Feb 10 (DN) Dr. Neville Fernando, Maama, Aiya, Seeya or Uncle to diverse family members, left on his onward journey leaving his family in shock and grief, as Covid-19 took him completely unexpectedly. Even at 89, he was planning to make his next big dream come true. As the elder statesman in our large family circle, he was adored by one and all due to his magnanimous and loving nature. His smile spoke a thousand words. He was the go-to person for many members of the family for sound more..

Feb 10 (FT) Cabinet this week approved three suppliers of fertiliser for the Yala season starting in April. Procurement of Urea (Granular) 40,500 � 5% metric tons under a 270-day loan period has been awarded to the Swiss Singapore Overseas Enterprises Ltd. for $ 343.10 per metric ton. Supply of Urea (Prilled) 8,500 � 5% metric tons under a 180-day loan period has been awarded to the Swiss Singapore Valency International Ltd. for $ 364.74 per metric ton. more..

Feb 10 (AJ) Muslim families in the UK whose loved ones have been cremated in Sri Lanka have submitted a complaint to the United Nations, branding the South Asian country�s controversial policy unjust and discriminatory and calling for its immediate suspension. Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka made cremation mandatory last March for people who die, or are suspected to have died, with coronavirus. more..

Feb 10 (FT) 6,431 persons received the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine yesterday, bringing the total number of persons in the country to receive immunisation against the virus to 174,193. The ongoing vaccination campaign will target 250,000 frontline workers from health, military and Police units with the use of 500,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine donated by the Govt of India. On the first day of the campaign, which fell on 29 Jan, 5,286 persons were vaccinated, more..

Feb 10 (Island) There are no goods in the market at the govt stipulated prices, says SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella. He told Parliament that govt had announced maximum retail prices through gazettes but nowhere in the market were goods available at those prices. �There is a gazette stating the controlled price of sugar at Rs. 88 a kilo but in the market it is Rs. 99 a kilo. This is true of other essential items. There is no place where 27 commodities are sold at govt-stipulated prices.� more..

Feb 10 (FT) Leading carriers from the Middle East including global giant Emirates are stepping up flights to Colombo following the opening of borders and resumption of international tourism in Sri Lanka late last month. Emirates announced it would increase its services to Colombo from four to six weekly flights � with a fifth weekly flight commencing 18 Feb (every Thur) and a sixth weekly flight commencing 27 Feb (every Sat). more..

Feb 10 (DN) D. Samson Industries (Pvt) Ltd a subsidiary of DSI Samson Group (Pvt) Ltd enters into Synthetic Leather Manufacturing by acquiring a state of the art production facility in Katana in the Negombo precincts, during a crucial period in which the govt has encouraged SL entrepreneurs to take a step forward to invest in the manufacturing industry. This was part of our business-related integration initiatives under the 2020-2022 strategic plan and a much needed investment to manufacture more..

Feb 10 (CT) SLC has sent the following clarification pertaining to recent reports published in the mainstream media pointing out that IPG has defaulted its payment obligations under the LPL Event Rights Agreement. We wish to clarify that pursuant to the open tender process carried out by SLC, Innovative Production Group FZE (IPG), a company incorporated in Dubai, was granted the Event Rights in respect of Lanka Premier League Tournament for a period of 5 years, more..

Feb 10 (DN) A 6-member SL Para Athletics team will compete in the first-leg of the World Para Athletics Grand Prix (GP) Meet, which commences in Dubai today. Asian gold medalist Amara Indumathi and Kumudu Priyanka will compete in the women�s long jump event today while Priyanka will also compete in the women�s 100m T46/47 event tomorrow. Meanwhile, Gamini Ekanayake (Javelin), Palitha Bandara more..

