May 22 (CT) Once again A Quint Ondaatje Foundation goodwill ambassador and int'l gymnast AnnaMarie Ondaatje joined hands with the Professional Sports Journalists Association of SL (PSJASL) under the give back to the community theme by helping to fund legendary marathon runner Wimalasena Perera. PSJASL coordinated with A Quint Foundation to fund Perera's nutrition and rehabilitation needs for the next six months. Anna-Marie Ondaatje, Director of the Foundation more..

May 22 (Island) Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced a reduction of lending rates across the board in response to the present needs of individual and corporate borrowers and in line with the downward trend of interest rates in SL. Effective immediately, the rate cut encompasses all categories of new loans offered by SL�s benchmark private sector bank, and includes pawning, leases and overdrafts. The rate cuts are intended to help support Bank's customers who are affected more..

May 22 (FT) A group of 20 Muslim associations have written to Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchchi expressing serious concern on the continuation of the mandatory cremation of bodies of persons who succumb to COVID-19 and called on the Minister to rescind the Gazette notification issued on 31 March which made the practice mandatory. �While congratulating you for the swift measures taken to combat the spread of more..

May 22 (CT) DIMO together with SIEMENS, a technological & electrical solutions provider, recently signed a contract with CEB to embark the package 04 Lot A phase of the National Transmission and Distribution Network Development and Efficiency Improvement Project for enhancing national power supply. The package 04 Lot A phase of this project was awarded to SIEMENS - DIMO Consortium which has been pioneering in the power generation, transmission, distribution business. more..

May 22 (Island) The spice export industry can recover on its own if govt officials take steps to address the non-tariff barriers imposed by India, founder Chairman of the Spices and Allied Products Producers and Traders Association Gulam Chatoor says. Chatoor said: "Unlike some other sectors, we can recover on our own, if India removes the minimum import price of INR 500 per kg it has fixed for pepper imports from Colombo." Last year, India imposed a minimum import price of Rs. 500 more..

May 22 (ST) Former Test cricketer Kaushal Silva is hoping for a return to the national team following a successful cricket season in Australia. The gritty right-handed opening batsmen led his club Greenvale Kangaroos in the Victorian premier cricket and racked up 600 runs at an average of 46.15 in his debut season. Over the years Kaushal has been a prolific run scorer for SSC at the domestic level, but he felt that more..

May 22 (EN) SL�s rupee gained to close around 186.40/50 to the US dollars in the spot market Thursday, amid collapse domestic demand from Coronavirus curfews and import controls. The rupee closed around 187.05/15 at close on May 20. Excess liquidity in money markets dropped sharply to 97.8 billion rupees on May 21 though only a 4 billion rupee term reverse repo facility was maturing. It is not clear whether a foreign loan repayment was made for liquidity to drop. more..

May 22 (FT) Cabinet yesterday gave approval to extend the retirement age of doctors from 60 years to 61 years, given the shortage of medical professionals as a percentage of the population. Cabinet paper presented by Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi to extend the retirement age of doctors by one year had been approved. �This decision was taken in consideration of the limited number of doctors as a percentage of the overall population of Sri Lanka. more..

May 22 (FT) S&P SL20 Index of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) gained 6.28% during trading yesterday, bettering the record for the highest-ever daily percentage gain of the index, which stood at 5.25% set on 18 May. This development marks the second occasion the S&P SL20 Index has made historic gains during this week. Having recorded negative returns on 11 and 12 May upon reopening the market for more..

May 22 (Island) With the need for a one-stop connectivity and collaborative technology becoming increasingly mainstream, Microsoft recemtly announced a strategic partnership with AI Academy to empower students and business professionals to digitalize, innovate and transform in the domain of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Located at the Colombo Innovation Tower, AI Academy is an incubator for students and business professionals to implement innovative ideas, apply emerging more..

May 22 (DM) A 22-year-old girl who jumped into the Upper Kotmale Reservoir from the Thalawakale Railway Bridge was rescued by the OIC of Thalawakale while a 32-year-old youth who attempted to rescue the girl drowned in the reservoir, police said. Police said the deceased who was a resident of Lindula has drowned in his attempts to rescue the girl. The passers-by and others have attempted to save both the victims but had failed. Meanwhile, Thalawakale Police OIC who more..

May 22 (Island) Former Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe alleged that the badly depleted SLFP was making a foolish attempt at displaying political clout that it didn�t enjoy at present. He said that he really felt sorry for those who still pursued foolish strategies at the expense of the party. The former MP was responding to the recent SLFP declaration of his removal from the party on disciplinary grounds. more..

May 22 (Island) Former MP and SBJ Moneragala District candidate Wijith Wijayamuni Zoysa found fault with his Matara District colleague Mangala Samaraweera for making statements against Buddhism and Christianity. "Mangala should have been more careful. His statements against Buddhism are damaging to our party. It is not the first time he has made such statements. He has verbally abused members of the Maha Sangha. He once made false statements against more..

