Jun 28 (EN) Prez Rajapaksa�s address to the nation was a vain and useless speech that did not offer any solutions to the issues Sri Lanka is facing, opposition MP Tissa Attanayake said. Attanayake told reporters on June 28 that the president presented a mere progress report that the people were not expecting. Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa had announced prior to the president�s address that it would offer solutions to more..

Jun 28 (Island) One million moodilla saplings would be planted on either side of roads to minimize carbon footprint and to manage emissions, Minister Johnston Fernando said last Friday. Speaking to journalists after launching the sapling planting project along the Marine Drive from Wellawatte to the Dehiwela section under the one million trees green project of the Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour programme, Minister said that the tree planting project in addition to helping more..

Jun 28 (CT) Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila has reportedly informed the last Cabinet meeting that what had forced the Govt to increase the domestic fuel price had been the scarcity of US dollars. He said if by any chance the fuel prices are to be brought down, then the Govt would have no other alternative but to curtail the supply of fuel and then introduce a quota system instead. The Minister had then proposed that if the fuel price was to be restored to its former price range, more..

Jun 28 (Island) Civil society activist Nagananda Kodituwakku says Article 99A of the Constitution, which deals with the National List is different from the Section endorsed by Parliament. Asked to explain, Attorney-at-Law Kodituwakku claimed that the then Speaker had ratified the 14th Amendment that contained the Section on the National List after critical modification in respect of filling of the NL slots. Constitution prohibited changes more..

Jun 28 (FT) Private sector borrowing has risen by Rs. 331 billion in the first five months of this year with the cumulative figure crossing the Rs. 6.5 trillion mark. Growth in May on a year-on-year basis was 10.5% whilst in the first five months, the increase amounts to 5.3% as per provisional data of the Central Bank. In the first 5 months, March saw a whopping Rs. 112 billion in borrowing which some analysts viewed as an aberration whilst others noted it was on the strength of improved sentiment more..

Jun 28 (CT) Following the Ministry of Environment�s decision to ban lunch sheets and grocery bags, local businesses have developed 100% eco-friendly lunch sheets and grocery bags made of manioc. Two young entrepreneurs have created environmentally friendly lunch sheets and grocery bags out of manioc, a local natural resource that decomposes rapidly and easily. These bags and lunch sheets, according to Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, are also unusual in that more..

Jun 28 (TM) Protection and Indemnity Insurance (P&I) club of the MV X-Press Pearl vessel has agreed to pay approximately$ 3.6 million of the SL Govt�s initial interim compensation claim of$ 40 million, covering the costs incurred in the ten-day period from 23 May to 3 June. Minister Ali Sabry PC said that following negotiations held early last week, the P&I club of the MV X-Press Pearl has agreed to pay approximately Rs. 720 million as more..

Jun 28 (TM) SL Station Masters� Union (SLSMU) has warned that unless formal arrangements are made within this week to administer the Covid-19 vaccine to station masters and other staff members at railway stations, they will resort to Trade Union (TU) action. When contacted by The Morning to inquire about this, SLSMU General Secretary Kasun Chamara said that they had requested from several authorities, including the Director General of Health Services (DGHS), that a programme be more..

Jun 28 (TM) The construction of a tarmac ramp to allow the parking of aircraft, and a taxiway at the BIA in Katunayake, is to be completed by September this year. According to the Ministry of Tourism, 93.85% of the construction is completed and a total of Japanese yen 1.1 billion, or Rs. 4.4 billion, has been spent on this project. Although its construction was scheduled to be completed in two and a half years, its work was delayed due to the lack of proper oversight by the previous Govt, more..

Jun 28 (CT) Hospitals are to play a supportive role to the Medical Offices of Health (MoH) in a bid to expedite the National Vaccination Programme against the coronavirus, the GMOA said. GMOA Secretary, Dr. Senal Fernando said a proposal had been submitted by them during a meeting with the Presidential Task Force on Friday (25) and had been approved. It would enable Base Hospitals, Provincial General Hospitals, more..

Jun 28 (TM) A group of parents have gathered outside an international school in Gampaha in protest, demanding relief from the school fees of their children. They alleged that the school had not provided any relief for them during the COVID-19 pandemic and that sub-standard teachers have been appointed to teach their children. The parents claim that their children have therefore not received the required level of education that was expected from the school. more..

Jun 28 (TM) Arriving passengers from eight countries in the African continent have been banned from disembarking in Sri Lanka, the CAA stated today. Accordingly, passengers with a 14 day travel history including transit to Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe will not be allowed to enter the country. Capt. Themiya Abeywickrama, CEO of the CAA stated that these restrictions will be in effect from 01 July to 31 July. more..

Jun 28 (BDC) Sri Lankan cricketers Kusal Mendis, Danuska Gunathilaka, and Niroshan Dickwella have been suspended on charges of breaching bubble protocols. Sri Lanka led by Kusal Perera are currently in England for a limited-overs leg comprised of three T20Is and three ODIs. The hosts comfortably white-washed Sri Lanka in the three-match T20I series. The team is currently residing inside the bubble at Durham where they will more..

