Mar 23 (SLN) On the sidelines of International Day of Forests that fell on 21st March, Navy Seva Vanitha Unit (NSVU) launched a command-wise tree planting campaign, going by an idea mooted by its President, Mrs. Chandima Ulugetenne. At the invitation of the NSVU President, Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne graced the main event in the Western Naval Command, held at SLNS Gemunu, Welisara on 21st March. The saplings required for this event were more..

Mar 23 (CT) Rs 23 billion has been allocated to clean up the river system and the President has instructed the Ministry of Environment to take steps to clean and conserve all rivers across the country before the end of the year under the Surakimu Ganga national programme. Prez also said, in case funds are not enough, additional funds will be provided to complete the project on target. He also called on social media activists, more..

Mar 23 (CT) The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) has implemented various drinking water projects across the country in order to mark the World Water Day yesterday. 61 community water supply projects and 69 Nano drinking water projects were among them, Minister of Water Supply Vasudeva Nanayakkara said. Minister said, these projects have been implemented at a cost of Rs 1015.19 million which has been raised from local investors and foreign financial loans. more..

Mar 23 (AD) Two individuals including a police officer have been reported dead after a vehicle ran over them in Rajagiriya, DIG Ajith Rohana said. A speeding van had collided with a group of police officers inspecting vehicles near the Ayurveda Roundabout and the flyover bridge in Rajagiriya, this morning (23). A 52-year-old Sub Inspector (SI) attached to the Police Emergency Unit and the assistant of a small lorry which was being inspected at the time had been killed in the incident. more..

Mar 23 (AFP) Sri Lanka rejected a UN move to preserve evidence of war crimes in the country and said the money allocated for the effort would be better spent on housing for the poor. The resolution adopted by the UNHRC in Geneva called for a $2.8 million budget to collect and preserve evidence of war crimes for future prosecutions. It follows a damning report from UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet on SL's failure more..

Mar 23 (CT) Colombo High Court Judge Namal Balalle yesterday deferred further hearing, of the case against Minister Udaya Gammanpila, to 30 April. The Minister has been accused of criminal misappropriation of a sum of Rs 21 million through the sale of shares from a firm owned by an Australian national having forged the latter�s signature through a fake power of attorney between 26 Sept 1996 and 21 Sept 1997. When the case was taken up Gammanpila and Jayampathy more..

Mar 23 (DN) Attorney General Dappula de Livera yesterday informed the Supreme Court that the Govt has taken a decision not to sign the controversial Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact. ASG Farzana Jameel informed the Court that Minister of Finance had given instructions indicating that Govt will not proceed with MCC Agreement. Additional Solicitor General further said that MCC Board had also decided to discontinue the proposed MCC development assistance grant to SL. more..

Mar 23 (WB) Water is more than just an important resource to Sri Lanka and its people; it makes up an integral part of the national identity. A cursory glance of SL on an atlas or a globe points to two distinct features: the tropical nation is an island; and its unique shape -- being juxtaposed with the large Indian subcontinent, it goes by the sobriquet of teardrop island -- resembles a teardrop falling from the southern part of India. more..

Mar 23 (EN) The IMF usually asks for upfront currency depreciation, which then brings more problems to the country, State Minister Nivard Cabraal said. �Do you want to have a rupee which is depreciating? Tell me,� Minister Cabraal said responding to a question at a recent media briefing on why Sri Lanka does not go for an IMF deal despite balance of payments troubles. �The first thing they will tell is to depreciate the currency. So many countries have gone and done that.� more..

Mar 23 (AD) The draft resolution L.1/Rev.1 brought against SL by the UNHRC has failed to condemn the crimes committed by the LTTE against SL people, Pakistan says. Pakistani representative stated this speaking before the vote on the UNHRC draft resolution L.1/Rev.1 on Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in SL. UNHRC on Tuesday adopted the draft resolution against SL tabled at council by the Core Group. Of the 47 states that took part in the vote in Geneva, more..

Mar 23 (AD) SL says it considers the UNHRC�s latest resolution against the island nation to be unwarranted, unjustified and in violation of the relevant articles of the UN Charter and also rejected the unprecedented proposal in the resolution to expand the role of the OHCHR. This was stated by the Permanent Representative of SL to the UN Office at Geneva, C.A. Chandraprema, while delivering remarks before today�s vote on the draft resolution. more..

Mar 23 (NR) MP Kabir Hashim says it is the responsibility of the present administration to reduce the prices of essential commodities. Speaking in Parliament today, MP Hashim said the prices of essential goods have increased owing to the actions of the govt and not due to events happening around the world. MP Hashim said the domestic price hike cannot be attributed to the increase in prices in the international market, dollar rates or taxes but due to the inept governance and mismanagement. more..

Mar 23 (TM) Nine companies, out of which eight recorded losses during the financial year 2018/2019, are expected to face suspension of the trading of securities by the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) from 31 March 2021 onwards. In a disclosure, CSE yesterday announced that the decision to suspend trading comes as the companies have failed to submit their annual reports for the financial year 2019/2020. According to the CSE, the suspension would be in terms of Rule 7.5 (e) of more..

