Apr 29 (EN) The govt has extended the validity of curfew passes issued for the month of April until the end of May in an indication that the restrictions on movements will not be relaxed as earlier planned for next week. Police spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said that there will be no requirement for the institutions and individuals who have got curfew passes to carry out essential services including manufacturing to renew the passes. The govt had earlier announced that the curfews will be relaxed and more..

Apr 29 (TM) Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) in a letter to the Act. IGP (Acting) C.D. Wickramaratne has urged that the legal bases for recent arrests for misinformation be reviewed. HRCSL in the letter said, �We have observed an increasing number of such arrests since the issuing of a letter dated 1 April, 2020 by the Media Division of the Police Department to heads of media institutions warning of strict legal action more..

Apr 29 (AD) Elections Commission of SL should convene and take a decision regarding the conduct of the Parliamentary Elections, says Chairman of the Commission Mahinda Deshapriya. He says holding the election should be discussed with all parties concerned. He points out that to hold a free and fair election, the Commission officials, candidates, and the public need at least 35 days to concentrate on election activities. �We cannot conduct an election over dead bodies and patients more..

Apr 29 (EN) Sri Lanka�s govt finances which had started to deteriorate before a Coronavirus pandemic, had been compounded with currency pressure and low forex reserves, Moody�s a rating agency said. �Sri Lanka�s fiscal position was already deteriorating before the ongoing domestic and external shocks,� Moody�s Investors Service, which had put the island�s �B2� rating on watch for downgrade said. �We expect the shocks to further weigh on Sri Lanka�s fragile fiscal position, more..

Apr 29 (FT) SL�s merchandise exports fell by 17.31% to $2.58 billion in the first quarter of 2020, with March predictably suffering the worst decline of 42% due to the rapid expansion of COVID-19 globally impacting vital value chains and suffocating consumer demand. As per latest provisional data, March marked the steepest fall in merchandise exports by 41.93% to $645.98 million compared to $1.12 billion from a year earlier. more..

Apr 29 (AD) All post offices across the island will be operating as usual from the 4th of May, Post Master General announced. Previously, Sri Lanka Post temporarily discontinued its services, up All post offices across the island will be operating as usual from the 4th of May, Post Master General announced. Previously, Sri Lanka Post temporarily discontinued its services, upon measures taken by the govt to curtail the spread of COVID-19 within the country. more..

Apr 29 (TM) Police have commenced an operation to curb and monitor hate speech on social media and have warned of immediate arrest if identified. SP Jaliya Senaratne said that there had been an increase in religious hate speech on social media recently. �We saw a rise in religious hate speech in the past few weeks and have begun monitoring it,� he said. CID was carrying out the operation. �A cyber crimes team in CID is handling initiative and have already identified several leads� more..

Apr 29 (EN) A widely shared blog post written by Executive Director & Fellow of the Institute of Health (IHP) Dr Ravindra Rannan-Eliya earlier this week called for fresh thinking in SL�s approach to containing the COVID-19 as the number of confirmed cases surged past 500. Calling this surge � despite four weeks of curfew � a totally avoidable policy failure, he said: �If accountability meant anything in this country, more..

Apr 29 (TM) 3 more Covid-19 cases have been reported a short while ago, raising the total number of Covid-19 cases in the country to 630. A total of 226 Navy personnel have been infected with COVID-19 so far, Army Commander Lt Gen Shavendra Silva said today. The infected Navy officers include 147 from within the Navy Camp in Welisara and 79 who were on leave. Meanwhile, 2 patients recovered today and were discharged raising the total number of recoveries to 627 . more..

Apr 29 (DM) Facebook is taking on misinformation being spread via its social media network on the coronavirus, officials said. The global social media giant is working with AFP and fact Crescendo in Sri Lanka to debunk false claims. Several Facebook posts have been popping up these days spreading misinformation or unverified information related to the coronavirus. Messages of hate targeting particular communities or groups have also been seen on Facebook during the crisis. more..

Apr 29 (AD) Police says that investigations into the Easter Sunday terror attacks have uncovered a location in Sampur which had been used by the terrorists to carry out weapons training while a certain organization in Puttalam linked to the attackers has also been uncovered. Investigations pertaining to the Easter Sunday attacks are progressing successfully on a new direction, Police Media Spokesman said. more..

Apr 29 (DM) Defence Secretary Maj.Gen. (Rtd) Kamal Gunaratne today requested people not to belittle Navy personnel who were infected with COVID-19 while being engaged in rounding up virus-infected drug addicts and taking them to quarantine centres. He said according to reports some Navy personnel and their families were being vilified in some villages. and requested people not to do so as they had fallen ill in the line of duty in efforts to prevent the spread of the virus more..

Apr 29 (AD) Former Minister and the leader of the ACMC Rishad Bathiudeen has filed a Fundamental Rights petition before the Supreme Court, seeking a court order preventing his arrest by the CID. Acting IGP C.D. Wickramaratne, the DIG in charge of the CID, the Director of the CID and the Attorney General have been named as respondents in the FR petition. In his petition, the former MP states that the CID has commenced an investigation into an alleged incident of transporting voters from Puttalam more..

