May 8 (DM) About 13 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests conducted by the laboratories other than the laboratories of the Health Ministry so far had been found to be erroneous, the Association of Govt Medical Laboratory Technologists said. Association Chairman Ravi Kumudesh said that eight PCR tests conducted by the laboratory at Sri J'pura University, four reports by the Colombo Uni and one from KDU more..

May 9 (CT) Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his economic wisdom stressed the need for the revival of sectors such as tourism, garments and investments, rather than borrowings, to grow the economy. Sri Lanka's top eight foreign exchange (FX) earners last year in descending order according to the CB were remittances led by housemaids' repatriation of FX ($6,717million); garments ($5,596million); tourism ($3,607million); tea ($1,346.40million); air transport ($1,184mil); more..

May 9 (CT) TNA is being criticized these days due to their participation in the meeting convened by the PM at Temple Trees of the parliamentarians of the last parliament. Ajith P. Perera and Sujeewa Senasinghe, former UNP parliamentarians and now members of Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) came in a private television channel recently and accused the TNA of having a deal with the govt. A candidate of the JVP of the forthcoming general election also expressed same sentiments. more..

May 9 (CT) Serious questions have been raised about the current Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the UK Saroja Sirisena billing an exorbitantly priced air ticket to SL Govt for personal travel undertaken for a medical procedure. The air fare of nearly Rs 700,000 indicates the ticket was a business class or first class fare, billed to GOSL as an economy class ticket and approved by Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ravinatha more..

May 9 (CT) Covid-19 outbreak has dealt a body blow to the economy, social fabric and psyche of the world never before witnessed since the Great Depression of the 1930s. What is different from previous calamities including the Great Depression is the growing interdependence of world economies and the connectivity of the global community through the explosion of digital technology and the Internet. The impact of Covid-19 on the world economy makes the 2008 global financial crisis more..

May 9 (CT) Presently, there is a furor created in political circles in Sri Lanka about the necessity to strictly follow the applicable constitutional provisions for holding elections and summoning Parliament. This article attempts to analyse the applicable legal norms to this question in the background that the country is presently faced with a crisis situation created by the Corona pandemic. The legal maxim on which the doctrine of necessity is based originated in the writings of the medieval jurist more..

May 9 (DM) Elections Commission has scheduled June 20 as the new date for the postponed election of April 25. Eight Fundamental Rights petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court regarding the holding of elections on June 20. Three separate benches comprising three judges each are expected to begin hearing them next week from May 11th onwards. However, there is every chance that after preliminary hearings, more..

May 9 (DM) As the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic continues — with some medical and social analysts describing it as a third world war — the United Nations yesterday and today marks the time of remembrance and reconciliation for those who lost their lives during the second world war. By 3:00 p.m. yesterday, the confirmed Covid-19 patients was a staggering 3,932,600 while the international death toll was more than 271,000. The positive news was that more than 1,348,900 had recovered more..

May 9 (Island) A US traffic cop, in Utah, recently stopped an SUV, which was zigzagging, on a highway. He was beside himself; he couldn’t see the driver. It took a while for him to realise that the culprit was a five-year-old boy, who could barely reach the pedals. The young man, upon being asked whither he was bound, disclosed his mission; he was on his way to California to buy a Lamborghini, of all things! What on earth made that five-year-old think he would be able to own a Lamborghini? more..

May 9 (DN) Radio, in our view is not merely a matter of technology through which music, entertainment, information, news and increasingly fake news and many other forms of knowledge come to people. More importantly, by bringing all this, radio like all other forms of mass media also becomes a means of politics. When we refer to politics, we do not mean the contemporary popular understanding of the word that tend to denote divisive party politics in different national settings or across borders. more..

May 9 (DM) Politics seems to overshadow COVID-19 threat that had so far eclipsed everything in the country – political, social and economic issues as well as matters personal to individuals. One reason for this new turn of events is people being used to the daily reports on the number of COVID-19 patients which had on some days exceeded 60, besides the heightened interest of the masses on politics. Almost all Opposition political parties are obsessed these days with their demand for more..

May 9 (DM) Can we get back to normal social and economic life that we had, before COVID-19 shattered it beyond shape? Or should we at all? Urban middle-class in general expect they can get back to their usual life, once COVID-19 outbreak is under control and the curfew removed. Eager to have their usual life as early as possible, they often tend to pick little quarrels with the govt on daily issues. Some do not want the govt to more..

May 9 (Island) Our Naval and Maritime Academy (NMA) situated in Trincomalee is the prime training establishment of officers and sailors of the SL Navy. Brave young men and women who join our Navy either as Officers (Cadet entry, Sir John Kotalawala University entry, Direct entry, or Service entry) or as Sailors (Seaman branch, Engineering branch, Electrical engineering branch, Supply branch or Medical branch), they all undergo some part of their training at the NMA. more..

