May 15 (NR) Leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya Sajith Premadasa says they will work towards ending the govt’s political witch-hunt against embers of the Opposition. He said the arrest of Former Minister Rajitha Senaratne was a message directed at the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. He commended Rajitha Senaratne as an individual who has largely contributed to the country’s health sector. However, Premadasa charged the govt of making him a victim of their political witch-hunt. more..

May 15 (AD) New COVID-19 positive patients have not been reported so far today (15), according to Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe. The total count of coronavirus cases in Sri Lanka currently stands at 925 with 477 recoveries. 439 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 & Homagama Base Hospital. more..

May 15 (DM) The low pressure area over South East Bay of Bengal and neighborhood is likely to developed into a depression over same region during next 12 hours and further intensify into a cyclonic storm over South Bay of Bengal tomorrow, Department of Meteorology said. It is very likely to move northwestwards initially till 17th and then re-curve north-northeastwards towards North Bay of Bengal during May 18 and 20. more..

May 15 (EN) Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers had approved a proposal to allocate 25.72 billion rupees to pay income supplements to persons affected by Coronavirus lockdowns, the state information office said. Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi had proposed that a 5000 rupee payment be made to 514,046 persons in May. The payments will go to low income persons who lost their livelihood, elders payments and those on kidney treatment. The total will be 25,724.24 million rupees. more..

May 15 (CT) Former MP Anura Priyadharshana Yapa claimed that no Vote on Account had been prepared for Rs 1,229 billion when Parliament was dissolved and that Former COPE Chairman and Former JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti was levelling false allegations. In the event of the dissolution of Parliament, the President can obtain funds from the Consolidated Fund in accordance with Article 150(3) of the Constitution, and Handunetti's claim that the Vote on Account needs to be passed more..

May 15 (MoD) Maj. Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne pledged to protect and preserve archaeological and historic sites from vandalism and encroachments by individuals and organised groups. He gave this assurance when he met some villagers and Buddhist priests during his visit to Muhudu-Maha Viharaya and Deegawapiya archaeological sites in the Ampara district in the Eastern province today (14). more..

May 16 (CT) After more than seven frustrating and anxious weeks confined in homes due to the COVID-19 scare, last Monday (11), Sri Lankans, particularly those living in the Western Province, started revelling in their regained freedom. Even though many parties questioned and were concerned about the Govt's decision to reopen the country, this move was highly extolled by the public whose lives had come to a standstill following the declaration of the curfew two months ago. more..

May 16 (CT) I find it a supreme irony that while our nation (and perhaps the World) is battling with existential needs, our politicians are engaged (indeed obsessed) with the desire for electing a Parliament. The Commissioner of Elections has estimated that the cost would be some 2.4 billion. Our Nation is in dire financial trouble, and faces great threat, if we are unable to honour our loan obligations. Massive requirements for meeting costs of long delayed and basic needs for water more..

May 16 (CT) My attention has been drawn to the interview said to have been given to the media by M.A. Sumanthiran, former MP Jaffna District, and Spokesman for the TNA. Mr. Sumanthiran has been frank and forthright in his answers to questions that have been asked with the deliberate purpose of promoting mischief and disunity amongst the people of this country particularly amongst the Tamil people with the ulterior purpose of sabotaging efforts more..

May 16 (CT) The Financial Times kindly gave space to me to respond to Dayasiri Jayasekara. The article was titled Dayasiri claims behaviour of EC member raises impartiality issues. In the FT issue of 13 May, 2020, it is said that the SL Nidahas Podujana Sandanaya (SLNPS) – the coalition including the SLPP and SLFP, through SLNPS National Organiser and SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara, speaking from the SLPP head office – strongly criticised Elections Commission as partisan, more..

May 16 (DM) During the past four months after the volcanic eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, most families have been virtually forced to stay at home. Most fathers, mothers or adult children are working from home while younger children are also at home because schools and higher education institutions are still closed. In some cases, this has produced negative results largely because of the change of environment and routine, with more stress and tension because most family members more..

May 16 (CT) Someone raised a timely valid point in a recent discussion: The US and Europe – the richest regions on the planet, became the epicentres of COVID-19 issue, because these countries were reluctant to adopt a strict lockdown strategy. China, on the other hand, adopted a strict lockdown strategy and, managed to keep the issue more localized confining it to a particular area – Wuhan city. more..

May 16 (ST) Someone raised a timely valid point in a recent discussion: The US and Europe – the richest regions on the planet, became the epicentres of COVID-19 issue, because these countries were reluctant to adopt a strict lockdown strategy. China, on the other hand, adopted a strict lockdown strategy and, managed to keep the issue more localized confining it to a particular area – Wuhan city. I am sure there might be more than one argument underlining these points. more..

