Dec 31 (CT) Sinhala Buddhists in this country guided by the Buddhist way of life, had big hearts over the centuries in ethnic relationships. Although at present the ethnicity, religion and caste are considered as a prerequisite for national leadership, in the history we had kings with different ethnicities with the concurrence of the people in several instances. They were not invaders who grabbed the power by force although we had number of such kings. For example, Nissanka Malla who more..

Dec 31 (Island) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Gama Samaga Pilisandarak (GSP) programme has apparently stood the people inhabiting far-flung corners of the country in good stead. Prez seems to have taken a leaf out of the book of the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa, who made a name for himself as a man of action. President Premadasa launched a presidential mobile service (PMS), which he craftily used to make inroads into the provinces at the expense of the PCs. more..

Dec 31 (SO) Trainee Officer Cadet, Shalinda Bandara Amarakoon had always dreamt of soaring above the skies. As a child he had often told his mother, Shiranthi Mapitigama that he wanted to fly and be free, just like a bird. The constant talk of wanting to be like a bird had even earned him the childhood nickname Kurulla (Bird) coined by Shiranthi. To others, 23-year-old Shalinda born to former Kegalle municipal councilor more..

Dec 31 (SO) The Covid-19 pandemic has become an unprecedented crisis to international commerce and has caused extraordinary hardships to the economies of every country. The social impact due to the economic downturn is worse than the financial crisis. Therefore, the situation requires a coordinated response and cohesion of the Govt and the private sector of the country. The private sector the world over, including SL, holds more capacity to provide short-term and long-term solutions more..

Dec 31 (Island) Those who worship free markets would say, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Nothing comes free. Everything has a price which, they claim, is determined by the play of demand and supply in a market where everyone is endowed with the capacity to obtain all relevant information. Nice on paper. But let’s go along with the story. So, if there’s no such thing as a free lunch, what do these pundits have to say about the MCC’s purported gift (withdrawn recently after intense lobbying by more..

Dec 31 (DM) The year 2020 has been a year like no other. The COVID-19 pandemic ensured that 2020 would go down in history as the year which took more than 1.7 million lives, caused thousands of job losses and widespread restrictions of movement, especially air travel. This meant that economies contracted like never before and work from home became the new norm. But what did this mean for us as individuals & human beings? more..

Dec 31 (DN) The ultimate dream of every talented up-coming SL cricketer is to represent the country at the highest level. And to score a half-century and claim a four-wicket haul on his debut is even more remarkable. This is exactly what Wanindu Hasaranga achieved on his maiden Test appearance for his country in the first Test against South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. The 23-year-old leg-spinner showed a great amount of maturity in his very first outing and also provided more..

Dec 31 (Island) The fun filled festive season has many highlights and one of them obviously is the Boxing Day Test match. There were three happening at the same time and while the Indians turned things around remarkably to catch the Aussies off guard at the MCG, Pakistan stretched the game to the final day before going down fighting at the Bay Oval. At Centurion, Sri Lankans, meanwhile, failed to show up. Not only did they suffer an innings defeat, half their side broke down as well making more..

Dec 31 (DN) The injury prone Sri Lanka cricket team is likely to miss the services of five senior players for the second Test from Jan 3 to 7 at Imperial Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. According to team sources, Dhananjaya de Silva and Kasun Rajitha will definitely miss the second Test and the entire England series, while Lahiru Kumara and Dinesh Chandimal are likely to miss the second Test commencing this Sunday. more..

Dec 31 (CI) South Africa have won more competitive Test matches against more competitive teams than this SL one - albeit that their fight was dimmed through injury and not fault of their own - but they will still savour this victory like it was one of the best ones. "A Test win never comes easy. You've still got to earn it," Quinton de Kock, their temporary Test captain, said. "We fought hard with the bat. It was very difficult. It still feels good. Our bowlers came back really nicely in the second innings. more..

Dec 31 (FT) SL Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) extended support to the return of tourism, despite the move triggering three COVID-19 positive cases. SLAITO said it has been brought to its notice about the news of the three COVID-infected tourists among the group of Ukrainians who flew on Monday. “When opening for tourism we have to be prepared to handle such situations. So long as the necessary guidelines are in place and followed, it’s unlikely this can reach out to the society,” more..

Dec 31 (Island) With Sri Lanka Athletics announcing qualifying standards in advance to select several pools targeting international events, the 98th National Athletics Championship, which concluded on Tuesday, witnessed a number of athletes pushing their limits to produce outstanding performances. Despite being hampered by the absence of preparation meets including the trial meets which were abandoned in the eleventh hour due to more..

Dec 31 (CI) Left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks, who has played one Test for South Africa, has been added to their squad for the New Year's Test at the Wanderers. Hendricks was part of the original 15-man squad that was announced on December 11 but had to be withdrawn for reasons related to Covid-19. Although CSA does not disclose the names of infected players, because of doctor-patient confidentiality, coach Mark Boucher indicated Hendricks had been affected by the virus more..

Dec 31 (Island) The TNA lost its mayoral post in the Jaffna Municipal Council to EPDP following a vote taken at the JMC chamber yesterday. In the close contested election, TNA’s Arnold Emmanuel received 20 votes and EPDP’s Wishvalingam Manivannan 21. The vote was held after the budget proposals for the year 2021 had been defeated on two occasions. Arrangements had been made to hold an election on Dec 30 for the post of Chairman of the Nallur PS, where too more..

