Aug 21 (Island) Sprinter Medhani Jayamanne improved her personal best twice in the 200 metres but her best effort was not enough to take her beyond the semi-final stage on day three of the World Junior Athletics Championship in Nairobi on Friday. Jayamanne first clocked 24.01 seconds in the heats to advance to the semi final of the women�s 200 metres. The Lumbini College athlete�s 24.01 seconds effort secured her the fourth place in the second heat where more..

Aug 21 (FT) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga has suggested to Prez Rajapaksa in writing to slash salaries in order to support those who rely on daily wages. �It is easy for every one of us to propose a lockdown, as they all get a fixed salary at the end of each month despite any lockdown. But it is not the case for the majority of people when the country is locked up, families who do not receive a monthly salary face severe hardships,� more..

Aug 21 (CT) Nisal Thilakarathne of St. Thomas College, Bandarawela and Sandali Somarathne of Royal International School, Kurunegala, won the SL National Online (Novices Division) Chess Championship of the Sabaragamuwa Province (Open) and North Western Province (Women) convincingly. Nisal was unbeaten throughout the entire tournament with an impressive score of 7 out of 7 games. Meanwhile, Sandali grabbed the North Western Province (Novices Division) more..

Aug 21 (ST) BPPL Holdings PLC, makers of sanitary and janitorial products, having completed its second phase of expansion is gearing for the next phase to set up a factory within the next 18 months. �We want to set up a factory for yarn and brush manufacturing in one of the industrial zones,� BPPL Managing Director Dr. Anush Amarasinghe said. Factory which was set up in the second phase of the company�s expansion saw a 120% increase in capacity to 1,440 tonnes per annum from 660 tonnes annum. more..

Aug 21 (Island) The JVP claimed that the Health Ministry hierarchy- Secretary, Director General of Health Services, and Chief Epidemiologist had become a cat�s paw of the govt to manipulate statistics pertaining to the Covid mortality and positive cases. JVP politburo member Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said that the three officials as the heads of the Health Ministry had a responsibility to reveal true statistics pertaining to the pandemic, more..

Aug 21 (DM) Norwegian Ambassador Trine J�ranli Eskedal called on Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa yesterday. The discussion focused on the ways to increase Norwegian investments in SL, economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as pathways for economic recovery in the coming years. The ambassador congratulated the minister on SL�s successful vaccination drive and expressed hope that tourism could resume as soon as the COVID situation permits. more..

Aug 21 (DM) State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal said those who pressurise the govt into imposing an island wide lockdown pay no attention to the plight of 4.2 million Sri Lankans who live on daily wages, self-employment and to casual workers in the state and private sector. Govt is not in a position to continuously pay Rs. 5,000 a month or distribute food parcels worth Rs.10,000 either to over 4 million families who will end up cent less and destitute if the govt goes for a countrywide lockdown, more..

Aug 21 (FT) SL�s COVID-19 detections rose to 381,812 with 3,839 persons testing positive for the virus yesterday and over 4,000 delayed cases being added to the total. 4,808 cases reported in the last four days were added to the total detections after verification. The COVID-19 patients detected yesterday include 3,835 persons from the New Year cluster and four overseas arrivals. This is the highest number of COVID-19 patients more..

Aug 21 (CT) Govt of SL�s face value money printing (FVMP) debt increased by Rs 27,673 mil (2.15%) to a record Rs 1.31 trillion on Friday (20) due to a lack of revenue to meet the Govt�s monetary commitments. Govt�s previous highest FVMP debt was Rs 1.29 trillion which took place on 3 August. The FVMP debt has been over Rs one trillion for a record 22 consecutive market days to Friday. Further, Friday�s FVMP debt increase of Rs 27,673 mil was wholly demand-pull inflationary. more..

