Mar 2 (DM) While saying that incidents were reported from Colombo Municipality area with regard to politicians making influential pressure on officials and thereby sabotage the vaccination drive, the Public Health Inspectors Union (PHIU) warned that they won�t hesitate to take tough action if this kind of influence continues to happen. PHIU Head Upul Rohana said they would be joined by other trade unions as well if they had decided to launch such a move. more..

Mar 2 (DM) The discrepancies that were observed in the vaccination drive are being taken into consideration and will be rectified, Gen. Shavendra Silva said. He said that there were minor hiccups at the vaccination centres and added they have identified such acts and were on the process of rectifying them. �As far as the vaccination drive is concerned, the main focus right now is on the Western Province. There were incidents where there were long queues at vaccination centres,� more..

Mar 2 (Island) Environment Ministry reiterated that steps would be taken to ban the use of several types of plastic and polythene in the country from the end of this month. Contacted for comment, environmentalists said that they had heard similar pledges to ban those products by previous Environment Ministers, but there had been no bans. Previous Environment Minister Maithripala Sirisena, who even promised to ban asbestos more..

Mar 2 (FC) Multiple posts shared hundreds of times on Facebook in February 2021 claim that Sri Lanka prohibits people with tattoos from donating blood. The claim is misleading: as of March 3, 2021, Sri Lanka�s National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) says people with tattoos can donate blood. They may, however, be temporarily discouraged from blood donation for one year after getting a tattoo as a precautionary measure against blood borne infections, the NBTS says. more..

Mar 2 (CT) Mill owners have agreed to purchase paddy from farmers at prices fixed by the Govt. This decision was taken at a recent discussion between small, medium, and large-scale rice mill owners and Trade Minister, Dr. Bandula Gunawardena. Speaking at the discussion, Dr. Gunawardena said the Govt is not ready to increase the price of rice in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also said the aim of the Govt is to protect farmers, rice mill owners, and consumers. more..

Mar 2 (AD) 509,275 individuals in total have received COVID vaccines ever since SL kicked off its inoculation drive on the Jan 29. Epidemiology Unit said that 42,925 people were vaccinated yesterday. SL�s inoculation drive is moving forward with Oxford-AstraZeneca�s COVISHIELD vaccines manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII). India donated 500,000 doses of COVISHIELD vaccine to SL in January more..

Mar 3 (CT) Quackery allegedly caused the death of a nine year old girl from Meegahawatte, Colombo. Another alleged case of quackery was the touting of Dhammika Peniya, dubiously promoted as a cure for COVID-19 with no scientific backing. Consequently, the alleged quack of Dhammika Peniya, a resident of Kegalle, made millions by selling his syrup at Rs 6,000 a bottle, even, seemingly fooling Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, who, despite taking this peniya, in public, yet contracted Covid-19. more..

Mar 3 (ST) The good news is that worker remittances is the silver lining, the only one, in the economy in 2020 and this despite the economic slowdown owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bad news, however, is that SL authorities appear to have a devil-may-care attitude towards migrant workers stranded in West Asia. A video from Kuwait (there are many circulating about the plight of our workers overseas) shows workers in the street, some even begging. more..

Mar 3 (DM) Former PM and UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said the probe on the Easter Sunday attacks has many unanswered questions and this needs to be investigated soon to avoid any similar occurrences in the future. �We do not see any foreign hand in these attacks. But what worries me is that someone who is connected to the security establishment knows how to short circuit. Somehow Zahran and them knew the security system more..

Mar 3 (DM) PCoI report have failed to identify a mastermind that destroyed 268 lives and wounded more than 600, but have recommended punitive action against the number one who failed to prevent the disaster and also exposed number two, laying a solid foundation for a Constitution to Constraint Politician, by the People, of the people, for the people� Taking over from a economically disastrous second term of Rajapaksas in 2015, they both apart from doing a few good things, more..

Mar 3 (Island) With the advent of coronavirus vaccines, the idea of herd immunity is gaining ground � but often misunderstood or considered something hard to fathom. Herd immunity means the resistance a community develops against an infectious disease, when a fraction of its residents above a threshold acquires immunity either by exposure to the pathogen or vaccination. Thus, achieving herd immunity could safeguard individuals who cannot be immunized for reasons of more..

Mar 3 (TM) Following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, in less than 12 months, researchers from around the world developed several vaccines to protect people from the virus that has already caused over 2.5 million deaths. It is observed that the entire world has now reached a juncture where collective Covid-19 management efforts are of utmost importance. Focus of all such vaccines is to enhance immune systems more..

Mar 3 (CT) A totem-pole or a totem is a cultural marker, an emblem or a symbol of a group or a tribe of people. To be trumped is to be thwarted or to be bested by your opponents. Trope is a less commonly used figurative term for a typical or emblematic example. Critics of the Gota-led Executive-Militaristic Regime (critics say the Mahinda-loyalist political side is less egregious) fault it for three cardinal offences � apart from lesser ones such as favours for corrupt immigrant buddies from the US, more..

