Apr 19 (FT) Sri Lanka�s COVID-19 case count rose to 662,912 following the detection of 48 COVID-19 positive persons yesterday. Daily COVID-19 detections have remained below 100 since 7 April and a gradual drop in detections is seen. However, daily COVID-19 testing has been below 5,000 since 7 April and below 2,000 since 14 April. On Sunday, testing dropped to 987 PCR tests and 484 rapid antigen tests and 37 COVID-19 cases were detected. more..

Apr 19 (Island) Sri Lanka Athletics is celebrating its centenary this year. It is pertinent to remember the people who pioneered the track and field governing body. Amateur Athletic Association was born as a national sports organization in 1896 when Col. G.R. Savage and Wilton Bartlet and other enthusiasts in the European community and the predominant European clubs joined together to form the A.A.A. and it was affiliated to the British Amateur Association. more..

Apr 19 (Island) As part of its pledge to be a socially responsible entity, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts marks Earth Day 2022 by reiterating its biodiversity initiative � Cinnamon Rainforest Restoration Project. The rate of loss of green cover during the past 50 years is unprecedented in human history and Earth Hour, which falls on the 22nd of April every year, is one of the largest grassroots movements for the environment, engaging 190 countries across the world as a catalyst for positive environmental more..

Apr 19 (Island) The democracy-building initiatives during the National Unity Govt (2015-2019), commonly known as Yahapalanaya regime, represent the first concerted attempt taken towards political reforms in post-war SL. At the end of the war in 2009, historic opportunity was available for SL to embark on a new political journey by revitalising democratic institutions and processes. However, the continuation of democratic backsliding and faltering on the path of national reconciliation more..

Apr 19 (AJ) Court in Pakistan has sentenced six people to death after convicting them for their roles in last year�s vigilante killing of a SL factory manager accused by workers of committing blasphemy. Six men sentenced to death were convicted of murder of Priyantha Kumara in a case that outraged many Pakistanis. Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore, set up inside a high-security prison, also gave life sentences to nine people, more..

Apr 19 (ST) SL�s apparel industry is willing to purchase fuel from bunkering agents and Lanka IOC in a bid to ensure orders stay intact for the next three to four months, according to JAAF Deputy Chairman and Omega Line Group Director Felix Fernando. He noted that they were attempting to purchase fuel through the JAAF (apparel industry body) to Lanka IOC by paying in dollars at the landed cost. The apparel industry has been facing electricity shortages due to the regular more..

Apr 19 (DN) Two unbeaten teams St Peter's Bambalapitiya will meet Thurstan College Colombo in their under 19 division 1 cricket Tier B final which scheduled to be played today (19) at Police Park grounds, Bambalapitiya. Peterites will lead by spin all rounder Wanuja Sahan while Thurstan will captain by all rounder Bhawantha Jayasinghe. St. Peter�s entered the final when they beat Isipathana College by 4 wickets in the semi-final played at Surrey grounds Maggona while more..

Apr 19 (ST) Govt is hoping to raise US$8 billion from the lease or sale of valuable public assets to bolster rapidly dwindling foreign reserves, the report of a newly-appointed economic advisory committee has revealed. Among the main items in the list were the long term leases of Katunayake Int'l Airport for $2 billion, Mattala Airport for $300 million and Ratmalana Airport for $400 million. Arrangements have been made to hand over more..

Apr 19 (DM) While rejecting the move by the president to appoint a new cabinet, SJB called for an immediate repealing of the 20th Amendment and for the appointment of a committee of party leaders to scrap the Executive Presidency. SJB National Organizer Tissa Attanayake said that these two measures should be implemented within this week. �We want the repealing of 20th Amendment and the appointment of a committee on party leaders done within this week. more..

Apr 19 (CT) Former Olympian and Asian Games Gold medallist Sugath Thilakaratne has received threats for attending the protest in support of the ongoing movement against the Govt. Thilakarathne (48) attended a press conference organised by former athletes in support of the ongoing movement against Prez Rajapaksa at Independence Square recently, and afterwards he had received threats from a group of Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) employees, where he is employed. more..

Apr 19 (FT) SriLankan Airlines said it recorded its first profitable fourth quarter (Q4) since 2006 for the financial year that ended on 31 March with a group net profit of $ 1.7 million despite pandemic challenges. �Airline was able to achieve this financial turnaround through various measures in its 2021-22 financial year including scaling down staff costs and overheads; renegotiating supplier contracts; increasing cargo revenue and creating an ambitious growth plan capitalising on pent-up travel more..

