Mar 16 (FT) Worst hit by the novel coronavirus COVID-19, the tourism industry is fearing a cash-flow crisis leading to non-payment of salaries for employees and loss of service charge, with some anticipating possible temporary closure of hotels.Travel bans and restrictions locally and globally have not only disrupted leisure travel, but business trips, forcing city hotels to report low occupancy of 20-25% at present, more..

Mar 16 (LBO) The Monetary Board of Central Bank at an urgent meeting held today has decided to reduce the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) by 25 basis points to 6.25% and 7.25%, respectively, with effect from tomorrow. The board has also decided to reduce the Statutory Reserve Ratio (SRR) on all rupee deposit liabilities of licensed commercial banks by 1% to 4%, more..

Mar 16 (EN) Opposition is saying the govt should postpone General Elections due on April 25 and concentrate on the dangers of COVID19 spreading in the island nation. The former Leader of the Parliamentary opposition Sajith Premadasa told reporters in Colombo Monday that the govt is only interested in winning the election and not in the lives of our people. Premadasa repeated his assertion that the Parliament more..

Mar 16 (PTI) SL is conducting a week-long Buddhist prayers as means to combat the growing threat of the deadly coronavirus that has killed over 100,000 people globally. As of Sunday, the number of confirmed cases reported in SL are 11 with over 137 being hospitalised. "We have organised to recite the Rathana Suthraya over a week through which we hope that not only SL, entire world would be blessed in combating more..

Mar 16 (AD) Sri Lanka has indentified three month Coronavirus patients on Monday a senior helath official said taking the total confirmed so far to 21 along with a Chinese national who had been released. The latest cases were a 13-year old girl a 50 year man and a 37 year old man, Director General of Health Services Anil Jasinghe said. Sri Lanka declared Monday a holiday to help stop the virus and also closed museums. more..

Mar 16 (DN) The future of the SL Muslim community can be re-shaped only by an integrated body comprising Ulamas, (religious scholars) intellectuals and academics in the country, President�s Counsel Ali Sabry said on Saturday. Sabry, who is also legal advisor to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was speaking at a meeting of the Supreme Council SUFI Thareeqa in Sri Lanka, which organised a Call for Humanity and launching of a book held at the Colombo Postal Headquarters Auditorium. more..

Mar 16 (DN) Executive Committee of The Computer Society of Sri Lanka has issued a statement on the spread of false information on ICT platforms. Full statement: Having been established in 1976, we would like to reiterate that The Computer Society of SL (CSSL) is the only recognised local apex body for ICT professionals in the country. �There have been numerous inquiries from CSSL on recently published articles on various matters pertaining to the ICT industry by certain groups which are misleading more..

Mar 16 (Wisden) A section of England fans, who decided to visit Sri Lanka despite the postponement of the two-Test series, is now stuck at the Sri Lankan airport after the country closed its borders to travellers from the UK amid the outbreak of coronavirus. A Barmy Army member endured hours of wait at the BIA in Colombo before finally being allowed entry into the country. Chris Millard, the managing director of the Barmy Army, told PA: �One of our members, more..

Mar 16 (TM) The TNA today called for the postponement of the General elections due to the current situation in the country. In an official statement today, TNA Spokesperson M A Sumanthiran said, �The TNA is concerned about the threat posed to the people by the possible spread of the COVID-19 virus in the country. The safety of the public is our paramount concern. We call on the govt to take all steps to prevent the spread of the virus. We will extent our fullest cooperation in this regard. more..

Mar 16 (AD) Dept for Registration of Persons has decided to temporarily suspend the issuing of National Identity Cards (NICs) under the One Day Service at its main office and at the Southern Province Provincial Office. Accordingly the One Day Service has been suspended from tomorrow until further notice, considering the current situation in the country and concerns over the spread of Coronavirus. However, the applications to obtain NICs under the normal service can be submitted through the usual process. more..

Mar 16 (AD) Leader of the Jathika Jana Balawegaya (National People�s Power) Anura Kumara Dissanayake today signed nomination papers to contest the forthcoming General Election from the Colombo District. He signed the nominations papers at the headquarters of the JVP in Pelawatta today (16). Several other representatives of the party also signed nominations papers at the ceremony, which was also attended by JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva. more..

Mar 16 (Island) If the govt could take steps to ensure that the people left home only to purchase food and obtain medical care, as some European countries had done, Sri Lanka would be able to rid itself of the coronavirus within four to six weeks, Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe, former epidemiologist of the Health Ministry and WHO's regional adviser on vaccine-preventable diseases in the South East Asia region told media yesterday. He said so at the Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) Headquarters. more..

Mar 16 (SLN) Navy in coordination with Excise Station-Sankanai recovered approximately 142kg of Kerala cannabis, during a special search operation conducted at Kakkativu island in Kiranchi area, Mannar today (15). The Navy conducts regular anti-drug operations across the island to wage its war on drug smuggling. Accordingly, Naval personnel attached to the Northern Naval Command and North Central Naval Command in coordination with Excise Station-Sankanai carried out a special search operation more..

