Aug 30 (FT) Health officials stated that 4,612 persons tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, raising the weekend detections to 9,208. The patients detected yesterday are from the New Year cluster. 13,446 PCR tests were carried out yesterday. On Saturday, 16,073 PCR tests and 4,621 rapid antigen tests were carried out. The patients detected on Saturday include 4,576 persons from New Year cluster, 14 overseas returnees more..

Aug 30 (AD) Three more warehouses that had been stashing away 655 tons of sugar were uncovered today (29) following Ada Derana Ukussa revelation on the truth behind the artificial market shortage of sugar. Thereby, the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) took measures to seal off the relevant warehouses. On Saturday (28), Ukussa programme shed light on a certain businessman who had created an artificial shortage of sugar in the market by holding large volumes of the product. more..

Aug 30 (ST) Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) representatives have been shown a video recording of the controversial recent webinar held for judicial officers under the title Matters relating to judicial proceedings in the context of the Covid-19 Pandemic. The recording had been shown to BASL representatives on the instructions of Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Chairman and Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya. BASL representatives who viewed the recording this week more..

Aug 30 (Island) State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanne said that 5,400 metric tons of sugar imported at 25 cents duty a kilo had been detected in three separate warehouses. The detections were made amidst a shortage of sugar in the market with the price of a kilo of sugar rising above Rs 200. Finance Ministry reduced the duty on a kilo of sugar from Rs 50 to 25 cents by issuing a gazette bearing 2197/12 on Oct 13, 2020. more..

Aug 30 (EN) Sri Lanka has failed to sell 92% of a 50 billion rupee bond auction, with slightly more bonds being sold at in 2025 bonds, than 2023 bonds. 800 million rupees of 1 Sept 2023 bonds were sold at 6.75%, after offering 30 billion rupees. 3.2 billion rupees of 15 Oct 2025 bonds were sold at 8.55% after offering 20 billion rupees. Ahead of the bond auction ceiling rates were raised. Two weeks ago policy rates were also raised, with bond auctions already falling and this week a statutory more..

Aug 30 (FT) So, we�re at the cusp of incoherence now, and we must look at this with wits that are acute, not addled. We have moved from 3 weeks to flatten the curve (the aim being ostensibly to allow healthcare systems to be able to manage surges) to 12 months to a vaccine that would resolve it all, to 15 million jabs until freedom (in numerous jurisdictions) � to no vaccine passports will suffice but we should keep having booster shots though they don�t stave off reinfection or death. more..

Aug 30 (DM) The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary, Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera donated over Rs.7 million to purchase a COVID-19 virus detection unit which will facilitate sequencing purposes at the Dept of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine. The Dean of the Medicine Faculty of Peradeniya Uni, Prof. Asiri Abeyagunawardena, thanked the BBS General Secretary for finding a donor to get this equipment worth over Rs.7 million. He said the prelate's support will result in more..

Aug 30 (FT) It is with deep sadness that I learned of the passing away of the liberal politician and former Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera. He made a heroic battle against COVID-19 that had infected him earlier. Despite the sad news circulating in the social media for some time, we still had the hope that he will eventually defeat his enemy. But like any other mortal human being, finally he had to give up and succumb to the deadly virus. He is not just one among many thousands of fellow Sri Lankans more..

Aug 30 (TM) FUTA yesterday raised concerns about three arrested student activists contracting Covid-19 while in remand custody, while the FSP stated that they would raise these concerns with the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and local and international human rights organisations. �Three of the activists who were arrested during the first week of August have tested positive for Covid-19. Since the PCR tests conducted more..

Aug 30 (AD) Sri Lanka�s Samitha Kodithuwakku has won the Bronze medal in the Men�s Javelin Throw - F46 � event at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Kodithuwakku took third place with a personal best of 65.61 meters while India�s Sumit Antil secured the gold medal with a World Record throw of 68.55m. Australian Michal Burian picked up silver in the Men�s Javelin Throw (Sport Class F64) with a throw of 66.29m. This is Sri Lanka's second medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. more..

Aug 30 (DM) Public Health Inspectors' Union (PHIU) urged the authorities to initiate a mechanism at main Hospitals to provide Covid-19 vaccine to people who have allergic reactions. PHIU Head Upul Rohana said people with serious allergies were referred to the nearest main Hospital to obtain the Covid vaccine and said that these allergy-prone people are finding it difficult as most of the main Hospital do not have a mechanism to do so. "We do not vaccinate people with serious allergies. more..

Aug 30 (EN) Investigations are under way to determine the cause of an apparent increase in tremors reported in parts of Sri Lanka over the past few years, a geologist said. On August 24, media reported a minor tremor in the Hambantota district of southern SL that measured 2.5 units on the Richter scale. W I S Fernando, acting Senior Director (Geology) of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau said that the tremor was felt more..

