Sep 11 (DM) Former President Chandrika Kumaratunge has requested Prez Rajapaksa to consider giving presidential pardon to imprisoned former MP Ranjan Ramanayake. In a letter to the Prez, she said Ramanayake is a person who is genuinely working towards the betterment of the helpless people even by spending his own funds as an artiste, politician and a social worker. "As you granted presidential pardon to several people who were convicted for grave offences with mercy, more..

Sep 11 (CT) We will have to perhaps gently remind ourselves of the all-time purpose of getting vaccinated in relation to the present context where even in this tiny island the daily death toll rose above 200 during August and new cases of COVID-19 being diagnosed each day topped 3,000. As the WHO, explains it: �Vaccines train the immune system to recognise the targeted virus and create antibodies to fight off the disease without more..

Sep 11 (DM) The present lockdown will be of no use if public movement are properly curtailed, Public Health Inspectors Union (PHIU) claimed. PHIU Head Upul Rohana said people were behaving as if there is no lockdown or quarantine curfew in the country. �It's in fact futile to extend the curfew because it is apparent that the ideal results expected of a lockdown cannot be achieved with the prevailing lockdown in the country,� he pointed out. �We do admit the fact that the economic activities more..

Sep 11 (CT) Port Joint Trade Union Alliance is hoping to meet Prez Rajapaksa regarding the Cabinet approving the Sri Lanka Port Authority�s (SLPA) decision to award 13 acres of its land to build a logistic warehouse for the Chinese-run Colombo Int'l Container Terminals Limited (CICT) of the China Merchant Port Holdings (CMPH), citing the move as an unsolicited proposal without calling a tender process. Trade Unions have demanded cancellation of the unsolicited deal by the authorities. more..

Sep 11 (TM) On 7 Sept, a collective of environmental and animal rights organisations gathered to raise concerns about the decision granted by the Colombo Fort Magistrate Court with regards to an ongoing legal procedure into illegal elephant smuggling that took place primarily between 2010 and 2015. It was provided that since 2015, 34 such elephants, including baby elephants, were taken into custody and held with DWC & National Zoos. more..

Sep 11 (ST) The Sunday Times Deputy Editor Namini Wijedasa has been selected by the US-based Int'l Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) as one of its distinguished worldwide members, the consortium announced this week. She is only the second SL journalist to be inducted to this prestigious body, the first being Sunday Times Consultant Editor/Political Editor and former Defence Correspondent, Iqbal Athas. Officially announcing selection of Ms. Wijedasa, more..

Sep 11 (LT) It has been revealed that a close associate of the govt is involved in a govt-subsidized chemical fertilizer racket under the guise of providing essential transport services. Police have arrested two lorries involved in such a fertilizer smuggling operation on the 7th and 8th. The two lorries randomly inspected by the police on the highway had 850 bundles of 50 kg each. Samanthurai Police arrested one lorry and the other by the Welimada Police. It is revealed that 50 kilos of more..

Sep 11 (ST) Some parents say they are baffled by the continuing suspension of online lessons by teachers who are campaigning to remedy salary anomalies. The unions of teachers and principals have rejected counter proposals made by the Govt. Govt school teachers have now boycotted online instruction for a 55th consecutive day. They also threaten to stay away from examination duties and from participating more..

Sep 11 (LT) The JVP has decided to provide the necessary medical equipment and essential medicines to the hospitals where covid patients are being treated. The General Secretary of the JVP Tilvin Silva said the items will be donated to Colombo National Hospital, IDH Hospital, Karapitiya Hospital, Badulla General Hospital, Kurunegala General Hospital, Kalutara Nagoda Base Hospital and Kilinochchi General Hospital within the next few days. Speaking at the party head office more..

Sep 11 (AD) A foreign multiday fishing vessel carrying a consignment of heroin has been intercepted in Sri Lankan waters. The heroin smuggling attempt was thwarted last night (10) in a joint operation carried out by SL Navy and the Batticaloa Police Division in the seas south of Batticaloa. Nine crew members aboard the vessel in question were also apprehended by authorities. The seized vessel and the arrestees are currently being brought ashore by the naval personnel, more..

Sep 11 (ST) Sri Lankans stranded in Afghanistan are claiming that the Sri Lankan Govt has ignored their pleas to be evacuated back home. Earlier it was reported that some 20 plus Lankans had opted to stay back in their jobs in security detail with the UN in Afghanistan. However, when the Sunday Times spoke to some of these Sri Lankans, they related a different story. �We didn�t decide to stay back,� said one Sri Lankan. more..

Sep 11 (DM) The Executive Programme, launched by the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and University Canada West (UCW), is set to commence on Sept 27, 2021. The launch of this exclusive programme is a first step in the collaborative efforts for mutual development of the two organisations. The curriculum of the programme includes developing business analytics and risk management skills, learning about analytics modelling, including finance and risk management, more..

