MAHASENPURA, Sri Lanka - In this village in southern Sri Lanka's Hambantota District, water sales are big business.
Beset by a prolonged dry spell and day-time temperatures reaching above 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Farenheit), the village has seen all of its wells run dry.
Water arrives once every three days in the form of a free government tanker, but it’s not always enough to last. Buying a tanker of water privately costs 5,000 rupees ($34), more than most people can pay.
When it comes to individual behaviour, many things have puzzled me to the point that it seems abnormal and peculiar. They say, every time a human being choose to take charge of his/her destiny, all hell will break loose. Even those who could use one’s brave acts for inspiration will even ridicule and laugh at you for standing up for them. We tend to think this unnatural human act is an isolated incident, but we’re wrong. No place is this more obvious than in national politics. The only conclusion is that few of the powers-that-be have conditioned the minds and souls of the masses to work against their own interests, and this self-impediment has been passed down from generation to generation, even resulting in genetic mutation.’ -ANONYMOUS
Leader of the Opposition R Sampanthan has met with the visiting United Nations Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Rita Izsák-Ndiaye.
During her meeting with the Opposition Leader and representatives of the Tamil National Alliance the UN Rapporteur had conveyed that she gathered information from various parties pertaining to serious issues of minorities especially in coexisting in the country.
The draft titled "Policy and legal framework of the proposed Counter Terrorism Act of Sri Lanka" is meant to replace the much criticised and denounced Prevention of Terrorism Act (ACT) that infringes on basic human rights of the people. It is now reported this new draft for "counter terrorism" has been referred by the Cabinet to two Sectoral Oversight Committees on National Security and Justice. Very authoritative sources have read it as far more terrifying than even the PTA it would replace.
China has strengthened military ties with Cambodia and Sri Lanka with a view to expanding its defence supplier status in the two countries and support Beijing's wider effort to consolidate its influence across the Asia-Pacific.
During recent and separate talks in Beijing between senior Chinese defence officials and counterparts from Cambodia and Sri Lanka, China offered the two countries military aid to enable the procurement of Chinese-made defence equipment, official statements have confirmed.
the capital Colombo, which could help reduce flooding, an ADB official said.
The proposed project highlights the economic importance of wetlands and how ecosystems, which get degraded with urbanisation and industrial development, could be valued, said Herath Gunatilake, ADB’s Director of the Regional and Sustainable Development Department.
A delegation was led by the Secretary of Defense on the invitation of the Chinese Government to attend the 7th Xiangshan Forum on 10-12 October and the second China - Sri Lanka Defense Cooperation Dialogue from 12-15 October.
The second China-Sri Lanka Defense Cooperation Dialogue in Beijing was chaired by the Defense Secretary Hettiarachchi and Admiral Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), reports the Colombo Page.
Constitutional expert and parliamentarian Dr. Jayampathy Wickremeratne has requested all the political parties to be flexible and support the government’s efforts to draft a new Constitution. He has also indicated that this is the most opportune moment to come up with a Constitution that will be fitting for the country.
As he had pointed out we should neither delay the process too much nor should we try to do it in a hurry. What it means is that if we try to do it in a hurry we will end up with a faulty document which will serve no purpose, while on the other hand if we delay it too much it will never happen.
TNA parliamentarian and Spokesman of the party, M.A. Sumanthiran said President Maithripala Sirisena expresses his solicitude over the military personnel who have been in custody for 16 months and fails to do the same to the Tamil inmates who have been behind bars for 16 years without any charge.
He made the remarks at an interview with a local media.
Colombo: The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which is highly dissatisfied with the Sri Lankan government’s new draft law to replace the existing draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), is confident about getting it modified when it comes before the oversight committees of parliament.
TNA MP M.A.Sumanthiran told Express on Sunday, that he would take it up when it comes before the two relevant Parliamentary Oversight Committees, the one on Justice and the other on National Security, at the end of this month.
Suicide attempts and self harm by refugee children on Nauru have prompted a forensic psychiatrist to expose the damage caused by Australia's offshore detention.
Dr Nina Zimmerman was contracted by the United Nations to visit Nauru in April and gauge the level of mental disorder within the group of about 1000 refugees and asylum seekers marooned there.
She said the UN's reluctance to publicly release her findings and the indifference of the Australian government to her report had forced her to speak out.