Mar 23 (AD) India has urged SL for early holding of Provincial Council elections and to ensure that all Provincial Councils are able to operate effectively, in accordance with the 13th amendment to the SL Constitution. Delivering a pre-vote statement during the UNHRC session on draft resolution L1/Rev.1, Indian representative reiterated that his country supports the call by the int'l community for the Govt of SL to fulfill more..

Mar 23 (EN) Sri Lanka plans to declare the last Saturday of every month a volunteer day for members of the public to voluntarily assist in development projects, Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Namal Rajapaksa said. �We�re not trying to establish an organisation. What we�re attempting to do is to mobilise volunteers who would like to extend their support and work for the betterment of the country and their villages,� Rajapaksa told reporters today. more..

Mar 23 (NR) Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera says level of air pollution in Kandy and Colombo has exceeded the air quality levels recommended by the World Health Organization. Minister Amaraweera said WHO has recommended air quality levels to be less than 50 micrograms of micro particles per cubic metre in the atmosphere. Minister stressed however today it rose to between 150-165 micrograms at some instances in the Colombo and Kandy districts. more..

Mar 23 (EN) Sri Lanka lost a vote at the UNHRC today as the 47 members voted 22 to 11 to impose a resolution that will empower the UN to collect and store information that could lead to international criminal proceedings. Fourteen members of the council, including India, Nepal and Japan abstained while China, Pakistan and Bangladesh supported Sri Lanka. The Resolution was introduced by the UK and more..

Mar 24 (DM) Since the Covid-19 hit our country in March last year, our countrymen and women, irrespective of race, religion, ethnicity, poor or rich have seen our life situation drop. Salaries of ordinary citizens have taken a hit, the numbers of unemployed have grown and all the while the cost of living has kept rising. Schools were closed and a new system of digital education became the norm. However this new normal applied only to the upper echelons of society. more..

Mar 24 (DM) I showed this recent online advert to two colleagues. One had no clue about SL and did not speak or read Sinhala. I translated the content and he found it odd, understandably so. He is not Sri Lankan. The other was in SL; Sinhala was her first language and reacted with indignation and anger. She not only understood the content, but was well aware of the context of the advert and the intended impact. I doubt that even if my non-Sinhala speaking colleague had understood the language more..

Mar 24 (DM) A section of SL�s nature-loving fraternity gathered at the Vihara Mahadevi Park last Friday to express their concerns concerning the ongoing ecocide happening in many parts of the country. However, the organisers and participants were disheartened to see the removal of a mural done by a group of young environmental activists despite obtaining the necessary approvals. State authorities including the CMC claimed that more..

Mar 24 (NIA) India on Tuesday abstained from voting on the UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka for a variety of reasons. The immediate reason perhaps lay in the April 6 elections to the Tamil Nadu State Assembly in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting 20 seats of the 234 seats in alliance with the ruling AIADMK. The alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka against the Tamil minority is a key electoral issue in Tamil Nadu, a fact which the BJP cannot ignore. more..

Mar 24 (Roar) One of the attendees has the word alive tattooed in delicate letters across his wrist. He says, addressing the group of eight 20-somethings gathered around him, �My suicidal thoughts have resurfaced. It was a tough week for me.� The group is solemn, there is a clear understanding � they have all been there, felt what he is feeling, at some point in their lives. This is the essence of The Semicolon Effect; it's a support group & safe space for anyone struggling with their mental health. more..

Mar 24 (CT) �I have to take my eight-month-old infant to the public washroom, and wait in long lines just to clean him, after our houses were burnt to ground,� grieved Rizmina, holding her baby while sharing her experience about the fire that turned 32 houses into ashes at Kajima Watte, Grandpass on 15 March. A massive fire ripped through one of the country�s largest slums on Monday, leaving at least 50 shanties gutted more..

Mar 24 (CT) On Saturday, a bus allegedly skidded off the Badulla-Bibile road before falling off a 200-foot precipice, killing 14 and injuring 47, some seriously. The accident took place when the driver of the bus allegedly attempted to give room to a tipper truck coming in the opposite direction to pass through, when apparently there was no room for two vehicles to pass that particular point where the tragedy took place. This newspaper quoting Police sources said that the road where the accident more..

Mar 24 (GV) UNHRC resolution Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in SL was adopted with 22 members of the council voting in favour of the resolution, 11 members voting against it and 14 members abstaining. The passing of the resolution marks the strongest action ever taken by the UNHRC regarding the human rights violations by SL, calling for an extensive series of actions for correcting past wrongs. It also recognises the deteriorating human rights situation in SL more..

Mar 24 (NIA) The Indian Deputy High Commissionerm Vinod K. Jacob and Deepthika Gunarathna, Additional Secretary (Development), State Ministry of Estate Housing & Community Infrastructure, who represented Mr. D.P.G. Kumarasiri, Secretary, met on Tuesday to review the progress in upgrading the Thondaman Vocational Training Center (TVTC) in Hatton. Representatives of the Contractor- Panthila Civil Engineers, Consultant-DH Wijeyawardhana and more..

