Nov 27 (FT) The total number of COVID-19 deaths reported in the island yesterday rose to 99, with health authorities confirming that 3 persons had died of the disease. According to a statement by Dept of Govt Information, the deaths are of two individuals from Colombo and one from Peliyagoda. An 87-year-old man from Colombo 8 passed away at the National Hospital of SL yesterday. He died of a bacterial infection associated with COVID-19 and exacerbated chronic lung disease. more..

Nov 27 (CT) A total of 50 undergraduates have been taken into custody for exposing govt�s activities vis-�-vis the COVID-19 pandemic, Opposition PM Eran Wickramaratne said. Speaking in Parliament, he said that Tharindu Avishka, a Peradeniya Uni undergraduate had been taken into custody for making a statement on Facebook, that Kotelawala Defence Academy Hospital is being used as a COVID-19 quarantine facility more..

Noc 27 (FT) The process of the old stock of political leaders and their parties losing the recognition they have enjoyed so far can be described as an integral part of the historical process of ending the old era of the political history of SL. The loss of recognition enjoyed by Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Leader of the UNP, and his party can be seen as an outcome of this historical process. Even the SJB which has made a critical impact on the downfall of the UNP and its Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe more..

Noc 27 (FT) The PM in the Budget speech said: �It cannot be justified to have two different ages for compulsory retirement for men and women. The compulsory retirement age for the public sector is 60 years, whereas it is 50 years for the private sector. It is further lower for females. Contrary to this, life expectancy for females is 76.6 years and life expectancy for males is 72 years. Therefore, based on the life expectancy, it is proposed to amend the EPF Act to expand the retirement age more..

Nov 27 (DC) Announcement that World Champions England will be returning to Emirates Riverside has proven popular, as the club has recorded one of its best week of sales for an int'l fixture in Chester le Street. Durham Members and Australia IT20 buyers have taken advantage of their priority access by securing tickets in their favourite seats, ahead of next June�s ODI in the region. The game is once again anticipated to be a sell-out, with the previous 7 internationals at the club selling out. more..

Nov 27 (TM) State Minister of Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure, Jeevan Thondaman, said today that 35 out of 167 factories in the Nuwara Eliya District have been closed. Speaking in Parliament, the State Minister said there should be accountability for the closed factories followed by future plans. He also commented on the modernization of factories; both rubber and tea. �We need to enhance the quality of tea. Productivity does need to be increased in the plantation sector more..

Nov 27 (AD) Chandana D. Wickramaratne has assumed duties as the 35th IGP in Sri Lanka this morning. He took office at the Police Headquarters in Colombo. Mr Wickramaratne joined SL Police in 1986 as a probationary ASP and has been functioning in the bureau for 34 years now. He worked his way to the top while serving as a Superintendent, Senior Superintendent, DIG and Senior DIG. more..

Nov 27 (DM) Daughter of slain Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge along with several families of victims of grave crimes have written to the Attorney General expressing alarm and concern over the treatment of the former CID director Shani Abeysekara who is currently in remand custody. Observing that Abeysekara has been imprisoned based on contradictory statements and allegations, the group including Ahimsa Wickrematunge, urged the AG Dappula de Livera to reconsider more..

Nov 27 (DM) Eight trade unions including All Ceylon Joint Wildlife Officers� Association (ACJWOA) have decided to resort to an island wide trade union action today against the Wildlife State Minister�s orders to allocate a portion of the land belonging to the Polonnaruwa Flood Plains National Park among cultivators who earlier had caused destruction to this land and to construct a road. ACJWOA Chairman said that State Minister Wimalaweera Dissanayake had given the orders violating a court order. more..

Nov 27 (EN) The COPE has ordered the removal of unauthorised constructions on both sides of the Kelani river as pollution levels in the river are rising. The directions were given to the Environment Ministry and other ministries and institutions when COPE met yesterday, to discuss matters raised by the Environmental Audit Report on the pollution of the Kelani River. MP S.M Marikkar pointed out that many unauthorised buildings more..

Nov 27 (DN) 12 Fundamental Rights petitions filed seeking an order staying the operation of gazette notification issued to cremate persons who die of COVID-19 were fixed for support by Supreme Court. SC 3-judge-bench comprising Justices Buwaneka Aluwihare, Sisira de Abrew & Gamini Amarasekara fixed the petitions to be taken up for support on Nov 30. Court was informed that a senior counsel who had earlier appeared on behalf of an intervenient petitioner is currently in self quarantine. more..

Nov 27 (CI) Shahid Afridi has been allowed to end his quarantine early and is now cleared to play Galle Gladiators' opening Lanka Premier League (LPL) match against Jaffna Stallions on Friday. Gladiators had initially believed Afridi would not be available for the franchise's first two matches, because he only arrived in SL Tuesday, following a missed flight the day before. But having had Covid-19 in June, Afridi took an antibody test soon after arrival. On Friday, the results from this test confirmed that more..