Apr 19 (TM) Royal Turf Club (RTC) and those that attended the Nuwara Eliya horse-races last Friday (15) have received huge criticism on social media. That is after a popular glamour magazine has published photographs of the event on its online platforms. Interestingly, though, after 311 comments, those photos had been removed from the internet. Most of those viewer responses were very critical of the glamorous horseracing event held on Friday. It was observed that the removed posts also more..

Apr 19 (FT) Amidst continuous protest against him, Prez Rajapaksa admitted that his Govt had erred by banning the use of chemical fertiliser and should have sought assistance from the IMF. �I believe that we should have gone for a program with the IMF earlier. Also, I think the decision not to provide chemical fertilisers to farmers was an error. We have taken steps to revive that practice. Today, people are under immense pressure due to more..

Apr 19 (Island) Mahindra IDEAL Finance, one of Sri Lanka�s premier licensed finance companies, focused on rural and semi-urban consumers, recently added a new branch to its expanding island wide network. Located in Galle, a major commercial centre in the South for the rural and semi-urban population, this new branch serves to expand the growing presence of Mahindra IDEAL Finance across the country, while also providing increased convenience and access for customers. more..

Apr 19 (FT) Tourist arrivals to SL have exceeded the 325,000 mark, despite the multiple internal challenges emanating from the beginning of the month. As per the provisional data, a total of 40,560 tourists have arrived during the first 16-days of the month, whilst pushing the cumulative figure to 325,894 so far. However, it is notable that the daily average arrivals have dropped significantly from over 3,600 to 2,535, which is also lower than the first-week figure of 2,967 tourists in April, more..

Apr 19 (TM) The SJB, is ready to discuss with the SLFP and CWC regarding the no-confidence motion (NCM) mooted by the former against the Govt. SJB MP Tissa Attanayake, said that the no-confidence motion will be presented to Parliament this week, before which the SJB would have a discussion on the motion with the relevant parties. Both the SLFP and the CWC noted that the SJB had not taken this motion to a round table where they needed the other parties� support in Parliament in order to vote more..

Apr 19 (TM) PHU Leader Udaya Gammanpila, who was elected under the SLPP, but currently sits independent in Parliament, has stated that he is ready to support the no-confidence motion (NCM) filed by SJB � main Parliamentary Opposition � against the Govt, under two conditions. Gammanpila further stated that the conditions were: To ensure the support of 113 MPs for the no-confidence motion; and to support the interim all-party Govt to be formed after the defeat of the Govt in NCM. more..

Apr 19 (EN) State-owned Ceypetco raised fuel prices from the mid night of Monday to minimize the losses after sharp rupee depreciation and high global oil prices. It also removed a fuel rationing policy it implemented last week to limit the volume of fuel supply at pump to stop sheds from running out of fuel faster. The latest price hike will see the price of mostly used Octane 92 rising by 33.1% to a record 338 rupees a litre while more..

Apr 19 (FT) Moody�s Investors Service yesterday downgraded the Govt of Sri Lanka�s long-term foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to Ca from Caa2. The outlook is stable. It said the decision to downgrade the ratings is driven by the authorities� announcement of debt servicing suspension on external public debt repayments, which will lead to a series of defaults with the first coupon payments for the Govt�s international bonds coming due yesterday, 18 April. more..

Apr 19 (DM) The country is heading towards a massive shortage of antibiotics that are used to treat from minor to major infections in children and even adults, All-Island Private Pharmacy Owners' Association (ACPPOA) President Chandika Gankanda said. He said that the country only has 20% of essential medicines, which is only enough for another two months. "With the colossal depreciation of rupee against the US dollar, it is unable to import them. more..

Apr 19 (DM) Chief of Defence Staff and Army Commander General Shavendra Silva said that the SL Army does not mean harm to people whom they have committed to protect and neither does it hatch secret agendas as alleged. He said the Army is always with the people and they do not want to take any �stand� as some of those speculative stories claim. " We never ever mete out harm or harassment to anyone, more..

Apr 19 (FT) Demands being made for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign are many and vociferous. Those who are making these demands should however consider some factors. Firstly, the constitutional position. As far as the writer is aware, should the President resign, the Prime Minister acts for the President for a period of three months within which time the Parliament elects the next President to serve out the resigned President�s term till the next Presidential election. more..

Apr 19 (FT) Deviating from the low interest rate policy stance adopted over the last two years, the Central Bank at its monetary policy review meeting held on 8 April announced a doubling of the policy interest rates. Accordingly, Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the CB were raised by 700 basis points to 13.50% and 14.50%, respectively. Even before this policy announcement, market interest rates were on the rise due to heavy Govt borrowings. more..