May 16 (Island) Constitutional Council (CC) has reportedly apprised the Finance Ministry of the dire financial straits the Provincial Councils (PCs) are in, we reported the other day. All the PCs are now defunct as there have been no elections thereto, but their recurrent expenditure continues to cost Citizen Perera an arm and a leg. Going by the last budget of the Western PC, recurrent expenditure amounted to over 80% of council’s total spending. Situation cannot be much different in other councils. more..

May 16 (DM) The present crisis has undoubtedly brought misery and hardship to most segments of society in a magnitude unseen before and from the SL perspective, the worst-affected appear to be our migrant workers stranded all over the world. Long considered the lifeblood of SL, their hard-earned foreign exchange has kept the coffers moving even at this most difficult period. Their annual contribution to our economy averages USD 7 billion per year (LKR 1,300 bil) which is almost 40% of more..

May 16 (Island) Mr President, the coronavirus pandemic has been declared a national and global public health emergency by the WHO. It has dramatically changed our personal and working lives, and also governance. In Sri Lanka we face an additional challenge specific to our country. Parliament has been dissolved, and we have a general election for a new parliament, that could not be held on the date set in your Proclamation of dissolution. We appeal to you to exercise more..

May 16 (DM) Former Jaffna District MP and Spokesperson of TNA and ITAK, Mathiaparanan Abraham Sumanthiran is currently in the eye of a political storm. The YouTube interview given by the 56-year-old President’s Counsel cum politician to the Truth with Chamuditha show conducted by senior journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrama is the reported cause of the controversy. A few of the questions and answers in Sinhala more..

May 16 (Island) As usual Wednesday, 31st January, 1996, was just another day for me, hundreds of my fellow bank colleagues at Colombo Fort, thousands of daily commuters flocking to the same area for many reasons varying from their occupations, self employment (manning small shops around Fort area), attending to their personal needs, essential work and many more reasons, and also the tourists. For me and my team at HNB treasury, at our City office, in Colombo, Fort (second floor), more..

May 16 (DM) (Dr) Jayampathy Wickramaratne, President’s Counsel, is absolutely spot on when he says “The doctrine of necessity is not a panacea for all ills, not a kokatath thailaya (see his article, Doctrine of Necessity: Can it be invoked to govern without Parliament?). If indeed doctrine of necessity is taken as a panacea for all ills, we would not need to have laws. Necessity can be conjured at will by those who have the power to cite and, as is quite possible, benefit from its execution. more..

May 16 (EN) Prez Rajapaksa has put a lid on the controversial decision to ban the import of Ethanol to Sri Lanka. In a press statement issued today May 15, Prez is quoted as telling officials at a discussion that his decision to ban the import of Ethanol will stand and he will not rescind the decision due to pressure from any businessman. The import of Ethanol has been a controversial issue for many years. more..

May 16 (DN) SL National Netball team for the first time has been invited by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to participate in the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) that will be held in 2021 July in Bangkok Thailand. 2021 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, and commonly known as Bangkok–Chonburi 2021, is an int'l multi-sport event completed by all Asian countries. 6th AIMAG will take place in two cities, Bangkok City and Pattaya City in Chonburi province, in first half of 2021 more..

May 16 (EN) Sri Lanka’s tourism and real estate face uncertain futures. They are among the hardest hit by the economic fallout due to the global COVID-19 outbreak. The recovery will be long drawn as is painful. This is because reviving both industries depend on global markets opening. However, ACCA Member Adrian Perera is optimistic. He believes Sri Lanka has unique opportunities which must be carefully managed. “SL’s economy was already in trouble before COVID-19,” Perera says. more..

May 16 (CT) It's been 14 years since Sri Lanka last hosted a senior multi-sports international event, which was the South Asian Games, while it's been 18 years since they hosted a major international athletics event, which was the Asian Athletics Championship in 2002. With India even preparing to bid for the 2032 Olympic Games, SL - the only South Asian Country to win Olympic medals in Athletics - struggled to host int'l events, more..

May 16 (FT) Postal Department says that steps have been taken to send overseas mail and goods to few selected destinations by air and sea. Accordingly, the Aviation Postal Services will send overseas mail and goods by air and sea to the destinations that the SriLankan Airlines will commence services in the month of May. The Department said as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and day to day operations at airports coming to a standstill- foreign mail exchange more..

May 16 (Island) Sri Lanka Telecom PLC Group released its financial results for the three months ending on 31st March 2020. The Total revenue for the quarter recorded Rs.22.1 Bn, which is a 3.8% growth compared to the Rs. 21.3 Bn during the same period in 2019. Stringent measures were taken to manage operational cost and investments in capital expenditure, which resulted in Cost savings of 5% for the quarter amounting to Rs.704 Mn. The quarter under reference registered more..

May 16 (ST) The govt has shelved plans to reopen schools, as parents and teachers insist that the situation is still not conducive for children to come out of their homes with more Covid-19 cases being reported from several parts of the country. Parents and teachers said in one voice that the time was not right to reopen schools and that the govt should wait for the all clear signal from the health sector. Education unions said the parents more..

