There is some truth in the audio: MR

Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa said today that there was some truth in the audio of a telephone conversation between himself and former Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickramatunga which is circulating in the social media. 

He said he could not remember whether he said exactly what was in the audio.

“There is some truth. I frequently spoke to him. It was not a new thing. I can’t exactly remember whether I said this. I know he had a habit of recording all his conversations,” he said. When asked if it was recorded by Mr. Wickramatunga, Mr. Rajapaksa said he did not know, and added that Mr. Wickramatunga was a reporter and he may have recorded it, as every reporter did that. “He is a reporter. You take a recording of the conversation and produce later if someone denies some of the statements he made,” he said. (Ajith Siriwardana)

One killed in Galewela shooting

A man is reported to have been shot and killedin the Dandu-medi-ruppa area in Galewela. The Police said that the victim was a businessman.

The person who suffered critical injuries in the shooting was admitted to the Dambulla Base Hospital and the Police said that it was announced by the Hospital that he had died.

The victim was a 36-year-old businessman in the Dandu-medi-ruppa area in Galewela.The Magisterial inquiry was due to be held. No arrests had yet been made over the murder. The Galewela Police are pursuing investigations.

Justice Minister meets with Sumanarathna Thera

Minister of Justice and Buddhasasana Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe met with the Chief incumbent of the Mangalaramaya temple in Batticaloa Venerable Ampitiya Sumanaretna Thera today.

He also met with the Secretary to the Bodubalasena, Gnanasara Thera and members of the Bodubalasena at the Mangalaramaya.

During the meeting, the various issues of the Sinhalese who have to be resettled in the Eastern Province were discussed.  At the same time measures to foster goodwill and understanding between the various ethnic groups was discussed.

A media spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said that the Minister’s visit was to see how best the issues of the various communities could be resolved peacefully. At the end of the meeting the Minister listened to the grievances of the Sinhalese resident in the village of Keviliyamadu in Batticaloa district.

Rathnasiri hospitalised

Former Prime minister and senior politician - Rathnasiri Wickramanayake has been hospitalised, reports say. 

He has been admitted to a private hospital in Colombo.

Baby delivered in ambulance

An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and a pilot of pre-hospital care ambulance stationed at Akuressa yesterday helped deliver a baby on the way to the Matara General hospital. The baby was delivered in the moving ambulance around 2.30- a.m. last morning morning on its way to hospital.

According to the person in charge of the pre hospital care ambulance service in Matara and Hambantota districts L.G. Gamini, the woman was in labour pain when the ambulance reached her house around 1.30 a.m.

“This was emergency situation and the baby had to be delivered on the way before the ambulance reached the hospital,”he said

Gamini added that the pilot stopped the ambulance at a road side after he felt that the woman was on the verge of delivering the baby and helped the EMT deliver the baby.

“The baby and the mother who were stable were later admitted to the Matara General hospital”, he said.

Gamini said that Emergency Medical Technicians have been trained in India as per stringent standards expected of this care and the pilot of the ambulance has also received special training in Sri Lanka to face such an situation. He said that his crew often transports women in labour for delivery to various hospitals on receiving emergency calls.

This ambulance service was launched in Sri Lanka on an outright grant of US$ 7.6 million from the Indian government to promote medical facilities in this front on the intervention of India Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

No electricity tariff hike or power cuts

The government will not increase the electricity tariff or impose power cuts, Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.

He said there could be a crisis in power generation in future due to the low rain fall this year. He asked consumers to use electricity with responsibility.

Minister Siyambalapitiya made these observations at a press conference held at the Power and Renewable Energy Ministry auditorium yesterday.

The minister said that it was 2016 that recorded the lowest rain fall during the last 10 years. He said electricity

consumers should reduce power consumption and reduce their electricity bills due to this.

He said last year, hydroelectricity contributed 75 percent of the national power requirement whereas this year, hydroelectricity contributed only 25 percent.

“People query if we would impose power cuts and our answer is ‘no’,” Minister Siyabalapitiya said. “We are ready to face such a situation without imposing power cuts and increasing power prices. We get electricity at a competitive prices. We have around 4,000 MW capacity. There is an additional requirement of 3,200 MW,”he said.

He said it would be better if power could be generated by way of renewable energy. He said the government is taking measures to generate a considerable proportion of electricity through renewable energy under the Soorya Bala Sangramaya project.

Power and Renewable Energy Deputy Minister Ajith P. Perera said although the Western Province experienced rain this year, the rest of the country did not get enough rain. He said the decision to stop the Sampur Coal Power plant was a political decision.

“A Presidential Task Force will be set up next year for power conservation,” Deputy Minister Perera said.

BIA closed during day from January 6 to April 6

The Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) will be closed for all operations during the day for three months due to work relating to overlaying of the runway. The BIA will be closed from January 6, 2017 until April 6 for three months from 8.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. daily.

The BIA has only one runway. Over 950,000 aircraft operations have been carried out since its commissioning three decades ago.

The runway was designed and constructed in the mid-80’s to meet the then requirements.

During the renovation period, no flights will be operated. All airlines using the BIA have been informed to carry out flights from 4.30 p.m. to 8.00 a.m.

No major rehabilitation work had been carried out on the runway after the airport was commissioned.

Officials of the International Civil Aviation Organisation recommended an overlaying of the runway to improve runway surface condition for safe operations of aircraft.

In line with the overlaying of the existing runway, several airport sector development activities such as overlaying of parallel taxiways, connecting taxiways, design of new rapid exit taxiways (RETs) and by pass taxiways, installation of new airfield ground lighting (AGL) system and modification of existing apron will be carried out.

All these moves are being made to handle a further nine million passengers per annum aiming to cater to the ever increasing passenger volume in the region.

With the BIA development project being carried out in three stages, the passenger handling capacity of the BIA will be enhanced by further nine million passengers per annum and on completion, the total passenger handling capacity of the airport will be increased to 15 million passengers per annum.

Nepali girl dies due to banned Hindu practice

A 15-year-old girl has died in Nepal after she was banished to a shed because she was menstruating, under an ancient Hindu practice that has been banned for over a decade, police said Monday.

Some Hindus view menstruating women as impure and in parts of Nepal they are forced to remain in a hut or cowshed for days, a practice known as chhaupadi.

"We are investigating the case. We suspect that she died of suffocation from the smoke of a fire she lit to keep herself warm," local district inspector Badri Prasad Dhakal told AFP.

Under the practice, women are banned from taking part in normal family activities during menstruation and after childbirth, and can have no contact with men of the household.

The government outlawed chhaupadi in 2005, but Mohna Ansari of Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission said local leaders must do more to enforce the ban.

"We have a legal ban but the law enforcement forces have not been strong about implementing it," she said.

"It is crucial for us to work to change the attitudes of the people and raise awareness against this practice."