May 19 (TM) Due to the nature of the new wave, the Ministry of Tourism has kept the idea of implementing the vaccine passport � a vaccination pass or passport is documentation proving that you have been vaccinated against Covid-19 � in the backburner. Ministry Secretary S. Hettiarachchi referred to the public Statement made by US Prez Joe Biden announcing that fully vaccinated people are no longer required to wear masks more..

May 19 (DM) A total of 1,968 naval personnel including 64 naval officers and 1904 sailors were promoted and advanced to their next higher ranks with effect from today on the occasion of the 12th National War Heroes Commemoration Day. 18th May 2021 marks the 12th anniversary of the conclusion of Humanitarian Operation which put an end to the LTTE terrorism. To signify this momentous occasion, 1968 naval personnel were elevated to their next higher ranks more..

May 19 (Island) Minister Johnston Fernando said that a project would be commenced to ease traffic congestion by widening and developing nine arterial roads connecting Colombo. He said, �Congestion on main roads in the capital is actually a problem that is mainly caused by the traffic at intersections. We have been informed by road users and general public of such bottlenecks. We also call on the public to express their views and direct their suggestions in the coming days so that we may optimise more..

May 19 (DM) Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluations (IHME), an independent global research Centre at the University of Washington recently predicted that as many as 20,876 COVID-19 deaths will be reported from Sri Lanka by Sept 2021. This is a tenfold increase when considering at figures that are being reported. However, the Govt has affirmed that it would take steps to avoid these grave predictions. more..

May 19 (Island) State Intelligence Service head DIG Nilantha Jayawardena had not passed on to the then Prez Maithripala Sirisena information pertaining to Zahran Hashim and the imminent terror attacks on Easter Sunday because there had been links between the SIS and Zahran�s group, Kandy District MP Lakshman Kiriella told Parliament. �The former President is here sitting in this House today. He went before the Commission of Inquiry and testified that he had not been informed of pre-warning more..

May 19 (Island) Minister Prof GL Peiris told Parliament that Colombo the Port City Commission Bill could be passed with a simple majority. �There is some misinformation circulating throughout the country regarding Supreme Court determination on the Colombo Port City Commission Bill announced to this august assembly by the Speaker. �It is claimed that the Supreme Court has said a 2/3ds majority and people�s approval at a referendum are needed for the passage of this bill. more..

May 19 (TM) Though Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi has ordered that laboratory facilities in the country be increased, no discussion has been held towards achieving such, the SL Association of Govt Medical Laboratory Technologists (SLAGMLT) alleged. SLAGMLT President Ravi Kumudesh said that the Minister had given these orders on 12 May. However, according to Kumudesh, more..

May 19 (Island) The COVID-19 situation in the Western Province had turned critical and over 600 COVID-19 patients were likely die in the month of May, Dr Prasad Kolabage, General Committee Member of the GMOA said yesterday. �In the Colombo district 326 cases were reported, 677 cases in Gampaha and 315 in Kalutara on Monday. Outside of Colombo, the situation in Kandy and Mullaitivu is bad. Over 100 ICU beds reserved for COVID-19 patients are now occupied and more..

May 19 (DN) The construction activities of the BIA Terminal 2 Development Project which were stalled has commenced despite the challenges of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Airport & Aviation Services SL commenced the construction of the BIA terminal 2 in Dec 2020 and the construction activities are underway. The total cost of the project, comprising Construction Cost of Package A and Package B, Contingencies (10%) and Consultancy Services, is US$ 550m funding is from JICA. more..

May 19 (DM) The Astrazeneca vaccines which are presently being administered in Colombo are only for the front line workers and front line service providers and not for members of the public who had received the first doses. With a shortage of doses in hand for the second round, Govt was trying its best to purchase the remaining 600,000 doses which which was required for the 2nd round from third parties and was awaiting more..

May 19 (CT) Sri Lanka�s trade deficit in the first quarter (1Q) of the year accelerated by 11.12% (US$206 million) year on year (YoY) to $2,059 million; thereby causing depreciative pressure on the rupee, Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) data released yesterday showed. The top four import drivers responsible for the widening of the trade deficit in the review period were fossil fuel imports up by three per cent YoY to $977.2 million, fabric imports up 14.2% to $710 million, more..

May 19 (DM) Govt has reached out to overseas Sri Lankans for financial as well as other forms of assistance to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Taking into account the enormity of the tasks at hand and the numerous limitations on the ground, the Foreign Ministry has reached out to Overseas Sri Lankans (OSLS) and to Friends of SL, with a view to enlisting their support and contributions in kind and other forms toward their fellow Sri Lankans affected by the pandemic, on a voluntary basis. more..

May 19 (CT) With over 25,000 active COVID-19 cases in treatment facilities, Assistant Secretary of the GMOA, Dr. Naveen De Zoysa said Health Ministry should initiate a definite course of action to manage asymptomatic patients in their own homes. �Health Ministry however formulates its action plans only after the public is faced with a crisis. Till then it is merely satisfied in doing what it can on a daily basis. But, if the Ministry had taken more..

