Feb 16 (FT) The COPA recommended to the Secretary to the Ministry of Transport to implement an expeditious action plan to streamline and promote the transportation of goods by rail in Sri Lanka after it was revealed that freight revenue of the Department has dropped drastically over the years. When the Ceylon Govt Railways (CGR) was started, from 1867 to 1934, its freight revenue accounted to 57% and it has decreased to 9.3% in 2017, 8.5% in 2018 and 7.1% in 2019. more..

Feb 16 (AD) State Minister Roshan Ranasinghe has been appointed as the new State Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Govt Affairs. He previously held the portfolio of State Minister of Land Management, State Enterprises Land and Property Development. The Polonnaruwa District MP was sworn in before President Rajapaksa this morning. Meanwhile State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana has been appointed as more..

Feb 16 (PMD) The Kekulu Thuru Udanaya Children�s Tree Planting National Programme was inaugurated by Prez Rajapaksa, today (15) at the Atabage Wimaladharma National School premises in Gampola. The number of children entering grade one in schools every year is close to 350,000. The objective of this programme is to groom them to be eco-friendly citizens and to ensure a secure ecosystem for future more..

Feb 16 (CT) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe recently met to discuss the contents of the report of the PCoI into political victimisation from 2015 to 2019, revealed SJB MP Tissa Attanayake. �It is true that the Opposition Leader met the UNP Leader. However, to my knowledge the discussion between them focused on the report of the PCoI into Political Victimisation from 2015 to 2019 and facing the political consequences following the report,� more..

Feb 16 (CT) Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said, copies of the Easter Attacks PCoI report will be made available to Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, the Catholic Church, and the public, as the Govt does not intend to protect the perpetrators of the Easter Sunday attacks. He said the Catholic Church lacked faith in the investigations conducted during the tenure of the Yahapalana Govt, adding that Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith testified before the PCoI on two different occasions, more..

Feb 16 (AD) Chairman of the Academy of Health Professionals, Ravi Kumudesh has slammed the move to administer Covid-19 vaccines to parliamentarians in SL, ahead of workers in essential sectors. In a press conference, Mr Kumudesh said giving priority to politicians in the inoculation drive while disregarding workers in other essential sectors such as journalists and teachers is against the WHO�s priority list for Covid-19 vaccination. more..

Feb 16 (EN) Sri Lanka has extended a waiver of parking and landing fees for charter operators at two airports in the country until July 2021 to encourage flights. The waivers will remain in place at Mattala Rajapaksa Int'l Airport, Colombo Int'l Airport in Ratmalana till July 19, 2021. The cabinet had given the approval to give the concessions given to air charter operations conducted according to schedules prepared by the Ministry of Tourism and SL Civil Aviation Authority. more..

Feb 16 (Island) Writ application filed by the Veddah Chief Uruwarigelage Wannila Eththo will be supported in the Court of Appeal on Friday. Veddah Chief has complained about the deforestation of the Damana forest in Mahiyangana by private companies to cultivate corn. Wannila Eththo has said that their ancestral property were taken over by the state and given to private companies for cultivation. He has requested the Court to issue an order stopping deforestation. more..

Feb 16 (CT) Parliament watchdog; the COPE has ordered the Secretary to the Education Ministry to immediately conduct an internal investigation to determine as to how the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) utilised funds amounting to Rs 2.1 million which was granted to develop a database for the Authority in 2016 and 2017, and give a report. It was revealed at the COPE hearing last Friday, that to create more..

Feb 16 (CT) Although a significant number of schoolchildren have been infected with COVID-19 so far, there is no way to collect information regarding it, claimed General Secretary of the CTU, Joseph Stalin. He also said one institution should be empowered to exchange such information, so that parents and students could take precautions. Stalin alleged that Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris is making contradictory statements regarding reopening of schools in the Western Province and more..

Feb 16 (UCAN) Anna Mary, 32, and her assistant display religious magazines in public places four days a week. They dress in white and display the magazines in a small cart in front of Maradana railway station and other public places in Colombo. Some passers-by ask what Mary and her assistant are doing. They reply that they are serving God whenever they can. Scenes like this have become common, especially in major cities in SL. "It is a common scene that hundreds of people more..

Feb 16 (FT) Court of Appeal (CA) yesterday issued notice in a landmark Writ Application filed by a group of former int'l cricketers and eminent personalities seeking an Order directing Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa to use his authority under the Sports Law to promulgate regulations pertaining to the composition and constitution of Sri Lanka Cricket to make it an independent body. more..

Feb 16 (EN) The website run by the State Ministry for Primary Health Care, Epidemic and COVID Disease Control that Sri Lankans were able to register to receive the Covid 19 vaccine has crashed. Many disappointed people said that they could not enter their data. The website now has an announcement on it saying it is currently being updated and will be available shortly. The website � https://ehr.lk/ asks users for personal details as well as their medical history. more..