Sep 11 (F2F) Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), the apex body of Sri Lanka�s apparel industry, has said that it is closely monitoring the situation given the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases across the country. JAAF is also exploring, in coordination with public health authorities, ways of increasing protection for the communities where factories are located. "Media reportage about the rapid increase in COVID-19 infections has been growing. Since the initial outbreak in 2020, more..

Sep 11 (AD) President�s Media Spokesman Kingsly Rathnayaka�s has issued a statement today (11), dispelling the misconceptions about rice mill owners, rice traders and the rice shortage. He says that large-scale rice mill owners have reduced their daily rice production and distribution by more than 50%, in the last few days. �It is a well acknowledged fact by everyone that this is an unbearable injustice to the consumer, more..

Sep 11 (AD) The total number people who fell victim to COVID-19 infection in SL moved up as 157 more fatalities were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services on Friday (10). The new development has pushed the official death toll from the virus outbreak in Sri Lanka to 11,152. According to the data released by the Department of Govt Information, the latest victims include 70 males and 87 females. As many as 130 deaths were reported among elderly people aged above 60 years. more..

Sep 11 (AD) The parliamentary seat left vacant by the resignation of State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal will be given to former MP Jayantha Ketagoda, political sources say. SLPP member Jayantha Ketagoda recently gave up his National List parliamentary seat to make way for current Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa. However, it is now reported that State Minister of Finance Ajith Nivard Cabraal is set to submit the letter of resignation from his position as a MP on Monday (13). more..

Sep 12 (TM) The further tightening of import restrictions last week, covering 623 item categories, seems like a precursor to an impending economic crisis notwithstanding the stoic denials of such an eventuality by, among others, the new governor-in-waiting of the Central Bank of SL. The circumstances leading to the change at the top of arguably the most critical monetary institution in the country at this juncture, is very much in keeping with the recent pattern of qualified professionals more..

Sep 12 (SO) Two significant milestones were observed in the Covid vaccination campaign yesterday. Those jabbed with the second dose exceeded the 10 million mark and the uptake of the Covid vaccine among the 20-30 age group also exceeded 50%, from a total 20-30 population of 3.3 million. This essentially means that nearly 90% of the population over 30 (11.4 million) has now received both doses of the vaccine. The first dose has been given to 13.2 million persons. more..

Sep 12 (SO) Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said that Emergency regulations were declared solely to provide essential commodities to consumers at a concessionary price and not to militarise the country as claimed by certain sections. Minister said if Prez Rajapaksa wanted to militarise the country, he could have suppressed 847 protests carried out recently amid the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Prez didn�t use Emergency more..

Sep 12 (CT) I believe that the general public would be interested to know whether the views expressed by Ven. Galagoda Atte Gnansara Thero of BBS at a recent media address is only a personal opinion of his or he represented the views of the Prez and the entire govt. Whatever that is, the views so expressed by the Ven Thero may have brought some relief to every member of the govt. Nevertheless, a public discussion on some of the salient points could be a timely contribution more..

Sep 12 (CT) �Former Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal is a politician more over a minister in the present govt. It is very clear if you are a politician or a minister you cannot be appointed to become the Governor of the CB,� says SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne. Commenting on the report that the Governor of CB has resigned Wickramaratne said �But our concern is that a former Governor of the CB may be appointed and if there is any truth in it, it is totally unacceptable� more..

Sep 12 (TM) Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has currently affected more than 210 million individuals worldwide at the time of writing this article. COVID-19 has been shown to cause more severe disease and increased mortality in patients with active cancer. The complex interplay of immune dysfunction, active malignancy, the effect of more..

Sep 12 (ST) The COVID-19 virus continued to rage this week, rocketing the death toll over the 10,000 bar. But the shenanigans taking place on the economic front overshadowed what was unfolding on the health front. The week began with some inspired leaks to the media that there was going to be a change of guard at the helm of the Central Bank. Bankers� bank has long been the subject of public anger and a punching bag absorbing much of the wrath, not undeservedly. more..

Aug 12 (Island) We run three articles in this issue of our newspaper to which we would like to direct reader attention. The first of these is by regular columnist Sanjeewa Jayaweera who had a long career in the JKH group of companies and now sits on several quoted company boards who advocates severe pruning of our overseas missions. The second is by Franklyn Amarasinghe who long served and headed the Employers� Federation of Ceylon and later held a senior position with the ILO more..

Sep 12 (ST) My dear Green Man and the leftover Greens, I thought I must write to you when I heard that the Green party celebrated their 75th anniversary. There was hardly a noise made about it, except a speech by the Green Man, which was also only an online affair � and you got away by saying that there was no celebration because of the lockdown. I thought that was just as well, Green Man. Even if there was no pandemic and no lockdown, I doubt whether you would more..

Aug 12 (ST) Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 29, was thought by many cricket pundits, of being unfairly treated by the national selectors time to time, as he was either underestimated or undermined at his prime as a top order batsman. For the record, he has so far played five ODIs and eight Twenty20Is as he earned the trust of the selectors very late. Yet, he justified his late inclusion with a fine knock of 77 against Pakistan in T20s where he made his int'l debut in Oct 2019, with a fine 32 off 22 deliveries. more..

