Oct 15 (TP) Sri Lanka recorded a convincing 38-run win over Papua New Guinea in their ICC Men�s T20 World Cup 2021 warm-up encounter played at Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. Batting first, Sri Lanka posted a reasonable score of 162 for 5 from their 20 overs. The islanders tested out a new opening combo � Dhananjaya De Silva and Pathum Nissanka. However, De Silva made only 1 run off 5 balls. Charith Asalanka, batting at number three scored only 8 runs off 12 balls. more..

Oct 15 (Island) SL Under 19 will play their first match since the last Youth World Cup when Dunith Wellalage led outfit take on Bangladesh Under 19 in the first Youth ODI at Dambulla today. Team coached by Avishka Gunawardene have been together for just one month while their opponents had been training since Oct 2020 though their training has been hampered by Covid 19 related issues occasionally. While the Bangladesh team had competed together before more..

Oct 15 (FT) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) yesterday allayed undue fears and misinterpretation of forex reserves situation in the country, saying the somewhat distressing situation is under control as efforts are ongoing in a dynamic process to improve the status quo. CBSL�s net forex position had reached a negative level with $ 400 million in payments in July than the country�s reserves, which had fallen to $ 962m in Aug. more..

Oct 15 (Island) Why for goodness sake is it that we as a nation blunder from one crisis to another and these crises have been increasing in intensity, ferocity and magnitude, and to a cynical mind like Cassandra�s, all so unnecessary. Worse, we Ordinaries are treated like scum to be totally disregarded. Cass refers to the headline in Saturday October 9th The Island: �Tycoons backed by pettifoggers eyeing Wattegama�Kebilitta forest for corn cultivation� claimed by Sujeewa Chamikara more..

Oct 15 (FT) Central Bank (CB) said it will send a memo to the Govt shortly outlining how the importing of motor vehicles could be resumed if it wishes to. CBSL Governor Nivard Cabraal said there have been several suggestions to resume imports, including using one�s own foreign exchange earnings, especially by those employed abroad and payment of relevant duties. �This way we can ensure an inflow of foreign exchange, collection of Govt revenue as well as checkmating more..

Oct 15 (TM) A complaint was lodged with the CIABOC yesterday, regarding an incident where Rs. 2 from every Respirone Nano AV 99 facemask sold through Lanka Sathosa outlets has been credited to a fund named Pragna Bandu established by Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardana. The complaint was lodged by AJBP/OPPP Media Spokesman and the New Sinhale National Movement Convenor more..

Oct 15 (DM) The Health Ministry has acquired the needed doses of the Pfizer vaccine to complete administering a booster shot to all those above the age of 20 years by March. The booster Pfizer shot will be given to all those above 20, irrespective of the vaccines they have been administered with. Initially, there were reports that those who had been administered the Sinopharm vaccines will be given a third Sinopharm booster shot, but health experts dismissed these reports saying that more..

Oct 15 (SLN) Commander of the Navy, Nishantha Ulugetenne declared open the newly built four storeyed multi-purpose building at Navy General Hospital, Welisara today (14). The four storeyed building was put up at the hospital premises with a view to expanding its infrastructure to offer more service. The first floor of the four-storey building is reserved for storage facilities, the second floor for the administration of the hospital, and the third and fourth floors for training of naval nursing staff. more..

Oct 15 (TM) Doubts have arisen as to whether the 30,000 metric tonnes (MT) of fertiliser stock that arrived in Sri Lanka on 13 Oct from Lithuania were organic or chemical due to a statement made by Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage that it contains potassium chloride (KCL) as well as questions raised by social media users and the main parliamentary Opposition the SJB. Aluthgamage said on his official Facebook page more..

Oct 15 (CT) A day after Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) and the Ministry of Sports permitted Kandy and CR and FC players to face national selection trials ahead of the Asian Sevens Rugby Championship to be held in Dubai next month, has been halted by DG Ministry of Sports Amal Edirisooriya. The decision was arrived at after other clubs objected to CR and Kandy players being drafted into the national squad without playing the invitational tournament scheduled to be held on 30 and 31 October. more..

Oct 15 (DM) UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene, General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara with Venerable Abanpola Gnanaloka Thera at the launch of the UNP affiliated Buddhist Organisation at Sirikotha. The UNP will continue with its rich tradition of obtaining advice from the Buddhist clergy pertaining to party matters and national issues, its Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijeyewardene said on Wednesday. Speaking during the relaunch of the UNP� affiliated more..

Oct 15 (EN) Sri Lanka says a 3.6% growth projection for 2021 by the IMF is too low and the country will grow at 5% as expected as the island recovers from a Coronavirus pandemic with high vaccination. The IMF downgraded the island nation�s economic growth to 3.6% in its latest economic outlook release on Tuesday (12) from an earlier 4%, while global growth was also lowered slightly. CB governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said more..

