Jun 20 (DN) Taking into consideration the current situation in the country, the historic Kandy Esala Perahera will be held without public participation this year, Diyawadana Nilame of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Pradeep Nilanga Dela Bandara said. The Diyawadana Nilame expressed these views to the media after the preliminary discussions regarding the Kandy Esala Perahera, which was held last Thursday at the Multi Purpose Building Complex at the Temple of Sacred Tooth Relic. more..

Jun 20 (NR) The SL Army says President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on the recommendations of Lt Gen Shavendra Silva promoted 71 officers. The Military Secretariat announced the decision was reached considering their commendable services and priority for rectification of granting of promotions. The Army said 41 Colonels were promoted to the rank of Brigadier and 30 Lieutenant Colonels to the rank of Colonel effective the 15th of June. more..

Jun 20 (DM) Former Minister Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman claimed that he is more dangerous than Covid-19. �Chairman of the Karthivu local govt body has said that I am more dangerous than the coronavirus. That is true. When I was a member of the LTTE, I killed some 2000 to 3000 SL army personnel in one night at Elephant Pass. I have killed more in Killinochchi. That is certainly higher than the number of more..

Jun 20 (Island) The chance arrest of a drug peddler at Jayasumanarama Road, Ratmalana on May 22 has led to a drug dealer�s bank account. The drug dealer surrendered to police on Wednesday afternoon through an attorney-at-law. Police headquarters said that the suspect had given himself up as law enforcement authorities were hunting for him. Having established the identity of the wanted man, the police, having obtained an order from the Mount Lavinia Magistrate, checked the suspect�s account more..

Jun 20 (AD) More Sri Lankan expatriates stranded in India due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic have been repatriated today. Two flights belonging to the national carrier SriLankan Airlines had returned to the Bandaranaike International Airport early this morning, with a total of 194 Sri Lankans from India aboard. Reports said 150 of these Sri Lankans were from the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the remaining 44 were from the western peninsular region of Maharashtra. more..

Jun 20 (EN) Pohottuwa politico Mahindananda Aluthgamage is firing off controversial statements in rapid succession these days to help keep him in the limelight, but dredging up the controversy that the 2011 Cricket World Cup final was fixed for Sri Lanka to lose is maybe a misstep. Match-fixing is generally blamed on the players in the game, and int'l cricketers have gone to jail for the offence other countries. more..

Jun 20 (TM) Former UNP MP Harin Fernando has urged former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage to complain to the International Cricket Council (ICC) with evidence over his shocking claim that the ICC World Cup 2011 final was fixed. Fernando taking to his twitter handle said, �Former Sports Minister Mahindananda rather than making unsubstantiated wild allegations he should complain to ICC with evidence as I did when I was the Sports Minister on a different fixing approach.� more..

Jun 20 (EN) SL will call competitive bids to extract oleoresin from 6,200 hectares of re-forested pine coming under two govt agencies. The re-forested pine plantations come under Land Reform Commission and the Dept of Forests. The cabinet of ministers had approved a proposal to call for competitive bids to extract oleoresin. SL planted several species of exotic tree species including pine on grassy slopes mostly in the hill country where native species were not taking hold. more..

Jun 20 (DM) Beach in the Colombo Port City is scheduled to open for the public next year and the Port City Colombo Pvt Ltd has accelerated construction work of the project to enable completion by 2021, Secretary to the Ministry of Urban Development, Water Supply and Housing, Priyath Banduwickreme said. A 2km long stretch of beach is now being built with a several recreational facilities including a beach park, more..

Jun 20 (Island) CID informed Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake that Mohamed Zahran Hashim, who led the Easter Sunday carnage, had preached to children in Madarasas that they should be ready to sacrifice their lives in the name of Islam. CID in their submissions said that Zahran had preached at Al-Zuhariya Madarasa in Puttalam in Jan 2019 and forbade the Muslim children to speak in Sinhala. He had told them that if the students would follow his orders their families would be supported. more..

Jun 20 (EN) Sri Lanka banks would be allowed to buy sovereign bonds of the country which are trading at a steep discount provided the dollars are new inflows, central bank said. On March 19, the central bank banned banks from buying sovereign bonds outright for three months, after rate cuts and liquidity injections triggered forex shortages sending the rupee crashing. On June 19, the central bank said commercial banks and National Savings Banks should not buy �SL Int'l Sovereign Bonds more..

Jun 20 (AD) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa turns 71 today (20). In view of his birthday, the President has participated in religious observances at several places of worship. Earlier today, visiting the sacred city of Anuradhapura, President sought blessings at Ruwanweliseya Stupa and held an alms giving at Mirisawetiya Stupa. Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, born to former Cabinet Minister D. A. Rajapaksa and more..

Jun 20 (CT) The previous UNF led Govt had not made any of its payments to the construction sector, claimed former MP Shehan Semasinghe yesterday (18). �The entire country knows that the previous Government did not pay any of what was due to the construction sector. �It was impossible to take a loan from a financial institution back then. So, I would like to ask the Opposition what their problem is with the President urging the Central Bank to provide relief to the public.� more..

