Apr 27 (ST) It is no coincidence that the increasingly not-so-insidious growth of SL�s anti-democracy virus, first reflected on in these column spaces last month, has kept apace with the exponential rise of coronavirus infected individuals in the last ten days. As transparency diminishes, so does accountability. This is so in relation to pandemic controls of testing, isolating and containing as much as in making sure that state officers act in accordance with the law in arresting people or in addressing the hunger more..

Apr 27 (CT) Nothing in what follows is intended to demean the achievements of thousands of frontline health workers striving to arrest the pandemic nor denigrate policemen and foot-soldiers coping with a tough job. Furthermore, it would be inaccurate and unfair to overlook the successes in controlling the spread of the virus and churlish to overlook the cooperation that the public has so far readily extended. However, the authorities have and are making one big blunder and the purpose of more..

Apr 27 (ST) The coronavirus outbreak forces people to make some difficult choices to ensure their safety, and sometimes to avoid troubles, too. One such incident happened in Nallur, Jaffna on Wednesday, when an insurance company agent visited a residence to collect the monthly installment. The wife of the policy holder told the representative that her husband was suffering from mild symptoms of the coronavirus and more..

Apr 27 (TM) Even the sanest of people do the craziest things when frustration gets the better of them. Donald Trump, by far, is certainly not the most rational person even at the best of times if his record is anything to go by, but what he said last Friday at a White House press briefing was simply unbelievable even by Trump standards. This showed the level of frustration and desperation for a cure endured by the most powerful man on Earth. The raging Covid-19 pandemic has so far shown no signs of more..

Apr 27 (TM) In less than 12 months, our island nation had to confront two devastating phenomena � both of which came through cross-border transmission, invisible to the eye in any material form, yet causing devastation in incredible dimensions. Whether the source of the problems came in the form of ideology, capacity, or a medical virus, their impact had been severe. The origins of both the Easter Sunday bombings and the coronavirus pandemic have been outside more..

Apr 27 (SO) People haven�t yet heard the last word on the Covid 19 pandemic, and the reason is simple. The virus and its progression are extremely unpredictable, and this means many different things. On the one hand, it infers that people have to adjust to the fact that there are changing parameters in sizing up the contagion and its repercussions. There shouldn�t be anything cut and dried about assessing the future in terms of how the germ would behave. On the one hand there is a perception that more..

Apr 27 (Island) Sadness engulfed me a couple of days back, when I heard of the demise of my friend of over five decades, Channa Gunaratne. He was no ordinary friend. He touched so many people in so many ways with his ebullience and outgoing characteristics. Amidst the grief of losing a friend, many memories of our close association with each other over the years, flooded into my mind. It was December 1982 and I was stationed at SLAF Base, China Bay. Channa and his family holidayed more..

Apr 27 (Island) A Muslim tear is trickling down a Covid cross in Sri Lanka. That tear is an old one. It�s dated before the Islamophobia surrounding today�s COVID-19 narrative. It predates 21st of Apr 2019. Hundreds of people perished in the Easter Sunday attack. Inside God�s House, Christians, in prayer, were blown to smithereens, maimed and their minds and lives forever changed. Our lives changed, too. There is an ever glistening, more..

Apr 27 (ST) Last week I had a series of email exchanges with Prof. Premachandra Athukorala, Professor of Economics at the Australian National University. Our communication included, among other things, a discussion over an interesting topic � coronavirus and emerging protectionism. However, this is not the issue I am going to discuss in this column today. I will leave it for the coming weeks. In one of his emails, Prof. Athukorala sent me an attachment � a paper published in more..

Apr 27 (Island) A steep rise in the number of the Covid-19 infections, here, is proof that the situation is taking a turn for the worse. It looks as if Sri Lanka had considered itself the winner, prematurely, after the first round of the fight against the elusive virus; the government decided to ease lockdowns and curfews in all districts, only to realise its mistake and exclude the red zones immediately afterwards. What we are witnessing, at present, may be the second wave of infections. more..

Apr 27 (CT) At the time the country�s economy has been destabilized due to reckless action by the present govt and I as the former finance minister completely reject the attempt by PM Mahinda Rajapaksa to pass on the responsibility of their economic destabilization on the Yahapalana govt. PM had released a statement on April 18, taking his political game one step further. I thought it would be better to remind that the result of this power more..

Apr 27 (CT) USS Theodore Roosevelt, one of the biggest aircraft carriers of the US Navy deployed in the Pacific Ocean, was found to be with 833 COVID-19 infected sailors two weeks ago. So, with COVID-19 reigning as a global pandemic, it is after the deadly virus infecting 833 sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which has been named after an iconic World War II President of the US, one of SL's premier Naval installations, Welisara Navy Camp has been turned into the largest more..

Apr 27 (DM) On April 22, Minister Bandula Gunawardana announced that the govt would be taking steps to limit imported goods into the country. He added this action had become necessary to stabilise the local currency. The reason for the import ban - which took many by surprise - was that the country did not have sufficient reserves of foreign exchange. The falling value of the rupee vis-a-vis the dollar, was also a reason forcing the govt to ban the import of particular goods which more..

