The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) today requested employees who retired after September 1, 2014 to report for duty if willing to do so to ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply.

Those requested to report for workare field technical service personnel and vehicle drivers. They should report to the office they were last attached to prior to retirement.

A Financial Times journalist has died after he was dragged underwater by a crocodile while on holiday in Sri Lanka, foreign media reported.

Paul McClean, 25, has been identified as the British man killed by the animal in a lagoon known as Crocodile Rock.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan police said in a statement that a British national, who went to bathe in the sea at Panama with a group of friends, had gone missing and the police and the navy were searching for the missing person.

According to the Telegraph, it is believed that Mr McClean left his friends to go to the toilet, and the beast ambushed him when he dipped his hands into the water to wash them.

One of his colleagues at the FT told the Telegraph: ‘We’re all totally stunned. He was a great kid, an Everton fan, super bright. It’s an absolute tragedy.’

Mr McClean grew up in Thames Ditton, Surrey, and graduated from Oxford University with a First in French in 2015.

Witnesses of the incident reportedly saw him ‘waving his hands in the air’ in desperation before he was pulled below the surface by the crocodile.

It is believed he only arrived in the country a few days before.

A Scot who is on holiday in the area but wished to remain anonymous said: ‘People last saw his arms in the air in the water and then was grabbed under. I was there but didn’t see it happen though. Horrible.

‘They are searching for a body but haven’t found anything yet. The army were down and there are people put on boats checking the shore because crocodile won’t eat anything in water they will take it on to dry land to eat prey.’

Asgiriya Maha Vihara Chapter Registrar Ven. Medagama Dhammananda Thera making a special statement yesterday, regarding the insults made on Buddhist monks by certain politicians, expressed concern and condemned the act.

The Thera said: “At a time like this when President Maithripala Sirisena has taken a timely action to introduce an insurance cover for the old Buddhist monks , there are various government ministers and parliamentarians who have made insulting remarks by levelling allegations in various forms. It has to be treated as a downright insult.”

“There are politicians who have been rejected by the people and become popular in various fields. They act without any good feeling towards the country and without an understanding about the values, religious and cultural background and whims and fancies of the general public,”the Thera said.

The Thera said political party leaders should select candidates wisely and intelligently at the forthcoming elections without giving permission to candidates who are involved in unbecoming acts. (J.A.L. Jayasinghe)

The General Medical Council (GMC), an independent organisation in United Kingdom to protect patients and improve medical education and practice, recently rejected the registration of graduates from South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine in Malabe.

Issuing a statement titled ‘Overseas medical qualifications not accepted by the GMC’, it said that the body would not accept applications to sit the PLAB test or for registration from graduates of the medical schools mentioned in it including the SAITM.

“We do not accept qualifications on the unacceptable list. There are a number of reasons as to why a qualification may be added to the list of qualifications which are not acceptable which include where we have information that demonstrates the qualification does not meet our acceptability criteria, where there are questions about the acceptability of the qualification and, after investigation, we cannot obtain sufficient information to satisfy our selves that the qualification is acceptable,” it said.

“We also do not accept where we receive information about irregularities relating to the programme of study or the awarding of qualifications and cannot obtain sufficient information to satisfy ourselves that the qualification is acceptable,” it added.

Meanwhile, speaking to the Daily Mirror, SAITM Registrar Husni Hussain said that they had recently received a letter from the GMC stating that the SAITM would no longer qualified to get registered at the GMC.

Hussein said that GMC has issued this letter following an application by a SAITM graduate seeking for its registration and added that the GMC had rejected the SAITM since the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) had not recognized the SAITM as a medical degree awarding institute.

“As another reason the GMC has mentioned that a pending court case is there with regard to the SAITM. However, they had mentioned that they would consider their approval on SAITM once afore mentioned issues get sorted out,” she added.

Issuing a statement, contrary to the statements that were currently being circulated within the media, the SAITM clarified that the Head of Registration Applications of GMC, Richard Amison had confirmed the qualification criteria and acceptance of applications from SAITM graduates to the GMC would be reviewed as and when the concerns in question was resolved.

“As clarified by the GMC to SAITM, it states that it is not in a position to determine any of the legal or factual issues involved, but will proceed to review the quandary following the direction of the Government of Sri Lanka and other legal institutions. SAITM further informs that they are in par with the necessary requirements for graduates to apply to the GMC,” he added.

It also said that the SAITM had been represented to the GMC by the SLMC to halt SAITM graduates from applying.(Kalathma Jayawardhane)

People living downstream of the Attanagalu Oya are advised to be vigilant as it has reached flood level in the Dunumale area, the Disaster Management Centre said today.

In a statement the DMC said the water level could rise further if the rain was to continue.

The statement further said that Rukgahavila, Warana in Gampaha was already flooded and warned that Kirindiwita, Akaravita and Makevita on the Gampaha-Ja-Ela Road , Gampaha-Minuwangoda Road, Ihalagama, Medagama and Pahalagama areas in  Gampaha could flood if the water level was to increase.

Video by GS

The Meteorology Department today said heavy rains exceeding 100 mm would occur in the Western, North-Western, Sabaragamuwa, and Central Provinces and in the Galle district.

Issuing a weather advisory valid for next 12 hours starting from 8.00 pm today, it said rain fall of over 150 mm could be expected at some places.  

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers, it said.

Meanwhile, one spill gate of Kukule Ganga has been opened since this morning due to the heavy rains experienced in the area, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)

All the provisions of the new Inland Revenue Act which was recently passed in parliament will be implemented from April 1, 2018, a Finance Ministry statement said.

The government had earlier planned to charge capital gains tax, withholding tax and PAYE tax under the new Inland Revenue Act from October 1, 2017 and income tax from April 1, 2018.

The Finance Ministry today said due to difficulties in maintaining two types of accounts in a single financial year, it has decided to implement all the provisions of the new tax law from April 1, 2018.

The report completed by the Presidential Committee on SAITM was handed over to President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday as per the schedule, Committee Head, Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha De Silva said today.

Thereby, he said, the allegations made by the GMOA that the Committee had failed to submit the report on Monday were false.

“There is no truth in the GMOA’s claim. We, the entire committee, met the President and submitted the report on Monday. We also had lengthy discussions with the President’s Secretary on the matter,” he said.

The deputy minister said the President would study the report before making his stance. (Lahiru Pothmulla)