Jun 2 (Island) Pushpakumari won the bronze by virtue of her presence in the semi-final. She was eliminated by two-time world champion Nazym Kyzaibay. Luck helped Nadeeka Pushpakumari bag a bronze medal at the Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championship held in Dubai as the draw secured her a bye in the quarter-final of the women�s fly weight (51kg) category. With only six participating in the fly weight (51kg) category the draw more..

Jun 2 (FT) The leading household company from the hill country � Sun Match has created history by being awarded the first SLS certification for the disinfectant category. The company known by every SL household with the brand Soorya, launched into the disinfectant category with two variants � Ice Pine Fresh and Lemon Fresh last year, with the aim of aligning with the company�s vision Healthy Life, Healthy Nation. The innovative brand offering effective germ protection, is made using more..

Jun 2 (Island) Microsoft will be the official technology partner for the upcoming SL Investment Forum 2021 and Microsoft Teams will become the platform of choice to host the country�s first-ever virtual investor forum. Microsoft Teams, the hub for team collaboration, will help bring in investment opportunities to the attention of potential investors across the globe. The first-of-its-kind virtual investment forum will be powered by Microsoft Teams and led by Board of Investment, more..

Jun 2 (Island) Retired infantry Maj. Gen. Chagie Gallage says the recent US declaration that some sections of traditional Tamil homeland remains so militarized 12 years after the war with up to one soldier for every two civilians in the most war affected regions, underscored Sri Lanka�s daunting challenge in countering the high profile propaganda. Gajaba veteran insists even during the height of the war there had never been more..

Jun 2 (Island) Kanaka Herath, State Minister of Plantation, Reza Latiff and Saman Ratnayake were elected respectively as the President, Secretary and Treasurer of the SL Table Tennis Association at the Annual General Meeting held on the 31st of May 2021. Due to the prevailing Covid 19 prevention measures which prevent public gatherings, the AGM was held virtually via a zoom session. Herath, is an alumni of Trinity College Kandy and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia more..

Jun 2 (Island) The results of the latest LMD-Nielsen IQ Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey � which was carried out in the first week of May � paints a gloomy picture for business with sentiment plummeting following the surge in COVID-19 cases since the end of April. THE INDEX The BCI plunged by 49 basis points to 89 in May from the previous month to register a five month low. This in effect reverses the moderate gains witnessed for most of the year to date. more..

Jun 2 (FT) SL�s total COVID-19 detections rose to 189,241 with the detection of 2,877 COVID-19 positive persons yesterday. The patients detected yesterday include 2,845 persons linked to the New Year cluster. Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda, Prisons and New Year clusters have thus risen to 182,616 patients. This includes 87,947 persons linked to the New Year cluster, 82,785 persons linked to the Peliyagoda cluster, more..

Jun 2 (NR) SL�s coronavirus death toll crossed 1,500 yesterday with the confirmation of 43 virus-related fatalities. Accordingly, virus related deaths rose to 1,527. 15 deaths were reported on the 30th of May, nine deaths on the 29th of May and six on the 28th of May. 31 males and 12 females were among the deceased. A majority of those who succumbed to the virus were identified as between 60 and 69 years of age. 7 individuals succumbed to the virus while at residences while 36 of them were treated more..

Jun 2 (Island) The number of COVID-19 patients who need oxygen support has increased by 120% during last 4 days, and deaths are likely to increase if the present trend continued, GMOA warns. GMOA General Secy Dr. Senal Fernando said that on 27 May, 149 patients needed oxygen support but by 31 May, that number had risen 330. �Given the trend, we expect that those in critical need will increase. So, deaths too are likely to increase in the coming days, leading to a crisis� more..

Jun 2 (CT) Health Trade Union Confederation (HTUC) comprising over 20 trade unions in the health service will go on a strike tomorrow (3), making 15 demands including safety facilities during the battle against COVID-19 and risk allowances to all health services. Govt Nursing Officers� Association (GNOA), which is a part of the HTUC, said with the total patient numbers amounting to 186,364, death toll at 1,441 more..

Jun 2 (DM) Govt should come up with some mechanism similar to a National Govt so that the Opposition could also play a role in overcoming the present crisis with regard to the COVID- 19 Pandemic, SJB MP Mayantha Dissanayake said. He said that the Govt should at least seek the support of the Opposition parties in Parliament in the event of thinking of a special mechanism to overcome the pandemic. �Our party Leader Sajith Premadasa has already stated that his party will support more..

Jun 2 (Island) The LSSP mourns the passing away of one of its leaders, Ven. Baddegama Samitha Thera. He died in Matara of Covid-19 illness on Sunday, May 30 at the age of 69. He had his early education in Baddegama, taking to the robes as a teenager, and later at the Universities of Kelaniya (1976), where he was the President of the Student Wing and later Lancaster, UK, where he fought against apartheid. He was a student leader with a militant history. He joined the LSSP in 1994. more..