Aug 21 (FT) Health officials on Thursday confirmed 195 COVID-19 fatalities, raising the country�s COVID-19 death toll to 6,985. 151 persons over the age of 60, 43 persons between ages 30 and 59, and one person below the age of 30 were among the fatalities confirmed on Thursday. 75.67% of the total fatalities are over the age of 60, while 23.24% are between ages 30 and 59, and 1.09% are below the age of 30. Ninety-eight deaths confirmed on Thursday were male and 97 were female. more..

Aug 21 (DM) Army Commander General Shavendra Silva warned people not to misuse the 10-day quarantine curfew which came into effect from 10 pm last night and to remain at home as health workers and authorities rushed against time to stop a further spread of the contagious Delta variant. Silva said that only essential services, apparel, construction workers, agriculture, health workers, pharmaceuticals and media more..

Aug 21 (FT) COVID-19 vaccine was administered to 213,737 persons on Thursday and the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to over 12 million persons in the country, with 5.3 million persons having received the second dose as well. 12,053,137 persons have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 5,311,784 persons have received both doses. Second dose coverage in the country has risen to 46.2%, with over 70% second dose coverage achieved in Colombo, more..

Aug 21 (AD) Gene sequencing tests have identified three new mutations occurring within the Delta variant in Sri Lanka making it the first time a situation as such was reported across the world, says Dr. Chandima Jeewandara, the Director of the Dept of Immunology & Molecular Medicine at Sri J'pura. He said the mutations were detected after analysing the Delta variant samples obtained from Colombo which indicate that the virus strain present in the district belongs to a dominant lineage. more..

Aug 21 (FT) President Rajapaksa last night warned people to be prepared to make sacrifices if the COVID pandemic was to be further prolonged, despite an all-out effort by the Govt so far to successfully control it. �I request everyone in the country to be prepared to make more sacrifices if the country is to be placed under a lockdown for a longer period of time in the future,� the Prez said in a televised address to the nation. more..

Aug 21 (EN) China�s transition to a market economy was not the result of a one blue print but a series of tiny changes the allowed individuals at grass roots levels to make their decisions, an author and an expert who had studied the People�s Republic closely said. �China�s transition from socialistic economy to a market economy is not a designed outcome of any govt-led reform,� Nang Wang, who co-authored the book How China Became Capitalist with Nobel prize winner Ronald Coase more..

Aug 21 (SLN) A special operation conducted by the Navy in seas off Thondamanaru in the dark hours on 19th August 2021 led to the seizure of about 168kg and 750g of Kerala cannabis and apprehension of 03 suspects with a dinghy used for the smuggling purpose. Accordingly, the Fast Attack Craft P 432 and P 484 of the 04th Fast Attack Craft Flotilla (4 FAF) attached to the Northern Naval Command with Inshore Patrol Craft P 177, Z 196, P 015, P 112, and Z 183, engaged in this special operation, more..

Aug 21 (FT) Public discourse everywhere confirms that Sri Lanka is in a parlous situation on several fronts. This paper appraises our current situation against a proposed national development framework. SL�s two key resources are its people and environment. People have had access to traditional, healthy nutrition and free preventive and curative health services, as well as two ancient languages (Sinhala, Tamil), a global language (English) & free education up to tertiary level. more..

Aug 21 (FT) The skyrocketing Lanka cases have led to the usual chorus to reflexively urge lockdown. However, based on very evident data, certain professionals disagree that it would aid the current situation in any way. They wonder how bringing economic activities to a jolting halt would, this time, help curb the rapid spread of the virus. Senior Professor Sudantha Liyanage makes this case. He is the Vice Chancellor of the Uni of Sri J'pura which has been at the forefront of vital research and more..

Aug 21 (AD) Director-General of Health Services has issued a general guide for health, local security and local administrative bodies, explaining a list of services should operate during the quarantine curfew period. The permitted functions must be carried out with strict adherence to the health guidelines that are already in place. The health sector including ambulance, laboratory and diagnostic services, pharmacies, more..

