Oct 15 (DM) South Indian fishermen indulge in IUU fishing (Illegal, Unreported & Unregulated Fishing) in the SL waters undeterred since arrests are not being made as part of restrictions imposed in view of the pandemic, Minister Douglas Devananda said. He said that hundreds, if not thousands of such fishermen from TN, cross the maritime boundary and carry out IUU fishing in SL waters off the northern province of the country damaging marine resources & fishing gear of local fishermen. more..

Oct 15 (Xinhua) China has vowed to strengthen cooperation and deepen traditional friendship with Sri Lanka, UAE, Algeria and Serbia, said a senior Chinese diplomat Monday. Wrapping up his visits to the four countries, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said that it is a journey of friendship, trust, synergy and cooperation. more..

Oct 15 (DN) Local intelligence agencies had no reason to doubt the intelligence information received in advance from an Indian source about a possible terror attack, former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe told the PCoI on Tuesday (13). He said a responsible Govt like India would not issue such critical alerts in vain, as it is possible to have bad consequences for the bilateral relations if such an incident did not take place. more..

Oct 15 (FT) SJB MP Rajitha Senaratne charged that the attempts to arrest Rishad Bathiudeen and his bother are politically motivated. �We can clearly see what�s going on here. Riyaj Bathiudeen was released, and the 100 Govt MPs filed a petition about it. He was released after an investigation. Has even one of those MPs read the investigation reports?� he questioned. �Govt is using this situation for their political gain. Some religious leaders made some remarks about suspect being released, more..

Oct 15 (DM) SL is only facing a prolonged first wave of COVID-19 and not the second wave, former Minister Rajitha Senaratne said. He said that SL is currently facing a prolonged first wave which has been resulted in negligence. �The disease has been neglected as a result of the general election which was held in August this year. We called for the postponement of general elections while highlighting the fact that health precautions which were taken initially to control the disease more..

Oct 15 (NIA) Senior Lecturer of Moratuwa University says that the Japanese-funded Light Railway Transport (LRT) project in metropolitan Colombo, which was abruptly and unilaterally cancelled by the SL govt in Sept, should have been persisted with because it would have assured over 20% economic internal rate of return on investment and given a sustainable solution to traffic congestion to a corridor more..

Oct 15 (Island) Karuna Amman alias V. Muralitharan, former Eastern Province LTTE commander, has been appointed the District Coordinator of PM Mahinda Rajapaksa for Ampara and Batticaloa. Karuna received his appointment yesterday from the PM at Temple Trees. Muralitharan contested the last parliamentary election from Ampara District as a coalition party of SLPP, but was unsuccessful. Having mustered around 30,000 votes, he had asked PM for a position to serve the people more..

Oct 15 (AD) The National Hospital of SL (NHSL) in Colombo has decided to restrict the number of patients attending its clinics, taking into account the current Covid-19 situation in the country. Accordingly, the clinic patients of the NHSL have been requested to contact the relevant clinics through the following telephone numbers to obtain services: Cardiology Clinic: 011 3618727 / 011 3618728 / 011 3618736 / 011 3618730 / 011 3618735; Neuro Surgical Clinic: 011 3618754 more..

Oct 15 (Island) For want of sufficient facilities at the state sector laboratories, govt has requested private sector factories, coming under the purview of the BOI to subject workers to PCR testing at private labs. Dr. S. Sridharan, who is acting for Director General of Health Services (DGHS), in a letter dated Oct 10, has informed BoI Chairman Susantha Ratnayake of policy decision taken by Health Ministry to those working at more..

Oct 15 (CT) Sri Lanka has managed to retain its position among the top five Best Countries to Visit for the second consecutive year. Conde Nast Traveller has named Sri Lanka as the second best country to visit this year. The ranking comes at a time of turbulence, as international travel has been restricted to a major extent following the COVID-19 pandemic. SL closed its doors for tourists since end of March and is yet to announce when the Govt was to open the country for travel. more..