Feb 16 (AD) Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi, who was receiving treatment for Covid-19, has been discharged from hospital, today. The minister has been discharged from the IDH after completely recovering. Wanniarachchi had tested positive for the virus on January 23 in a rapid antigen test. Initially she had been receiving treatment at an intermediate hotel quarantine centre in Hikkaduwa, however she was later transferred to IDH for further treatment. more..

Feb 17 (DM) India has at various times in the past and in the not too distant past proved to be a valuable ally of our country. In fact our Prime Minister went a step further referring to India as our closest friend. Sri Lankans one and all, could hardly forget India and Pakistan�s response during the World Cup series of 1996, when the two countries sent a joint team to play in SL when Australia and the West Indies refused to play here, for fear of the terrorist problem in this country at that time. more..

Feb 17 (DM) Shakthika Sathkumara was acquitted and released by the Magistrate�s Court of Polgahawela last week, as the Attorney General, at long last, informed court that the AG did not wish to pursue the case against the award-winning fiction writer who had been arrested in April 2019 under the ICCPR Act. Shakthika was said to have violated Article 3 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act, No. 56 of 2007 (ICCPR Act) based on a complaint made by some monks more..

Feb 17 (CT) Although the most commonly acknowledged negative impact of deforestation is that on wildlife habitat and the environment, one direct impact that has not been brought to the limelight is that of the shrinking of traditional land belonging to the indigenous population. One such recent incident reported is that of the clearing of the water catchment area of the Rambakan Oya Reservoir in the Ampara District. more..

Feb 17 (CT) Yesterday marked the 33rd death anniversary of actor turned politico and founder leader of the SLMP, Vijaya Kumaranatunga (Kumaratunga). Kumaranatunga was shot and killed by the JVP near his Polhengoda Road residence, Narahenpita, on 16 February 1988 for supporting the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord (ILPA) signed between President J.R. Jayewardene and Indian Premier Rajiv Gandhi in Colombo on 29 July, 1987. Polhengoda Road has since been renamed more..

Feb 17 (DM) The resolution of the East Container Terminal saga with a Cabinet decision that the Sri Lanka Ports Authority would retain 100% ownership and control, was widely seen as a victory for nationalist forces in general and the port trade unions in particular. Events that followed however raise doubts as to whether this was but a pyrrhic victory. Prospective stakeholders of the East Container Terminal (ECT) project, India and Japan, both made their displeasure known. more..

Feb 17 (Roar) Colombo Fort has, for over a century, been the centre of Sri Lanka�s economic activity; and being strategically located to facilitate int'l travel, it is not surprising that colonisers, be it the Portuguese, Dutch, or the British, chose to consolidate their control over the city. More than seven decades since the last of the colonisers departed, relics of a bygone era still dot the landscape of Colombo Fort, more..

Feb 17 (ST) SL�s plantations are on fire once again, though the opposing parties to the conflict seem to have reached, rather reluctantly, an agreement over wages. This was also the discourse that the trio was having on Thursday morning. "Ape wathukaraye thiyena prashne mokakda (What is this problem in the plantations?)� asked Kussi Amma Sera, sipping a mug of tea under the margosa tree. �Eh padi gena ne (Well it�s about wages),� noted Serapina. �Thani aithikarayo inna wathuwala,, more..

Feb 17 (CT) The PCoI that investigated the Easter Sunday massacre has submitted its findings in a lengthy report, said to be running into 10,000 pages, but surprisingly it has not yet been made available to the parliament let alone the public. At least the supreme head of the Catholic community, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjit who had been tirelessly agitating for a no hole bar investigation, should have been given access to read the full report. Because, it was his community of worshippers that faced the full more..

Feb 17 (GV) Whenever Prez Rajapaksa embarks on a discussion with the villagers visit, SL�s environmental defenders shudder in anticipation of yet another verbal executive order resulting in the destruction of more trees, more wetlands, more wildlife and more plants. They lay the ongoing pillage of the country�s natural resources squarely at the Prez�s door. �The Prez is providing leadership for environmental destruction,� said environmentalist Rukshan Jayewardene, an opinion echoed more..

Feb 17 (CT) One of the issues that has created internal division in the country is the cremation of those who have succumbed to the Covid virus. This policy of enforced cremations has been most opposed by the Muslim community for whom burial of the dead is a part of their faith. It has also brought international disapproval to the country. UN Human Rights Commissioner�s January report on SL states that The COVID-19 pandemic has also impacted on religious freedom and exacerbated more..

Feb 17 (CI) SL's multi-format tour of West Indies, comprising three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests, will start on March 3, with all fixtures to be played behind closed doors in Antigua, in a biosecure environment. Cricket West Indies (CWI) has initially intended to stage part of the tour in St Lucia, but a delay in SL's arrival after Mickey Arthur and Lahiru Thirimanne tested positive for Covid-19 and the need to finish the series more..

Feb 17 (Island) The govt has, true to form, sought to make light of severe environmental degradation caused by some of its development projects, and programmes to help the rural folk. Its ill-conceived scheme to promote traditional agriculture by releasing what it calls residual forests for farming has had a devastating impact on the country�s forest cover, which has decreased to an alarming 17%. Land grabbers are having a field day. They have encroached on the Sigiriya sanctuary more..