Aug 12 (ST) Many in the tea industry, including some players, are openly unhappy with recent govt policy decisions, which they suspect would threaten the sustainability of the industry in the long term. The major concern is the chemical fertiliser ban which has already forced farmers across the country to take to the streets in recent weeks to protest against it saying their yield rate has decreased significantly due to non availability more..

Aug 12 (CI) If you have followed SL's T20 cricket over the past two years, Friday's turn of events may have seemed familiar. Faced with a challenging target, SL's batters failed to ever get themselves in a good position, struggling to find boundaries while the powerplay was in operation, then later, failing to pierce gaps, or even rotate the strike, as the required rate rose sharply. The one batter who did succeed did so too slowly to really give the team a chance, and the batters around him, more..

Aug 12 (Island) I embarked on my working life towards the end of 1976. I had to decide between two offers � one from Maharaja Organisation, and one from Ceylon Tobacco. I opted to join Maharaja�s, especially because my brother Mithra was an accountant there and as I was not keen to work for a company that sold cigarettes. I went to work with great excitement looking forward to an induction of sorts. To this date, I smile when I think of that unique briefing I received from Mr. E.C. Baha, more..

Aug 12 (ST) Off-spinner Akila Dananjaya has been left out from the 15-man squad but will be part of the four-man travelling reserves for the T20 World Cup. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, teams are allowed to name four stand-by players to travel with the main squad to act as injury replacements. Dananjaya was initially named in the 15-man list on the wishes of the coach and the captain but, with the bowler leaking plenty of runs in the first T20 more..

Aug 12 (TM) One of the most prolific dashing batters Sri Lanka produced in recent times is eager to make a comeback into the national selection committee, Sunday Morning Sports reliably learnt. The lobbying has already begun for him to enter the current national selection committee, probably as one of its members or as its new chief. �He is already having discussions with one of the top officials of the current cricket administration. The official is also willing to include him in the panel,� more..

Aug 12 (Island) For many of us, the only hope for the country lies in getting out of the country. This is by no means a recent phenomenon: we have been seeing the best among us depart these shores for greener pastures over the last 30 years. The reason used to be the war; now it�s politics. It�s as though peacetime has unleashed all the ugly things about the nation that the war had bottled up. Back then we had bombs in buses and snipers at day to think about; now we have bribes and graft, more..

Aug 12 (ST) A flurry of decisions this week by the Central Bank (CB) on the use of foreign exchange and further restricting imports have rattled the money markets and triggered concerns of shortages in some imported food items, mobile phones and household appliances. On Tuesday, CB issued a directive to banks to stick to the CB�s daily rate of Rs.202-203 per dollar and desist from the bank-to-bank rate of Rs.210-220 which more..

Aug 12 (ST) The ODI series win over South Africa have put Sri Lanka in a positive frame of mind with fans starting to back the young lions in international cricket. But all Pramodya Wickremesinghe, Chairman of Selectors, wants is for it not to be a flash in the pan. With home conditions greatly assisting the Sri Lankans, the young outfit defeated South Africa 2-1 in the three-match series�their first series win over the Proteas in eight years and the country�s first in five attempts. more..

Aug 12 (CT) With the COVID-19 cases both locally and worldwide accelerating in growth with no evident decrease in sight, Prof. Suranjith Seneviratne stresses the importance of not waiting for a vaccine of preference but instead, obtaining whichever is available to protect one�s self from this calamitous coronavirus. Peterite Empowerment Sub-Committee of the St. Peter�s College Old Boys� Union organised a special webinar by Prof. Suranjith Seneviratne, Prof. & Consultant in Clinical Immunology more..

Aug 12 (Island) Education Forum SL headed by co-founders Dr. Tara de Mel and Dr. Sujata Gamage along with more than 20 signatories have written to Prez Rajapaksa, PM Rajapakse, Education Minister Dinesh Gunewardene, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and Ministerial Consultative Committee Members on Education, urging them to take meaningful steps without delay so that school can reopen no sooner than more..

Aug 12 (ST) The new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Act, passed by parliament on Tuesday has Twitter promoters on high alert. Especially its section 130 has seen them playing on the back foot this week as it specifically deals in falls and/or misleading statements. �This section prohibits making statements or disseminating information which is false or misleading and likely to raise, lower, maintain or stabilise price or volume of securities traded without reasonable care concerning more..

Aug 12 (CT) Manike Mage Hithe sung by young artiste Yohani De Silva has created history in SL as her song been viewed by over 100 million users on YouTube. Yohani is also the first female singer in SL who has cross two million YouTube subscribers. The song Manike Mage Hithe is a song by Satheeshan Rathnayaka. This song was again sung by Yohani as a cover version in May 2021. The lyrics were written by Dulan ARX. The song went viral and within three months the song surpassed more..