Apr 18 (CT) Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill was presented in Parliament on 8 April, while the country was getting ready to celebrate the traditional New Year. With the intervening weekend and three public holidays, citizens had just two working days to retain lawyers, many of whom were on vacation, and file applications challenging the constitutionality of the Bill in the Supreme Court within the one-week period stipulated in the Constitution. more..

Apr 18 (CT) China is locking horns with the Health Ministry officials over not starting the Sinopharm jab on Sri Lankans, although it arrived in the country several weeks ago. The seven persons who stood in the way of the vaccine being approved for locals were from the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), who said China had not produced the data of the vaccine. However, they were sacked by the Health Ministry for being an obstacle. more..

Apr 18 (Island) Around 20 years ago, a young politician with nationalist pretensions made an interesting observation (in Sinhala), the gist of which is as follows: �There is no such thing as a Sinhala Race but people think there is � we should exploit the perception.� Interestingly, he was at the time in a political party that was contesting an election on a Sinhala card, so to speak. Now if there�s nothing called Sinhala Race then there cannot be subjective identification with that term. more..

Apr 18 (SO) State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal dismissed allegations that the Colombo Port City would be a Chinese Colony, pointing out that it will be administered under SL law. He said that the Colombo Port City would be a catalyst for economic revival as it would provide over 83,000 high-paying employment opportunities and will completely change the economic fabric of the nation. �It would be the single biggest investment in the history of SL attracting not only Chinese but other more..

Apr 18 (ST) Come Thursday (21) and it will be the second anniversary of that terrible, probably avoidable Easter Sunday bombing that shook the country, rocked the country�s intelligence gathering apparatus and accelerated the ouster of the political leadership of the time. Cardinal is blowing hot and cold on the entire issue. On the one hand, he is, in true Christian spirit, preaching the gospel of forgiveness and mercy to the perpetrators of this dastardly crime; on the other, he is all fire more..

Apr 18 (ST) Batsman Kusal Mendis has been forced to wait longer to earn a recall to the national Test side after the new national selectors decided to give him an extended break from int'l cricket. The 26-year-old right-hander who missed the West Indies series has been dropped for the two-match home series against Bangladesh starting on Wednesday in Pallekele. Highly rated Mendis has been through a lean patch since SL returned to action following the COVID-19 enforced long break, scoring just more..

Apr 18 (ST) Even though it is unlikely that Provincial Council elections will be held this year, Northern Tamil parties are proposing various names for the post of Chief Minister. MP and former Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran came up with what appeared to be a wild card, proposing a Hindu priest called Velan Swamigal, opposing the candidacy of ITAK Leader Mavai Senathirajah. The priest who broke away from another Hindu outfit before more..

Apr 18 (ST) My dear Wije, I thought of writing to you because you have suddenly become the talk of the town, just when we thought that we will be spared of political cross talk, at least during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year when the entire nation appears to follow an extended nonagathaya for about a week or so. That was not to be, and the controversy this time was not about the coronavirus either � although it was still something to do with the Chinese. It all began when you chose to publicly criticise more..

Apr 18 (SO) Bangladesh batsmen struck early form in their preparations for the Test series against Sri Lanka with solid performances on the opening day of their Intra-Squad match, which began at the Chilaw Marians ground in Katunayake yesterday. After completing their quarantine period in Negombo, the Bangladesh team came out for the first time with a home-and-home game, which will be their only warm-up ahead of the two-Test Test series. The openers Tamim Iqbal & Najmul Hossain more..

Apr 18 (CT) The old plus new machinery, including a 110-metre-long kiln purchased from Germany, which came with a 100-year guarantee, belonging to the Kankesanthurai (KKS) Cement Factory have all vanished without a trace from 2010. Up until now, no one has yet been held accountable for the missing machinery. Who sold them and for what purpose was the money used, is still a mystery, but the 20 odd shareholders more..

Apr 18 (ST) Dr. Manil Fernando, the son of former football administrator Manilal Fernando has decided to contest the post of President of the Football Federation of SL (FFSL). Fernando senior, a former heavyweight of FIFA Executive Committee received a life ban from FIFA in October 2013 after he had appealed to them over an original eight-year ban. In 2015 he lost his appeal to The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to have a life ban overturned. One of the youngest football administrators, more..

Apr 18 (ST) The battle for the plumb of the Under-19 Inter-Schools Limited Over Tournament title contested by 32 teams in four segments of the Division I and II categories will get underway today which will usher with the Division II Tier �B� clash between Sri J'pura MV Kotte and President�s Kotte scheduled to be played at Campbell Park. The completion of the league matches saw in the two segments of the Division I qualifying to the quarter finals & the same with Division II category. more..

Apr 18 (ST) Govt has taken two steps back after the first step of banning the import of palm oil, the most popular cooking oil, which followed the PM�s directive of lifting the restriction on certain refined palm oil based products within 24 hours of the Prez�s prohibition order. According to the sequence of events, the Controller General of Department of Imports and Exports Control was advised by Presidential Secretariat on April 5 more..

