Nov 17 (ENS) DNA test has established the identity of SL gangster Angoda Lokka who died in Coimbatore. Chandana Lasantha Perera alias Angoda Lokka (35) died of cardiac arrest when he staying in Balaji Nagar on 3 July 2020 and postmortem was conducted at the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital. Lokka's female aide Amani Dhanji (27) and lawyer Sivakami Sundari cremated the body in Madurai. Later, it came to light that Lokka had concealed his identity more..

Nov 17 (CT) Supreme Court deferred the 12 Fundamental Rights Petitions filed against former Prez Maithripala Sirisena, former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and IGP Pujith Jayasundara over their failure to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks, despite being forewarned of the carnage. The petitions were to be taken up for consideration yesterday and hearing was deferred to 14, 15, 16 and 18 March next year as a result of more..

Nov 17 (DM) Russian Federation has agreed to explore the possibility of generating low-cost electricity in Sri Lanka through new sources such as nuclear power. The decision was revealed following a meeting held between Russian Ambassador Yuri B. Materiy and Power Minister Gamini Lokuge at the Ministry. The ambassador said SL should look into the possibility of adapting to other low cost power generation methods in addition to renewable methods. more..

Nov 17 (AD) Two officers attached to Panamure Police have been interdicted in connection with the death of a man who was in police custody. The 38-year-old father of three, a resident of Welipotha area in Panamure, was arrested based on a complaint filed by his wife over a personal dispute. It was later reported that he had hanged himself inside the police cell and that he died on admission to the hospital. However, the residents of the area, who were up in arms about the said incident, more..

Nov 17 (AD) Chairman of Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd (CPSTL) says there is sufficient fuel in the country. Mr. Uvais Mohamed said 40,000 metric tons of diesel are currently being unloaded at Muthurajawela. In addition, 36,000 metric tons of petrol is expected to be received tomorrow, he added. CPSTL chairman assured the general public that there is no reason to panic unnecessarily. more..

Nov 17 (DM) Refuting claims made by SJB that a youth named Indika Jayaratne of Panamure has been beaten to death by the police, Public Security Minister Sarath Weeraskera said the youth attempted to commit suicide and died while being taken to the hospital. �This youth was a drug addict and accused of assaulting his daughter. Therefore his daughter had lodged a complaint with the police against him. The police had arrested this man at 10.30pm on Tuesday. more..

Nov 17 (AD) Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has endorsed the certificate on the Minimum Retirement Age of Workers Bill and the Termination of Employment of Workmen (Special Provisions) (Amendment) Bill. The two Bills were taken up for debate in Parliament on November 11. These Bills aim to extend the retirement age of private-sector employees to 60 years. There has not been a set retirement age for most employees in the private sector in particular. more..

Nov 17 (FT) The proposed personal data protection legislation defining measures to protect personal data of individuals held by Govt entities, banks, telecom operators, hospitals and other personal data aggregating and processing entities was given approval by the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday to proceed with next steps. The approved legislation will now be gazetted as a Bill and thereafter presented in Parliament. more..

Nov 17 (CT) Health service unions including nurses and professions supplementary to medicine (PSM) warned they would stage a protest at 12 noon today (17) in front of the Health Ministry against unequal treatment of non-medical healthcare professionals and failure to resolve salary discrepancies even in the 2022 budget proposals. Joint Convener of the HSTUC, Ravi Kumudesh, said the demands also include the provision of salaries suited to graduate nurses and PSM as opposed to more..

Nov 17 (TM) The software engineer of Epic Lanka Technologies, who was arrested in connection with the deletion of National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) data, was granted bail today (Nov. 17). Delivering the order, Colombo Chief Magistrate Buddhika C. Ragala imposed a personal bail of Rs. 50,000 and a cash bail valued at Rs. 1 million on the suspect. He was then barred from leaving the country and was ordered to refrain from interfering with the ongoing investigations. more..

Nov 18 (DM) The govt took a battering from the general public after the 2022 Budget was presented. The economy is in dire straits, probably the worst in the post �Independence era. People have felt the pinch in terms of lack of income sources, dwindling incomes, scarcity of some food stuffs and galloping living costs. It is natural for people to expect relief to cushion their burdens when the annual budget is presented. Traditionally speaking, public perception is that the Budget normally contains more..

Nov 18 (CT) This newspaper remembers when then Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa, now PM, launched his unsuccessful re-election bid at the January 2015 Prez Election; during his polls campaign, he reaffirmed to the electorate that there will be no return to the era of queues, shortages and rationing that dominated the economy from 1970 to 77. Rajapaksa was a young SLFP MP in the then ruling SLFP-led UNF Govt of 1970-77. That Govt however, was resoundingly trounced at more..