Feb 17 (FT) Japanese Ambassador Sugiyama Akira on Tuesday presented anti-terrorism surveillance and investigation vehicles to Prez Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat Office. These vehicles are the first batch of equipment donated by the Govt of Japan to the SL Police for the country�s counter-terrorism efforts in the wake of the Easter Sunday terror attacks in 2019. Among the dignitaries in attendance at the ceremony were Minister Sarath Weerasekera, IGP C. Wickramaratne and more..

Feb 17 (Island) Justice Minister Ali Sabry said a group with vested interests had distorted his speeches to tarnish his image. �They take sentences in my speech out of context and level various accusations against me. I am accused of things that I have not said and not even intended to say,� he said. �I actually have no time to respond to these allegations because it would deprive me of my time that I need to attend to my work. more..

Feb 17 (Island) Chameera Ginige and Ishara Madurangi won the men�s and women�s singles titles of the Dhanasiri Amarathunga Challenge Trophy All Island Ranking Table Tennis Tournament organised by the Western Province Table Tennis Association at Mount Lavinia. In the women�s final Madurangi beat Muthumali Priyadarshani 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 and in a closely contested men�s final Ginige beat Senura Silva 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8. Madurangi reached the final with a convincing more..

Feb 17 (Island) Sanudula Dahamdi of Mesaeus College scored back to back wins in the fifth and sixth rounds to take the lead at the halfway mark of the SL Women�s Chess Grand Prix 2021 at the Chess Federation headquarters, Nugegoda over the weekend. Dahamdi beat Gaveshi Wickramarathne and Naduni Abeywardena in the fifth and sixth rounds to increase her aggregate to five points in six games. Sanudula, who is one of the strongest Youth Girls players in SL will face her next opponent more..

Feb 17 (TM) Leader of the UNP Ranil Wickremesinghe has not accepted his Party members� repeated requests to fill the UNP�s solitary Parliamentary National List seat vacancy but may accept when the time is right, The Morning learnt. �We will see. He might accept the seat when the necessary time comes,� UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara said when we queried regarding the fate of the vacant seat. more..

Feb 17 (FT) The bearish run at the Colombo Stock Market has seen Rs. 475 billion in value wiped off in just 10 market days so far in February with yesterday�s fall adding Rs. 143 billion. Both indices yesterday dipped sharply by 4% amidst below average Rs. 4.27 billion turnover, as investors were left dumbstruck, whilst some were looking for factors or people who caused the recent downfall. Major contributors to yesterday�s 326 points dip in ASPI were LOLC (down by 18% or Rs. 79.75 more..

Feb 17 (DN) Former legendary SL spinner Muttiah Muralitharan believes that cricketers should be mentally strong and should be in a good frame of mind before representing the country at the highest level. The 48-year-old spin wizard made these observations while delivering a motivational speech to the National players at the SSC in Maitland Place on Monday. �Without a proper mentality you can�t do anything on the field and you should develop your mentality first to perform well in this game,� more..

Feb 17 (FT) Sri Lanka will open new embassies in Spain, Romania as well as a Consulate General Office in Madagascar, Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena informed the consultative committee on the Ministry. He said Sri Lanka would also establish diplomatic relations with Liechtenstein. At the committee meeting, the question of repatriation of Sri Lankan refugees in India was raised by TNA MP Charles Nirmalanathan. more..

Feb 17 (FT) Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga has appointed a nine-member, high-powered Steering Committee for Strategic Management of Global Promotional Campaign. The members are Tourism Ministry Secretary S. Hettiarachchi, SL Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando, SL Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Acting MD Madhubani Perera, Tourism Advisory Committee Chairman Hiran Cooray, SL Association of Inbound Tour Operators President Thilak Weerasinghe, more..

Feb 17 (DN) The milk processing capacity of the country is currently much larger than the milk output of the local livestock. The Milk Corporation (Milco) under the Ministry of Agriculture is currently operating profitably after reforms at the company following new management in 2020. Milco made a profit of Rs 441 million in 2020 as opposed to a loss of Rs 619 million in 2019. The corporation was last profit-making in 2016 where it made a profit of Rs 339 million. more..

Feb 17 (FT) The country�s COVID-19 patient count exceeded 77,000 with a total of 756 persons testing positive for COVID-19 yesterday. 743 persons were associates of the Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster and 13 were linked to the prisons cluster. This brings the triple clusters that emerged from Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda and Prisons to 73,157 patients. In addition to this, 1,963 SL returnees from abroad, 950 Navy personnel & their contacts, more..

Feb 17 (DN) Fast bowler Dhammika Prasad has decided to retire from international cricket and he is set to make an official announcement tomorrow. �I think this is the correct time for me to retire from International cricket and provide a chance for the youngsters,� the 37-year-old right-arm paceman said. �I have decided to continue playing domestic cricket and already I have played for 19 years for the SSC giving my best,� added the former schoolboy of De Mazenod College. more..