May 5 (TM) "I don�t intend to get a patent right for my invention as I do not want to disclose my research findings and methodologies to the public domain," stated a female researcher who has claimed to have discovered a solution for dengue fever. Like her, many female innovators are unwilling to obtain intellectual property (IP) protection and commercialise their innovations for various reasons. One of the significant issues is the insufficient understanding of IP rights & their application. more..

May 6 (Island) Wesak day marks the three important events in the Buddha�s life -his birth, Enlightenment and his passing away. Since the advent of Buddhism millions of people across the world have been inspired by the Buddha�s life and his teachings For more than two centuries, Buddhism has been a powerful, religious, political, and social force, not only in the country of its origin but in many other parts of the world. Buddhism has stood the test of time, remain relevant more..

May 6 (CT) Chairman of PUCSL, Janaka Ratnayake, claims he is in the right position but is working with the wrong influencers on energy security. �I challenge Minister Kanchana Wijesekera because he makes ignorant statements. He wants me to be fired from my position. He is also attempting to seize power by proposing an Electricity Commission to circumvent the powerful PUCSL mandate,� he said. more..

May 6 (ST) The 6th of May will be a significant day for the people of the UK, as the coronation of King Charles III takes place amongst much pomp and pageantry. Sri Lankans too have something to look forward to as the Soul Sounds Academy has been invited to partake in a virtual choral item for the special coronation concert that will be livestreamed on May 7 from Windsor Castle. Soul Sound�s Academy is the only Lankan choir amongst many from Commonwealth countries invited to more..

May 6 (ST) The Mahiyangane stupa rises against the blue ring of the Uva hills. Here in the lap of the eddying Mahaweli, stands a timeless shrine. Also called Bintenne and Alut Nuwara, this shrine according to legend goes back to the Sixth Century BCE and its oldest known reference is connected to the Mahavamsa legend of the Buddha�s first visit to the land where His doctrine is to flourish. After a long drive from the central highlands before descending here into the eastern dry zone more..

May 6 (FT) Link Natural, a subsidiary of the CIC Group, has partnered SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier, to introduce Link Samahan, a trusted herbal drink, as an onboard beverage choice. Link Natural is a leading manufacturer and marketer of herbal healthcare and herbal personal care products in addition to ayurveda pharmaceuticals. Its flagship brand, Link Samahan, is a 100% natural authentic herbal drink formulated with 14 trusted ayurvedic herbal ingredients that have been more..

May 6 (Island) Hambantota Int'l Port Group (HIPG) officially handed over the recently completed Hope Village to the villagers of Kandagasmankada in Lunugamwehera of the Hambantota district. The flagship community sustainability project which includes 4 centres for community, health, agriculture and sports was inaugurated by the Chinese Ambassador in SL, Qi Zhenhong, with Miao Jianmin, Chairman of China Merchants Group, China�s largest business enterprise in attendance. more..

May 6 (ST) Trade union action by university lecturers boycotting GCE (A/L) paper marking may be nearing an end, but the impact of the postponement remains long-lasting. A meeting between the FUTA and Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is likely to take place next week to officially call off the boycott. The move comes amidst counter plans by the Education Ministry to go ahead with paper marking. The plan includes recruitment of more..

May 6 (ST) In districts where frequent earth tremors have caused alarm this year, disaster management officials have begun preparing people to respond to a possible higher magnitude earth tremor. This week, an earthquake of 4.4 magnitude in the Richter scale was reported in the sea about 26 km off the coast of Hambantota. Similarly, another earth tremor of 3.7 magnitude was recorded in the sea close to Beruwala which was felt in nearby land areas. Buttala, Wellawaya and many areas in more..

May 6 (DM) State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe appeared to have trouble in establishing her identity as a Minister when she recently telephoned the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Kuwait Kandeepan Balasubramaniam to inquire into the suspicious death of a SL female. During a media brief�ing, the State Minister made a telephone call to the Ambassador to Kuwait. The Minister who introduced herself as Geetha Kumarasinghe struggled to establish her identity as a Minister, more..

May 6 (ST) It was one of 2021�s most shocking stories: hundreds of gas explosions that damaged property and life and were linked to at least three deaths. But to date, there has been no official valuation of the total losses. The accidents were reported countrywide, on a scale never before experienced. Police reports pointed to over 730 incidents between Nov 1 and Dec 15. When the Sunday Times this month asked for more..

May 6 (Island) Maj. Gen. (rtd.) Palitha Fernando, the President of Sri Lanka Athletics refuted media reports that criticized the track and field governing body�s failure to air freight the poles for Maris Stella College pole vaulter Thushen Silva to compete at the just concluded Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Uzbekistan. Thushen Silva competing with a borrowed pole from a Kazakhstani counterpart won the silver medal at the Asian Youth Championships. more..