Aug 21 (MFA) Given the nationwide lockdown in effect from 10 p.m. today (20) until 4 a.m. on 30 Aug, the Consular Affairs Division of the Foreign Ministry limits its services to those in urgent/genuine need during this period. Accordingly, the Consular Affairs Division situated at the Ceylinco Building in Colombo will remain closed for visitors during the lockdown period, and will only provide consular services, relating to cases of deaths of Sri Lankans overseas and attestation of export documents more..

Aug 21 (AD) World Health Organization has reaffirmed its support to SL in the procurement of COVID vaccines, medical equipment and supplemental oxygen, says Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella. In a tweet, health minister stated that he met with Dr Alaka Singh, WHO Representative to SL on Friday (20). On behalf of the WHO, she has commended the Sri Lankan govt for its efforts to ramp up the national inoculation drive. Further, Dr. Singh has offered to facilitate procurement of more..

Aug 21 (EN) Facing threats of losing a trade concession that has kept SL key export sectors alive and possible targeted sanctions, the country is moving forward with some steps to address some concerns over rights abuses and undermining of rule of law. Prez Rajapaksa administration had vowed not to give into the demands of Western nations, EU, and UN to address alleged human rights violations more..

Aug 21 (CI) SL pair of Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera, as well as Australia's Singapore-born Tim David, have joined Royal Challengers Bangalore for the second part of IPL 2021. While those are the additions, some players will be missed too: New Zealanders Finn Allen and Scott Kuggeleijn, and the Australians Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams and Adam Zampa. That aside, there's been a change at the top among the coaching staff, with Simon Katich stepping more..

Aug 21 (Island) COVID-19 deaths would increase in the coming two to three weeks, Deputy Director General of Health Services, Dr. Hemantha Herath, said yesterday. Dr. Herath said that those who were dying now were those hospitalised about two to three weeks back. �Since then the number of cases has increased and a significant number of them were those who showed severe symptoms and needed oxygen support. So, although the country has gone for a lockdown, deaths will increase more..

Aug 21 (EN) National Medical Regulatory Authority has hiked controlled drug prices about 9% as the rupee collapsed to historic lows with the central bank printing money to control interest rates and finance the budget deficit. Prices of 60 widely used drugs and some other medical items were fixed in 2019. Newly appointed Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said that the prices were last raised when the rupee was at 176 more..

Aug 21 (AD) The govt has decided to provide an allowance of Rs. 2,000 for people whose livelihoods are affected by the ten-day quarantine curfew. Accordingly, Ministry of Finance has directed the District Secretaries to prepare a list of names of the beneficiaries. The allowance is expected to be disbursed to the beneficiaries starting from next week. An island-wide quarantine curfew was imposed from 10 pm yesterday (20) until Aug 30 (Monday) in a bid to curb the spread more..

Aug 21 (AD) The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) has issued guidelines to all police officers, explaining how their duties should be performed during the quarantine curfew-imposed period. Sri Lanka was placed under a ten-day from 10.00 pm yesterday (20) until 4.00 am on August 30. Accordingly, the police officers have been instructed to allow members of public visit their respective COVID vaccination centre as the national inoculation drive is moving forward without interruption. more..

Aug 21 (EN) Credit cards can be used for cross border personal purchases but not commercial activities, CB officials said, responding to complaints that some credit card transactions are not being processed by banks. �For example if somebody want get a laptop for personal use they can,� CB Governor W D Lakshman said. �But if someone buys 10-15 laptops for commercial purposes that maybe questionable. more..

Aug 21 (DM) No public transport will be available during the nationwide lockdown period until Aug 30, Transport State Minister Dilum Amunugama said. He said permission would be granted if buses are requested institutionally to transport employees only on essential services. He said only the employees of that particular institution that has made the request could travel in those buses. "The govt and the private institutional department heads should keep in mind to summon employees who more..

