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DEMISE OF MANGALA SAMARAWEERA – OUTSPOKEN MATARA DISTRICT MAVERICK POLITICIAN & FORMER MINISTER By: Upali Obeyesekere – With files from International Media Mangala samaraweera News has reached us that Mangala Samaraweera has passed away today. Sri Lanka’s former finance minister Mangala Samaraweera passed away Tuesday in hospital where he was being treated for Coronavirus. According to hospital sources, he was receiving care in the intensive care unit for several days and was responding well. However, he suffered a cardiac arrest on Monday night and suffered another cardiac arrest on Tuesday morning. He was put on the ventilator but succumbed to the virus. The 65-year-old Samaraweera contracted the virus earlier this month and was receiving intensive care unit (ICU) treatment at the Lanka Hospital, despite being fully vaccinated. He was the second highest ranking Sri Lankan politician to succumb to coronavirus after the death of former parliamentary Speaker WJM Lokubandara. An ...

Aug 24, 2021 Posted by In Articles, Upali Obeyesekere Tagged , , , ,
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Muthurajawela to be declared as Ramsar wetland Source:Daily Mirror The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal to prepare a new master plan for the Muthurajawela wetland area and to consequently declare it as a Ramsar wetland of international importance. The Cabinet of Ministers on Monday approved the proposal containing several measures targeted at conserving the Muthurajawela wetland area, which has been under threat due to a multitude of issues. ...

May 22, 2021 Posted by In Articles Tagged , ,
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Colombo Port City: “Chinese Colony” or “Gateway to South Asia”? Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa making an inspection tour of the Port City in December 2019. Source:Dailynews The legal contours of the country’s first-ever offshore financial centre have been worked out and that piece of legislation was at the centre of attraction last week leading to a heated political and social debate. Many will agree that the China-funded Colombo Port City (CPC) is an ambitious and a giant project that has the capacity to be a make or break factor of this island-nation’s economy in the years to come. The legal infrastructure carries equal weight as, or even more weight than, the physical infrastructure when it comes to the successful operation of this economic hub-to-be of the country. ...

Apr 26, 2021 Posted by In Articles Tagged , ,
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Former Editor-in-Chief of ‘Daily News’, Senior Journalist, Diplomat Bandula Jayasekera passes away ( He also served as the Consul General of Sri Lanka in Toronto, Canada and in Sydney Australia)   Source:-Daily News Senior Journalist, Newspaper Editor and Diplomat Bandula Jayasekera passed away at the age of 60 this morning. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily News in 2006–2007. He also served as Director General, President’s Office Media Unit for some time during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure and Director General (Public Communication) at the External Affairs Ministry. His last foray in media was at Sirasa\MTV where he worked until recently as a talk show host, including for the popular ‘Pathikada’ programme. As a diplomat he served in Australia, Canada and also as Sri Lanka’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York. Bandula Jayasekera was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a type of blood cancer in July 2019. His ...

Mar 6, 2021 Posted by In Articles Tagged , , , ,
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Government unveils Budget loan bonanza  Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa presenting the Budget 2020 in Parliament Source:FT Finance Ministry lists out Budget proposals to be rolled out Preferential 3% and 7% housing loans for public sector  Solar power loans at 4% interest for public sector and SMEs  $ 100 m worth of working capital loans for COVID-hit SMEs  Rs. 500,000 for young entrepreneurs at 4% interest  Up to Rs. 10 m for public workers to invest in mid-range apartments  Extension of ‘Agrahara’ insurance scheme     Govt. says even though no direct salary hike in Budget, measures will bring earnings to public sector  Signalling intent to turnaround sluggish growth by boosting demand the Finance Ministry yesterday said it would immediately begin implementing a slew of Budget proposals targeted at providing relief to public sector workers, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), youth, dairy farmers and students. This initiative will be spearheaded ...

Dec 20, 2020 Posted by In Articles Tagged ,
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Morris Minor: still big in Sri Lanka A Sri Lankan factory is doing a roaring trade hand-building parts to keep classic Morris Minors on the road Bodywork expert Chandrasiri repairs a rear door while a Minor Traveller awaits the finishing touches to its ground-up restoration Photos: PAUL JEFFRIES. I can’t speak Sinhala and my attempts to pronounce the Sri Lankan place names only met with puzzled expressions. But everyone knew exactly where I wanted to go when I mentioned the ‘Morris Minor Garage’. Just a few miles from the historic town of Galle, in the south of the island, where well-heeled tourists sip lattes in up-market cafés, the company is hand-making repair panels to help keep one of Britain’s best-loved classic cars on the road. ...

Aug 1, 2020 Posted by In Articles Tagged , Comments 0
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SRI LANKA NEWS IN BRIEF (MAY 2019) – Compiled by Victor Melder Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith yesterday declined a bullet proof vehicle offered by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Addressing the media, after a meeting with former JHU Parliamentarian Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera, the Cardinal said that the government should focus on ensuring the security of all Sri Lankans instead of a select few. The Cardinal said that he was still not satisfied with the security measures adopted to deal with terrorists. “Some houses in Periyamulla, Negombo have been closed after the Easter Sunday bombings but they have not been checked,” he said. He also urged youth not to use social media to misinform people and spread hatred. Sobitha Thera said that the conduct of the Cardinal was an example to all Sri Lankans.  “All religious leaders must unite to get the country out of this,” the thera said. (Daily Island, ...

May 31, 2019 Posted by In Articles, Victor Melder Tagged , , , , , , Comments 0
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