Jul 3 (Island) Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) says the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Asela Gunawardena has yet to respond to issues raised by the outfit with regard to mismanagement and shortcomings in the ongoing Covid-19 inoculation drive. A HRCSL spokesperson said that HRCSL Chairperson Dr. Jagath Balasuriya, in a letter dated May 28 sought a clarification from DGHS by or before June 15 However, the anticipated response was yet to be received. more..

Jul 3 (Island) Country�s medal winning track and field athletes, who had endured many hardships to take the chance of competing at the 60th Interstate Athletics Championship in India, were stunned by the shocking treatment they received on their arrival in Colombo on Friday as they were sent to Matara for quarantine, jeopardizing their chances of training at the Sugathadasa Stadium in a bio bubble. more..

Jul 3 (FT) Who does Dr. Harsha de Silva think he is? A sharp-eyed economist with bright ideas no one in their right mind dreams of? Or a socio-political savant of some sort or the other? Or he is a dullard and a humbug, with aspirations no greater than imitating his erstwhile party leader? Did you hear what he tweeted a few days ago? �I warned @GotabayaR gov for months that #SriLanka forex crisis is real. I suggested the only way out was reprofiling the debt with @IMFNews help. They laughed! Said dollars will flow! Now what?� more..

Jul 3 (FT) As Sri Lanka struggles to contend with the economic and social impacts of COVID-19, there is a growing view that the situation could have been significantly better had there been more decisiveness and transparency at a national leadership level. Similar sentiments are being expressed on the ban on importation of palm oil, the use of chemical fertiliser, and the fuel price hike. Whilst, admittedly, hindsight is 20;20, one cannot deny that, at a national level, SL�s decision-making more..

Jul 3 (NIP) The magnificent victory of the DMK and the assumption of office by MK Stalin as the Chief Minister marks a turning point in Tamil Nadu politics. The election campaign and assurances given in the manifesto have raised hopes of the people in the state for a clean, corruption-free and efficient government and establishment of an egalitarian social and economic order. The ambition of the father of our nation was to remove the tears from every eye. more..

Jul 3 (AD) Sri Lanka has reported 14 new coronavirus infections of the Delta variant, Deputy Director of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath said. Dr. Herath said that there is a risk of Delta COVID-19 clusters emerging in the country. He says that there can be many persons who have contracted Delta variant as the infection is not visible to the naked eye. Therefore if persons who come in contact with them do not follow proper health guidelines, the virus can spread easily, he added. more..

Jul 3 (EN) Slain former MP Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra�s family has expressed reluctance to take the matter of the controversial prez pardon granted to murder convict Duminda Silva before the int'l community. Premachandran�s widow Sumana Premachandra said that the family does not wish to hurt SL�s standing in the world which has already taken a beating over a number of issues. �We have been thinking about it. SL is becoming unpopular in the int'l community for various reasons. more..

Jul 3 (TM) Q-Branch of the Indian State of Tamil Nadu in coordination with the state�s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) nabbed three SL nationals from Angamaly in connection with an international drug trafficking case today. The Sri Lankan nationals were residing in a leased house adjacent to Auxilium college of education in Kidangoor near Angamaly. While one individual was apprehended from Kidangoor, the two others were nabbed from Athani. All three have been shifted to ATS office in Nedumbassery. more..

Jul 3 (CI) It's hard to remember a time when Sri Lanka went into a match with so little expected of them (well apart from the previous two games of course). This, even in the likely event of considerable rotation on the part of their opponents. The discourse back home is hardly helping; every misstep, every bad result now seemingly leading to a cascade of ridicule by the public and former players alike. The need for fearless cricket might have been captain Kusal Perera's clarion call, but more..

Jul 3 (CT) Legal experts have said there are some serious faults in the No-Confidence Motion, submitted by the SJB, against Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila. They have pointed out that since the decision to increase the prices of fuel was made by the Cabinet of the present Govt and the cost of living committee and because it was not a decision made by the Minister of Energy on his own, the main fact in the No-Confidence Motion is seriously flawed. more..

Jul 3 (CT) Singapore Sri Lanka Business Association (SLBA) donated medical supplies worth 21,717.00 Singapore Dollars (3.5 million LKR) procured utilising funds raised through a public fundraising campaign launched by the SLBA to raise 100,000 Singapore Dollars. The SLBA has partnered with Ray of Hope (ROH), a registered crowdfunding platform in Singapore, in order to help raise funds that will be utilised to procure much needed Covid related medical equipment that will help save lives in SL. more..

Jul 3 (Island) Allianz Insurance Lanka, one of SL�s leading insurance providers, partnered with the SL Police in conducting a COVID-19 awareness campaign recently. This island-wide campaign commenced in Nugegoda, covering six police divisions within the Western Province and thereafter in Kandy covering 52 police divisions, reaching more than 150,000 people. Representatives from Allianz Lanka joined Police personnel in engaging with the community and educating them on the effects of COVID-19 more..

