Route permits scam on Expressway

The government incurs a loss of Rs 700 million annually due to the improper methods of issuing route permits to operate buses on the Southern Expressway, Lanka Private Bus Owners' Association (LPBOA) said.

Addressing the media yesterday LPBOA president Gemunu Wijeratne said, most of the route permits, to operate buses on the Southern Expressway, were issued violating proper tender procedures to political henchmen and the fee charged per route permit was way below the stipulated sum.

March sees highest inflation since 2015

The trend of rising inflation appears to continue as the Year on Year (YoY) inflation rate reached 8.6 per cent in March 2017, the highest since February 2015, data released by the Department of Census and Statistics shows.

According to the data, YoY inflation, which indicates the rise of price level during a particular month in comparison with the same month of the previous year, has been rising from December 2016. In December 2016, the YoY inflation rate was 4.2 per cent, which increased to 8.2 per cent in February.

A 1,500 -year-old wall unearthed in Anuradhapura

Archaeologists of the Central Cultural Fund’s Maha Vihara and Abhayagiri project have unearthed a section of an ancient wall which could be older than 1,500 years, from an excavation near the Eastern Gateway of the Ruwanweli Chetiya in Anuradhapura.

The section of the wall was made of a mixture of ant-hill red clay, lime and brick powder, archaeologists said. Decorated with a light blue paint, the wall was lying about one metre below the surface. It had been covered so that its plaster would be protected from elements, archaeologists said.

garbage dump covered with polythene

Army engineers are in the process of covering the remainder of the garbage dump at Meethotamulla with polythene to ensure the safety of those still living nearby.

Long queues at filling points, fears fuel shortage

Long queues of motorists were seen at the filling stations in Colombo a short while ago to refuel their vehicles in fear of a possible shortage due to the planned strike action by petroleum the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Unions’ Collective effective from midnight today.

Speaking on the matter some filling station owners said large crowed who feared fuel shortage will erupted were gathered to receive fuel to their vehicles before the strike to be launched. (

Sri Lankan doctor killed in road mishap in London

Vice President of the Association of Professional Sri Lankans in the UK, Dr. Chesmal Siriwardhana was killed by a double-decker bus in Oxford Street in Central London around 2 am on Sunday, April 9.

His body, lying in a morgue in London, will be flown to Sri Lanka to perform last ri

Garbage management made essential service

President Maithripala Sirisena this evening approved an extraordinary gazette making garbage disposal services by all local government bodies an ‘essential service’ with effect from Thursday’s midnight.

The gazette focuses on steps that are being taken when disposing, collecting, transporting, storing, preparing, segregating garbage and disposing garbage collected from households as well as that which is collected from the road and related services.

Lankan woman in US wins car by kissing it

A 30-year-old Austin woman won a new car on Wednesday by keeping her lips locked on it for 50 hours.

Dilini Jayasuriya got the keys to a 2017 Kia Optima LX after winning a drawing that included the six other people who had finished the “Kiss a Kia” contest held by 96.7 KISS FM radio at Southwest Kia in Round Rock.