May 19 (CT) The Intermediate Care Centre (ICC) for COVID-19 patients in Seeduwa was inspected by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday (18). The Care Centre, which is housed in a building offered by the Brandix Company, comprises three wards. It has the capacity to treat a total of 1,200 patients. The care centre is fully equipped with the latest technical appliances, including a number of facilities to maintain the mental health of the in-house patients. more..

May 19 (EN) SL will receive 185,000 doses of the Russian made Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine by next Tuesday (25) with a portion of the 20 million AstraZeneca doses donated to countries by the US also expected, State Minister Channa Jayasumana said. SL received 15,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine on May 04 and rollout began May 16. After the May 25 consignment, a regular supply of Sputnik V can be expected from June onwards until a promised 7m doses have all been delivered. more..

May 19 (EN) With 34 deaths confirmed for the period of May 11 to 18, Sri Lanka surpassed 1,000 COVID-19 deaths today. Total COVID-19 deaths in the country has thus reached 1,015. Meanwhile, 2,478 PCR tests came back positive for the virus today, the department said in a separate statement. Of these cases, 744 belong to the so called New Year cluster that health authorities claim emerged after the Sinhala & Tamil New Year holidays mid April. more..

May 19 (FT) Tension and feeling of insecurity is fast mounting among the common people living in fear of another war in the offing amidst the battles for economic dominance by the big powers. The deceptive fa�ade chosen by those big powers is national security and the other expressed concerns are peace and sovereignty. The inevitable precipitation this leads to is, the priority it generates for revamping and upgrading of strategic defence plans of countries costing huge sums to more..

May 19 (DM) The next two weeks in our country are going to be crucial where in a situation of more than 2,000 COVID-19 positive cases being recorded daily, the GMOA said. GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Naveen de Zoysa said we cannot wait until this current situation turns under control. "We cannot wait and see until the situation gets under control within a day or two. If we do so the country will automatically be pushed into disaster," he said. We don't know from where the next cluster more..

May 19 (EN) Former Northern Province Governor Reginald Cooray has been appointed as the new chairman of the state-run Sri Lanka Rupavahini Cooperation (SLRC). A letter of appointed was ceremoniously handed over to Cooray by Minister of Mass Media Keheliya Rambukwella this morning. Reginald Cooray who crossed over to the SLPP from the SLFP during the 2019 presidential election has served as a member of parliament, deputy minister, Minister of Mass Media, more..

May 19 (FT) It was with some amusement that I read the article titled Interest rate policy: Is it a punitive measure? written by Chandrasena Maliyadde, which appeared in Daily FT. It is a critique of my article Low interest rate policy punishes savers published in this column on 25 March. While welcoming the criticism, I am compelled to mention here that his article contains nothing but numerous sarcastic and sweeping statements without any theoretical or more..

May 19 (FT) The SJB described the Supreme Court ruling on the Port City Commission Bill as a victory for the masses in ensuring proper checks and balances. �We as the SJB see this as a victory for the public. The Supreme Court has restored parliamentary oversight regarding the proposed Port City Commission,� SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva told the media. MP Madduma Bandara also praised the SC decision, more..

May 19 (FT) The Govt has spent approximately Rs. 138 billion to provide relief facilities to those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the past 14 months, State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal told Parliament yesterday. He said Rs. 96 billion had been spent since March last year when the COVID-19 pandemic began and Rs. 41.9 billion so far this year to provide assistance to low-income groups impacted by the coronavirus outbreaks as well as for facilities for those who contracted the illness. more..

May 19 (FT) Dipped Products PLC (DPL), a global leader in protective handwear and a subsidiary of Hayleys PLC, has delivered phenomenal growth in an extraordinarily challenging year to achieve the company�s highest turnover and profit before tax for the financial year ending 31 March 2021. The DPL Group�s turnover increased by 52% to Rs. 46.39 billion while profit before tax increased to Rs. 7.19 billion during the year. Commenting on the performance, Dipped Products and more..

May 19 (EN) The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has confirmed that Maulavi (Islamic preacher) Mohamad Ibrahim Mohamad Naufer masterminded Sri Lanka�s 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekara told parliament today (19). The minister was responding to a May 18 statement by Attorney General Dappula De Livera that there was a grand conspiracy behind more..

May 19 (FT) Top economist Dr. Kenneth De Zilwa has been appointed as the new Chairman of LankaClear Ltd. Appointment by CB Governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman is for 3 years effective from 1 June. He will succeed the incumbent Anil Amarasuriya, an ex-veteran banker. LankaClear is SL�s National Payment Network under the guidance and supervision of the CB and facilitates all domestic interbank payments providing a vital service to the country�s banking and financial sector and more..

May 19 (Island) Dept of Wildlife Conservation is planning to go ahead with the construction of 1,500 km of electric fencing in the protected areas, sidelining recommendations by the National Action Plan for the Mitigation of Human-Elephant Conflict; it has also not submitted proposals to the COPA headed by Prof. Tissa Vitharana. A Wildlife Department official, disturbed by this ad hoc decision, told The Island, �Multi stakeholders including the Irrigation Department, more..

