Mar 31 (DM) Jaffna cluster continued to grow with more people found to be infected with the coronavirus. Another 17 people tested positive for the coronavirus as of last morning. Officials in Jaffna said that more people were found to be infected during the day yesterday and the exact number was expected this morning. Divisional Secretary of Jaffna DS, S. Sutharsan said that the results of a number of PCR tests were awaited. He said several shops in parts of Jaffna also remained closed more..

Mar 31 (Island) The SJB said that all available information and evidence relating to Sri Lanka�s war against terrorism should be made available to the proposed special unit to be formed for the implementation of an accountability resolution adopted at the recently concluded UNHRC. SJB lawmaker Dr. Harsha de Silva said so when The Island asked him whether his party backed the govt�s call for the UK to make more..

Mar 31 (FT) Sri Lanka and Vietnam discussed a range of cooperation efforts, including promoting investment and trade between the two countries during a high level meeting. The newly appointed Ambassador of Vietnam to SL Ho Thi Thanh Truc presented her credentials to Prez Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday. Prez and the new Vietnamese Ambassador thereafter exchanged views on the current status of bilateral relations and the development of future cooperation more..

Mar 31 (TM) A group of 33 Sri Lankans living in Myanmar, which is currently mired in a grave and increasingly deadly political conflict, has requested to be repatriated to Sri Lanka owing to the precarious and chaotic country situation. Approximately 206 Sri Lankans are currently residing in Myanmar, out of which 33 have made requests to be repatriated. However, The Morning received no reply to its query made from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of SL more..

Mar 31 (TM) The medical laboratory technologists (MLTs) claim polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests could be conducted free of charge for SL migrant workers who are being repatriated, and they will be proposing this to Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga at a meeting tomorrow. According to them, the tests can be conducted at the BIA in Katunayake. College of Medical Laboratory Science and more..

Mar 31 (FT) It is the oceans that engendered life. The lives of humans remain connected to the seas, making the good health of the seas and the efficient management of sea-based activity essential elements for the wellbeing of people and nations. The Indian Ocean offers tremendous opportunities and some challenges for the island, coastal, and inland nations of South Asia and beyond. Regional cooperation is an excellent platform for leveraging opportunities and transforming challenges more..

Mar 31 (AD) Seven suspects including former Minister Ravi Karunanayake, who were taken into custody over the CB bond scam, have been further remanded until tomorrow. They are accused of criminal misappropriation of bonds valued at Rs. 1.5 billion during CB�s 2016 bond auction. The suspects were produced before a Trial-at-Bar hearing the legal matters on CB Bond auctions held between March 29 and March 31, 2016. The bench consisting of Judges Amal Ranaraja, Namal Balalle more..

Mar 31 (DN) The iron handrail on the climb to the Aradhana Gala where Arahat Mahinda Thera came and landed in Mihintale, the starting point of Sri Lankan Buddhist history, is damaged and needs immediate repair. The Daily News was able to observe this damaged handrail when a team from Lake House went to the Mihintale Rajamaha Viharaya on official business, last Friday. It was noticed that some of the damaged handrails had decayed and broken, and that more..

Mar 31 (DM) Imprisoned MP Ranjan Ramanayake has been allowed two visitors once a month in addition to telephone conversation facility once a week. Ramanayake was denied visitors and telephone call facility for two weeks, since early this month for posing for a selfie with fellow MP Harshana Rajakaruna at the Angunakolapelessa Prison. Mr. Ramanayake could meet two visitors each month and also allowed to use the telephone to a maximum three minutes once a week. more..

Mar 31 (AD) Sri Lanka on Wednesday (31) received a consignment of 600,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by China. A special flight chartered by the national carrier SriLankan Airlines (UL869) carrying the China-made vaccines touched down at the BIA in Katunayake at around 11.28 am. The vaccine consignment was ceremonially handed over to Prez Rajapaksa at the airport premises. more..

Mar 31 (FT) Irrespective of the fairy anecdotes on the gospel sovereignty of microcredit programmes of denting poverty, there are growing doubts on sustaining their core � enhancing financial inclusion for the poor to find a way out from financial poverty. From its authentic core to empower rural communities via increased financial inclusion, microlending has grown into a massive trade by now under the tag of responsible financing. Thus, the approach has received immense popularity more..