Apr 19 (IDN) In a series of political appointments made by the SL govt in the past few months even as the economic crisis was looming large, the latest one pertains to the diplomatic position of Consul General at Milan, Italy. As of writing, the foreign ministry, under mounting public pressure, has clarified via its latest press release, that the person concerned will not be appointed the consul general in Milan. This follows foreign minister's earlier remark that it was only a proposal. more..

Apr 19 (ICG) Protests, which had been building from late February in response to SL�s worst economic crisis in nearly 75 years of independence, have now morphed into a nationwide uprising. Protesters are demanding the resignation of Prez Rajapaksa and removal of the Rajapaksa family from politics. The protest wave gained momentum as the results of the govt�s financial and economic mismanagement became increasingly visible amid rapidly disappearing hard currency reserves more..

Apr 19 (FT) Dr. Shanthayanan (Shanta) Devarajan, who will be part of SL�s delegation to IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings this week and talks on SL�s debt restructuring and IMF support program, answers questions posed to him by the Daily FT. He is Professor of the Practice of Int'l Development at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. He is also part of the 3-member advisory committee more..

Apr 19 (AD) Minister of Energy and Power Kanchana Wijesekera says a common fuel pricing formula for Lanka IOC and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) will be introduced in the future. In his first address in the parliament today as the Energy and Power Minister, the lawmaker said an agreement in this regard was reached with Lanka IOC in a discussion held yesterday. Speaking on the recent fuel price hike by the CPC after Lanka IOC�s move, Minister said the fuel prices more..

Apr 19 (DM) Responding to the reports that former Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekara was using a V8 luxury vehicle used earlier by Zahran Hashim who led the Easter Sunday Attacks, the police said a vehicle used by Zahran has not been seized by the police. However, the CID has seized a WP CAS 1411 4WD luxury vehicle was used by Easter Sunday attacker named Mohammad Ibrahim Illaf Ahmed who blew himself at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Kollupitiya. more..

Apr 19 (EN) Police chief C D Wickramaratne on Tuesday said former Attorney General Dappula De Livera is bound to answer questions over suspicions created by his remarks last year when he retired from the position. The police chief�s comments come as head of Catholic Church Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has alleged a conspiracy by unnamed parties in allowing the 2019 Easter Sunday attack to take place more..

Apr 19 (Island) SL trade unions will commence a countrywide series of protests, from tomorrow, demanding the resignation of Prez Rajapaksa, representatives of 50 trade unions that marched to Galle Face, in support of the anti-govt protestors, said. Joseph Stalin, General Secretary Ceylon Teachers� Union, one of the main unions representing teachers in state schools, said that the unions would start a countrywide protest campaign from 20 April demanding that all Rajapaksas more..

Apr 19 (AD) SLFP has removed its MP Dr. Suren Raghavan from all positions he has been holding in the party. The move came after MP Raghawan accepted a state ministerial portfolio offered by the incumbent govt. SLFP�s General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara conveyed this in a letter directed to MP Raghavan, who was serving as the party�s deputy secretary, Vanni District leader and secretary of int'l affairs. MP Jayasekara stated that disciplinary action will be sought against the MP. more..

Apr 19 (EN) SL�s rupee was quoted at 330/340 for telegraphic transfers at most banks on April 19, remaining at the same levels as the previous day, while the secondary market was inactive, market participants said. The central bank�s indicative spot was quoted at 310 rupees against the US dollar on Tuesday. On Monday, central bank�s telegraphic transfer rate was 322.7/335 against the US dollar. In the secondary market, there was no activity in the market & there we no active bond quotes too. more..

Apr 19 (SLN) SL Navy seized a stock of Kerala cannabis weighing about 50kg and 380g (wet weight) during a patrol conducted in Urumalai beach, Mannar this morning (18). The seizure was made by SLNS Thammanna in the North Central Naval Command, during a patrol in Urumalai beach. Accordingly, the Navy took hold of about 50kg and 380g of Kerala cannabis in 14 packages, after detection of a suspicious sack lying on the the beach. more..

Apr 19 (AD) Minister of Finance Ali Sabry has met with the Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva at IMF Headquarters in Washington DC. The IMF was positive on working with Sri Lanka on achieving a sustainable solution while discussions on Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for SL were also discussed. Minister of Finance Ali Sabry had met with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on 18th April more..

Apr 19 (CT) Human trafficking has become a challenge for the Anti-Malaria Campaign, Chairman of the Anti -Malaria Campaign (AMC), Dr. Prasad Ranaweera said. When contacted, Dr. Ranaweera appealed to all those travelling to Africa or any malaria endemic country to test for malaria should they develop a fever within one year of returning. At least, 25 Sri Lankans travel to African countries daily, a majority of them stay for about three months and then try to travel to Europe or Canada. more..