Nov 26 (DM) Refuting claims that he was behind the moves to ban chemical fertilizer, Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera said today that he was not aware of it until the Cabinet Paper prohibiting chemical fertilizer was presented to the Cabinet by the President. The prelate told Parliament that they launched a massive ideological campaign to promote organic farming and that they never proposed that it was possible to introduce organic farming within 24 hours through a Cabinet Paper. more..

Nov 26 (DM) A 19-year-old married woman who was receiving treatment at the National Hospital in Colombo after being seriously injured by a gas cylinder explosion at a house at Welikanda in Polonnaruwa, had died yesterday evening. Police said the deceased has been identified as Ayesha Kumuduni, a resident of Sandunpitiya, Welikanda. Investigations have revealed that the gas cylinder had exploded when she tried to light it with a match on November 13. No one else was at home at the time of the incident more..

Nov 27 (DM) The UN observes 29 Nov as the Int'l Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, the same date in 1947 on which the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine. Based on that resolution, in May 1948, Israel was declared an independent state with David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, as PM. Weeks prior to Israel�s declaration of independence, on April 9 terrorist Israeli gangs �Irgun and Lehi- carried out massacres in village of Deir Yasin, more..

Nov 27 (DM) Every year I have been writing articles to mark the birth and death anniversaries of the Late Mr. Athulathmudali to bring to the attention of the public as well as those in governance the skill and competency with which this great man handled any and every situation that was thrust upon him. My aim has always been to bring to the present citizens and rulers an idea of how best we can progress as a country. As years go by, many are of the view that presently around 60% of law makers more..

Nov 27 (DM) Last Saturday (20) saw a group of self-styled political activists create a ruckus and disrupt a public meeting in the Scarborough area of Toronto City in Canada. The incident -though distorted and misreported in sections of the media - received wide publicity in SL. Moreover it has generated a multi-faceted debate through social media within and outside SL. This is because the Toronto fracas involved SL Tamils and more..

Nov 27 (DM) Kandyan Kingdom�s dogged resistance to European invaders from the 17th Century to the second decade of the 19th Century has not received the attention it deserves from military historians, laments historian Dr. Channa Wickremesekera, the author of Kandy at War: Indigenous Military Resistance to European Expansion in SL 1594-1818. Kandy was but a small, landlocked, sparsely populated place in central Sri Lanka surviving on subsistence agriculture and without more..

Nov 27 (CT) A series of explosions, likely associated with cylinders of domestic Liquid Petroleum Gas, rocked the country this month, causing panic among the public and raising doubts about the safety of domestic LP gas, and more importantly, posing serious questions about the priority given by the authorities to public safety. By Friday evening, a total of 5 explosions were reported this month. First explosion was reported at a hotel in Weligama on 4 Nov, where 3 people were injured. more..

Nov 27 (CT) There is a dearth of health specialists in the country, President of the Govt Medical Officers� Forum (GMOF), Dr. Rukshan Bellana opined while expressing his disappointment over the local drug manufacturing failure. Dr. Bellana in an interview with Ceylon Today further slammed the Govt Medical Officers� Association (GMOA) for having deviated from the basic objective of a trade union. more..

Nov 27 (ST) Faheema Saheed has been one of my students since her undergraduate time. After completing undergraduate studies, she started postgraduate studies too, completed her Master�s degree as well as the PhD degree and, became a visiting lecturer at the Uni of Colombo. A couple of weeks ago I met her after she had returned from Dubai. International travels, particularly to East Asian and West Asian destinations are not new to them, because they often visit these places more..

Nov 27 (CT) The second reading of the maiden budget of Basil Rajapakse, the new Minister of Finance, was passed by the Parliament on 22 Nov with 153 votes in favour and 60 against. The budget was presented at a time when the SL economy is in severe all-encompassing crisis. The crisis may be discussed at two levels. The first refers to what we can see at the surface level and this is the level at which mainstream economists are primarily concerned with. more..

Nov 27 (Island) Members of Parliament consider themselves a special class, and jealously guard their privileges. Living off the public, they want first dibs on everything. But most of them do not even care to behave properly inside Parliament, much less debate matters of national importance or carry out other legislative duties and functions in a civilised manner; their conduct is so appalling that teachers are wary of taking schoolchildren to the parliament gallery when the House is in session. more..

Nov 27 (Island) The female dancer�s form figures prominently in Sinhalese art and sculpture. Among the ruins of the Lankatilake Viharaya in Polonnaruwa is a series of carvings of dwarves, beasts, and performers. They surround a decapitated image of a standing Buddha, secular figures dotting a sacred space. Similar figures of dancing women adorn the entrance at the Varaka Valandu Viharaya in Ridigama, adjoining the Ridi Vihare. Offering a contrast with carvings of men sporting swords more..

