Nov 8 (TM) More than 500 teachers and principals surrounded the Mawanella Police Station yesterday in protest of the non-arrest of the Mawanella PS Deputy Chairman, who had allegedly forcibly entered a school in the Mawanella area on 3 November and disrupted its principal and teachers. The Mawanella PS Deputy Chairman, along with two other individuals, had allegedly entered the Mederigama Maha Vidyalaya in Mawanella more..

Nov 8 (EN) Sri Lanka is expecting more Polish tourists after the country�s airline, LOT begins flights in December in partnership with Rainbow, a tour operator, the Indian Ocean island�s tourism promotion office said. From December 7 LOT will resume direct flights to Sri Lanka flying twice a week until the end of the Winter season. The tourism office said before the pandemic Sri Lanka had welcomed 20,000 polish tourists per annum in 2019 and 2018 on direct flights. more..

Nov 8 (TM) The legal implications will need to be re-visited if the covid-19 vaccine is made mandatory in public places says Deputy Director General of Health Dr Hemantha Herath. �We cannot impose such rules unless the legal implications are re-visited. There is a formality, but there is also a social responsibility of the people to help stop the spread of the virus. We are still in the discussion phase and for such a rule to be implemented, we need more time to decide,� said Dr Herath. more..

Nov 8 (AD) Health Minister says that the Attorney General has informed that legal procedures can be taken against those who have not been vaccinated with both doses of Covid-19 vaccines if they visit public places. Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that the Health Ministry expects to implement this law. He last week he had sought the AG�s advice on the possibility within the country�s legal framework to enact laws preventing more..

Nov 8 (DM) A significant number of students are subject to financial misappropriation as the money they paid were plundered by the agents who coordinate the Russian Medicine degree, Former MP Sinhala Rawaya President Ven. Akmeemana Dayarathana Thera said. He said it is discovered that the Agent Companies have been charging exorbitantly than the stipulated fee the aspirants pay the Universities. "For instance, the exact annual course fee of Tver State Medical University more..

Nov 8 (Island) Situation had taken a turn for the worse, since the establishment of a new Production, Supply & Regulation of Pharmaceuticals, College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS) President, Ravi Kumudesh said. �A few years ago, a new state minister was appointed for the production, supply and regulation of pharmaceuticals. However, now the NMRA data has gone missing, the production of pharmaceuticals in the country has been hampered and there are more irregularities in the import more..

Nov 8 (EN) Sri Lanka itself should restructure its loans instead of seeking the assistance of the IMF and the govt has been reducing sovereign debts in that strategy, Presidential Secretary P B Jayasundera said this week. Moody�s downgraded SL�s sovereign rating by slashed one notch down to Caa2 from Caa1 to near default category and global fund managers and analysts have warned SL to start IMF discussions more..

Nov 8 (EN) SL�s Export Development Board and High Commissioner for Bangladesh had linked up with companies trading with the country to clear impediments and boost trade. The online forum had drawn around 30 companies representing tea, cosmetics & personal care products, textiles, electrical & electronic products, woven fabric & rubber products including tyres and chemical products. Minister Bandula Gunawardena had said that his ministry is working with more..

Nov 8 (DM) Whilst stating that the SJB is not seen as an alternative by the people, MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka stressed for a programme to woo the dejected SLPP members at the grass root level through an effective propaganda machinery. MP Fonseka who was speaking at a party meeting in Meerigama said the SJB has to work towards political success as no one would give it to them on a platter. �People do not see the SJB as a party which is capable of running a govt though more..

Nov 8 (DM) Foreign exchange reserves were measured at US$ 2,267.5 million by the end of Oct, down from US$ 2,704.2 million in Sept as CB settled US$ 492.9 million worth foreign liabilities during the month. SL is scrambling to shore up its reserves amid slowdown in inflows due to the pandemic and rating downgrades. October reserves touched a fresh post-war low, sufficient for only 1.8 months of imports. more..

Nov 8 (Island) The global trends indicated that there might be a fresh spike in COVID-19 cases and Sri Lankans had to be extremely careful in the coming days and weeks, State Minister Prof. Channa Jayasumana said. He added that over 600 cases had been reported on Friday and that this is the first time that daily cases exceeded 600 in 20 days. �We must also be mindful of the fact that immunity boosted by vaccines decreases. A recent survey in the US showed that there was a dramatic more..

Nov 8 (TM) State Minister Nimal Lanza said that the Govt is inviting trouble by trying to acquire 4,400 hectares of land in addition to the 1447 hectares as the Muthurajawela Environment Sensitive Zone. �We request the Govt to conserve at least the area of 1447 hectares as gazetted earlier. According to the new gazette, lands used by temples, churches and the surrounding people for about 200 years will be acquired by the UDA. By doing this, the Govt will only invite more trouble,� said Lanza. more..

Nov 8 (Island) Minister G.L. Peiris says in spite of difference in opinion as regards contentious matters constituents of the govt should abide by decisions taken collectively. Prof. Peiris said so after having met the Chief prelates of the Asgiriya and Malwatte Chapters, Most Ven. Warakagoda Sri Gnanaratne thero and Most Ven. Thibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala thero, respectively, on Saturday. SLPP National List lawmaker who is also more..