Feb 10 (Island) Reigning national champion Anika Seneviratne, Oneli Perera, Savini Jayasuriya and Janali Manamperi recorded wins to advance to the women�s singles semi-finals of the 105th Colombo Championships at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts on Tuesday. Anika Seneviratne who was eliminated in the semi-finals at the last edition beat Sethmi Sumanaweera 6-1, 6-1 to advance, while her sister Alana was beaten by Oneli Perera (6-1, 6-1). Meanwhile, Thehan Wijemanne ousted more..

Feb 10 (TM) In response to our back-page lead news story yesterday, SLC senior official said that having an interim committee for cricket administration will be a violation of democratic principles that are binding local cricket administration. �The option of an interim is a tactic used by some of our rival parties who know that they are unable to come to power through a proper election. Appointing an interim committee is a violation of democratic rights of our (SLC�s) more..

Feb 10 (FT) The Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) will remain intact and work to expedite over a 100 projects, promote renewable energy, as well as attempt to keep existing electricity prices, Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said. Assuming duties at the Commission, Ratnayake ruled out the abolishment of the power and water sector regulator, insisting that such issues had now been resolved. more..

Feb 10 (CT) Cabinet is expecting the Justice Ministry and other relevant authorities to take legal action against Tamil groups and politicians from the East, who engaged in a protest march despite several Restraining Orders being issued by Magistrate in the region and also against quarantine regulations. Cabinet Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella noted that the action taken by the Justice Ministry and other authorities will be known in the near future. more..

Feb 10 (SF) Gulf Air is making a return to the SL capital after nearly a year. Direct flights will resume to Colombo on Feb 15th, operating twice a week. The move comes as Gulf Air continues to resume routes and move to its newly constructed terminal in Bahrain. After a challenging 2020, Gulf Air has been restoring its network in the last few months. The carrier has now resumed flights to key destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia. The return to SL next week will be another signal more..

Feb 10 (FT) A total 976 COVID-19 patients were detected from the island yesterday, bringing the country�s total COVID-19 patient count to 71,211. This is the highest number of COVID-19 patients detected in a day, with 892 patients detected on 28 Jan, 887 patients detected on 8 February, and 887 patients detected on 21 Jan. The patients detected yesterday include 971 associates of the Peliyagoda cluster and more..

Feb 10 (Island) SJB MP Dilip Wedaarachchi told Parliament yesterday that prison officers did not allow the parliamentarians to visit their Gampaha District MP Ranjan Ramanayake serving a prison term for contempt of the Supreme Court. �An MP has a right to visit prisons and meet any inmate. It is one of the privileges of an MP. We wanted to visit our fellow MP Ramanayake at the Angunakolapelessa Prison but we were turned back. This amounts to a breach of our privileges,� more..

Feb 10 (FT) The High Post Committee (HPC) of Parliament yesterday approved Shrimal Wickremasinghe as the new Ambassador to the Seychelles and J.M.J.P. Bandara as the new Ambassador to Nigeria. In addition to these names, the Committee also approved the recent appointments of four Ministry Secretaries. They are Mapa Pathirana as Secretary to the Ministry of Labour, R.M.I. Ratnayake as Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries, Anuradha Wijekoon more..

Feb 10 (TM) Health authorities have granted approval for all schools in the the Gampaha and Kalutara Districts of the Western Province to reopen on 15 Feb, Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said. Furthermore, provincial co-ordinating committees have declared that 412 schools out of 492 schools in the Colombo District are safe to be reopened. �The proposal to reopen these schools will be presented to Director General of Health Services and more..

Feb 10 (FT) A total of 370 persons have died of COVID-19 in the country to date, five of which were confirmed by health authorities yesterday. An individual from Moratuwa yesterday died of kidney disease exacerbated by COVID-19 and blood poisoning at the KDU Hospital. He was 81-years-old. The previous day, a 45-year-old individual from Kapuliyadda died of acute COVID pneumonia, bronchitis, and high blood pressure at the Teldeniya Base Hospital. more..

