Columns

Strict regulations were introduced by the successive governments to discourage Indian bottom trawlers from illegally entering Sri Lankan waters for poaching. Despite these regulations, hundreds of bottom trawlers enter Lankan territorial waters three days a week, as the Navy adopted a soft ‘humanitarian’ approach of chasing them away with mere warnings.

Last Monday, the Navy tracked one such Indian bottom trawler in Mannar and tried to seize it in mid-sea after trying to chase it away. When the trawler was taken into custody, seven fishermen were onboard, but the skipper was missing.

Later, police investigations revealed that the skipper jumped from the trawler soon after it was surrounded by Navy boats, since he had been arrested earlier and released with a suspended sentence after his fingerprints were taken. He was warned by the magistrate not to venture again into Lankan territorial waters.

Repeat offenders are handed a two-year prison term, according to amended regulations.

His colleagues said he swam back in the direction of the International Maritime Border Line and was rescued by another Indian bottom trawler that was fishing in Lankan waters.

Gazette terminates services of four SWRD foundation members

The services of four members on the Board of Management of the S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike National Memorial Foundation have been terminated with immediate effect on an order by President Anura
Kumara Dissanayake.

They are N. Murugesu, J. M. S. Brito, Abbas Esufally, and Indira Malwatte. The gazette notification terminating their services was made under Section 3(3) of the S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike National Memorial Foundation Law, No. 2 of 1975, amended by the S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike National Memorial Foundation (Special Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1981.

Questions over NPP deputy ministers’ overseas political work

Elections may be long over, but the campaigns continue for the JVP/NPP. Three deputy ministers—Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekera, Science and Technology Deputy Minister Krishantha Abeysena and Media and Health Deputy Minister Hansaka Wijayamuni—were in Vienna, Austria, this week for a meeting with the comrades who reside in cooler climes.

Sri Lankan residents overseas were invited to join the meeting with the three men by the Austrian branch of the NPP. It looks like the NPP has not ended its election campaign mode. This also begs the question: why are deputy ministers making political campaign stops overseas without attending to work in their ministries?

Fake ticket alert over Cinnamon Life grand opening

Social media is abuzz with claims of tickets being sold for Cinnamon Life’s grand opening, featuring Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, and this has raised concern over fake tickets being sold for the high-profile event.

This led to the Cinnamon Life management issuing a formal warning, stating that no tickets for the event are being sold to the public, with management sources confirming that the image was AI-generated and completely fake.

“City of Dreams Sri Lanka has been made aware of unauthorised tickets being circulated for the Grand Opening Event scheduled for August 2, 2025. We would like to clarify that this event is strictly by invitation only, and no third parties are authorised to issue, distribute, or sell tickets. We strongly advise everyone to exercise caution and avoid engaging with unofficial sources,” the statement said.

Furthermore, it was spotted that the ticket doing its rounds on social media has misspelt the Bollywood star’s name as Shar Kuh Khan, thus making it easy to dismiss it as a fake ticket.

Maureen Hingert, the beauty who put Lanka on world map, dies at 88

Maureen Hingert, the Sri Lanka-born beauty queen who was placed second runner-up at the Miss Universe contest in 1955 and acted in several Hollywood movies, passed away this week. She was 88.

She died last Sunday (June 29) of liver failure at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, the Hollywood Reporter said, quoting her daughter Marisa Zamparelli.

Maureen Hingert with Maxwell Reed on a 1959 episode of 'Captain David Grief.' Pic courtesy TV Guide/Everett Collection

As Miss Ceylon, the 18-year-old Hingert finished second runner-up at the 1955 Miss Universe contest held in Long Beach, California, then appeared as a royal wife in Fox’s lavish adaptation of the Broadway musical The King & I (1956), starring Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, and Rita Moreno.

Born in Colombo, Ceylon, on Jan. 9, 1937, Maureen Neliya Hingert appeared in two 1954 films made in her home country, Circus Girl and the Elizabeth Taylor-starring Elephant Walk, directed by William Dieterle.