Nov 8 (CT) Police in Badalkumbura on Saturday recovered a human skull near the 11th km post in Alupotha on the main road to Passara. A 10-year-old boy had spotted the skull while picking cocoa in an abandoned land. He had later told his sister, after which it was reported to the police via the 119 emergency hotline. Statements have been recorded from both, while the skull is due to be sent to the Govt Analyst's Dept for further investigations. Moneragala Acting Magistrate conducted more..

Nov 8 (CT) The couple arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman, whose body was found in a travelling bag near a garbage dump in the Sapugaskanda area, was produced before the Mahara Magistrate yesterday. The Court granted permission for the Police to detain the couple for 48 hours for questioning. The couple is to be produced in Court today (8). Meanwhile, CCTV footage of the couple transferring belongings, in a bid to flee their residence after murder, has been obtained. more..

Nov 8 (Island) Auditor General�s Dept, in consultation with the COPE, will soon initiate the process of auditing State-owned Litro Gas and Litro Terminals after a lapse of nearly two years. The audit inquiry gets underway in the wake of Chairman and CEO of Litro Gas Lanka Limited and Litro Terminals Theshara Jayasinghe�s bombshell revelation at his Union Place Office last Friday that his organization conspired with more..

Nov 8 (DM) The ban on polythene based products such as sachets, polythene and shopping bags, wrappers, lunch sheets and plastic items has been successful and the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) will conduct 4,930 raids before the end of this year, Environment Ministry said. Ministry banned five single-use items made of polythene and plastic since March 31 this year. The production, distribution and sale of sachets (non-food and non-pharmaceutical), plastic-wrapped cotton more..

Nov 8 (CT) The prosecution on Friday informed Colombo Chief Magistrate Buddhika Sri Ragala that underworld gang member Dematagoda Ruwan�s name is in the list of those who are illegally peddling heroin globally. The suspect, Dematagoda Ruwan, is currently in remand on charges of amassing billions of rupees worth of properties via the trafficking of heroin. Senior State Counsel Hamsa Abeyratne, appearing for the prosecution, told Magistrate Ragala that they had begun a probe into more..

Nov 8 (EN) Pfizer BionTech, Moderna and Jansen vaccines reduce over time a US study has found as Sri Lanka starts the rollout of booster dose to continue the battle against Coronavirus as the island re-opens the economy and patient numbers start to go up. SL says 14 million doses of Pfizer are on order to vaccinate the 20 million population in stages. A study done by the Public Health Institute, more..

Nov 9 (DM) It is no secret that the govt is desperate in facing the economic issues the country is faced with. Also it is no secret that govt has no solutions to any of the current economic woes the people are faced with, as the steps taken by it are failing one by one. Meanwhile some ministers and officials are aggravating the situation by infuriating the frustrated masses with their irresponsible and ludicrous statements such as the one that money printing would not add to the existing inflation. more..

Nov 9 (DM) SL today is a land of acute shortages. Hundreds, if not thousands throng at the sales agents at the rumours of the impending, and often elusive, arrival of supplies of cooking gas. Long queues of people wait in desperation only to find, supplies, if ever come, could cater only to a fraction of them. Cement and building materials are near extinct and the shortage had crippled the livelihood of a vast construction sector workforce, and the dreams of married couples who save up to more..

Nov 9 (TM) SL is a country gifted with a plethora of natural resources and it is one of the major reasons why foreign tourists prefer to tour SL over other countries in the region. Not only beaches and culture, SL forests and animals are also considered the best tourist attractions in the region. However, protecting and maintaining these resources is not just limited to making laws or policies, or building fences and more..

Nov 9 (GV) The recent appointment of a task force mandated with law reform headed by a controversial Buddhist monk has raised concerns from multiple fronts. Yet, considering recent trends in SL, this should not come as a surprise. The practice of appointing task forces comes naturally to the Gotabaya Rajapaksa Presidency, having appointed over 10 such entities in less than two years. Furthermore, the prominence given to Buddhist clergy in recent years is also not new, more..

Nov 9 (TM) The problem with many govts that came before this one was that they left so many things to happen by default. The last Yahapalana Govt governed almost entirely by default. One branch of government could not quite control the other � and the answer was to quit trying. Governing by default is also called letting the chips fall where they may. When the dollar was in free fall during the Yahapalana administration, the then-Govt�s answer was to do nothing. more..

Nov 9 (DM) Minister of Power Gamini Lokuge in an interview with the Daily Mirror responded to questions regarding the controversy involving the agreement featuring New Fortress Energy of the United States for the supply of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) and the plans for grid connectivity with India and Singapore in the future. He also answered questions connected to the current political issues. more..

Nov 9 (TM) Sri Lanka is a country that has produced a number of scientists, engineers, inventors and mathematicians, and persons like Dr. Ray Wijewardene, Dr. Sarath Gunapala and Prof. Neelika Malavige, among a number of others, have brought fame to the country during the past few decades. They have proved that science and technology, if embraced correctly, can not only bring commercial and scientific success, but can also help the growth and survival of the human race. more..

