Dec 7 (DN) Ending the turmeric drought in the SL culinary sector and households, locally produced turmeric is now made available in the market mainly through individual growers. The govt in a bid to encourage local small to medium-size growers and also save foreign exchange banned the imports of Turmeric to Sri Lanka in Dec 2019. However, this led to a huge smuggling business of turmeric mainly from India. The demand for the spice doubled after the import ban as supermarkets ran out of more..

Dec 7 (Island) Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella told Parliament, on Saturday, that many MPs had serious doubts and concerns about the direction in which the Easter Sunday carnage investigations were heading. “Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has raised concerns about the lack of progress of investigations into the Easter Sunday bomb attacks. There are MPs on both sides of the House, who are not happy with more..

Dec 7 (AD) The investigative committee appointed to inquire into the Mahara Prison riot handed over its interim report to Minister of Justice Ali Sabry today. The 5-member committee headed by retired High Court judge Sarojini Kusala Weerawardena handed over its interim report to the minister at the Justice Ministry premises, a short while ago. Minister Sabry appointed a committee on Nov 30 to investigate the incident at the Mahara Prison on Nov 29 and to submit a report with recommendations. more..

Dec 7 (MFA) SL’s Ambassador Designate to the US Ravinatha Aryasinha, on Friday, 4 Dec had his copy of credentials accepted by the US State Department. In line with the COVID protocols, the formal ceremony was dispensed with and he will now function as the Appointed Ambassador and Head of Mission, pending the formal presentation of credentials to the President of the US. Ambassador Aryasinha arrived in the USA on 1 Dec, and witnessed by the staff of the SL Mission more..

Dec 7 (Island) Lord Naseby, the Honorary President of The All Party Parliamentary British Sri Lanka Group has, on the basis of assurances received from the heads of ICRC, Colombo, on three occasions; denied torture was taking place in post-war SL. In a letter addressed to Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for South Asia & Commonwealth, reminded the Minister how some Tamils caused self-harm to gain entry into the UK. more..

Dec 7 (MFA) The outgoing South African High Commissioner in Colombo Robina Marks called on Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Foreign Ministry on 4 Dec. HC apprised the Minister that the Govt of South Africa was keen to obtain assistance from SL craftsmen to develop the Jewellery Industry in South Africa. Minister Gunawardena sought the South African expertise in the canning industry for the food and vegetable industry in SL as around 40% of the harvest more..

Dec 7 (CT) SLMC MP Ali Zaheer Moulana, resigned from his Party. Moulana said he resigned because the petition submitted to the Supreme Court challenging the cremation of Muslim COVID-19 victims, was dismissed. He sent his letter of resignation to SLMC Leader Rauff Hakeem. The following is stated in the letter of resignation: “Muslim people living in Sri Lanka are being harassed. Govt does not have any interest in other ethnicities living in this country. more..

Dec 7 (AD) It was revealed at the COPE that the then Foreign Minister has influenced the procurement process of the National Lotteries Board which was under the purview of Foreign Ministry in 2017. Accordingly, a tender which had completed the procurement process for the printing of scratch lotteries in 2017 has been suspended by a Cabinet decision at the request of the then Foreign Minister. more..

Dec 7 (Island) The JVP-led NPP yesterday called on the government to appoint an impartial commission comprising Supreme Court judges to investigate the Mahara Prison riot. NPP Leadership Committee Member Attorney-at-Law Lal Wijeanayake said: “We still have hope that there are judges who uphold the values of justice and truth. Addressing the media he said: “More than five days have elapsed since the Mahara incidents, but so far no reports of any magisterial inquiry or post-mortems. more..

Dec 7 (EN) Wholesale vegetable traders from the recently relocated Manning Market in Pettah are engaged in a protest near the Presidential Secretariat since this morning, claiming that space allocated for them at the new location in Peliyagoda is not sufficient. Gathered at the state-sanctioned demonstration site in close proximity to the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, the protestors claim that their appeals to authorities in this regard have fallen on deaf ears. more..

Dec 7 (CT) The govt has decided to make good on a promise made but one that was left unfulfilled by the good governance govt to provide school girls with sanitary pads free of charge, sources said. Relevant instructions in this regard were given by PM Mahinda Rajapaksa to Minister of Education Prof G.L. Peiris. Accordingly, a discussion on how the programme to distribute the sanitary pads in govt schools has begun between more..

Dec 7 (Island) State Minister of Money and Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal, on Friday (4) assured SJB MP Buddhika Pathirana that immediate remedial action would be taken in respect of shocking revelation that some unscrupulous businessmen produced a toxic brew in the name of manufacturing artificial toddy, and corrupt Excise Officers exploited the Technical Crime Report to deprive the govt Rs. 80 billion in revenue due. more..

Dec 7 (UN) The United Nations in Sri Lanka and the Australian High Commission have announced a new joint effort to empower communities in the Mannar District to prevent sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against women and girls. The programme, launched on 1st Sept 2020, will address the systemic and transformative changes needed to ensure families and communities support non-violence and gender equitable relationships and for children to uphold gender equitable attitudes. more..