Oct 15 (CT) The Cabinet granted approval to a Paper submitted by Minister of Justice, President�s Consul Ali Sabry for solutions on issues faced by the Judiciary and to implement a swift three-year programme to further improve the judicial system. The Ministry of Justice, issuing a press release in this connection, said the Cabinet had granted its approval to launch the three-year programme proposed by him after he had delved deeply into the issues faced by the legal sector. more..

Oct 15 (CT) Police curfew will be imposed in the Katunayake Police Division from 5 a.m. today, Army Commander, Lt Gen Shavendra Silva said. He said the employees of the BOI companies in Katunayake can use their company identity cards as curfew passes. A total of 72 employees serving in the Katunayake BOI were diagnosed with COVID-19, BOI Chairman, Sanjaya Mohottala, said. more..

Oct 15 (FT) Remember A Country Free from Corona? The crucial tourist sector must be hard hit by the second wave, as also the factories and supply chains. We are in a vortex of geographically spattered, seemingly randomised corona-proliferation. The virus is a faster-spreading, more virulent variety, observed Dr. Sudath Samaraweera and Dr. Jayaruwan Bandara. (A veritable Viyathvirus?) Instead of local authorities as the frontline for COVID-19 2nd wave prevention, more..

Oct 15 (FT) Nothing can be kept a secret in Sri Lanka, and so is the supposed to be confidential document handed over to the Speaker of Parliament from the Supreme Court. Even before the Speaker could place that document before the House, on 20 Oct, it was already there on the internet, and lawyers, who appeared on behalf of the appellants, were fuming at their disappointment. It appears from what has been reported, that with few amendments at the committee stage, more..

Oct 15 (DM) Coronavirus spread from one factory to another in Gampaha, mostly through Brandix employees who were sharing rooms in hostels with employees from other companies. DIG Ajith Rohana said that it was advisable for factory workers staying in hostels to consider different options if they were staying with workers from another factory. In an audio statement, last night (Wednesday) DIG Ajith Rohana said that there are several factories operating in Gampaha District. more..

Oct 15 (DN) Steps will be taken to provide drinking water to 10,000 families in Mullaitivu and Weli Oya under the Mullaitivu Kivul Oya Mahaweli Joint Development Project in the Mahaweli L Zone, State Minister Siripala Gamalath said. He was speaking during an inspection tour in the area with regard to the future irrigation planning in Mullaitivu and Weli Oya, recently. Gamalath added that plans are also afoot to irrigate the lands of the farmers in Mullaitivu & Weli Oya by Kivul Oya Reservoir Project. more..

Oct 15 (AD) MP Rishad Bathiudeen has filed a writ application seeking a court order to prevent his arrest. The writ application has been filed at the Court of Appeal by his lawyers today. Then-Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen, the director of the project Mohamed Yaseen Samsudeen and the project accountant A. Manoranjan are accused of violating Article 82(1) of Prez Elections Act, more..

Oct 15 (FT) Hayleys Plantations subsidiaries Kelani Valley Plantations (KVPL) and Talawakelle Tea Estates (TTEL) of Sri Lanka�s leading plantations business sector were recognised as country winners at the prestigious Hallbars Sustainability Report Awards 2020. KVPL�s Annual Report for 2017/2018, Growth Beyond Measure, was recognised as the country winner in the Business Sector by Products � Tea category, while TTEL�s Integrated Annual Report for 2018/ 2019 Cultured was recognised more..

Oct 15 (PHC) Major General (Retd) Muhammad Saad Khattak, High Commissioner of Pakistan met with Honourable Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at his office, today (14). A detailed discussion took place on range of affairs including exploring trade and investment opportunities, tourism, culture and education affairs etc. HC Khattak ensured a strong support to SL in all developmental, trade, education, training and tourism sectors. more..