Oct 15 (DM) A batch consisting more than 70 students attached to the Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science Faculty of the Peradeniya University were suspended for ragging their fellow students who had contracted Covid virus, a senior official of the university said. He said the batch of students who were generally controlled by a group of senior students by ragging them. The virus spread also was experienced due to irrational activities by the senior student group, he said. more..

Oct 15 (CT) Fort Police Chief Inspector Sagara Liyanage says statements had been recorded from around 20 people to ascertain as to what purpose a bag of ammunitions had been kept at a toilet in the Bristol Building. He said they were also probing the identity of the suspect who had brought the ammunitions to the toilet. The Police Chief Inspector said the entire Bristol Building had been searched with the use of 60 officers consisting of Inspectors and Sub Inspectors numbering 15. more..

Oct 15 (TM) The programme to administer the US-German made Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for students studying in GCE A/L classes in all education zones in the Colombo District will commence today (15). Colombo Zonal Education Director G.N. Silva stated that about 24,000 GCE A/L students belonging to the Colombo Education Zone will be vaccinated against Covid-19 under this programme. more..

Oct 15 (FT) All major democratic concepts relevant to the modern state (individual freedom, social contract theory, limited govt, sovereignty, constitutionalism, secularism, equality before the law, separation of powers, etc.) can be considered as a legacy of liberalism. It was in the 16th century that a philosophical dialogue on state began in the world. It could be considered as a dialogue that led to a successive wave of revolutions in Europe against the rule of authoritarian monarchies more..

Oct 15 (DN) Prez requesting another period of two years to prepare a Constitution suitable for the country is not justifiable, TNA Leader R. Sampanthan said on Wednesday. He said President Rajapaksa should focus his attention immediately on compiling a new Constitution. MP Sampanthan made this comment while expressing his views on the speech the President made in Anuradhapura recently. He said further that if the President is attempting to find solutions for the Tamil more..

Oct 15 (Island) Sajith Premadasa and his supporters had once again demonstrated they had no principles by discouraging foreing investors, Minister Johnston Fernando has said. Speaking to journalists during an inspection tour to examine the progress of the construction of Mahakithula reservoir at Polpithigama under Wayamba Province Maha Ela project, minister said that Sajith Premadasa and his men used to say that foreign investors would not come here as long as the present govt was in power. more..

Oct 15 (FT) The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has been signed into operation and is gaining traction owing to its magnitude and composition. As of 2020, the GDP of all member states in the regional trade bloc amounted to 30% of global GDP ($ 38.81 trillion) 1. This figure is larger than the GDP of both NAFTA 2.0 ($ 22.20 trillion) and the European Union ($ 15.17 trillion) combined2. Moreover, the 15 member states represent a cumulative population of more..

Oct 15 (EN) Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara has promised tough legal action against any school teacher unionists who attempt to sabotage govt plans to reopen some schools on October 21. Speaking at an event in Colombo on Thursday, Weerasekara drew parallels between a dragging teachers� strike � now into its fourth month � and SL�s civil war. �If teachers� salaries are low, we must definitely give them higher pay. more..

Oct 15 (DM) A noticeable increase in the cases of post-Covid syndrome called �Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome in children� were reported among children during the last couple of weeks, a medical specialist said today. Consultant in charge of ICU of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) Pediatrician Dr. Nalin Kithulwatta said six children were receiving treatment at the ICU of the LRH at present while a total of 78 such children have been kept under ICU care at the LRH so far. more..

Oct 15 (Island) Attempts made by certain regional politicians to undermine the union action of principals and teachers had failed, CN Liyanage, President of the Graded Principals� Association told the media. Liyanage said that in the past few weeks� meetings had been organised for principals and teachers at zonal education offices across the country. �These were organised on the pretext of discussing measures to reopen schools. However, they were arranged by regional politicians. more..

Oct 15 (EN) Any reversal of over 500 million US dollar worth European Union trade concession for Sri Lanka could be met through policy measurements and deal with if such a situation arises, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said. SL is facing the risk of losing the EU�s GSP+ trade concession from April next year if the govt does not take drastic measures to address human rights concerns as the island nation more..

Oct 15 (AD) Sri Lanka has reached a successful stage in combating the COVID-19 pandemic situation, Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella has told the UNICEF. In a meeting with the UNICEF Representative to SL, Christian Skoog, on Thursday (14), the health minister acknowledged the assistance received nationally and internationally for this purpose. Minister Rambukwella also spoke of how SL gave special attention to treating its elderly population during the outbreak of pandemic, more..

Oct 15 (DM) A writ petition filed by parents of the youths who went missing in 2008 seeking an order quashing the decision of the Attorney General to withdraw the indictment filed against Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda was today fixed for support by Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal two-judge-bench comprising Justice Sobhitha Rajakaruna and Justice Dhammika Ganepola fixed the petition for support on Oct 29. The petitioners were directed to serve notices on AG and more..