May 22 (DM) SL�s Board of Investment (BOI) says positive foreign investor response has been received for the fabric processing park to be setup in Eravur, Batticaloa to source fabrics locally for apparel exporters. As per a apparel industry proposal, the BOI went into acquire a 200-acre land in Eravur to set up the proposed fabric park. Updating on the current status of the proposed fabric park, BOI Director General (DG) Sanjaya Mohottala said yesterday that discussions with more..

May 22 (ST) Govt has accepted an unsolicited proposal from China Harbour Engineering Company (Ltd) for the elevated expressway from Athurugiriya to New Kelani Bridge via Rajagiriya � a project for which bid documents had already been finalised to call an open tender. The CHEC bid was directed via the BOI and discussions are underway, the Highways Ministry Secretary has told media. However, a three-volume Request for more..

May 22 (CT) Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said he has not informed any institution not to distribute the Rs 5,000 allowance to people affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for June. However, he added that since allegations have been levelled that this matter has turned into something political in nature, he requested that relevant officials be informed not to allow the distribution of this allowance to facilitate the promotion of any political party or candidate. more..

May 22 (AD) Eight more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 as of 11.58 on Thursday (21). On that account, number of coronavirus patients detected on Thursday has climbed to 27. 11 of these cases are navy personnel, 15 are returnees from Dubai who are undergoing mandatory quarantine at the facility in Giragama. The remaining positive case has been identified as a returnee from Kuwait. SL�s total count of coronavirus infections thereby reached 1,055. more..

May 22 (AD) The businessman and 6 others arrested over the stampede at Maligawatte have been remanded until the 04th of June. The suspects were produced before the Colombo Magistrate�s Court today (21). Three females were killed and nine others sustained injuries in a stampede incident that took place near a house in Jumma Masjid Street in Maligawatte today. Reportedly, a businessman from Dehiwala, without informing authorities, more..

May 22 (DN) The writ petition filed by members of the Ap� Janabala Pakshaya including BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagodaatthe Gnanasara Thera challenging the rejection of their nomination papers to contest the General Election from the Kurunegala District was yesterday fixed for support by the Supreme Court. When the petition came up before the SC 3-judge-bench comprising Justices L.T.B. Dehideniya, Preethi Padman Surasena and Gamini Amarasekara, matter was fixed for support more..

May 22 (FT) The crisis staring at us after COVID-19 hit Sri Lanka is manifold. With exports plummeting and our foreign reserves simultaneously draining out, our ability to import key products � from wheat to milk powder � will not be the same. It is in that context that the dangers of a return to the 1970s economy has fast become a talking point. Except that much of the current discussion portrays the period from 1956 to 1977 especially as a doomed experiment to achieve self-sufficiency more..

May 22 (Island) Puttalam police have identified the man who has been attacking Christian religious statues in Puttalam and Palaviya in recent days. The suspect had been identified with CCTV footage. The suspect has damaged the statues at the St. Mary�s Church in Puttalam and Sacred Heart Church at Palaviya. The suspect, who was once a Catholic, had converted to a denomination that doesn�t believe in the use of statues. He has also attacked two Christian statues previously and more..

May 22 (FT) We consider the US a well off and prosperous economy. And being the world�s largest economy, that is objectively the case in many ways. But lest we think the COVID-19 reaction related suffering (as opposed to that flowing from the virus itself) is congregated only in developing countries, read the following and see if it resonates: �Thank you so much for writing this! I have been so angry for weeks. I am a flight attendant that is likely out of work permanently. more..

May 22 (AD) An island-wide curfew will be in force on the 24th and 25th of May. The ongoing curfew in Colombo and Gampaha districts will be in effect until further notice, the PMD�s updated announcement on the curfew read further. Curfew for other 23 districts, which will come into force at 8 pm tomorrow (23), will be eased at 5 am on May 26. From May 26 onward, the curfew in these districts will be relaxed between more..

May 22 (Island) SL's economic distribution and population distribution became crystal clear as never before during the COVID-19 lockdown, emphasizing on an accelerated need to transform our rural economy going forward, Conrad Dias, CEO LOLC Finance said. "The newly emerged situation during the pandemic illustrated the importance of uninterrupted rural economy though it might not have delivered the same level of economic activity coming from urban businesses which had more..

May 22 (EN) Central Bank said it had cancelled the operating license of The Finance Company Plc, a non-bank lender of the collapsed Ceylinco group and it will be liquidated and smaller depositors compensated from a deposit insurance facility. The Deposit Insurance Facility which was set up by the central bank will conpensate 135,000 depositors out of 145,172 depositors up to 600,000 rupees, the central bank said. The balance 10,072 (7%) of depositors will get up to 600,000 rupees. more..

May 22 (DM) Election Commission (EC) Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya that EC member Prof. Rathnajeewan Hoole does not have to undergo quarantine and that he could come to the election office from Jaffna at any time he wants. Mr. Deshapriya denied earlier media reports that Prof. Hoole and his daughter were asked to leave the commission premises on Tuesday, after the staff protested against their presence claiming that more..