Nov 27 (FT) During the second reading of the Budget, SJB MP Buddhika Pathirana brought to the notice of the House that artificial toddy was now also being used to manufacture vinegar, posing significant threats to human health in addition to leakage of Govt revenue. Pathirana said artificial toddy had grown into a huge racket island-wide and racketeers even use poisonous substances such as ammonia, urea fertiliser and nickel cadmium more..

Nov 27 (Island) Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda has pledged to provide a prompt solution to prevent Indian fishermen from illegally fishing in the territorial waters of Sri Lanka. He said he would do so after having talks with the Indian Embassy in Colombo and the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi, Parliament sources said yesterday. Minister Devnanda made that promise at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Fisheries in the Parliament complex on Tuesday, more..

Nov 27 (EN) The former Director of the CID SSP Shani Abeysekara is being transferred to the Infectious Diseases Hospital from the Welikanda Hospital today, Hospital Director said. Dr Indika Kumara said that Abeysekara who is in Remand Custody and has tested positive for the Covid 19 virus is being monitored as he has a heart condition. �He has a minor heart issue and since he is Covid positive we have made arrangements to transfer him to the IDH,� he said. more..

Nov 27 (AD) Minister of Education Prof. G.L. Peiris says the Batticaloa Campus in Punanai, established by former Eastern Province Governor M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, will be taken under the purview of the govt. The resources of the institution will subsequently be put into the use of the students enrolling in other universities, he said further. The minister�s comments came in response to the questions raised by MP Kavinda more..

Nov 27 (FT) The Securities and Exchange Commission has decided to appoint an external firm of chartered accountants to advise future course of action against MTD Walkers Plc, which is currently having myriad issues of non-compliance, default and other allegations. The decision was following the Commissioners of the SEC at their last meeting discussing and taking grave notice of non-compliance of the Listing Rules of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) by MTD Walkers more..

Nov 27 (Island) Leader of the House Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told Parliament on Wednesday that no agreement had been signed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon on probing alleged war crimes. Participating in the third reading stage debate on budget 2021, Minister Gunawardena said Moon had visited Sri Lanka after the end of the war. They had issued a joint statement which was now being dubbed as an agreement, he said. more..

Nov 27 (AD) The Director General of Health Services has confirmed three more deaths of Covid-19 infected persons, increasing the total number of coronavirus deaths in the country to 99. One of the deceased is an 87-year-old male from Colombo 08, who passed away at the Colombo National Hospital today (26). The cause of death is cited as a bacteria infection with Covid-19 infection and chronic lung disease. more..

Nov 27 (CT) A total of 305 Sri Lankans who were repatriated from four countries arrived in Sri Lanka today (27), the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak stated. Among them were 50 persons from Doha, Qatar, 52 persons from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 191 persons from Australia and the remaining 12 persons from Japan. The group was subjected to PCR tests within the airport premises, and they were scheduled to be directed to quarantine centres later. more..

Nov 27 (CT) JJB Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday requested the Govt to start preparing a long- term plan to increase the groundwater level before it is too late. Participating in the Committee Stage debate on the Appropriation Bill of 2021, Dissanayake said groundwater levels have been decreasing rapidly and that there should be a long-term plan to increase it gradually. �In the past, there was a saying in our villages that if we dug six feet, we could find water. more..

Nov 27 (Reuters) Ratings agency Fitch downgraded Sri Lanka�s sovereign debt to CCC on Friday, warning that the country was at increasing risk of missing debt payments due to the coronavirus pandemic. Heavily reliant on tourism and garment exports for foreign exchange reserves, the island nation has been hit hard by the pandemic, which has dampened consumer demand and curtailed almost all global travel this year. more..

Nov 27 (Island) Not a single tree had been cut down when a dilapidated road leading Lankagama through a section of the Sinharaja Forest was renovated, Minister Johnston Fernando said. �We only renovated a road which was already there. The Opposition and many others accused us of constructing a new road. It is not true. People in Lankagama have been requesting the renovation of that road. No new road was constructed, not a single tree has been cut down. more..

Nov 27 (Island) Education Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris says Sri Lanka has gone out of its way to refrain from interfering in the domestic affairs of other nations and expect non-interference by other nations in the country�s internal affairs. Participating in the third reading debate on Budget 2021, minister said that Sri Lanka entertained expectations that other nations would respect without question the right of Parliament and the people of Sri Lanka to determine the country�s own destiny. more..

Nov 27 (AD) Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the Uni of Colombo, Professor Vajira Dissanayake, has been appointed as the President of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). According to the GMOA, the appointment has been made based on the recommendations of the 5-member committee of experts appointed by Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi. GMOA Secretary Dr. Senal Fernando said that more..

Nov 27 (CT) The UGC has approved the establishment of a new Department of Information Technology (IT) at the University of Jaffna and the preliminary work to set it up within the Faculty of Arts, by next year (2021), has commenced. Preliminary work has been started to set up this Department in the Art Gallery of the University. The IT Department building has been selected and provided, and the Vice-Chancellor (VC) is making available other assistance and guidance. more..