Jun 28 (CT) Information has come to light regarding a scam where a businessman has been involved in selling medicinal drugs without official registration, with the blessings of several Directors of noted State hospitals. Selling or importing drugs without NMRA registration is illegal. Informed sources revealed the firm, situated along Galle Road, Colombo 4, has been selling drugs prescribed for ailments such as heart disease, various types of cancer, high blood pressure and antibiotics. more..

Jun 28 (CT) The general public have to be made aware of the effectiveness of obtaining the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as the second dose for those who have received the first dose of AstraZeneca COVISHIELD vaccine, President of the Association of Medical Laboratory, Scientists and Professionals Ravi Kumudesh said. He added that if Pfizer is being administered as the second dose for those who have already received the first dose of AstraZeneca, several factors have to be more..

Jun 28 (EN) An expert advisory committee has approved the use of Pfizser-BionTech and Moderna COVID-19 jabs as the second dose for over half a million Sri Lankans who have received only one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof Channa Jayasumana said Sri Lanka has already placed the purchase order and will receive 26,000 doses of Pfizer and more..

Jun 28 (TM) World Vision has come forward to help 4,750 families of Wattala and Ja-Ela areas in Gampaha District who have been affected by multiple disasters, providing them LKR 14 million worth of dry rations. They stated that there are nearly 8,000 children in these families and 675 families headed by women. Wattala and Ja-Ela areas that face high risk following a rise in Covid cases were also affected recently by severe flooding due to monsoon rains. more..

Jun 28 (TM) Private buses may be forced to halt services soon as their owners have incurred heavy losses amounting to Rs. 9 billion, warned Lanka Private Bus Owners� Association (LPBOA) President Gemunu Wijeratne. He said this 9 billion loss was reported within one and half years, approximately the period since the first outbreak of Covid-19 in SL in March 2020. �Our private bus industry is in huge trouble. Most of the employees found new jobs and they don�t want to return to the industry. more..

Jun 29 (DM) The row between the authorities and the farmers over the ban on chemical fertilizer reminds us the Sinhala folktale Hathara Beeri Kathawa in which a deaf man askes another deaf man a question to which the latter gives an answer which is nothing to do with the question. Here, farmers across the country demonstrate demanding fertilizer � chemical or organic - for their crops which have been severely affected by the govt�s decision to ban import of chemical fertilizer, but more..

Jun 29 (TM) It is evident that the only way out of the Covid-19 pandemic is the vaccine, and the only way to conduct a proper vaccination drive is to understand the true situation in terms of the number of infected persons, through PCR tests and RATs. However, failure in understanding and acknowledging the true situation of the pandemic is where most countries fail, due to the fact that every country likes to think that it is managing the situation better than other countries. more..

Jun 29 (DM) Basil Rajapaksa returned to the island yet again, and with a baggage load of hot and juicy news. He is said to sit in Parliament from the SLPP National List on 06th July. There is said to be about four SLPP National list MPs competing to resign for Basil to take the seat. Basil would also be sworn in as the Finance Minister with few other portfolios to position him as a powerful personality in govt. more..

Jun 29 (CT) The X-Press Pearl disaster, which took place off the shores of Colombo and its impact on both the economy and on the socioeconomic conditions of the people of this country and also on the environment is far from over. In fact it�s only beginning. The sunken ship can be salvaged only after the current South-West Monsoonal season is over, which is only in another four months� time from now, in October. However, the authorities are planning to put markers where the ship sank more..

Jun 29 (DM) Influential presidential sibling Basil Rajapaksa is tipped to be sworn in as a National List MP next week when his two-week quarantine after returning from a holiday in the United States ends. That would be the precursor to be appointed as the Minister of Finance of Economic Development, a portfolio currently held by PM Mahinda Rajapaksa. The backbenchers of the ruling party, SLPP are earnestly clamouring to resign en masse to make room for Basil. more..

Jun 29 (CT) With my experience, based on 45 years of hands-on, direct experience in the tea industry, I wish to issue a dire warning about the Sri Lankan tea industry; if inorganic fertiliser is withdrawn, the productivity of Sri Lanka�s tea lands will certainly decline to uneconomic levels. This will lead to a severe drop in foreign exchange earnings, resulting in a drastic decline in the earning capacity of all owners of tea lands more..

Jun 29 (CT) One of the most heart-breaking aspects of this ongoing lockdown is the colossal destruction of the rainforest carried out by powerful bigwigs with strong political affiliations. When the whole country is in a state of lockdown due to Covid pandemic, there is wanton destruction of forest unabatedly taking place in the state lands which comes under the purview of Divisional secretariat areas of Ridimaaliyadda and Meegahakivula. In this regard, Loggal Oya is no exception. more..

