Oct 1 (CT) In a message to mark World Children's Day, which falls today (01), Prez Rajapaksa says that in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions have been imposed on the children's imagination and that the school classroom and the playground are still at a distance.The President notes that it is the Govt's priority to revive all those lost aspirations of the nation's children. "As adults, we must provide the necessary environment to empower the child with knowledge, attitudes and skills more..

Oct 1 (AD) Governor of the CB, Ajith Nivard Cabraal unveiled the Six-Month Road Map for Ensuring Macroeconomic and Financial System Stability today. The event is held at the Atrium of the CBSL and the proceedings commenced at 10 a.m. However, due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic situation and in keeping with required social distancing, participation is strictly limited to invitees. more..

Oct 1 (AD) MP Rishad Bathiudeen has been further remanded until October 14 Colombo Magistrate�s Court in connection with the death of a teenage domestic worker who was serving at his residence. On July 15, the 16-year-old girl, who was serving as domestic help at the Bathiudeen residence, succumbed to severe burn injuries while receiving treatment at the Colombo National Hospital. She had been under medical care for 12 days since her admission to the hospital on July 03. more..

Oct 1 (TM) A 15-year-old boy from the Mahamodara area in Galle has died after being beaten by his father with a broomstick. The father of the boy is reported to have beaten the boy with a broomstick on Wednesday. The reason as to why the father had beaten the minor was because he was not concentrating on his online lectures which was conducted by his school. The boy who had suffered head injuries after the beating, had been admitted to the ICU of the Karapitya Hospital and more..

Oct 1 (DM) A writ petition has been filed in the Court of Appeal seeking an interim order to stay the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of SL from paying a pension to the newly appointed Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal. General Secretary of DUNF Ariyawansa Dissanayake filed this petition naming the Monetary Board of SL, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, more..

Oct 1 (CT) SLFP has no objections about State Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara running as the party's Chief Ministerial candidate for the North Western Province in the upcoming Provincial Council (PC) Elections. This was confirmed by Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, who stated that although Jayasekara made a Media announcement regarding it, he has not yet notified the party. If he informs his decision to the party, the SLFP will agree with him, Amaraweera added. more..

Oct 1 (Island) The 40-day lockdown, which was not a lockdown, paradoxical as it may sound, has been officially lifted. Surprisingly, there have been significant decreases in the Covid-19 cases and fatalities. If it had been strictly enforced, it would have yielded much better results. Nobody took the lockdown and the quarantine curfew seriously. People moved about freely; shops were open; roads were congested, and even liquor outlets and taverns were allowed to reopen towards more..

Oct 1 (TM) The Police announced yesterday that an investigation has been launched with regard to the officers attached to the CID who had acted irresponsibly by summoning a newspaper editor and journalists who reported about the alleged garlic fraud at Sathosa, to record statements for an investigation. The investigation is taking place upon a directive given by IGP Chandana Wickramaratne. more..

Oct 1 (TM) A total of nine agreements have been reached to commence new businesses in fishery harbours following a call for applications for the same made by the Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation last March. Following the advertisement taken out in this regard, out of the 591 proposals submitted, agreements were reached yesterday (30) for nine selected businesses. Accordingly, a new canned fish factory, a new shipyard for local and foreign markets, four new ice production more..

Oct 1 (AD) The total number of people who fell victim to COVID-19 infection in Sri Lanka moved up as 58 more fatalities were confirmed on Thursday. The new development has pushed the official death toll from the virus outbreak in Sri Lanka to 12,964. The latest victims include 27 males and 31 females. As many as 48 deaths were reported among elderly people aged above 60 years. In addition, 10 individuals aged between 30-59 years have also succumbed to the virus infection. more..

Oct 1 (EN) SL has relaxed some foreign trade and exchange controls triggered by money printed to keep rates down, but CB Governor Nivard Cabraal said exporters will be asked to convert a higher share of receipts. Exporters who now have to sell 25% of export proceeds and banks have to sell 10% to the central bank. The new directions will set limits after permitted credits and their will be monitoring mechanism, he said. more..

Oct 1 (DM) Filing a Fundamental Rights petition in Supreme Court, the former OIC of Thelikada police station in Galle district alleged that he has been unreasonably transferred to the Tangalle police Division for normal duties at the behest of the racketeers involved in illegal activities in Gin Ganga and forests in Thelikada. Chief Inspector K.M.L. Janaka Priya who is presently attached to the Kataragama Police Station named IGP C.D. Wickramaratne, Minister of Public Security more..

Oct 1 (Island) The SL � China Friendship Association (SLCFA) yesterday commended the Communist Party of China (CPC) for demonstrating to the world that a nation can advance on her own strength, can be comparatively stronger and forceful and also reach highest levels of development without resorting to be an imperialist, hegemonic or an invader who plunders lands and resources of other countries. Issuing a press release, on the occasion of the 72nd National Day of China, more..