Mar 24 (CT) From the time present govt came to power in SL, all the decisions and actions were taken for the benefit at least of one party of the Trinity. Very often they were beneficial to all the parties of the trinity. They had two main objectives to come to power. One aim is to save them from the legal actions hanging above like the sword of Damocles on some of the main actors of the trinity and other one is to bring prosperity to the trinity. They camouflaged their aims by forwarding more..

Mar 24 (CI) Three wickets in the final session of the day - including a pivotal Kyle Mayers double-strike - ensured that the first Test remained finely poised going into the fourth day, after a 162-run stand between Lahiru Thirimanne and Oshada Fernando had at one point looked like putting Sri Lanka clear. While SL's lead of 153 with six wickets in hand looks promising on paper, their relatively long tail means a lot depends on more..

Mar 24 (FT) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday called on Govt MPs from Colombo District to intervene on behalf of nearly 200 people who lost their houses due to a recent fire. The fire destroyed many homes in Kajimawatte, Mahawatte, Colombo North last week. Many of them wooden shacks, leaving 170-200 persons homeless. Premadasa called on Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena to intervene in the matter and provide apartments in public housing schemes for those affected. more..

Mar 24 (TM) State Minister of Fisheries Kanchana Wijesekara recently said that pivotal steps would be taken to transform the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation (CFC), which had been a loss-making institution for the past few years, into a profitable institution as soon as possible. In this context, as a measure taken to achieve this objective, the first outlet of a modernised network of sea fish outlets, which is expected to be built around the country, was launched in Gampaha yesterday (22) more..

Mar 24 (ST) Trade unions are to join hands with distressed depositors of failed finance companies to take their plight to the people in an impending warning to the govt to resolve these issues before it becomes a country-wide issue. Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU) General Secretary Sylvester Jayakody made this call while speaking to the Business Times on the sidelines of a media briefing on Wednesday by more..

Mar 24 (TM) Media Organisations Collective today expressed concerns over several remarks made by Prez Rajapaksa in Walapane on Saturday on media freedom and the conduct of some media institutions. They stated that the President has made a warning to selected media institutions during the speech made at the Gama Samaga Pilisandara at Yombuwalthanna in Walapane, Nuwaraeliya. �Prez had stated that some media outlets twist facts and that media freedom does not mean more..

Mar 24 (FT) CEAT Kelani Holdings announced that it had increased production of Passenger Car Radial (PCR/van) tyres by 72,000 tyres a year, adding 16% to its annual capacity in this category, as part of its expansion plan to support Govt efforts to conserve foreign exchange through domestic production. This first phase of the planned expansion of PCR tyre production in 2021 is the result of the commissioning of two new tyre presses at CEAT�s manufacturing complex in Kelaniya. more..

Mar 24 (FT) The country�s COVID-19 total patient count yesterday rose to 90,765 with the detection of 251 COVID-19 positive persons. 119 associates of the Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster and 23 persons linked to the Prisons cluster were among the patients detected yesterday. The Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda and Prisons COVID-19 clusters have thus increased to 86,046. In addition to the triple clusters, 2,504 SL returnees from abroad, more..

Mar 24 (ST) Restoring traditional exports such as apparel and agriculture products by diversifying exports provides new business opportunities to Sri Lanka. There are good opportunities available to Sri Lanka to export electronic devices and software to Japan, said Japanese Ambassador to SL Akira Sugiyama at a webinar on After the pandemic: The way ahead. It was a meaningful message as Japan was once the biggest exporter of electronics goods and is now also importing these products. more..

Mar 24 (FT) The Govt has conflated concerns raised by youth regarding environmental damage with political criticism, charged SJB MP Hesha Withanage yesterday, pointing out that Prez Rajapaksa had taken a tough stance on deforestation and habitat loss in the lead up to the Presidential Election but had failed to follow through once in office. �This Govt made a pledge to protect the forest and critical ecosystems in the lead up to both the Prez and General Elections. more..

Mar 24 (FT) State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal told Parliament that Rs. 15.9 billion in revenue was forgone due to the reduction in the Special Commodity Levy on sugar from Rs. 50 to Rs. 0.25 last October but the measure was taken for the benefit of the public. �The levy was reduced in order to reduce the price of sugar so as to benefit the public. Govt was aware it would lead to a revenue loss. It was not a fraud. more..

Mar 24 (DN) A Contempt of Court action filed against Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Atte Gnanasara Thera for violating a court order was yesterday re-fixed for support on June 1 by the Court of Appeal. The court order was regarding the cremation of the late Gurukanda Raja Maha Vihara chief monk�s body in a kovil compound in Mullaitivu. The Court of Appeal made this order pursuant to a fresh Contempt of Court action filed by TNA Parliamentarian Shanthi Sriskandaraja. more..

Mar 24 (CT) The Bolagala Floating Agro Tourism Resort in Katana located close to the Negombo tourism hub will be the newest addition to the inventory of unique experiences for tourists, SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) said. This is the first-ever floating resort in SL, created adopting an agro-tourism theme which consists of 50 floating cabanas, including 10 GPS tracker equipped cabanas that could freely move around the picturesque lake giving visitors more..