Crowned Miss Ceylon, she stayed in California after competing in the first Miss Universe pageant to be televised. Her appearance was credited with helping put her South Asian island nation “on the map.” It also got her a contract at Universal and a role in Pillars of the Sky, a Western starring Jeff Chandler and Dorothy Malone, the Hollywood Reporter said.

(See detailed story in ST Plus today).

Lankan smuggler caught with python in underwear

A Sri Lankan man made world headlines this week after airport security in Bangkok, Thailand, foiled his bid to smuggle out of the country snakes hidden in his underwear. The Wildlife Crime Intelligence Centre at the airport made the
detection on a tip-off, foreign media reported.

They baby python the Lankan tried to smuggle out of Thailand

The Lankan man had been previously arrested for wildlife crimes in Sri Lanka in 2024 and had in the past tried to move wolves, meerkats, black cockatoos, sugar gliders, porcupines, ball pythons, iguanas, frogs, salamanders, and turtles.

The smuggling attempt was detected when airport security performed a body search and found his groin area to be well endowed. Further search led to officers finding three ball pythons hidden in a soft mesh bag and hidden in his underwear. Ball pythons, the smallest of Africa’s pythons, are a common pet for snake aficionados.

The man was taken into custody and faces charges of attempting to export protected wildlife without permission from the relevant authorities.

The story behind Chandrasena’s arrest

Former Minister S.M. Chandrasena, who was remanded this week, had been ignoring repeated summons by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption to appear before it.

Commission members had received a tip-off this week that Mr. Chandrasena would be coming for the funeral of senior politician Gamini Lokuge and used the opportunity to accost him there, informing him that there was a letter for him to collect from the Commission. Mr. Chandrasena had taken the bait and had gone to the Commission office in Colombo, only to be arrested and produced in court. He has been remanded till July 18.

Calls to Motor Traffic Dept. fall on deaf ears

Despite repeated media reports highlighting the inaccessibility of certain government offices, it seems the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) has yet to get into gear.

The numbers listed for the DMT’s Information Officer and the Designated Officer are not in service. Calls to the Information Officer go unanswered, while both numbers listed under the Designated Officer aren’t even in service.

Even those hoping to get through via the general line are reportedly met with silence, as the telephone operator doesn’t answer either.

In the protest-prone north, student stages solo protest

In the North, ‘protest’ is not something new since most of the folks either directly take part or express solidarity with one cause or the other. Rarely does a week go by without any protest in the province.

But in Poonthoddam, Vavuniya, a protest by a schoolboy in front of the Zonal Education Office caught the attention of many on Friday. The reason—he was not included at the last minute in the annual trip organised by the school.

It turned out that the student who was looking forward to the trip on Friday morning with his colleagues was told by the teachers that he wouldn’t be joining them, despite having already paid money to the school to cover expenses.

The agitated student staged a solo protest in front of the Zonal Education Office. The officials acted swiftly and contacted the relevant school and made sure that the student was included in the trip and the protest was called off before social media ‘influencers’ turned up to make a scene.

Political extravaganza to welcome principal

Parents of students studying at the Dalua St. Anthony’s Maha Vidyalaya in Kalpitiya allege that each time a new principal is assigned to the school, an extravagant welcome is held.

The last principal was transferred to another school after serving the school for eight months, and another was appointed in his place.

Three days after he assumed office, an elaborate welcome was held, with the school’s oriental music band and dancers taking part. He was accompanied from the gate to the school building in a grand manner, with politicians including the NPP’s Puttlam District chief organiser Nimal Pathirana, the NPP’s Kalpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha member W. Nishantha Fernando, and several others joining in. An oil lamp was lit, lengthy speeches were made, and more song and dance followed.

The school has only 600 students and around 25 members on the teaching staff. Parents say the school can’t afford such extravagances.

Commenting on this practice, Venerable Meegetuwatte Sumittha Thera, the chief incumbent of the Sri Samudra Pirivena, said that for a government that promised to keep politics out of schools, this kind of interference in school matters shows gross disregard for the student and their parents—and their policies.