Oct 15 (EN) Health Department�s guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid 19 has become law through regulations Gazetted by Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, her ministry announced today. From now on all the guidelines are enforceable by law, and violators can be fined or imprisoned, Wanniarachchi said in a statement issued to media a short while ago. She said that under the new gazette wearing a face mask more..

Oct 15 (NIA) Foreign Secretary Admiral (Retd.) Prof. Jayanath Kolombage, in his recent interview with Daily Mirror, emphasized that Sri Lanka would not depend on one country for economic development. But he added China was one country willing to invest, and Sri Lanka should benefit from it. The recent visit of a high-powered Chinese delegation to SL and agreements reached during meetings with SL leaders � Prez Rajapaksa and PM Rajapaksa � proved what the Foreign Secretary intended more..

Oct 15 (MFA) The staff officers of the Foreign Ministry successfully completed an Outbound Training programme at Rangiri Aqua, an Outbound Training Centre for Social Ideology Development, in Dambulla from 2-4 Oct. The training programme was organised by the Policy Planning and Human Resource Development Division of the Foreign Ministry under the guidance of Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage. This is the first outbound training workshop specifically more..

Oct 15 (FT) The GMOA called on all branch union presidents and members to reconvene and streamline branch-level COVID-19 steering committees in order to take institutional-level decisions. The internal memo, signed by GMOA Secretary Dr. Senal Fernando, stated that the organisation had requested a meeting with Prez Rajapaksa to directly communicate to him the current situation regarding COVID-19 in SL. more..

Oct 15 (AD) The govt has decided to purchase big onions from local farmers at Rs. 100 per kilogram. State Minister of Development of Samurdhi Home Economy, Microfinance Shehan Semasinghe said the purchases will be made through the District Secretaries. Meanwhile, the import taxes imposed on several essential items including big onions were waived by the govt Tuesday (13), taking into account the cost of living and difficulties associated with COVID-19 pandemic. more..

Oct 15 (AD) Mahiyanganaya Police has arrested a 24-year-old woman under the alias Chooti Nangi with heroin last evening (14). She had been arrested while selling heroin near her residence at the Gewal 20 area in Dodamwatta, Mahiyangana Puja Nagaraya. A sum of Rs. 208,000, suspected to be money earned from the sale of heroin, has also been recovered from her house. Police has also arrested another suspect who was transporting 3 grams of heroin, bought from Chooti Nangi, more..

Oct 15 (EN) Sri Lanka has suspended weekly auctions conducted by the state Coconut Development Authority amid rising domestic retail prices. So far no decision had been made on re-starting the auction. Average auction prices hit 56,494 at the last auction with the top price hitting 61 rupees. Sri Lanka�s price control agency the Consumer Affairs Authority slapped price controls creating shortages in the market. more..

Oct 15 (AD) Supermarkets, pharmacies and other outlets selling essential items located in the curfew-imposed areas will remain open tomorrow. Accordingly, these establishments will be kept open from 8 am to 10 pm for the general public to make necessary purchases. Quarantine curfew is currently in effect in 19 police areas in Gampaha district including Minuwangoda, Divulapitiya, Ja-Ela, Kandana, Katunayake and Seeduwa until further notice following the re-emergence of more..

Oct 15 (AFP) Multiple posts shared repeatedly on Instagram and Facebook in Sri Lanka claim that drinking lots of water or gargling warm water mixed with salt and vinegar can prevent novel coronavirus infection. The claim was shared alongside an image that shows a World Health Organization (WHO) logo. The claim is false; no international health body, including the WHO, has issued such guidance about Covid-19. The claim was published on Instagram on Oct 8. It has since been deleted. more..

Oct 15 (AJ) Rights groups and members of civil society have raised concerns over the continued incarceration of a Muslim lawyer in Sri Lanka, adding that his prolonged detention had a chilling effect on anyone involved in peaceful dissent and advocacy. Hejaaz Hizbullah, a prominent human rights lawyer, was arrested on terrorism charges in April and has remained in detention without charges, with rights groups saying more..

