Nov 28 (AD) A man has been arrested for violating court orders by organizing a commemoration event in Jaffna for the now-defunct terror group LTTE. DIG Ajith Rohana noted that the suspect will be produced before the court soon. The arrestee was identified as a 47-year-old clergyman. The Jaffna Police had made the arrest following a tip-off received regarding the incident. Magistrate�s courts in Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Mannar, Jaffna and Chavekachcheri have given orders, more..

Nov 28 (TM) State Minister Duminda Dissanayake said that his ministry is expecting to install floating solar panels in the Diyawanna Lake to generate power for the Parliament. Speaking in Parliament, State Minister Duminda Dissanayake said Parliament�s architecture prevents them from fixing solar panels on its roof. �However, we hope to set up floating solar panels in the Diyawanna Lake to generate power for the Parliament. more..

Nov 28 (EN) About 75% of SL�s workforce or 1.5 million employees are facing a high risk of falling in to poverty, with 68% in informal employment amid a Coronavirus crises, a survey done by a Colombo based think tank said. IPS said 68% of the total employed population in SL is in informal employment, employed under low wages or precarious jobs. �These jobs lack the basic protection that formal jobs provide, more..

Nov 28 (AD) A major underworld figure and drug peddler has been arrested in the Pannipitiya area, while in possession of weapons and ammunition. The suspect was identified as a 35-year-old named Rukshan Sameera Madushanka, operating under the alias Maharagama Sameera. Organized crimes prevention team of the STF had made the arrest at around 3.30 pm on Friday, acting on a reliable tip-off received by them. Reports revealed that the arrestee is involved in the large-scale trug racket and more..

Nov 28 (NIA) 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign to challenge violence against women and girls. The campaign runs every year from 25 Nov, the Int'l Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 Dec, Human Rights Day. It was initiated in 1991 by the first Women�s Global Leadership Institute, at the Center for Women�s Global Leadership (CWGL) in Rutgers Uni. Since 1991, more than 6,000 organizations from approx 187 countries more..

Nov 28 (EN) Sri Lanka passed the 100-mark in Covid 19 related deaths last night with eight new deaths reported yesterday. The last two months have seen 94 deaths within after the new cluster associated with apparel workers and the national fish wholesale market in the Gampaha district was identified. Since then active patients have increased exponentially and the disease has spread to all parts of the country more..

Nov 28 (AD) Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris says the 2020 GCE O/L Exam will have to be postponed again if all schools in the country cannot be reopened soon. His remarks came during the parliamentary session earlier today. 2020 O/L Exam was pushed back to next year due to the outbreak of Covid-19 virus and it was rescheduled to be held from the 18th to 27th of Jan 2021. Several schools, except those in isolated areas and Western Province, were reopened on the 23rd of Nov, following more..

Nov 28 (FT) Fulfilling its role as the National Telecommunication Service Provider, the SLT group established connectivity at Meeyagala, a remote village located in Uva, SL. Following the request from the Venerable Kahawe Maithree Nayaka Thero from Meeyagala, the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, SLT and Mobitel visited the location and observed that there was no connectivity and people in the village were facing a lot of difficulties in connecting with their loved ones. more..

Nov 28 (ST) Cabinet has bent the rules to let the CEB sign up for a liquefied natural gas (LNG)/diesel-fired power plant despite the Attorney General (AG) warning that changes to draft project agreements made after bid closure will have significant cost implications. The amendments also pose an additional liability and risk on the Govt and the CEB, the AG says. And applicable legal principles do not permit changes to be made more..

Nov 28 (DM) UNP raised concerns over the manner in which the Prez has chosen to appoint the members of several independent commissions. �These independent commissions, including the National Election Commission, are vital to protecting the democratic values of the country. Previously it has been the practice that prior to making appointments to these commissions, consultations would be held with the Party Leaders. This has not happened on this occasion� an official more..

Nov 28 (FT) Plantation Ministry in collaboration with the State Ministry of Company Estate Reforms, Tea Estate Related Crops, Tea Factory Modernisation and Tea Export Promotion is stepping up efforts to encourage tea smallholders to replant new and replace dead plants in a five-year program. The initiative titled Re-awakening Tea 2021-2025 Tea Revival Half Decade grants relief aid to tea small holder cultivators for replanting, new plants and replacing dead plants next year. more..

Nov 28 (ST) The decade-long Wilpattu controversy came to a conclusion earlier this week with a resounding win for SL�s community of environmentalists. Court of Appeal decided in favour of the petition filed by the Center for Environmental Justice (CEJ) and ruled that the seventh respondent, MP Rishad Bathiudeen will be financially liable for the full cost of the reforestation programme that the first respondent, more..

Nov 28 (EN) In the parliament last week, Vasudeva Nanayakkara said SL doesn�t need a vaccine and that we�ve other ways to control the pandemic. While at it, he insulted a war veteran, an army commander who put to an end a three-decade-long war. Vasu further says America needs it, and we don�t. Why? Because come the worst case, our people-loving health minister will sacrifice herself to the ocean? Sure, America has a larger caseload, a higher mortality rate, and thank god, Trumpian Vasu more..