May 6 (FT) PHU MP Udaya Gammanpila says the country�s finance sector is now in turmoil due to the Govt�s agreement to restructure domestic debt. The MP said though the initial stance during IMF discussions was that domestic debt would not be restructured, the Govt has now not only agreed to it but it has also been named as a precondition in the foreign debt restructuring process. �The 1 Sept 2022 IMF staff-level agreement made no mention of domestic debt restructuring,� he noted. more..

May 6 (Island) Eva, the leading sanitary napkin brand of SL since 1987, has launched a sanitary napkin donation drive aimed at supporting 100,000 economically challenged schoolgirls across SL. The initiative, which started on Women�s Day, is part of Eva�s commitment to end period poverty among schoolgirls and ensure that no girl misses school due to lack of access to menstrual hygiene products. The first donation of Eva�s Sanitary pads was made to 3 deserving schools in Colombo. more..

May 6 (BBC) World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that Covid-19 no longer represents a global health emergency. Statement represents a major step towards ending the pandemic and comes three years after it first declared its highest level of alert over the virus. Officials said the virus' death rate had dropped from a peak of more than 100,000 people per week in January 2021 to just over 3,500 on 24 April. The head of the WHO said at least seven million people died in the pandemic. more..

May 6 (SM) While all income earners in the country are subjected to the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax from a tax threshold of Rs 100,000, it is revealed that parliamentarians have enjoyed a tax relief. Although a MP has been slapped with a PAYE tax of Rs. 72,000 � Rs. 75,000 in January this year, the amount has been drastically slashed to Rs. 15,000 in February. Also, it is singular that out of the PAYE taxe imposed in January, a sum of more..

May 6 (AD) Four persons have been remanded over the assault of a group of officers from the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) belonging to the Kurunegala district office during a raid in the Narammala area. The arrestees were remanded until 10 May when the case was taken up before the Kuliyapitiya Magistrate�s Court today (5). A group of CAA officials had visited an animal farm in the Narammala area yesterday (4), to probe a tip-off they had received of a stock of eggs that were allegedly more..

May 6 (DM) Accordingly, 2-judge bench the Court of Appeal, comprising of Justices Sampath Abayakoon and P. Kumararatnam commuted the seven-year-rigorous imprisonment of the accused-appellant to 2-year imprisonment after taking into consideration the fact that he was only a 16-year-old boy when he committed the offence. The accused-appellant was indicted by the AG for committing Grave Sexual Abuse on a 12-year-old schoolboy between the period between Apr 1, 2003 & Feb 1, 2004. more..

May 6 (EN) Cancer patients at the Apeksha Hospital, Maharagama are facing a double blow as the facility has run out of vital supplies to operate a scanner that helps in the diagnosis and crucial treatment, doctors said. The main cancer hospital in SL is currently facing a shortage of radioisotope used in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans. This shortage is affecting patient care and management at the hospital. PET scanner at the Hospital is not functioning as the govt cannot afford more..

May 6 (Island) The ruling SLPP is in a dilemma over the inordinate delay in finalising the new appointments to the Cabinet-of-Ministers, party sources say. SLPP and Prez Wickremesinghe haven�t been able to reach a consensus on the list of SLPP nominees for Cabinet portfolios submitted in July last year. Responding to The Island queries, sources said that of nine or 10 SLPP nominees, so far only Pavitra Wanniarachchi had been accommodated in the Cabinet-of-Ministers. more..

May 6 (PMD) Buddhaloka Sadhu Nada Seela Samadhi Program was held at the Shangri-La Green adjacent to the Prez�s Office this morning (5). Nearly three thousand school children representing many schools in the Colombo region participated in this program, which was organized by All Ceylon Buddhist Conference. Ven Rajagiriye Ariyagngnana Thera conducted the Ashtanga ceremony and Buddha Puja, more..

May 6 (Island) Sri Lanka�s ecological disaster related to the MV X-Press Pearl, a container ship carrying hazardous chemicals that caught fire off its coast on 20th May 2021, is back in the news as the country attempts to claim damages. The ecological disaster washed up tons of plastic pellets and other pollutants on the country�s beaches and harmed its marine ecosystem. It is a stark reminder of the risks associated with transporting hazardous materials and the urgent need for more..

May 6 (Island) Hospitals in Sri Lanka�s urban centres, too, will struggle to deliver healthcare as a large number of healthcare workers, from doctors to nurses, are leaving the country, says Education Secretary of the FSP Pubudu Jayagoda. Jagoda said the dramatic increase in the PAYE tax, the drug and medical equipment shortages at hospitals, the general instability of the country, as well as the belief that there is no future in Sri Lanka, had contributed to the situation. more..