Apr 27 (FT) Prez Rajapaksa enlightened the Maha Sangha on the measures taken by the Govt to control the spread of COVID-19 and their progress during a meeting held on Friday. Prez explained about the control of the spread, quarantine process, relief granted to people and future measures to revive the national economy. The support rendered by every segment of the society including health, security and more..

Apr 27 (ST) Former Royal College and Kandy Sports Club rugby star Arshad Jamaldeen has been plagued by injuries throughout his career. Despite showing tremendous promise as a school boy with his prowess as a goal kicker, he could not fulfill his potential. He was forced to spend lengthy periods off the field in rehabilitation while a freak accident nearly ended his career prematurely two years ago. His comeback bid seemed to be put on hold with the Coronavirus outbreak more..

Apr 27 (Island) As the merciful month of Ramadhan descends upon us yet again, Muslims, not only in SL but all over the world are faced with difficulties in performing their communal religious rites due to social distancing imposed by COVID -19 preventive measures. Let�s reflect on its virtues and remind ourselves of the conditions of observance of the fast, its restrictions and constraints and prepare ourselves to benefit from it. In the context of the Islamic religion, fasting is not just a ritual. more..

Apr 27 (ST) COVID-19 pandemic may have temporarily stalled Dinesh Chandimal�s bid to cement his place in the national side after making a successful return to Test cricket in December. Unfazed by this setback, the former SL captain is confident of representing the country in all three formats of the game once again when normalcy returns. The last few months have been a rollercoaster ride for Chandimal. After being sidelined for seven months, he scored a gritty more..

Apr 27 (FT) COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has affected many countries. It has infected over 2.6 million people and resulted in over 180,000 deaths as of 23 April 2020. In SL, since the diagnosis of its first patient in late January, by mid-April 2020, a total of 330 confirmed patients and seven deaths have been reported. Understandably the priority has been to manage the health emergency and cognisance must be stronger on the knock-on impacts globally, regionally and nationally which more..

Apr 27 (DM) Arrangements have been made to station the members of security forces who go on leave and return in several schools in Colombo. Accordingly, several schools including Royal College Primary section, D.S. Senanayake, Mahanama, Thurstan and Hindu Colleges in Colombo are to be used to station the security forces members who return from leave. A principal of a leading school in Colombo confirmed this situation. "These schools are not to be used as quarantine centers more..

Apr 27 (AD) SriLankan Airlines has clarified the details of social media posts that are currently circulating, implying that the national carrier has charged an excessive sum of money from passengers who were on a specially-operated flight to repatriate stranded SL students from India. In a statement, SriLankan Airlines stated that the above-mentioned flight was �specifically operated as a special flight, based on the request made by more..

Apr 27 (Island) The newly elected Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association officials will have a gigantic task ahead not only in concluding the stalled schools cricket tournaments due to coronavirus lockdown but also to steer the association when normalcy returns. The new officials who were elected just a couple of days before the lockdown was imposed are confident that the association would get the support needed from both the Ministry of Education and Sri Lanka Cricket. more..

Apr 27 (CT) Two time netball Asian Cup winning coach and Olympian Thilaka Jinadasa has confirmed she is expecting to join Gateway College as the Team Leader in Sports Development. Earlier on Sunday there was surprising news of trouble behind the scenes in the Netball coaching set-up and that head coach Thilaka Jinadasa had decided to quit and handed over her resignation letter to SL Netball Federation (SLNF) after a successful three years of immense service towards more..

Apr 27 (Island) Secretary to the Foreign Relations Ministry, Ravinatha Aryasinha, has said that SL recently sought additional time from Kuwait to bring back those who had been staying there illegally, though they were granted an amnesty to leave the country voluntarily. According to the Foreign Relations Ministry, SL couldn�t undertake a large repatriation programme as quarantine facilities, currently available here, more..

Apr 27 (ST) While private power producers have been largely unaffected by the COVID-19 lockdown as their units are operating, the biggest problem they face is the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) delaying payments. All mini hydros, wind and solar power units are connected to the national grid and the CEB pays for this private power generation. �So far we have received only the December payments and nothing after that,� said one industry source. LVL Energy Fund Ltd, in a statement more..

Apr 27 (Island) The Govt Medical Officers� Association (GMOA), wrote to Head of the anti Covid-19 task force, army commander, Lt. Gen Shavendra Silva that coronavirus patients were now being detected from areas that were previously considered low risk. GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge has said that there is now evidence that Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Ratnapura, Polonnaruwa, Moneragala, Ampara, Trincomalee & Hambantota have also become vulnerable. more..

Apr 27 (Island) Top Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) spokesperson, Dr. Harsha de Silva, said that the Supreme Court interpretation would be necessary to prevent an unprecedented and unwarranted Constitutional crisis over President Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s refusal to reconvene parliament ahead of the June 02 deadline to meet again in terms of the Constitution. The Constitution stipulates that the new parliament meets more..