Dec 7 (FT) TNA Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam on Friday lambasted the Govt for creating a bogeyman out of minorities to hide its inabilities while failing to address real issues being faced in the country. “The Govt is trying to create unnecessary issues to cover up its inabilities. It is creating a bogeymen to mislead the Sinhalese people,” Rasamanickam said during the debate on the votes of the Ministries more..

Dec 7 (TM) Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay has stressed the need to continue to deal with the matters related to fishermen and their boats in a humanitarian manner, in accordance with the existing understandings. He expressed these views when he met Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Fisheries Minister Douglas Devanada at the Foreign Ministry today. HC appreciated ongoing cooperation between the authorities of the two countries on matters related to fishermen. more..

Dec 7 (SBS) Victoria's hotel quarantine program has restarted, with Melbourne Airport welcoming its first international flights in more than five months. SriLankan Airlines flight UL604 from Colombo landed just before 8am on Monday, the first of eight int'l passenger flights carrying 253 travellers due to touch down today. Victoria has not accepted international flights since early July, when it was revealed a number of hotel quarantine workers had contracted Covid-19 from guests. more..

Dec 7 (TG) In Sri Lankan cuisine, a pinch of turmeric brings the gold colour to sodhi, the mildly spiced coconut soup eaten with the island’s carbohydrate-rich foods. Turmeric is valued in every SL kitchen for its subtle flavour, distinct yellow colour and powerful aroma. In ayurvedic medicine, this humble spice is hailed for its values as an anti-inflammatory. But cultivation of the traditional root almost died out during the SL civil war, and more..

Dec 7 (Island) SL’s new High Commissioner to Nairobi, Veluppillai Kananathan, has told Kenyan President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s govt is keen to promote ties with Africa and in particular with Kenya which is an active member of the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA). Sri Lanka High Commission in Kenya is also concurrently accredited to eight other African countries in the region. Kananathan presented the Letter more..

Dec 7 (CT) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera instructed officials of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) to suspend issuing sand mining licences, where the mining is conducted in coconut lands. In the backdrop of the Consultative Committee meeting of the Ministry of Environment in Parliament on 4 Nov it was revealed that sand mining in coconut lands has caused severe environmental damage and reduced coconut yields. It was also emphasised that sand mining & extractions in coconut more..

Dec 7 (DM) Western Province will not come under a complete lockdown during the festive season but areas where patients are reported will come under isolation till the situation is brought under control, Army Commander, Lt. Gen Shavendra Silva said. Following the isolation declared in the Hunupitiya GN Division of Slave Island, 60 Watta in the Cinnamon Gardens Police area and Kokila Road in Wellawatta from today morning, more..

Dec 7 (TM) Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) has sent an urgent appeal to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions of the UNHRC, last week, following the aftermath of the Mahara Prison Complex riots that killed 11 inmates and injured 107, as of 2 Dec. In the letter of appeal, CPRP Chairman Seneka Perera more..

Dec 7 (AD) The District Court of Colombo today extended the enjoining order against MTV Channel Private Ltd in the defamation case filed by George Steuart Health (Pvt) Ltd over defamatory news broadcast on its prime time news telecasts against the company and its chairman Dilith Jayaweera. The District Court today also refused an application by MTV Channel (Pvt) Ltd to vacate the enjoining order issued against MTV Channel (Pvt) Ltd. MTV Channel (Pvt) Ltd represented by more..

Dec 7 (DM) Sri Lanka is to reopen the BIA for foreign tourist arrivals by following a travel bubble system. Under the proposed system, tourists will be able to visit only selected destinations in SL. A January deadline has been set to finalise the date to reopen the airport with the approval of the health authorities. A joint committee, consisting of officials from the health and tourism sectors are in the process of drafting the guidelines to be more..

Dec 8 (DM) Last week, Batticaloa’s TNA MP Shanakiyan Ragul Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam delivered a speech in Parliament, the essence of which was to appeal for the right of Tamils to mourn their dead and right of Muslims to bury their dead. The young MP said he felt sorry for the majority Sinhalese because the govt was conjuring Billos (boogymen) from nowhere to distract the community from the real-world problems. The real boogyman, he quipped is Chinese investments. more..

Dec 8 (DM) In most cases statistics, though representing serious social issues and problem, just become figures in the eyes of the people. Even the so-called educated people treat them as statistics reminding us of a famous quotation, The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic. (This statement is often attributed to the former Soviet strongman Joseph Stalin, but it is also attributed to a 1932 essay by the German journalist and satirist Kurt Tucholsky, who wrote more..

Dec 8 (CT) One can tell several kilometres away that one is reaching the site of Peliyagoda Fish Market when travelling towards Colombo on the last stretch of the Katunayake to Colombo Expressway. For some, it is probably the stench of rotting fish entrails but to the others it is probably the friendly aroma of food and the scent money. With the swelling numbers of COVID-19 patients from Brandix facility in Minuwangoda, more..

Dec 8 (ST) In a village near the town of Nawagattegama in the Puttalam district, a group of children climb to the highest point in the area daily – a 60-foot water tank, to study. Armed with cellphones and books, the children are using the tall tank to get a clear signal on their phones to follow online classes, according to a report this week in our sister paper, the Daily Mirror, which adds that the signal is weak in the rest of the village. The children are atop the water tower the whole day, more..