Nov 18 (CT) COVID-19 pandemic has had the world in a spin throughout since 2020 amidst challenges including children�s education, care, and well-being. Child protection systems were already struggling to prevent and respond to violence against children, and now this pandemic has compounded the problem, tying the hands of those meant to protect children at risk. Children are valuable assets to any nation more..

Nov 18 (TM) When looking at various forms of efforts aimed at ensuring equal rights and treatment, one thing we notice is that Sri Lanka has done more talking than taking action, and every day, people face incidents that affect their basic rights in one way or another. Recently, a Kollupitiya-based family staged a protest at the Presidential Secretariat and handed over a letter addressed to Prez Rajapaksa, following an attempted eviction by a group of armed persons, requesting that more..

Nov 18 (DM) The 2022 Budget, which most Sri Lankans looked forward to with the hope of receiving some form of relief or cushioning to counter the skyrocketing cost of living and the shortage of essential commodities would have been a disappointed lot. It contained little or nothing for the middle income groups and the poor to be happy about in any of the budget proposals read out by Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa last Thursday in Parliament. more..

Nov 18 (AJ) Chandhana Silva and his family are belt-tightening in more ways than one these days. The 45-year-old father of two works as a hotel waiter in the capital Colombo. His take-home pay is Rs. 25,000 ($ 123.2) a week, less than one-third of what he earned in the pre-pandemic days and far from what he needs to put enough food on the table as prices of staples like milk, sugar, and cooking gas skyrocket in the island nation. more..

Nov 18 (DM) Years ago I wrote an article titled I will die in the General Hospital. I was convinced that the best treatment possible in the country is obtainable from the public hospitals and not from private ones. Overworked, understaffed and overcrowded simply on account of free healthcare, these institutions are a testimony to the dedication of the public service. Obviously they don�t look as pretty as private hospitals but then again the sick are not exactly looking for holiday resorts. more..

Nov 18 (CT) Recently many youtubers have entered the SL political frays under different guises, they are nothing but poorly camouflaged trojan horses of different political parties. It is very usual for the local politicians to use various crafty methods to shore up their poor image and representation in the parliament. Some youtubers, have been in league with the Rajapaksa clan since 2005 until 2020 election campaigns and known to have played key roles by hoodwinking the masses to defeat more..

Nov 18 (CT) Sri Lanka�s 2-1 victory over Bangladesh on Tuesday night in the Four Nation Tournament for the �Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa Trophy�, elicited elation from every corner of the Sri Lankan fanbase, but that joy didn�t stop at the supporters. Tactician Amir Alagic was also over the moon, and equally thrilled after the win. �It�s a fantastic performance; absolutely spot on, especially with a player down. Obviously, we somehow find the strength in this team. more..

Nov 18 (Island) Organic agriculture can be summarised simply as systems of agriculture that produce food and fibre free from industrially produced chemicals. It encompasses minerals, salts from natural sources, but the basic clear requirement is freedom from industrial chemicals such as fertiliser salts, herbicides and pesticides. There are many variations of agricultural practice worldwide which operate on this basis, some examples being, Biodynamic, more..

Nov 18 (Island) SLC has given thumbs up for the Cricket Committee�s move to rope in former captain Mahela Jayawardene to the national cricket team�s coaching staff after the exit of Mickey Arthur. The tenure of Arthur, who joined SLC in Dec 2019, will end in two weeks time following the completion of the two match Test series against West Indies. Jayawardene�s role will not be as Head Coach but as a Consultant Coach. more..

Nov 18 (DN) Arahant Sariputta is a famous name in Buddhist literature among a few others: Moggallana, his colleague and Ananda, the Buddha�s chief assistant. Sariputta�s story starts in a village of brahmins, being born to Sari in Upatissa village. The brahmin priests named him after his hometown Upatissa. Although Sariputta later became a monk followed by his siblings, his mother could never know the Buddha�s teachings. Bhikkhu Nanamoli describes a full length picture of Arahant more..

Nov 18 (Island) SLPP MP and former President Maithripala Sirisena has told Parliament that the yahapalana govt, which he once led, was more sinned against than sinning, and it is wrong to blame that administration for everything that has gone wrong. What is ailing the country, in his opinion, could be traced back to the opening up of the economy in 1977. He has said so in response to an oft-repeated claim by some SLPP MPs that the yahapalana govt ruined the country. more..

Nov 18 (ST) Two sisters aged 15 and 13 years, living in Colombo 12 and their cousin from Gampola aged 13 years were on a mission. They wanted to follow the South Korean musical girl group BlackPink. The K-Pop (Korean popular music) group consisting of Jisoo, Jennie, Ros�, and Lisa, all in their mid-20s, debuted in Aug 2016. A BlackPink documentary on Netflix aired in 2020, made them even more popular globally & among SL more..