Nov 9 (CT) Currently, People�s Bank (PB) has suspended releasing the proceeds of a Letter of Credit (L/C) in favour of a Chinese fertiliser supplier on the orders of the Commercial Court of SL. In retaliation, the Chinese Embassy in SL has requested Chinese companies not to accept L/Cs opened by PB. In democratic countries like SL, as per the island�s Constitution, all Govt agents, other than the Executive President and Parliament, are subservient to the orders of the Courts of SL, more..

Nov 9 (CT) The role of the mainstream media is to be an unbiased watchdog and encourage public opinion on issues of good governance and combating corruption. Hence, why is our mainstream media which went to town on the Pandora Papers reference to Thirukumar Nadesan and Nirupama Rajapaksa, fighting shy of exposing the more than 60 Sri Lankans names in the 2016 Panama Papers some of whom are movers and shakers in the country�s private sector? more..

Nov 9 (FT) Investors yesterday chased after yet another illiquid stock of LOLC Group, propelling its price 75% after heavy trading. LOLC Finance, public float of which is only 5.4% or 283.5 million shares, rocked the market accounting for highest turnover, trading, and price gain. It saw 182.4 million shares change hands via 17,355 trades for Rs. 3.14 billion. Its intra-day high was Rs. 21.50, up by 75% from Friday�s close before finishing the day at Rs. 20.90, still up by 70%. more..

Nov 9 (TM) Police Scotland must stop training Sri Lankan officers if allegations of state-sanctioned torture are confirmed, according to the UN investigator behind an excoriating report into the country�s human rights abuses. Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Prof. Manfred Nowak called for Holyrood to launch an inquiry into the claims of police brutality made by refugees fleeing Sri Lanka for Scotland. more..

Nov 9 (ST) As students many decades ago, we were enthralled by the stories, if one might call them that, of Robert Ripley called Believe it or not. If at times it was difficult to believe them it was because some were so far-fetched and contrived and others so bizarre that they appeared to come from an imaginative mind rather than statements of fact. But over the years, the memories of Ripley�s continuing series that evoked so much interest, wonderment and even maybe soul-searching, more..

Nov 9 (Island) Afghanistan is experiencing a severe food shortage, and the situation is expected to take a turn for the worse during the current winter due to lack of funds for food purchases; the Biden administration has frozen the Afghan Central Bank assets in the US, we are told. Gwynne Dyer, in his column today, explains why the US has resorted to asset freezing at the expense of the poor Afghans. There is no gainsaying that the Taliban should be made to respect democracy & human rights. more..

Nov 9 (FT) The Govt is stepping up efforts to enhance trade pacts with regional countries in an economic revival strategy that seeks to push for higher exports and investments that can boost GDP growth in the country. �Strategic and economic ties bolster each other. We cannot ignore the advantages of the trade agreements. The Govt is keen to wrap-up the deals that are under the vetting process,� Minister Gunawardena said. more..

Nov 9 (TM) At least three new faces are expected to be included in the home team as SLT will be back in Test action from 21 Nov when they start their two-match series in a bio-secure bubble in Galle against the West Indies. The Kraigg Brathwaite-led Windies are to arrive here early morning today (8). Among the youngsters who are likely to mix with the seniors, under the captaincy of Dimuth Karunaratne, in the SL squad are Kamil Mishara, Suminda Lakshan & Chamika Gunasekara. more..

Nov 9 (FT) Aimed at riding its next growth wave, SL�s pioneer e-commerce enterprise Kapruka is to list on the Colombo Stock Exchange via a Rs. 500 million Initial Public Offering (IPO). The funds raised via the IPO will be utilised to upgrade its existing technology and infrastructure and to expand its cross-border export activities. In addition, Kapruka is planning to generate new revenue streams by introducing several new e-commerce products, including a marketplace for premium brands, more..

Nov 9 (FT) Daily COVID-19 detections rose to 679 yesterday, with a slight rise in COVID-19 detections resulting in over 600 persons testing positive for the virus four days in a row. According to Health Promotion Bureau Director Dr. Ranjith Batuwanthudawe, there is always a risk clusters emerging if the public is not careful. �When presenting patient information, the Epidemiology Unit stated that the detections were scattered and a large number of patients were not being more..

Nov 9 (TM) Helping them to break their shackles and to find equal footing in Table Tennis, an initiative has been taken to venture into a programme of guiding and grooming the sport exclusively for women, former national champion Lalith Priyantha announced, recently. The first player to win the title for three years said along with the launch of this programme, he will also be organising a tournament targeting only ladies. �I�m not thinking about the number of events or entries. more..

Nov 9 (ST) The cargo vessel carrying contaminated fertiliser from China � now in the eye of a diplomatic and legal storm � was yesterday tracked in Sri Lanka�s waters off Beruwela, inching towards the Colombo Port. SL Navy spokesman Indika de Silva said the ship was in the waters of SL�s Exclusive Economic Zone under the innocent passage provisions of international maritime law with 20,000MT more..