Oct 15 (MFA) High Commissioner of Malaysia to Colombo Tan Yang Thai paid a Courtesy Call on Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris at the Foreign Ministry on the 14 Oct. While recalling the close and friendly bilateral ties between SL and Malaysia, Foreign Minister and the High Commissioner discussed further avenues to enhance cooperation between the two countries in the post Covid -19 era. Stating Sri Lanka was among the first to recognize Malaysia�s independence back in 1957, and more..

Oct 15 (FT) In an exclusive pre-publication release to the Daily FT, leading business magazine LMD, publisher Media Services, announced its top 10 line-up in the forthcoming LMD 100 special edition. Hayleys retains the No. 1 spot in the 28th edition of SL�s pioneering listed company rankings for financial year 2020/21. With a consolidated revenue in excess of Rs. 240 billion, the conglomerate has secured top spot for the fifth consecutive year on the back of a 15% hike in turnover more..

Oct 15 (Island) The Cabinet on 30 Aug, approved a proposal for handing over 6% of the total land area in the Anuradhapura District to a private company to grow aloe vera, and this will have a disastrous impact on the environment, climate and human elephant conflict in the North Central and North Western Provinces, Sajeewa Chamikara of the MONLAR says. The Cabinet had approved a paper jointly presented by more..

Oct 15 (Island) Both public and private companies should immediately provide adequate transport for their staff if the country was to avoid another spike in COVID-19 and a costly lockdown, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Management Consultant Dr. Sanjaya Perera said. Commenting on congestion in buses, Dr. Perera said that it was obvious that most companies had not taken work from home initiatives seriously. �Buses are overcrowded and this is a dangerous situation. more..

Oct 15 (AD) Director-General of Health Services has issued new preventive guidelines in a bid to further prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus within the country. The govt�s efforts to keep the pandemic situation under control have shown positive results, however, there is still a significant increase in the transmission of the virus, Dr. Asela Gunawardena said in his communiqu�. Accordingly, new guidelines, which will be in effect until the 31st of Oct, were issued to be followed by the public. more..

Oct 15 (CT) With the annual Katina pinkam, to commence next month, the Dept of Buddhist Religious Affairs (DBRA) has issued a directive urging Buddhist devotees to abide by the guidelines issued by the Health Ministry and not to engage in the annual processions. The Dept noted that adhering to health guidelines under the prevailing COVID pandemic the Katina perahera and the pooja offerings should be conducted on a low key. more..

Oct 15 (CT) Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda said that Rs 140 million has been set aside to develop aquaculture in the Northern Province. Minister Devananda added that a huge amount of money has been allocated to develop aquaculture amid the current economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fishing families must utilise the funds to get their living conditions improved while contributing to the national economy, he added. more..

Oct 15 (TM) Global Hunger Index (GHI) has ranked SL in the 65th place for countries that are in hunger. Statistics from the year 2000 are shown on the website, and SL has so far been on an upward trend since then. Whilst reporting that in the year 2000, 21.9% of the population was in hunger, which as per the GHI is a serious figure, SL has climbed to a staggering -26.9%, which is now considered as a low hunger rate. For the 2021 GHI report, data was assessed for 135 countries. more..

Oct 15 (DM) The IGP has informed Court of Appeal that investigations carried out against High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya had not revealed sufficient evidence regarding the controversial telephone conversations with former Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake. Uditha Egalahewa, PC appearing for the IGP made these revelation pursuant to a writ petition filed by High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya who sought an order preventing the IGP and his agents more..

Oct 15 (EN) SL�s ongoing COVID-19 travel ban between provinces will be strictly enforced till Oct 21, the PMD said. A PMD statement on Friday (15) said Prez Rajapaksa has instructed authorities to check traffic at provincial borders in view of the public holidays that fall on October 19 and 20 and the resultant long weekend. Though Sri Lanka has seen a drop in daily COVID-19 cases and deaths and vaccination continues, health official are still concerned about a possible resurgence. more..

Oct 15 (MFA) SL held for the very first time Foreign Ministry Level Virtual Bilateral Consultations with the People�s Democratic Republic of Algeria on 12 Oct. Discussions focused on strengthening political, economic, social and cultural ties. In keeping with the Govt policy of further expanding ties with the African Region, closer engagement with Algeria which is the lead economy in North Africa is envisaged. The two sides noted that the total trade last year stood USD 5.39 million more..

Oct 15 (DM) The Colombo High Court today ordered to release Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and former Director General of Divi Neguma Department Kithsiri Ranawaka from a case filed against them for allegedly misappropriating Rs.36.5 million of funds belonging to Divi Neguma Department to purchase GI pipes. Colombo High Court Judge Namal Balalle made this order following the AG's decision more..

Oct 15 (AD) Total number of people, who died of COVID-19 infection in SL, moved up as 20 more fatalities were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services on Thursday. The new development has pushed the official death toll from the virus outbreak in the country to 13,449. The latest victims include 11 males and 09 females.14 deaths were reported among elderly people aged above 60 years. In addition, 5 people aged between 30-59 years and one female below the age of 30 more..