Aug 30 (Island) US Congresswoman Dina Titus, also a member of America�s vital House Foreign Affairs Committee, advocates strong bonds between the U.S. and Sri Lanka through a vigorous democratic process. An active member of the U.S. House of Representatives� Sub-Committee on Asia-Pacific � under whose purview Sri Lanka falls � encourages critical reforms to rule of law and democracy in this South Asian nation. Reminding the Biden administration�s broader foreign policy goal more..

Aug 30 (AD) A total of 66 Sri Lankans have been evacuated from Afghanistan as of today and 07 more remain to be evacuated, Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed. However, 21 Sri Lankans have reportedly opted to remain in Afghanistan for the time being. Sri Lanka continues to monitor the developments in Afghanistan and remains concerned about the situation, including its humanitarian aspect. Sri Lanka has been facilitating, with the assistance of its int'l partners, more..

Aug 30 (FT) A special permit procedure will be introduced to import sugar required for the production of bakery and confectionery products, top Minister confirmed. �Following discussions and requests made by the confectionery and bakery stakeholders, as well as the current shortage of sugar in the market, approval was given to allow sugar imports required for the two sectors,� Minister Bandula Gunawardena said. more..

Aug 30 (AD) Colombo Magistrate�s Court has rejected the bail applications of the wife and father-in-law of MP Rishad Bathiudeen. The bail applications of Bathiudeen�s wife Ayesha Shiabdeen and her father Mohamed Shiabdeen submitted as a motion were taken up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya today. The defense counsel informed the court that the two children of the female suspect is under the custody of her mother, who is currently ailing with Covid-19. more..

Aug 30 (Island) JVP yesterday asked the govt to reveal the names of the four officials who had been in-charge of data erased from the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) database, recently. �We have serious doubts whether this loss of data had been caused by an invisible hand of the pharmaceutical mafia. This is a serious security issue. It is mysterious how an estimated two terabytes�or 2,000 gigabytes�of classified information just disappeared from LGC. more..

Aug 30 (TM) United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in SL Hanaa Singer-Hamdy has said that the establishment of the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) in 2016 was an important step by the Govt of SL, and building and maintaining the trust of victims and their relatives is essential for its success, �A fully independent and effective institution, with the resources, skills and political support needed for its crucial work can help more..

Aug 30 (FT) SL Association for Software Services Companies (SLASSCOM) driven by its vision of generating $ 5 billion in exports, creating 200,000 employment opportunities and 1,000 start-ups by the year 2025, recently launched the web portal www.startupsrilanka.lk. for its initiative Startup Sri Lanka. Spearheaded by SLASSCOM�s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum, Start up Sri Lanka is focused on four key strategies, namely, fostering and nurturing startups more..

Aug 30 (CT) A grave mistake in controlling and preventing the current COVID-19 disease trend is the stepmotherly treatment that is being given to disease surveillance by the Government and the Health Ministry, President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science SL (CMLSSL) Ravi Kumudesh said. Kumudesh, when contacted, alleged that this was due to a fear psychosis which had been created by certain officials in the Health Ministry and the Epidemiology Unit in the President and more..

Aug 30 (AD) Sergeant Dinesh Priyantha Herath, who made history by winning Gold at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo has been promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer 1. He has been promoted to this rank by Commander of the Army, General Shavendra Silva with approval of Prez Rajapaksa and Secretary Ministry of Defence General Kamal Gunaratne (Retd). Sergeant Dinesh Herath made history by winning SL�s more..

Aug 30 (DM) Health Ministry said today that 85% of the 6,985 Covid-19 deaths that have been reported upto Aug 13, were among people who were suffering from chronic diseases and under medical treatment previously. Health Promotion Bureau (HPB) Director Dr. Ranjith Batuwanthudawa told a news conference that a total number of 2,261 (53%) of the deaths among people who had been suffering from diabetes, while 2,202 (52%) were under treatment for high blood pressure. more..

Aug 30 (Island) UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene said that the maximum use of the lockdown would not be achieved unless it becomes scientific. He said that the lockdown would have no use if the country was kept open for the public to roam free on streets as that was not the expectation of the health authorities and other experts who demanded a lockdown. Any decision on extending the lockdown, Wijewardene said should be taken on a scientific basis as it was aimed at saving more..

Aug 30 (EN) SL�s javelin thrower Dinesh Priyantha Herath has won the island�s first gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, setting a new world record, int'l reports said. This is SL�s first ever gold medal at a Paralympics event. Herath had previously won a bronze for the same event in 2016 at the Rio Paralympic Games. Monday�s throw of 67.79 metres has set a new record in men�s F46 javelin throw category. more..

Aug 30 (TM) All Ceylon Wildlife Officers� Association (ACWOA) has alleged that no action has been taken by Dept of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) so far to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic among the DWC employees, despite nearly 120 employees being infected with the virus. ACWOA President Shanuka Ranawakaarachchi said that there was a risk that the number of infections would continue to rise due to the lack of separate places for the associates of those who are infected more..