May 6 (ST) The Govt, which does not have much fiscal leeway, continued to borrow heavily domestically to keep the economy on life support, while tax revenue improved, recurrent expenditure ticked over like a filling station meter, and jobless ranks thinned because hundreds of thousands took flight in 2022. Domestic borrowing was Rs. 2.03 trillion in 2022, the banker to the Govt said in its financial health report card for SL�s economy. more..

May 7 (TM) It was not too long ago that we in this very space predicted that the fallout of the global economic slowdown would hit home sooner than later. Notwithstanding the euphoria over securing the IMF bailout package, as expected, today our breadwinner and top foreign exchange earner, the apparel trade, has not only become a victim of circumstances in the int'l context but also of ill-conceived domestic policy. Overall exports declined by 2% in March this year compared to more..

May 7 (GV) In 2022 MP and lawyer Premanath C. Dolawatte presented to parliament a Private Member�s Bill to amend Sections 365 and 365A of the Penal Code of SL with the aim of ensuring the rights of the LGBTIQ community. Reflective of its Victorian values, these penal provisions prohibit carnal intercourse against the order of nature and gross indecency, which is misinterpreted to discriminate, and harass LGBTIQ persons and criminalize same-sex sexual conduct more..

May 7 (SO) Chief Government Whip, Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that at present, the entire country has realised that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is the leader who is capable of rebuilding the economy. Minister said the ordinary people, businessmen and the upper middle class are aware that the Prez within a very short period has been able to rescue the country from the current economic crisis that emerged one year ago. more..

May 7 (SO) Sri Lankans have rather short memories and not many people now remember the hard times we endured due to Covid-19, which claimed around 16,000 lives. More deaths were averted through a successful vaccination program, stringent lockdowns and most of all, strict adherence to health protocols. Now, in what could be termed as a victory for science and healthcare, WHO ended the Global Health Emergency status for Covid which claimed seven million lives and infected more..

May 7 (CT) The constant refrain in the press and in political circles is that nothing will come right and nothing can be done in SL unless corruption is eliminated. Aiyoo no hope for Lanka till corruption is eliminated, Corruption is endemic in this country, It is an incurable disease. This is the refrain of people who moan, grouse and propose no concrete programme. Does Buddhism�s All life is suffering (dukkha) encourage this? I agree that the grouse is not without reason and more..

May 7 (TM) �There�s probably more faith in the current administration than in the GR administration, although a lot of the faces are the same, but probably not enough faith that the current administration could win an election,� said Economist and Frontier Research Product Head Chayu Damsinghe, asserting that buy-in and trust were always important when putting tough policies in place � especially since it was otherwise more..

May 7 (ST) UK and all its dominions in particular were agog yesterday with the spectacle of the coronation of their new king, Charles III. The British public, facing cost of living issues, rising inflation, a recession and strikes, still love the pageantry � and the monarchy, warts and all; never mind the expenses from their purse. At the king�s late mother�s coronation in 1953 (then yet as Queen of Ceylon), she wore a ceremonial gown which included the flowers of all the territories more..

May 7 (ST) My Dear King Charles, I am writing to congratulate you on your coronation as King of the British Empire (or what is left of it) yesterday. I hope you won�t take offence at not addressing you as Your Royal Highness. After all, we are a Republic now, though many of us are thinking we would have been better off as a colony! It must be a relief to finally wear that crown after 54 years. That was how long ago it was, when you were invested as the Prince of Wales. more..

May 7 (Island) President Ranil Wickremesinghe recently went on record that the forthcoming Anti-Corruption law, now under discussion and due to come up in Parliament soon, will be �the best in South Asia.� Be that as it may, the best laws in the world are of little or no use if the implementation capacity is non-existent or inadequate. It needs no saying that this is certainly the case where Sri Lanka is concerned where such capacity, to say the least, is woefully wanting. more..

May 7 (Island) Harpo. Harpo? That�s music. That�s what people who were young in the nineteen eighties would have said, if they moved in certain circles. DJ Harpo. A man. At first I thought �DJ� were his initials. But �Harpo?� What kind of name was that, I asked myself. It was much later that I learned of the Marx brothers and that they were not related to Karl. The name stuck though. DJ Harpo. My friends who loved music more than I did and knew much more than I would ever know, talked about him. more..

May 7 (ST) In the recent past, successive govts have looked for potential investors to run the country�s loss-making national carrier, SriLankan Airlines, but there have been no takers so far. No one came forward with an offer, given the financial status of the company. Some were willing to consider such a proposal but only if the past losses are settled and they can make a fresh start. However, a new potential investor, more..

May 7 (Island) SL�s last Test series win over India was recorded in 2008. Since, then it has been one way traffic with India dominating winning five of the six series with one being drawn. The man who scripted the 2008 victory was Ajantha Mendis, who in his debut series finished with 26 scalps, a World Record for someone on his debut series. Mendis broke Sir Alec Bedser�s record that had stood for more than six decades. While SL were celebrating, there were various questions being asked more..