May 16 (Island) The shared passion that attracts like-minded organisations to each other was clearly articulated when Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, greeted Dilmah founder Merrill J. Fernando recently, on the occasion of the 90th birthday of the celebrated Sri Lankan entrepreneur and humanitarian. The occasion coincided with Fernando’s 70th anniversary in the tea industry, and a video greeting from Darren Bott, Emirates Vice President – more..

May 16 (ST) A lengthy curfew due to the coronavirus means, households in the Western Province will have to get used to home deliveries of essential groceries, health officials caution. The Colombo Municipal Council, Chief Medical Officer, Ruwan Wijayamuni, said people will need to rely on mobile vendors for vegetables and daily necessities, even if the curfew is lifted. Social distancing needs to be maintained and food must be delivered by employees of producers. more..

May 16 (Island) Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB), on Wednesday, arrested four persons with more than 225 kilos of heroin from a house at Mahabage, in Welisara. The street value of the consignment of heroin was over Rs 2.2 billion, the police said. The police also took into custody a car and a cab, belonging to the suspects. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the stock of heroin belonged to underworld kingpin more..

May 16 (Island) The govt was on a witch-hunt against Opposition politicians, critical of a dictatorial administration being set up in the country, former Minister Champika Ranawaka said. He said that his colleague, Rajitha Senaratne, had become the first victim of the govt's witch-hunt and some more key Opposition figures will be targeted. "This is not a govt that tolerates dissent; it fears criticism and does everything in its powers to silence dissent," Ranawaka said. more..

May 16 (CT) National Football Team custodian Sujan Perera, who was stranded in the Maldives for over a month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, arrived in SL on Thursday (14) afternoon along with over 300 other Sri Lankans. After testing they were taken to a quarantine centre in Polonnaruwa, where they will serve the mandatory quarantine period before heading home. The most successful player during SL's World Cup qualifying campaign, Sujan was in the Maldives fulfilling more..

May 16 (AD) The higher education system should be designed in such a way that would enable graduates to find employment opportunities speedily, who entre the labour market upon completion of their university education, Prez has said. Regardless of the definitions given to uni education, if young people graduating from universities are unable to find jobs, there must be something intrinsically wrong with the system, more..

May 16 (Island) SL Tourism is reeling from COVID-19 pandemic and about 2,000 licensed chauffeur guides are having a hard time with their self-employed livelihoods in limbo and the cars they bought on lease-terms gather dust in their garages. After the Easter Sunday attacks, the chauffeur guides were down, but not out. They made a gradual comeback followed by a more robust awakening between Dec 2019 & Feb 2020. During this period, they were operating tours in full swing. more..

May 16 (CT) Abans Group stated it will be extending its support to the Government to help safeguard the city from COVID-19, starting with cleaning and sanitising Fort Railway Station through its environmental services company, Abans Environmental Services (Pvt) LTD. The project will be carried out for a period of one week, commencing on 9 May 2020, and will deploy over 30 Abans Environmental Services team members for this massive undertaking. more..

May 16 (Island) Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) yesterday, accused the UNP of pursuing an agenda, contrary to the Working Committee decision to contest the 2020 parliamentary election, under the leadership of the then UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa. SJB General Secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara and former minister Imthiaz Bakeer Markar alleged, on the live Siyatha morning show, that a section of the party more..

May 16 (OBG) From where can Sri Lanka secure external financing to fund the country’s Covid-19 mitigation and recovery strategies, and which industries are best placed to act as growth engines of the economy in the recovery phase? DILSHAN WIRASEKARA: It would be difficult for Sri Lanka to raise funds through sovereign bonds at current international interest rates. Our best chance would be in bilateral loans similar to those that we received from China, which had a 3-year grace period. more..

May 16 (Island) TNA leader R. Sampanthan had assured new Indian High Commissioner in SL, Gopal Baglay, on Thursday, his party’s fullest support to the latter on all matters that both countries have worked on for a long period, a statement issued, by the TNA said. It said: New Indian High Commissioner to SL, Gopal Baglay, presented his credentials to the President and assumed duties as the Indian High Commissioner to SL. Later on, High Commissioner Baglay more..

May 16 (ST) Passing the buck and cutting phone calls were the response of many high-level Health Ministry officials to the Sunday Times as soon as air-purifiers were mentioned yesterday, while the Project Director was insistent that nothing has been finalised yet. A list of questions emailed to Health Secretary Bhadrani Jayawardena, on her request on Tuesday – both about the COVID-19 outbreak in the country and the alleged deal more..

May 16 (AD) Ten more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka as of 11.30 pm today (15). These new coronavirus patients have moved up the total count of positive cases to 935. Meanwhile, 32 patients were discharged from hospitals earlier today (15) as the recoveries tally reached 477. 449 active cases are currently under medical care at the IDH Hospital, Welikanda Base Hospital, Colombo East Base Hospital, Iranawila Hospital, Kattankudy Base Hospital, more..