Feb 14 (ST) No decision has been taken on an island-wide lockdown amidst a rising number of COVID-19 cases due to the new variant but the issue will be discussed tomorrow when the National Operations Centre meets, according to officials. �No decision on a lockdown has been taken so far. The matter is due to be taken up tomorrow for discussion by the National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak,� said Police Spokesman and Deputy Inspector General Ajith Rohana. more..

Feb 14 (Island) The alarming spike in Covid-19 positive cases in Sri Lanka over the past few days could be associated with the widespread transmissibility of the highly contagious, mutant viral strain first identified in the UK, a senior medical official said. There is every possibility that the virulent variant of the contagion may have sneaked into Sri Lanka before flights from Britain were suspended on Dec 23, 2020, says Prof. Neelika Malavige of the Department of Microbiology, more..

Feb 14 (ST) Battle lines are drawn at the UNHRC. Human Rights High Commissioner Michele Bachelet�s damning report, on the one hand, and a resolution possibly reflecting the hallmarks, on the other, are heaping international conjecture and action on SL. This grim reality emerged in Colombo this week. Colombo-based envoys of countries that are members of the core group met Minister Dinesh Gunawardena last Monday. more..

Feb 15 (DM) Diplomacy is the art or skill of managing international relations -typically the art of dealing with foreign govts in a sensitive and tactful way. It is the established method of influencing the decisions and behaviour of foreign govts and peoples through dialogue, negotiation, and other measures without recourse to violence. Historically, diplomacy means the conduct of official relations between sovereign states. Since independence SL has evolved its own style of diplomacy. more..

Feb 15 (DM) Three times PM U Nu�s democratic Union Parliament was overthrown by General Ne Win on March 2, 1962. [32 days after Ceylon�s failed coup d��tat]. Former military commander became its military dictator. Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) founded by him ruled marking the end of democratic governance and the beginning of military rule which lasted till 2011 and resumed in 2021. In 2011, the military junta was dissolved, following a general election in 2010, more..

Feb 15 (DM) For Nalin Hapuhinna, slithery friends were part of his everyday life. Having had a fascination towards snakes from a young age, Hapuhinna was infamously known as Nai Nalin back when he was a student at Trinity College, Kandy. Having studied herpetology under the aegis of world-renowned herpetologist Prof. Anslem De Silva at Uni of Peradeniya, Hapuhinna has closely studied wild animal research in Australia more..

Feb 15 (ST) Lankan Muslims were over the moon on Wednesday when PM Mahinda Rajapaksa rose in Parliament and, in a brief reply to a question raised whether the Muslims will be allowed to bury their COVID dead, assured the House that thenceforth We will allow the bodies to be buried. The news of the Prime Minister�s statement to finally end the Muslim nightmare of cremation for their COVID dead spread far and wide and was ecstatically greeted. Two thousand miles away in Islamabad, more..

Feb 15 (CT) Sri Lanka gained recognition about its strategic importance as a maritime hub in the Indian Ocean Region after development of its ports. The original water basin of the Colombo Port was built during British rule a century and a half ago and its size and depth was insufficient to cater to modern day traffic. In 1995 initial steps were undertaken and the South Harbour and South Asia Gateway Terminal were constructed. A feasibility study conducted by the ADB sometime in 2001 more..

Feb 15 (TM) With the 46th Session of the UNHRC fast approaching, the Govt of SL has been pushed to take crucial decisions on how it plans to address the human rights violation allegations that it failed to investigate and present findings on under the HR Resolution 30/1, which it withdrew from co-sponsoring last year. It is not only the matters of the UNHRC that the country has to deal with � its foreign policy is being challenged due to more..

Feb 15 (ST) Not often does a Govt make a complete fool of its own leaders but the ruling SLPP did that in spectacularly farcical fashion this week by embarrassing PM Mahinda Rajapaksa over the controversial cremation only policy for COVID-19 dead. The bizarre saga unfolded in Parliament after SJB MP S.M. Marikkar raised a point of order on Wednesday to draw the House�s attention to an answer given by COVID Control State Minister Sudarshini Fernandopulle the day before. more..

Feb 15 (ST) A chest thumping Minister of Public Security has warned Sri Lanka�s Tamils and Muslims that if they go on protest marches despite court orders banning the protests, they will be put in prison and their vehicles seized. Despite how well all this untoward roaring for punitive action sounds on television, he must advise himself to look at the unfolding situation in Myanmar where the citizenry has taken to the streets irrespective of military or court orders banning protests. more..

Feb 15 (Island) �I often talk about leprosy in terms of a motorcycle. The front wheel represents curing the disease and the rear wheel symbolizes ending discrimination. Only when both wheels are turning at the same time will we make progress toward our destination of a leprosy-free world,� remarked Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination marking this year�s World Leprosy Day on Jan 31. Sasakawa further noted that, �persons affected by leprosy continue to face more..