87 years Old Italy Car is still saved by a Car seller in Jaffna .This Car was made in Italy in 1929. British Government was here in Srilanka at that time. Farm owner Ponnaiah Rajendran imported this car for LKR 3300 through Colombo based Car company in 1931. After his death this car was sold to Car seller Kumaraswamy Raviselvan for LKR 250,000 in 1994
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sarath Jayamanna yesterday told the Supreme Court that the Army... ...is not giving any support for the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda.
He added that a high ranking officer of Army was summoned to Attorney General's Department and requested to support the investigations, but the Army did not respond to the request.
The European Union (EU) says it remains committed to supporting the Government’s reform agenda and the new Ambassador said he looks forward to increasing cooperation with Sri Lanka.
The new EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka Tung-Laï Margue presented his credentials to President Maithripala Sirisena today.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent remarks that Buddhism would be given the foremost place in Sri Lanka’s new Constitution has sparked concern among sections.
“As a state, the President, I and all of us protect Buddhism, not through words, but through action,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said recently, the State-run Daily News newspaper reported.
President Maithripala Sirisena slammed the Bribery Commission and two Police divisions for what he called their “hauling” of the former defence secretary and naval commanders to court earlier this month.
In a shocking outburst that laid bare a widening chasm between the Head of State and other Government agencies and political actors within the ruling coalition, President Sirisena charged that the Bribery Commission, the CID and the FCID were working to a political agenda.
AS far as Harappan sites go, it is the odd one out. The settlement had no fortification walls, no streets cutting at right angles, no citadel where the ruling elite lived, no middle town which housed the residences of traders and craftsmen and no warehouse—features that characterise Harappan settlements. Instead, it had all the trappings of a small, rural industrial production centre. This Harappan site, named 4MSR, is near Binjor village in Suratgarh district of Rajasthan and is believed to be 5,000 years old. It lasted for more than 1,100 years through what is called the Early Harappan (3000-2600 BCE) and the Mature Harappan (2600-1900 BCE) phases. It had no Late Harappan (1900-1500 BCE) phase.
The 'man in the mirror' for the entire global community for the next five years, would be a 62- year- old Portuguese, Antonio Guterres – United Nations General Secretary (UNSG) elected into office last week; who had a tough time till late, tackling the world refugee crisis.
As the Chief of the Refugee Agency of the UN from 2005 to 2015, Guterres promoted and urged all countries to recognize country's sovereignty and balance its outlook with human sovereignty. He called all nations to recognize human sovereignty and work on that platform.
Indians burned effigies of King Ravana and family members who according legend ruled Sri Lanka before migrants from the transformed the island into an Indianzied Hindu-Bhuddist culture like Burma, Thailand and other East Asian regions.
In the Dussehar festival effigies of King Ravana, who figures in the subcontinental epic Ramayana, his son Meghnada and brother Kumbakarna are burnt with great fanfare.
Minister of National Co-existence Dialogue and Official Languages Mano Ganesan has complained to President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that the former President Chandrika Kumaratunga is unduly interfering in the affairs of his ministry.
In an interview with Ceylon Today Ganesan said he intends to conduct further discussions on the issue with the President, Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Administration and Management, Ranjith Maddumabandara.
C V Wigneswaran two weeks ago had demanded a federal solution to meet the political aspirations of the Tamil minority.
The opposition in parliament demanded government response to PM Wigneswaran’s demand.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the premier Tamil political group in Sri Lanka, fears that the proposed new law to replace the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) may well be old wine in a new bottle with most of the controversial provisions being retained.
In an extract from his memoir, A Long Watch: War, Captivity and Return in Sri Lanka, Commodore Ajith Boyagoda recalls senseless destruction by soldiers
One moment stands out for me as the most formative of my military career. This was in Karainagar, on another of the northern islands, immediately after our military operation there in 1991. Dealing with the civilian sick and weak you really feel the effects of war.
President Maithripala Sirisena attending a Buddhist religious ceremony at Kurukude Ancient Vihare in Peradeniya on Tuesday (04) afternoon assured that his government would never take any final decisions with regard to Buddha Sasana that would lead to disagreement, dispute or dissension among the Sangha. Any such decision would be taken only with the blessings of the Sangha led by the Mahanayake Theras.
President Maithripala Sirisena made the declaration after opening the three-storeyed preaching hall of Kurukude Vihare.
The process of implementing the new Right to Information Act would commence next week with the establishment an office in Battaramulla the government announced on Wednesday.
Co-Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Gayantha Karunathilaka told a press conference at the Information Department that Piyatissa Ranasinghe had been appointed to head the new office.
