Jul 14 (FT) The multi-billion-rupee event management industry yesterday charged that it was being discriminated against and urged the Govt allow bigger corporate functions to take place within the necessary guidelines. In its first engagement with the media yesterday, the two-year-old Event Management Association of SL (EMASL) listed a host of setbacks over the past 16 months amidst the COVID pandemic, and more..

Jul 14 (Island) SL are all set to encounter Uzbekistan in the Central Asian qualifier for the Senior Asian Volleyball Championship at the Sugathadasa Stadium on Wednesday. Team captained by Janitha Surath consist of both youth players who did well at the last National C'ship and experienced players. The match starts at 3 pm. The match is vital for both teams as they aspire to compete in the 21st Senior Asian Volleyball C'ship to be held from Sept 12 to 19 in Japan. more..

Jul 14 (DN) Former SL cricket legend Muttiah Muralitharan believes that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) should appoint former cricketer Roshan Mahanama as the Head Coach of the Men�s National Cricket Team. �He is the only man I can think of who can change the current system mainly because of his discipline,� Muralitharan said. �I have spoken to the Sports Minister as well. Roshan Mahanama said that he wants time to think about it but this is my opinion, I don�t know what SLC thinks about this,� more..

Jul 14 (TM) Muttiah Muralitharan too revealed on Monday (12) how player factionalism and self campaigning have ruined SL�s cricket during the last four, five years. You become a national player or the Captain those days and you tried to consolidate your place only by way of performing well and doing your best to the country, and by winning for your country. The recent trend is that you try to establish your place or the captaincy, more..

Jul 14 (FT) SL National Arbitration Centre (SLNAC) has called for greater use of local expertise in arbitration under the Port City Commission Act and in the upcoming Port City. SLNAC shared this suggestion during a courtesy call with State Minister Nivard Cabraal. SLNAC Chairman Sujeiva Samaraweera, Member Board of Governors and Chief Legal Advisor Hiran de Alwis and Chief Operations Officer Johann Atapattu, attended the meeting. Samaraweera raised the issue that more..

Jul 14 (FT) Govt hopes to better manage scarce water resources via new legislation, a move which the Cabinet approved on Monday. Govt said the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB), established in 1975 under the provisions of the NWSDB Act, No. 2 of 1974, currently operates 331 water supply schemes, 2.4 million domestic connections and 207,000 commercial connections. NWSDB contributes 43.8% of the 93.8% total safe drinking water coverage in the country. more..

Jul 14 (AJ) Getting online school lessons for this remote SL village requires a trek of more than three kilometres (about two miles) in dense bushes, sometimes visited by leopards and elephants. The teachers and some 45 schoolchildren in Bohitiwaya then climb a rock to access the only internet signal available. Information technology teacher Nimali Anuruddhika uses the signal to upload lessons for her students more..

Jul 14 (CB) Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is ready to join hands with its counterparts in Pakistan and Sri Lanka to jointly host two ICC World Cups in the upcoming 2024-31 cycle of ICC events. Cricbuzz had previously reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was looking to form a consortium with SLC and BCB to stage the 2027 and 2031 World Cups respectively. In its 10th meeting of the Board of Directors on 15 June, BCB too announced that it would express interest to solely host more..

Jul 14 (DN) BOI announced that it had successfully administered the first dose of vaccinations against the COVID-19 pandemic to employees of all 14 export processing zones across the country, while carrying out a simultaneous drive to inoculate employees located in manufacturing entities under its purview that fall outside of the zones as well. Through these initiatives, the BOI aims to administer the first dose of the vaccination for all employees totaling nearly 500,000 by mid of Aug this yr. more..

Jul 14 (FT) Skyrocketing cost of living and rising unemployment are part of the Govt�s legacy as they complete two years in office, SJB alleged yesterday. Addressing the media, SJB MP and former State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne charged that ill-advised policies of the Govt had caused the cost of living to skyrocket, adding to the burden of the public already impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. more..

Jul 14 (AD) Development Lotteries Board (DLB) Chairman Anusha Palpita has been appointed as the Secretary to the newly-established Ministry of Economic Policies and Plan Implementation. Last month, it was reported that the former Secretary to the Ministry of Industries had written to Prez Rajapaksa, seeking a premature retirement. He was later designated as the chairman of Development Lotteries Board on June 21. The Senior SL Administrative Officer has previously served more..

Jul 14 (Island) Consulate General of SL in Guangzhou transported 100,000 face masks donated by Hongda Xingye Co., Ltd, in association with the Guangxiao temple of Guangzhou, to be donated to Buddhist temples, organisations in SL Hongda Xingye Co., a major resource and energy integrated group in China, manufacturing PVC, hydrogen, caustic soda, rare earth new materials and soil conditioning agent and the President of the company Zhou Yifeng is also the President of more..

Jul 14 (FT) SL�s COVID-19 detections rose to 277,519 with the detection of 1,413 COVID-19 patients yesterday. 1,404 patients linked to the New Year cluster were among the patients detected yesterday. This raises the cumulative patient count of the Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda, Prisons and New Year clusters to 269,535, which includes 174,885 patients from the New Year cluster, 82,785 patients from more..