Nov 27 (TM) Nawaloka Hospitals PLC posted a profit after tax (PAT) for the fiscal year 2019/20 of Rs. 15.9 million, a noteworthy increase in comparison to a net loss of Rs. 587.1 million the previous year. The hospital revenue was Rs. 8.5 billion for the fiscal year 2019/20. While performance in the first quarter of the year was severely hindered due the devastating Easter attacks, progress during the final quarter was impacted by the developing global health crisis. more..

Nov 27 (CT) After viewing CCTV footage of the Easter Sunday Bombings on 21 April 2019, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr. Neil Fernando said, from among the suicide bombers involved, Mohamed Ibrahim Ilham Ahmed seemed to be calm before launching the attack. Dr. Fernando was testifying before the PCoI yesterday. Ilham was the suicide bomber who launched the attack at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo, along with more..

Nov 27 (Island) Former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran, MP, yesterday (26) said that although the Maha Viru Day held on the 27th of November every year to commemorate the LTTE cadres who had lost their lives in the conflict had been banned on a court order, lamps would be lit in every household in the Jaffna District in their memory. The former Chief Minister said, during the tenure of the yahapalana government, the commemoration was allowed. more..

Nov 27 (FT) The work on the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project is scheduled to be completed by June next year, Secretary to the Ministry of Irrigation Anura Dissanayake said, adding that the govt will be able to add 120 megawatts (MW) of power generation to the national power grid, which is considered as a key component of the govt�s return on investment by next February. Speaking to the Ministerial Consultative Committee which met in Parliament yesterday, Dissanayake stated more..

Nov 27 (AI) Following the announcement of the release of a list of complaints and information received by the Office on Missing Persons regarding people who were disappeared during SL�s internal conflicts, the country�s authorities must now deliver justice, truth and reparation to the families, Amnesty International said. On 26 Nov 2020, Office on Missing Persons (OMP) released a list of missing persons to its offices. more..

Nov 27 (AD) Prez Rajapaksa today called on the newly appointed Chief Prelate of the SL Ramanna Maha Nikaya, Most Ven. Makulewe Wimala Nayaka Thera. Prez who visited the Vidyawasa Pirivena in Minioluwa, Mirigama where the Nayaka Thera resides, today extended his best wishes to the newly appointed Chief Prelate. Appreciating the unparalleled service rendered by the Ramanna Maha Nikaya for the Sambuddha Sasanay and to the nation, Prez said that he and the Govt more..

Nov 27 (NR) India�s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Maldivian Defence Minister Mariya Didi arrived in the island this morning, to attend the 4 National Security Adviser Level Trilateral Meeting on Maritime Security Cooperation. The meeting between India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka is being held today and tomorrow in Colombo. Mariya Didi arrived in the island along with a seven-member government delegation around 11:30am on board a SriLankan Airlines flight. more..

Nov 27 (AD) Sri Lanka has registered 251 fresh positive cases of Covid-19 this evening. All of the newly-identified patients are close contacts of earlier cases linked to the Peliyagoda fish market. Following the new development in Covid-19 figures, Minuwangoda-Peliyagoda dual cluster�s infections tally has reached 18,742. The total number of Covid-19 infections confirmed in the country to date now stands at 22,279. more..

Nov 28 (CT) The health and education authorities decided to reopen schools for the third term last week. Accordingly, apart from the schools in the Western Province and those in areas under lockdown or isolation outside of the Western Province, were reopened for academic activities in the Grades 6 to 13, on Monday. On the first few days, the attendance at almost all the reopened schools was dismal. Parents were apprehensive to send their children to school due to more..

Nov 28 (DM) Breaking a glass ceiling was the election of the first coloured American-Indian woman Kamala Harris as the Vice-President of the United States. She was the first coloured American woman to be elected to the country�s second-highest post and with the presidential candidate Joe Biden she polled more than 80 million votes�a record in American Presidential Election history. With the President-elect Biden being 78 years old he holds a record of becoming the oldest person to be more..

Nov 28 (DM) Nov 27th 1989 was the day on which the LTTE first observed its annual Maaveerar Naal or Great Heroes Day (GHD). The LTTE and its leader V. Prabakharan are no more after the military defeat of the tigers in May 2009. Yet, the GHD continues to be commemorated on a low scale in different forms by tigerish elements. Nowadays Nov 27 is being propagated as the Thamizhar Theseeya Ninaivaenthal Thinam more..

Nov 28 (DM) Dozens of journalists have been killed, abducted or have disappeared in the past two decades in SL, with 2005-2010 being the most dangerous. According to Journalists for Democracy in SL (JDS), 44 journalists and media workers were killed or disappeared during this period. Disturbingly, there are hosts who have been arrested and detained, assaulted, threatened, intimidated and harassed. And media institutions have been subjected to arson, with one Tamil newspaper more..

Nov 28 (TM) Spa Ceylon, the iconic Ayurveda Wellness brand, has won four international accolades at the World Luxury Spa Awards 2020, including the prestigious global awards for Best Beauty Product Range and Best Luxury Ayurveda Spa. The brand also won continent best awards for Best Spa Team and Best Spa Management at this year�s awards. �These awards come at an important and exciting time for us, as we are about to launch the brand in the UK and South Africa more..