Jul 21 (Island) When one young kid called Ushan Thivanka from a little known school made the winning jump in the Under-11 long jump at a local meet, the talent scouts of Maris Stella College, Negombo made a beeline to the budding talent. No sooner he was recruited by the then athletics stronghold, Maris Stella, he came under the supervision of veteran jumping coach Philip Ranjith. There was no such attention paid to Uditha Chandrasena from Sri Gnanawasa MMV, more..

Jul 21 (DN) SL�s champion shuttler Niluka Karunaratne, competing in his third successive Olympic Games, will meet Taiwan�s Tzu-Wei Wang in the opening round of the Men�s Singles badminton competition of the 2020 Olympic Games here on Saturday (24). The venue for this important tie from SL�s point of view will be the court number three of the Musashino Forest Plaza commencing at 8 p.m. (4.30 p.m. SL time). Karunaratne, who was in fine form at the last 2016 Olympic Games in Rio more..

Jul 21 (EN) SL must formulate new policy to address what has now become the worst human-elephant conflict in the world, COPA Chairman Prof Tissa Vitharana said. Presenting the first COPA report in parliament, he said that policies adopted by authorities to date to address the conflict has only resulted in increased human and elephant deaths. The govt MP said implementing a proposal by elephant expert and head of the CCR more..

Jul 21 (Island) When the Athletics Championship of the All Island Schools Games was held on a grass track at Beliatta (just a couple of months after the US citizen Christine Merrill competed in the 400 metres hurdles for Sri Lanka at the London Olympics) in 2012, there were some amazing performances that put to shame the records created on synthetic tracks. Of them all, the prowess of an unassuming little girl in the Under-15 age category was not to be missed. more..

Jul 21 (FT) A total of 215,641 persons were vaccinated against COVID-19 on Monday, raising the number of persons to receive the first dose of a vaccine to 5,876,281 and both doses to 1,697,686. 51.1% of the country�s above 30 population has received at least one dose of a vaccine and 14.8% have received both doses. Over 80% of the above 30 population in the Western Province have received the first dose of a vaccine and the Epidemiology Unit states that 85% of Gampaha�s over 30 more..

Jul 21 (FT) SJB MP Rohini Wijeratne Kavirathna charged that the Govts� push to militarise the higher education sector was aimed at crushing civil rights and creating a population without dissent in the future. �This move indicates that they (Govt) are preparing to create a community where there is no difference of opinion, where the entire public service may be subjected to military training,� she said. more..

Jul 21 (DM) The inter-provincial movement restrictions will remain in place until further notice, General Shavendra Silva said. He said no decision was taken yet to ease the movement for normal services between provinces. On June 10, Director General of Health Services had issued a circular easing the travel restrictions. After having relaxed the travel restrictions, a limited number of inter-provincial buses and trains had been permitted to operate from July 14 for essential duties. more..

Jul 21 (FT) Sri Lanka�s COVID-19 fatalities rose to 3,870 with 43 COVID-19 deaths confirmed on Monday. The Director General of Health Services on Monday confirmed the deaths of 26 persons who were male and 17 persons who were female. In total, 2,255 COVID-19 fatalities have been male and 1,615 COVID-19 fatalities have been female. Of the COVID-19 deaths confirmed on Monday, 31 were above the age of 60, 11 were between ages 30 and 59 and one was below the age of 30. more..

Jul 21 (CT) Sri Lankan exporters have expressed their concerns over the shortage of foreign exchange in the forex market, Secretary General / Chief Executive Officer of the National Chamber of Exporters (NCE), Shiham Marikar told Ceylon FT. �Exporters finding difficulties to pay their import bills for the raw materials imported, there has not been adequate direction provided by Powers that Matter for officials to facilitate exporters� he said. more..

Jul 21 (Island) A JAT Holdings Ltd. Initial Public Offering (IPO) was successfully oversubscribed on the opening day, which was a tremendous achievement for the company in a situation where the country is heading for a major foreign reserve crisis, stock market analysts said. In a CSE filing last morning JAT Holdings noted that they have received applications for over Rs. 2.23 billion for the above issues by it and accordingly the issue has been oversubscribed, market analysts said. more..

Jul 21 (MFA) In line with the mandate of the State Ministry of Regional Cooperation to enhance economic relations with the Middle-East, State Minister Tharaka Balasuriya, held virtual deliberations with Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion of the Sultanate of Oman Qais bin Mohammad Al Yousef on 14 July, 2021. During the discussion, State Minister Balasuriya highlighted the trade and investment opportunities generated from the Port City more..

Jul 21 (ST) The father of young Sri Lankan athlete Parami Wasanthi Maristela and other fishermen, who were arrested by coast guards in India�s Andaman Islands for illegally straying into their waters, were officially released one month ago. However, they are unable to return to Sri Lanka as their fishing boat is disabled. Right now, they are awaiting help from the Sri Lankan authorities, to get back home. more..

