Sri Lanka makes top 10 in Most Instagrammable Places

Sri Lanka has been listed amongst the “50 Most Instagrammable Places in the World 2023” on travel website Big 7 Travel.

The island nation made it to the Top 10 of the list, ranking ninth, amongst Italy, England, France and USA.

The list is developed via a comprehensive scoring system that analyses the number of hashtags and TikTok views per destination, while sample surveys from the Big 7 Media’s 1.5 million audiences and their global editorial team is also taken into account.

Sri Lanka in Dire Straits - Harsha de Silva

Earlier today the Minister of Finance, Hon. Ali Sabry, stated that the reluctance to goto the IMF much earlier was a grave mistake, in addition to the massive tax cuts and delayed depreciation of the rupee. However, I cautioned and suggested these changes as far back as 2020 November, although it fell on deaf ears. Today, these same Ministers act as if they are reborn. It is unfortunate that we did not make the right decisions at the time, as our debt was sustainable then, currently our debt is deemed unsustainable, thus the IMF is unable to provide us with any Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI).

Corrupt dealings in Hambantota hospital construction

 An investigation into a money laundering case involving an Australian medical company has revealed details of alleged corrupt dealings during the construction of the Hambantota General Hospital in Sri Lanka.

Australia’s ABC Media Network has given a long description of the investigation into allegations of corruption in a personal protective equipment contract with Australia’s Canberra-based Aspen Medical Company.

Arsenic in the liver of broiler chickens!

Researchers advise the public to minimize the consumption of the liver of broiler chickens as it has been found to contain arsenic, ‘Lankadeepa’ reports.

The Sri Jayewardenepura University’s Chemistry Department conducted a study on selected chicken varieties and established that broiler chickens are fed with certain ingredients to eliminate organisms in their bowels that turn into arsenic in their stomachs.

Sandya Ekanyake rape, murder

The date was the August 23; time, around 12 in the afternoon. The sun had decided to bid farewell to the eastern sky and move towards the west. But she did not know that she was living the last few hours of her life. She had passed her O/L exams and had embarked on studying for her A/L exams with all the hopes of entering university, but her dreams were dashed while still being made. This is the story of the tragic death of 17-year-old student; Ekanayaka Mudiyanselage Sandya Madushani Ekanyake, a resident of Giribawa East, No. 2, Sudarmarama Mawatha, Saliya Ashokapura.

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.