Jul 14 (FT) Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), in close collaboration with The National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC), and mobile operators, has announced an online and SMS-based appointment system for COVID vaccination appointments, available from 12 July 2021 onwards. Mobile operators Dialog Axiata, Mobitel Lanka, Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka, and more..

Jul 14 (Island) Minister Douglas Devananda recently said that following his discussions with Prez Rajapaksa, a decision has ben taken to release some of the lands occupied by the Army in North Walkamam, to their rightful owners. Prior to a ministarial meeting the Minister told journalists that the said lands would be released to their original owners around September. Devananda said the Army had occupied around 4,000 acres of land in the area, which had been abandoned by more..

Jul 14 (TM) JVP has demanded the immediate withdrawal of an alleged Cabinet proposal to transfer 40% of shares of the Yugadanavi Power Plant in Kerawalapitiya held by the Treasury to a company based in the US and the immediate termination of the relevant agreement signed between the Finance Ministry and Treasury Secretary and the said company. JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake claimed that more..

Jul 14 (AD) Sri Lanka will receive 1.5 million doses of Moderna vaccines this Friday (16), says State Minister Prof. Channa Jayasumana. The coronavirus jab developed in the United States will be delivered to the island nation under the COVAX facility. Speaking in this regard, Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said 750,000 of the Moderna shots are expected to be administered as the first dose, and the remaining 750,000 will be rolled out as the second dose after one-month period. more..

Jul 14 (DM) Whilst stating that people of Sri Lanka need a stimulus package to overcome the difficulties they are currently facing, the Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday said he will engage in street battles to get it for the people if the government continues to turn a deaf ear for this demand. Speaking during a protest organised by SJB MP Harshana Rajakaruna in Kadawatha, Mr. Premadasa said his party will launch street battles to win the demands of the people. more..

Jul 14 (Island) President�s Secretary P.B. Jayasundera said that imports should be relaxed instead of imposing restrictions, in a manner that it would not be harmful to the govt policy framework. Dr. Jayasundera, the Secretary to the Treasury at the height of the war and former top Central Banker, was responding to a query about the CBSL proposal to restrict non-essential imports. He said he was against policies adopted by CB. more..

Jul 14 (CT) Govt criticised the principals and teachers who have stopped online teaching and called them a worthless group. Cabinet Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the teachers refusing to teach the children should be taken very seriously. He added that in a situation where the Govt is making every effort to ensure education and secure the future of children, teachers should act more independently and responsibly. He claimed that at first, the teachers were demonstrating solely more..

Jul 14 (TM) Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) has raised concerns over the renewed threats to the life of its Secretary Sudesh Silva who is a key eyewitness to the 2012 Welikada Prison massacre. In a statement to the media over the weekend, CPRP Chairman Attorney-at-Law Senaka Perera claimed that Silva, a key eyewitness to the Welikada Prison massacre case HC (TAB)/493/19 being heard before the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar, more..

Jul 14 (TM) Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith severely criticised govt�s response to the protests against the General Sir John Kotelawala National Defence Uni (KNDU) Bill last week. �It is disappointing to see activists & protestors against KNDU Bill being forcibly sent to quarantine after being granted bail by the Courts. This is a return to the old political culture, where thuggery is used to suppress freedom,� more..

Jul14 (FT) Amidst the growing concerns about the sinking economy, the battle at play, between some of the economic wizards from both the Opposition and the Govt on the subject matter, has turned into an interesting stage. The message we get indicates that the conclusions of the debaters are at great variance like the N and S poles. Opposition spokesmen categorically state that there is no in-between solace for the falling economy other than the assistance from IMF while the State batsmen maintain more..

Jul14 (Island) Some Sri Lankans throw their crowbars out during thunderstorms; they think lightning will strike these steel implements, and not their houses. The govt has apparently adopted this method to deflect criticism following the forcible removal of some teachers� union leaders for quarantine. It has meted out the crowbar treatment, as it were, to the police. The govt has flayed the police for having forcibly taken away the teachers. Some ministers are even shedding copious more..

Jul 14 (Island) National Peace Council (NPC) says sending protesting political and civil society activists for quarantine has a chilling effect on the freedom to dissent which is fundamental to democracy. The NPC has sent us the following statement on the recent crackdown on public protests: �Several protests by different political parties and civil society groups on grievances facing different sectors of society have been broken up by the police. The latest was the breakup by police of a peaceful more..

Jul 14 (TM) The Ceylon Teachers Union has filed a fundamental rights petition before the Supreme Court. It called on the police to use the guidelines issued by the Director General of Health Services to curb the spread of Covid-19 and to rule out violations of fundamental rights by the police. The petition was filed by the President of the Ceylon Teachers Union Priyantha Fernando and its Vice President Habib Mohamed Sameen. The IGP, Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi, more..