Apr 18 (SO) For years they were unheard of or played second fiddle to the boys feeding on the crumbs that fall off the table. Not many in Sri Lanka knew they even existed outside the scope of their brothers and parents from whom they were able to pick up a hint or two. Legend or history has it that it was a girl who even created the art of bowling in cricket when she realized her frock or gown was too cumbersome to send the ball down underarm that she turned her arm overhead thus inventing more..

Apr 18 (ST) Sri Lanka�s tourism industry is finding it hard to attract tourists due to the strict health guidelines and added to this is the concern among tour operators of the need to have a high priced PCR test. The US$40 PCR test is costing Rs.8000 whereas the real cost at a private hospital is about Rs.6500 and this payment needs to be made to the SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). Questions have been raised by the SL Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) that more..

Apr 18 (ST) Sri Lanka will be curtailing crude and refined oil imports this year in an effort to shield the dwindling of foreign reserves, Finance Ministry sources said. The fuel purchases in low volumes will be made from producing countries in the Gulf region on favourable terms with one year credit facility instead of the current credit limit of 180-270 days, a Treasury official revealed. SL imported around 13.5 million barrels of crude oil more..

Apr 18 (SO) Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC) who emerged champions in the Major Club Limited Overs tournament attributed their success to the commitment of their team and the part played well by their youngsters. This was revealed by their captain Angelo Perera whose personal contribution during the tournament was 394 runs inclusive of a ton and two fifties. �I had a big challenge to take up with more youngsters in the side. Despite playing without five of our main players who were ill more..

Apr 18 (ST) This year�s edition of the Summer Season All-Island Open Badminton Championships, organised by Central Province Badminton Association together with Nuwara Eliya District Badminton Association under the patronage of Sri Lanka Badminton, will take place at the Municipal Council Indoor Stadium in Nuwara Eliya from April 20 to 27. The organisers have received 1159 entries for the tournament which makes it one of the major events in the Sri Lanka Badminton calendar. more..

Apr 18 (TM) The inoculation of the second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield Covid-19 vaccine, scheduled to commence from tomorrow (19), has been postponed until further notice. It is learnt that as of now, only around 250,000 doses remain available in stock after the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine had been given to over 900,000 Sri Lankans. more..

Apr 18 (Island) ISACA Sri Lanka chapter at its 51st AGM, recognized Bank of Ceylon for the contribution made to the GRC (Governance, Risk and Control) sector locally and internationally for the second time consecutively. ISACA (Information System Audit and Control Association) is a US based professional association focused on IT governance. ISACA provides its members with knowledge, credentials, training and networking in IT audit, governance, risk, controls and security. more..

Apr 18 (TM) Although SL has made great progress in controlling the spread of Covid-19, public movements have increased during this festive season, according to Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Sudath Samaraweera, and the threat is not over yet. While a series of health guidelines had been issued by Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena, to protect the public against Covid-19 during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, Dr. Samaraweera noted that only time would tell more..

Apr 18 (ST) The Chinese Govt is to provide a grant to SL to improve the communication facilities for the Police. As part of the Chinese grant, a widely used communication facility known as TETRA � Terrestrial Trunked Radio � will be provided to the Police to improve communication between senior officers and police stations. It also provides for tabs to support the body cameras which will be initially available for police stations more..

Apr 18 (ST) As the UK led a global offensive at the UNHRC in Geneva to prosecute war crimes against SL soldiers, a Bill put forward by its Govt decriminalising torture and war crimes in prosecutions against its own military personnel serving overseas in respect of incidents more than five years old, was restricted in its reach by the House of Lords this Tuesday (13). Overseas Operations Bill was amended to take out torture, war crimes and genocide from the list of more..

Apr 18 (TM) A date for the debate on the proposed Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill in Parliament would be scheduled after the Supreme Court (SC) special determination on the Bill is given in connection with the petitions filed against the Bill last week, Speaker said. When the proposed Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill was presented to Parliament two weeks ago, SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella requested a separate date for the debate on the Bill. more..

Apr 18 (ST) SriLankan Airlines has opted to hold back the information on the recent airlifting of 102 metric tonnes of Printed material to Uganda saying It falls within commercial confidence. The airline said in response to a Right to Information (RTI) application that it has no specific details on the contents of uplifting 102 metric tonnes of printed material to Entebbe Int'l Airport in Uganda by operating three charter flights more..

Apr 18 (ST) Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) yesterday hit out at moves by the govt to interfere with the Doctrine of Separation of Powers over the motion placed on the order book of Parliament to have pending cases before courts against many of its members dropped by implementing certain decisions of the PCoI on Political Victimisation. In a statement issued last evening, BASL Secretary Rajeev Amarasuriya says the motion, if passed, will be an affront to the Rule of Law, more..

