Jun 5 (CT) Sri Lanka is on the alert for the desert locust now threatening Orissa, located in South-East India, Director General of Agriculture, Dr. W.M.W. Weerakoon said yesterday. If it invades Sri Lanka, it may be devastating, he warned. The desert locust has hitherto never invaded Sri Lanka, he said. The current local locust plague which is plaguing certain farmlands in Kegalle, Matara and Kilinochchi is small fry compared to the desert locust, he said. He further said that with the application of chemicals, more..

Jun 5 (DN) A penumbral lunar eclipse will be visible from SL today, starting at 11.15 p.m. It will reach the maximum eclipse at 12:54 am on June 6 when the Moon is closest to the centre of the shadow. The penumbral eclipse will end at 2:34 am on June 6. A penumbral lunar eclipse happens when the Sun, Earth, and the Moon are imperfectly aligned. In this case, the Earth blocks some of the Sun�s light from directly reaching the Moon with the outer part of its shadow, also known as the penumbra. more..

Jun 5 (TM) An official of the US Embassy in SL had forgone the PCR test carried out at BIA upon arrival in Sri Lanka due to diplomatic immunity. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that the US Embassy was responsible for carrying out PCR tests on their officials. �According to diplomatic regulations, the (US) Embassy is responsible to transport the diplomat from the airport according to the Covid-19 procedures and have a proper more..

Jun 5 (DN) Strengthened by our past experiences and inspired by Dhamma, we strive for prosperity. Even whilst facing the prevailing pandemic, we did not deviate from our vision that is built on the civilized culture we inherited from Arahat Mahinda�s arrival in the country. A journey without this reality is not possible for us as Sri Lankans, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated in his message for Poson. The message: �It has been the practice of Buddhists in our country since ancient times more..

Jun 5 (Island) The govt would go all out to minimise human-elephant conflict, using latest innovative technologies. In this regard plans are underway to track wild elephant movement using GPS tags, with the project beginning from A'pura on Monday. It is understood that Wildlife Minister S.M. Chandrasena highly disturbed with the record number of more than 407 elephants deaths and 122 human fatalities last year due to human-elephant conflict is pressing ahead with such new measures. more..

Jun 5 (EN) Finance Ministry has prepared a mini-budget of Rs. 1,043 billion from June to Aug 2020, citing authority given to the Prez under the constitution to spend money in the absence of appropriations approved by parliament. Total of Rs. 644.1 b has been allocated for current spending and Rs. 398.8 b for capital spending from June to August, including debt repayments. Dept of Treasury operations had been allocated more..

Jun 5 (PMD) Every child born in Sri Lanka enjoys the right to easy and equitable access to quality immunization services and the country�s immunization policy is based on the right of a child to receive timely immunization, Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa said. Prez made these comments joining the virtual Global Vaccine Summit 2020 which took place today (4) to raise USD 7.4bn to distribute vaccines to combat infectious diseases such as malaria, cholera, measles and HIV/AIDS more..

Jun 5 (FT) SL's COVID-19 recovery rate dipped below the international recovery rate for the first time yesterday, as 48 new patients tested positive for the virus. The change comes in the backdrop of the Govt deciding to facilitate repatriation of all Sri Lankans wanting to return home. SL recorded a COVID-19 recovery rate of 46.7% in comparison to a 48.33% average global recovery rate. SL had been recording a high recovery rate in comparison since the first local case was detected in March. more..

Jun 5 (TM) Election monitoring groups voiced concerns over the lack of a free and fair election. CaFFE Executive Director Manas Makeen said that there is a serious shortcoming with regard to hosting a fair election. �The Covid-19 pandemic has made it even more unbalanced as the ruling party enjoys and abuses its power,� he said, highlighting the politicisation of the distribution of the Rs. 5,000 voucher during the lockdown. more..

Jun 5 (FT) Some of the viewer responses that I received for my article titled Sri Lanka: Out of the frying pan into the fire published in two newspapers, one in English and the other in Sinhala, and on social media last week called for a solution for the crisis Sri Lanka is facing. First of all, it is important that we identify the core issues of the crisis so that practical solutions can be proposed. The analysis of the crisis can be initiated with some reference to the independence SL gained in 1948. more..

Jun 5 (Island) Unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, and the consequent lockdown and curfew have disrupted the daily lives of people and brought all businesses to a virtual standstill. Businesses in SL are facing the detrimental consequences of this catastrophe as their very survival is now being threatened. The lockdown and other measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in a noticeable drop in the output and income of our economy, which has directly impacted on more..

Jun 5 (FT) A few weeks ago, Tamil news cycles were dominated by coverage of an interview given by TNA Spokesperson M.A. Sumanthiran to a Sinhala media site. During the course of the interview, he made several comments which created controversy and outrage amongst Tamils. The resulting conversation in SL�s English-language spaces however failed to discern the actual issues. Instead, commentators opposed to the idea of Tamil nationalism, both Tamil and Sinhala, focused on the traitorisation more..