May 19 (EN) Parents of Tamil Tiger combatants should be allowed to commemorate their children who died in Sri Lanka�s 26-year war, Lt Gen (Retd) Jagath Dias said in a discussion. Dias, who commanded the 57th Division of the Sri Lanka Army in the final phase of the war, said a majority of the separatist LTTE cadres were forcibly conscripted fellow Sri Lankans who were led astray by wrongful ideology. more..

May 19 (AD) Former Western Province Governor Azath Salley has been admitted to the National Hospital in Colombo following a heart attack. However, the Leader of the NUF, who was hospitalized on Tuesday night (18), is not in a critical condition, a spokesperson of the hospital stated. He is currently held by the CID under detention orders. CID had arrested Azath Salley on March 16, over controversial statements he had made with regard to the law of the country. more..

May 19 (FT) Brand Finance Lanka, the pioneering brand valuation and strategy firm, has released its 18th annual review of SL�s Most Valuable Brands. SL�s consumer purchasing power has been impacted due to the economic fallout: first, of the Easter Sunday attacks, and, following that, of COVID-19. Brand Finance Lanka Managing Director Ruchi Gunewardene said: �Even though we saw a brand value increase of just 2.6% this year, it is only marginal, and we have a long way to go more..

May 19 (EN) Sri Lanka�s imports surged US$ 1.96 billion in March 2021 from US$ 1.52 billion in February as exports and domestic credit picked up, despite Mercantilist import controls. �Despite the continuation of the import restriction measures, expenditure on merchandise imports increased significantly in March 2021 to US$ 1,926 million, which was the highest monthly import value since March 2018, CB said. more..

May 19 (AD) All economic centres across the country will remain closed when island-wide travel restrictions come into effect later this week, Ministry of Agriculture announced. Accordingly, operations at economic centres will be halted from May 21 � May 24. However, all economic centres as well as the Manning Market in Peliyagoda will remain open from 4 am 11 pm on May 25. The establishments will remain closed again from May 26 � May 28 while travel restrictions are in force next week. more..

May 19 (DM) All passenger arrivals into SriLanka will be suspended from 11.59 p.m. on May 21 to 11.59 p.m. on May 31, the Civil Aviation Authority of SL (CAASL) Chairman Upul Dharmadasa said. During the above mentioned restricted period, the following will be permitted: 1. Aircraft Departures with passengers originating from BIA/MRIA; 2. Aircraft Emergency Diversions to BIA/MRIA; 3. Freighter Operations and humanitarian flights to BIA/MRIA; 4.Technical landings at BIA/MRIA. more..

May 19 (Island) State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) has been authorized to explore ways and means of procuring a sufficient stock of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine aka Covishield required to provide the second dose to over 600,000 persons from a third party. State Minister Prof. Channa Jayasumana said that the cabinet of ministers authorized the move on Monday. He said that SPC would try to locate available stocks more..

May 19 (DM) While expressing that the country is currently at a crucial juncture in terms of COVID-19 situation, Senior Consultant Physician at the IDH Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama said situation would end up in a major catastrophe if proper measures are not taken right now. �It is of utmost importance to take all necessary steps collaboratively and appropriately, if we are to avoid a major havoc in the coming weeks,� he said today. �If we analyse the trend in other countries in terms of spike in Covid cases, more..

May 19 (AD) The Parliament has commenced the debate on the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill today. The vote on the Port City Bill will take place following the conclusion of the debate tomorrow evening (20). Delivering a special statement to the House, PM Rajapaksa said the govt expects to bring in an amendment allocates at least 75% of the job opportunities at the Colombo Port City should be reserved for Sri Lankans. On Tuesday (May 18), more..

May 19 (DM) The sudden spike in COVID cases in SL has overwhelmed hospitals thereby prompting decision makers to request asymptomatic patients to remain at home. While several concerns have been raised with regards to this decision, it does seem that there�s no other option to control the present situation. In the meantime, photos and videos of COVID patients sleeping on the floor with bare minimum more..

May 19 (AD) Health officials have cautioned people who received the first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to refrain from getting the Sinopharm jabs administered. Deputy Director-General of the Health Ministry, Dr. S.M Arnold made this remark addressing a media briefing held at the Health Promotion Bureau today (May 19). �If you have received the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine, do not take the Sinopharm vaccine. The Health Ministry does not recommend it,� he stated. more..

May 19 (CT) Ten persons were detained in Kalkudah, Batticaloa yesterday, for commemorating the leader of the LTTE. The 30-year-long war against LTTE terrorism came to an end 12 years ago, on 18 May. People were barred from commemorating any members of the LTTE terrorist organisation. The 10 suspects were arrested by the Kalkudah Police for planning an event to mourn the death of LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. They were apprehended by the Kalkudah Police more..

May 19 (CT) Former Ambassador to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga, who during the peak of the pandemic brought 700,000 Ukrainian tourists to Sri Lanka, under a tourism bio bubble, is now gearing to bring Russian tourists to Sri Lanka very soon. This time he hopes to take them to the East of Sri Lanka, to the Pasikudah area where there are less people. Weeratunga said 275 Russians will be coming to Sri Lanka on the first flight and more..