Apr 27 (Island) Attorney General's Department, whose activities were suspended due to COVID-19 fears, would reopen today with the approval of the Director General of Health Services, Coordinating Officer of the AG, Senior State Counsel, Nishara Jayaratne said. A PCR test conducted on a security officer, attached to the AG's Department, who was suspected of having COVID-19, came up negative and the AG asked Director General of Health Services, Anil Jasinghe, whether they could more..

Apr 27 (AD) Tri-forces personnel on leave, who are unable to find transport to return to their respective camps and bases, are requested to report to the closest camp, says the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva. The Army Chief has said that Tri-forces personnel will be provided transport facilities to report back to their respective locations. Earlier today (26), leave and short passes granted to tri-forces personnel were cancelled until further notice. more..

Apr 27 (DM) Ministry of Health has sought 1000 body bags from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to dispose bodies during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Additional Secretary (Medical Services) at the Ministry of Health Dr. Sunil De Alwis said the bags were required to dispose bodies of people who may die of various causes. He dismissed speculation that spread on social media more..

Apr 27 (ST) The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has written to the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) urging it to reopen the stock market which was shut due to the curfew imposed owing to COVID-19. The stock market has been closed for more than a month, since March 20. The letter was sent on Tuesday outlining certain measures that can be taken to facilitate share trading. The Business Times found out that this action was precipitated by the WFE more..

Apr 27 (DN) The Govt has imposed a curfew islandwide today (27), in view of facilitating the return of Tri Forces personnel who are on leave to their respective camps following the cancellation of all Tri Forces leave. Earlier, the curfew was to be lifted this morning in all areas other than four districts (Colombo, Puttalam, Kalutara and Gampaha). Tri Forces personnel who are required to return to their camps will be provided with transport facilities by the Forces. more..

Apr 27 (EN) Sri Lanka�s Coronavirus count has risen to 523 with by 2300hours the health ministry said with more sailors from the Welisara camp becoming confirmed and country under curfew to bring back military personnel on leave and identify contacts, officials said. An army camp in Seeduwa had also been locked down with an army officer who was married to a navy officer being confirmed with Coronavirus. more..

Apr 27 (DN) GMOA has received reliable information on an attempt now being made to recruit a group of medical students who failed the ERPM exam (Act 16 Exam) as MBBS doctors using COVID-19 situation and misleading the Govt, GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge said. According to Dr. Aluthge, the information has been received from reliable sources including the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). Accordingly the GMOA will make a formal request today from the Health Services Director General more..

Apr 27 (Island) Claims that a dog, in Suduwella, Ja-Ela, where a large number of COVID-19 cases were reported, had contracted Covid-19 were false and media should act responsibly, President of SL Veterinary Association (SLVA) and Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Surgery. Dr. Niranjala de Silva said. Commenting on media reports and claims made by senior health officers on the matter, she said that there was no evidence that COVID-19 could be transmitted from domestic animals to humans. more..

Apr 27 (EN) India has gifted a consignment of medical gloves to Sri Lanka to fight a Coronavirus pandemic as infected sailors involved in Coronavirus quarantine work triggered a spike in numbers. �In this time of crisis, India will continue to share its resources and expertise with its friends and partners,� India� High Commission in Colombo said. On April 07, India gifted 13 tonnes of medicines to Sri Lanka. India is also conducting online training courses on managing more..

Apr 27 (CT) As many as twelve Pakistani first-class cricketers and three tennis players have got stuck in Sri Lanka due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As all the international flights have been suspended in and out of the island nation, these 15 sportspeople have been locked down in Sri Lanka. With the entire world serving a lockdown, it has been a testing time for these sportspersons. All sporting have also been suspended across the globe, which has also stopped their source of income. more..

Apr 27 (EN) SL�s rupee saw trades in the spot market around 194.00 to the US dollar in intra-day trades Monday, down from 192.20/193.00 at close on Friday, while one weeks were also quoted around the same levels. One week dollars were quoted around 193.75/194.50 to the US dollar in mid-day trade Monday in the one week forward market from around 193.50/194.50 Friday. Rupee closed around 192.20/193.00 to the US dollar on interventions in the spot market Friday while more money was printed data showed. more..

Apr 27 (EN) Seven major political parties are urging Prez Rajapaksa to rescind the dissolution order issued on the last Parliament and reconvene the House so that the country can face the growing threat from the COVID 19 epidemic. They are pledging their joint unconditional support to the Prez in Parliament to solve the impending crisis. In a document released today April 27 the parties point out that the optimism that prevailed in the country until a few weeks ago more..

Apr 27 (AAP) The federal govt has been ordered to pay a Tamil family more than $200,000 in legal fees over their bid to stay in Australia. Priya and Nades Murugappan and their Australian-born daughters Kopika and Tharunicaa, aged four and two, have spent more than two years in detention fighting their deportation to SL. Federal Court Justice Mark Moshinsky ordered the family's costs of $206,934.33 be paid, after they successfully argued their youngest daughter was denied procedural fairness more..