Jun 5 (Island) The Cabinet approved two Cabinet papers presented by Minister Bandula Gunawardena. Accordingly, Cabinet approval has been granted to set up ten new universities in Kalutara, Nuwara Eliya, Galle, Hambantota, Matale within this year by using the loan granted by the Asian Development Bank in an efficient manner. In order to fulfil the pledge made by Prez Rajapaksa, the govt has decided to increase the number of university admissions up to 60,000 by 2030. more..

Jun 5 (DM) The Elections Commission will take a mock poll on Sunday at a selected location as a move to determine the actual time required for the conduct of real polls in accordance with the guidelines stipulated by health authorities. Commission�s Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said that the mock poll would be conducted at a town selected on the coastal belt of the country with the participation of around 250 voters. more..

Jun 5 (AD) Nineteen more COVID-19-positive patients who had been undergoing treatment have made complete recoveries as of today. Accordingly, SL�s recoveries count has moved up to 858, the Ministry of Health said. The new recoveries are reported from Infectious Disease Hospital (10), Homagama Base Hospital (8) and Minuwangoda Base Hospital (1). The coronavirus-positive cases confirmed in the country hiked to 1,797 on Thursday as 48 more persons tested positive. more..

Jun 5 (DM) Encouraged by the recent move to re-impose special commodity levy on canned fish imports, SL�s canned fish manufactures say that the country could commence exporting canned fish products within two years with the right backing of the govt. Canned Fish Manufacturers Association of SL welcomed the recent move by the govt to impose a special commodity levy on canned fish imports to the country, although the Association lobbied to reinstate the previously imposed full levy on more..

Jun 5 (EN) Salons are struggling to make a comeback after a two month Coronavirus closure which devastated their businesses on top of a fall in discretionary spending in 2019, as import controls also placed more obstacles in their path. �We opened on May 15 after going two whole months without opening the salon,� Priya Rathnayake who runs the Sunpriya Salon in Maharagama, said. more..

Jun 5 (AD) Jeevan Thondaman, son of late Leader of Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and Minister Arumugam Thondaman, has signed nominations papers to contest the forthcoming General Election under SLPP from Nuwara Eliya District. The event took place at the CWC headquarters in Kotagala. Prior to his demise on May 26, former CWC Leader and Minister Arumugam Thondaman had submitted nominations under the SLPP to contest the poll from Nuwara Eliya District. more..

Jun 5 (EN) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa says that Sri Lanka�s famed hydrological civilization owes its growth to the advent of Buddhism to Sri Lanka. He also predicted that Sri Lanka would emerge shortly from the COVID 19 pandemic. The Premier was speaking at the first-ever State Poson Festival at Mihintale held last night. �Because of the COVID 19 threat we have had to observe Health Department guidelines, otherwise Mihintale would have looked very different to what it is now,� he said. more..

Jun 5 (AD) Diplomatic staff and their family members entering Sri Lanka must submit PCR test reports obtained within 72 hours prior to their departure from respective countries, says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If they fail to provide PCR test reports, a mandatory PCR test will be carried out at the BIA. The Foreign Ministry stated this in a statement issued today (05) on the revised instructions issued by the Prez Secretariat more..

Jun 5 (AD) A suspect, wanted in connection with a murder in Monaragala, has been killed in a shootout with the police, Police Spokesperson SP Jaliya Senaratne said. A team of police officers had launched a raid acting on a tip-off received with regard to the suspect�s hideout in Ittekatuwa area of Monaragala. However, the suspect had opened fire at the police officers who, in response, shot back at him. The injured suspect had died upon admission to the Sirigala Hospital in Monaragala. more..

Jun 5 (AD) SL Army says 5,240 more persons are still under quarantine at 45 facilities operated by the Tri-forces. However, a total of 11,709 persons have completed the quarantine process as of this morning, the Army Spokesperson said. All these individuals have been directed to PCR tests before they were discharged from the quarantine centres. In the meantime, SL Navy said another 25 persons have left the quarantine centre established at Boossa Naval Base on Thurs (4) and Fri (5). more..

Jun 5 (EN) An election watchdog is raising questions as to why the Police are collecting data from households across the Colombo district and why unidentified civilians are accompanying policemen engaged in this duty. The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence in a letter addressed to the Acting IGP Chandana Wickremaratna asks why the police are going door-to-door collecting information that should already be available more..

Jun 5 (TM) The UK and Sri Lanka are to work together in search for a Covid-19 vaccine, the British High Commission in Colombo said. The UK hosted the Global Vaccine Summit on 4 June, bringing together leaders from around the world at a virtual event to pledge their support to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Prez Rajapaksa took part in a panel discussion on the importance of sustaining vital immunization during pandemics. High Commissioner UK Sarah Hulton issuing a press statement more..

Jun 5 (Island) The CID, yesterday, submitted two reports to the PCoI investigating the Easter Sunday attacks, on phone records of the two suicide bombers at the Zion Church, Batticaloa and St. Anthony�s Shrine, Kochchikade on 21 April 2019. OIC of the Commercial Investigations Unit at CID Saman Weerasinghe told the commission that a team of CID officers were sent to Batticaloa district after the Easter Sunday bomb blasts. Weerasinghe was the OIC of the Special Investigation Unit more..