Mar 31 (DM) The maiden telecast of Haritha TV, launched by the board of governors of Sri Jinarathana Vocational Technical Training Center affiliated to the Gangarama Temple, Hunupitiya - Colombo, was inaugurated under the patronage of President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa at the temple premises today. The special event which marked another feat in television broadcasting was attended by Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne. more..

Mar 31 (EN) Sri Lanka should use diplomacy and not engage in confrontation at international fora such as the UNHRC to find solutions former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said. �The govt should place its trust in diplomacy and not confrontation that is step number one because diplomacy can lead you to solutions but from the start, if you are going to call all the countries that criticize you enemies we will not go far more..

Mar 31 (AD) An individual from Chavakachcheri in Jaffna has been arrested on charges of money laundering by hacking into the accounts of banks in the US. 41-year-old has been taken into custody by the officers of CID, DIG Ajith Rohana said. Investigators have uncovered that the suspect had hacked into U.S. bank accounts and transferred Rs. 13.4 million to his account in a private bank in SL. The suspect�s accomplices are based in the U.S. had aided and abetted him to transfer money more..

Mar 31 (AD) Indian authorities have intercepted a SL fishing vessel carrying 300kg of heroin and weapons off the southern coast of the country. Six SL nationals have also been taken into custody along with the massive heroin consignment. In addition, five AK-47 rifles and 1,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition were also seized by the Indian officials. The contraband was found in a fishing boat named Ravihansi which was intercepted by the Indian Coast Guard off Vizhinjam coast in Kerala more..

Mar 31 (EN) Sri Lanka�s main opposition has called for a forensic audit of an alleged sugar scam carried out as taxes were suddenly changed through a midnight gazette, to find out who benefited and who had information to benefit from the intervention. �I request you to do a forensic audit,� a legislator from SJB and a former State Minister of Finance Eran Wickremaratne told parliament. more..

Mar 31 (TM) Customs Director General Retired Maj. Gen. Vijitha Ravipriya said today that the samples were being tested in all 25 districts to find out if coconut oil containing toxic chemicals have been distributed in the local market. If any wrongdoing had taken place, he said they were ready to take necessary action. He was speaking at a cyber media briefing organized by the Ministry of Mass Media and Information today at the National Development Media Center on Carcinogenic Coconut Oil more..

Mar 31 (AD) A 4-day island-wide program will be launched today to minimize motorcycle accidents taking place in the country, says DIG Ajith Rohana. The operation, which is set to go on until the 3rd of April, will be carried out under the directives of the Police Headquarters. Police spokesperson added that motorcyclists will be subjected to a special inspection during the said operation. In the meantime, 08 individuals including three motorcyclists and two pedestrians have died more..

Mar 31 (Island) Over 3 years after SC Judge K.T. Chitrasiri led PCoI into Treasury bond scams handed over its report to then Prez Maithripala Sirisena, the Monetary Board is yet to complete recommendation in respect of forensic audits. Of the recommended forensic audits, five had been completed at a cost of Rs 275 mn and the remaining one not commissioned yet. The Island recently sought an explanation as regards more..

Mar 31 (LBN) The Commercial Bank of Ceylon�s commitment to the betterment of the environment, society, and the economy was recognised when the Bank was presented four awards including the award for the second runner-up overall at the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards presented by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. The Bank won the Sector Award for Best Performance in the Financial Sector, the category award for Best Performance in Governance, more..

Mar 31 (EN) Young Journalists Association (YJA) is renewing its appeal to the authorities to intervene in the case of young Poet Ahnaf Jazeem who is being held under a Detention Order (DO) because they allege he has been bitten by a rat in jail. In a letter addressed to the Human Rights Commission of SL and released to the media, YJA appeals to the authorities to ensure the safety of Jazeem. In its earlier appeals YJA has pointed out that Jazeem had been arrested by the TID more..

Mar 31 (TM) Speculation has been rife that there had been a political hand in the planning and orchestration of the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 2019. The PCoI on the Easter Sunday bombings seems to have explored various angles and established as many details as possible during the investigation. Those who alleged the above include former Prez Maithripala Sirisena, former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, more..

Mar 31 (Island) The govt would shortly scale up the monitoring of the country�s entire environmentally sensitive area through GPS to find out all threatened extents, Environment Ministry Secretary, Dr. Anil Jasinghe said. Dr. Jasinghe, making the guest speech at the launch of a book titled Nature in Therapy published by the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, stressed that co-management model was was under study, more..