Oct 15 (CT) Water samples were collected from the sea in the area where the MT New Diamond vessel caught fire, to conduct a chemical check on the oil spill and to identify the impact on marine life, said Head of the Marine Biological Resources Division of NARA, Dr. Sisira Haputhantri. He said the biological checking of the collected samples was already done by NARA and that the methodologies to conduct further research also had been discussed with other officials from the Department. more..

Oct 15 (AD) Sri Lanka has decided to temporarily close all cinemas in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic situation. Chairman of the National Film Corporation Jayantha Dharmadasa says all the movie theatres will be temporarily closed until Oct 31, 2O20 in line with the instructions given by the Ministry of Health due to the current Covid-19 epidemic situation. Cinemas nationwide had reopened on June 27 after being shut for over 2 months due to the the COVID-19 pandemic, more..

Oct 15 (AN) The 20th amendment to the constitution should not go forward; instead a new constitution should be the country�s priority right now, the Catholic Bishops� Conference of SL (CBCSL) said in a statement. SL�s Christians, like the country�s Buddhists believe that the amendment promotes authoritarianism, since it grants more powers to an already powerful executive president, weakens parliament, the role of the PM and ministers, more..

Oct 15 (Xinhua) Cabinet of ministers has agreed to import 6,000 metric tonnes of basmati rice annually from Pakistan, under the Pakistan-SL Free Trade Agreement. Cabinet Spokesperson Ramesh Pathirana was quoted by media reports as saying that following a proposal made by Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardena, the cabinet had approved the State Trading Corporation (STC) and Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) to import the rice annually. more..

Oct 15 (DM) The operations of Weligama Bay Marriott Resort and Spa would be continued sans new room bookings following the heath guidelines, after a guest who stayed at the hotel tested positive for COVID-19 following his departure, the management said. Responding to a query, the hotel said a resident guest who stayed at the hotel on October 3 has tested positive for COVID-19, almost nine days after his departure. �The hotel is working closely with the local health authorities to more..

Oct 15 (AD) Central Bank of SL (CBSL) regulates and supervises Licensed Finance Companies (LFCs) in terms of provisions of the Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011 (FBA) and Directions issued thereunder to promote safety and soundness of the overall financial sector. However, issuing a special public notice yesterday the CBSL stated that regulation and supervision of the bank does not necessarily prevent the failure of more..

Oct 15 (AD) Colombo High Court today handed down indictments against the suspect accused over the murders of two Buddhist monks at the Kotte Rajamaha Viharaya in 2012. The indictments filed by Attorney General was handed down before High Court Judge Damith Thotawatta against the defendant named in the case, N.A. Suresh Chanaka, who is currently out on bail. He had been indicted under Section 296 of the Penal Code, over the murders of Ven. Pitigala Jinasiri thera more..

Oct 15 (Island) Turmeric Importers� Association of SL had requested Minister Dr Ramesh Pathirana to assist them in having a consignment of one million kilos of turmeric released from the Colombo port, Chief Organiser of the association Sivalingam Elilventhan said. He said that the turmeric was an ingredient used in Ayurveda medicine. Elilventhan said that the stock of turmeric had been kept at the port since May and the importers had to pay for the delay in clearing it. more..

Oct 15 (MoD) There is no room for land grabs in the country in future and legal actions would be implemented against persons involved in such unlawful acts, Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne said referring to past unlawful land grab practices. He also requested District Secretaries/Govt Agents to be vigilant about the sites of archaeological value as those lands are also prone to such unlawful acts. more..

Oct 15 (AD) Consequent to several areas of the country coming under quarantine curfew, SL Export Development Board (EDB) is providing facilitation to ensure that the operations of non-BOI, export industries located in curfew areas function without interruptions subject to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health. EDB is providing recommendations to enable export companies, which are located in curfew-imposed areas, to obtain curfew passes from respective police stations more..