Apr 29 (TM) The United National Party (UNP) today alleged that the surge in the number of cases in the last few days was a result of Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi disregarding advice from health authorities. The UNP in a press statement today said it was greatly concerned by the recent reports of the increased number of COVID-19 positive cases reported in the country, especially among members of the security forces. more..

Apr 30 (CT) The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the lives of people in SL and across the globe. The President and the Minister of Health have given leadership in responding to this grave public health crisis. Their policy and programming initiatives have been supported by dedicated medical professionals and health workers in the public health system, giving other citizens with different health problems the opportunity to access private hospitals. more..

Apr 30 (CT) During a meeting held on 27 April with the participation of retired heads of defence forces and experts representing the health sector, Prez Rajapaksa arrived at a decision to appoint a fresh Presidential Task Force (PTF) with the objective of ensuring the health security of military personnel at military camps. Western Province Governor, Air Marshal Roshan Gunatilleke, is tasked with leading the newlyappointed Presidential Task Force in preparing, implementing and monitoring more..

Apr 30 (CT) When I started writing this Coronavirus Diary, I had no idea how it was going to develop. We think one thing leads to the other. But Coronavirus is different. It always gets back to itself. It�s not just one thing. It�s everything. You turn on the radio, and more likely than not, you will hear the dreaded word being spoken. Don�t do this, don�t do that. Above all, stay home. Be safe. Be responsible. I know, I�ve been trying my best. more..

Apr 30 (CT) Crisis situations such as COVID 19, exacerbate existing inequalities and vulnerable even more susceptible. The very same physical and social contacts that sustain our societies have become life-threatening. Identifying those at-risk, in situations that are in a constant state of flux, shaped by past socio-economic ruptures, is challenging. Within such a reality, are we learning fast enough to provide the necessary support at the household level, and to ensure that more..

Apr 30 (DM) The talking point in political and civil society circles these days is on the viability of holding the parliamentary election in the midst of the COVID19 crisis engulfing Sri Lanka. The debate has intensified after the Election Commission (EC) had postponed the election to June 20. Many are of the view that elections should not be held until the pandemic has been eradicated from our soil and an All is Clear certificate has been issued by the health authorities. more..

Apr 30 (CT) It is common knowledge that between May and Sept each year, SL is affected by heavy rain, strong winds and flooding due to the Southwest Monsoon season. However, after exhausting so much of our resources in the fight against the global COVID-19 pandemic, are the authorities equipped well enough to handle the oncoming monsoon? In 2016, SL faced one of the biggest floods in its history due to Southwest more..

Apr 30 (Island) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) is planning to put an end to the practice of conducting expensive election campaigns, according to his media division. He said so, at a meeting with a group of prelates, on Wednesday, we are told. He has struck a responsive chord with the public, who are fed up with politics and politicians. Colossal amounts of funds are spent on election propaganda, aimed at duping the people and helping even political dregs get returned. more..

Apr 30 (CT) Colombo Stock Exchange, under the present extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been handicapped due to its several shortcomings. The curfew has highlighted glaring shortcomings of the CSE - resisting modernisation and continuing with archaic practices. It should be pointed out that Millennium IT, a fully SL company which set up the Central Depository System (CDS) in 1991, became a part of the London Stock Exchange while CSE remained virtually more..

Apr 30 (CT) Given the current state of affairs in our country, it is timely to discuss whether there will be a breakdown in public services in the near future. At this juncture, it is expected that there will be a shutdown of some of the govt services from the 5th of June 2020, if the parliament is not reconvened and/or general election is not held. It is important to discuss the above notion of a possible govt shutdown, by drawing attention to the experience of other countries such the United States. more..

Apr 30 (Island) We have crossed one year since those terrible events of 21/4. Painful memories of those shocking attacks on the innocents reverberate as if they occurred yesterday. No believer in any faith could have planned and executed the deadly mission. But some deviants from Islam with Muslim names did. How far have we gone to the bottom of the terror that was unleashed a year ago? President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in his remembrance message, said that although Catholics were targeted, more..

Apr 30 (FT) Moody�s Investors Service yesterday warned the COVID-19 outbreak will exacerbate the Govt�s liquidity and external risks and predicted difficulty in managing the widening Budget deficit as well as attracting non-debt foreign earnings to build reserves. Moody�s has already placed SL currently holding a B2 sovereign rating for a review, which will likely result in a downgrade. Its latest report warned SL was facing more..

Apr 30 (Island) In the recent past, many of us have been talking about our own traditional rice varieties and their medicinal and nutritional values, especially after the COVID-19 virus outbreak. Sri Lanka is one of the Asian countries, which had a rich treasure of over 2,400 traditional rice varieties, with nutritional and medicinal values. They have varied maturity periods and high resistance to extreme climatic conditions, pest and disease attacks, and adoptable to many ecological niches, more..

