Oct 28 (DM) In 2019 we Sri Lankans and the people of this world were all concerned with the growing problem of air pollution and its effect on global warming. Global warming is the increase of average world temperatures as a result of what is known as the greenhouse effect. Global warming, also known as climate change, is caused by a blanket of pollution that traps heat around the earth. This pollution comes from cars, factories, homes and power plants that burn fossil fuels such as more..

Oct 28 (CT) �I work every day from 5 a.m. until about 10 p.m. I wake up in the morning, cook for everyone, send them off to work and school, clean, wash clothes, cook dinner, and take care of my parents. This is all just a simple load of work that I am responsible for every day. The rest of my family helps me out with all this work, although it is only my responsibility,� shared Priyanka Perera, a homemaker since 2016. more..

Oct 28 (Island) The govt is awaiting the final report of the PCoI, which is probing the Easter Sunday attacks, to effect changes to the national security apparatus, Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris has reportedly said. The yahapalana govt neglected national security and jeopardised public safety as never before. Those who were at the helm of that administration are now blaming one another. The incumbent administration has apparently straightened up the defence establishment, more..

Oct 28 (FT) Hatton National Bank (HNB) announced a landmark agreement with PROPARCO, the private sector funding arm of the French Development Bank Agence Fran�aise de D�veloppement Head of Financial Institutions and Inclusion Guillaume Barberousse (AFD), to secure $ 60 million in funding. �We are delighted to enter into this long-term loan agreement with PROPARCO at such a critical juncture in the history of the global economy. This is the second time HNB is partnering more..

Oct 28 (ST) Sri Lanka�s diverse minorities are not getting essential, urgent public health information from the state as soon as they are released, despite the massive flare-up in the coronavirus every day across the island and patients in their areas, and ever-changing curfew hours and lockdowns. There is a severe shortage of translators in state offices and vacancies have not been filled for years. more..

Oct 28 (FT) The delay of over two years in listing two subsidiaries engaged in leisure and renewable energy by LAUGFS Gas (LGL) has irked at least one of its minority shareholders. Imtiaz Buhardeen, who says he is the third largest shareholder of LGL, in a tweet expressed displeasure and frustration over the delay of listing and lack of disclosure. He said that his tweets reflect the concerns of other shareholders too. He said when inquired from the CSE, the response was it was awaiting more..

Oct 28 (TM) INSEE Cement SL signed an agreement with the State Engineering Corporation (SEC) to purchase dolomite, a raw material used in the cement manufacturing process, from SEC. The agreement was signed in the presence of PM Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Parliament premises, which entails INSEE Cement purchasing dolomite from a quarry deposit owned and operated by the SEC in Matale. INSEE Cement Chairman Nandana Ekanayake and SEC Chairman more..

Oct 28 (DN) Former Pakistan Captain, Moin Khan and the coach of the Galle Gladiators� Team has picked his son Azam Khan as one of the overseas players for the Lanka Premier League (LPL) Twenty20 Cricket Tournament, which begins in Hambantota next month. The 22-year-old stocky wicket-keeper batsman is set to play a major role for his new franchise following an excellent run of success during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Tournament in the UAE. more..

Oct 28 (TM) A total of three int'l tour groups have been organised by the Ministry of Tourism in an effort to kickstart tourism. Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that the two groups, from Germany and Australia, had also been scheduled to visit SL in Nov and Dec this year. �We made arrangements for a group of 200-odd Germans to visit SL in Nov. This was a high-end tourist group as some had even proposed to fly by private jet. Another group from Australia was also in the pipeline,� more..

Oct 28 (CT) Several politicians, during the good governance (Yahapalana regime), have obtained credit facilities from major State Banks and have deliberately neglected to make repayments, revealed the initial investigations, conducted by the Committee appointed by the PM to investigate the inconsistencies of State Banks and their related institutions during Yahapalana regime. Besides, ther're a considerable number of complaints more..

Oct 28 (TM) The High Commissioner for Canada in SL David McKinnon has called for Sri Lanka to have open economic policies to attract Canadian investment. �If Sri Lanka remains outward looking and open to trade and investment, there are exciting opportunities emerging here and an appetite among Canadian firms to be a part of it,� he said at the 29th AGM of SL�Canada Business Council (SLCBC) of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) held recently at the premises of the latter. more..

Oct 28 (DN) Past Hockey players have come forward with the collaboration of the Old Boys Union and the co-operation of the principal M.Y.P.P. Bandara to form a Past Hockey Players Association and the inaugural meeting was held at the School on the September 19. Hockey at one time was a popular sport at Isipathana College and the first schoolboy to represent Sri-Lanka was B.M.R.Preena (Mervyn) and his brother known as Otto who was also a National player took up coaching more..