Nov 28 (ST) The TRC of Sri Lanka is expediting a project to strengthen mobile network services across the country. TRCSL Director General Oshada Senanayake said the Gamata Sanniwedanaya project was initiated with the core objective of ensuring that no area was left uncovered with broadband connectivity. �We will continue to actively drive ahead with initiatives to ensure 100% connectivity and eradicate the digital divide in the country,� he said. more..

Nov 28 (CT) Unions representing workers in free trade zones, industries and also seafarers, declared that whilst there is a pertinent need to raise the age of retirement in the private and semi-Govt sector and to establish it statutorily, the age of retirement should however, be entirely optional, not mandatory, and thereby not affect the right to access and withdraw funds from Employees� Provident Fund (EPF). more..

Nov 28 (ST) As the race for a vaccine against COVID-19 hots up and a front-runner announces that its results from the late-stage trials should be out by December, a clear Sri Lankan link surfaced this week. A face behind the hard work of a front-running potential vaccine from Oxford University/AstraZeneca, is Dr. Maheshi N. Ramasamy who was born in Sri Lanka and also had her primary and secondary education here at Visakha Vidyalaya and Stafford Int'l School. more..

Nov 28 (wsws) Workers of the MAS Holdings-owned Vaanavil and Vidiyal garment factories in Kilinochchi in northern SL are working without social distancing or adequate health facilities to protect themselves from the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 3,000 young workers, mainly female, employed in these factories are concerned about the raging pandemic in the country and globally. MAS-owned Bodyline factories at Horana and Agalawatte in Western Province were temporarily closed early this month, more..

Nov 28 (ST) PM Rajapaksa in his Budget speech proposed to further extend loan recovery periods and other concessions granted under the Central Bank�s re-financing facilities programme until Sept 30, 2021 for the tourism sector, but those in the trade have expressed reservations. �I propose to provide the banks with a Treasury guarantee covering 50% of such loans. I also propose to make necessary more..

Nov 29 (CT) Perhaps every medical professional would agree with the sentiment in the above comment by a Vietnamese Canadian Doctor, who is affiliated to two international hospitals, one in Montreal, Canada, and the other in Geneva, Switzerland. Unlike Doctors who would give you the unvarnished truth, govts and politicians generally have different arrangements with truth and humility. Lack of humility and premature celebrations of victory are all too common in govt and politics more..

Nov 29 (TM) Even as Sri Lanka�s Covid-19 containment strategy continues to be challenged, the light at the end of the tunnel is the announcement by at least three global pharmaceutical companies that a vaccine for Covid-19 is a reality. It is now up to the respective govts, including our own, to take their place in the queue and ensure an adequate quota is secured for the country. As to what the quota should be is up to the health and medical professionals to decide. more..

Nov 29 (SO) Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said the biggest challenge the SLPP Govt posed to the main Opposition SJB was the resounding victory achieved at the last parliamentary election by securing 150 seats. He said the SJB members have resorted to baseless allegations against the Govt and the Prez due to their political bankruptcy. Minister said the results of the last parliamentary election showed that more..

Nov 29 (CT) Honourable Presiding Member, I am happy to follow the Minister himself as we discuss the votes on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Minister is an experienced parliamentarian and able person and I�m glad to discuss a few matters with regard to SL�s foreign policy while he is present together with also a very able and dynamic young parliamentarian, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. It was rather comical to witness the spectacle this morning as we started the debate � more..

Nov 29 (SO) The world has now surpassed 61 million Coronavirus cases and 1.4 million deaths. Ever since the disease emerged in Wuhan, China and Chinese scientists decoded the genome sequence of the virus in early 2020, scientists and researchers in universities and pharmaceutical companies around the world have been pursuing two options � a cure and a vaccine. It is generally well known that viral diseases have no cure. One can only treat the symptoms such as fever more..

Nov 29 (SO) The govt is expecting the next yield of turmeric to reach the market early next year. Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena said the Govt will announce the market price later. He said the Govt is putting more emphasis on the farmers than the market itself. The Govt banned the import of several products including turmeric in a bid to promote local production. In some parts of the island farmers were provided with seeds more..

Nov 29 (ST) Desperate situations may require desperate remedies and the Govt�s Budget proposal to allow undeclared monies (hora salli) to enter the mainstream economy shows how desperate it is. Notwithstanding little irritants like best business practices getting in the way, many Governments worldwide adopt these measures from time to time. These are like amnesties for businessmen � even politicians, who cannot account for their money coming through legitimate means. more..

Nov 29 (ST) My dear Gota maamey, I thought I must write to you when I realised that you have already completed one year in office. Why, it seems like yesterday you were battling it out with young Sajith, although it turned out to be not much of a contest at all. Time has gone fast, perhaps accelerated by this pandemic. For someone who had never been a politician, it has been a challenging year for you, Gota maamey. Not only did you have to deal with the usual political issues that come up from more..

