Apr 27 (FT) With the spike in COVID-19 cases signalling a probable third wave, private sector hospitals are renewing their appeal to the Govt to let them import and administer vaccines as per the pre-set guidelines with due State supervision. Since the availability from early January, the Govt has been the sole importer of the COVID-19 vaccine. At present, PCR tests can be done by accredited private hospitals which more..

Apr 27 (EN) SL has raised a tax on potatoes to Rs50 kilogram with effect from midnight April 26 the seasonal domestic harvest coming in. �Potato harvesting has begun in Nuwara Eliya and this year a bumper harvest is expected,� a govt statement said. In Jan 2021 potatoes were taxed at 15 rupees a kilogram. Potatoes are an agricultural product with low productivity and quality that cannot be exported in SL despite seasonal harvests from time to time, due to years of protection unlike tea/rubber. more..

Apr 27 (CT) Commercial Bank of Ceylon has become the first SL bank to achieve carbon neutrality for the entirety of its operations, encompassing all 268 branches and its head office � a monumental milestone in the Bank�s commitment to the environment. Becoming a net-zero carbon company was one of Commercial Bank�s Green Goals, to be achieved by the close of its centenary year in 2020. Bank�s carbon neutral status has been affirmed by Climate Smart Initiatives Ltd, more..

Apr 27 (Island) The GMOA urged the govt to take immediate action to replenish oxygen stocks if it wanted to avoid a serious calamity similar to that in India, where hundreds of thousands of families and patients are pleading for oxygen outside hospitals and victims are dying unable to breathe without it. GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr Naveen de Zoysa said that the latest variant of COVID virus was spreading fast more..

Apr 27 (TM) The JVP is set to take a final decision today (27) on whether or not it will conduct its party May Day rally, as previously announced, disregarding a ban on May Day rallies imposed by the Govt. JVP Politburo Member Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said that the party would take a decision today about the celebration of May Day. �We don�t have any intention to have a rally during this Covid-19 pandemic; however, we believe that we will celebrate May Day in some other way.� more..

Apr 27 (FT) A total of 997 persons tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the country�s total patient count to 102,376. The patients detected yesterday include 944 associates of the Peliyagoda cluster and eight persons from the Prisons cluster. The Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda and Prisons clusters have expanded to 96,698 patients. In addition to this, 3,428 Sri Lankan returnees from abroad, 950 Navy personnel and their contacts, 651 persons linked to the Kandakadu cluster, more..

Apr 27 (CT) Although COVID-19 patients in the past were asymptomatic, patients identified with the recently discovered proportion of SARS-CoV-2 samples exhibit symptoms and have a higher risk of developing pneumonia as a result of several complications, Head of the National Centre for Primary Care at the Uni of Sri J'pura, Dr. Chandima Jeewandara said. �We have described and reported more..

Apr 27 (FT) Retired Air Force Commander Air Marshal Sumangala Dias, who was first named as Sri Lanka�s High Commissioner to Canada, will now go as Ambassador to Italy. His name was cleared by the High Post Committee (HPC) of Parliament to take up the posting in Rome. Dias� name was approved last November to take up the top post at the SL Mission in Ottawa but Canada delayed giving agreement to his appointment, following which he was named to head the Embassy in Rome. more..

Apr 27 (DN) Heralding a new era in the South Asian leisure industry, the region�s most modern and largest international Yacht Marina of the Colombo Port City has been completed. The first project to be completed under the Port City Colombo landscape it will attract over USD 500 million in the next three years. The Yacht Marina when fully operational will be on a 44 acre land and it will have the facility to anchor 200 yachts making it one of the largest such venues in the region. more..

Apr 27 (DM) The Astra Zeneca vaccines which has already been administered to over 900,000 people in the Western Province including frontline and health workers are responding well to the new variant of COVID-19 which is rapidly spreading in the country, officials from the Health Promotion Bureau said. To date, there had hardly been any cases of those who had received the first dose of vaccination to more..

Apr 27 (DM) The Royal-Thomian cricket matches scheduled to be held next month have been postponed until further notice after some players tested positive with the COVID-19, the Daily Mirror learns. The matches were scheduled to be held on May 6, 7 and 8 in Hambantota. Organizers said they had decided to postpone the annual cricket matches after some players tested positive for COVID-19 after being subject to PCR tests. A new date for the matches will be notified later. more..

Apr 27 (AD) Addressing the 77th Session of UNESCAP, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa said the govt is keen on strengthening the island nation�s regional ties and emphasize the need to accelerate the South-South cooperation. �Towards that end, we believe UNESCAP should commit itself to being relevant and responsive with measures such as assisting small countries with pandemic recovery and vaccination programs, encouraging growth of foreign employment opportunities, more..

Apr 27 (EN) Sri Lanka has closed all schools in the Western and North Central provinces and isolated 10 Grama Niladhari divisions around the island starting today to contain the spread of COVID-19, officials said. Education Minister Prof G L Peiris told reporters this afternoon that all schools, preschools and piriven (monastic schools) in the Western and North Central provinces will be closed till April 30. more..