Oct 28 (CT) Sri Lanka has been ranked 102nd on Ookla�s Speedtest Global Index, for mobile Internet speeds and placed 94th on the index for fixed broadband speeds in the month of September. In the mobile Internet speed department, the country has slipped one positions when compared to the previous month, with an average download speed of 19.95Mbps. On the fixed broadband speed front, more..

Oct 28 (DN) The regulations brought by 127 countries worldwide including Sri Lanka to refrain from dumping used plastic materials to the ocean or ban such kinds of plastics that create the marine plastic pollution was highlighted by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA). CEA, Director (Investigations) N.S. Gamage said according to the European Commission, the global production of plastic currently estimated is around 300 million tons per year and the plastic pollution in more..

Oct 28 (Xinhua) Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has awarded Allama Iqbal Scholarship to 91 SL students to study in Pakistani universities for Fall-2020/Spring-2021 sessions. The scholarships have been granted under the Pak-SL Higher Education Cooperation program to promote an effective exchange of knowledge and better understanding of cultures and traditions between SL and Pakistani students. Out of 91 students, 27 have already reached various cities of the country more..

Oct 28 (CT) LSSP General Secretary, Prof. Tissa Vitarana, cautioned the Govt not to fall into the USA�s trap to get us involved in its proposed war against China. There will also be pressure to sign the MCC and SOFA agreements that the UNP-led Yahapalana Govt was prepared to sign, to obtain a grant of US$ 480 million. He said the Gunaruwan Committee has given instances of countries like Madagascar that signed and more..

Oct 28 (SO) Teachers of the British School in Colombo have sent a petition to Prez Rajapaksa alleging discriminatory treatment to the local staff by the management of the school. In a letter addressed to the President, and copied to the Education and Foreign Ministers and British High Commissioner, they complained of several discriminatory acts including the hiring of under-qualified expat teachers. They state that the usual practice is to advertise any available vacancies more..

Oct 28 (CT) Powered by Dialog Axiata, the PCI-DSS-certified payment app Genie has partnered with WEBXPAY to further scale their reach to over 1,400 merchants through a simple and secure payment checkout. Dialog Axiata has been in the forefront of Fintech products since 2012, and Genie has seen their efforts reach new heights in financial inclusivity. Genie has won two gold awards for Most Popular Electronic Payment Product (Fintech) and Best Mobile Application for Retailer Payments more..

Oct 28 (CT) The JVP yesterday (27) staged a protest opposite the U.S. Embassy in Colombo, against the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. After the protest the med �Hands off Sri Lanka�s Sovereignty� they handed over a letter to the U.S. Ambassador. It was seen that the protesters were maintaining social distancing and wearing face masks in accordance with COVID-19 health guidelines. more..

Oct 28 (AD) The govt has launched the programme to recycle used carbon pen tubes and toothbrushes. The first container designed for this purpose was handed over to Prez Rajapaksa by Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera yesterday (26). The programme aimed at educating students has been named Api Hedee Rata Hadamu. The quantity of carbon pen tubes discarded from schools per day is around 80 kg and is estimated to exceed 29,000 kg per annum and more..

Oct 28 (FT) With the rapid rise of COVID-19 patients and limited hospital beds fresh treatment measures were being adapted by the Government, a top official said yesterday, assuring that the Govt would not hide announcing if the virus has reached community spread stage. Co-Cabinet Spokesman Dr Ramesh Pathirana stated that as of Monday night 4,464 COVID-19 infected patients had been hospitalised, pointing out that govt had identified the available hospital bed capacity was 5,000. more..

Oct 28 (CT) President of Public Health Inspectors' Association of SL (PHIA), Upul Rohana, said the spread of COVID-19 in the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) area was slightly out of control. Rohana said a large number of patients with the virus had been reported from Grandpass, Maradana, and Mattakkuliya. �It is becoming extremely difficult to find out details regarding the places they had visited and more..

Oct 28 (CT) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has called for tenders from Media organisations to procure Media and related activities for the tentatively rescheduled England tour of Sri Lanka, though ECB is yet to officially confirm the series. England were in Sri Lanka to play a two-match Test series in March when it was abruptly called off due to the threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the series has now been rescheduled for January 2021. The said series is not part of FTP signed with Sony. more..

Oct 28 (SLPA) The East Container Terminal (ECT) of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has unveiled for its container operations by Minister of of Port and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena today (27). The State Minister Jayantha Samaraweera, SLPA Chairman General Daya Ratnayake and many other distinguished invitees including the Secretaries of the Ministries and higher officials in the management of Sri Lanka Ports Authority have witnessed this auspicious event. more..

Oct 28 (FT) Divulapitiya and Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster yesterday exceeded 5,000 cases, with the identification of 457 new patients. The new patients include 447 contacts of the Peliyagoda Fish Market and 10 persons at quarantine centres. Total is currently 5,396. This brings the total number of confirmed cases identified in the island to 8,870, of which over two thirds were identified in October. more..