May 22 (DM) Nineteen officers and 85 other ranks of 4th Contingent of Sri Lanka Aviation Unit in South Sudan were awarded UN medals for their valuable and meritorious services rendered to the United Nations Missions in South Sudan (UNMISS). The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) said that the UN medal awarding ceremony of 4th Contingent of Sri Lanka Aviation Unit (UNMISS) in South Sudan was held on May 20 at the Sri Lanka Aviation Unit Hangar premises in Bor. more..

May 22 (NR) Minister Dullas Alahapperuma has urged for various groups circulating false claims pertaining to the national programme implemented by the govt for the safety of children to refrain from doing so. He said false reports were published in print media today. Minister said the govt will provide funds to all schools to enhance sanitary facilities in schools. One report suggested that the govt will provide infrared thermometers to schools while schools will have to facilitate other more..

May 22 (EN) Profits at Sri Lanka�s central bank plunged 60% to 55 billion rupees in 2019 from 137 billion rupees in 2018 as the currency stabilized and profits from inflationary financing of the banking system and budget reduced, official data showed. The central bank earned 32 billion rupees from forex reserves up from 25 billion rupees in 2018, as more reserves were collected by selling down Treasury bills as more..

May 22 (AD) 13 more navy personnel who had tested positive for Coronavirus have recovered and have been discharged from hospital, according to the SL Navy. This brings the total number of recoveries from the navy to 250. These sailors were discharged after testing negative to COVID-19 on the reports of random PCR tests done under treatment, the navy said. Further, these discharged naval personnel were directed to remain under quarantine for another 14 days following more..

May 22 (AFP) Music icon and animal rights activist Cher shared her delight after a Pakistani court ordered freedom for a lonely elephant, who had become the subject of a high-profile rights campaign backed by the US singer. "We have just heard from Pakistan High Court Kaavan is free," the singer and animal rights campaigner said on Twitter on Thursday in capital letters, adding a string of emojis and saying she felt sick. "This is one of the greatest moments of my life," she said. more..

May 22 (AD) Attorney General has requested the Supreme Court to dismiss the Fundamental Rights petitions filed challenging the date of the General Election, without taking them up for hearing. Additional Solicitor General Indika Demuni de Silva, appearing on behalf of the Attorney General, made this request while delivering an oral statement before the court when the petitions were taken up today. more..

May 22 (Island) The Road development officials in Kilinochchi have issued a warning to the drivers using the Kudamurutti bridge on the B 357 route connecting Paranthan and Pooneryn to be cautious as parts of the bridge have been removed by drug addicts to sell as scrap iron. Parts of the The Sangupiddi bridge on the same route, too, has been damaged by thieves. Heavy vehicles, crossing the bridges are in danger because the bridge cannot bear the heavy loads. more..

May 22 (AD) Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has refuted claims that the price of a gas cylinder is to be hiked. Speculations were rife in social media that the price of a gas cylinder will be moved up by nearly Rs. 200, however, issuing a clarification on the matter, the CAA has affirmed that such a price hike would not take place. The CAA went on to note that none of the gas companies has sought an increase in the price of a gas cylinder. In the meantime, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has stated more..

May 22 (EN) Sri Lanka is planning to draw private aircraft to Ratmalan Airport, fast tracking approvals also allowing high end tourists to reach the capital quickly once Coronavirus controls are relaxed, officials said. Kimarli Fernando, Chairperson of SL Tourism Board said private jets bring tourists to high end destinations like the Maldives. �Private jets is a good cue for us, I have already spoken with Civil Aviation and more..

May 22 (NR) Another three individuals tested positive for the coronavirus today. Five persons tested positive for COVID-19 today. Accordingly, the number of infections in the country increases to 1,060. The number of COVID-19 recoveries in Sri Lanka rose to 620 today after 16 patients were discharged after fully recovering during the past 24 hours. 13 Navy personnel who contracted the coronavirus also recovered and were discharged. Among the 1,060 coronavirus positive cases more..

May 22 (NR) 7th Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) held on 20th May in Bangkok-Thailand, was convened as a virtual meeting for the first time, complying with the new normal in the COVID 19 context, and SL�s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), (Mrs.) Samantha Jayasuriya, Ambassador of SL to Thailand, was elected by acclamation as the Chair of 7th APFSD and more..

May 22 (EN) Rain will continue in the South-western part of the island today while showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North-western provinces and Galle and Matara districts the Met Dept states. Also, fairly heavy falls about 75 mm can be expected in some places, showers or thundershowers may occur at few places in Uva province in the afternoon and more..

May 22 (TM) Hand sanitizers have been waived off from registration due to the emergency Covid-19 situation in the country, National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) said. NMRA Chairman Prof. Asitha De Silva speaking to The Morning said local manufacturers and importers of hand sanitizers have been permitted to make available products in the market provided they follow WHO guidelines stipulated for hand sanitizers. He said the NMRA has been empowered through legislation more..