Aug 30 (Island) Minister Johnston Fernando instructed his officials to grow trees that could absorb particulate matter, black carbon and dust, while tolerating heat, along the new Kelani bridge and connecting roads including the Kelanitissa circular road and the road to the bridge from the Orugodawatte junction. Officials of the Department of National Botanical Gardens have recommended that trees that could work as lungs of an ecosystem because they absorb carbon dioxide and more..

Aug 30 (CI) Kusal Perera makes his return to the Sri Lanka limited-overs squad for South Africa's tour of the island, following a bout with Covid-19. According to medical staff, it seems unlikely that he will be available for the ODI leg of the tour, as he builds up his fitness after recovering from the disease. But as cardiac and pulmonary screenings have cleared him to play, it is hoped that he will be available for the T20I series. more..

Aug 30 (Island) Dr. Sudath Dharmaratne, Deputy DG, Laboratory Services, says contrary to accusations by various interested parties, PCR and Rapid Antigen testing were being carried out according to a plan in line with the country�s response to the Covid-19 challenge. Dr. Dharmaratne said so when The Island sought his response to allegations that the Health Ministry restricted PCR testing in a bid to artificially bring down the number of positive cases. more..

Aug 30 (DM) Some 4,200 pregnant mothers have been infected with Covid-19 so far in SL, while 900 of them were under medical treatment at present, Family Health Bureau Director Dr. Chithramali de Silva said. She told a news conference that 32 Covid infected pregnant mothers have lost their lives so far. 75% of the pregnant mothers have been given the Covid vaccine by now and urged all the pregnant mothers to receive their vaccines from the MOH Office or from the nearest Hospital. more..

Aug 30 (Island) Director General of Institute of National Security Studies SL (INSSSL) Prof. Rohan Gunaratne says hasty recognition of the illegitimate Taliban administration would be inimical to SL. Prof. Gunaratne asserts that consequences of such a move would be catastrophic and may result in domestic challenges to the govt. Prof. Gunaratne, author of Afghanistan After the Western Drawdown explained more..

Aug 30 (TM) Ceylon Teachers� Services Union (CTSU) has requested the Police to carry out an investigation into a statement made by the SL Podujana Education Services Union (SLPESU) President Wasantha Handapangoda to the effect that about 400 teachers who had taken part in recent protests demanding a solution to their issues � including the teacher-principal salary anomalies � had contracted Covid-19, and that a total of 25 of them had already died. more..

Aug 30 (SL) Former justice secretary Kenny MacAskill has called on Police Scotland to cease all involvement in training police in SL following concerns about human rights abuses. Mr MacAskill�s intervention comes after Human Rights Watch, Freedom from Torture, the SL Campaign for Peace and Justice and Pax Christi Scotland wrote to justice secretary Keith Brown earlier this month. The human rights groups called on Mr Brown to provide details of a review of Police Scotland training for more..

Aug 31 (Island) These troubled times are devoid of anything positive, but some good news came yesterday, from Tokyo, enlivening the depressed Sri Lankans, who are fighting the pandemic and battling lockdown blues. Dinesh Herath set a new Paralympic world record in the men�s F46 javelin throw, clearing a distance of 67.79 metres. He clinched SL�s maiden gold in Paralympics, and held the national flag, which, commentators say, he did not let go of even for a second, and more..

Aug 31 (DM) If not for the severity of the COVID 19 pandemic which has been threatening Sri Lankans as well as people in other countries with death, there could have sometimes been country wide demonstrations in Sri Lanka against the spiraling cost of living. The fear of pandemic related death which is being over and over again being reminded to the people every night by the electronic media with graphic details of ever surging number of people infected with the coronavirus and more..

Aug 31 (SLN) A special operation conducted by the Navy in the high seas in the afternoon of 30th Aug, led to the seizure of a multi-day fishing vessel carrying about 290kg and 200g stock of heroin, attempted to be smuggled into the island by sea. The operation also made way to the apprehension of 05 suspects in connection to this smuggling attempt. Meanwhile, the fishing vessel with heroin and the suspects were brought ashore this morning. Based on information received from more..

Aug 31 (DM) For the first time in the history of the country, twin baby elephants were born at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage today. A spokesman from the Pinnawala Orphanage said the female elephant Surangi had given birth to twin baby elephants. He said both baby elephants are male elephants and the first was born at 4a.m and the second was born at 12.00 p.m. Meanwhile, a senior official of the Wild life Department said this twin elephant birth was the first birth in SL history more..

Aug 31 (FT) A day of lockdown in SL causes a negative impact of Rs. 22.4 billion, or $ 112 million, according to the economic projection model developed by the Imperial College. It estimates the 10-day lockdown as of 30 Aug to have had an impact of $ 1.12 billion, or 1.3%, of GDP (Rs. 224 billion) whilst a four-week lockdown till 18 Sept would cost $ 1.67 billion, or 1.9% (Rs. 334 billion). A six-week lockdown ending 2 Oct followed by more..