Aug 12 (TM) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera last week claimed that sand mined from the Eastern Province (EP) had not been shipped to the Maldives for construction work, and that he was willing to resign if the allegations linking a SLFP minister to sand trafficking were proven to be true. The allegations were made by ITAK MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam. Rasamanickam made these allegations in Parliament last Tuesday (7), more..

Aug 12 (ST) Govt is to proceed with talks for a massive US$ 2.5 billion loan from foreign insurance or pension funds to offset part of the accumulated fuel import bills, ministerial sources said. The Cabinet has approved the proposal after studying several unsolicited proposals by private agents to offer a loan to the Govt. A cabinet appointed Procurement Committee has studied the proposals and a decision has been made to further negotiate the terms on obtaining the loans. more..

Aug 12 (ST) The ongoing dispute between teacher trade unions and the Govt over salary anomalies has taken a fresh turn after police started collecting personal details of teachers who organised recent protests. Police stations had called Divisional Secretaries to provide information of the date of the protest, location, name and addresses of the organisers and the number of people who attended the protest. Police also had sought details of deaths of principals and teachers in the area more..

Aug 12 (Island) Srinath Jinadasa, 79, an American citizen of Lankan descent who miraculously came out alive from the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York 20 years ago last week, was in the U.S. news as the media focused on the anniversary of the audacious terrorist strike on an iconic building using hijacked aircraft. Jinadasa who worked for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as a structural engineer said last week more..

Aug 12 (TM) Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) is yet to hand over the documents regarding the second interim claim for the MV X-Press Pearl disaster. �We have not been able to finish the assessment for the second interim claim as yet. However, we are still in the process of assessing the environmental damage caused by the maritime disaster,� MEPA Chairperson Dharshani Lahandapura said. However, the Govt had compiled expenditure for period of 2 June to 31 Aug, more..

Aug 12 (SO) The National Chamber of Exporters (NCE), the chamber representing exporters, while commending the recent achievement in export earnings which surpassed USD 1 billion for the second month this year noted that it is more important to sustain growth amid a challenging global business environment. NCE President Ravi Jayawardena said the hard work of all exports who contributed to achieve a note-worthy growth in export income despite a tough global more..

Aug 12 (TM) The expert committee appointed to draft a new constitution has sought a three-month extension to submit the final draft to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa while an initial draft is being studied by the Legal Draftsman�s Dept. Responding to a query, Presidential Secretariat Director General � Legal Affairs Harigupta Rohanadeera confirmed that a request was made by the committee and that it was granted. more..

Aug 12 (Island) Vaccines that use inactivated coronavirus such as Sinopharm are the best vaccine to inoculate children with, Chairman of the COPA and virology expert, Prof. Tissa Vitharana says. The world has a lot of experience as regards inactivated vaccines, Prof. Vitharana has said, adding that vaccines that use the fully inactivated virus could provide better overall protection. Commenting on the demands from certain quarters that children be inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine, more..

Aug 12 (Island) The fact that a farmer has to sell five kilos of paddy to buy a kilo of sugar at present market prices is a testimony to the govt economic mismanagement reneging its election promise to help the poor and downtrodden to uplift their lives, says Namal Karunaratne, national organizer of JVP-led All Ceylon Farmer�s Federation. Speaking at the Online Farmer�s rally under the theme of �Crisis of agriculture and farmers� struggle� via internet on Wednesday, Karunaratne said that more..

Aug 12 (ST) Ajith Nivard Cabraal�who is due next week to take over as Central Bank (CB) Governor for a second time�will receive a pension with arrears for his former 8-year term while qualifying for another pension at the end of his second stint under a new scheme recently approved by the Monetary Board (MB). The second pension will be calculated on the basis of his new, higher salary. Meanwhile, W. D. Lakshman, who is retiring more..

Aug 12 (ST) CEB Engineers� Union has raised objections regarding the Finance Ministry�s appointment of a technical committee to negotiate the unsolicited proposal from the US-based New Fortress Energy (NFE) to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to West Coast Power Plant (WCPP). The committee is also mandated with renegotiating the terms of an existing power purchase agreement (PPA) between the CEB and WCP Ltd (WCPL). This places it at odds with the Power Ministry more..

Aug 12 (SO) The forthcoming Budget will focus on a production-based economy, said Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, adding that it would especially benefit the underprivileged segments in society. Minister Rajapaksa said after the successful completion of the Govt�s vaccination drive, the Govt will achieve the key targets set out in the Budget and offer benefits to the common masses. He told a meeting with State media heads on Friday that the Budget would formulate an action plan as more..

Aug 12 (ST) Tomorrow, UN Human Rights Commissioner Michele Bachelet will tell the UNHRC in Geneva about issues, which in the world body�s opinion, are not being implemented by the SL govt. In February, the Council adopted a resolution with several serious strictures over alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian laws in Sri Lanka. The objective is to ensure which provisions of the Resolutions more..

