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A woman breaks down outside the Court premises surrounded by Riot Police squads, as she hears the news around 10 p.m. on Friday night that the Fort Magistrate had ordered that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe be remanded and the former President manages to muster a smile as he boards the Prison’s Black Maria. Pix [...]
Opposition bigwigs vow united action against Govt.
See Ranil’s arrest as suppression of political opponents By the Sunday Times Political Desk Galvanised by the arrest and subsequent remanding of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, leaders of leading opposition political parties are vowing collective action against what they call the JVP-NPP government’s attempts to suppress political opponents. Opposition heavyweights including former presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa [...]
Ranil’s UK visit: CID to file case against Saman Ekanayake
By Damith Wickremasekara A case is to be filed against former Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake over allegations he approved funds for the 2023 UK leg of the visit by then President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his delegation, a senior government source said yesterday. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is to submit a report to courts in [...]
Court reprimands police for delaying case against Minister Samarasinghe
By Ranjith Padmasiri Mount Lavinia Magistrate A.D. Chathurika De Silva reprimanded officials of the Colombo Fraud Bureau (CFB) for sending extracts of the case involving Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe to the Attorney General even before completing the investigation. The case involves a building belonging to a trust known as the National Workers’ Institute being fraudulently [...]
CIABOC readies indictments against NPP minister
By Ranjith Padmasiri The indictment papers to file action against Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody on the allegation of corruption over misappropriation of funds are being prepared by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). Last week, the Sunday Times exclusively reported that the Commission had decided to file action against the minister [...]
Ranil in ICU for treatment and observation
Nearly 13 hours spent at CID headquarters and at the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Friday with no food and little water, had contributed to an increase in both the blood pressure and sugar levels of former president Ranil Wickremesinghe, causing kidney damage requiring admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the National hospital [...]
Fingerprint attendance system intalled in many govt. bodies but hardly used, says Deputy Minister
By Ishu Bandara A fingerprint-based attendance system, is the reason behind at least one of the ongoing strikes in the country. Although fingerprint machines have been installed in most government institutions to monitor attendance, they are unused in a majority of state offices, including within the health sector. When the Sunday Times inquired about the [...]
Supreme Court Justice appointed to inquire into charges against High Court Judge
By Ranjith Padmasiri Supreme Court Justice Janak De Silva has been appointed to inquire into the charge sheet filed against a High Court Judge. The appointment has been made by Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena in his capacity as Chairman of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). A charge sheet consisting of 477 charges was served [...]
Case against Ranil: What happened in the court room
Fort Magistrate orders that the former President be accorded necessary medical care and protection while he is in remand custody By Ranjith Padmasiri Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who became the first Executive President in the country’s history to be arrested and remanded, is to be produced before Colombo Fort Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura at 1.30pm on [...]
Mannar’s ‘plastic beaches’ a sinister sign of transboundary pollution
By Tharushi Weerasinghe With the southwest monsoon in full swing, the shores of Mannar are once again buried under waves of transboundary plastic pollution, this year, locals say, worse than ever. “When we go out to sea, the southern coast leading to Adam’s Bridge is covered,” said Selvaratnam Dilaxan, a social and environmental activist from [...]
Developer of government’s e-procurement site issued deadline to expand platform
The developer of the government’s e-procurement portal has been issued a strict October 2025 deadline by the Cabinet of Ministers – its second extension – to expand the platform to accommodate large-scale international and national competitive bidding (ICB and NCB) projects. Promise.lk, the electronic government procurement (e-GP) system, is a major International Monetary Fund (IMF) [...]
President reminds newly appointed envoys of crucial role of building Sri Lanka’s image
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasised that ambassadors have a crucial responsibility in strengthening Sri Lanka’s image on the international stage. Addressing a meeting of newly appointed heads of missions, at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday, the President urged them to serve all Sri Lankans living abroad without discrimination, addressing issues faced by the expatriate community [...]
Australia university study costs poised to go higher
By Kapila Bandara Sri Lankan students seeking admission to leading universities in Australia next year will face a sharp rise in tuition costs. The Australian reported that an international student will have to pay upwards of A$60,400 (Rs 11.83 million) for a degree in engineering. This is three times more than the minimum fee set [...]
10,000 Sri Lankan workers to Thailand
By S. Rubatheesan The government is to finalise the agreement to hire some 10,000 Sri Lankan workers to Thailand next week to meet the labour shortage caused by the exodus of Cambodian labourers amidst border tensions between the Southeast Asian neighbours. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Arun Hemachandra told the Sunday Times [...]
Airport and Aviation calls for bids for Palaly Airport modification
Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (AASL) has called bids from local companies for an estimated Rs 303mn expansion and modification to the passenger terminal building at the Jaffna International Airport (JIA) in Palaly. However, the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA)-funded expansion of the Bandaranaike International Airport – now urgent due to heavy overcrowding during [...]
Muslim community grieved by coroner’s delays, CMC member says
Delays over the release of bodies from the coroner’s court was raised during this week’s Colombo Municipal Council meeting. Municipal Council Member M.S.M Ramzi Tony alleged that he has been receiving complaints that a specific inquirer into sudden deaths, Anuththara Rajapaksa delayed releasing bodies and that the Muslim community especially was inconvenienced as traditionally funeral [...]