Nov 29 (ST) SL�s coconut industry is to undergo structural reforms harnessing the economic potential with incentives provided in the Budget 2021. The four existing institutions related to coconut industry will amalgamated to form a single entity as the Coconut Cultivation & Allied Industries Development Authority under an integrated institutional structure. This will be a key reform in the industry with the merging of Coconut Development Authority (CDA), Coconut Research Institute (CRI), more..

Nov 29 (TM) SL�s geopolitics was once again at play last week with the holding of a tripartite regional confab between SL, India, and the Maldives in Colombo. India�s National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval arrived in the country on Frida to participate in the conference. On the sidelines of the conference, Doval met PM Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday. The discussion was focused on issues of mutual interest including regional security. Doval was to meet with Prez on Saturday more..

Nov 29 (CT) India�s PM Narendra Modi congratulated Prez Rajapaksa on the first anniversary of the latter�s assumption of Office. He said, via a letter that the India-SL relationship had expanded into new areas and was strengthened in the past one year. Modi underlined, the strong collaboration between the two countries in the midst of challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic symbolising the friendly ties between more..

Nov 29 (Island) Lasantha Wickrematunge�s daughter, Ahimsa, and four others have written to AG Dappula de Livera appealing to protect the life of former CID Director Shani Abeysekera held in a military-run facility for covid-19 infected persons, having contracted the virus while in remand custody. There is no escaping the fact that our overcrowded prisons, literally bursting at the seams for many years, are a hotbed of covid with both prisoners & officials highly vulnerable to infection. more..

Nov 29 (ST) Not all success stories enjoy a fairytale pathway, and behind every victory is a path that runs through misery. Standing strong on their feet through continuous setbacks, the world eventually saw the culmination of a determined journey as a victory in the success of the volleyball team of Sri Rathanapala Maha Vidyalaya, Mahauswewa, Anamaduwa. The group of courageous girls from the rural school of the Puttalam District emerged victorious at the recent DSI Supersport more..

Nov 29 (CI) With this innings, Andre Russell basically crash-landed at the LPL like an alien from a way bigger-hitting planet than earth, clobbering what seemed like nine dozen sixes (apparently four sixes, according to the scorecard) and half-a-million fours (9 fours) in the space of 5 overs, to send Colombo Kings sky-rocketing to some ludicrous total that -let's be honest- Galle Gladiators never really had a hope of chasing down. more..

Nov 29 (ST) The Commercial Bank of Ceylon says it is the first bank in Sri Lanka to enable its credit card holders to conveniently and instantly settle their credit card outstanding by scanning a QR code appearing on their monthly credit card statements. The bank has announced, in a media release, that it is now printing a unique QR code on each statement which can be scanned through the ComBank Q+ App, SL�s first QR based payment app under LANKAQR, the ComBank Flash app, more..

Nov 29 (SO) Organisers of the highly anticipated Lanka Premier League (LPL) have defended their decision to ignore one of the most backward regions of the country, the East, when they branded the five teams for the championship which got underway in the deep south of Hambantota on Thursday. The eastern part of SL will not be in anyone�s imagination with the emphasis on all other parts like the North promoted by the Jaffna Stallions, the South fostered by the Galle Gladiators, West sustained by more..

Nov 29 (CI) The Kandy Tuskers suffered their second-straight narrow defeat as the Dambulla Viiking eked out a four-run victory (DLS method) after rain brought play to an abrupt close in Sooriyawewa. Set a target of 196, the Tuskers lost Kusal Perera early in the chase but Rahmanullah Gurbaz carried on where he had left off from the previous game, blazing four boundaries and six in an 18-ball 30. With rain on the horizon, more..

Nov 29 (Island) It�s a Covid19-dominated week. Well, what week in the last nine months or so has not been dominated by the deadly virus, one may ask. This is true. The numbers pertaining to what is now called �The Second Wave� are far more alarming than those we saw during the initial stages of the outbreak.Covid-19 may not be here forever, but it certainly is going to be around for quite a while. The experts have put together a strategy and various institutions are engaged in doing their more..

Nov 29 (SO) SLPP MP S.B. Dissanayake said that the golden era of rapid development of the economy took place during the tenure of Basil Rajapaksa as the Minister of Economic Development and he should return to Parliament and lead economic development activities on behalf of the poor people of this country. He told the media on Thursday, that the cases filed against Basil Rajapaksa on charges of distributing GI pipes, almanacs and roofing sheets were merely filed for political revenge. more..

Nov 29 (ST) In a move that could be a case of deliberately falling prey, former SL and SSC off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake has issued a public notice of intended action in response to a news item of an allegation made by a young player in the ongoing LPL. His statement mentions the name of former S. Thomas� College and SSC cricketer Tharindu Rathnayake, who had supposedly complained to Anti-Corruption Unit of SLC, more..

Nov 29 (ST) Regaining the targeted tax revenue for 2021 has become a herculean task in the prevailing economic conditions triggered by the COVID-19 second wave which seems like never ending, several economic experts and financial analyst said. But the government is determined to turn the tide to a satisfactory level by introducing a new tax structure for the year 2021 streamlining the tax collection process online, Inland Revenue Department (IRD) sources confirmed. more..