Mar 16 (EN) The Elections Commission has requested all political parties and independent groups contesting the upcoming Parliamentary General Elections to refrain from holding processions or large scale rallies until further notice. Chief Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said that use these measures are being taken because of the threat posed to the country by the COVID19 or coronavirus. He said that contestants coming to the Election Commission office or designated offices more..

Mar 16 (AD) 22nd Coronavirus patient in the country has been identified, according to the Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe. A 73-year-old male who is being treated at the Karapitiya Hospital has tested positive for the virus. Earlier today three more confirmed cases of Coronavirus had been reported in the country. The three new patients include a 13-year-old girl and two males aged 50 and 37. All three of them are patients currently admitted at the IDH Hospital in Angoda. more..

Mar 16 (AD) The Secretary to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has issued a notice announcing that all matters that are to be taken up in open court from 17th March to 20th March will be rescheduled and the new dates will be notified during the first week of April, 2020. The Secretary of the JSC announced this issuing a notice on the direction of the Chief Justice to instruct all Counsel, Registered Attorneys and litigants. more..

Mar 16 (FT) In the wake of the COVID-19 threat, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to not attend any public events to raise awareness on the importance of minimising public gatherings. PM�s spokesman Premanath Dolawatte said the decision was taken to support the Govt�s quarantine measures to contain COVID-19. He added the PM had also instructed officials to minimise public events. Govt also decided to cancel all public and private sector events for two weeks with effect from yesterday. more..

Mar 16 (TN) SL and COMSATS will deepen cooperation in various fields of science and technology to promote science-led sustainable development in the South. This was pledged by a four-member delegation of the SL High Commission in Pakistan, led by High Commissioner U L Niyas during their meeting with Dr M Junaid Zaidi, Executive Director, and other senior officials of COMSATS. The delegation was on visit to COMSATS Secretariat. SL is a founding member of the Commission on Science and Technology for more..

Mar 16 (CI) Stuart Broad has backed the "very tough, but necessary" decision made by the ECB to postpone England's tour of Sri Lanka over fears about the COVID-19 pandemic. The ECB announced on Friday that the two-Test series had been postponed indefinitely, stating that "the physical and mental wellbeing of our players and support teams is paramount", and the touring party were due to fly home this weekend. Broad admitted that the players were sad to be leaving, more..

Mar 16 (EN) Sri Lanka�s foreign ministry said it had suspended all services provided by the consular affairs division until March 20, 2020 Friday as part of Coronavirus counter measures. The consular division in Colombo is closed for visitors and would only accept queries related to the death of Sri Lankans abroad by prior appointment. Foreign missions in several European nations have also suspended services except for emergencies. The full statement is reproduced below: more..

Mar 16 (NR) Two persons have been arrested over circulating false claims on social media pertaining to the spread of the coronavirus in the country. DIG Ajith Rohana said the two individuals had been arrested in Ragama and Bandaragama by the CID. The DIG said investigations are underway pertaining to 23 persons suspected of spreading false information, adding that of two persons one was found to be spreading fake news via social media falsely claiming three people have died of coronavirus in SL, more..

Mar 16 (AD) Ministry of Public Administration says that no final decision has been taken on declaring further holidays in the country. Secretary to the ministry S. Hettiarachchi stated that a final decision will be taken on the matter after monitoring the situation. He said that for now the public holiday will not be extended and that if required a decision would be taken later. For now we will be observing the next coupe of days and if the situation shows signs of worsening more..

Mar 16 (NR) Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe today commented on the coronavirus case, who arrived in the island after touring Germany and failed to adhere to guidelines and admit himself to the IDH. He noted that the individual was identified as being part of the group that toured Germany with the individual who tested positive for the virus on the 12 of March. He said the individual was requested to get admitted to the IDH, claiming that he refused to do so, and instead visited more..

Mar 16 (DM) The Electricity supply to several areas of the country has been disrupted this evening due to lightning strike, Director of Development at the Ministry of Power and Energy Sulakshana Jayawardena told Daily Mirror. He said a power line from Polpitiya to the Kolonnawa power grid was disrupted due to lightning strike. Accordingly, the power supply has been disrupted in Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, Kurunegala, Ukuwela and several other sub-grid stations. more..

Mar 16 (EN) With a global Coronavirus pandemic keeping people at home and flights cancelled from many countries SL�s tourism industry is perhaps facing the worst crisis in history, an industry official said. �This is the worst crisis we have ever seen in the tourism industry,� President of the Tourist Hotels Association of SL Sanath Ukwatte said. The current crisis is overshadowing hit the industry took from the 2019 April terrorist bombings, when arrivals fell 18%, he said. more..

