By Shamindra Ferdinando Opposition MP Harshana Rajakaruna yesterday (25) said those who had defeated the no-confidence motion (NCM) against Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella should peruse the latest State audit report on the Health Ministry. The Gampaha District SJB MP said the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) at a recent meeting chaired by State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna had strongly [...

By Udari Abeyasinghe One of the principles of free education is to provide opportunities in higher education. In 2020, then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa issued directives to the University Grants Commission (UGC) to increase university admissions by an additional 12,000 students, in line with his election manifesto. Subsequently, student enrollments were increased with inadequate resources allocat...

Recent address by Dr. Sarath Gamini De Silva to the Galle Medical Association It is indeed my privilege and pleasure to be given this opportunity to address the members of the Galle Medical Association (GMA). I am grateful to the President and the Council of the GMA for inviting me as the guest of honour […]

By Sanath Nanayakkare The Global CEO Forum Sri Lanka held at the Galadari Hotel on Thursday showed a clear shift of discussion topics by Sri Lankan business leaders compared to what they were talking about just a year ago. Completely deviating from airing worries about how to run their businesses amid economic turmoil, business leaders […]

Oversight Committee on Open and Accountable Government By Rathindra Kuruwita An artificial shortage of medicinal drugs had been created in government hospitals to enable emergency drug purchases, Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) President Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne said recently, testifying before the parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee on an Open and Accountable Government. Dr. Ariyaratne al...

By Saman Indrajith Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) leader and Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development, Jeevan Thondaman, plans to bring the grievances of his community before Global Union Federation Public Services International in Geneva and other international fora, such as the World Economic Forum and International Labor Organization, next month, he said. “I […]

Attempting to boost tourist arrivals without enhancing domestic production will only create further problems in the country, Dr. Rohantha Athukorala, the former Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism and Sri Lanka Export Development Board, has said. Taking part in a television interview, Athukorale said that Sri Lanka hoped to attract five million tourists by 2030 and […]

Charith Asalanka, midway through a follow-through of a big shot, is gritting his teeth while his bat is twisted around to face the bowler, above his head. If a seasoned cricket-watcher saw a still of this moment, they might guess that something has gone very wrong for Asalanka. It hasn’t. Asalanka is just fine. He […]

Drug order cancellation result of clashes among official mafias – CMLS The government had suddenly cancelled a tender for importing 50 cancer drugs, Chairman of the Government Medical Officers’ Forum (GMOF) Rukshan Bellana said on Friday, addressing the media in Colombo. The decision would aggravate the shortage of cancer drugs in hospitals, he said. “Because […]

The government can reduce taxes imposed on professionals, Chairman of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis, MP Gamini Waleboda has said. The MP has said professionals earn salaries, which cannot be compared to profits. “A person who makes Rs 350,000 a month is now subject to a tax of […]

Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera, speaking at Thursday’s (14) Presidential Media Centre (PMC) news conference under the theme ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country’ said that egg and chicken prices are likely to decrease next year and that there will be no need for egg imports from next year. The Minister said that the present […]

The government has decided to recall retired doctors and specialists for service on contract basis, Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella says.

The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Energy and Transport has held a discussion focusing on the recruitment of students of the Ceylon-German Technical Training Institute to address the shortage of technicians in the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), during a special meeting which took place recently.

The Government Family Health Services Association stresses that the country s maternal and child health service is at risk of collapsing as a result of the prevailing shortage of Family Health Service officers.

The Director General of Health Services, Dr. Asela Gunawardena emphasizes that the statements made by several parties that there is a shortage of contact lenses within hospitals across the country including the National Eye Hospital in Colombo are not true.

By Shamindra Ferdinando The rebel SLPP group yesterday (04) urged the ruling SLPP not to protect Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella at the vote on no-faith motion against the Kandy District lawmaker. Secretary General of Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera said the vote would be held on Friday (08) following a three-day debate, commencing on Wednesday (06). SLPP National […]

Monday 4th September, 2023 Sri Lankans with a predilection for gratuitous violence or wanton brutality no longer have to spend money to watch western gangster movies. Local television news bulletins are full of actual scenes of violence; they are in fact scarier than taut Hollywood thrillers such as Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. Sicarios of local gangsters […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Two specialist doctors, Ajith Amarasinghe and Nilupul Perera, on behalf of the Eksath Janaraja Peramuna, have urged all MPs to sink their difference and vote for the no-faith motion against Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella. Addressing the media at the party office, they emphasised that if the no-faith motion was passed that would […]

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference (CBCSL) in Sri Lanka yesterday appealed to the government to grant relief to the poor. CBCSL in a statement signed by its President Rt. Rev. Dr. Harold Anthony Perera and Secretary Rt. Rev. Dr. J.D. Anthony Jayakody said that many people were on the brink of starvation while there seemd to […]