Prison guards launch trade union action

Prison guards and several other prison officials attached to the Welikada prison have refrained from work and launched a trade union action from this morning.Pictures

SL must stop making empty promises-AI

Sri Lanka must stop making empty promises to the international community and the Sri Lankan people on improving the country’s still desperate human rights situation, Amnesty International said, ahead of a UN review of the country’s rights record.

Karnataka HC to hear Jaya’s bail plea today

The Karnataka high court will on Tuesday hear the bail petitions filed by former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and her three associates convicted in a disproportionate assets case.

Entire country at risk of assault: Karu

The whole country is bound to get assaulted by the present regime, United National Party Leadership Council Chairman Karu Jayasuriya said yesterday.

Int’l school students can do GCE A/L at Govt. schools

A circular, which permits principals of State Schools to admit international and private school students who had successfully completed their GCE O/L will be issued this week putting an end to the uncertainty and heated arguments on this matter, a Senior Education Ministry Source said yesterday.

LPBOA warns of strike in WP

Bus owners today warned that they would stop bus services if the illegally issued route permits were not withdrawn or cancelled. The Lanka Private bus Owners Association (LPBOA) said that about 250 route permits were illegal.

Police arrest fraudster posed as First Lady's driver

Police arrested a man who allegedly posed as First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa’s driver and cheated another man of Rs.190,000 on the promise of securing employment at Bank of Ceylon.

Law Faculty student sues claiming Rs.100 m

Law Faculty student Achala Priyadarshani whose left hand was amputated due to the alleged negligence on the part of the medical staff of two government hospitals, filed a lawsuit before the Colombo District Court against the medical staff and state claiming Rs.100 million as damages.

Video: No issues on MR contesting again: UNP

The United National Party (UNP) does not see the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa contesting for a third term at a future presidential election as a major issue, General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said today.

Two players bolt during Asian Games

Two Sri Lankan players who took part in the just-concluded Asian Games in South Korea have gone missing in a purported bid to find jobs, officials said on Monday.

High level talks with the US underway: Govt.

The External Affairs Ministry today said the Sri Lankan Government had not made an official statement on the meeting which took place between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the US State Secretary in New York and that the government, however, appreciated the beginning of a high level dialogue between the two countries.

17 hospitalised in bus collision

Seventeen passengers were hospitalised following a bus accident in Rakwana this morning, the Police said.

Anti-boat people ads cost Australia $23m in one year

The Australian government had paid US $ 23 million for advertising campaigns in last year to discourage people from countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan from seeking asylum in Australia.

Kunanayakam hits out at ‘hooliganism’

Sri Lanka’s former permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Tamara Kunanayakam said the assault of High Commissioner Chris Nonis is only one in a series of acts in a tragedy that opened in Geneva in 2009 with the same cast of villains, followed by other acts also in Geneva in 2011 and 2012, and still others played out in Rome and Paris.

DCD: report tomorrow

The results of the investigation into the imported milk powder for DCD by the Industrial Technological Institute of Sri Lanka (ITI) would be out tomorrow, Health Ministry officials said yesterday.

Gobi’s widow prevented from leaving island

Kajeepan Sarmila, the widow of Ponniah Selvanayagam Kajeepan (alias Gobi), was detained at the Bandaranaike International Airport yesterday, when she was about to leave for Switzerland, informed sources said.

Talpahewa, chargé d’affaires in London

With the acceptance of the resignation of Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Chris Nonis, the External Affairs Ministry has asked the country’s Deputy High Commissioner to the Maldives Chanaka H. Talpahewa to take over as chargé d'affaires in London, a minister said.

Bellana Gnanawimala Mahanayaka Thera passes away

Mahanayaka of the Kalyani Samagri Dharma Maha Sangha Sabha the Most Reverend Bellana Gnanawimala Maha Nayaka Thera passed away on Saturday at the age of 94.

Dual citizenship from next year?

President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday said that his government was planning to reintroduce the granting of dual citizenship from January.

Sabaragamuwa Uni. closed

The Sabaragamuwa University would be closed until further notice, the University announced this evening.

BCCI only interested in making money: OCA

BCCI’s decision to not send Indian teams for the Asian Games on Saturday drew sharp criticism from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), which accused the influential cricket board of treating the sport just as a business venture.

Make Sajith PM candidate-Harin

UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe should name party’s Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa as the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate without delay at the forthcoming Presidential election, former MP and Opposition leader of the Uva Provincial Council Harin Fernando said on Saturday.

Water cannons to disperse protesting students

Police fired water cannons to disperse protesting Sabaragamuwa University students at Pambahinna in Balangoda this morning, the Police said.  

No point in being a minister, if I can’t serve people-Mervyn

Public Relations and Public Affairs Minister Mervyn Silva said that there is no point in being a minister of this government if he is unable to fulfil people’s needs.Audio

Drug kingpin with SL link arrested in India

A drug kingpin with links in Sri Lanka and Kuwait was arrested by Narcotics Control Bureau officials at the international airport in Tamil Nadu on Saturday, while heroin worth Rs one crore was seized from his aide in Chennai.

Int’l conspiracy for SL regime change-MR

Facing flak from the UN over its alleged human rights abuses during the civil war against the LTTE, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that a section of the international community is plotting against his regime to set up a puppet government in the country. 

My resignation was accepted-Dr. Nonis

Sri Lankan High Commissioner in London, Dr Chris Nonis said that his resignation letter was accepted by the External Affairs Ministry yesterday (03).

Abandoned SL boat seized in TN

A fibreglass boat from Sri Lanka was seized by police at the nearby coastal town of Thangachimadam in Tamil Nadu on Saturday, but its two occupants fled on seeing them.

SL seeks UN help to resettle asylum seekers

Sri Lanka has asked the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, for help to resettle scores of mainly Pakistani asylum seekers in another country, saying many are economic migrants and a threat to the security and health of the Indian Ocean island.

Jayalalithaa to be shifted to TN as protests continue

The Karnataka government is not keen on lodging J. Jayalalithaa in the Bangalore Central Jail and wants to shift the former Tamil Nadu chief minister to a prison in her home state.