Jun 6 (CT) The cause of death of the black panther found caught in a trap at an estate in Maskeliya on 29 May was allegedly due to injuries caused to its trachea, oesophagus and lungs, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Department's (WCD) Health Centre, Dr. Tharaka Prasad said. The autopsy was conducted at the Peradeniya University's Veterinary Faculty. The report will be handed over to Court, more..

Jun 6 (CT) Former Ministers Champika Ranawaka, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne and Arjuna Ranatunga and former MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake are due to be summoned before the PCoI to investigate allegations of political victimisation, it is learnt. It has been revealed at the PCoI that these persons had allegedly pressurised AG's Dept, CID and FCID to take revenge from Former MPs of JO during the tenure of the UNF led good governance Govt, and from persons engaged in private businesses. more..

Jun 6 (CT) The Department of Forest Conservation is not sufficiently active with regard to the conservation of the Southern area of the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, claimed Convener of the Rainforest Protectors Organisation, Jayantha Wijesingha. "We have a lot of conservation problems in the Southern part of the Reserve, particularly in the areas of Neluwa, Lankagama, Pitadeniya, Deniyaya and Sooriyakanda. These areas face illegal sand mining and timber rackets to bush meat trade, more..

Jun 6 (CT) The Department of Govt Printing (DGP), which is presently printing Ballot Papers for the upcoming 2020 General Election, had halted the printing of ballot papers for five districts on 4 June noon, allegedly as per instructions from the Election Commission (EC). The districts are Colombo, Kalutara, Kurunegala, Moneragala and Trincomalee. The order to print 17 million Ballot Papers for forthcoming election more..

Jun 6 (AD) A group of Sri Lankans in Germany have been brought back to the island this evening. A SriLankan Airlines flight, which took off from Hamburg in Germany, has landed at Mattala Rajapaksa Int'l Airport with 36 Sri Lankans aboard. These expatriates are civil ship crew members who were stranded at foreign ports. Meanwhile, a group of 42 returnees from Malaysia, Korea and the UK who were quarantined at the facility set up at Ayurvedic Hospital in Rajagiriya, more..

Jun 6 (CT) For the first time, Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) will be fielding 10 candidates in Northern Province under the CWC Cockerel symbol at the upcoming General Election. CWC had previously fielded many candidates in the North under various alliances, but this is the first time that these new candidates will represent the CWC's symbol. There are around 120,000 Tamils of Indian origin living in the Northern Province from the time the late S. Thondaman led CWC. more..

Jun 6 (ST) After a ding-dong battle with govt officials, rice millers won the day this week in a long-drawn-out dispute over the price of rice. It was only last week that the Chairman of CAA, retired Major-General Shantha Dissanayake, accompanied by a team from the STF, visited a leading miller and urged him to put out stocks or face action. On Wedn, however, the millers won. They were allowed to put up their prices. more..

Jun 6 (ST) Health Ministry had provided guidelines for the Education Ministry to reopen schools after the prolonged closure had resulted in the loss of more than 300 educational hours. Accordingly teams from the Education Ministry backed by health authorities and zonal education officers will visit the schools next week to ensure the guidelines are being implemented. Setting up facilities to wash hands outside the gate, inside the premises and in play areas, ensuring that social distance more..

Jun 6 (AD) Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka have moved up to 1,810 following the detection of three more virus-positive patients this evening. One of them is a returnee from Kuwait undergoing quarantine at the facility in Kuwait and 3 navy men at the Pampaimadu. Earlier today, five from SL Navy tested positive for the virus. Total of 10 virus infections were confirmed so far within the day. SL�s recoveries tally escalated to 891 as a total of 33 coronavirus patients, more..

Jun 6 (CT) Authorities in the foreign employment industry called on the country's national airline to reduce at least 50% of the passenger load when operating repatriation flights from COVID-19-hit West Asian destinations, to maintain social distancing. The crowded planeloads of passengers from West Asian destinations has led to a fast spread of the COVID-19 virus among the returnees and this should never be the case, more..

Jun 7 (SO) Supreme Court judgment last week on the dissolution of Parliament is a vindication of Prez Rajapaksa�s actions. The Court verdict made it clear that Prez Rajapaksa had acted within the confines of the Constitution in dissolving Parliament after it had run its course for four and a half years. Apex Court had also in principle accepted the argument that a dead Parliament cannot be recalled back to life. In the backdrop of the massive mandate given to Prez Rajapaksa on Nov 16, 2019, more..

Jun 7 (SO) The recently nourished Mount Lavinia beach has eroded exponentially; washing away millions of rupees of public money into the ocean and the public trust along with it. The issue hit the spotlight when a series of photographs started circulating online of the scenic strip of Mount Lavinia beach adjacent to the famous Mt Lavinia hotel haphazardly filled with sand, covering the iconic rock formation - sparking a social media backlash. The 890 million rupee-beach nourishment more..

Jun 7 (CT) Although the islandwide curfew has been relaxed and the country will soon be reopened for tourists, people have not been allowed to gather for prayers at religious sites, creating ripples of disturbance among the devout. Meanwhile, PHIs demanded the Operational Guidelines on Preparedness and Response for the COVID-19 outbreak for Work Settings be amended, pointing out that some of the guidelines more..