Feb 15 (Island) The PHU reportedly seeks to have the official name of the state of SL stripped of the adjectives, democratic and socialist; it also wants the new Constitution being drafted to call the country the Republic of SL. Whether a country is democratic or socialist should be judged by the way it is governed, the PHU has argued. This argument sounds tenable. Moreover, one may say the lumping together of the aforesaid modifiers is queer in that the country is certainly not socialist, more..

Feb 15 (FT) SL Export Development Board (EDB) is forecasting a performance of $ 15.68 billion in merchandise and service shipments in 2021. EDB in 2021 expects $ 12 billion from merchandise exports and $ 3.58 billion from services exports. Chairman Suresh de Mel said that of the exports forecast, EDB expects $ 5.4 billion come from apparel, $ 1.47 billion from tea, $ 998 million from rubber and $ 809 million from coconut. more..

Feb 15 (ST) SL basketball team got a boost ahead of their FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers with a multinational company based in Singapore and Malaysia Gaja Holding coming in as long-term partners of SL Basketball Federation (SLBF). �As a former SL player and president of the Masters Basketball Association of SL, we do lot of sports activities and conduct many tournaments. We are planning to build an indoor sports stadium in Colpety mainly for basketball, netball and 3 more more..

Feb 15 (SO) The failure of a political project in this country can be predicted with certainty by the number of persons who have martyred themselves successfully for the political party that began that project. J.R. Jayewardene the old fox, had for too long endured the dominance of the Senanayake clan when after the abject defeat of 1970, he finally assumed leadership of the party. Shortly afterward, Dudley Senanayake passed away unexpectedly and after JRJ had said Good night sweet prince at more..

Feb 15 (FT) The newly revamped Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) has approved the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) of the 300MW LNG plant, paving the way for construction of SL�s first major power plant in a decade. PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said the newly appointed commissioners of the PUCSL had approved the PPA between CEB & Lakdhanavi to build 300 MW Kerawalapitiya LNG plant more..

Feb 15 (TM) Amid speculation that the scheduled West Indies cricket tour would be either postponed entirely or played in only the short formats, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said on Friday (12) that now the two boards are trying to have the full tour. �Yes. We are planning to have a full tour. But we have not finalised on the dates we are supposed to go. We are still having discussions with them (West Indies Cricket � WIC),� Ashley de Silva, CEO, SLC, told The Sunday Morning Sports on Friday. more..

Feb 15 (CT) Ministry of Education has turned down the request made by SL Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) to permit the Junior National Rugby Pool to train ahead of the Asian Junior Rugby Championship scheduled to be worked out from 31 Mar to 6 Apr in Chinese Taipei. Last week the newly appointed rugby National Selection committee short listed a 60-member under-19 rugby pool and sought approval from the Education Ministry to commence training from this week under bubble system. more..

Feb 15 (CT) Top seed Luka Knese claimed the men�s singles title (6/3, 2/6) after in-form Vibuda Wijebandara had to unfortunately retire hurt after winning the second set at the 105th Colombo Tennis Championship worked off at STLA clay courts yesterday. The first set was a jaw dropping master class by Luka, who came out incredibly crisply and cleanly, steering his high-rpm forehands precisely where he wanted them and using his defence-to-offence abilities to slide and stretch and more..

Feb 15 (DN) SL Para Athletes Amara Indumathi and Saman Maduranga Subasinghe won a silver medal each on the final day of the World Para Athletics Grand Prix Meet, which concluded in Dubai, UAE on Saturday. Indumathi finished second in the Women�s 400m T46/47 event with a time of one minute 05.63s to take the silver, while Subasinghe was also placed second in the Men's 400m T/47 event with a time of 50.54s. However, both Indumathi's & Subasinghe�s achievements were not good enough more..

Feb 15 (Island) SLC will be requesting the national team management and the selection panel to strictly implement fitness guidelines for contracted players, a board official said. Accordingly, the four prominent players who failed the fitness test will be axed for the tour of West Indies that will take place later this month. Of the 32 players who were tested on Friday, four failed the two kilometer run that they had to finish in 8min 35sec. more..

Feb 15 (Island) Access to and use of Commercial Bank of Ceylon�s multiple mobile banking apps has become even easier with the launch by the Bank of an Aggregator App that bundles them together as a single download. The Aggregator can be found by iOS as well as Android users in the App Store and Google Play respectively by simply searching for Commercial Bank, Bank said. Aggregator app eliminates the requirement of operating through separate downloads of different apps more..

Feb 15 (FT) SJB expressed concerns about the Govt�s attempts to amend the Press Council Law Act of 1973, calling the move a prelude to media suppression. SJB will oppose the Govt on amending the current laws that regulate the print media, MP and former Minister of Media Gayantha Karunatilleka said at a press conference. He was joined at the press conference by SJB member Priyantha Pathberyia. Karunatilleka argued that what was needed was better self-regulation more..

Feb 15 (FT) India�s PM Narendra Modi on Sunday said his Govt has always taken care of the welfare and aspirations of SL Tamils and the issue of Tamil rights has consistently been taken up with SL leaders. Addressing an event after inaugurating several projects in Chennai, PM Modi said India is ensuring welfare of SL�s Tamil community through development works. Highlighting various development projects supported by more..