Apr 18 (ST) At least 10 people were killed, more than 1000 persons displaced and over 250 houses damaged due to adverse weather conditions in different parts of the country in the past three days, officials said yesterday. Six died due to lightning strikes in the Mullaitivu and Batticaloa districts while four others drowned, officials added. Three of the victims were farmers who were struck by lightning on Thursday while they were working in fields in Thannimurippu in Mullaitivu. more..

Apr 18 (ST) As Customs, police and health inspectors escalated investigations into whether toxic coconut oil has reached the market, the govt defended itself against public complaints that importers who might have broken the law in sending out the oil for sale were not being punished. Agency was carrying out separate investigations into whether two coconut oil importers had distributed imported coconut oil containing aflatoxin. more..

Apr 18 (TM) The respective cabinet paper will be submitted by Minister Keheliya Rambukwella. He said that he had not had a look at the final draft of the cabinet paper which is to be submitted tomorrow. However, he assured that the proposed legislation would not have any effect on the freedom of speech or expression. �As long as the facts are correct, the freedom is there,� he added. Minister stressed that it would cover all sectors including electronic, print and social media. more..

Apr 18 (TM) A party leaders� meeting will be held tomorrow (19) under the patronage of PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, with a view to reaching a consensus on the draft of the Provincial Councils (PCs) Elections (Amendment) Bill. Key governmental factions are yet to reach an understanding on the PC elections, especially concerning how the polls should be held. Minister Udaya Gammanpila said: �The party leaders� meeting will be held in order to reach a consensus on the draft PCs Elections Bill.� more..

Apr 18 (ST) The Govt appears to be on an offensive against its detractors here and abroad whilst a nation, unaffected, marked the National New Year on a more positive note than last year. The strong thrust of this multi-pronged exercise, now taking shape, is local. It is to call a halt to cases pending in courts over alleged bribery, corruption, or other improprieties against some in the ruling alliance or their backers. more..

Apr 19 (DM) Twenty years after the US commenced its military operations in Afghanistan in response to the terrorist attacks carried out by AL-Qaeda on September 11, 2001, US President Joe Biden announced - in a departure from policies embraced by his predecessors he was unconditionally ordering all US military forces out of Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. The 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks which propelled the US invasion of Afghanistan. more..

Apr 19 (ST) Britain bid a last farewell yesterday to the man who had thieved the heart of the nation�s soon-to-be crowned jewel 73 years ago, as his mortal remains were laid to rest in the vault beneath the quire at St. George�s Chapel set in the royal grounds of Windsor Castle. Prince Phillip�s death last Friday, at the age of 99, marked the end of an era for Britain�s monarchy; and a nationwide 41 gun salute sounded in tribute on Saturday from the Tower of London, from Edinburg, Cardiff and more..

Apr 19 (CT) Two years back, 21 Apr 2019 dawned like any other day and most Sri Lankans were still enjoying with their families and friends since it was just seven days after Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Christians too were commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as is done every Easter Sunday at Churches, but that enjoyment lasted only for a few hours of the morning that day. The whole atmosphere was tragically transformed into more..

Apr 19 (CT) Colombo shoreline�s erosion percentage which was between 20-25% in 2000 had increased to a gross 67.93% by 2019, impacting Colombo District�s 24.3 km long coastline, an Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) study uploaded on the ADB website on Thursday, on coastal erosion in the Western Province and coastal accretion in the Wayamba, warned. Studies showed that the Colombo District, over a 15 year period beginning from 2005 and ending on 2019, more..

Apr 19 (Island) Dudley Senanayake was a truly charismatic leader. By his exemplary behavior he enjoyed the respect of both sides of the House. He always entered the chamber from the main doorway and walked majestically down the aisle to his seat. Almost all Members rose from their seats to show their respect. He was an excellent debater. If he had to make a speech it was a studied contribution. He never spent his time in Parliament without making use of every minute. more..

Apr 19 (TM) Including this recent cabinet sub-committee, several other committees appointed to solve the power shortage in the past decade, and also energy experts, have advocated for successive govts, including the present one, to focus more on renewable energy resources, especially solar power, as SL, being a tropical country, is blessed with sunshine throughout the year � yet, solar power is not a primary source of more..

Apr 19 (ST) Meeting a rising tide of strange bedfellows (ie; monks, lawyers, democracy activists, nationalists) protesting against the highly charged Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill tabled in Parliament with just a few days to challenge in the Supreme Court, we hear shrill (state) Ministerial wailing to the effect that the Colombo Port City is a turning point for SL. Apparently this is the one thing, we are told, that will usher in a land of milk and honey, for the stupendously devalued rupee more..

Apr 19 (DM) Less than 48 hours remain for the govt to meet the ultimatum set by Archbishop His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith for naming the mastermind of the Easter Sunday blasts. Nine suicide bombers targeted two Catholic churches, one evangelical church and three hotels on April 21, 2019, killing an estimated 267 people and injuring more than 540. Cardinal Ranjith immediately appealed to his followers to act with restrain and prevented a backlash of religious clashes. more..