|
|
|
Death
knell for Ranil
The leadership battle in the crisis ridden United
National Party (UNP) is set to explode in the coming weeks, with
a rigid Ranil Wickremesinghe unexpected to make...
(See
Inside)
Blast rocks Pettah,
injures 47
The momentary lull in violence, in Colombo, was once again
shattered last afternoon when a blast rocked the city’s
commercial...
(See Inside)
CWC wants NIC rule
reversed
The infuriated Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) is looking at
reversing recent legislation which compels all voters to produce
their National Identity Cards...
(See Inside)
|
|
Blast rocks Pettah, injures 47
Investigators search for clues
at Olcott Mawatha, Pettah, after an improvised explosive device
exploded at around 12:15 p.m. yesterday, injuring more than 45
civilians, including women and children
(Pic by Thushara Dasanayake) |
|
|
|
Space
available for advertising |
|
Plans underway for 20 flyovers, 15
bridges
Plans are afoot to construct some 20 flyovers around the country
with assistance from the British Government.
“We have already...
(See Inside)
Transfer order raises eyebrows
A transfer order given to a Government Agent (GA) on August 22
and then cancelled the very next working day has raised
eyebrows...
(See Inside)
Mass exodus by doctors
expected
Many experienced consultants and surgeons might leave the
country shortly due to the step-motherly treatment being
adopted...
(See Inside)
|
|
|
|
Space
available for advertising |
|
|
NEWS |
ACHSU urges CIABOC to
fast-track investigations
The All
Ceylon Health Service Union (ACHSU) has urged the Commission to
Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to
fast-track the investigations concerning the colossal amount of
Rs. 500 million, which had allegedly been misappropriated in
2006.
ACHSU Chairman Gamini Kumarasinghe told The Nation that the
union had requested the CIABOC to fast-track the pending
investigations for the second time as it has already been a year
after lodging a complaint against Healthcare Minister Nimal
Siripala de Silva and several other officials in the Ministry.
(See Inside)
Expelled student off to HRC
The Convener of the Inter University Students’ Council (IUSC),
Udul Premaratne intends to lodge a complaint with the Humans
Rights Commission this week over the violation of his
fundamental rights after he was stripped of his student status.
“The administration has stated that the reason for
expelling me is my inability to pass at least one exam
in four years. I don’t know how that is possible when it
has been only three years since I entered the
university,”...
(See Inside)
Sri Lankan peacekeepers help
hurricane victims in Haiti
Sri Lankan peacekeepers
serving with the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti
have helped victims of Hurricane Gustav in the aftermath of the
storm.
Gustav passed through the Caribbean country early last week,
killing at least 51 people. More than 7,000 people were placed
in temporary shelters. The death toll is likely to grow. The
resulting flooding and landslides have damaged towns, roads and
critical infrastructure.
In the immediate aftermath of the storm, members of the
Sri Lankan battalion distributed food and water and
provided medical support. Similar efforts were
undertaken by peacekeepers from Jordan...
(See Inside)
Teachers to strike again
The Principals’ and the Teachers’ Trade Unions have vowed that
they would go in for a series of trade union action to win their
demands and rectify salary anomalies, after the commencement of
the new school term.
“We don’t accept the recent removal of the anomalies by
Education Minister Susil Premajayanth, because it does not meet
our demands. This proposal was rejected by the trade unions on
June 26, at the meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa,”
asserted the Convener of the Unions, Joseph Stelyn.
He accused the Minister of making false statements that the
salary increment would amount to Rs. 2,200 per individual,...
(See Inside)
Pottuvil mothers get new
Maternity Ward
Kalanther Khadeeja
Beebi was the first mother to give birth at the new Maternity
and Children’s Ward facility in Pottuvil District last week,
less than 24 hours after it was declared open.
Preparing to have her first baby, Beebi was nervous, but in
excellent hands. “I liked everything I saw,” said Beebi, of the
hospital that is part of the UNICEF-supported Tsunami
Infrastructure Reconstruction Programme in Sri Lanka.
“It is clean and new and I felt very happy to be admitted to the
Maternity Ward,” she said. At 12:20 a.m. on Tuesday, surrounded
by trained medical staff, Beebi gave birth to a healthy girl,
Fathima Safa.
(See Inside)
Wasantha Samarasinghe to
re-enter Parliament?
Speculation is rife that former Janatha Vimukthi
Peramuna (JVP) Parliamentarian Wasantha Samarasinghe, who
contested last Saturday’s North Central Province election as the
JVP’s chief ministerial candidate, will re-enter Parliament
shortly.
JVP MP Vijitha Herath told The Nation that the party was
discussing the matter, but that no final decision had been made
yet.
“We still haven’t arrived at a final decision...
(See Inside) |
|
|
|
|
Space
available for advertising |
|
|
|
|
|
POLITICS |
|
A wake-up call for the UNP
 Where
to, from here? That is the question the opposition United National Party
(UNP) must be asking itself after yet another election defeat at the
provincial council polls in the North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces
last week.