Apr 30 (TM) App� Lanka is a well-established organisation which is part of a company known as Re-awakening Sri Lanka. Although not so interested in publicity and fame for her work, App� Lanka CEO and Founder Shaan Corea has managed to get by � quite comfortably � with the fulfilment of the organisation�s aim. The purpose of App� Lanka is to be able to come to the aid of Sri Lankans who really need it because indeed, the country belongs to all of us. In this spirit, App� Lanka has discovered more..

Apr 30 (ST) As the number of SL�s COVID-19 patients rises significantly, Govt measures to relax the curfew imposed to contain the spread of disease have become mired in confusion and embarrassing reversals. The latest incident came about early yesterday. A media release issued by Police Headquarters at the unusual time of 1.25 a.m. stated that an islandwide curfew imposed at 8 pm on Fri (24) will be lifted at 5 am on Mon (27). more..

Apr 30 (ST) The Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies in SL (ALFEA) has urged the govt to consider its proposals to revive the foreign employment sector. In a statement it said that the association has submitted short term and long term proposals to the SL Foreign Employment Bureau and the subject minister, adding that such proposals require the approval of the Cabinet. It did not give details about the proposals. �If the govt intervenes in this matter, we would like to state that more..

Apr 30 (Island) The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will have to be cancelled if the coronavirus pandemic isn't brought under control by next year, the organising committee's president warned, ruling out further delays. The comments, in an interview with a Japanese sports daily published Tuesday, come as medical experts doubted whether the pandemic can be sufficiently contained by next year to hold an event drawing participants and spectators from around the world. more..

Apr 30 (FT) The SLPP raised concerns over the legal standing of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MPs led by Sajith Premadasa if Parliament is reconvened, questioning their membership in the UNP. Speaking to reporters, SLPP senior member and former MP Dilan Perera said legality should be explored of how SBJ members could be represented in Parliament if it were to be convened. more..

Apr 30 (Island) Former Police SC paceman and captain Vajira Ranaweera passed away on Tuesday due to a heart ailment. He was 51. An alumni of Dharmapala College, Pannipitiya, Ranaweera rose to prominence as a cricketer after joining SL Police. He shared the new ball for Police from the 1998-99 season in the SLC conducted Premier cricket tournament until giving up the sport in 2007. Ranaweera captained Police SC in the 2004-05 season. more..

Apr 30 (EN) An auction of dollar denominated SL Development Bonds had been undersubscribed with US$ 26 million of securities sold after offering US$ 63 million, data from the state debt office showed. In six month securities US$ 0.50 million of were sold at 5.8%, taking all bids. In 1 year, 3 month SL Development Bonds, US$ 15 million were sold at 6.8% taking all bids. In 30 year SLDBs US$ 1.20 million were sold at 6.7% taking in all bids. In 4-year 9-month SLDBs US$ 1.30 million were more..

Apr 30 (AD) Warning of serious repercussions of SL legislation continuing to remain dissolved amid the coronavirus outbreak, former Minister Mangala Samaraweera has called for an urgent recall of the Parliament. The parliament was dissolved ahead of elections that was scheduled to take place in March, 2020. However, it now stands postponed till June due to the lockdown imposed in the country to curb the spread of COVID-19. more..

Apr 30 (TM) In order to commemorate Earth Day (22), two people with a deep passion for nature got together to discuss a range of topics related to the Earth, specifically in relation to nature in Sri Lanka and how we must appreciate it deeply. Kapila Rasnayaka and Otara Gunewardene had a discussion via Instagram Live on 24 April. Rasnayaka in all his humility was thrilled to be in the presence of one of SL�s biggest nature advocates and expressed how those of his generation more..

Apr 30 (CT) Army Commander Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva has directed it is not compulsory for National athletes attached to the Army to report for duty, although it has been made compulsory for all other military staff. Earlier, Artillery Regiment had ordered their athletes to report to the Army camp in Panagoda prior to the Army Commander's directive. Several athletes, including National athletes attached to the Artillery Regiment, faced a tense situation when one of the athletes more..

Apr 30 (Island) Former PM and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, yesterday said that if the govt reconvened Parliament, there would be no need for all 224 MPs to attend the sitting and just 20 MPs could meet to avoid the impending constitutional crisis. He said the quorum was 20 MPs. Therefore, if the govt decided to reconvene there would be no need for all former MPs to gather there. more..

Apr 30 (DM) Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama, the Consultant Physician at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) said the capacity of the COVID-19 patients at the IDH has exceeded. He said there were 140 COVID-19 patients and 10 more suspected patients undergoing treatment at the IDH. "This is an exceeding of the Hospital capacity. The initial plan was to treat about 120 patients. With the spike in recent navy cases, we took some of them in. We were planning to send about 25 who more..

Apr 30 (Island) We all know that 1996 was a landmark year for Sri Lankan cricket as the national cricket team went onto become World Champions. But the next two years � 1997 and 1998 were equally remarkable as Sri Lanka became a force to be reckoned with in world cricket thanks to some consistent performances. In 1997, Aravinda achieved a unique record. In the SSC Test match against Pakistan he scored twin hundreds 138 not out and 103 not out and remains the only more..