May 9 (DM) Less than two years ago, Dr. W.A. Wijewardena, former Deputy Governor of the CB, made the case against budgets that excessively promoted spending: it would put money into the hands of consumers who would spend the bulk of it on imports. H.A. de S. Gunasekara, writing on the balance of payments deficit in 1950, was blunter: 75% of ordinary expenditures were on imports. But if you read some of the prognoses for COVID-19’s impact on us, you’d swear that import more..

May 9 (DM) Coaches who have not even won a medal at national level or followed any international coaching courses have created a coaching mafia which, if unchecked by the national sports associations and the Sports Ministry, would produce a dark era for the future of sports in the country, warned veteran coaching couple Sunil Gunawardena and K.G. Badra Gunawardena. This coaching mafia especially in athletics may be gaining prominence more..

May 9 (TM) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka today (06) warned that it will be compelled to take regulatory action against banks and financial institutions if they do not reduce lending rates as desired by the Central Bank soon. “Financial institutions are urged to reduce lending rates without further delay, failing which, the Central Bank will be compelled to take appropriate regulatory action to bring down market lending rates,” it said in a press release. more..

May 9 (DN) Sri Lanka has been successful so far, compared to most countries in the world, in the fight against Covid-19. The mind-numbing figures of death and infection streaming in from many parts of the globe are not being reflected in SL. An infection rate of around 700 with nine deaths in a population of over 21 million are figures to arouse excitement. But surprisingly, no glowing headlines applauding the success of this small relatively poor Indian Ocean island embellish the front pages. more..

May 9 (FT) The Govt is currently evaluating a price increase request from the pharmaceutical industry on over 70 types of price-controlled drugs and devices due to the Rupee depreciation, officials said this week. Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI) confirmed that the request had been made to the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) under the Health Ministry. more..

May 9 (Island) Manufacturing activity in Rubber and Plastics and Wearing Apparels in Feb 2020 has led to a decrease in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) by 0.3% to 103.9 compared to Feb 2019, Economic Indicators Report of Dept of Census & Statistics said. Two manufacturing industries; rubber and plastic products and wearing apparel mainly contributed to this overall decrease by -18.5% and -12.8% respectively. This was before most of the world went into lockdown in March, more..

May 9 (Island) As the behaviour of future travellers in the post-COVID-19 era is expected to be different, SL’s hospitality sector is preparing to welcome them by retraining its staff, according to a leading resort chain in the country. Jetwing Symphony PLC has begun retraining its staff to equip them with the skills required to welcome and how to deal with post-COVID-19 travellers during their stay in Jetwing hotels. "We are preparing to handle the emerging changes in customer behaviour more..

May 9 (FT) The SLPP yesterday said if Opposition political parties were genuinely concerned about public finance, they should have backed the amendments to the Vote on Account (VoA) which was proposed in February but later withdrawn by the Govt. It was responding to statements by the JVP, which on Wednesday questioned the legality under which a VoA for March-May was included in the Pre-Election Budgetary Position Report more..

May 9 (TM) Former CB Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy has been appointed a Non Executive Independent Director of Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC with effect from 25th March, the company said in a disclosure to the CSE. Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy served as the Governor of the CB from July 2016 to Dec 2019. He has 30 years of experience in policy making and providing economic advisory services, on both macroeconomic and structural issues at more..

May 9 (PTI) Sri Lanka will target high-spending tourists to revive the tourism sector which has been shattered by the coronavirus pandemic, Prez Rajapaksa has said. Widespread travel restrictions and the closure of airports and national borders to curb the spread of the virus had plunged international tourism into its worst crisis. During a meeting with the members of the newly-appointed Presidential Task Force on Economic Revival and Poverty Eradication, Gotabaya Rajapaksa more..

May 9 (AD) A hotel in Palamunai in Kattankudy, which had been used by the Easter Sunday attacks ringleader Zahran Hashim to recruit Islamic women to his extremist cause, has been raided on Friday. The raid was carried out by STF and CID. The location was uncovered based on the information divulged by one of the suspects previously arrested over the terror attacks. According to the CID, more..

May 9 (CT) Union Bank subsidiary UB Finance Co. Ltd said that the Company is looking at a significant capital infusion by a multinational Japanese investor and is confident in further strengthening its position going forward. "We hopefully planning to conclude the deal within this quarter and the new investor most probably will acquire over 75% of the company," the company official said. According to them, this investment might be one of largest investments of this year in financial market. more..