Oct 28 (FT) We welcome the visit of Michael Richard Pompeo, the US State Secretary turned diplomat, politician and businessman to Sri Lanka. The visit of this highly-placed official of the most powerful country in the world today is viewed with great expectations amidst much speculation by different quarters. We welcome you because you are coming as our honoured guest, invited by our Minister of Foreign Affairs. The invitation extended to you by him dispels any and all qualms surrounding more..

Oct 28 (FT) SL is experiencing the second wave of COVID-19. Total number of coronavirus positive cases reported from the Minuwangoda cluster is 2,222 (by 20 Oct). People start to talk about lockdown and many interpretations are emerging with different arguments. Interestingly Dr. David Nabarro, a WHO COVID-19 envoy, proposed a �middle path� to combat the epidemic. �There are new COVID challenges everywhere. Tricky times for all leaders. The virus has not changed and more..

Oct 28 (DM) Following the imposition of quarantine curfew in Panadura, Moratuwa and Homagama yesterday, people in those areas have been restricted from using train services operating on the Kelani Valley and coastal lines until further notice, the SL Railways Station Masters� Union (SLRSMU) said. The Union said people who are using railway stations from Meegoda to Kottawa on the Kelani Valley railway line including Panagoda, Homagama, Homagama Hospital and Makumbura more..

Oct 28 (AD) US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo has left for the Maldives after concluding his visit to SL. He had arrived at the BIA last night for his two-day visit to SL after concluding his visit to New Delhi, India. US State Secretary met with Prez Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat this morning (28). Pompeo said that the productive talks focused on post-pandemic economic recovery and development and the importance of partnership between the two nations to bolster more..

Oct 28 (AD) A quarantine curfew will be imposed within the Western Province from 12 midnight tomorrow (29), stated the Army Commander Lt Gen Shavendra Silva. The curfew will be in effect until 5 am on Monday (Nov 2). However, the curfew in the areas where it has already been imposed (before Oct 29) will continue even after Monday, stated the Army Commander. In addition, essential food item outlets and more..

Oct 28 (Island) Extending Japan�s continuous support to Sri Lanka, helping to protect solid waste management workers, currently engaged in work amidst Covid-19, Chief Representative, JICA SL Office Fusato Tanaka, handed over Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to State Minister Sarath Weerasekera recently. Governor of the Western Province Roshan Goonetileke, and other officials from both institutions were also present on the occasion. The grant included 17,000 masks, more..

Oct 28 (DM) State banking giant, Bank of Ceylon (BOC) said it has approved Rs.43.8 billion loans under Central Bank�s Rs.150 billion Saubagya COVID-19 loan scheme and has already disbursed Rs.34.6 billion, which is almost 83 percent of the total number of loans BOC has registered with the Central Bank. The programme officially termed the Saubagya COVID-19 Renaissance Facility, was launched by the Central Bank to revive businesses adversely impacted by the pandemic, more..

Oct 28 (AD) US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo says that the MCC agreement is one of many opportunities offered by the United States, and that it is ultimately up to Sri Lanka to choose whether to accept it. Secretary Pompeo held bilateral talks with Prez Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena during the visit. He stated that great democracies like the ones in SL, and in the US have a shared vision more..

Oct 28 (Island) The Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) yesterday urged the public to be vigilant about the lead content in consumer items. Dilena Pathragoda, CEJ Managing Director said that most old buildings still had old paint with high lead levels. Addressing the media at an event to mark the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action he said that some SL companies dump lead contaminated liquid waste into our water ways without following the proper procedures. more..

Oct 28 (NR) Leader of JVP Anura Kumara Dissanayake says if the govt intends to continue to allow daily life to proceed in the island without resorting to lockdowns despite the threat of coronavirus, then several effective measures including increasing the capacity of the health sector must be undertaken. He charged a dire situation has emerged in the country due to the govt�s negligence of a potential second wave of the virus. He remarked the govt continued to claim the pandemic more..

Oct 28 (AD) China has helped Sri Lanka to develop infrastructure after the civil war and Sri Lanka has not fallen into a debt trap, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has told United States Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo. The President expressed these views during the bilateral discussions held with the latter this morning (28). During the cordial discussion between the two parties, views on a number of areas of more..

Oct 28 (CT) U.R. de Silva, PC, Head of the Infrastructure Development Committee of the Justice Ministry, says the PCoI, which is probing acts of political victimisations during the previous regime, has the power to file legal action in the Supreme Court against SJB MP Champika Ranawaka and other witnesses, as they continue to avoid giving testimony before the said Commission. He said the Commission has the power which is vested in a normal Court, but not that of a higher Court. more..

Oct 28 (DN) The Govt will purchase fish stocks from multi-day fishing trawlers in compliance with the COVID 19 health guidelines and distribute them to produce canned fish, Minister Ramesh Pathirana said. He said that the Fisheries Corporation is purchasing the fish stocks that have been accumulated due to the shutdown of most fishery harbours to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the country. Minister expressed his gratitude to the Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda more..