Despite the run up to the elections being marred by bloody and brutal
violence, the poll itself was relatively peaceful. Indeed, most
opposition parties have been muted in their criticism of what transpired
on election day, focussing instead on pre-election violence, and the
abuse of state resources for the campaign.
If anything, the elections must serve as a wake-up call for the UNP. The
party was beaten convincingly, highlighting the fact that its grassroots
level organisation is inept and ineffective, especially in regions not
dominated...
(See Inside) Rajapaksa stepped in when his
stalwarts were in doubt
President Mahinda Rajapaksa realised that the party stalwarts
were uncertain about the election and several others neglected
their responsibility. Under the circumstances, the President
decided to lead the election campaign himself. The President,
who attended the Election Operations Committee, told the
committee and advised the members not to have any doubt about
their victory.
“We are sure to win the election and no one should
create trouble or fall a prey to the attempts of
others to create trouble” he told the committee. In
the early hours of the day following the election,
the President learnt that the government was winning
and that it was a landslide victory. He called the
ministers and thanked them for the government’s
victory. The Parliamentary group or the Cabinet did
not meet last week.
(See Inside) |
|
NEWS FEATURES |
Army breaks through Tiger defences in
three key areas
 The
Sri Lankan armed forces, fighting on multiple fronts, made three
significant breakthroughs on Wednesday, August 27, and Thursday,
August 28, in the key areas of Aalankulam, Palamottai and
Ulaathuveli.
These breakthroughs came in the wake of earlier successes over
the past two weeks, where the armed forces took places like
Mulangaavil, Uyilankulam, Kalivilaan, Thunukkaai and the
southern and south western environs of Thannimurippukulam.
From a military-strategic perspective, the ‘prize’ of great
value was the key area of Vavuniya North, consisting of places
like Navvi, Kunchukulam, Navatkulam and Palamottai.
(See
Inside)INVESTIGATION
Opportunity never knocks twice!
If, ‘opportunity knocks once,’ is a common axiom, then certainly
a few chosen senior state sector employees have lost a fortune
forever.
The selected senior state sector employees, who were rewarded
for their valuable services to the nation by way of giving them
an opportunity to import tax free motor vehicles, are today
deprived of this facility, for no fault of their own.
The much respected bunch of government servants, who include
senior university lecturers and medical doctors, are furious and
are even willing to go to the extent of staging a public protest
against those who have been responsible for the blunder.
The selected 54 top level government servants were considered as
the ‘most suitable...
(See Inside) |
|
|
Space
available for advertising |
|
|
We need to be consistent —Mahela
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene admitted that his team had
to work hard towards achieving a degree of consistency in their
performance in one-day international cricket after they had lost
the five-match series 3-2 to India.
Speaking to the media at the end of the series Jayawardene
stated that he would like to have consistency going throughout
the year instead of in patches.
“Winning the Asia Cup was great but in between we had our ups
and downs. Its not that we were outplayed we were still winning
matches but not finishing the series off or not winning the
crucial games. That’s something we really have to work hard at,”
said Jayawardene.
(See Inside)
Point Blank
Batting - Lanka’s Achilles’ heel
 Sri
Lanka has lost another one-day international home series 3-2 -
the same margin as they did to England a year ago.
Coincidentally the results bear a strange resemblance because
Sri Lanka won the first and last matches of the five-match
series and lost the middle three to India as they had against
England.
What this result reflects is that home advantage does not always
help when it comes to obtaining winning results in one-day
internationals. The spectator support is always there but most
crucial has been the toss. Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni
called correctly in the first four matches and won three of
them. The first match which India lost he admitted he made a
mistake of misreading the Dambulla pitch, but he got the next
three right by batting first when...
(See Inside)
|
|
|
INTERVIEWS |
Analysing the political winds of change
 Government
Defence Spokesman and Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare
Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, in a wide ranging interview with
The Nation talked about the North Central and Sabaragamuwa
Provincial Council election results, his reasons for leaving the
UNP and the tasks taken on under his ministerial portfolio.
Following are excerpts:
Q: Would you call the Saturday election a decisive election,
in terms of affirming the government’s position?
A: Well, it appears to be so. We had to dissolve the
provincial councils, since the JVP...
(See
Inside)Did the concerted war effort win the
election?
 The North Central and
Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council elections were expected to be
tightly contested elections. But the UPFA won the elections by a
large margin exceeding the expectations of many. The Nation met
Minister of Mass Media, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena who was in the
forefront of the UPFA election campaign, to learn what he thinks
about the election in hindsight
Q: Opposition parties claim that the mandate the UPFA got at the
recently held Provincial Council election was due to the gains
made by the Army and because the government unleashed a
systematic campaign of violence and intimidation...
(See
Inside) |
|
|
Space
available for advertising |
|
|
Space
available for advertising |
|
|
|
|
|
