Feb 12 (DM) The landmark Declaration, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 10, 1948, reaffirms that, �All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, birth or other status�. Then, why are there fewer women than men in science? more..

Feb 12 (CT) Although we develop the cities with the concept of City Beatification, we should preserve the historical landmark sites in cities. But the authorities here, in the name of development, demolished the century old Elephant House Roundabout located in the proximity of R. A. de Mel Mawatha (Duplication Road), Colombo, at the Slave Island end. This now demolished landmark in the City was complete with the bust of an elephant, spouting water from its trunk. Another major incident was that more..

Feb 12 (GV) Why do Sri Lankan human rights advocates repeatedly place their trust in an imperfect and highly politicised inter-state human rights mechanism year after year? For many of us working in the domain of human rights, there is a long history to engaging the UNHRC. Mine began in 2008, when I spent some time in Geneva learning about the (then) new body established to protect and promote human rights around the world. Often (not always), the Council mutates into theatre. more..

Feb 12 (DN) Bandula Jayasekera is a man of many parts. But he is mostly known for his roles as a Senior Journalist, Newspaper Editor and Diplomat. He has served as a senior journalist, a columnist for several newspapers and was the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily News in 2006�2007. He also served as Director General, President�s Office Media Unit for some time during President Mahinda Rajapaksa�s tenure and Director General more..

Feb 12 (Island) The much-delayed Provincial Council (PC) polls can be held within a couple of months if Parliament passes necessary laws urgently, the Election Commission (EC) is reported to have said. The task of making laws is child�s play for the incumbent govt with a two-thirds majority in Parliament; the Opposition will also be left with no alternative but to support legislation to obviate the legal impediments to the conduct of the PC elections. Having swept parliamentary polls, more..

Feb 12 (CT) Someone asked me: What have you to say regarding the Cabinet decision to not grant the Colombo Eastern Container Terminal to India? My response was: What I have been warning earlier has come to pass. It is no secret that successive Sri Lankan Govts have cheated India many a time. This is another example. I expected this to happen after the Geneva sittings. I mentioned this in an interview with the media a few weeks ago. But it has happened slightly earlier. more..

Feb 12 (SO) Diplomats, UN officials and members of int'l community always enjoy meeting the TNA members whenever they visit SL and even invite TNA members to their countries. At the same time these diplomats and UN officials spend a lot of time speaking about human rights, children�s rights and a plethora of other rights associated with children. We know that 30 percent of the LTTE comprised children. If the LTTE had a strength of 10,000 of this 3,000 would have been children. more..

Feb 12 (CT) The 54th anniversary of D.S. Senanayake College, Colombo was marked on 10 February on a grand but poignant note in keeping with health guidelines, while giving pride of place to religious observances. The Principal, teaching staff, Prefects, old boys and other invitees attended the event. The proceedings commenced with the garlanding of the statue of the late educationist R.I.T. Alles, the founding principal of the school. Minister Udaya Gammanpila, who is a prominent more..

Feb 12 (CT) Many developed and developing countries around the world have realised the advantages of information and communication technology (ICT) in the health sector and started incorporating the maximum use of ICT in health sector. Currently, Sri Lanka is working on developing technology based solutions for the health sector. As a result, the Hospital Health Information Management System (HHIMS) more..

Feb 12 (ST) After my conversation a few weeks ago with The Packet, a community of artists, I am given a series of homemade zines to go through � small and affordable self-published magazines with text and images. The edges of each slim volume are spray painted and they are printed in black and white. There are 14 booklets and each book is a collated email thread. The email chains are like a digital tag game. One thread is started by someone and there is a pre-arranged sequence in the chain. more..

Feb 12 (FT) The National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) in a statement yesterday commended the decision taken by PM Mahinda Rajapaksa to allow the burial of COVID-19 dead. �We believe that the decision taken by the Govt is in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation, the reports of two expert committees comprising local health professionals, the Human Rights Commission of SL as well as the UNHRC,� the NMSJ Chairman Karu Jayasuriya said. more..

Feb 12 (FT) Multiple circuit breakers caused panic and a choppy ride for investors at the Colombo Stock Market yesterday, but a strong recovery enabled the indices to stem losses at close of trading. The more liquid S&P SL20 index fell below 5% within the first 45 minutes of trading, and again 7.5%, triggering successive trading halts yesterday. ASPI post-hitting the intraday low of 7,219 points during mid-day market more..

Feb 12 (FT) The Securities and Exchange Commission of SL (SEC) together with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday met the CEO�s of stockbroker firms for a discussion on the current status of the stock market. In a statement, the SEC said candid views were expressed between the parties and that the stockbrokers expressed their views with regard to the information that has been called for by the circular issued by the CSE. The stockbrokers expressed the view that more..

Feb 12 (DN) Prez Rajapaksa opened the State Trust Center (Rajawasala) Shopping Complex established at the Economic Center at Narahenpita yesterday. The showroom of the SL State Trading (General) Corporation was expanded and the Rajawasala shopping complex was constructed. It comprises 78 State and private shops. The objective of this project is to give the consumer an opportunity to purchase under one roof, quality products of both State entrepreneurs and local manufacturers, a more..