Jun 20 (DM) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said the National Transport Commission (NTC) had taken steps to introduce a mobile Passenger App for passengers who use the SL Transport Board and private buses by next week. He said the decision was taken considering complaints received by the Ministry regarding the difficulties faced by passengers when using public transport. Minister advised the NTC to implement the App to manage the time of passengers and to prevent more..

Jun 20 (CI) SLC is looking at starting up a T20 league in August, even as uncertainty continues to cloud inbound tours from India and Bangladesh. Various SLC boards have tried repeatedly to get a major T20 tournament off the ground and failed. But with SL having managed the Covid-19 crisis better than many other nations so far, SLC believes it has an opportunity this year to safely host a tournament with significant more..

Jun 20 (AD) Sri Lanka has decided to halt the Colombo light rail project, funded by Japan International Cooperation (JICA) as it was too costly and brought low returns, Govt ministers said. "The light rail project stretching from Colombo to Malabe was not cancelled by JICA. It was in fact cancelled by the govt of SL due to it being too costly and not productive enough," Co-Cabinet Spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena told reporters at the press conference held yesterday (18) more..

Jun 20 (NABD) Chief Selector Minhajul Abedin felt that the Tiger�s upcoming Sri Lanka tour in July was likely to be postponed but hoped the series could take place at a later time this year. Minhajul told media that the series could be pushed back to September and the training of cricketers might resume in July, depending on the pandemic situation. Though the two-Test series was yet to be officially rescheduled, chances of it taking place at the slotted time seemed unlikely. more..

Jun 20 (CT) Police are searching for a confidence-trickster and his female accomplice who are alleged to have defrauded millions of rupees from their unsuspecting victims with the bogus promise of ensuring a safe passage to Italy. According to the Police, the suspects operating in the Marawila, Thuththiripitiya, Dummalasooriya and in the adjoining areas of the Chilaw PD are alleged to have persuaded dozens of persons to part with more..

Jun 20 (ST) With the coronavirus outbreak, disinfectant fluids (sanitisers) became prominent among essential items. There is high demand, and vendors have been producing substandard hand sanitisers. Due to the scare of a widespread Covid-19 outbreak, people tend to use disinfect fluids continuously. Public and private institutions in the Kalutara District had used these disinfectant fluids for a long time. It was reported that some people who used antiseptic fluids at the entrances more..

Jun 20 (DM) The heartbreaking video footage of a dying mother elephant with a baby by its side was reported from Galgamuwa. The postmortem examination confirmed that the elephant had died of septicaemia. However, the baby elephant had gone missing since June 16 and DWC officials in Galgamuwa, Nikaweratiya and Mahawewa have launched search operations to locate the baby elephant. Even if it is found, conservationists question its chances of survival given its more..

Jun 20 (ST) Pasindu Silva, the 21-year-old J'pura Uni student who was seriously injured on March 6 in an alleged ragging incident, is home after weeks of treatment. But he has no recollection of campus life or the incident that had left him in hospital. On Thursday, Pasindu left hospital after a medical battle lasting 98 days at the National Hospital�much of it intensive care. His schoolmates and relatives gave him a beautiful welcome. more..

Jun 20 (ST) Hopes of delivering her baby back in SL shattered, a 25-year-old woman heavy with child is distraught and desperate in Kuwait. Poornima Prasadari, along with her husband, two-year-old son and father from Kandy had gone on holiday to Hawalli, Kuwait on Jan 26, where her mother was based as she was working there. At that time, they did not know what awaited them. Poornima was due to fly back home on Apr 26, but the new coronavirus made sure that this journey was not to be, more..

Jun 20 (FT) When the pandemic hit the shores of SL, and the Govt declared a curfew on 20 March, no one could have imagined the seriousness of its repercussions to every aspect of life then onwards. Schools were shut, cultivation ceased, offices remained closed and social interactions ground to a halt. In the midst of the fear and the insecurity that gripped us all, we tend to forget its impact on the children in our country. They find it difficult to cope with their new normal away from schools. more..

Jun 20 (ST) Rippling effect of COVID-19 that paralysed households, restricting daily life and even the purchase of basic foods, caused no apparent upset to the supply chain for drugs, alcohol and tobacco, with addicts being able to buy their daily dose with surprising ease. During the lockdown period the availability of alcohol and tobacco continued, with several businesses using social media to advertise the availability of more..

Jun 20 (CT) Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT) is preparing the ground to welcome tourists on 1 August, as scheduled by the Govt. Ceylon Today learns that they would send teams to visit star class hotels if there are bookings by travellers to certify that these hotels are suitable for occupancy and have COVID-19 clearance as well. An outsourced company would handle this mission. Director General of the SLTDA, Dhammika Wijesinghe said they have posted the set of guidelines on the SLTDA website more..