Nov 18 (TM) A discussion on the statement made by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, at the 48th session of the UNHRC on 13 Sept 2021, was held on the same day in a television programme, and it is now available on YouTube. The moderator of this programme started the session with a rather facetious question: �Should we take this statement of the High Commissioner at all seriously?�. Obviously, he did not mean to insult the HC. more..

Nov 18 (Island) SL�s men�s players would have to find inspiration from their past glories as they step into contest the first leg of the Asian Sevens Rugby circuit in Dubai (On Nov 19 and 20) sans much training. As much as the islanders are proud of their achievements in cricket the same can be said about the country�s rugby players. History has great power to motivate and its memories can fuel the human spirit when the chips are down. Rugby training in SL was hampered to a great extent because more..

Nov 18 (FT) Sri Lanka Tourism is gearing up to carry out a number of promotional initiatives in four traditional markets to boost arrivals this winter season. Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said the special tourism promotion initiative would be rolled out in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and India. The United Kingdom, Germany and France are Sri Lanka�s traditional major European source markets, whilst India is the main source market in the Asian region. more..

Nov 18 (DM) The govt assured that the country has sufficient stocks of petroleum oil while cautioning that panic buying may lead to short-term shortages at fuel stations. �There are no supply shortages. If there are to be any shortages in supply, as a responsible minister, I will warn the public in advance,� Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila said. He charged that a retired official of Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has been spreading false information, causing the public to panic. more..

Nov 18 (DN) Four new players have been included in the U-19 cricket squad in preparation for the U-19 Asia Cup and U-19 World Cup. The junior selection committee already selected a 26 member squad (Before the last Bangladesh series) and now they are expected to strengthen the squad by adding four more players. They aim to pick a 20-member squad from the 30 members for the Asia Cup as well as for the forthcoming more..

Nov 18 (FT) Sri Lanka has received a big boost at the World Travel Mart (WTM) in London, the leading global event for the travel industry. Attended by over 50,000 international travel trade professionals, the post-pandemic fresh push for destination marketing at the top on-site tourism promotion had been well received by many participants, who commended SL�s proactive measures to revive the industry. �The response received at WTM for SL was excellent,� SL Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando said. more..

Nov 18 (FT) New laws to curb harmful fishing practices will soon be introduced in Parliament, Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda said. He revealed this at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Fisheries held in Parliament. State Minister of Fisheries Kanchana Wijesekera said that harmful fishing methods are being implemented in many parts of the country and if this situation is not managed properly, the fisheries resources will deplete rapidly. more..

Nov 18 (FT) Imports continue to rise despite restrictions and forex shortage bloating the country�s trade deficit, as per latest data. Imports in the first nine months of the year have risen by 27% to $ 14.93 billion and the trade deficit crossed the $ 6 billion mark, as against $ 4.3 billion in the corresponding period of last year. The ballooning trade deficit is despite a healthy 20% growth in exports to $ 8.9 billion more..

Nov 18 (TM) The Health Ministry said yesterday (17) that a concrete decision is yet to be taken on how the future vaccination procurement process will occur, although the current primary focus is only on the import of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. �We have not yet taken a concrete decision on how the future mechanism will work regarding the vaccination procurement process. There is no concrete decision on whether we will only import the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the future, more..

Nov 18 (Island) Pushing through the challenges posed through every evolving variant of the globally disruptive coronavirus since last year, Airtel Lanka marked a key milestone, when the youth preferred telco was recognised among the Best Workplaces in Asia � Small and Medium List 2021, by Great Place to Work. This is the first time that Airtel Lanka was bestowed with this recognition, and is a testament to the company�s efforts for being one of the only telecommunication service providers to more..

Nov 18 (FT) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that wastewater management systems currently limited to a few areas would be constructed in every major city in the country in the future. He made this statement at the inauguration of the Kandy City Wastewater Management Project, along with the Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka Mizukoshi Hideaki, at a ceremony held online between Temple Trees and more..

Nov 18 (DM) All necessary steps are being taken to prevent a possible surge in COVID cases that could be experienced consequent to the protest campaign by a political party in Colombo yesterday, the Health Ministry said. Dy Director General of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath said that the possible rise in cases due to the protest would only be seen after 10 to 15 days. �We, as health authorities do not wait until damage occurs but take all remedial measures to avert the damage before it turns worse� more..

Nov 18 (DN) The Sandahiru Seya is the second tallest Chaitya in the country, after the Ruwanweli Seya. The Sacred Pinnacle and the Crest Gem will be unveiled during this ceremony. The construction of the Sandahiru Seya was initiated during the Presidency of the current PM Rajapaksa, when the current Prez Rajapaksa was the Defence Secretary, in honour of the brave soldiers who had laid down their lives and sacrificed their lives and limbs to liberate the country from clutches of LTTE. more..