Feb 10 (FT) Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena called for a review and reduction of plethora of procedures inhibiting ease of doing exports and imports. �There is a greater scope for our policymakers to reduce the number of procedures and requirements involved and also to avoid duplication if any. Hence, it is time for us to reassess the real need of many of these regulatory frameworks,� he said. In this regard, Gunawardena said the launch of more..

Feb 10 (Island) State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal told Parliament yesterday that there was nothing wrong in the Bank of Ceylon releasing a Rs 3.1 billion loan facility to D.S. Gunasekera Company. �The BoC has adhered to its procedures and followed all accepted methods in releasing that loan. Nothing wrong has happened in that transaction,� said Minister Cabraal, responding to a series of questions raised by Opp. Leader more..

Feb 10 (DM) This year on Feb 4, as has happened over the past 73 years, leaders of the governing political elite celebrated this country�s Independence Day with a show of military might. Sections of the minority communities carried out protest demonstrations in the north and east. Some politicians went to the extent of clothing themselves in black -- perhaps in the hope of getting media coverage. They were successful. Unfortunately even SL�s President described himself as a more..

Feb 10 (DN) Cabinet has granted its consent to review regional trade accords and independent trade accords that are still under discussion. Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that regional and independent trade agreements are main features of international trade and they had escalated in number and complexity as well. �Although SL too had entered into several such accords, it has been observed that the expected results have not been gained from some of those. more..

Feb 10 (FT) It was encouraging to see the National Science Foundation (NSF) has taken a timely move of organising a research conference on COVID-19. It was all about the impact, mitigation, opportunities and building resilience with a fitting theme from adversity to serendipity. Postgraduate Institute of Management was so glad to be a strategic partner for this noteworthy endeavour and I was part of the steering committee of conference, that was ably led by NSF Chairman Prof. Ranjith Senarathne. more..

Feb 10 (LBO) SriLankan Airlines together with the country�s premier meeting, events, and function hosting venue BMICH, have come together to promote MICE tourism in SL. This agreement between two pioneers in their respective fields will serve to reinforce the positioning of Sri Lanka as a key MICE destination in the future. SL�s premium venue for hosting events and functions, BMICH, offers state of the art infrastructure and can easily accommodate any type of convention, more..

Feb 10 (AD) Strategic planning should be carried out in order to prevent the COVID-19 virus from entering the society through tourists who visit the country whilst ensuring the prevention of the virus from transmitting to the tourists from the community, said the Minister Prasanna Ranatunga. Accordingly, Minister stated that health regulations should always be followed and steps should be taken to vaccinate the people of this country as more..

Feb 10 (AD) Prez Rajapaksa has appointed 12 new High Court Judges. New High Court Judges received their letters of appointment from the Prez at the Presidential Secretariat today. Accordingly, former District Judges N.K.D.K.I. Nanayakkara, R.L. Godawala, V. Ramakamalan, U.R.V.B. Ranathunga, D.G. Premarathne, Mahi Wijeweera and M. Trotsky were appointed as HC Judges. Meanwhile, Additional District Judges M.N. Lakmali, W.D. Wimalasiri and I.P.D. Liyanage have more..

Feb 10 (EN) SL has failed to sell 65% of the offered 40 billion rupees at an Treasuries auction Wednesday despite 74.4 billion rupees of bids coming in, data showed. The debt office sold 11.5 billion rupees of bills at 4.72%, up 2 basis points from a week earlier, after offering 7 billion rupees. Only 708 billion rupees of 6-month bills were sold at 4.85%, up 7 basis points from a week earlier after offering 5 billion rupees. The debt office only sold 1,650 billion rupees of 12-month bills more..

Feb 10 (EN) There�s bitter invective being directed at a govt Cabinet Minister these days by a faction of the ruling alliance and that is prompting speculation whether some cracks are appearing in the SLNPP. Minister Wimal Weerawansha is the target for the hate speech and is being attacked for his call for Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa to be given a bigger role in running the ruling alliance, side-lining PM Mahinda. more..

