Month: January 2020

By Ifham NizamThe British government was having discussions with the Sri Lankan Ministries of Justice and Foreign Relations on a case filed over containers of hazardous waste from UK dumped here, a top government official said, Central Environmental Authority (CEA) Managing Director Hemantha Jayasinghe told The Island that United Kingdom Environmental Agency officials would visit Colombo shortly. Jayasinghe said that… Continue reading "British toxic waste containers at Colombo Port: UK team due soon"

The Public Administration Ministry is planning to submit a note to the Cabinet seeking clarification on action regarding the allocation of a government house by the former government for the lifetime use of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sampanthan, an official said yesterday. The previous government had approved a Cabinet paper allowing Mr. Sampanthan to continue to use the… Continue reading "Cabinet to focus on TNA leader’s house allocation"

The Cabinet of Ministers yesterday decided to withdraw the Counter Terrorism Bill introduced by the previous rule to be enacted in place of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), Daily Mirror learns. The former government worked out this bill which is modelled on the counter terrorism legislation in the United Kingdom. The then government did it in keeping with its commitment to… Continue reading "Govt. withdraws Counter Terrorism Bill"

ECONOMYNEXT- Sri Lanka’s rupee closed weaker at 181.30/45 to the US dollar in the spot market on Thursday, while bond yields gained, dealers said. The rupee closed at 181.15/25 to the greenback on Wednesday. Liquidity in the overnight market was 27.70 billion rupees, up from 36.69 billion rupees at Wednesday’s close. Central Bank injected 20.00 billion rupees in a reverse… Continue reading "Sri Lanka rupee ends weaker, gilts remain unchanged"

In the circumstance which the members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party have not been given any posts in the state sector under the new government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former President Maithripala Sirisena worried, reports said.   Despite the unconditional support given in the presidential election, none of it has ever been valued in the aftermath, the former President has… Continue reading "Former President worried over SLFP being used!"

Former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V Wigneswaran is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a group of political parties to form a new alliance. Wigneswaran is expected to sign the MoU before the upcoming Thai Pongal festival. The MoU is to be signed between Wigneswaran’s Tamil People’s Council (TPC), Suresh Premachandran’s Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) and… Continue reading "Wigneswaran to sign MoU to form new alliance"

By Kumar David – Prof. Kumar David My MR-GR supporter friends and my Gota besotted relatives are adamant that they must win a two-thirds majority in the elections slotted for about May. They are after a constitutional amendment, but when I ask them what they want they become hazy. 19A has made the PM powerful at the expense of the President, so… Continue reading "Prevent An MR-GR 2/3rd Majority In Next Election"

Planting Sinhalese, encouraging mixed marriages, etc. through financial rewards  The oath was given on a different sheet of paper for each language. The mischief was that the oaths were different in the Sinhalese and Tamil languages. While the English and Sinhalese seemed innocuous, the Tamil version reflecting the world view of the new government, got employees to swear to being… Continue reading "Tamils are welcome only so long as they agree that this is a Sinhalese country"

Two Issues That Will Continue To Trouble  By Jehan Perera – Jehan Perera One of the striking features of the presidential election was the division of the country’s electoral map along ethnic lines. Over the weekend I was in Vavuniya to take part in an inter-religious exchange visit. Three groups consisting of religious clergy, civil society leaders, government officials and police officers… Continue reading "Failure of successive governments to implement their promises"