Jun 7 (Island) As public optimism grows that the lock down/covid restrictions would be further relaxed this week, a short reader's letter that we publish today raises a question that is in many people's minds. Did not the good sense that applied in imposing an island-wide curfew on Poson Day (Friday) and the day before not apply to late CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman's funeral upcountry? True, a curfew was imposed in the Nuwara Eliya district on the Poson and pre-Poson days. more..

Jun 7 (ST) The Supreme Court this week dismissed in two sentences, petitions relating to the constitutionality of Executive Presidential decisions. It disallowed the petitioners Leave to Proceed with their cases thus not having to give detailed reasons for their decision. This decision has legitimised those Executive decisions challenged before the court though one of the issues, that of holding � or not holding a parliamentary election on June 20 now is of academic interest. more..

Jun 7 (SO) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said since the inception, those in the Opposition under the pretext of the Covid-19 pandemic engaged in a deliberate attempt to postpone elections due to their division and political bankruptcy. They tried their best to postpone the election and this can be clearly understood when one looks at those who had filed Fundamental Rights petitions. more..

Jun 7 (TM) Supreme Court decision last Tuesday (2) to dismiss the fundamental rights (FR) petitions challenging the date to hold the next general election surprised no one, and now it is up to the Election Commission (EC) which meets tomorrow, to decide as to when it can conduct the long-delayed poll. Less than 24 hours after the court verdict, Health Ministry handed over a copy of the health guidelines for conducting the poll to the EC Chairman, indicating the urgency more..

Jun 7 (ST) My dear Coronavirus, I thought I must write to you to let you know that although you may have caused death and distress around the world, you have met your match in this great land of ours. There is good reason to believe that we have found the perfect solution for you - and that your days in Paradise may be numbered. It is true that you are still infecting our citizens and the number of people who are affected continue to rise, now amounting close to 2,000, but we have been told more..

Jun 7 (SO) The Order dismissing the Fundamental Rights petitions in the dissolution case, was a deserved slap on the face of the Opposition and the so-called activist fringe. But it was also a deserved slap on the face of some Colombo Uni legal pundits and others of that ilk who were aiding and abetting these agent provocateurs. M.A. Sumanthiran, Counsel for one of the petitioners who later morphed in the duration of the case to lead Counsel, was intimidating to the point of haranguing more..

Jun 7 (TM) The much-anticipated verdict of the Supreme Court (SC) on the fundamental rights (FR) petitions filed challenging the date of holding the 2020 general election, finally came through last week after a marathon 10-day period where the court heard submissions from all stakeholders. The SC bench comprising Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justices Buwaneka Aluwihare, Sisira de Abrew, Priyantha Jayawardena, and Vijith Malalgoda finally dismissed all petitions last Tue (2), more..

Jun 7 (CT) The 5-Judge Bench of the SC on Tuesday (2) declined to grant leave to proceed with the seven Fundamental Rights petitions challenging 20 June as the date set by the Election Commission, for the 2020 General Election and the Gazette Notification issued by the Prez dissolving Parliament. Bench deemed that there was no legal standing for the perusal of the Fundamental Rights petitions and therefore the Court decided to more..

Jun 7 (Island) Former great Kumar Sangakkara has been highly sought after for online interactions conducted by former players during the lockdown and in one such video conference he told former Zimbabwe int'l Pommie Mbangwa that Kusal Mendis is the player to watch for in the future. Since making his international debut in 2015, Mendis (25) has come up with some stunning knocks but has lacked consistency. Sangakkara was confident that Mendis will turn out to be the match winner more..

Jun 7 (ST) Bids for international media rights contract for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) for the three years starting from April 2020 is due on June 15. The board is now selling media rights as one package combining television, radio and digital platforms as opposed to their previous attempt to sell it as two packages � one for TV and radio and another for digital platforms. The package covers national team cricket matches taking place in SL and covering all territories outside Sri Lanka. more..

Jun 7 (ST) The proposed ban on the age-old practice of using saliva to shine the ball may make cricket dull and boring, says skipper Dimuth Karunaratne. He urged cricket administrators to find an alternative other than sweat to find a balance between the bat and the ball. The ICC cricket committee, led by former India captain Anil Kumble, recently pushed for a ban on the use of saliva to combat the coronavirus threat. more..

Jun 7 (ST) SLC have not given up hopes of playing India and Bangladesh at home on a rescheduled date this year after country�s cricket calendar was put on complete jeopardy following COVID-19 outbreak. Indians are due to play 3 ODIs and 3 T20s from June 24 to July 11 in SL followed by a three Test series involving Bangladesh from July 23 to Aug 12. Even though the Indian series is yet to be officially cancelled, there remains no chance of playing it on schedule with restricted travel. more..

Jun 7 (ST) Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company plc and associated Merrill J. Fernando Charitable Foundation on Wednesday initiated the second phase of its COVID-19 response with the presentation of 10,000 testing kits, virus collection swabs and RNA Mini kits at a cost of Rs. 44 million to Minister of Pavithra Wanniarachichi. The donation was made by staff and workers of Dilmah. Also present were Health Secretary Dr. S.H. Munasinghe and Dr. Janaka Sri Chandragupta, more..

Jun 7 (SO) As many as 39 players and officials in a sport that critics say is akin to chuck gudu went on joy ride at December�s South Asian Games (SAG) while a cycling event was fixed and legitimate boxers were replaced according to Probe report. Does any SL sports fan know of a sport called Kho Kho. As the name alone may arouse curiosity and raise questions, it was bemusing yet true that SL had sent 30 players & 9 officials more..

Jun 7 (TM) Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world and contributes heavily to Sri Lanka�s GDP. The industry is currently facing its worst crisis ever. With the Govt now planning to reopen Sri Lanka for tourists soon, here are a few strategies to overcome post-Covid industry challenges under different areas. Tourists who have a higher purchasing capacity could be the target market as they can afford to hire a vehicle and separate rooms or villas during their stay in Sri Lanka, more..

Jun 7 (EN) Sri Lanka�s self-imposed import embargo which came in the wake of a bout of money printing that created forex shortages will disrupt business activity on top of a Coronavirus epidemic, public traded Hunter and Company said. Hunter and Company said revenues were 803.8 million rupees for the March 2020 quarter and full year turnover was 3,175 million rupees in stock exchange filing. The firm was unable to submit full accounts in time due to Coronavirus lockdowns. more..

Jun 7 (AD) PCoI probing the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks heard more evidence today (6) which contradicts statements made by police officers. It heard that the testimony given by then-SSP of Mount Lavinia Muditha Pussella before the commission saying that there was a meeting on the security of the St. Mary�s Church in Dehiwala prior to the attacks is completely false. The statement was given by parish priest of St. Mary�s Church. more..

Jun 7 (SO) SLC came back strongly to defend current members of the team after it was reported by some sections of the media on Wednesday that three players are under investigation by the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit. It had been reported, according to SLC, that Sports Minister Dallas Alahapperuma had said at a function on Tuesday that three players of the team are presently under investigation by the ICC. But SLC countering the Media report said in a Statement that Minister Alahapperuma more..

Jun 7 (CT) The COVID-19 pandemic in the South Indian State of Tamil Nadu, along with turbulent weather patterns, has seen a near zero presence of foreign poachers in the country's territorial waters over the past three months, a fisheries activist said. Earlier, thousands of Indian fishermen were known to poach in the country's Northern waters on a daily basis, but this trend has come to near zero, Advisor with the Indo-Lanka Fisherman's Welfare Programme, S.P. Anthony Muttu said. more..

Jun 7 (ST) With postal workers planning to begin an island-wide go-slow campaign from Monday over a decision to scrap overtime payments, the Govt has invited postal trade unions for talks to resolve the issue that could affect the upcoming parliamentary election. Postal unions are planning to launch trade union action over the Postal Department�s move to close post and sub post offices on Saturdays and to scrap more..

Jun 7 (ST) Two Sri Lankan men have been jailed over forged Singapore documents. Pushparaj Kapil, 21, and Ramachandran Kriysso Prasshad, 32, were convicted and sentenced to eight months' jail each on April 28 and June 4 respectively, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a statement on Saturday. Kapil was convicted over having a false Singapore passport and a forged Singapore identity card. Prasshad was convicted over abetting Kapil to obtain these forged documents. more..

Jun 7 (SO) Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) and over 20 civil society organisations will file legal action next week against the alleged colossal damage to the coast and the alleged loss of public money amounting to around Rs. 890 million by the Mount Lavinia beach nourishment project, a top official of CEJ said. �Over 20 civil society organisations comprising human rights, environment and social justice have joined in seeking justice to prevent the colossal damage to the coast more..

Jun 7 (Island) Commissioner-General of Prisons has been given the marching orders amidst flak from the higher echelons of power that criminal activities continued unabated within the country�s jails with the alleged connivance of some prison officers. The move to replace the prisons chief came after Prez Rajapaksa said that "specific information relating to criminal activities and drug peddling operated from prisons has been received and more..

Jun 7 (Island) The UNP and SJB have come out strongly against the govt pursuing costly beach nourishment projects at a time when people were suffering due to the adverse impact of the deadly Coronavirus disease. A spokesperson for the UNP said that the Rajapaksa govt liked to believe that the spread of the Coronavirus had been brought under control and the country had returned to normal but the number of infected persons was increasing by the day. more..

Jun 7 (SO) A silver lining is dawning for the pandemic-hit export sector as new orders start coming for goods that are in demand due to Covid-19, throwing a lifeline to exporters desperately looking for something new to boost the industry. According to the EDB, the apex body driving exports, new orders have been received in sectors such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), agriculture and food processing. �We see that new orders are coming in especially for more..

Jun 7 (TM) Health Ministry has no statistics on exact number of dead bodies compulsorily ordered for cremation, according to Epidemiology Unit Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Sudath Samaraweera. He said that the decision to cremate a dead body should be taken by the officials of the relevant hospital. He reiterated the necessity of following health guidelines issued by the Govt when handling the deaths of Covid-19 patients more..