Feb 10 (Island) Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa told Parliament yesterday that the collapse of cricket in Sri Lanka had commenced five years back and politicians had no right to get involved in cricket administration in the name of reviving the game. Responding to a question raised by Matara District SJB MP Buddhika Pathirana, Minister Rajapaksa said that Sri Lanka Cricket was an independent body. MP Pathirana wanted to know why a special committee had been appointed. more..

Feb 10 (DN) Technology company 99x was recognised for its best practices in diversity and equality in the workplace as it was listed a Best Workplace to Work for Women in SL for a second consecutive year. Building an inclusive workplace for all is a key area of focus for 99x and being on the list, spearheaded by the Great Place To Work Institute SL, once again reaffirms its commitment to this. �It is a testament to our efforts to be recognised by Great Place To Work Institute once again. more..

Feb 10 (EN) SL authorities have given up on continuing PCR tests and numerous issues that have cropped up in supply chain management have caused a worrying drop in daily testing, a spokesman for a govt lab technologists� collective said. President of the Association of Govt Medical Laboratory Technologists Ravi Kumudesh blamed the Ministry of Health on the drop in tests. �For about two months now, reagents needed more..

Feb 10 (Island) Plans were afoot to plant nearly 100,000 saplings countrywide within the next 3 months, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. Amaraweera said his Ministry planted some 5,000 different plants every weekend, and the govt had already started a number of major development programmes, including the rehabilitation of 100,000 km of rural roads, expressway projects and urban housing schemes. �At times, even the trees along the roads have to be removed. more..

Feb 10 (CT) If it was wrong to work for Mahinda Rajapaksa�s victory in 2005, to leave the JVP and support victory in the war, and to work towards the victory after Mahinda�s defeat in 2015, I am ready to apologise to the nation, said leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF), Minister Wimal Weerawansa. Also, if it was wrong to say that Gotabaya Rajapaksa should be made the Presidential candidate and work to make it a reality, I must apologise to the nation, Weerawansa said. more..

Feb 10 (Nikkei) SL govt of Prez Rajapaksa has been placed in the hot seat ahead of a UNHRC session beginning later this month amid a failure to ensure accountability for alleged war crimes toward the end of the country's quarter-century long armed conflict. In a stinging report released on Jan. 27, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on the 47 member states of the UNHRC to impose more..

Feb 10 (AD) The final report of the PCoI probing the 2019 Easter Attack contains names of several strongmen of the previous regime, according to Minister of Public Security Read Admiral Sarath Weerasekara. He mentioned this to the media yesterday. Weerasekera stated that separate files have been handed over to the Attorney General regarding the 08 incidents related to the Easter attack and that 12 lawyers have been appointed by the Attorney General for this. more..

Feb 10 (AD) Sri Lanka Station Masters� Union has decided to launch a trade union action from midnight today (February 10). Its Chairman Sumeda Somaratne mentioned this during a press conference held this afternoon. According to him, the staff shortage in the Railway Department is one of the main reasons behind the trade union action. Somaratne says that the department will collapse within two months if it continues to operate amidst the many vacant positions. more..

Feb 10 (CT) Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris says that the decision to reopen schools in the Western Province on the 15th of Feb has been cancelled. He stated that all schools island-wide will reopen for all grades on the 15th of March 2021. Ministry of Education recently obtained recommendations from District Development Committees on reopening schools in non-isolated areas of the Colombo, Gampaha & Kalutara more..

Feb 10 (CT) The programme to provide laptops on a concessionary payment scheme to students qualified to enter universities commenced under the patronage of Prez Rajapaksa. The programme has been formulated by the UGC in collaboration with the People�s Bank, to digitalise the entire education system to meet current needs as envisioned in the national policy framework of Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour. People�s Bank has allocated Rs 3 billion for this project. more..