Aug 21 (AD) High Commissioner of Pakistan to SL, Major General (R) Muhammad Saad Khattak called on PM Mahinda Rajapaksa this morning (21) at the Temple Trees. He has handed over lifesaving COVID-19 medical equipment provided by the Got of Pakistan, the PM�s Office said in a press release. The donation included 75 ventilators and 150 C-PAP breathing aid machines, manufactured in Pakistan. The assistance of medical equipment is part of Pakistan�s SAARC COVID-19 emergency more..

Aug 21 (DN) A research done by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN revealed that SL generates 7,000 tonnes of solid waste per day, out of which 65�66% (by weight) consists of perishable organic material. Accordingly, the average value of total food waste generated per day in the country is approximately 3,963 tonnes. The FAO and IWMI have analyzed data gathered from three major waste disposal centres more..

Aug 21 (Island) A large number of letters and parcels have piled up at the Vavuniya Central Post Office due to the pandemic. Postal officers said that they were finding it impossible to deliver letters due to the pandemic fears. Some staff members of the post office too have contracted the virus. �We also can�t send some letters to other parts of the country because there are no night mail trains. We also have a serious shortage of vehicles that handicaps distribution of parcels in Vavuniya,� more..

Aug 21 (FT) In May this year the enactment of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC) Bill provoked severe public backlash against China�s potential influence in SL. More recently, China�s influence over Sri Lanka through vaccine diplomacy has also attracted concerns. Such concerns with respect to China�s growing influence may draw from latent Sinophobia within segments of Sri Lankan society. However, should all negative sentiment on China be characterised as Sinophobia? more..

Aug 21 (AFP) Sri Lanka will issue captive elephants with their own biometric identity cards and ban their riders from drinking on the job under a wide-ranging new animal protection law. Many rich Sri Lankans -- including Buddhist monks -- keep elephants as pets to show off their wealth, but complaints of ill treatment and cruelty are widespread. The new measures are aimed at protecting the animals' welfare and more..

Aug 21 (ST) Ministry of Trade last week announced that only small and medium mill owners registered with the Consumer Affairs Authority will be allowed to buy paddy this Yala season. It said that the registrations had stalled this year because of many false registrations attempted by unscrupulous operators planning to enter the market. Only 161 registered owners will be allowed to buy paddy. There has been an increase in the number of small scale rice mill owners seeking registration more..

Aug 21 (DM) Health Ministry has announced that all essential services such as health services and utility services should operate during the quarantine curfew period adhering to health guidelines. Director General of Health Services said that persons engaged in permitted functions should be permitted to cross the boundaries. He said religious gatherings, social gatherings, restaurant, hotels, guest houses, village fairs, tuition classes, sports festivals, cinemas, spas will not be permitted. more..

Aug 21 (TM) Minister Namal Rajapaksa today dismissed rumours which suggest that the Govt has increased taxes for e-commerce platforms by taxing online transactions. �This is false. In fact, the govt is reiterating its position that it will make way for e-commerce platforms and digitalization to make their mark in Sri Lanka and will offer all assistance and facilities possible,� he stated. In response to a move made by several more..

Aug 21 (CT) The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) hailed the Afghan Taliban, coming down from the mountains, to be moderate politicians, as a welcome sign. TNA MP S. Sritharan said that although he would not welcome the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan, it is vividly seen that they are giving fresh hope to the people of Afghanistan. �For the last 20 years, they were ousted and they had their tests and trials. Now they want a different image of them and are working towards it. more..

Aug 21 (ST) SL migrant workers who lost goods that were being shipped to SL aboard the ill-fated X-Press Pearl are appealing to the Govt to provide compensation for the losses sustained. The workers had bought valuable household items such as furniture, electronics, refrigerators and clothes. The goods had been shipped to Sri Lanka aboard the X-Press Pearl through a cargo company in Dubai, said Rizwan Nuhumas, president of the ad hoc group formed by those who have lost their goods. more..