http://www.sundaytimes.lk Official website of the Sunday Times Newspaper in Sri Lanka Sat, 18 Apr 2026 08:57:18 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/monks-in-lanka-for-walk-for-peace-639469.html 17 April 2026 @ 9:50 pm lt;p style= quot;text-align: center; quot; gt; lt;img class= quot;size-full wp-image-639470 aligncenter quot; title= quot;DSC00017_P1 quot; src= quot;http://sundaytimes.lk/260419/uploads/2026/04/DSC00017_P1.jpg quot; alt= quot; quot; width= quot;500 quot; height= quot;305 quot; / gt; lt;/p gt; Buddhist monks of ldquo;Walk for Peace rdquo; fame arrived in Sri Lanka on Friday to re-enact the peac... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/low-grade-coal-minister-quits-amid-presidential-probe-639467.html 17 April 2026 @ 9:50 pm lt;ul gt; lt;li gt; lt;strong gt;Special Presidential Commission appointed for wider scrutiny of coal imports lt;/strong gt; lt;/li gt; lt;li gt; lt;strong gt;Jayakody says remaining in office would hinder inquiry process lt;/strong gt; lt;/li gt; lt;/ul gt; Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody and Ministry Secretary Prof. Udayanga Hemapala resigned on Friday after President Anura Kumara Di... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/indias-vp-here-today-639463.html 17 April 2026 @ 9:46 pm India rsquo;s Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan will arrive in Sri Lanka today for a two-day visit, which the Indian High Commission described as ldquo;the first bilateral visit by an Indian Vice President to Sri Lanka rdquo;. He will hold talks with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, and other political and Indian community leaders. The Indian vice presi... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/new-formula-electricity-tariffs-to-change-only-once-a-year-639461.html 17 April 2026 @ 9:45 pm lt;strong gt;By Damith Wickramasekara nbsp; nbsp; lt;/strong gt; The Energy Ministry is set to introduce an electricity tariff formula that will be revised only once a year. The proposed formula will benefit both domestic and industrial consumers since the tariff will not change every three months as happens under the current tariff nbsp; structure, a senior Energy Ministry official told th... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/price-shocker-cpc-admits-paying-over-us281-for-a-barrel-of-oil-639459.html 17 April 2026 @ 9:45 pm lt;strong gt;By Namini Wijedasa nbsp; nbsp; lt;/strong gt; The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) bought three shipments of diesel between the last week of March and the second week of April at prices of between US$288 and US$281 per barrel, General Manager Mayura Neththikumarage said this week. Thus, the CPC acquired 240,000 barrels on March 31, 2026, at the cost of US$285 per barrel; 295,... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/aloka-to-join-peace-walk-but-stray-threats-remain-a-concern-639457.html 17 April 2026 @ 9:44 pm lt;em gt; lt;strong gt;By Kasun Warakapitiya lt;/strong gt; lt;/em gt; Security arrangements are being finalised for Aloka, the peace dog, who is set to take part in the Walk-for-Peace programme by Buddhist monks from the United States in Sri Lanka, beginning next Tuesday. Venerable Melpitiye Wimalakitthi Thera confirmed that the ldquo;peace dog, rdquo; which captured the hearts of nbsp; ... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/memories-of-savage-attacks-linger-alongside-quest-for-easter-justice-639451.html 17 April 2026 @ 9:42 pm lt;p style= quot;text-align: left; quot; align= quot;center quot; gt; lt;strong gt;By S. Rubatheesan lt;/strong gt; lt;/p gt; Ahead of last week's New Year holiday season, T. Regan and his family left for their hometown, Pundaluoya, Kandy. They did not go to mark the New Year in their hometown but to visit the cemetery where their five-year-old daughter, Leema Rithika, was buried. She was a... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/mill-blockages-and-fires-coal-headaches-continue-639436.html 17 April 2026 @ 9:31 pm lt;ul gt; lt;li gt; lt;strong gt;Frequent capacity reductions recorded as audit reveals imported stock failed to nbsp; lt;/strong gt; lt;strong gt;meet basic energy standards lt;/strong gt; lt;/li gt; lt;/ul gt; nbsp; lt;strong gt;By Namini Wijedasa nbsp; nbsp; lt;/strong gt; Trident Chemphar rsquo;s coal caused serious, repetitive problems at the Lakvijaya coal power plant (LVP), ... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/shangri-la-doubles-profit-from-mall-and-apartments-to-us14-2m-in-2025-639433.html 17 April 2026 @ 9:26 pm lt;strong gt;By Kapila Bandara nbsp; nbsp; lt;/strong gt; Shangri-La Asia rsquo;s real estate in Colombo including seafront luxury apartments, and commercial and office spaces have generated strong profit for the group in 2025, more than double the income from the year before. The group rsquo;s investment properties including One Galle Face shopping mall and One Galle Face Tower, posted US$... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/ciaboc-probes-complaints-against-suspended-parliament-official-and-speaker-639429.html 17 April 2026 @ 9:19 pm lt;strong gt;By Ranjith Padmasiri nbsp; nbsp; lt;/strong gt; The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has begun probes into complaints against suspended Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne and a counter complaint against Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne. A third complaint lodged by an individual identified as S. Kannan against Mr Kula... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/former-mps-write-to-international-parliamentary-bodies-over-alarming-developments-within-the-house-639427.html 17 April 2026 @ 9:18 pm The Association of Former Members of Parliament of Sri Lanka has formally raised serious concerns with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights mdash;regarding what it calls ldquo;alarming developments within the Parliament of Sri Lanka. rdquo; Secretary of the Association, former MP Pemas... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/the-number-of-seniors-increases-more-than-50-of-women-are-still-confined-to-home-duty-639329.html 17 April 2026 @ 7:51 pm lt;p style= quot;text-align: left; quot; align= quot;center quot; gt; lt;strong gt;By Kasun Warakapitiya nbsp; lt;/strong gt; lt;/p gt; Increasing numbers of seniors, more widows, and an improved literacy rate are among the highlights from the Census of Population and Housing in 2024. The Department of Census and Statistics released the final report on the Census of Population and Housing 202... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/retired-professor-ven-okkampitiya-pannasara-nayaka-thera-builds-homes-for-the-needy-639317.html 17 April 2026 @ 7:47 pm [caption id= quot;attachment_639320 quot; align= quot;aligncenter quot; width= quot;500 quot; caption= quot;Ven Okkampitiya Pannasara Nayaka Thera quot;] lt;img class= quot;size-full wp-image-639320 quot; title= quot;MaHa quot; src= quot;http://sundaytimes.lk/260419/uploads/2026/04/MaHa.jpg quot; alt= quot; quot; width= quot;500 quot; height= quot;360 quot; / gt;[/caption] A project has been la... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/school-meal-providers-complain-of-rising-costs-639313.html 17 April 2026 @ 7:45 pm lt;strong gt; lt;em gt;By Sajeniya Sathanandan nbsp; lt;/em gt; lt;/strong gt; Rising costs of essential goods, cooking gas, and fuel are a challenge to the school's midday meal programme, suppliers claim. Most school meal suppliers come from underprivileged backgrounds and cannot bear the price increases. A supplier noted financial debt even before the new term starts and that the payme... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/a-mitigated-monsoon-due-to-el-nino-water-levels-to-plummet-639283.html 17 April 2026 @ 7:30 pm lt;strong gt;By Kasun Warakapitiya lt;/strong gt; Advising people to use water sparingly, the Meteorology Department yesterday said the rain expected in the coming weeks would be insufficient to raise water levels in upper catchment reservoirs. The Mahaweli Department statistics show that most hydropower reservoirs, including Rantambe, Victoria, Upper Kotmale, Maussakele, Samanalawewa, Cast... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/srilankan-making-adjustments-as-west-asian-crisis-affects-airlines-globally-639277.html 17 April 2026 @ 7:28 pm lt;strong gt;By Dilushi Wijesinghe lt;/strong gt; Airfares have risen sharply in recent months due to escalating global fuel costs linked to the conflict in West Asia. A flight that would typically cost around Rs. 50,000 to Chennai is now significantly higher; Air India charges around Rs. 134,000, SriLankan Airlines around Rs. 86,000, and the lowest fare, offered by IndiGo, is at Rs. 70,000... http://www.sundaytimes.lk/260419/news/njc-calls-for-zone-of-peace-and-compensation-following-iris-dena-disaster-639274.html 17 April 2026 @ 7:26 pm The National Joint Committee (NJC) has called on the Sri Lankan Government to do a comprehensive damage assessment of the IRIS Dena ship that sank off the southern coast and initiate talks with countries responsible for the incident to obtain damage cost/ compensation. The NJC also has urged the government to engage with world bodies to declare Indian Ocean a zone of peace. The NJC in a statem...