Thai national was arrested early Thursday morning at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) with cocaine concealed inside stuffed toys, estimated at a street value of over Rs 516 million rupees. The 38-year-old woman, who is reportedly self-employed, arrived at the BIA at approximately 2 am aboard [...]
My role changed after war ended
Reproduced below is an edited version of an exclusive article Malini Fonseka wrote to the Sunday Times on June 20, 2010. In this article, the Queen of Sri Lanka’s cinema and one of Asia’s 25 all-time best screen stars, Malini narrates her humble beginnings, her greatest moments on the screen, her vision as a parliamentarian [...]
In beachfront chaos, bribes and legal evasion keep businesses running
The state loses tax revenue; Coast conservation regulations routinely ignored; foreigners operate businesses regardless of visa rules The absence of a centralised system to monitor businesses exacerbates the problem No response from Immigration chief, SLTDA chairman and DG to calls and emails from the Sunday Times Tharushi Weerasinghe reporting from Ahangama With its hip [...]
Leopard breeding programme starts with a captive pair
By Kasun Warakapitiya The Department of National Zoological Gardens has initiated a programme to breed leopards using artificial insemination. According to Zoological Gardens Director General Dr Chandana Rajapaksa, this was the first time the method was used. On Saturday a pair was artificially inseminated. Though Pinnawala Zoo and Dehiwala Zoo had leopards, they had not [...]
Ginger prices jerk skywards; might have to import
By Kasun Warakapitiya Unplanned cultivation, ignorance of farmers as well as shortage of ginger seedlings had caused an increase in market prices of ginger. The Department of Export Agriculture pointed out that due to the lack of ginger seedlings the farmers were unable to cultivate the expected amount causing the harvest to fall short of [...]
Railway crippled by legacy issues, but short-term solutions in play
By Kasun Warakapitiya The crippling crisis once again at the Sri Lanka railways brought out the need to resolve long standing issues. Two weeks ago, station masters carried out a token strike resulting in cancellation of eight night-mail trains. The union action was called over delays in implementing grade promotions, delays in appointment of new [...]
Period poverty study finds multiple factors hinder women and girls
By Ishu Bandara Period poverty and the myths surrounding menstruation remain serious challenges in Sri Lanka, badly affecting the dignity of the majority of women and girls, particularly in rural and estate communities. The Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka (FPA Sri Lanka), in partnership with the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the [...]
Shared priorities in focus at marine resources discussion
By Minaza Hassan Pollution, rising sea levels, responsibly managing ocean resources, surveilling crime routes in the ocean, and the protection of biodiversity are not unique to Sri Lanka as a country in the Indian Ocean; France also faces these crises. In respect of the shared struggles, a regional centre for maritime studies to exchange and [...]
The disappearing Bandula barb’s hilly home range protected
By Malaka Rodrigo To mark World Environment Day on June 5, the Sri Lankan government has declared an Environment Week starting from May 30. The highlight of this initiative, according to Environment Minister Dr. Dammika Patabandi, is the declaration of five environmentally sensitive areas as protected zones. Among the areas to receive new protections are [...]
Waning crafts: Poor prices, lack of resources
Pix and text by Mahesh Keerthiratna The ‘sesath’ manufacturing crafting industry is slowly fading away due to a series of issues faced by craftsmen, residents of Matale, Yatawatta Unaweruwa village who engage in crafting sesath lamented. ‘Sesath’ a traditional ceremonial item, symbolising royalty, prestige, and spiritual protection, is a circular structure Villagers engaged in the [...]