President Mahinda Rajapaksa is to direct a movie with Ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Champika Ranawaka playing the lead roles, says JVP Politburo Member K. D. Lalkantha. “It will be the next attraction to be featured in film halls soon,” he said. Speaking at the annual convention of the JVP-affiliated union of the Sri Lanka Transport [...]
UNP parliamentarian Buddhika Pathirana recently bumped into former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge on an Emirates flight bound for Colombo from Dubai. Pathirana was returning to Sri Lanka after attending a workshop in Canada when he met Kumaratunge while passing through the business section of the flight. It was Kumaratunge who first greeted Pathirana and after [...]
Co-operatives and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando had to recently play the role of saviour of lives – the lives of two pelicans. The Minister was in his office at Vauxhall Street when suddenly he had heard a commotion outside the building. He was informed that two pelicans were being strangled by a kite string [...]
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa was recently disgruntled that the government never seemed to be commended for the many development projects carried out. In some instances they were even blamed for development. Rajapaksa was engaged in discussing the development programmes outlined by the Ministry to be carried out next year with the funds allocated in [...]
The vegetable shortage experienced last week due to the protest launched by farmers and vegetable traders affected the parliament as well. Meals at the parliamentary complex last Wednesday (14) had not included any vegetables or fruits. The legislators in the House had even noticed the lack of vegetables and fruits. UNP parliamentarian Gamini Jayawickrema Perera [...]
It would be a match between father and son when the ministers and parliamentarians meet today (11) for a cricket match. The ministers’ team is tipped to be led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa while the parliamentarians’ team is to be led by his son, Namal Rajapaksa. The match is scheduled to be played at the [...]
Opposition and UNP Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe’s decision to remove his Commonwealth Parliamentary Union (CPU) tie inside the Chamber of the House was subject to much talk in parliament last week. Most governing party members humored opposition members by saying it’s “speak or strip” time in the House. Wickremesinghe removed his tie and walked out of [...]
By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema The presentation of the 2012 budget last week in parliament resembled a scene out of a boxing ring or a rugger match gone rowdy when governing party lawmakers clashed with the protesting UNP legislators. The attack on opposition UNP parliamentarians by the UPFA legislators during the budget speech delivered by President [...]
The first few days of the parliamentary proceedings last week were mainly focused on the UNP’s protest in the Chamber holding placards with the words “shame” during the budget speech. The UNP lawmakers and the governing party lawmakers were engaged in friendly banter in the parliament lobby, discussing the incidents during the budget speech. Several [...]
President Mahinda Rajapaksa was in for a shock last week when every minister he had telephoned last Tuesday (15) failed to answer. The President had made several official telephone calls to ministers on the 15th morning, but none of them had answered their phones. Some ministers have not answered their telephones while some others have [...]