Feb 12 (Island) There has been a serious lapse on the part of those who conducted the environmental study of the Central expressway project, and they have not paid attention to the existence of rare plant species, Crudia zeylanica or SL Legume, in the area earmarked for clearing, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera says. Minister said it has been revealed that the Crudia Ceylania or Pandu Karanda plant near more..

Feb 12 (TM) News emerging from the current Sri Lanka squad reveals that its youngsters are feeling immense pressure from at least three senior players resulting in the juniors to undergo fear psychosis. The situation, The Morning Sports understood, has resulted in the number of junior and up-and-coming players in the Sri Lanka Test and white-ball squads suffering pressure and intimidation, a development which is likely to further erode their performance in future international series. more..

Feb 12 (CT) Top seed Anika Seneviratne and in-form Savini Jayasuriya overcame Oneli Perera (6/2, 4/6, 6/1) and Janali Manamperi (7/5, 1/6, 7/6 (2)) in thrilling three setters in their semi-final encounters to book their slots in the women�s singles final at the ongoing 105th Colombo Tennis Championship yesterday. It was a heated clash between Anika and Oneli, where the Ladies College star set the tone from the get go to frustrate her opponent in the early exchanges. more..

Feb 12 (CT) Colombo Additional Magistrate Bandara Nelumdeniya yesterday remanded, till 18 Feb, veteran SL cricket commentator, Brian Thomas, who is charged with defrauding a sum of Rs 143 million. The CID told the Additional Magistrate they had commenced a probe into the case on a complaint lodged by Dinesh Schaffter on 20 March 2019. They informed Court that in the complaint it had been mentioned the suspect, more..

Feb 12 (DN) SL Para Athlete Kumudu Priyanka finished in third place to secure the Bronze Medal in the Women�s Long Jump final in the World Para Athletics Grand Prix first-leg worked off in Dubai, UAE on Wednesday. Priyanka, in an attempt to qualify for the Tokyo Paralympics, produced an effort of 4.89m in the T/46/47 event, which is also her best performance in an international meet. However, Priyanka�s achievement is not good enough to obtain a direct slot for Paralympics Games. more..

Feb 12 (DN) Deputy High Commissioner of India to SL Vinod K. Jacob said that the Indian govt sees long term growth in the relationship with SL. Jacob noted the relationship was becoming more equal over time. Jacob reaffirmed India�s commitment to its long term obligations. Indo-Lankan trade gap has narrowed over the course of 2020. In 2020 imports from India amounted to US $3 billion while exports amounted to US $644.2 million. This represents a trade gap of US$2.4b which is a 27% decline more..

Feb 12 (CT) Plantation workers are perturbed over the Regional Plantation Companies� (RPCs) decision that they could only offer 13 days of work after the Wages Board had agreed to a daily wage of Rs 1,000. According to General Secretary of Lanka Jathika Estate Workers Union, MP Suresh Vadivel, when the voting took place at the Wages Board, the eight Trade Unions (TUs) voted for the Rs 1,000 agreement more..

Feb 12 (AD) Veteran actor Jayalal Rohana has passed away while receiving treatment at the Ragama Hospital, the Hospital Director confirmed. He had been 56 years old when he passed away this evening (11). Jayalal Rohana, known for his versatile acting, has also made great contributions to the SL entertainment industry as a theater director, writer, makeup artist, and radio play writer. He is well known for his works such as television drama Isuruyogaya, films Ayoma, Sinhawalokanaya. more..

Feb 12 (DM) With the rapid increase in the spread of Covid-19 in and around Alawwa town, all shops and sales outlets in the area now remain closed. PCR tests on all contacts of traders from the weekly fair in Alawwa who were found as positive are to be done on the 12th Friday and it was decided that all shops in Alawwa town are to remain closed till the outcome of these reports are known. This decision has been taken subsequent to a a discussion held by the Divisional Covid Committee with more..

Feb 12 (DN) Attorney General Dappula de Livera has requested CJ Jayantha Jayasuriya to appoint a Trial-at-Bar to try former Minister Ravi Karunanayake, former CB Governor Arjuna Mahendran and nine others in connection with the second CB bond issue that took place on Mar 29, 2016. AG Livera made this request taking into consideration the seriousness of the offences which caused a huge impact on national economy. more..

Feb 12 (DM) Household consumption declines by 5% in Jan.-Sept., in comparison to 4.1% increase in 2019. Household consumption, a key measure of consumer activity in the economy, fell in 2020, amid the stay-at-home orders and the subsequent warnings by the health authorities against going out for shopping, dining-outs, travel and other recreational activities. Accordion to the Census and Statistics Department data, the household consumption measured through more..