Feb 15 (NIA) We wish to inform that an Indian Secretarial staff working at the High Commission of India, Colombo was tested positive for COVID-19 on 13 Feb 2021. Keeping in line with COVID-19 guidelines prescribed by Govt of SL, the official is currently placed at a designated SL Govt medical facility. Family members of the official are also being governed strictly in accordance with these guidelines ,the mission said in a press release on Sunday. Given the nature of the duties of more..

Feb 15 (FT) Sentiment surrounding the economy improved in January with 43% respondents to the latest LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey saying conditions will improve in the next 12 months � a marked increase from the mere 19% who expressed optimism in December. Meanwhile, slightly more than one in five (versus 37% in the preceding month) of those consulted by Nielsen believe the economy will deteriorate during this period while the remainder expect more..

Feb 15 (PMD) Prez Rajapaksa has emphasized that �the life in the village, like the village itself, should be beautiful�. He further said that the people living in these villages never destroy the rural environment and that it is the villager who has protected the environment so far. Prez also said that he does not see the cultivation activities that have been carried out for generations since the time of our ancestors as harming the environment. more..

Feb 15 (EN) SL is in talks for up to 5 billion US dollars of funding through swaps and loans outside of a program with the IMF, and all debt falling due will be met, CB Governor W D Lakshman said. He said required foreign exchange would be sourced from the market and gaps would be filled with swaps and loans. �There are a number of negotiations going on, the details of which I am not going to come out, with overseas agencies to raise some of the required to raise foreign exchange inflows, more..

Feb 15 (Island) While environmentalists have warned of legal action if a rare Sri Lankan Legume tree is felled, Wildlife & Forest Conservation Ministry Secretary Bandula Harischandra, says a decision is still pending on the matter. �A report is expected to be submitted in this regard�, he said, referring to the Legume (Crudia Zeylanica) tree, belonging to the critically endangered plant species, standing at the site of the proposed Central Expressway at Daraluwa. more..

Feb 15 (AD) Former Speaker of Parliament W.J.M. Lokubandara has passed away today (14) at the age of 81. He was under medical care for Covid-19 at the IDH at the time of his passing. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the former speaker had tested positive for novel coronavirus. A lawyer by profession, Lokubandara embarked on his political career in 1977 after being elected as a MP representing the UNP. more..

Feb 15 (FT) Army Commander and National Operation Center for the prevention of the Spread of COVID-19 (NOCPCO) Head General Shavendra Silva, yesterday announced that no decision has been taken to lock down the entire country. Issuing a statement, General Silva said despite the rumors circulating on social media and other media, the Govt has not taken any decision to lock down the country completely due to the new variety of the COVID-19 virus reported in the country. more..

Feb 15 (DM) A team of senior police officers have moved the Supreme Court against the appointment of Bimsani Jasingharachchi as the DIG in charge of welfare, the first woman to hold such a high post in the police service, Daily Mirror learns. Jasingharachchi was appointed to the post by the National Police Commission earlier. However, a team of senior police officers aggrieved by this appointment had petitioned the Supreme Court against it. The case will be heard tomorrow. more..

Feb 15 (TM) Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) are complaining that the number of Covid-19 cases seen in the field are higher than the officially reported numbers, and that this could lead to the general public not grasping the extent of the spread of the virus. �There are discrepancies between the numbers officially reported and the numbers we find in the field,� Public Health Inspectors� Union Prez Upul Rohana said. more..

Feb 15 (AD) Total COVID-19 deaths reported in SL climbed to 397 on Sunday as seven more persons were confirmed to have fallen victim to the virus. One of the deceased is an 85-year-old man from Gothatuwa area. He was transferred from a private hospital in Colombo to National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) where he passed away today. The cause of death was cited as COVID-19 pneumonia, blood poisoning and kidney disease. A 72-year-old female from Angoda area also died more..

Feb 15 (NR) The number of COVID-19 cases confirmed in the country has risen to 75,654 following the detection of 802 patients yesterday. Among yesterday�s cases 801 were identified as contacts of the Minuwangoda-Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster. Accordingly, the Minuwangoda-Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster has increased to 71,627. A recent foreign arrival also tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. 6,561 persons are currently receiving treatment for coronavirus at 66 facilities more..

Feb 15 (CT) Although no arrangements will be made to lock down the country due to the rapidly spreading new strain of COVID-19, certain travel restrictions will have to be put in place soon and a special discussion will be held about it today with heads of health sectors, State Minister Dr. Sudarshani Fernandopulle said. She said a lengthy discussion is due to be held today, based on persons who have been infected with the new more..

Feb 15 (FT) Central Bank Governor Deshamanya Professor W.D. Lakshman, in a press conference last week, is reported to have blamed the critics for failing to understand the economic policy measures being pursued by the Govt. He has branded the critics as 'purveyors of doom and gloom' and added that they have not understood the alternative economic strategy being pursued by the Govt. According to him, �The Govt has the economy well in hand and will ensure all debt repayments.� more..