Six killed at railway crossing

Six persons including the driver, a child, three women and two men were killed when a three wheeler collided with north bound Yaal Devi train at an unprotected railway crossing between Ambanpola and Randeniyagama railway stations in Kurunegala this morning. Pix by Sanjeewa Rathnayaka

SA to approve Shavendra as DHC

A South African government official said his government might approve the appointment of Major General Shavendra Silva as the next Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner to South Africa, the IoL news agency reported.

Access to civil justice: SL outperforms S Asian peers

Sri Lanka outperforms its regional peers in all but two dimensions of the rule of law, a latest report, the 'Rule of Law Index 2012' by World Justice Project revealed.

Left in the lurch

Private buses in Colombo launched a strike today over the issue of bus permits. Thousands of commuters are seen stranded not knowing when the next bus would come. Pix by Nisal Baduge

Museum robbery:CID ordered to produce suspects

Colombo Chief Magistrate Rashmi Singappuli ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to produce three suspects who had been arrested in connection with museum robbery and kept under detention orders.

Lankan maid raped in Kuwait

Kuwait police are looking for three Bangladeshis for kidnapping and raping a Sri Lankan housemaid, reports Annahar daily.

Train accident kills six

At least six persons, including two children were killed when a three-wheeler collided with the ‘Yal Devi’ train at the railway crossing at Getawa, Ambanpola around 9.10 this morning, police said. Pictures

Bizarre ritual leaves 15 year old dead

A husband and wife who had apparently been possessed in Dehiaththakandiya last night had made a fire in a ritual of some sort and burnt a seven-year-old child causing serious injuries  and stabbed a 15 year-old-girl who had died upon admission to  hospital.

Malaysia to look into HR abuse in SL

A Parliamentary Caucus on the Abuse of Human Rights in Sri Lanka has been set up, announced Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

Private bus strike in WP

Private Bus Operators Association said that private bus operators in the Western Province mainly on the High Level road and some 50 more sub routes have launched a strike over issuing route permits.

Kachcheri armoury gutted

Inside the Kachcheri building that was gutted on Monday there had been a room where decades old fire arms had been stored, and that the authorities believe fire had spread to this room as well, Colombo District Secretary Kamal Pathmasiri said.

SF’s media man taken by CID

Sanjeewa Samarasinghe, media co-ordinator of the former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka had been taken in for questioning by the CID yesterday.

Karthikai Deepam

The traditional ‘Karthikai Deepam’ ritual festival was held at the Sri Sivasubaramaniyam Kovil Slave Island, on Tuesday. Pix by Pradeep Pathirana

Not State sponsored-SuprmeSAT

The SupremeSAT(Pvt) Ltd said the telecommunication satellite that was launched last evening in China was a joint venture of the China’s state owned CGWIC and the SupremeSAT(Pvt) Ltd and was not a state sponsored one.

Weapons,ganja found in MP Wedaarachchi jeep

Two weapons, ammunition and Ganja were found by the police in the jeep in which UNP MP Dilip Wedaarachchi travelled and met with an accident in Ranna this morning, the police said.

Video: SupremeSAT satellite launched

The communication satellite,a joint venture of SupremeSAT(Pvt) Ltd and China’s state owned CGWIC was launched from XI-Chang Space Centre China, a short while ago.

Czech businesses may lose contracts in SL

The Sri Lankan authorities are reluctant to make good their promises that they will grant lucrative contracts to Czech businesspeople after the Czech Republic criticised the country over its violation of human rights in the United Nations, a Czech daily newspaper Hospodarske noviny (HN) reported.

Video: First in history is a mystery! UNP

The main opposition United National Party (UNP) today said the government should reveal the mystery behind the launch of satellite “SupremeSat-1 “

Il Full Moon Poya day

Today’s Il Full Moon Poya Day marks the Katina Cheevara offering to Buddhist monks who observed "Vas" during the rainy season. Devotees are seen observing religious rituals at the Bellanwila Temple. Pix by Samantha Perera

Five persons with pro-LTTE hand bills arrested

Five suspects distributing pro-LTTE hand bills to mark the 'LTTE war heroes' were arrested by the police in Akkaraipatuwa. LTTE ‘war heroes’ day is commemorated today (27 November)

Chinese national with ammunition arrested

A lone Chinese national was taken into custody yesterday along with his fishing trawler in the sea off the Colombo harbour for possession of live and used M-16 ammunition, the police said

Audio: Mervyn says no full stops, no commas

Minister Mervyn Silva yesterday said if anyone who did wrong and immoral activities stooping to the level of dogs, he would also be compelled to counter such acts in the same manner

Prime Minister returns

Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne who was in US for medical treatment has returned to the island this morning, the Government Information Department said

Accident injures MP Wedaarachchi

A bystander was killed while three others including the Hambantota District UNP MP Dilip Wedaarachchi admitted to the Matara hospital following an  accident in Ranna in the early hours today, police said

CB buys NY property for US$5 million

The Central Bank transaction for the purchase of a property in New York has not been properly accounted for, Parliament was informed yesterday

SL sapphire ring dazzles in new world record

An exquisite Sri Lankan sapphire and diamond ring by Van Cleef & Arpels featuring a rectangular-cut sapphire weighing 43.16 carats set a new world record, selling for US$ 1,560,000 (HK$12,084,000; £979,000) on November 23

Mihin has accumulated loss of Rs.8.5 bn

The cash-strapped budget airline ‘Mihin Lanka’ has suffered a loss of two billion rupees during this financial year alone and an accumulated loss of a staggering Rs.8.5 billion since its inception in 2007, the Auditor General reveals

Video: SL child’s pic in Gujarati ad creates stir

In the midst of electioneering for the assembly polls in Gujarat, the main opposition party Congress faced an embarrassing situation when it was found that in its advertisement on malnutrition in the state, the party had used a picture of a Sri Lankan child

Video: Colombo Kachcheri on fire

A major fire broke out at the Colombo Divisional Secretariat (Kachcheri) at Dam Street last night causing heavy damages to the building and destroying most of the documents. Picture shows firefighters in a desperate attempt to douse the fire. Pix by Nisal Baduge

Video: 'Gangnam Style' overtakes Beiber’s ‘Baby’

South Korean pop sensation Psy’s “Gangnam Style” on Saturday became YouTube’s most-watched video of all time, registering more than 803 million views to overtake “Baby” by Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber