Mar 30 (TM) The Secretary to the Cabinet has informed the Court of Appeal today (30) that the government has decided not to implement the recommendations of the PCoI into Political Victimisation until the recommendations of the Special Presidential Commission (PC) are received. JVP leader and MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake and SJB MP Sarath Fonseka today called for writ petitions seeking annulment of the recommendations made against them by more..

Mar 30 (EN) Sri Lanka will shortly issue an order by gazette notice banning cultivation of oil palm giving effect to a decision by the administration, Minister Ramesh Pathirana, said. He said seeds imported to the country in 2017 would not be allowed to be planted. No seeds will also be allowed he said. Sri Lanka had raised import taxes on coconut and vegetable to give high profits to coconut plantation owners making it excessively profitable to plant palm oil. more..

Mar 30 (Island) SLPP National List lawmaker Gevindu Cumaratunga says if the then Prez Maithripala Sirisena and PM Ranil Wickremesinghe parted ways in the wake of the heavy defeat suffered by the yahapalana partners, the SLFP and the UNP, at the Feb 10, 2018 Local Govt election, Easter Sunday carnage could have been avoided. Continuation of the sharply divided political marriage, regardless of the consequences, more..

Mar 30 (EN) Sri Lanka Customs has opened an investigation to determine whether any coconut oil contaminated with high levels of aflatoxin, a carcinogenic substance, has been released to the market, Minister Ramesh Pathirana said. �Customs is looking to find the perpetrators and, once the reports are out, we will take legal action against them,� Pathirana told reporters at the weekly cabinet press briefing today. The govt is determined to take legal action against those involved, he said. more..

Mar 30 (NR) SJB MP JC Alawathuwala says they will not let the govt coverup the sugar tax scam owing to the prevalent coconut oil controversy. MP Alawathuwala questioned the govt over what measures have been taken against those responsible for the sugar scam especially with numerous complaints having been lodged over the matter. He questioned if the govt has begun deliberating the complaints that have been received over the sugar tax scam. more..

Mar 30 (DM) COPE has revealed that a former senior official of the Postgraduate Institute of Science (PGIS) affiliated to the University of Peradeniya had fraudulently obtained Rs. 50 million from fixed deposits maintained by the PGIS of the university. Post Graduate Institute affiliated to the Uni of Peradeniya had closed 14 fixed deposits which were under the Peradeniya Branch of People's Bank, during the period from more..

Mar 30 (AD) Postal workers have decided to resort to a sick leave trade union action from midnight today. Chief of Sri Lanka Post and Telecommunication Services Union Mr. Chinthaka Bandara stressed that the strike is based on several demands including the protest against the method for recruiting new employees to the postal service. Accordingly, the postal workers will carry out their trade union action for 24 hours starting from 12.00 am tonight until 12.00 am tomorrow (31). more..

Mar 30 (DM) The JVP today alleged that the govt was bothered about re-exporting the consignment of inferior quality cooking oil imported to Sri Lanka without taking steps to conduct an investigation into the incident and ensure that such an incident would not take place again in the future. JVP Politburo member Sunil Hadunnetti said that re-exporting the consignments was not the solution to the issue. �The Govt should conduct an investigation as to who should take the responsibility, more..

Mar 30 (DM) SL's High Commissioner designate to India, Milinda Moragoda, is yet to travel to New Delhi despite India approving his appointment during the latter part of last year, leaving the seat vacant for months, with his office saying he will leave soon but with no confirmation of a date. Sri Lanka and India have already gone through some diplomatic turmoil in recent months with the govt refusing to hand over ECT more..

Mar 31 (TM) Sri Lanka�s ties with the international community and its foreign policy became a topic of discussion in the recent past, due to events such as the UNHRC Resolution against Sri Lanka, agreements related to the terminals of the Colombo Port, Indian fishermen violating SL maritime borders, and Chinese debt. Even though the Govt of SL (GoSL) seemed to have a stance concerning all the situations mentioned above, when it comes to the Myanmar issue, where the country more..

Mar 31 (CT) Sunday�s Ceylon Today exclusively revealed how a new luxury apartment complex is being built in the vicinity of the ancient rock fortress of Sigiriya, much to the dismay of locals and tourist operators. On its website, the property developer has included a promotional video that showcases stunning views of Sigiriya as major selling point. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sigiriya is one of the most iconic landmarks in SL and attracts thousands of visitors every year; bringing millions of more..

Mar 31 (DM) The trustee of the Seenigama Devalaya (shrine) is alleged to have converted to other uses funds in the shrine to the tune of one million rupees in the guise of a donation towards the COVID-19 Healthcare and Social Security Fund, it has been revealed. Trustee of the shrine Sarath Disenthuva-handi on two occasions in the year 2020 has issued two People�s Bank cash cheques amounting to Rs.500,000 each, more..

Mar 31 (DM) Among many national priorities discussed today, subject of Higher Education and Universities is prominent. Irregularities in university intake; lack of facilities, IT skills, English language proficiency and leadership; inadequacy in relevance, quality and applicability of research output and graduate output; mismatch with the job market, and ragging and its inhuman nature are among mattes drawn the attention. Parents, Academics, Non-academic & Administrative staff, support staff, more..

Mar 31 (Island) The public are bombarded with half truths on presence and release of imported aflatoxin-contaminated coconut oil to the market. When improperly dried copra is stored for many days a mold of yellow colour, which becomes moss green later, appears on the surface of the kernels, releasing aflatoxins deep into the coconut kernels. Once released into the kernel, the toxin remains unchanged till the kernel disintegrates. On expulsion of oil from such copra, 80% of aflatoxin more..

Mar 31 (Roar) Everybody has a short eats-related memory. Mine is going to the Perera & Sons kiosk at the SSC after weekend morning swims, aged 7, with my grandfather. Always the same order: fish pattie, chicken Chinese roll, Milo. Perera & Sons, patties and rolls became forever associated with my grandfather, and with the faint smell of chlorine. Short eats � patties, cutlets, rolls, samosas, pies, buns, rotis, vadais more..

Mar 31 (TM) National Environmental Act (NEA) was promulgated more than 40 years ago as a solution to tackle the surge in harm done to the environment, but substantive amendments to the Act have not been made in over two decades. Public awareness and govt leadership provide reasons to hope that the NEA, with its proposed new clauses, would serve its purpose, hopefully, better than it has over the last few decades. While measures are underway to amend NEA which has not been amended more..

Mar 31 (CT) So far it appears that the implications of the resolution on SL passed at the UNHRC last week against the SL govt�s objections have been taken with a pinch of salt. Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena�s reaction to the passage of the resolution by a 22-11 margin was to take note that 14 countries had abstained and therefore a majority of countries had not given their support to the resolution. Two of the countries that abstained, India & Japan, are powerful and important ones more..

Mar 31 (CT) 1. All previous Commissions appointed after violent upheavals e.g., the Youth Commission and the LLRC, sought to understand why Sinhala and Tamil youth respectively had been alienated to the point of being driven to embark on the path of organized lethal violence. Does the Easter Commission report do so and what are the answers it provides? 2. Does the Easter Commission deal with the timeline of the birth of Islamist terrorism in Sri Lanka? more..

Mar 31 (TM) A massive economic loss is predicted for the SLPA in the future, once the operations of the West Container Terminal (WCT) at the Colombo Port commences under the Adani Group, an Indian multinational conglomerate, together with its local partner John Keells Holdings, according to port trade unions (TUs). They alleged that SL would lose 66% of the Indian re-export market once the Adani Group begins its operations at the WCT, at the same port with the East Container Terminal (ECT). more..

Mar 31 (CI) Kraigg Brathwaite completed a 9th Test century in the first over of the day, before Rahkeem Cornwall and later Lahiru Thirimanne completed half-centuries during a meandering day of Test cricket that ended with neither team ascendant, again. WI eventual 354 was more than SL would have liked to concede. But at stumps, SL had gotten to a reasonable 134 for 3. On a pitch that offered little assistance to the bowlers, more..

Mar 31 (ST) Was it misleading or confusing? I posed this question to two well-known economists on Wednesday. Today was Thursday and the trio was under the margosa tree having their usual weekly conversation. �What is the significance of currency swaps, what do they mean?� I asked the first economist. �Well� a currency swap is simply exchanging each other�s currencies and that�s what we are doing in these arrangements with India and China,� he said. more..

Mar 31 (DM) At the recently concluded UNHCR sessions our country was being challenged, not only for alleged crimes committed during the war against the LTTE reign of terror in this country, but also for alleged continuing discriminatory practices against minority communities who according to the High Commissioner are being excluded by divisive and discriminatory rhetoric including from the highest State officials. During the war, civillians did indeed die. more..

Mar 31 (EN) Sri Lanka has published draft legislation to raise the national monthly minimum wage by 12.5% and will also legislated a daily wage according to draft published legislation. The monthly wage will be raised to 12,500 rupees and the daily wage would be 500 rupees. Sri Lanka�s rupee has fallen steeply since a daily wage was legislated at 10,000 amid money printing and anchor conflicts in the monetary regime. more..

Mar 31 (FT) Ahead of receiving 600,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, the Govt yesterday clarified that priority would be given to Chinese nationals residing in SL and that shots could be approved for the general public once phase four data was evaluated by the local regulator. Attempting to provide clarity over how the Sinopharm vaccine would be administered, Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said that the National Medicine Regulatory Authority (NMRA) was awaiting phase four more..

Mar 31 (Island) Under a project undertaken by the US Embassy�s Civil Military Support Element (CMSE), a group of persons has received what the mission called an intensive training in life saving. �SL Life Saving (SLLS) Association held a graduation ceremony on March 27 for trainees who recently completed an intensive training conducted in partnership with the US. Beach Bronze Medallion workshop, which provided first-responder training and education for civilians at the SLLS hq more..

Mar 31 (TM) The state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) was unable to follow through with its threats of issuing fuel to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) only if the institution pre-pays for the fuel consignment, as apparently CPC still issues fuel for the CEB whether they are paying for it or not. The CPC, a few weeks ago, told us that it would suspend the fuel supply to the CEB unless the institution pays for the fuel before more..

Mar 31 (FT) A total of 139 persons tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the country�s total COVID-19 patient count to 92,442. Of the patients detected yesterday, 118 are associates of the Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster, 14 are overseas arrivals and seven are from the Prison cluster. The total number of patients detected from overseas arrivals and the Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda and Prisons clusters are 87,832. According to the Epidemiology Unit, 2,645 returnees from abroad and more..

Mar 31 (SLN) SL Navy�s Fire Fighting Unit sprang into action to douse a fire that suddenly broke out in a multi-day fishing trawler at the Dikkowita fishery harbour today (29). Responding to a distress alert disseminated by the Coast Guard Station Dikkowita, Command Operations Room (West) promptly dispatched 2 Navy firefighting teams along with 2 fire engines to the location to extinguish the flames that were engulfing Lanka Matha � a multi-day fishing trawler at Dikkovita fisheries harbour. more..

Mar 31 (FT) The SJB called on the Govt to suspend bulk imports of coconut oil and to carry out random tests of existing stocks in the market to reassure the public of food safety. The call came after aflatoxin, a carcinogenic chemical was detected in several import stocks of coconut oil, prompting customs to direct the importers to re-export the stock. SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva called on the Govt to temporarily halt the import of more..