Dec 8 (CT) From my article one on Corona which I wrote in March 2020, I have been trying to burr in to the thick skulls of the authorities the importance of being honest and authentic when briefing the public on the pandemic. Not to be. It looks as if both the health authorities and the govt were deluding themselves while either unwittingly or otherwise pulling the wool over the eyes of the public. Take the so called first wave of the pandemic. From the intransigent position of not testing enough of more..

Dec 8 (GV) The Human Rights Commission of SL conducted the first national study on the treatment and conditions of prisoners from February 2018 to January 2020. The findings of the report are very relevant, especially in light of the prisoner unrest and violence that took place at Anuradhapura Remand Prison in April 2020 and last week at Mahara Closed Prison in the context of the spread of COVID-19 in prisons. more..

Dec 8 (CT) As the year comes to close with the global pandemic in full swing, there is no doubt a sense of desperation mingled with hope that a cure will emerge soon and finally put an end to the depressing lockdowns, muffling masks and all the restrictions imposed by the new normal. Society is yearning to go back to the old normal where we can carry on with our lives, putting the dreaded Wuhan virus miles behind us as we enter a new decade of technological innovation and optimism. more..

Dec 8 (DM) On Nov 30, between 10 and 11 I contacted a close associate of Uncle Simon, known as a walking library of the last Yakka Generation. Here is a part of our conservation on the Yakkure - Manampitiya Road. *Do you really need the Yakkure – Manampitiya road? Sir, when we were in the old village, we used that road. *How about now? We haven’t used it very often. *Where did you go on this road? To the jungle, to Manampitiya and to Polonnaruwa. Why you ask for the road now? more..

Dec 8 (CT) Recently, the following conversation took place between journalists’ and me. Question: After your recent replies to questions posed and your maiden speech in Parliament you are being referred to as a racist. What have you to say about it? Answer: According to Chambers Dictionary racism means belief in the inherent superiority of some races over others usually with the implication of a right to be dominant. It also means discriminative treatment based on such belief. more..

Dec 8 (DM) Kanishka Weerasinghe will step down as Director General/CEO of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC), early next year. Weerasinghe, who has cited personal reasons for his decision, will relinquish office after 23 years of distinguished service to the EFC, five of them as Director General. Credited with strengthening the EFC brand both locally and overseas, his leadership has enabled employers to overcome many challenges over the years, more..

Dec 8 (CI) Sixth time is the charm it seems for the Galle Gladiators as they registered their first win of LPL, beating the Colombo Kings by eight wickets, to keep their faint hopes of qualifying for the semifinals alive. The win was built on the back of reinvigorated performance in the field, which included a five-wicket haul from Mohammad Amir, a return to form for Lakshan Sandakan, and some more-than-competent catching in the deep. more..

Dec 8 (Island) Parliament of SL has become a metaphor for bitter acrimony, which breeds conflict and noncooperation, but there are moments of common purpose and cooperation even when its members do not discuss ways and means of feathering their already cosy, lived-in nests. We have witnessed a few such rare occasions in the House, of late, thanks to the exemplary conduct of an Opposition MP and a Minister. SL is awash with narcotics, as is public knowledge. more..

Dec 8 (Island) With most cricket playing nations initiating a franchise based tournament in their calendar, SL cricket was left stranded for years not being able to start something of their own. However, with the launch of LPL, there was a shot in the arm. Interest for franchise ownerships were mostly shown by Indian and Pakistani business entities. Jaffna Stallions’ ownership though is different. Anandan Arnold, who played cricket for St. John’s, Jaffna is the founder CEO of Jaffna Stallions and more..

Dec 8 (CI) Only seven overs of the Jaffna Stallions' match against the Dambulla Viiking could be played as rain forced the teams to go off, before continuing more or less relentlessly to force the match to be abandoned. The no-result means the teams take a point each and remain atop the table. The Stallions, who have a superior net run rate, will continue to be No. 1. Stallions had had the better of the overs that were bowled, after putting the Viiking in to bat. Suranga Lakmal trapped Sadeera more..

Dec 8 (Island) The Sabuddhi Sports Literature Awards Ceremony 2020, sponsored by Sri Lanka Telecom and Mobitel, will be held on 11th December (Friday) 2020 at the Duncan White Auditorium of the Ministry of Sports, Colombo 7. This is the first time that such an awards ceremony is held in Sri Lanka and two veteran sports journalists, Palitha Perera and Premasara Epasinghe, have been nominated by the Sabuddhi Literary Circle for the once-in-a-lifetime Sabuddhi Gold Award this year. more..

Dec 8 (FT) Earnings of listed companies in the third quarter of 2020 have swelled to Rs. 73.7 billion, the highest for a three month period since late 2018, and reflect significant recovery after the resumption of the economy following the COVID-19 first wave-induced shutdown. Softlogic Stockbrokers Research which released its analysis of results of 277 companies (out of 285 listed) described more..