Nov 27 (Island) Former President Maithripala Sirisena has struck hard on warnings of being deprived of Civil Rights by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. In his recent statement, President Gotabaya was clear on observing the policies laid down in his Saubhagya Dekma manifesto. He recalled how the Yahapalana govt had given no importance to the war heroes, intelligence services, and national security, which led to the Easter Carnage. more..

Nov 27 (TM) Despite a stern fight-back from the Windies, SL spinners came on top to win the first cricket Test by 187 runs, to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, on what was a gloomy, overcast day here at the Galle Int'l Stadium yesterday (25). Lasith Embuldeniya, nicknamed Embula, took some time to settle into his rhythm in the game but when he did, he was a treat to watch. In his 61 overs in the game, he gave away only 113 runs with at an economy rate below two runs per an over. more..

Nov 27 (FT) Total of 714 more persons tested for COVID-19 yesterday, raising the daily detections to 561,059. All patients detected yesterday were from the New Year cluster. Total of 456,232 from the New year cluster and 9,053 patients from the Prisons cluster. The local cases also include 82,785 persons from the Peliyagoda cluster and 3,059 persons from the Divulapitiya cluster. Imported COVID-19 cases consist of 6,974 Lankans and 324 foreigners. 6,437 PCR tests and 3,779 RATs were carried out more..

Nov 27 (Island) Sprinter Amasha de Silva smashed Olympian Susanthika Jayasinghe�s longstanding Army Athletics Championship 100 metres record and Roshan Dhammika Ranatunga came almost close to breaking his national record in the 110 metres hurdles as they blazed the track on the final day of the Army Athletics C'ships at the Sugathadasa Stadium on Friday. Amasha clocked 11.67 seconds to win the women�s 100 metres final more..

Nov 27 (FT) COVID-19 vaccines were administered to a total of 25,159 persons on Thursday. A total of 15,919,195 persons have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to date and 13,725,136 persons have received the second dose. A total of 668 persons received the first dose of Pfizer, and 763 persons received the second dose of Pfizer on Thursday. In total, the first dose of the vaccine has been administered to 1,534,818 persons and 2nd dose has been administered to 457,022 more..

Nov 27 (DN) Two promising players Senura Silva of Ananda College, Colombo, and Bimandee Bandara of Hillwood College Kandy have been named boys and girls under 18 top seeds at Junior National Table Tennis Championship which will be played today and tomorrow at the Bandaragama Indoor Stadium. A total number of 270 players comprising 145 boys and 135 girls, will compete to be crowned as National Champion in their respective age group in this event which is conducted by TTASL. more..

Nov 27 (FT) Colombo stock market yesterday delivered a strong finish for a bullish week, with both indices up by over 1% and a high turnover of Rs. 9 billion. All Share Price Index gained by 1.56%, or 172 points, and the S&PSL20 gained by 1.47% or 55 points. Turnover was Rs. 9.14 billion, marginally down from Rs. 10 billion on Thursday. On a weekly basis, Asia Securities said the ASPI ended higher recovering from its previous week�s losses (+538.96 points or +5.06%) while more..

Nov 27 (FT) The Centre for Defence Research and Development under the Ministry of Defence handed over locally produced security equipment in Parliament on Thursday to ensure the security of the Parliament complex. Defence Secretary Gen. (Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne handed over the equipment to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana. The equipment includes a Drone Jammer System and security communications equipment used to ensure defence mechanism. more..

Nov 27 (ST) New Kelani Bridge (NKB) construction shows that, if the Govt really wants to do something, it could, a specialist from the main funder JICA said. Senior Project Specialist Namal Ralapanawe was referring to the successful resettlement of hundreds of families to make way for the bridge. While mega projects were often a nightmare for those who were displaced, the NKB project ensured they were the priority more..

Nov 27 (FT) National Office of Buddhism in Thailand Director General Narong Songarom and Ambassador of SL to the Kingdom of Thailand and Permanent Representative to UNESCAP C.A. Chaminda I. Colonne recently had fruitful discussions on strengthening centuries old traditional Buddhist and cultural relations and cooperation between SL and Thailand. Warmly welcoming Ambassador Chaminda Colonne at the National Office of Buddhism, more..

Nov 27 (Island) SL retained the Sobers-Tissera trophy after a nail-biting finish in the opening Test against West Indies here in Galle yesterday. The victory margin of 187 runs may suggest that this was a comfortable win but in fact, the hosts were racing against time with rains threatening to come down anytime. Minutes after the final wicket fell, the heavens opened and the post match presentation was forced indoors. It is unlikely that play would have resumed after the rain interruption. more..

Nov 27 (DN) SriLankan Airlines assured Indian travellers that the airline is committed to increase the flights to destinations that were temporarily halted due to the pandemic, restore operations to pre-COVID-19 levels, and offer Indian travellers a wide range of connections to SL. SriLankan Airlines� Chairman, Ashok Pathirage, told a news conference in New Delhi: �India is our biggest market, and we are dedicated to more..