The new digital ID to be an integrated e-NIC/MOSIP solution
By Tharushi Weerasinghe A document released this month by the Ministry of Digital Economy clarified that the Digital ID project, initiated under a Memorandum of Understanding between Sri Lanka and India, will integrate the original e-NIC system. While the e-NIC project was initially scheduled for completion by December 2024, delays in its execution, coupled with [...]
Tighter scrutiny of 47 vying for political party status, 36 tossed aside
By Ishu Bandara New political parties aiming to register this year will undergo a second round of interviews expected to end this month, the Election Commission said. A five-member panel is doing the evaluations. Registration of new political parties for 2025 began February 28, with applications accepted until March 28. This annual process was delayed [...]
Home Lands’ Pentara Residencies, Thummulla, gets UDA permit
Home Lands’ residential development, Pentara Residencies in Thummulla, has been awarded a development permit by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) granting the project “full clearance to move forward with construction,” the company said. The company, having obtained all statutory and environmental approvals for the project – including approval from the National Building Research Organization (NBRO) [...]
Strikers won’t lift a finger, but post insists on attendance rules
By Kasun Warakapitiya The week-long postal union strike that has caused over Rs 165 million in losses continued yesterday amid a deadlock. Mail piled up and people were concerned whether the mail would be safe. Trade union action was called over 20 demands including payment of higher overtime, and employee shortages. The Joint Postal Trade [...]
Govt. policies on transfers, allowances trigger multiple protests
A string of protests and strikes over a range of issues including salaries, promotions and other facilities have been ongoing since last week. Some of the protests and strikes have been launched as preparations are underway to present the budget on November 7. Some of the protests have been related to transfer policies of the [...]
Teachers and non-academic staff want own children in their schools
Teachers say they will go on strike if authorities do not allow their own children and those of non-academic staff to be admitted to schools at which they teach. A teacher by profession and convener of the teacher union, Indika Abeysinghe said that the policy was withdrawn when the new government came to power, to [...]
Doctors and close relatives of patient watch mitral valve repair on a screen
Keyhole heart surgery By Kumudini Hettiarachchi The scene on the fifth floor of the Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital (SJGH) is surreal – it is Saturday, July 26th and glued to several TV screens are all those doctors who hold people’s precious hearts in their hands. On the screens are close-up ‘live’ images of keyhole (minimally-invasive) [...]
Chemmani mass graves: Sumanthiran calls for international oversight and CID exit
By S. Rubatheesan Approval will be sought to continue the second phase of excavation at the Chemmani mass grave site when the case is taken up tomorrow before the Jaffna Magistrate, amid calls for greater transparency and credibility in the investigation. When the case was taken up on Friday to fix the date to resume [...]
Give a wide berth to the deadly six
By Kasun Warakapitiya The National Zoological Gardens is advising people to study the behaviour of snakes and maintain a distance if they encounter snakes. Veterinary surgeons, curators and reptile handlers advise people not to corner snakes. They said snake encounters increase during extreme weather such as extreme heat and cold as the ectothermic reptiles which [...]
No role for politics in education overhaul
Former and current parliamentarians and a past vice chancellor of the Jayawardenapura University said politics has no place in education reforms. These comments were made during the launch of a book on education reforms by former education Minister Bandula Gunawardena. Former presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe and speakers Karu Jayasuriya and Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene, [...]
Sewage system to be upgraded as part of Colombo’s makeover
By Ishu Bandara Colombo is preparing for a comprehensive transformation under a new special Master Plan. However, this ambitious Master Plan is currently under discussion and has not yet been finalised, revealed Municipal Commissioner Palitha Nanayakkara. According to Mr. Nanayakkara, the plan is scheduled for its second presentation to the President next month and, while [...]
Tourism support centre falls by the wayside
By Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa A tourist promotion project launched a decade ago in Habarana has today become a white elephant, abandoned halfway and left to decay in the jungle despite millions of rupees in public funds being spent on it. The Tourist Information Centre, constructed in the middle of Habarana town along the Dambulla Habarana [...]
Unregulated cannabis use could result in unwanted outcomes
By Minaza Hassan Although cannabis can have potential medicinal benefits for some patients, widespread availability could lead to misuse and addiction among healthy individuals, said President of Sri Lanka Medical Association, Dr. Surantha Perera. Extracts could be developed into controlled forms like tablets under medical supervision, but unregulated use carries risks, said Dr. Perera. Any [...]
Kalpitiya growers seek more land for pomegranate
Kalpitiya farmers skilled at cultivating a variety of vegetables and fruit in hot weather and with limited water are trying their hand at growing pomegranate. Trials have identified red pomegranates as the variety that can be grown. And the yellow variety called Nimali has been successfully cultivated in Kalpitiya, so far. Sri Lankan growers have [...]
From waste to waste: Moratuwa MC’s compost plant is a flop
A multimillion-rupee plant is idling without being put to use for its intended purpose—turning the Moratuwa market waste into compost. However, the non-functional unit is being maintained on paper with three municipal council employees being deployed, council sources said. The plant, designed to produce one tonne of compost per month, was constructed with the assistance [...]
Applications open for scholarships to internationally ranked universities
Twenty five to fifty students who were high achievers at the Advanced Level exam from schools across the country will be picked to study at ranked international universities under the first phase of the government scholarships programme. The scholarship will be fully government funded covering tuition and other academic fees. A monthly stipend to assist [...]