Jul 21 (MFA) The Ambassador of Myanmar to Sri Lanka U Han Thu called on the Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on 16 July. The Foreign Minister Gunawardena emphasized on the longstanding Sri Lanka Myanmar fraternal bilateral ties and shared history based on Buddhist links over centuries. He reiterated the establishment of the Amarapura and Ramanna Nikaya in SL in 1803 and 1865 respectively are the testimonies of the bilateral relations between the two countries. more..

Jul 21 (Island) Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Dasanayake said that the attention of the Parliamentary Liaison Committee had been drawn to the need to seek the assistance of experts and researchers for special committees such as the COPE and the COPA. A number of Committee Chairpersons who participated in this Committee meeting expressed their views in this regard and pointed out the need to obtain the contribution of experts in various fields including economics. more..

Jul 21 (TM) Sri Lanka expressed dismay at the announcement made by Moody�s Investors Service on Monday, as it has placed SL�s rating as under review for downgrade in spite of the financial measurements already taken by Govt of SL. Ministry of Finance made this remark issuing a statement on Monday itself, saying the statement that has been made by the aforementioned investor service cannot be accepted more..

Jul 21 (CT) The Hajj Festival could be described as a religious festival through which the concept of social coexistence is communicated, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said in his Hajj Festival message. He said Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and that those who are physically and financially capable should perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in a lifetime, adding that Muslims worldwide gather to perform the Hajj pilgrimage for a common purpose. more..

Jul 21 (CT) The Hajj Festival is a spiritual celebration that displays the spirit of mutual understanding, compassion, and exchange of fond greetings among Muslims the world over, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, issuing a Media release said. He said: I believe this is also a significant period in which the Muslim community bestows their traditions upon the future generation. All religious leaders have shown the concepts and principles that are needed for the well-being of humans. more..

Jul 21 (FT) Health officials yesterday warned of the onset of the fourth wave of COVID-19 in the country with the Delta variant soon becoming the dominant variant in 50% of the country�s population. Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) President Dr. Padma Gunaratne said the SLMA believed the country was nearing the initial stages of the fourth wave, based on information received on SL�s Covid-19 treatment system. more..

Jul 21 (Island) A large number of de-miners in the North were selling explosives to hunters and others who engage in illegal activities, de-miner S. Udayakumar told the media on Wednesday, in Jaffna. He said that he had also written to Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa about it. These de-miners steal a portion of explosives they recover while removing explosive devices and sell them to various parties. A network has been formed around the clandestine practice, Udayakumar says. more..

Jul 21 (TM) The Cabinet of Ministers granted the approval on Monday (19) to establish water tourist residences and water villas with the objective of promoting tourism in Kalpitiya and other coastal areas of Sri Lanka. It has been identified that the concept of water villa can be utilised in promoting tourism at the aforementioned city in the Puttalam District. It is now emerging as a new tourist destination with government initiatives in order to develop as an attractive destination. more..

Jul 21 (TM) Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) yesterday claimed that SL�s fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has commenced. �Despite the strict travel restrictions which were imposed in the country in May, there was never a huge reduction of patients that was recorded. However, the data we are receiving now from hospitals has made us conclude that we are now at the beginning of the fourth wave. more..

Jul 21 (FT) The current crisis in Sri Lanka appears to have two salient features. First is the ongoing corona pandemic and the resulting economic consequences. Second is the teacher protests and political mobilisations by the Opposition utilising the economic uncertainties. The two are linked, but the second does not appear to be justified by the first. On the contrary, it appears that the street protests, whether peaceful or not, are unethical given the pandemic conditions. more..

Jul 21 (FT) Presidential pardons in Sri Lanka seem to have conferred a constitutional privilege for some citizens to be more equal than others, even for those convicted of murder by the highest court in the country, the Supreme Court. Another feature associated with these pardons is that politicians from the major parties do not make much noise over these compared to other comparatively less important issues for which they protest, march the streets and go berserk on social media. more..

Jul 21 (DM) Health authorities expressed concern about a skin disease spreading in several areas including the North Central Province. Dr, Hema Weerakoon of the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital said the disease identified as TINEA caused by a fungus was spreading fast. She pointed out that the environmental effects, allergy to medicines, self-medication and community activities could result in the infection. The Doctor said that men, women and children of all ages had contracted disease. more..

Jul 21 (TM) A range of tax amnesties were tabled yesterday by the Govt to be enacted by the Parliament indemnifying those who voluntarily disclose any taxable income or asset against any investigation, prosecution, and penalty under the specified code of law. The provisions that cover imposing the voluntary disclosure to any individual mentions that any taxable supply, income, or asset that was not disclosed and was necessary to be disclosed under the provisions of any law more..

Jul 21 (EN) CID has taken into custody a mobile phone of belonging to a male domestic aid at former minister Rishad Bathuideen�s private residence, police said, where a 16-year-old female domestic aid succumbed to burn injuries. SDIG Ajith Rohana said the CID will look for any deleted data from the male domestic aid�s mobile phone. Two police teams were deployed on Monday (19) to record statements from the principal and more..