Mar 16 (EN) SL�s National Medical Regulatory Authority, has slapped price control on masks as demand went up, as demand went up amid Coronavirus fears. The NMRA had slapped a ceiling of 50 rupees for disposable surgical masks and 325 rupees for N-95 type masks. Price controls can prevent new suppliers from coming into the market at high prices temporarily and eliminating shortages. However Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said in late January that the NMRA required more..

Mar 16 (AD) A total number of 28 patients have tested positive for Covid-19 in Sri Lanka as of now, says the Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe. He said that six more confirmed cases of Coronavirus have been identified. The Director General said that all six new patients are males and that one of them is being treated at the Polonnaruwa Hospital. Four of them are from quarantine facilities in the country while the other is a Sri Lankan who had arrived from Kerala. more..

Mar 16 (AD) SLFP will contest several districts alone at the upcoming General Election, SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara said. He stated that the SLFP will contest Nuwara Eliya, Kalutara, Vanni and Jaffna districts alone. Jayasekara stated that a final decision on this matter would be taken at the SLFP central committee meeting this evening. SLFP had formed an alliance with the SLPP to contest the parliamentary polls as the SL Nidahas Podujana Sandanaya more..

Mar 17 (CT) Coronavirus has created health and economic crises globally. While the vast majority of people are monitoring closely how their health indicators are ticking, there is one class, which is panicking about the shock waves lapping the shores of stock markets. From New York to Colombo, billions of dollars have been wiped out and signs of a quick reversal are looking dimmer. Govt revenues are falling, budget deficits worsening, supply shortages escalating, airline and tourism more..

Mar 17 (ST) The plot thickens or rather the plots thicken. My long-time friend and fellow journalist Humphrey Hawksley should have been in the land like no other. This is certainly no joke at this time when sleuths of all sorts are said to be scouring the country to arrest some and serve summons on others. Hawksley knows SL well enough having served as BBC correspondent in the 1980s � if I remember the years correctly. He has written his second political-spy-crime thriller in more..

Mar 17 (Roar) We�re all very cued in on the news now: there have thus far been eleven cases of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, the very first of which was successfully managed, the patient�a 40-year-old female Chinese tourist�returning to her country on Feb 19. The other ten are currently being monitored at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (IDH). These numbers are bound to change�and Roar promises to keep you updated. more..

Mar 17 (DN) As of this week, most should finally agree that Coronavirus is no longer strictly an Asian problem. At the time of writing this article, Italy has 3,858 confirmed cases while Iran has 4,747. For both countries, the issue is no longer about outbreak prevention but about virus containment. The only country other than China with more cases is South Korea, at 6,593. As the second nation to have experienced an outbreak, the Korean story offers some important insights into many challenges more..

Mar 17 (ST) COVID-19 epidemic, now described as a pandemic, that has affected over one hundred thousand persons in all continents, is having disastrous economic consequences the world over. International travel is vastly curtailed, unemployment is rising, hotels and restaurants are closing and the decreased demand for oil has resulted in lower prices for oil and lesser incomes for oil producing countries. The IMF has said that the Coronavirus poses a serious threat to the world economy. more..

Mar 17 (CT) Minister Dullas Alahapperuma, says President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's State Administration will come into operation, on the day that a Parliament which is co-operative to him is set up. Q: Many allege that during the past three months subsequent to coming to power, it was not possible to get the Govt on the right track? A: Prez Rajapaksa has made a number of decisions that were not done by previous govts, more..

Mar 17 (Island) Mother Nature is a great experimenter. How do you think she conducts her experiments? The answer is that it discards the species that is not supporting the whole. It has constantly experimented over millions of years. It has discarded the dinosaurs, it has discarded the sabre-toothed tigers, it has discarded Ramapithecus and it has discarded the Neanderthals. Some of these species have survived for 200,000 years. A few of them have survived for 10-20 mil yrs. more..

Mar 17 (CT) Man occupies an exalted position on the earth. John Adams had pronounced If the meanest man in the republic is deprived of his rights then every man in the republic is deprived of his rights. Abraham Lincoln, former President, USA, a statesman par excellence, who had led the nation, during the American civil war, through its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis had said � �I am not ashamed to confess that twenty-five years ago I was a hired labourer, hauling rails, more..

Mar 17 (DN) Since she learned of the coronavirus outbreak, Amy Ho�s daily routine has gotten a bit more complicated. Coming home now involves sanitizing her shoes, washing her hands with soap and water, taking off her medical mask and changing her clothes. The Hong Kong resident ventures outside only by necessity. She walks to and from work. Goes to the grocery store once a week. That�s it. Her teenage daughter has only left their apartment twice since the end of January. more..

Mar 17 (Island) Health workers and military personnel are risking their lives to curb the spread of COVID-19. While these selfless men and women are waging a silent war on the elusive germ to protect the public, some politicians are heard braying; these cantankerous elements who love to hear their voices want Parliament re-summoned! What do the former MPs think they will be able to do to help the public if Parliament is reconvened? For our money, they won�t do anything useful. more..