Feb 12 (FT) Health authorities yesterday confirmed four COVID-19 deaths, bringing the country�s COVID-19 death toll to 379. A 42-year-old individual from Colombo 13 died on Feb 10 while receiving treatment at the National Hospital of SL. The cause of death was lung cancer exacerbated by COVID-19, asthma, high blood pressure and acute diabetes. On 9 Feb, an individual from Colombo 5 died of COVID-pneumonia, acute diabetes, high-blood pressure and Parkinson�s disease while more..

Feb 12 (FT) The country�s COVID-19 patient count yesterday exceeded 73,000 with the detection of 942 patients, of which 939 were associates of the Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster. This brings the triple clusters that emerged from Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda and Prisons to 69,094. In addition to this, 1,955 SL returnees from abroad, 950 Navy personnel and their contacts, 651 persons linked to the Kandakadu cluster and more..

Feb 12 (Island) Light Rail Transit Project had been scrapped because there had been irregularities including commissions running to billions of rupees for some leaders of the yahapalana regime, Minister Johnston Fernando said. The minister said that some Opposition parties attributed the termination of the project to a misunderstanding with Japan who funded the LRT. �There was no such issue between us and Japan and bilateral relations between our two nations continue. more..

Feb 12 (Island) Supreme Court yesterday extended, till Sept 7, the stay order on the decision by former Prez Maithripala Sirisena to implement the death penalty on four convicted drug barons. In 2019, former Prez Sirisena announced that the death penalty should be imposed against four convicted drug dealers who were operating from within prisons to tackle the increasing drug related issues in SL. Several public interest litigants filed cases saying that the imposition of the death penalty more..

Feb 12 (Island) Members of the Parliamentary watchdog committee- COPE severely reprimanded the officials of the scandal-ridden Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) yesterday for their irresponsible attitudes and manner of handling finances. The SLC officials were reprimanded at a probe conducted by the COPE yesterday where it had been found that officials had not come there prepared with documents necessary for the audit, more..

Feb 12 (Island) SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem called on the govt to respect PM Mahinda Rajapaksa�s decision to allow those who died of COVID-19 to be buried. Hakeem said so after State Minister Dr Sudarshani Fernandopulle told Parliament that the decision to allow the burial of corpses of COVID-19 victims could not be made personally but by committees of experts. She said so in response to a question by SJB Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahman. more..

Feb 12 (HN) The agreement to digitize the entire judiciary was signed with the participation of Ministry of Justice, Judicial Service Commission, Ministry of Technology and the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of SL. Under this project, the entire judicial system of the country will be digitized. It is planned to digitize the entire judicial process, including the maintenance of files in the judiciary, the management of the judiciary, the keeping and issuance of case records, more..

Feb 12 (TM) The final report of the PCoI appointed to investigate the Easter Sunday bomb attacks on 21 April 2019 has recommended that criminal charges be filed against BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera. Sources said that the recommendation for these charges against the monk pertain to allegations of him having played a role in inciting racial tensions in Aluthgama and Beruwala in 2014. more..

Feb 12 (CT) Ven. Medagoda Abhayatissa Thera said the aim of the enemy is to create internal divisions within the SLPP Govt. He said, Minister Wimal Weerawansa has the right to express his views and observed that it was his thinking that the SLPP should create a suitable portfolio within the alliance to recognise the political contributions made by Prez Rajapaksa. The Thera was speaking to the Media yesterday. He mentioned that what had raged in this country during the past three decades had more..

Feb 12 (FT) I have been to the Colombo harbour only once, and that was to browse through the books on the floating library MV Logos, which docked there some years back. Harbours are big places; after a longish walk in the hot sun, the eager book lovers formed a slow-moving line on the quay where the ship was moored. The ship could accommodate only a certain number, and choosing books take time. The queue shuffled forward patiently, as batches were taken up in order. more..

Feb 12 (EJ) Govt of Japan provided a total sum of US$ 620,379 to Skavita Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Project (SHARP) for humanitarian demining activities in Northern SL. The grant contract was signed on 11th February 2021 at the Ambassador�s Residence in Colombo, between Mr. SUGIYAMA Akira, Ambassador of Japan and Lt Col (Retd) Mr. V.S.M. Jayawardhana, Programme Manager of SHARP. Govt of SL aims to achieve A mine impact free Sri Lanka more..

Feb 12 (DN) The awarding ceremony of the Mahathma Gandhi Scholarship Program conducted by the Education Ministry and the High Commission of India was held at the Ministry auditorium. The ceremony was presided over by Prof. G.L Peiris, Minister of Education and High Commissioner of India, Gopal Baglay. Gopalan Narayan, Educational Instructor, Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Kapila Perera, Additional Secretary L.M.D Dharmasena, Media Secretary of more..

Feb 12 (AD) The new SARS-CoV-2 variant, which belongs to the B.1.1.7 lineage and now dominant in the UK, has been identified in Covid-19 positive samples received from four areas across the country. The samples were received from Colombo, Avissawella, Biyagama and Vavuniya areas, says Director of the Dept of Immunology and Molecular Medicine of Sri J'pura University, Dr. Chandima Jeewandara. more..