Jun 2 (FT) SL yesterday welcomed 19 tourists from eight passenger flights, after a 10-day restriction on inbound travellers. These travellers were disembarked at the BIA from flights operated by Qatar Airways, Emirates and six SriLankan Airlines. �We hope the numbers will gradually increase towards the latter part of the year as a result of the rapid vaccination program throughout the country,� more..

Jun 2 (Island) TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran says the police should be immediately stopped from arresting and harassing people who breach travel restrictions. MP said that the govt should impose and implement travel restrictions for the purpose of preventing the spread of the Covid-19 virus but not to suppress people. Sumanthiran said that the police made arrests making use of the travel restrictions that had been introduced only recently. The were not laws, but regulations. more..

Jun 2 (TM) Govt made a request for fertilizer traders to release their hidden fertilizer stocks to the market. Dept of Govt Information said that after the govt decided to stop the use and import of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, some fertiliser traders have taken steps to hide the stocks of imported chemical fertilisers. The announcement further states that the importation of chemical fertilisers will not be permitted by 2021 and that there will be no benefit in concealing the fertilisers. more..

Jun 2 (FT) Despite concerns raised by environmental organisations concerning the possibility of SL losing jurisdiction when seeking compensation, Prez Rajapaksa has ordered the MV X-Press Pearl ship to be moved from its present location into deep seas. Prez Rajapaksa had issued these instructions to the MEPA in order to mitigate the negative impacts to the environment from the troubled and troublesome vessel. more..

Jun 2 (FT) In recent times, many people who wrote to newspapers and news bulletins expressed contrasting views on the emergence of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) as a political party which demonstrates the potential to govern the country in near future. I accept that any person, resided inside or outside the country, may question or support the course of the SJB in the present political environment of the country. This article is not simply an attempt to justify the formation of the SJB more..

Jun 2 (FT) Four days ago I read a news item that appeared in the Daily FT of which the heading was Bangladesh became a lender for first time thanks to SL. This news item took me to my banking career of 1970/80s, which reminded me of the credit norms that we were practicing in the bank, as credit officers when a customer requested for a credit facility or a loan. On receipt of the loan application, we evaluated the financial healthiness of the borrower to ensure whether the borrower possessed more..

Jun 2 (DM) Special police teams have been deployed to raid parties and public gatherings organised in violation of quarantine rules and regulations throughout the country. DIG Ajith Rohana said all officers in charge of police stations have been instructed to conduct surveillance operations to raid parties and public gatherings specially in the night. �Special police teams have been deployed in order to conduct the raids if we receive information regarding parties and public gatherings,� more..

Jun 2 (AD) SL Police has arrested 1,038 individuals on Tuesday (1) for violating quarantine regulations such as wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing in public places, DIG Ajith Rohana said. A total of 20,140 arrests have been made in connection with the same offences since the 30th of Oct 2020. This is the second consecutive day more than 1,000 quarantine law violators were arrested within a period of 24 hours. Reportedly, 156 of the arrests were made by Matale Police, more..

Jun 2 (Island) The newly appointed Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam, PC, assumes duties at a critical time with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) having got the special mandate of the 46th session of the UNHRC in March this year to set up a special mechanism to monitor SL�s alleged human rights violations and alleged war crimes during the final phase of the separatist war more..

Jun 2 (AD) A team of SL Navy boarded vessel this morning to join the salvor team to tow it away from SL capital. On Tuesday (1), the salvor team members had boarded the container ship after dousing the inferno. Salvage operations are being led by the Dutch company SMIT, which had sent specialist fire-fighting tugs. Meanwhile, Prez Rajapaksa directed the Chairman of Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) to tow the vessel into deeper seas in order to prevent more..

Jun 2 (DM) Seven more people have been arrested for attending the birthday party organized at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo on Sunday night violating quarantine regulations, Police said. DIG Ajith Rohana said that six males and a female were among those arrested. The police yesterday arrested another six people including a woman for attending the party. Meanwhile, all the 13 persons were granted bail by the Colombo Additional Magistrate after being produced in the Court. more..

Jun 2 (EN) SL�s ongoing COVID-19 movement restrictions that were to be lifted at 4am June 07 have been extended till 4am June 14, Army Commander Gen Shavendra Silva said. Authorities had imposed curfew-style islandwide travel restrictions from 11pm May 21 to 4am June 07 in an effort to contain rapidly rising daily COVID-19 cases. The island-wide unofficial lockdown was previously set to include a 19-hour window on May 31 more..

Jun 2 (AD) Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) has arrested a suspect in the area of Kaduwela on Tuesday over an illegally assembled SUV. The 46-year-old was identified a member of the Kaduwela Municipal Council. He was taken into custody on charges of using an illegally assembled SUV with a fake number plate. As per reports, the SUV in question had been in the suspect�s possession for nearly five years. The arrested municipal council member is expected to be produced more..