Apr 27 (DN) Former Minister Vajira Abeywardena said that the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill which bypasses the powers of the Judiciary, Parliament and the Finance Minister will set a bad precedent as it has made many Acts and Regulations redundant. Speaking at a meeting to make the people aware of the proposed Bill at Galle District UNP office, the former Minister said the UNP does not oppose the Colombo Port City project if it is implemented to suit the country. more..

Apr 27 (FT) Around this time, my former colleagues at the Central Bank may be burning the midnight oils arguing among themselves how best they could present in the bank�s Annual Report for 2020 the success story of the present Govt�s alternative economic policy strategy. This is a policy which the bank�s Governor, Professor W.D. Lakshman, had been emphasising in his public appearances. He had even charged the critics of the Govt as purveyors of doom and gloom without more..

Apr 27 (FT) The reluctance of leaders both in SL, and outside, to change even when the need for change stares in their face, is an occurrence which is sad but true. Although these same leaders publicly preach about the necessity to change, they rarely walk the talk and/or practice what they preach. Even where there is some action, the efforts are, often, very half-hearted and the outcomes are inevitably suboptimal. This reticence to change is elegantly articulated by Niccol� Machiavelli, more..

Apr 27 (DN) Prisons Dept has moved 30 prisoners who are involved in organised crime to the Boossa High Security Prison. According to Prison spokesman, these organized criminals involved in underworld operations and drug smuggling have been moved to 30 cells constructed at Boossa prison. Dept earlier moved 46 prisoners involved in high profile criminal cases to the Boossa High Security Prison and the number of such prisoners currently housed at the Boossa Prison is 76. more..

Apr 27 (DM) Cabinet approval was granted to ban all face coverings including the burqa and niqab, Minister Sarath Weerasekara said. He said that the decision will be implemented as a law after parliamentary approval is obtained. Cabinet approval was granted according to the public bill of Prohibition on covering the full face in public places. "I requested approval to draft a law for the covering of full-face adhering to the quarantine law more..

Apr 27 (Island) Jaffna health authorities have commenced investigating a complaint that a Vel Cart festival with the participation of hundreds of Hindu devotees was held by the Ammachchi Ambal Kovil at Vannerpannei in Jaffna on Sunday in violation of the health regulations in place to curb the pandemic. Health authorities said that guidelines announced by the govt to prevent the spread of the pandemic had been blatantly violated to mark the 50th anniversary of the building of the vel cart at issue. more..

Apr 27 (Island) Minister Johnston Fernando yesterday said that the Opposition�s hypocrisy was amply displayed by the fact that its members were crying about the rights and plight of the suspects of the Easter Sunday terror attacks, while forgetting the predicament of victims of those attacks. He said: �Have you ever seen our Opposition members talk of the plight of the Easter Sunday victims? Whenever an arrest is made and those who are responsible for the terror attacks are taken more..

Apr 27 (EN) SL will close down all schools, preschools and piriven (monastic schools) in the island till April 30 starting today to contain the spread of COVID-19, Minister G L Peiris said. All decisions with regard to school activities will be taken prioritising the health and safety of school children. SL has seen a surge in daily COVID-19 cases following the Sinhala & Tamil New Year holidays, with authorities fearing a newer, more..

Apr 27 (DM) Minister Douglas Devananda has requested the SL Navy to heighten its vigilance along the borders, in the mid seas to prevent Indian fishermen from coming into local waters at a time when a mutated version of the COVID-19 was rapidly spreading in several Indian states including southern India. Devananda said that he had requested the Navy to heighten their monitoring mechanism so that local fishermen could avoid coming into contact with Indian fishermen more..

Apr 27 (PMD) Senior journalist Sudewa Hettiarachchi has been appointed as the Director-General of President�s Media Division. Sudewa Hettiarachchi, who received the letter of appointment from Prez Rajapaksa, is due to assume duties next week. A distinguished alumnus of Ananda College, Colombo, Sudewa Hettiarachchi is a full-fledged journalist with extensive experience. With an over 25 year long career in the media field, he is a popular announcer and producer. more..

Apr 27 (EN) Sri Lanka will begin administering the second dose of the AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine to frontline health workers and security forces personnel tomorrow, State Minister Prof Channa Jayasumana said. �The second dose will be given in the same order followed in the first round,� he said today. So far, 155,000 frontline workers in the state health sector and 127,500 in the military have received the first jab. more..

Apr 27 (DM) A research team from the Uni of Peradeniya has come up with a new COVID- 19 testing kit and a face mask, it was announced today. "The two products which will be essential for the ongoing Pandemic is to be marketed by SATHOSA and State Trading General Corp. Minister Bandula Gunawardene under whose Ministry the SATOSA is vested, told a press conference that plans were underway to sell one of the products- Respirone NANO 99 face mask in the global market. more..

Apr 27 (CT) Although all public and private functions and parties have been banned during the upcoming two-week period, weddings which had already been planned can be held under existing quarantine regulations, Army Commander General Shavendra Silva said. Weddings with a maximum of 150 guests or 50% of the capacity of the wedding hall could be held. The Govt banned all public and private functions with immediate effect from 25 April. However, replying to the dialogues more..