Dec 31 (FT) Hundreds of renewable power generation companies in SL are calling on the Govt to gazette its renewable energy target of 70% by 2030 as legally enshrining the goal will help the country fast-track dozens of backlogged projects that could add 1.5 gigawatts (GW) to the national grid. Solar Industries Association (SIA) Secretary Lakmal Fernando said that even though the goal of generating 70% of power more..

Dec 31 (FT) The webinar organised by ICC SL, Daily FT, CIMA and BCG to discuss the required strategies to attract FDI to Sri Lanka noted that investors had removed $ 83 billion from developing countries since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the largest capital outflow ever recorded. Further according to UNCTAD global FDI flows are expected to contract between 30% to 40% during 2020/21. The contraction in FDI therefore is going to hit developing countries particularly hard. more..

Dec 31 (FT) The contract to construct 3,000 housing units for middle-income families and newly wedded couples was awarded to a group of local contractors recently. Maga Engineering, Access Engineering, Sanken Construction Company, Nawaloka Construction Company, Tudawe Brothers, Int'l Construction Consortium, State Engineering Corporation, George Stuart Engineering and Edward and Christie will undertake the project as a joint venture. This will be the first installment of more..

Dec 31 (Island) The UNP has written to religious leaders on the cremation of those who die due to coronavirus infection against certain religious rituals. Deputy Leader of UNP Ruwan Wijewardene has, in a letter to the religious leaders, said that the cremation issue has got internationalised as the govt has mismanaged it. Deputy Leader says that the end result of this delay is that various forces that seek to discredit SL nationally and more..

Dec 31 (Island) Otara Gunewardene has launched the online platform, www.whoweare.lk, that shares the products of local creators from around our beautiful island and promotes SL ingenuity across the globe! It is yet another brand by the accomplished businesswoman, a pioneer in the fields of fashion and retail in Sri Lanka, and one of the most well-known entrepreneurs in the country. Promoting Sri Lanka and SL made has been her passion for the last 25 plus years – more..

Dec 31 (Island) State Minister of Rural Roads and Other Infrastructure, Nimal Lanza said that, it is planned to provide an interchange to the Biyagama area on the Southern Expressway to build interconnections between the Katunayake, Biyagama and Koggala Investment Zones, to promote industries in the Biyagama Investment Zone and to provide transport facilities to the people in the area. State Minister expressed these views while inaugurating road development projects more..

Dec 31 (FT) Around Rs. 60 million has been allocated from the 2021 Budget to provide facilities to the three former Presidents and the widow of a former President, according to Budgetary Estimates released by the Finance Ministry. The funds for the former Presidents and Hema Premadasa, the widow of late Prez R. Premadasa, has been allocated under the Operational Activities of the Budget of the Prez. more..

Dec 31 (FT) The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) in a statement yesterday welcomed the arrival of the first group of tourists to Sri Lanka (SL) since the country re-opened its borders for tourism this week. THASL President Sanath Ukwatte expressed his optimism for the success of the pilot program and his confidence that hotels participating in the Government’s post-COVID19 tourism program are capable and trained to handle tourism in the new normal. The statement said more..

Dec 31 (Island) Five members of the Ratnapura Teaching Hospital and nine patients had tested positive for COVID-19, Regional Director Health Services Sabaragamuwa Province, Dr. Kapila Kannangara said. Among them were a doctor, two nurses, two members of the minor staff working in a ward where those who were suspected of having COVID-19 were receiving treatment. Dr. Kannangara said: “We have sent all of them for treatment and also taken steps to prevent more..

Dec 31 (FT) Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda, and Prisons COVID-19 clusters yesterday expanded to 38,979 patients, with the detection of 639 COVID-19 positive persons. 636 persons among those who tested positive yesterday were associates of the Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster. The patients detected yesterday brought the total number of patients detected in the island to 42,702. Count includes 1,680 returnees from abroad, more..

Dec 31 (DM) Extending warm greetings to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for the New Year 2021, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi said that he hoped 2021 will witness further expansion of bilateral ties. Reaffirming the cordial relationship that has always existed between Egypt and Sri Lanka, Egyptian President Al Sisi extended his heartfelt best wishes and greetings to Prez Rajapaksa and the people of Sri Lanka for the New Year 2021. In a letter to Prez Rajapaksa, Egyptian Prez said, more..

Dec 31 (AD) Four new Covid-19 related deaths have been recorded in SL. The new development brings the total number of fatalities to 199. One of the victims was identified as a 72-year-old man from Batticaloa. He died of Covid-19 pneumonia and meningitis while receiving treatment at Batticaloa Teaching Hospital today (30). A 70-year-old woman who was residing in Col 10 meanwhile passed away yesterday (29). She was transferred from Colombo National Hospital to Homagama Hospital more..

Dec 31 (TG) The Muslim Council of Britain is launching a legal challenge to the SL govt’s policy that all people who die of Covid must be cremated, even in violation of their religious beliefs. The insistence on cremation has caused great distress among the country’s Muslim minority. Islam stipulates that the dead must be buried. WHO guidelines permit the burial or cremation of people who die of Covid, but the SL govt adopted more..