Jul 3 (ST) It was in January 1984 that my father took up appointment as the 13th Commandant of the Naval & Maritime Academy of the SL Navy. He held the rank of Captain and was delighted to be at the helm of this premier seat of learning located within the Naval Dockyard at Trincomalee. In addition to his naval duties, he was deeply interested in historical matters especially of the Trinco Dockyard. As a 14-year-old I was back in familiar territory, having lived there intermittently from the age of five. more..

Jul 3 (FT) A meeting of the Co-Chairs of the SL-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation took place in a video conference format on 15 June. The Co-Chairs discussed the development of existing and promising areas of cooperation in detail at the meeting. The Russian side was headed by Federal Agency for Fishery Head Ilya Shestakov and represented by the officials from the Federal Agency for Fisheries, Ministry of Economic Development, more..

Jul 3 (ST) Small-scale farmers in Nuwara Eliya became the worst hit due to the sudden ban of chemical fertilisers � many expressed concern about the sustainability of continuing farming in the future. Farmers in doubt about continuing their farming activities tend to sell their lands to large-scale companies. With the pandemic making things worse, an increased cost of living, and poor marketing facilities for cultivated vegetables, farmers lament that the move taken by the govt to switch from more..

Jul 3 (FF) Approximately 30 per cent of the total workforce have received their first dose of COVID vaccines, by end June 2021, Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) of SL has announced. The association targets 50% of workforce to receive first jab with next two weeks, 80% to have first dose by August, and entire workforce by end 2021. The apparel industry has been able to secure drastic increases in its rate of vaccinations for its workers, by working in close partnership with more..

Jul 3 (ST) Near a stone quarry at Diddeniya South in Hanwella, villagers are locked in battle with the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB), saying the mine has expanded so much over the years that rock blasting is now threatening their homes. The mine is in an area called Thennapitahena in Diddeniya South. In 2018, the name came up in Parliament when the then JVP MP, Bimal Ratnayake, alleged that it was one of 11 quarries supplying rocks to the Colombo Port City project. Matters came to a head in November last year more..

Jul 3 (TM) The UNP has invited Leader of the SJB and the Opposition Sajith Premadasa to return to the UNP. This invitation was extended to Premadasa at a press conference held yesterday (02). Deputy Leader of the UNP Ruwan Wijewardene and General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara were present. Referring to the UNP as Premadasa�s Maha Gedara or ancestral home, Bandara urged Premadasa to return. �Come back to your ancestral home and join us to save the nation from the present crisis. more..

Jul 3 (ST) The Govt is to fill around 100 acres in the Muthurajawela urban buffer zone (UBZ) to locate future liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fired power plants planned by the Ceylon Electricity Board. The SL Land Development Corporation (SLLDC) will reclaim the land using 1.5mn cubic metres of offshore sand, an environment impact assessment (EIA) report states. The Mudiyansege, Ambagaha and Mahabage canals are to be widened under the project to prevent flooding. more..

Jul 3 (NR) The opposition says the govt has not provided relief to the general public who has been burdened for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic but is keen to giving concessions to big businesses. MP Mujibur Rahman said the govt although promised to grant the Rs.5,000 allowance to those placed under isolation during the past three weeks, no individual received the sum. He said the Rs. 5,000 program had been politicised from the outset. MP added the leasing concessions announced by more..

Jul 3 (TM) Seven Senior DIGs of SL Police have been transferred with immediate effect from today, the Police Headquarters communicated in a statement. According to the statement, these transfers were made based on service requirements. The details are as follows. Nandana Munasinghe � Administration; Ajith Rohana � Crimes and Traffic; Lalith Pathinayake � Community Policing and Environment; P. S. M. Dharmaratne � North Western Province in-charge and acting North Central Province in-charge more..

Jul 3 (AD) The Complementary Medical Services Union says that it has launched a trade union action by withdrawing from services since this morning. Lesantha Chathuranga, Co-Secretary of the SL Association of Medical Laboratory Technologists, stated that the decision was taken due to the govt�s failure to pay attention to the demands of the professionals. He said �The govt only provides solutions for only those who go into trade union action. more..

Jul 3 (EN) SL has been nominated for an UN-backed Future Policy Award 2021 for environment sustainability over its control of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) and a reduction in the country�s suicide rates. The award is given by Hamburg based World Future Council, sustainability advocacy. This is an annual prize awarded by the World Future Council in partnership with UN agencies and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. This year the award looked at policies and solutions that minimized more..

Jul 3 (ST) Thor the Lion, who the authorities said last week was on the path to recovery after he tested COVID-19 positive, is now suffering a secondary infection. Dehiwala Zoo official said the lion was experiencing breathing difficulties once again and the zoo�s vets were taking every measure to help him breathe with ease. A caretaker said Thor was conscious while he was being treated by the zoo�s veterinary surgeons who believed there could be complication if the animal continued to have respiratory problems. more..

Jul 4 (SO) The hottest topic in the media and political circles these days, apart from the Covid pandemic, is the Govt�s decision to stop the import of chemical fertiliser and move over completely to organic fertiliser. In fact, at a meeting held last Thursday in Colombo, farmers� collectives in SL urged Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa not to reverse his decision to transform the country�s agricultural landscape. They fully backed the Prez�s decision to adopt organic fertiliser for all cultivations. more..