Mar 3 (CT) There are two aspects to the process unfolding in the UNHRC in Geneva at the present time. The first is the outcome of the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet which was released on Jan 27. The second will be resolution of the UNHRC itself which is in the process of being finalized, and of which a draft is available. It is this latter document that will be debated in the final days of the 46th session of the UNHRC later this month. more..

Mar 3 (GV) Three years ago, the villagers of Mullikulam in the Mannar district left behind their brick homes with water, toilets and beds to camp out in tents on the land they called home. Their stand lasted three months during which time they had to withstand rampaging elephants and torrential rains; the tents flooded, forcing them to return. One year earlier, they had launched a month-long protest outside the Navy occupied village demanding their land back and had been assured that more..

Mar 3 (CI) West Indies coach Phil Simmons feels that the key to success during the T20I series against Sri Lanka will be to adjust to the dimensions - one side smaller than the other - of Antigua's Coolidge Cricket Ground as soon as possible. All three T20Is of the series will be played at the same venue, which is hosting international cricket for the first time. Simmons is also looking at this series as a step to start firming up the squad for the T20 World Cup later this year. more..

Mar 3 (FT) SL Pharmaceutical Manufacturers� Association (SLPMA) facilitated a bilateral meeting on 24 Feb with visiting representatives of the Pakistani Pharmaceutical Manufacturers� Association (PPMA). The meeting was presided over by State Minister Channa Jayasumana, and accompanied by Secretary to the Ministry Rohitha Uduwawla, and Dr. Lakshitha Rajakaruna. The meeting took place on the sidelines of more..

Mar 3 (ST) National Shooting Sports Federation of SL (NSSF) will conduct the NSSF Trap Open Championship at the Clay Target Shooting Club of Colombo�s Shotgun Range in Payagala, Kalutara from March 11 to 14. Under the leadership of Shirantha Peiris and purview of experts Mohan Gilbert as Match Director and Dinesh Lionel as Range Master, the Trap Open 2021 is NSSF�s second event of its calendar for 2021, which consists of 11 local meets. more..

Mar 3 (ST) MAS Holdings, inspired by the success of its pilot Ocean Strainer floating trash trap project initiated in the Dehiwala Canal last year, announced recently that they would make the Ocean Strainer technology openly available to interested parties, in order to replicate and scale up the solution. The pilot project initiated by MAS included installing the Ocean Strainer trash trap in the Dehiwala canal in Aug 2020. This initial trash trap was designed by MAS engineers, more..

Mar 3 (PMD) Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed the respective authorities to immediately call for applications to fill the long-standing vacancies for Maths, Science, English and Computer Technology teachers in schools. New recruitments will be made for existing vacancies in priority subjects on the basis of eight years of compulsory service in the same school to which the initial appointments were made. more..

Mar 3 (GV) On Feb 24, after the interactive dialogue on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) when the burial issue dominated discussion of Sri Lanka�s respect for minority rights, the govt quickly announced lifting the ban on the burial of COVID-19 victims. Imran Khan was bowled a gentle full toss, enabling him to effortlessly clear the ropes and play the master stroke maker, enhancing his wooing of the Islamic countries for their votes on March 22 or 23 at the HRC. more..

Mar 3 (TM) SL Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) sources said that they were still having negotiations with Cricket West Indies (CWI) on the possibility of having live TV coverage in SL of the all-format cricket series between SL and WI starting tomorrow (3). �We are still having negotiations with the West Indies cricket board (CWI). But there is no confirmation as yet. Either Star or Sony is likely to telecast the series in this region. We are still trying to have it and waiting for CWI to respond more..

Mar 3 (CT) Head coach Mickey Arthur threw his full support behind Sri Lanka�s up and coming batsman Pathum Nissanka, who is likely to make his debut in the opening T20 match against West Indies on Thursday (4), and believes the youngster could be a three-format player for Sri Lanka. �I�ve been very impressed with Pathum Nissanka. I haven�t seen him before because he had been injured from the time I got here, and more..

Mar 3 (TM) In a twist to the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) election coming up on 20 May, the Thilanga Sumathipala faction has allegedly patched up their differences with the incumbent Shammi Silva camp, an SLC source revealed. A commonly known secret in the cricket circles was that the current SLC executive committee, headed by President Shammi Silva, was at loggerheads with the Sumathipalas following developments in the cricket board after the last SLC AGM held in Feb 2019. more..

Mar 3 (EN) SriLankan Airlines said it had carried 1.2 million kilograms of cargo to the Maldives in February 2021 including 500,000 kilograms of perishables. �The Maldives is one of the few open, and highly popular, island destinations in the world for travellers,� SriLankan said. �Since the pandemic, perishable goods have been in high demand.� SriLankan had also carried 188 tonnes of Maldives exports to SL. SriLankan had modified an aircraft to all-cargo configuration by removing seats more..

Mar 3 (FT) The country�s total COVID-19 patient count rose to 83,870 with the detection of 318 COVID-19 patients yesterday. Among yesterday�s patients are 308 associates of the Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster and nine persons linked to the Prisons cluster. This brings the Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda and Prisons triple clusters to 79,709 patients. 2,065 SL returnees from abroad, 950 Navy personnel and their contacts, more..

