News

The responsibility in taking a decision against Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) parliamentarians supporting the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has been given to President Maithripala Sirisena and the Party Secretary Duminda Dissanayake.

Sources say the decision was made during the Party’s central committee meeting held yesterday at the Official Presidential residence.

A special train service from Colombo Fort to Badulla will function from today to accommodate high passenger traffic during the New Year and Christmas season, Additional Railway General Manager Wijaya Samarasinghe said.

Accordingly the new Badulla train, scheduled to function on December 22,24, 26, 28, January 2,4 and 6 will begin from Colombo Fort at 7.30 a.m. and reach Badulla at 5.39 p.m.

Trains scheduled to begin from Badulla on 23,25,27, 29, January 3, 5, and 7 at 7.15 a.m. will reach Colombo Fort at 6.12 p.m.

This special train consists of an observation saloons, first class, second class and third class coaches.

Source : Daily News

Senior DIG (Administration and Elections) C.D. Wickramaratne has asked the relevant DIGs to show cause as to why the law was not enforced to prevent seven political processions that were held illegally on Thursday.

 According to Police Spokesperson SP Ruwan Gunasekara, the senior officer had taken the decision following media reports regarding these incidents.

 Meanwhile, the Police has also decided to set up a separate Hotline at the Child and Women’s Bureau to hear the concerns and complaints of the female contestants at the Local Government election. The decision was made following a discussion at the Election commision.

Gunasekara said that the Police have been instructed to take strict action against those people responsible for organising unlawful processions.

Several Businessman close to Former Minister Basil Rajapaksa is now said to preparing to purchase two popular newspapers and a website in the country.

According to sources, the purchases are being made in light of the upcoming local government elections. One media organization which is to be purchased was once managed with the support of the Rajapaksa’s and is currently suffering severe losses.

However, the move to purchase a weekend political newspaper once managed by a stalwart of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) is noteworthy. Sources claim discussions have already commenced through a middleman in this regard.

The group have also moved to purchase a website managed by a UNP stalwart sources say.

Opposition Leader R.Sampanthan was admitted to a private hospital in Colombo following a sudden illness yesterday (23).

His condition is said to be not critical and is recovering at the hospital.

The Opposition Leader had developed a sudden illness and uneasiness while being involved in election-related activities

The name of a person who was to be admitted to the UNP’s Colombo Municipal Council candidate list had been removed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The person whose name was cut is a son of a powerful underworld leader as well as a drug kingpin.

While the notorious drug kingpin is currently abroad, a powerful UNPer from the Colombo district had made an audacious effort to enter the former’s son to the candidate’s list.

It is reported that Prime Minister had resorted to remove the name of this person after being apprised of the situation around 3.30 am yesterday.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe has said a new elevated highway will be built connecting the New Kelani bridge to Colombo Fort.

The Premier disclosed the information when he visited the Rajagiriya flyover yesterday (21) to observe its progress.

Accordingly, the new elevated highway will include a three-kilometre elevated highway connecting the New Kelani Bridge and Colombo Fort while a new road extending from Orugodawatta to Rajagiriya is also in the offing. The new road networks will see the construction of the New Kelani Bridge and its extensions while developing the road system to ease the traffic congestion.

The project is set to be funded by the Asian Development Bank.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said construction of the Dedduwa tourism zone, Sri Lanka's biggest tourism project, will begin in March next year to lure more tourists to the island country, state media reported Thursday.

The prime minister said the Dedduwa project, which is located in the Galle District in southern Sri Lanka, will focus heavily on conservation of the natural eco-system.

Wickremesinghe added that new laws will be formulated to protect the environment in the area during construction.

"We have a plan to convert this 1,800-acre area into the best tourism destination in South Asia," he said.

"Lunuganga, an area that will be a key part of the Dedduwa project, is well-known because of the legendary architect Geoffery Bawa. The project will be very much in line with Bawa's concepts and will further enhance the natural beauty of the area," he added.

Wickremesinghe explained the government will carry out this significant tourism development project in collaboration with the private sector.

The Galle district in southern Sri Lanka, the prime minister said, is located between two international airports Katunayake and Mattala.

"Although many concentrate on the coastal area of Galle in terms of tourism, its interior areas are blessed with natural beauty and have immense potential. That is why we have already made plans to start tourism projects in Akurala and Koggala. With all these projects, Galle, I am certain, will become a major tourism hub in the region."

Sri Lanka's tourism sector has continued to grow since a three-decade civil conflict ended in May 2009 between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.

China has been Sri Lanka's second largest market with 249,000 Chinese tourists arriving so far this year.

India has continued to be the leading market while Europe and Britain have also witnessed a growth in recent years.

Sri Lanka has become a famous tourist destination among Chinese travelers and the government hopes to attract at least 1 million Chinese tourists per year by 2020.

(Xinhua)

The National Transport Commission (NTC) has ordered all Air conditioned Intercity buses to install GPS tracking systems before the imposed deadline of December 31. While around 700 intercity buses are expected to comply with the latest regulation speaking to the Sunday Observer Chairman of the National Transport Commission M.A.P Hemachandra said a new fines system for bus operators to be enforced through GPS monitoring is also currently in the pipeworks.

 Once GPS tracking devices are installed the buses will be monitored through a control room located at the commissioner the Chairman said confirming that the commission is in the process of hiring employees for this purpose.

“Reckless driving is expected to decrease drastically as bus operators will be heavily penalized for any infractions after implementation of the GPS tracking,” he said adding that other long-distance buses will also be required to install similar devices prior to July 31 next year.

The United Nations’ refugee agency has condemned Australia’s forced return of an asylum seeker to Sri Lanka without any assessment of his claim for protection, saying the man is at serious risk of persecution in his homeland, the Guardian reported today.

The UNHCR had sought assurances from the Australian government the man would not be removed from the country and would be allowed to apply for protection.

But on Wednesday, the man was forcibly removed, in handcuffs, from Villawood detention centre and flown back to Sri Lanka.

The Australian government has maintained that the man was removed because he missed its October 1 deadline to apply for protection, and was deemed not to be seeking protection.

A spokeswoman for the UNHCR, Catherine Stubberfield, said the UN was aware of a number of asylum seekers who were unable to meet the government’s deadline of 1 October to submit their applications for asylum.

It was a worrying breach of Australia’s international legal obligations, Stubberfield said.

“In this context, the return of an asylum-seeker - whose claim for international protection was not considered on its merits - presents a serious risk of return to danger or persecution.”

Australia’s department of immigration declined to comment on the specific case of the man deported on Wednesday, but has commented on the return of Tamils generally, and its non-refoulement obligations.

“Australia does not remove people to Sri Lanka who engage Australia’s non-refoulement obligations,” a spokesperson said last week. “Australia takes its non-refoulement obligations seriously.”

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) nominations for the Thirappane Pradeshiya Sabha for upcoming Local Government polls were rejected yesterday (21).

The party also suffered a series of rejections last week when their nominations from the Weligama and Panadura Municipal Councils, Maharagama Urban Council, Badulla, Mahiyangana, Agalawatta Pradeshiya Sabhas were rejected for various reasons.

A petition was filed in the Appeals Court by five SLPP candidates against the rejection of their Local Government polls nominations for the Maharagama Urban Council, yesterday.