Jun 5 (AD) An extraordinary gazette notification containing the Code of Conduct for contesting political parties, independent groups and candidates of the elections has been published. The Election Commission said the relevant Code of Conduct is issued in terms of Section 8(8) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981 as amended by the Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Act, No. 58 of 2009. more..

Jun 5 (AD) Three fresh cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Sri Lanka bringing the total number of cases reported in the country to 1,800. One of them is a navy person who is under quarantine and the other two are returnees from Bangladesh at the Rantambe quarantine centre. Earlier today (05), a total of 19 coronavirus patients, who had recovered from the disease completely, were discharged from the IDH, Homagama Base Hospital and Minuwangoda Base Hospital. more..

Jun 5 (DM) Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has commenced manufacturing of Lubricant Oil for the first time in the history, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. He said the annual local lubricant oil consumption in the country exceeded 65,000 Kiloliters. �However, until now, we continued to import the required lubricant oil and therefore a large amount of foreign exchange flowed out of the country,� the minister said. CPC had manufactured lubricant oil on several occasions previously more..

Jun 5 (TM) The yellow-spotted locust invasions are now being reported from multiple areas in the Southern Province, according to the Department of Agriculture. Farmers, meanwhile, claim that although there have not been any crop losses so far, the situation could change if it is not controlled. The locust invasions are being reported from multiple areas in Matara and Beliatta in the Southern Province. more..

Jun 6 (DM) After the Supreme Court 5-judge-bench headed by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya unanimously refused to grant leave to proceed on Tuesday with eight fundamental rights petitions filed challenging the dissolution of Parliament and holding the general election on June 20, all issues are back to square one. Prez Rajapaksa dissolved Parliament on Mar 2. The Constitution says: �A proclamation dissolving Parliament shall fix a date or dates for the election of MPs and shall summon more..

Jun 6 (CT) By a Gazette notification, the SL govt appointed a Presidential Task Force for Archaeological Heritage Management in the Eastern Province on June 4, 2020. Task Force has been tasked to identify sites with archaeological importance, identify and implement appropriate programs, identify land that should be allocated for cultural promotion, and preserve the cultural value of identified sites. Of significance is that the force has been established exclusively for Eastern more..

Jun 6 (CT) Previously Colombo Telegraph exposed a series of irregular and prima facie fraudulent financial transactions by Foreign Ministry�s Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha and SL�s current Ambassador to London, Saroja Sirisena. We now have further evidence of the duos fraudulent cooking of books while Sirisena was Ambassador to Vienna which has cost the SL tax payers an arm and a leg. Previously CT exposed how more..

Jun 6 (CT) Globalization used to be regarded as one of the greatest opportunities created for economic growth and life-improvement conditions throughout the world. However, COVID-19 has cast doubts about this perspective. COVID-19 demonstrated that globalization can also be a threat. Not just a simple threat but a life- and-death issue to large numbers of people. Entire nations have been brought to a halt and economic life in particular has suffered the most serious set-backs known in this century. more..

Jun 6 (DM) The United Nations yesterday celebrated one of the most important days of the year � World Environment Day. Experts have for several years been emphasising the vital need for people to get involved actively in the battle against climate change. If this crisis is not resolved, the experts say that within the next two decades, many islands including our neighbour Maldives will disappear from the earth and even islands like Sri Lanka will lose a large part of the coastland. more..

Jun 6 (CT) Election Commission Chairman, Mahinda Deshapriya discusses the possible date of the upcoming General Election, holding an election amidst a pandemic, and allegations against the Commission and its members. Q: There's a question over when the General Election will take place. Is it a tomorrow-nevercomes situation? A: Yes, it looks like tomorrow will not come; but holding the election is essential. more..

Jun 6 (Island) Though anything could be a good enough of a reason to start a discussion, I was rather perplexed by the title of a piece in The Island of 1st June: US riots are a pointer to starting discussion at home. The on-going riots in US started following an horrific incident of racially based police brutality. Though our Police are no saints, often manipulated to do their dirty work by corrupt politicians, I am not aware of such brutality by Sri Lankan Police. more..

Jun 6 (CT) On early Friday morning, a US diplomat arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, on board a Qatar Airways flight. After refusing to undergo the mandatory PCR test at the airport, citing immunity, the diplomat was allegedly whisked away in an Embassy vehicle. There are so many things wrong with this scenario. On 17 March the Govt of SL closed all airports to arriving international commercial passenger flights. A date has not been set yet, for reopening airport. more..

Jun 6 (GV) The distinguishing feature of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and indeed, at the same time the cause for concern with regard to him, is that he was never elected to any office until he won the presidency. He was a military man first and then the all-powerful bureaucrat as Secretary to Ministry of Defence � a soldier as opposed to a politician, elected in Nov 2019 to do a politicians job. What this means is the ability to accommodate, to reach consensus, to compromise when necessary and to unite more..