Jul 4 (CT) On Wednesday 30th June I received a text message that I and my wife would receive the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday 1st July at 2 pm at the Sugathadasa stadium. My wife turned 79 in May. I will reach 79 in August. We turned up at the Sugathdasa stadium on I July Forty minutes past Twelve. We left the Sugathdasa Stadium at Twenty minutes past four. It was an excruciatingly overwhelming ordeal. I stood in a que for three hours and a little more. more..

Jul 4 (SO) Minister Namal Rajapaksa was recently given new responsibilities as State Minister for Digital Technology and Entrepreneur Development. He outlined his vision for the youth during an interview, and the need to equip them with the skills and knowledge to become young entrepreneurs who could be a part of the drive to generate USD three billion income for the country through the ICTA sector as envisioned in Prez�s manifesto, more..

Jul 4 (CT) The memory of Pieter Keuneman still echoes in the SL political space as a stalwart of Communism, whose contribution made monumental impacts in the post-colonial political trajectories in the island nation. Keuneman�s political career was a distinguished one as his presence in SL parliament remained uninterrupted from 1947 to 1977 and he held a cabinet ministerial position in Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike�s govt in the early 1970s. His political romance with Communist ideology was more..

Jul 4 (GV) SL�s MeToo Movement is currently being described by Al Jazeera, The Hindu and The Independent as delayed or belated, with stories of harassment, abuse and violation of women in professional spheres and industries now breaking four years after the first stories emerged in the US, generated by the exposure and disgrace of Harvey Weinstein. The findings of the legal pursuit of Weinstein by the journalist Ronan Farrow were reported in mainstream publications such as more..

Jul 4 (SO) SL has the potential to become a regional hub for Chinese vaccines and we must proactively take the initiative to have discussions with the vaccine producing companies without delay, SL�s Ambassador to China Dr. Palitha Kohona said adding that vaccines produced in China are currently being used in over 72 countries at present. Dismissing allegations that Chinese vaccines were sold at a high price to SL, more..

Jul 4 (TM) In the recent political drama produced and directed by Messrs. Kariyawasam and Gammanpila over the fuel price hike, one revelation that ought to have rung alarm bells across the country but didn�t, possibly due to being overshadowed by bigger news at the time, was the justification offered by the Energy Minister for the price hike. In his eagerness to defend the price increase as well as his suitability to hold that particular cabinet portfolio in light of more..

Jul 4 (ST) My dear Green Man, I thought I must write to you because you are in the news once again after many months, entering Parliament as the only Green MP. It must have been a surreal experience for you to take oaths as a mere MP, when you have been PM and Leader of the Opposition for over two decades. I am sure there must have been many MPs, especially of the formerly Green but now Yellowish Green variety, who must have been thinking that they had at last got rid of you. more..

Jul 4 (Island) During this Olympic year it is pertinent to remember one of country�s greatest athletes Major Duncan White on his 23rd death anniversary (July 3). On his way to success, he had to glide over 10 barriers and not break them! Duncan White was born on the 1st of March 1918 at Lathpandura a rural village 2km from Baduraliya in the Kalutara District. His early education was at Trinity College Kandy. He was the captain of athletics in 1936 when Trinity College won John Tarbat cup more..

Jul 4 (SO) Many Govt Ministers and SLPP MPs have urged SLPP National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa to enter Parliament and serve the country with greater vigour. Govt lawmakers said that the winning combination of Gotabaya-Mahinda-Basil is needed more than ever at a time the country is facing a pandemic. A majority of the ruling SLPP MPs who entered Parliament through the National List have said that they are ready to sacrifice their seat to make way for SLPP architect Rajapaksa. more..

Jul 4 (ST) Media rights groups have written to IGP Chandana Wickramaratne raising concerns over indirect threats levelled by a SDIG against a journalist on Facebook. In a joint letter to the IGP, six media rights groups have drawn his attention towards a series of angry Facebook posts by the SDIG in response to an article published on the website run by Journalist Tharindu Jayawardena. The SDIG had continually alleged that more..

Jul 4 (ST) Torn between the two competing pressure groups, both equally well intentioned maybe, the Govt seems to want to keep the status quo � i.e. an unofficial lockdown with the hope that the stuttering vaccination campaign will get to better footing in the next few weeks and months, and the citizenry will better understand the need to stay safe. Given the snowballing complaints from an increasing number of sectors, the farmers, the fishermen and now the nurses, the Govt seems to be in no mood to more..

Jul 4 (ST) Some factory workers are resisting inoculation of the COVID-19 Sinopharm from China that would have helped to complete vaccination in factories and likely to relax health rules should authorities agree to do so. About 25-30% of the employees at the factories in the zones are refusing to get vaccinated, said, Free Trade Zone Manufacturers Association Secretary General Dhammika Fernando speaking with the Business Times on Thursday. more..