News

Zacky no more

Published

3 years ago

2020/09/11

Today we with much regret bring to our readers the sad news of the demise of our long time colleague Zacky Jabbar (60). He died at home at Kumaragewatte, Pelawatte, where he had lived alone since the death of his mother. All that we have pieced together is that he last checked the Whats-app on the night of August 19, but since he lived a bohemian life like so many journalists, his body was discovered by his elder brother Zalman only on Wednesday.

It had not been unusual for Zacky to travel around, especially to places like the Maldives and be absent from office for days on end especially since he reached the retirement age of 55. But when he failed to turn up for some time we made discreet inquiries from his acquaintances and colleagues. We did not want it to be a megaphone search as Zacky guarded his private life. We finally managed to contact his brother Zalman, on Wednesday, to learn that even he and his sister, too, had been puzzled by Zacky’s absence from a family wedding last weekend.

Zacky entered the field of journalism in 1985 by joining the now defunct Sun newspaper after having worked at Browns. He joined The Island in the mid-80s and ever since had been a hard working member of our team. He specialised in covering the political round with very close contacts in the UNP and the previous government. He certainly was not a clock watcher; he was usually one of the last to leave office on any given working day.

Kaduwela Acting Magistrate ordered Zacky’s body to be released to Zalman for burial yesterday at the Muslim cemetery at Battaramulla. The magisterial order was given following the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Dr. Sameera Gunaratne’s decision not to issue a death certificate as the cause of the death couldn’t be determined. The Magistrate said that the body had been found by Zalman on Sept 09 at Zacky’s home (No 1084/J Peiris Mawatha, Kumaragewatte)

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Stay on course and don’t go back to the past – Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy

Published

3 hours ago

2023/03/24

Priyan

Former Governor of the Central Bank delivering the keynote address at a high profile Webinar hosted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka today (24) said that Sri Lanka must implement the structural reforms proposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without relaxing like in the past or else we will be in a deeper economic mess.

The webinar was titled ‘What is next for Sri Lanka in the wake of the IMF programme’

News

Sustainable economic development goals cannot be achieved unless attention is paid to mitigating climate change – Sagala Ratnayake

Published

3 hours ago

2023/03/24

Priyan

President’s Senior Adviser on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Sagala Ratnayake said sustainable economic development goals cannot be accomplished without taking steps to mitigate climate change.

He said this while participating in the 10,000 sapling planting program organized by the LEO Youth Vision 2048 Club and the LEO Club at the Royal College, Colombo on Thursday (23rd).

This program was organized in view of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s birthday, which is today (24), and the required plants were distributed to the main schools of the Colombo District.

News

SF claims thousands of police and military personnel leaving

Published

15 hours ago

2023/03/24

Thilina Walpola

By Saman Indrajith

Thousands of police and military personnel had left the services recently as they did not want to carry out illegal orders, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka told Parliament yesterday. According to the war-winning army commander 200 policemen have resigned during the past two months and 25,000 soldiers have left the army during the last two years.

“We urged the law enforcement and military officials not to follow illegal orders. We will reinstate them with back pay,” he said.

Fonseka also urged the President and the government MPs not to take people for fools.

“Sri Lanka owes 55 billion dollars to the world. Ranil’s plan is to borrow another seven billion during the next four years. So, in four years we will owe 62 billion to the world.

Ranil and his ministers ask us what the alternative to borrowing is. These are the people who destroyed the economy and society. They must leave. Then, we will find an alternative and develop the country,” he said, adding that the IMF loans had made crises in other nations worse.

“Ranil says that by 2025, we will have a budget surplus as in Japan, Germany and South Korea. These countries are economic power houses, and this comparison is ludicrous.”