Sep 13 (DM) Australia was part of the US-led coalition forces that had militarily occupied Afghanistan for nearly two decades. Commencing August 15 this year, the US and its partners cut and ran in the face of advancing Afghan troops under the leadership of Taliban - ruling party overthrown by the US invasion of that country 20 years ago. Smarting after their military defeat, the US-led coalition � which included Australia- have continually raised fears for the rights of the Afghan people. more..

Sep 13 (DM) On Sept 17, 1951; 70 yrs ago, [date coincided with JR�s 45th birthday], the New York Times covered the proceedings of the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference with a headline which read, �Voice of free Asia, eloquent, melancholy and still strong with the tilt of an Oxford accent, dominated the Japanese peace treaty conference today.� USA, the prime mover of the treaty, was keen to get our PM, DS Senanayake, to lead the delegation. However, DS had other ideas; more..

Sep 13 (CT) COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the economy in 2020, and now, in 2021, the pandemic has struck again with a new wave, taking a heavy toll on human life like never before. When the Govt imposed a nationwide lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading, it appeared as if the entire country had come to a halt, forcing Sri Lankan Railways to suspend all passenger services, leaving overgrown bushes and grasses near and more..

Sep 13 (GV) Literacy rates in Sri Lanka have hovered in the high 90s for the past decade or so, impressive figures no doubt; enough for the country to be publicised in official publications as being the most literate in South Asia. However by modern standards of what literacy entails, the picture painted is not quite as accurate as the data indicates. Literacy today has expanded to encompass the means to education. Where literacy implies the ability to read and write, more..

Sep 13 (TM) Saturday (11) marked 20 years since the devastating terror attack on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in the US, commonly referred to as 9/11, a tragedy that cost the lives of close to 3,000 people and injured around 25,000 others. As the US commemorated the anniversary, US Prez Joe Biden called for national unity, adding that the darker forces of human nature � fear, anger, resentment, and violence against Muslim Americans, true & faithful followers of a peaceful religion more..

Sep 13 (TM) First Capital Research has announced in its mid-year outlook that it is highly likely that Sri Lanka will negotiate an IMF programme within the current quarter, which ends this month. The outlook comes at a time when former State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal, who continuously emphasised that Sri Lanka will not go for an IMF programme, stepped down from the state ministerial portfolio and is due to once again more..

Sep 13 (ST) There is a side dish of grim humour to the assertion made by nationalist monk, Ven Omalpe Sobitha this Saturday that the Roman Catholic Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith was fully justified in appealing to the international community for justice, which the Govt has failed to deliver for victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday jihadist attacks. Notwithstanding the pain and agony of a futile two year search for justice by loved ones of penitents slain as they were praying before more..

Sep 13 (ST) If the motley cheer squad of Govt MPs and supporters had waited eagerly for Basil Rajapaksa to weave a rosy tale of economic boom for Lanka in his maiden address to Parliament as Finance Minister on Wednesday, they were in for a nasty shock. Instead of kindling hope that the promised vision of prosperity & splendour is around the corner, Finance Minister could only but paint grim vistas of poverty and shortages as he outlined the perilous financial state the nation faced. more..

Sep 13 (Island) Dingiri Banda Wijeunga (born Feb 19, 1922), hailing from Pilimatalawe, Udunuwara was one of the most popular politicians at that time. He endeared himself to others by his stark simplicity and his very affable manners. The people were so fond of him that his initials DB were used by people to call him Dearly Beloved and even Dunnoth Baraganan. In the Nineties, he was chosen to be PM by President R. Premadasa overlooking two outstanding UNP politicians of that time more..

Sep 13 (CT) During the postwar period in SL, the oft quoted mad monk phenomenon in general reigned supreme. In June 2014, the words of the hate monk Gnanasara rang deafeningly loud amid the silence of the Fourth Estate, and BBS � the racist anti-Muslim hate group he led, with patron saints in the then Rajapaksa govt, embarked on a well-orchestrated orgy of violence against the hapless Muslim community in Aluthgama and its suburbs. The mainstream news media, being under more..

Sep 13 (CT) The recent death of Vedda Chief Uruwarige Vanniyala Etto�s wife Heenmanika, due to coronavirus shows that the indigenous people of SL - the Aadivasi community or the Vedda community, spread across the country, in the Monaragala District as well in Ampara and Vakarai areas of the Eastern Province are the most disadvantaged single-race natives, denied their rights, evicted from their homelands, more..

Sep 13 (FT) COVID-19 vaccines were administered to 225,521 persons on Saturday, raising the total number of persons to receive the first dose of a vaccine to 13,458,621 and the second dose of a vaccine to 10,544,228. The Epidemiology Unit states that 88.2% of the population over the age of 30 have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 35.4% of the 20 to 29 year population have received one dose of a vaccine and 12.3% have received both doses of the vaccine. more..

Sep 13 (FT) MillenniumIT ESP � Sri Lanka�s leading enterprise solutions provider � kicked off its global expansion drive by incorporating a new office in Singapore this year. This initiative was undertaken to expand the company�s business into new markets and capture the growing global demand for enterprise technology solutions by capitalising on its unique resources, skills sets and capabilities, and by harnessing the power of the partnerships and relationships already built in ASEAN region. more..