Jun 29 (ST) When he took oaths before Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Wednesday, former PM and UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe finally filled the lone National List seat secured by his party at the 2020 parliamentary election. The fact that the seat had been left vacant for 10 long months is a reflection of just how the once formidable party struggled to come to terms with its drubbing at the last election and the difficulties in reaching consensus regarding who would fill the seat. more..

Jun 29 (GV) The European Union threatening our precious garment exports to that rich market? As we sit at home stuck in front of various video screens while the curfews, so-called travel restrictions and lockdowns, grind through our days and weeks, we wonder what will happen when all this suspension of life ends. What will or who will explode first once the pandemic eases and normal life resumes? So many things are pent up within us: in our homes, family life, businesses, careers, struggles, more..

Jun 29 (Island) Some basic facts about the two testing methods available to identify the Covid-19 virus, would help us understand the measures taken by the health authorities to control the spread of the virus. The virus that causes the Covid-19 disease (called SARS CoV-2) should be identified not only to manage patients but also to control the spread of the virus. As soon as the genome of the virus was made known by Chinese scientists in January 2020, tests were quickly developed to identify the virus. more..

Jun 29 (Island) Sprinter Kalinga Kumarage produced his personal best in winning the men�s 400 metres gold medal on day four of the 60th Interstate Athletics Championship in Patiala, India on Monday. Competing in lane three, Kumarage led from the start and returned a time of 45.73 seconds to win the first gold medal for SL at this championship. Country won a silver medal when Amasha de Silva was placed second more..

Jun 29 (Island) Executive President�s unbridled powers have drawn public attention once again owing to the ongoing protests against presidential pardons for convicted criminals. There has been a sustained campaign against the executive presidency, which its opponents blame for all ills of the country. But this powerful institution has become a fact of life. All those who secured it by pledging to abolish it have reneged on that promise. Some half-hearted attempts were made to curtail more..

Jun 29 (Island) Ranil Wickremesinghe�s return to parliament has been greeted with dismay and delight in various quarters. The timing couldn�t have been better for the UNP, and conversely worse for the SJB. Whether the govt takes advantage of whatever impending division in the SJB his presence may lead to, we can�t really tell. Yet his return is significant, for two reasons: the rising unpopularity of the govt, and the shortcomings of the opposition. If the two appear to be linked, it�s because more..

Jun 29 (DM) Central Bank injected Rs.23 billion worth liquidity last Friday, taking the printed money stock in excess of Rs.900 billion as the monetary authority is now forced to provide liquidity to the cash-strapped govt after the latter closed down the economy for a month. CB�s holdings of govt securities or the printed money stock had risen by Rs.34.51 billion since the country went into a near total lockdown on May 21 through June 18, more..

Jun 29 (Island) We were a nation that reinvented how the one-day game was played. Our players were so skilful that they dominated the sport particularly in the white ball formats. Many are the careers that Sanath Jayasuriya ended with his brutal hitting. Many were the games that ended before noon after Chaminda Vaas ran through the top order. Many were the series that SL won with a game to spare and then half a dozen seniors were rested for the dead rubber blooding in some more..

Jun 29 (CT) Italy based SL sprinter Yupun Abeykoon and Nilani Rathnayaka (3000m Steeplechase), along with Judoka Chamara Dharmawardena complete the squad of nine athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games which will be from 23 July to 8 August. The other athletes who have definitely booked their flights are Mathilda Karlsson (showjumping � equestrian), Milka Gehani (Artistic Gymnastics), Tehani Egodawela (Shooting) and veteran Olympian Niluka Karunaratne, more..

Jun 29 (Island) SL�s tour of the United Kingdom is going from bad to worse after three players were suspended pending inquiry and were ordered to return home on the eve of the three match ODI series that gets underway today in UK�s northernmost ground � Chester-Le-Street in Durham. Vice-captain Kusal Mendis, opening batsman Danushka Gunathilaka and wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella were caught on camera more..

Jun 29 (CT) After a humiliating T20 series defeat at the hands of England, visiting skipper Kusal Perera (KJP) still believes fearless cricket is the only way forward if Sri Lanka are to bounce back and return to winning ways. He said this prior to the ODI series starting today at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street. �I still believe playing fearless cricket is the way forward if SL are to bounce back and come back to winning ways. Our team and myself should try our best to play fearless cricket more..

Jun 29 (FT) Sierra Cables PLC, one of the largest cable manufacturers in Sri Lanka with an international presence, has in FY21 recorded a highest-ever revenue of Rs. 5.2 billion up 7% from the previous year. The Group also yielded the highest ever profit after tax (PAT) of Rs. 314 million up 37.4% from FY20. In a statement the Company said the financial performance underscores the group�s ability to maintain a healthy Gross Profit margin of 15.6% & Net Profit margin of 5.7%. more..

Jun 29 (FT) A total of 1,890 COVID-19 patients were yesterday detected in the country, as concerns about the spread of the Delta variant were raised after the Kahathuduwa Medical Officer of Health said a patient with the Delta variant had been detected from the area. The patient with the Delta variant was employed at a leading construction company in Colombo. �We suspect he contracted the variant at the construction company. more..