Mar 3 (CT) State Minister Dr. Sudarshani Fernandopulle, said SL would receive another stock of 264,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by 7 March. Dr. Fernandopulle said, the country will receive this stock from the WHO's COVAX facility, under which Sri Lanka is to receive vaccinations for 25% of its population. Also, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is in the process of registering Russia�s SputnikV & China�s Sinopharm vaccines. more..

Mar 3 (DM) India will stand up for SL in countering the injustice perpetrated by the Secretary General of the UNHRC and fellow travellers at the current UNHRC sessions in Geneva, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella today expressed hope. Asked by a journalist, whether SL could sideline India in its fight to save SL from the discrimination and smear campaign carried out by certain member countries of the UNHRC, Minister said SL would not exclude India or any other country in her endeavour more..

Mar 3 (TM) The families of 100 missing persons will commence a protest march in Mullaitivu on 8 March to mark International Women�s Day. An organiser of the march said that the protest is being held on Int'l Women�s Day in recognition of the women � mothers and wives � who have continued their struggle to search for the disappeared. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary (Retd.) Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage more..

Mar 3 (DM) On a balmy Thursday afternoon, Dialog Axiata together with Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) inaugurated the first phase of the Sayura Rakina Rella sustainable beach clean-up programme by the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) deployed to protect and preserve our oceans. The initiative kickstarted with the collection of over 770 kg of waste material from the Sarakkuwa beach (Negombo) which was handed over to the Wattala PS for its safe & sustainable disposal. more..

Mar 3 (DM) Gamma Pizzakraft Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. presently the single franchisee for Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in SL, has partnered with ChildFund SL & the Department of Social Services, to improve the economic engagement of Youth with Disabilities, especially girls with disabilities, in quality vocational training programmes in a safe and conducive environment. This partnership has led to the inauguration of an industrial food technology unit and renovation of accommodation facilities more..

Mar 3 (NR) Police have identified a Sub Police Inspector attached to the Buttala Police Station as the chief suspect involved in the murder of a female, found with her head severed in a travel luggage in the Dam Street Police area. DIG Ajith Rohana said several Police teams conducted investigations into the remains of the female that were discovered on the 1 of March. He said the teams collected evidence through CCTV more..

Mar 3 (Island) A person who took his children, aged six and 10, to the Tyrone Fernando stadium, Katubedde, Moratuwa, suffered injuries when a loosened metal roofing sheet carried by strong winds from a three storey high Grand Stand roof hit him. The incident happened on Feb 22 at 6.05 pm. Lahiru Fernando took his children to the ground for them to play, and as they entered from the car park area of the stadium, a large roofing sheet hit them from behind. Thanks to Lahiru�s reflexes, more..

Mar 3 (CT) Attorney General Dappula de Livera, yesterday, received 65 of the 87 volumes of the PCoI into the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks proceedings, AG�s Coordinating Secretary, State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne said, adding that Dr. P.B. Jayasundera, Secretary to the Prez handed them to the AG. AG had stated a considerable time period would have to be spent before filing charges against the perpetrators behind the Easter Sunday carnage as the AG would need to examine over 1,000 more..

Mar 3 (FT) Cabinet has cleared the West Container Terminal (WCT) of the Colombo Port to be developed as a 35-year joint venture with India�s Adani Group and its local partner John Keells Holdings PLC as well as with investment from Japan. Cabinet Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said that the decision was taken in accordance with policies outlined in the Prez�s manifesto Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour. more..

Mar 3 (Island) Environmentalist, Janaka Jayalal, has successfully experimented with a new technology, root ball system, to plant trees. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera yesterday visited the Root Ball Tree Park run by Jayalal on a seven-acre land in Suriyawewa and said that Jayalal had so far successfully planted about 102 varieties of seedlings under the new system. Jayalal has also transported a 110-foot- high Bo tree from the Halpanwila area in Chilaw and planted it in Rasnayakapura more..

Mar 3 (FT) The SJB yesterday called on the Govt to have the Easter Sunday bombings investigated by a group of independent foreign experts or an independent domestic team, citing concerns that local investigations conducted thus far had not been impartial and have failed to unravel those behind the attack. SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara made the request at a press conference held at the Opposition Leader�s office where he was joined by SJB MP Niroshan Perera. more..

Mar 3 (CT) If we do not see justice being served for the victims of the Easter Sunday bombings through a transparent investigation by 21 April 2021, we will call upon people across the country to hoist a black flag on that day, said Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. Saying that he only received one volume of the report compiled by the PCoI into the terror attacks and he is hoping to receive the rest in due course, more..

Mar 3 (FT) Seven COVID-19 deaths, which brought the country�s COVID-19 fatalities to 483. Three deaths occurred yesterday and four occurred on Monday. An individual from Colombo 15 died yesterday while receiving treatment at the National Hospital of SL. The cause of death is cited as COVID pneumonia, acute diabetes and high blood pressure. The individual was 78-years-old. A 63-year-old individual from Pilimathalawa tested positive for COVID-19 at Peradeniya more..