Apr 27 (AD) Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Govt has issued a circular today to ensure the continuation of the public service without any interruption, due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the country. The circular states that having taken into consideration the set of instructions issued by Health Sectors to prevent the spread of COVID 19 pandemic, the provisions of the Public Administration Circular 02/2021 more..

Apr 27 (DM) There is no shortage of Oxygen required to provide treatment for the COVID-19 patients in the country, Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardana stressed. He dismissed media reports that there was a shortage of Oxygen for the COVID-19 patients at the Kalubowila Hospital and Colombo East Base Hospital- Mulleriyawa. �The factories that provide medical Oxygen to the health sector said they hold enough stocks and are ready to provide them more..

Apr 27 (DM) Urban Development Authority (UDA) has taken over the Kollupitiya Supermarket from the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) through an Extraordinary Gazette notice signed by PM Mahinda Rajapaksa. The gazette states that by virtue of the powers vested in him under Section 15(1) of the Urban Development Authority Law No. 41 of 1978, PM Rajapaksa, who is also the Minister of Urban Development and Housing has taken over the land where Kollupitiya Supermarket is located. more..

Apr 27 (DM) Former Mrs. World Caroline Jurie has called on the Govt to regulate beauty pageants and become the first country to do so. Jurie wrote to K.M.A.D Jayasekara, Secretary to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, after Daily Mirror recently reported that the govt is taking steps to regulate beauty pageants. In her letter to the Ministry, Jurie said that the industry is yet to gain the recognition and acceptance more..

Apr 27 (DM) At least 260 prison inmates have been contracted with Covid-19 at prisons across the country in the third wave of Covid-19. Prison spokesman Chandana Ekanayake said that the Covid pandemic in the island has been under control to some extent in the past and now it is on the rise again. Recently, Dept decided to suspend visitors for a period of two weeks to prevent the virus from spreading in the prisons due to the fact that the relatives who come to visit the inmates. more..

Apr 27 (AD) CID has been granted permission to detain and interrogate MP Rishad Bathiudeen and his brother Riyaj Bathiudeen for 90 days with regard to the Easter Sunday terror attacks. The Bathiudeen brothers were arrested on Saturday for allegedly aiding and abetting the suicide bombers who perpetrated the deadly terror attacks on Apr 21, 2019. The former minister was taken into custody at his residence in Bauddhaloka Mawatha in Colombo while his brother Riyaj Bathiudeen was more..

Apr 27 (TM) A special discussion between the Opposition MPs and Catholic Bishops took place yesterday on the subject of the Easter Sunday investigations. This meeting comes after SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella requested Bishop�s Conference of SL Chairman Rt. Rev. Dr. Winston Fernando to allow some key Opposition leaders to present facts related to the attacks and the subsequent responses of the present Govt. more..

Apr 27 (TM) Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs stated it had not yet received the donation purported to have been made by the Muslim World League (MWL) organisation to the Govt of SL (GoSL) for use on behalf of the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks, The Morning learnt. Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs Secretary Prof. Kapila Gunawardana said that the Ministry has not received the MWL donation for the victims of Easter Sunday more..

Apr 27 (EN) SL will shortly issue a transit card which can also be used on automated teller machines, point of sale terminals as well as to pay for bus and rail tickets, Lanka Clear, which runs clearing systems for the financial system said. An agreement to implementation the first SL Transit Card was signed among Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), National Transport Commission (NTC), People�s Bank and LankaClear (Pvt) Ltd. At the pilot phase, SLTC will be accepted in public & pvt buses more..

Apr 27 (EN) Sri Lanka ought to amend the controversial Colombo Port City Economic Commission bill to reflect the constructive opinions expressed by govt and opposition MPs, civil society and members of the Buddhist clergy, SLPP MP Gevindu Kumaratunga said. He said that regarding the makeup of the commission, the bill only provides for the appointment of a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 7 members to the commission by the Prez. more..

Apr 27 (CT) Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake said 100,000 saplings will be planted within the Colombo Municipality limits jointly with the Ministry of Environment to make it into a green city and added that 15,000 saplings were planted in various locations within the Colombo metropolitan limits. She said the programme was inaugurated at the Vihara Mahadevi Park on 22 April with the participation of the Minister of Environment, Mahinda Amaraweera. more..

Apr 27 (EN) SL firms have been allowed to borrow abroad and units of foreign companies have been allowed to borrow from parents without specific approval through new directions issued under SL�s Foreign Exchange Act. Companies could also borrow abroad in rupees or foreign currency with repayment term exceeding three years. Companies with Business Foreign Currency Accounts could also borrow abroad for working capital for less than three years provided repayments can be made more..

Apr 27 (AD) Prez Rajapaksa visited the Welanwita Village at Haldummulla in the Badulla District today (26) to inspect the progress of the first Gama Samaga Pilisandara programme. Prez launched the Gama Samaga Pilisandara programme on Sept 25 last year with the objective of meeting the people of remote villages that have not been given due attention, inquiring into the plights of the residents & finding solutions more..