Jun 2 (DM) A former member of a UN expert panel on SL, Yasmin Sooka, has questioned the appointment of former IGP, Jayantha Wickremaratne to the Office on Missing Persons (OMP). Sooka alleged that the appointment of the war-time police chief to the Office on Missing Persons in SL completes the militarisation of the transitional justice mechanism established under the previous govt. �It is hard to make this up � the man who was in charge of three police units named by UN more..

Jun 2 (TM) Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith today stated that it has been discovered that the govt has not paid sufficient attention to bring the perpetrators of the Easter Attacks to justice, and that they would continue to conduct a campaign against the present govt. He stated that several proclaims and statements made by the former AG Dappula De Livera were not investigated. Further, claims stating that several govt members had also been involved in the Attacks had also not been sufficiently more..

Jun 2 (DM) Dept of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has advised the fishermen to suspend all fishing activities in the sea areas extending from Panadura to Negombo via Colombo with immediate effect. The fishing activities have been suspended following the salvage company involved in X-Press Pearl vessel indicated that the vessel is sinking at the current position. �The fishing boats could face the risk of colliding with debris of the distressed ship and thus, we have advised them not to go for fishing� more..

Jun 2 (EN) SL will receive two million doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in June, with 400,000 more doses of the Russian Sputnik V expected next month, officials said. The Sinopharm manufacturer in China has agreed to send a million doses on June 06 followed by another million three days later, State Minister Channa Jayasumana said in an interview by the govt information dept. SL has received 1.1 million doses of Sinopharm more..

Jun 2 (DM) Even though Rs. 100 billion has been paid as compensation for the MV X-Press Pearl ship that caught fire in SL waters, the damage caused to the environment cannot be restored, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. He said the govt had paid maximum attention to the damage caused by the ship fire. "Investigations should be carried out into the cause of the fire and against those who allowed the ship to enter SL waters. Also, action should be taken to punish the persons more..

Jun 2 (AD) A major part of the fire-stricken cargo ship MV X-Press Pearl, which is currently being towed to deeper waters, is sinking, says Navy Spokesman Captain Indika de Silva. Reports revealed that water leaking into the vessel has caused it to sink by 50%. The efforts to tow the Singapore-registered container ship began this morning after a naval team joined the salvor team on board to tow it away from SL capital. On Tuesday, the salvor team members had boarded more..

Jun 2 (DM) Frustration is growing among as many as 600,000 Sri Lankans awaiting the second dose of their AstraZeneca vaccine. With emerging COVID variants, medical experts warn that second doses of vaccines need to be given as soon as initial clinical protection starts waning off in order to boost immunity. While global vaccine production has already been challenged countries have been advised to follow a scientific process more..

Jun 2 (CT) Rejecting claims that the controversial X-Press Pearl ship fire in Sri Lankan waters would have a significant impact on the Sri Lankan salt industry, Minister of Trade, Dr. Bandula Gunawardene, said various parties were attempting to spread such rumours to create an artificial scarcity and raise the price of salt. In the wake of widespread speculation about a salt shortage, Dr. Gunawardene had met public and private sector salt producers yesterday (1). more..

Jun 2 (DM) Sri Lanka is yet to submit claims to obtain compensation from the owners of the ship, MV X-Press Pearl. State Minister Dr. Nalaka Godahewa told Daily Mirror that discussions are still ongoing to make an interim claim. He said that the Attorney General is to meet the stakeholders tomorrow (Thursday) to reach a conclusion on the claim. Dr. Godahewa said that there are various aspects to be considered before deciding on the full claim to be made. more..

Jun 3 (CT) After the war ended, both Rajapaksa and Ranil/Sirisena administrations went on a spending spree like a bunch of drunken sailors. True all governing parties are under pressure to show results and they could only spend if they would borrow. Borrow they did as you can see in chart below. Per Macrotrends, our external debt in 1970 was zero. In 2000 it shot up to $9.3B. By 2010 it shot up again to $ 21B mostly due to war. By 2015, it doubled to $32 B when MR went on a spending spree more..

Jun 3 (DM) What�s happening? That�s the question many ask. Then there are those who respond to the question or, as in certain cases, a question is not even necessary for comment. Nothing is a common response/comment. To elaborate, nothing is happening. It is an interesting word. A nation, a people, a history and heritage even � all rolled into a void? Well, that might please some. The problem is that there is seldom a void. There�s seldom nothing. There�s never everything either. more..

Jun 3 (DM) �As Asians, we know we have this norm, we have to become a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer. Out of nowhere, I said, I wanted to become a film director. And everyone was like,� yeah, we understand you want to make films. But that�s a hobby. Plus you�re a girl. So what you have to do is, go to school, study well, get a degree, get a real job and then why don�t you do film-making as a hobby?� Young SL film-maker Sumudu more..