Jun 20 (FT) Despite being hit by import restrictions on maize, Sri Lanka�s poultry producers are planning to capture markets vacated by COVID-19-hit foreign companies to export to the Middle East and elsewhere spurred by Govt promises to assist in finding new markets. Negotiations are underway with several Middle East countries including Oman and Kuwait to secure export orders said All Island Poultry Association (AIPA) Chairman Ajith Gunasekara. more..

Jun 20 (ST) Attempts to prevent criminals from directing drug smuggling and other serious crimes from prison are faced with a multitude of challenges, including severe overcrowding, an under-strength prison intelligence unit, corruption and inmates resorting to all kinds of subterfuges. The authorities have gone into high gear since Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa directed that immediate action be taken to halt crimes more..

Jun 20 (CT) Various extremist organisations have taken steps to send persons entertaining extremist ideologies to several public sector institutions, including the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) and the Sri Lanka Foreign Service (SLFS), claimed Seemak Sinna Lebbe, a member of an organisation of Sufi Muslims based in Kattankudi. He said this on 18 June, before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed to probe the Easter Sunday, 21 April 2019 bombings. more..

Jun 20 (AD) The number of patients who recovered from the COVID-19 increased to 1,472 today as a total of 26 more virus-positive regained health. These recoveries are reported from the IDH (14), Welikanda Base Hospital (2), Kattankudy Base Hospital (4), Minuwangoda Base Hospital (2), Hambantota District General Hospital (2) and Theldeniya Base Hospital (2). The positive cases of novel coronavirus confirmed in the country hiked to 1,950 on Friday as 3 more arrivals tested +ve more..

Jun 20 (Island) Election Commission member Prof. Ratnajeevan Hoole recently raised the failure on the part of Parliament to amend laws that prohibited the display of cutouts and banners at the parliamentary polls. Prof. Hoole was responding to Secretaries of political parties who requested the EC not to implement the law. Instead allow the display of cutouts and banners regardless of the law. more..

Jun 21 (SO) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who turned 71 yesterday, is very much a hands-on and results-oriented leader who never takes no for an answer. That sentence, in a nutshell, describes President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose strong and decisive leadership has been pivotal in Sri Lanka�s battle against the Coronavirus. Yet, there are signs that some other structures of the Government are sometimes not on the same page with the President either by design or by default. more..

Jun 21 (TM) Prez Rajapaksa�s now-famous venting of frustration against the Central Bank hierarchy has been the talk of the town in the past week. Opposition parties as expected have been quick to pounce on it and come up with their own interpretations of the episode, some complimentary and others capitalising on the opportunity for some useful pre-election mudslinging. Rather surprisingly, the complimentary remarks came from the beleaguered UNP whose spokesmen were more..

Jun 21 (CT) Director-General of the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL) and Additional Secretary to the President for Foreign Affairs, Admiral Professor Jayanath Colombage talks to Ceylon Today on the country�s security and why the President appointed the Task Force with military personnel taking the lead. He also points out that that the priorities of the Govt have shifted due to more..

Jun 21 (TM) Political parties as well as the Election Commission (EC) last week commenced the preliminary work required to face the upcoming general election. 2020 general election will be one of the most challenging polls to be conducted in the country, given the need to follow Covid-19 control health guidelines. EC met last Tuesday and following discussions on the outcome of the mock elections held in several areas during last weekend, the Commission settled on the dates to hold more..

Jun 21 (Island) The late Rajan Yatawara, who pioneered SL�s thriving coconut shell-based activated carbon industry and retired as Chairman of the Hayleys conglomerate, once wrote in his chairman�s review in that company�s annual report that many senior managers in our country become managers of routine. This is very true of both public and private sectors, and the force of that statement emerges from Prez Rajapaksa�s recent flaying of senior officials of the Central Bank after more..

Jun 21 (SO) Minister S.M. Chandrasena said the Govt hopes to secure a two-thirds majority at the upcoming General Election to change the 19th Amendment. He said the country�s administration, judiciary and political activities have suffered a setback due to 19 th Amendment. He said the former Yahapalana Govt should be held fully responsible for causing irreparable damage to the country through the 19th Amendment. more..

Jun 21 (ST) Elections Commission (EC) has revised upwardly its estimated cost for the forthcoming general election from Rs. seven billion hoping to keep it below Rs. 10 billion. With 16,263,885 registered voters for the scheduled August 5 elections, it will work out to about Rs. 614,000 per voter to elect 225 members of Parliament, i.e. Rs. 44 million to elect one MP! That is the price of a new Parliament. All this, on top of having already spent some Rs. seven billion to elect a President. more..

Jun 21 (ST) My dear Mahindananda, I thought I must write to you because you have captured the headlines these days, beating even the coronavirus, by claiming that our World Cup cricket final in 2011 was sold to India. I don�t know whether you realise it, Mahindananda, but it is an explosive allegation to make, nine years later. You have upset many people because you are in fact calling them cheats. Among them are several of our cricketing legends. People like Kumar, who captained our team at that more..