Mar 31 (Island) The human�elephant conflict has taken a turn for the worse in the Polonnaruwa District since 2011 due to rapid deforestation, Convener of the Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle, Supun Lahiru Prakash says. Prakash said that Polonnaruwa was the district with the second highest deaths, injuries and property damage due to the human�elephant conflict. At the Divisional Secretariat level, Dimbulagala and Welikanda DS areas had recorded more..

Mar 31 (TM) The Archbishop�s House of Colombo would reach a final decision by 19 April on whether it would engage in further protest action regarding the alleged denial or delay of justice meted out to victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks. The future course of action would be confirmed by Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith on 19 April, following the handing over of the report by more..

Mar 31 (CT) Ten leading Buddhist Monks, led by Ven. Omare Kassapa Thera in a letter to Prez Rajapaksa with copies to all MPs, have urged the Govt to defer the staging of the delayed Provincial Council Election till such time a new Constitution is formulated. The letter had highlighted six points on why the Prez and the Govt should defer the conduct of the election. The letter has been signed by Ven. Kassapa Thera by Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Thera, Ven. Bengamuve Nalaka Thera, more..

Mar 31 (EN) Sri Lanka�s 12-month consumer price inflation accelerated to 4.1% in March 2021 from 3.3% in February amid a drop in vegetable prices, though non-foods continue to rise, data from the state statistics office showed. During the month the Colombo Consumer Price Index dropped to 138.9 index points from 139.1 points with a 1.6% drop in food prices. Traded commodities in particular had been rising steadily over the last four months, partly driven by loose US policy. more..

Mar 31 (TM) In order to assure the quality of non-state sector higher education institutions, UGC is to bring in regulations to such institutions under a proposed new Higher Education Act. UGC Chairman Prof. Sampath Amaratunge said that the lack of regulation in the non-state sector of higher education is a serious issue and that the proposed Act will include provisions under it to regulate aspects related to quality assurance. more..

Mar 31 (IM) Twenty-four Tamils have been deported from Germany to Sri Lanka. Citing the danger returnees face, a refugee support organization and a Catholic priest condemned the action. According to Germany's federal police, a flight with 24 Tamils took off from D�sseldorf airport on Tuesday (March 30) evening. On board were 24 Tamils, who were brought to the airport from a deportation detention center in B�ren in the German state of North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW). more..

Mar 31 (MEI) Sri Lanka recently passed regulations allowing detention without trial for two years for those suspected to have caused religious, racial or communal disharmony. This is a significant expansion of the already notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which has historically been used to target Tamils and Muslims. Alongside a proposed ban on Islamic face coverings and the closure of more than 1,000 Islamic schools, this move is a further indication that more..

Mar 31 (DS) Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has justified Bangladesh's vote against a UN resolution, seeking collection and preservation of evidence of war crimes committed by SL's armed forces and the LTTE. Bangladesh has a foreign policy of supporting the neighbours and not supporting any country-specific or politically motivated resolution, Momen said today when he was asked why Bangladesh voted against more..

Mar 31 (TM) Postmaster General Ranjith Ariyaratne said today that the strike launched by several postal unions is unjust. He said five of their six requests have already been fulfilled. He pointed out that the remaining issues could be resolved through discussions. Several postal unions launched a 24 hour sick leave token strike from midnight yesterday based on six demands including shortcomings in the recruitment system. Out of 34 postal unions, only six unions have joined the strike. more..

Mar 31 (DM) All Island Egg Producers Association (AIEPA) today warned that the poultry industry would collapse due to the surplus in the production of eggs and the inability to mark a fixed price for eggs. AIEPA Treasurer Wijeya Alwis said that they are finding it difficult to sell their produce. "Annually, the Govt used to import 80,000 parent birds, but the Animal Production & Health Department had imported 103,000 parent birds to increase the laying of eggs this year. more..

Mar 31 (CI) Suranga Lakmal is having a moment. Or is he? It's really quite hard to tell. Sure, he just rolled off six straight maidens to start off the second Test against the WI. And yes, he picked up two wickets in that period. And okay, it probably could've been more had Oshada Fernando held on to a tough chance at third slip to dismiss Kraigg Brathwaite on 37 - quite some way away from the century he would eventually reach. more..