Oct 1 (TM) Only Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) buses and private buses, and no trains, will be operational for a period of two weeks in terms of the permitted intra-provincial travel, once the country reopens today upon the lifting of the countrywide lockdown status at 4 a.m. The health authorities have advised against the operation of intra-provincial train services for two weeks from today, owing to the high risk of the spread of more..

Oct 1 (Island) It had been decided at the party leaders� meeting yesterday to hold parliament sittings on five days next week, Chief Govt Whip and Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said. Minsiter Fernando said that the usual sitting week should have been only for four days from Tuesday to Friday but Monday too had been included to enable opposition MPs to raise questions because some of their questions had been deferred during the past few weeks due to time constraints. more..

Oct 1 (CT) State Minister Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle said there is a national need to formulate a policy framework to address the social issues faced by the elders. In her message for World Elders Day, today (01), Dr. Fernandopulle said an environment is needed where a group of healthy adults could grow within the family. �Despite the high life expectancy in the country, the growing elderly population is compelled to face many health problems,� she noted. more..

Oct 1 (AD) The Special Committee on COVID-19 Control has pointed out that with the opening up of the country, the respective sectors should closely monitor if the health guidelines are being fully implemented. As public gatherings are expected to take place once the curfew is lifted, the health sector emphasized the need to heed the guidelines issued in order to prevent the re-emergence of any risk of the spread of more..

Oct 1 (CT) Attorney-at-Law Janaprith Fernando will assume duties as the 21st Chief Commissioner of SL Scouts Association (SLSA) today. Janaprith, who was serving as the Deputy Chief Commissioner of SLSA, has been appointed by the Chief Scout. Janaprith began his journey as a Junior Scout at S. Thomas� College Preparatory School in 1979, where he received his primary education, after which he was educated at S. Thomas� College, Mount Lavinia. As a Senior Scout, he served as more..

Oct 1 (AD) The World Bank�s Board of Executive Directors Thursday approved $500 million in financing for Sri Lanka to provide safe, climate-resilient roads to connect agricultural supply chains through the Inclusive Connectivity and Development Project. This project is expected to benefit around 16 million people living in rural communities in selected districts of Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka, roads carry around 95% of passengers and 98% of cargo. While nearly all national roads are paved, more..

Oct 1 (CI) Pathum Nissanka, Minod Bhanuka, Ashen Bandara, Lakshan Sandakan and Ramesh Mendis have been added to SL's squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, while Lahiru Madushanka is left out from the original squad after failing to recover in time from the fractured collarbone he suffered against South Africa. The additions take SL's travelling contingent to 23 players, including four reserves, more..

Oct 1 (TM) The teachers� trade unions have warned that due to the continuous failure of the Govt to address issues in the education sector, including teacher-principal salary anomalies, there is a risk of graduates not joining the teaching service in the future, and that those already in the service are moving on to other professions. The series of trade union actions initiated by the teachers� and principals� trade unions demanding solutions to their issues, including the salary anomaly, more..

Oct 1 (CT) Govt of SL's face value money printing (FVMP) debt increased by 1.39% (Rs 22,870 million) to a new record high of Rs 1,668,935.61 million (Rs 1.6689 trillion) yesterday due to a lack of revenue. GoSL�s FVMP debt has been over Rs 1 trillion for a record 50 consecutive market days to yesterday. Meanwhile, of this Rs 22,870 million increase in GoSL�s FVMP debt, yesterday, Rs 2,608 million was demand-pull inflationary causing. In related developments, GoSL�s highest to more..

Oct 1 (TM) Both the SJB and the JVP Opposition parties heavily criticised the Govt over its decision to revoke the gazette notification stipulating a maximum retail price (MRP) on rice. SJB MP Tissa Attanayake charged that the revocation of the relevant gazette notification came as a great defeat to the Govt, as it reflects that rice mill owners and businessmen are more powerful than the President and the Govt. more..

Oct 1 (NF) An indictment with 855 counts was handed over to Ex-IGP Pujith Jayasundara and Ex-Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando on Friday (1) at the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar for failing to prevent the 2019 April 21st Attacks. The Court ordered for the evidence examination to begin on the 22nd of November and also ordered for a summons to be served on the 1st and 2nd witnesses from the prosecution to be present in court on that day, to provide evidence. more..

Oct 1 (TM) All primary schools in the Uva Province with under 200 students are set to reopen from Oct 18 said Governor A.J.M. Muzammil. All provincial education offices have been instructed to make the necessary arrangements to open schools on the set date, Governor said. �In the Uva Province, we have decided to make arrangements for the opening of primary schools with less than 200 students from the 18th of October upon recommendations of the education and health officials. more..

Oct 2 (TM) In a stunning reversal of a decision that was taken with the stated aim of combatting a rice mill mafia, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to revoke the gazette notification issued earlier this month to set maximum retail prices for rice, and at the same time, to import 100,000 metric tonnes of rice to prevent a shortage in the domestic market. Subsequently, rice mill owners yesterday (28) announced plans to hike rice prices, inciting fresh concerns among consumers. more..