Nov 27 (Island) The inaugural meeting of the GAP Stakeholder Forum was held with the support of the Technical Assistance to the Modernisation of Agriculture Programme (TAMAP) at the Department of Agriculture in Peradeniya on 17 November 2021. Prof. Udith K Jayasinghe, Secretary Ministry of Agriculture, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. The Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) programme, introduced by the Department of Agriculture in 2016, was a promising step taken to minimise more..

Nov 27 (DM) The Govt had released 18,000 MTS of substandard and hazardous stocks of TSP fertiliser to the farmers, despite its pledges to protect farmers from hazardous chemicals, National Peoples� Power (NPP) MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake said yesterday. He told Parliament that the Director General of Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI) had granted approval to release fertiliser stocks to the farmers following a discussion with President�s Secretary P.B. Jayasundara. more..

Nov 27 (Island) The GTF and TNA delegation had several significant engagements in the US between Nov 15�22, articulating Tamil people�s concerns to key US Govt policymakers and Members of US Congress, GTF said in a press release. GTF added that they are pleased with the outcomes of their discussions and remain encouraged by concerns and responses from US representatives. more..

Nov 27 (FT) Leaders in apparel exports, Brandix and MAS were bestowed with the accolade Exporter of the Year for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 financial years respectively, by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday. Last year, the Export Development Board (EDB) could not hold the Presidential Export Awards for financial year 2019/2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and therefore it was held as a combined awards scheme this year. The Presidential Export Awards initiated in 1981, more..

Nov 27 (AD) Two people who were in possession of more than 10kg of Kerala cannabis have been taken into custody by the STF in two separate raids. The arrests were made by a group of officers attached to Gonahena STF camp on Thursday, based on a tip-off received. A 19-year-old residing in the Mattakkuliya area was first apprehended along with 6kg and 542g of Kerala cannabis. He was then handed over to Mattakkuliya Police. Interrogations into the suspect led to the arrest more..

Nov 27 (FT) Prez Rajapaksa commended exporters for not only recovering to pre-pandemic levels, but for reaching record highs, insisting that they have a key role in leading the economy towards prosperity in the post-COVID era. �I congratulate the export companies for being recognised at this event for their outstanding performance in the last two years. I also convey my great appreciation to our export industries more..

Nov 27 (CT) The Executive and Zone Directors of the Board of Investment (BoI), during a meeting with the Chairman Sanjay Mohottala, have called for immediate remedies to resolve matters they were against. The Executive and Zone Directors have demanded the removal of the nine recent recruits from the organisation and wanted the already existing vacancies within the organisation filled for smooth operation. Highlighting that there was no clear vision, the Directors and Unions more..

Nov 27 (Island) SJB MP Mujibur Rahuman told Parliament that the CID had tapped his mobile phone without obtaining a court order. Raising a privilege issue, the MP said: �I have been using this number since the year 2005. Chief Inspector Sujeewa Gunawardana, OIC attached to the counterterrorism and investigation department of the CID, summoned a friend of mine and obtained my mobile number. An extensive investigation was carried out on the phone along with more..

Nov 27 (FT) �We are no longer talking about a crisis that is about to engulf us. We are now in its midst, though not its depths. The hope that the 2022 Budget would give the right signals has evaporated,� Prof. Rohan Samarajiva, a leading policy analyst said. He made these comments at Advocata�s latest event, A National Consensus for Economic Reforms or Arthikayata jathika sammuthiyak?. more..

Nov 27 (BBC) The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a new coronavirus variant to be of concern and named it Omicron. It had a large number of mutations, and early evidence suggested an increased reinfection risk, the WHO said. It was first reported to the WHO from South Africa on 24 November, and has also been identified in Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel. A number of countries have now decided to ban or restrict travel to and from southern Africa. more..

Nov 27 (AD) The Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar has issued summons on Inspector-General of Police C.D. Wickramaratne to appear before the court on November 29. Wickramaratne is summoned to testify in the case filed against former IGP Pujith Jayasundara over his failure to take action to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. The legal matter was called before High Court Judges Namal Balalle, Adithya Patabendige and Mohamed Irshadeen today. more..

Nov 27 (Island) Due to the lax testing at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), there is a strong possibility that any new variant of COVID-19 entering the country, College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS) President, Ravi Kumudesh said commenting on the detection of a new coronavirus variant spreading in South Africa. Even a travel ban would be useless unless the country enhances its testing & surveillance capacities, he said. more..

Nov 27 (FT) There are overwhelming perversions in the toxicology of COVID policies. And they veer towards enabling the stripping of liberties fecklessly and pointlessly � unless creating an oppressive state structure is your aim. An intensivist in Linz, Austria, printed on Sunday the following report, �Of all COVID patients in the ICU, about 80% are over 50 years old, and most have widely recognised risk factors such as high blood pressure, heart failure or diabetes�perhaps the planned vaccine more..