Mar 31 (FT) CEAT Kelani Holdings yesterday announced another significant increase in production that will more than double the number of Truck Bus Radial (TBR) tyres reaching the domestic market by June this year, further supporting the national effort to reduce dependence on imports and conserve foreign exchange. The company said production of the CEAT Winmile AW in the 10.00 R 20 size widely used on trucks, prime movers and buses would, in two phases of expansion, more..

Mar 31 (TM) The Chairman of Hatton National Bank (HNB), Dinesh Weerakkody is set to be replaced by Samantha Rajapaksa. The appointment is expected to be announced following the Bank�s AGM, which will be held today (30) at HNB Towers. Rajapaksa is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of SL, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of UK, and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing of UK. He also holds an MBA from University of Sri J'pura. more..

Mar 31 (TM) Govt is yet undecided on the electoral system under which to conduct the provincial council (PC) elections due to an amendment brought to the Cabinet of Ministers� meeting on 29 March. The proposals were to hold the PC elections either under the old system or to amend the PCs Elections Act and hold the elections under the mixed system. Final decision regarding the amendment of the law pertaining to more..

Mar 31 (DN) Securities and Exchange Commission of SL has through a consultation paper asked market stakeholders to provide feedback on revised corporate governance rules for listed entities. The Consultation paper is broken into 5 sections. The sections deal with; Policies, Board and Conduct, Board Subcommittees, Relations with Shareholders and Investors, and Disclosures in the Annual Report. With the proposed changes companies will now have to disclose to the market how they more..

Mar 31 (TM) Cabinet approval has been given for the Govt�s decision to implement a Cyclotron-based Radiopharmaceuticals Manufacturing Center at the KDU Hospital premises in Werahera in collaboration with the Atomic Energy Board of SL. This decision was taken due to the lack of facilities in SL to test for the radioactive drug Fluorodeoxyglucose which is being used for PET and CT Tests that conducted to diagnose cancers. A special device called Cyclotron is used to produce this drug. more..

Mar 31 (CT) As per recommendations by the PCoI that probed large-scale corruption and frauds that took place during the Yahapalana Govt from Jan 2015 to 31 Dec 2018, steps have been taken to refer a large l-scale fraud that had taken place when purchasing medicinal drugs by the Health Ministry to the CID. According to the final report, a fraud amounting to Rs 1,140 million has occurred when purchasing more..

Mar 31 (CT) A detailed probe has been initiated into an incident where a Police Officer, charged with soliciting a bribe of Rs 10,000 to resolve a dispute concerning a vehicle, had swallowed the two Rs 5,000 notes when he was about to be nabbed by the officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). The officer, who had swallowed the currency notes in front of the CIABOC Officers, had been admitted to the District General Hospital of Gampaha. more..

Mar 31 (Island) Chief Guest PM Mahinda Rajapaksa graced the occasion at the COYLE anniversary celebrations following the 22nd AGM and appointment of the new chairman of the Chamber of Young Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE). The new chairman (2021/22) Saranga Goonawardena takes the Chamber lead from outgoing chairman Chamath Kottage. The event was held recently at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo. Also present at the gala function were several ministers, State ministers more..

Mar 31 (FT) Govt defended the decision to give sweeping tax concessions and other incentives to attract investment to the $ 1.4 billion Port City, insisting it would be a catalyst for greater economic growth for Sri Lanka. Minister Udaya Gammanpila spoke in support of Govt plans to grant the Colombo Port City Economic Commission the power to give its own tax breaks running up to 40 years for investments that are defined as more..

Mar 31 (EN) Former Prez and leader of the SLFP Maithripala Sirisena has said that his party is working towards forming a govt led by the SLFP. Sirisena said that they would do so while fully supporting the current govt, we need to organize the party. We cannot stay silent. �As a party that helped make and build the govt headed by Prez Rajapaksa we must tell you that that the support and dedication which we extended to give him the victory at the Prez elections cannot be disregarded,� more..