Oct 2 (DM) Prez Rajapaksa seems to have kept in mind the threat posed by the resolution on Sri Lanka passed by the UNHRC in March, when he met UN Secretary General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres on Sept 19 in New York and during his speech at the 76th UNGA on Sept 22. And it is not clear as to how the nationalistic leaders of the govt and the ruling SLPP digested some of the points the President made such as his intention to engage with the Tamil Diaspora, during his meeting with the UNSG. more..

Oct 2 (DM) Gamini Fonseka was the uncrowned king of Sinhala cinema for nearly three decades. He was the first and arguably the sole super star of Sinhala cinema. Notwithstanding the brilliant creators of our times who have raised the standards of Sinhala cinema, one is unable to imagine or visualize Sinhala cinema without thinking of Gamini Fonseka. Sinhala cinema is certainly not Gamini Fonseka but without him there is more..

Oct 2 (DM) In this day and age when most politicians are despised as being selfish and self-centred, power-hungry and corrupt while trying to dominate or dictate to the people instead of being servant-leaders as they should be, the United Nations today marks the International Day of Non-Violence coinciding with the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. more..

Oct 2 (Island) Sri Lanka, our beloved country, is definitely in a parlous state. Reading a Sunday newspaper this fact was thrust in the face with a list of recent resignations of very important persons in the medical and agricultural fields, particularly. Political appointments are brazenly made. More money is to be printed. There is a controversy over the US New Fortress Energy Corporation�s bid to build an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Colombo. more..

Oct 2 (CT) SL rapper and vocalist Yohani, who recently became a massive sensation in India, was getting ready to entertain her fans in New Delhi when India�s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) signed the BuildOperate-Transfer (BOT) agreement for West Container Terminal (WCT) of the Colombo Port, joining the local partners John Keells Holdings (JKH) and Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) on Thursday. more..

Oct 2 (Island) The govt has finally bitten the bullet and issued a new Gazette cancelling the previous one which stipulated maximum retail prices (MRPs) for rice. Whoever would have thought a powerful regime with a two-thirds majority in Parliament and former battle-hardened frontline combat officers in key positions would ever suffer such humiliation at the hands of a few businessmen from Polonnaruwa? Dudley Sirisena has done, as a rice miller, what his elder brother Maithripala failed to do more..

Oct 2 (GV) The world is ageing fast. Today there are 703 million people aged 65 or older; by 2050 the number will rise to 1.5 billion. According to population estimates and projections from UN Dept of Economic and Social Affair�s Population Division, 1 in 6 people in the world will be over 65 by 2050, up from 1 in 11 in 2019. The number of people aged 80 or over will triple in the next 30 years while global life expectancy beyond 65 will increase by 19 years. With longer lives comes a host of mental and more..

Oct 2 (Roar) In a country like Sri Lanka, where issues such as discrimination, hate speech, and fake news are prevalent, it can often seem impossible to come up with effective ways in which to make people more empathetic and tolerant towards each other. There are many initiatives that have begun with the aim of starting early by teaching children at a young age to be more accepting of other religions and cultures and to live more harmoniously together. One of the latest of such initiatives, more..

Oct 2 (CT) Sri Lanka ended the six-week-long quarantine curfew at 4 a.m. on Friday (1), as both case numbers and deaths due to the devastating COVID-19 pandemic seem to have started reducing to a manageable level. Director of the Medical Technical Services, Dr. Anwar Hamdani, pointed out last week, after months where most provinces were being identified as high risk red areas, owing to the prevalence of a sizeable number of COVID-19 patients, the country was gradually moving more..

Oct 2 (Island) We have moved to the new Dudley Era. Dudley Senanayake saw the rise of his era with the political handling of rice. It was to beat the rice control strategy of PM Sirimavo Bandaranaike. We are now in the Dudley Sirisena era � also with rice as the operative, with both profit and politics. The govt has withdrawn its Gazette on the price of rice to the consumer. It was the last rice Gazette that was withdrawn. There were many rice Gazettes more..

Oct 2 (CT) A second-half goal from Topu Barman helped Bangladesh register a 1-0 win over 10- man SL in the opening fixture of the SAFF Championship kicked off yesterday in Maldives. Predictably, Bangladesh enjoyed the majority of possession, but SL were gritty and disciplined, as well as being lethal on the counter-attack as they troubled the Bangladesh defense on a number of occasions. Both teams were equally matched and the game swung from one end to the other. more..

Oct 2 (TM) Sri Lanka men�s wheelchair tennis team reached the 5th to 8th place play-offs Thursday (30) and, by doing so, achieved the much-hoped target of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) to reach within the top eight in the world this year in the annual World Cup of the sport. Sri Lanka lost to France in their first tie 3-0 but came back to win the next two in Group-4 round robins in Sardinia, Italy. Sri Lanka beat Belgium 2-1 on Wednesday (29) before winning against Brazil yesterday. more..