Jul 14 (EN) Sri Lanka vaccinated 337,445 people Tuesday (13), the highest number of vaccinations given in a single day against COVID-19 in the island so far. 700 Sri Lankans received the first dose of the Pfizer BioN-Tech vaccine on Tuesday (13) bringing total Pfizer jabs in the country to 23,767 so far. The Russian made Sputnik V vaccine�s first dose was administrated to 15,202 bringing the total to 154,003 Sri Lankans more..

Jul 14 (EN) SL�s Shippers� Council representing importers and exporters of the country has welcomed a ruling on disputed extra charges imposed on importers by freight service providers, when freight had already been paid. The order by Director General of Merchant Shipping (DGMS) has limited fees that can be charged when freight has already been paid to delivery order fee and container deposit. �Accordingly, all charges on containerized cargo which cover entire cost more..

Jul 14 (Island) The govt should immediately suspend the state officials in charge of laboratory services and regulating the private sector following China�s decision to suspend the Nawaloka hospital as the designated hospital for PCR and antibody tests, President � College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS) Ravi Kumudesh said. Earlier the Chinese Embassy in Colombo said that several passengers from Sri Lanka holding negative PCR and anti-body test reports issued by Nawaloka hospital had more..

JJul 14 (AD) Former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe says that Sri Lanka is now in the middle of a major foreign exchange crisis and warned of hunger and massive unemployment in the country by the middle of next year if the govet does not take necessary action. �Our reserves amount to USD 4 billion. Once we settle the bond issues mid-year we�ll be left by another billion US dollars. So, we will be roundabout USD 3 billion.� more..

Jul 14 (MFA) The Ambassador of Viet Nam in Colombo Ho Thi Thanh Truc paid a courtesy call on State Minister of Regional Cooperation Tharaka Balasuriya at the Foreign Ministry premises on 13 July, 2021. While reiterating on the long-standing bilateral relations between the two countries, the State Minister Balasuriya noted that the main focus of the Government of Sri Lanka is on economic development, tourism and building trade ties with countries in the Southeast Asia region. more..

Jul 14 (FT) Govt has published a Tax Amnesty Bill which would indemnify persons who voluntarily disclose taxable supply, income or assets, against liability from investigation, prosecution and penalties. Cabinet last week approved the Finance Bill which has been published in the gazette ahead of its tabling in Parliament. The provisions of the Bill will apply to any person who has not disclosed any amount of taxable supply, income or assets, which were required to be disclosed under more..

Jul 14 (AD) If there is no major change in the situation, the country is expected to be fully open by September, General Shavendra Silva said. He said that the authorities are working under a policy to administer at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to the whole country by September. Accordingly, if they do not encounter any major change in pandemic situation in the country, country will be reopened completely by then, more..

Jul 14 (DM) The meeting between Prez Rajapaksa and officials from the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) along with the Cricket Committee scheduled to be held today has been postponed, Minister Namal Rajapaksa said. The minister tweeted this morning that SLC officials will meet the Prez today to brief on the short and long-term strategy for the development of cricket from school to the national level. He said the discussion will also focus on the way forward along with requirements for the development more..

Jul 14 (TM) SL�s cashew nut harvest this year has dropped by 40% from the average yearly harvest due to the weather conditions that prevailed prior to reaping. SL Cashew Corporation (SLCC) Chairman Saranga Ratnayake stated that the weather that prevailed with a heavy rainfall and strong winds might have possibly affected the decline of this year�s harvest. �The cashew nuts form from the cashew flower. The delicate clusters of flowers had been blown away by the strong wind and more..

JJul 14 (AD) Limited bus and train services will be operated between the provinces from today for essential services. These transport services will operate under the recommendations of the NOCPCO. Move comes as the Ministry of Health moves to ease travel restrictions imposed to control the spread of COVID-19. Ministry of Transport stated that steps have been taken to deploy a limited number of trains and buses only for more..

Jul 14 (Island) The Pakistan High Commission in Colombo yesterday reassured that Pakistan would strengthen and enhance ties between the two countries as spelt out by their Prime Minister Imran Khan during his recent visit to Sri Lanka. Pakistan High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Maj. Gen. (retd.) Muhammad Saad Khattak said Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa would grace the occasion when a high level delegation of the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce visits here shortly for a confab. more..

Jul 14 (NR) Department of Motor Traffic says the number of registered vehicles in SL has doubled in the past decade. Commissioner General of the Dept Sumith Alahakoon said however the number road accidents has not spiked in comparison to the increase in vehicles. He said at present nearly 8.3 million vehicles are on roads with a majority being motorcycles. In 2010, 3.95 million vehicles were registered in SL but it increased to more than double by December 2020 to 8.29 million. more..

JJul 14 (DM) Some people have shown reluctance to obtain the Chinese manufactured Sinopharm vaccine as it may hamper their plans to travel to certain countries. A number of people who contacted Daily Mirror over the past few days were concerned the impact taking the Sinopharm vaccine will have on their chances of overseas travel. Govt is currently administering the Sinopharm vaccine on a large number of people, more..