Sep 13 (CI) South Africa won their final outing before the T20 World Cup emphatically. They did so by first bowling Sri Lanka out for their lowest first innings total at home and then polished off the total inside 15 overs. The victory gave South Africa a 2-0 lead in the three-match series, with the last fixture on Tuesday, and leaves Sri Lanka with several questions in the format they are struggling the most. Worryingly for Sri Lanka, more..

Sep 13 (ST) Last Tuesday, Sept 7, was probably the day SL cricket followers breathed gleefully after many moons. There were two reasons behind that � a 2-1 a series win against the visiting South Africans in the ODIs, and leapfrogging from rather bottom to the fifth position of the ICC Men�s Cricket World Cup Super League 2020-22. Local cricket followers may look forward that SL would emulate the same fashion as the 3-match T20I got underway on Friday, with the momentum gained. more..

Sep 13 (FT) CID yesterday arrested Shabbir Abbas Gulamhusein, a well-known businessman, over his father�s murder four years ago, Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said. The suspect, a resident of Ethul Kotte, was produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate�s Court and was remanded till 23 Sept. The 37-year-old Shabbir is the youngest son of the late Gulamhusein. On 9 June 2017, Shabbir Abbas Gulamhusein passed away inside his office premises in Colombo. more..

Sep 13 (Island) Anyone who was calling for an election at a time like this should be sent to a psychiatrist because no one in his proper senses would ask for an election while people were dying of Covid-19, JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said. Commenting on the Opposition leader�s call for an election, he said: �This is not a time for elections. We had an election during the pandemic but those were initial stages when fewer than 100 people had got infected and only one two persons died. more..

Sep 13 (Island) The donation of medical/laboratory equipment worth Rs.20mn to IDH Hospital and the Colombo East Teaching Hospital as the first phase of the Thousand Hopes campaign organized by the Lions & Leos of Multiple District 306 was held recently. The donations included a CFX96 Dx Real-Time PCR Detection System (IVD), High flow Oxygen machine, Multichannel Pipette � Volume 120-1200, Centrifuge 5427 R, Freezer (-20 degree Celsius), Multichannel Pipette - Vol 10-100, more..

Sep 13 (FT) Weekend COVID-19 detections rose to 5,444, with 2,802 persons testing positive for COVID-19 on Saturday and 2,642 persons testing positive for COVID-19 yesterday. The patients detected yesterday include 2,641 persons from the New Year cluster and one overseas arrival. 12,285 PCR tests were carried out yesterday and 11,102 PCR tests and 3,160 rapid antigen tests were carried out on Saturday. more..

Sep 13 (Island) SL National record holder Yupun Abeykoon finished last in the men�s 100 metres but gained invaluable experience competing against the world�s best at the Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich on Thursday. Abeykoon who was the only South Asian to have competed in the men�s 100 metres at the Tokyo Olympics, clocked 10.25 seconds at the Diamond League final where only the top four clocked sub 10 seconds. With the World Championships and several other more..

Sep 13 (FT) Transparency International SL (TISL), whilst expressing deep concerns over the new Finance Act passed last week, has called on the Govt to ensure effective scrutiny and other measures to achieve the desired objectives. It said the Finance Act aims to grant tax amnesty for individuals who voluntarily disclose their undisclosed income and assets. TISL warned that this amnesty scheme could be abused for the purpose of money laundering unless regulatory authorities take more..

Sep 13 (TM) The Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians (SLCP) told The Morning that roughly 30,000 children over the age of 12 years who have comorbidities will be given a Covid-19 vaccine, tentatively from 21 September. A spokesperson for the SLCP said that the date is still tentative as the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Asela Gunawardena has yet to confirm it. However, he added that the vaccination process for more..

Sep 13 (FT) Everyone is aware of the challenges faced by ambulances and other emergency vehicles when trying to get through traffic in Sri Lanka. The 1990 Suwaseriya Pre-Hospital Ambulance Service has taken upon itself to educate the motorists on the importance of giving way to an ambulance on the road. Most people may not be aware that there is a medically stipulated window of time known as the Platinum 10, where emergency on-site resuscitation should be performed in less than 10 minutes. more..

Sep 13 (Island) State Minister Roshan Ranasinghe said that his Ministry would reimburse the cost incurred by local govt bodies in cremating the persons who died from COVID-19. He said that 2,417 cremations of COVID-19 victims had been carried out till Aug 31 by 69 local govt bodies and a sum of Rs 5,000 would be paid for each cremation to those local authorities. Accordingly a sum of Rs 12,085,000 would be paid in the first phase to the 69 local govt bodies that carried out cremations, more..

Sep 13 (TM) Trade unions, attached to the National Zoological Gardens Department and representing its employees, have written to Prez Rajapaksa in the wake of the resignation of the Dept�s Director General (DG) Ishini Wickremesinghe, requesting that said resignation not be accepted and that she be reappointed to the post. The unions have opined in their letter that Wickremesinghe�s loss of leadership to more..