Jul 21 (Island) SL Army Officer Cadet Intake 5 completes 50 years today. 30 Officers of the Intake 5 were recruited to the SL Army in 1971 and they were sent to the Officer Cadet School in Madras, India. After their basic training in Madras they were further trained at the Diyatalawa Army Training Centre and passed out from there and among those officers; 10 had been promoted to the Rank of Major General, 7 Officers� were promoted to Brigadier, 5 Officers were promoted to the Rank of Colonel and, more..

Jul 21 (CT) Since the meeting with Education Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris has not come to a satisfactory conclusion, the teachers and principals will continue their trade union action, including withdrawing from online teaching. Following the failure of the talks, trade unions have planned a large protest tomorrow that will include public officials and academic staff. General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers� Union, Joseph Stalin, said their requests, including a pay hike, more..

Jul 21 (Island) SLPP MP Gevindu Cumaratunga is confident a new draft Constitution will be presented to the country before Prez Rajapaksa completes two years in office in November. Cumaratunga, who is also the Chairman of the Yuthukama civil society organisation said that Prez Rajapaksa assured the govt parliamentary group of his intention to do so before the enactment of the 20th Amendment last October. more..

Jul 21 (DM) Responding to claims made by Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) that the country is on the verge of facing a fourth wave, the Health Ministry today said there was no sign as of now to say that the country is heading to a fourth wave. The SLMA yesterday (20) said that country is heading towards the first phase of the COVID-19 fourth wave outbreak and added despite the travel restrictions, there was no significant decline in the number of COVID positive cases. more..

Jul 21 (EN) Sri Lanka plans to double exports to 20 billion US dollars within two years producing organic foods, Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena said, amid farmer protests and fears of lower harvests after chemical fertilizer was banned. �If we make the country organic that is if we produce poison-free Agri products, we can double the current export revenue within the next two years at least,� he said. �Normally we have an annual export revenue between 10-12 billion dollars. more..

Jul 21 (DM) Govt has incurred a loss of Rs. 3 billion as the Customs Dept had levied less customs duties intended for singles cabs when the Toyota Hilux Smart Cabs were imported by the Customs. It was revealed that the Govt had incurred a loss of Rs. 1 million each for the import of 3,000 vehicles. This was revealed in the first report of the Committee on Public Accounts for the first session of the 9th Parliament which was presented by more..

Jul 21 (Island) Sri Lanka launched the Submarine Cable Protection and Resilience Framework with the assistance of the Govt of Japan and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on July15, at a stakeholder meeting chaired by Secretary to the President Dr. P. B. Jayasundera. Sri Lanka is the first country in Asia to come up with such a Framework and it would have not been possible, if not for the generous support of the Govt of Japan through the United Nations Office on more..

Jul 21 (AD) The strike initiated by the teacher-principal trade unions is continuing for the tenth consecutive day today. They withdrew from conducting online lessons on July 12, demanding solutions for anomalies in salaries, forced quarantining protesters, and several other issues. A total of 17 trade unions representing school principals and teachers including the Ceylon Independent Teachers� Services Union (ITSU) had joined the said strike. more..

Jul 21 (CI) After a stretch of losses, Sri Lanka had an ODI victory in their grasp, but let it slip. For a team low on confidence, it had to have been devastating. Batter Charith Asalanka, who had top-scored for SL with 65, described what it was like to see the opposition's eighth-wicket partnership take the game away. "We're all emotional - the team and coaches are all emotional," he said. "We're a young team. more..

Jul 21 (DM) SLPP MP Dilan Perera said that the opposition had admitted that the no-confidence motion brought against Minister Udaya Gammanpila by the SJB was a deal favouring the govt. He said that JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake also referred to the NCM as a motion which was favourable to the govt. "UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe also said that the NCM only proved the failure of the Opposition," he said. He said the NCM brought by the SJB hoping to create more..

Jul 21 (DM) Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa has warned that the SJB would, from today, begin to hold protests in the constituencies of all MPs who voted against the no confidence motion on Minister Udaya Gammanpila yesterday. Speaking to journalists, Premadasa said the SJB was able to uncover who was sensitive to the people�s needs and who was not through this motion. �We were able to see as who was against the fuel price hike and who was not,� Mr. Premadasa said. more..

Jul 21 (DN) The Govt has taken steps to vaccinate 27% of teachers against COVID-19, State Minister Susil Premajayantha said in Parliament yesterday. The Vaccination of schoolchildren will be done on the instructions of the health authorities, he said. �As of Monday (19), 97% teachers of the Western Province, 73% of the Uva Province, 60% of the Northern Province, 60% of the Central, 27% of the Eastern, 93% of the Southern, 59% of the North Western, 60% of Sabaragamuwa Province more..