May 9 (Island) Statues of national heroes, and those who deserve to be honoured for their services, are to be located in one place, without being spread throughout the country. This decision had been taken by the Cabinet, on Wednesday, Minister Bandula Gunawardane told a news conference. Gunawardane said that the new procedure, to be adopted, was aimed at introducing a uniform policy with regard to honouring those who had rendered outstanding contributions to the nation. more..

May 9 (FT) All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) made another appeal to the Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe to reconsider the decision taken to cremate dead bodies of confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 and provide the option of the burial of bodies, while complying with all mandatory precautions and with the supervision of Police and PHIs. In a letter set to Dr. Jasinghe, ACJU said they were making more..

May 9 (DN) President - Retail Sector John Keells Holdings Charitha Subasinghe predicted that 30–40 percent of people introduced to online retail were likely to remain using that channel after the COVID-19 crisis is over. He made these observations at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce yesterday in the presence of leading retail personalities. Subasinghe said there would be new health and safety regulations on the retail sector from May 11. Outlets will have to restrict the number of shoppers more..

May 9 (AD) Eleven more persons have tested positive for COVID-19, the Ministry of Health has confirmed. The positive coronavirus cases count in SL thereby reached 835. In the meantime, 240 coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospitals after making complete recoveries. 586 active cases are currently under medical care at the IDH Hospital, Welikanda Base Hospital, Colombo East Base Hospital, Iranawila Hospital, Kattankudy Base Hospital, Navy Hospital and more..

May 9 (BDC) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is keen on seeing former captain Kumar Sangakkara vie for the “big post in the ICC,” according to SLC secretary Mohan de Silva. deSilva said, “We are waiting for Sangakkara’s term be over at the MCC. Once his term is over there, we have a plan to utilize his knowledge at the SLC. We also want to promote him for the big post in the ICC.” On asked whether the SLC is eyeing ICC chairman post for him, more..

May 9 (ST) Ceylon Tea has been making relative gains in prices but this has not contributed to cover overall costs to produce it on the plantations, Regional Plantation Companies said. As producers we encourage the increase in price, but the fact remains that the “increase in no way absorbs the increased cost of production currently faced by the plantations”, Hayleys Plantations Managing Director Roshan Rajadurai said. He noted that prices were high due to a number of factors, more..

May 9 (CT) SL Inbound Tour Operators (SLITO) has decided to reject a proposal by SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), citing that it was impossible to hike fees paid to tour guides at present due to adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The SLTDA has requested tour operators to increase the guide fee to US$ 35 per day. The new proposal has come as a shock to tour operators, according to SLITO President, Mahen Kariyawasam. According to him, it was surprising that tourism regulator more..

May 9 (Island) National STD/AIDS Control Programme plans to launch a special project soon to subject sex workers, including beach boys, to RT-PCR tests, as part of the govt strategy to curb the highly contagious coronavirus. Programme Director Dr. Rasanjalee Hettiarachchi, said that they conducted awareness programmes to prevent the spreadof infectious diseases, among the community, in addition to providing essential services to more..

May 9 (CT) Teams from the Govt of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) are in an advanced stage of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to obtain a COVID-19 relief package totalling between US$700-800 million, official sources who wished to remain anonymous told Ceylon Today. IMF's Director Communications, Gerry Rice, in an online briefing from Washington, DC on 7 May confirmed that they had received a request for such support from Sri Lanka. more..

May 9 (CT) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said production work that had been temporarily suspended in 249 factories due to the spread of COVID-19 had recommenced. Already, 14 Free Trade Zones (FTZ) were functioning while a total of 285 factories operating in those Zones. To date, work at 249 such factories had begun, he said. A total of 142,190 workers are attached to these FTZs while in the factories that are operational now, a total of 58,742 workers are serving. more..

May 9 (AD) New COVID-19 positive patients have not been reported so far today (8), says Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe. Total count of coronavirus cases in SL currently stands at 824 with 240 recoveries. 575 active cases are currently under medical care at the IDH Hospital, Welikanda Base Hospital, Colombo East Base Hospital, Iranawila Hospital, Kattankudy Base Hospital, Navy Hospital and more..

May 8 (FT) A long time ago, in a democracy far, far, away, the republic rested on a three-legged stool. But that was before two wars were declared on we, the people by they those supreme elected representatives of ours. First there was the late great coup that wasn’t, which fizzled out after fifty-plus days of sparks and sundry banging noises. Because the courts had the courage to say a well-considered sharp, short, ‘no’ to a has-been politico. Then there is the incipient coup more..

May 9 (DM) A High category threat warning had been issued by CERT over receiving of One Time Password (OTP) from a local private number, instead of from ANY authenticated service provider. While issuing a warning today, Computer Emergency Readiness Team said an OTP is a service which users are provided with an extra layer of security and mostly used when accessing accounts while carrying out financial transactions to identify the real user of the account. more..