May 23 (EN) The island-wide curfew will be lifted at 4 am and reimposed at 10 pm from Tuesday (26), Presidential Secretariat announced. Travel between Colombo and Gampaha districts and the rest of the country will also be permitted from Tuesday. The 24-hour islandwide curfew for tomorrow Sunday and Monday will be in force. This ends six weeks of curfews and lockdowns particularly for the high-risk Colombo and Gampaha districts where more than 150 COVID 19 patients were diagnosed. more..

May 23 (AD) Nearly 900 police checkpoints will be operative throughout the two-day countrywide curfew on 24th and 25th of May, says DIG Ajith Rohana. He noted that public gatherings will not be allowed during the island-wide curfew. The govt today revised the curfew hours for all districts. Accordingly, the island-wide curfew, which is set to go into force from 8 pm tonight (23), will be lifted at 4.00 am on Tuesday (26). The entire country will be under curfew on the 24th and 25th of May. more..

May 23 (DM) Indian PM Narendra Modi said that Sri Lanka is fighting COVID-19 effectively under Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa's leadership. In a twitter message after a telephone conversation with President Rajapaksa, PM Modi said India will continue to support its close maritime neighbour in dealing with the pandemic and its economic impact. “We agreed to accelerate Indian-assisted development projects in Sri Lanka, and also strengthen investment links,” PM Modi also tweeted. more..

May 23 (Island) Inquiries into the explosive spread of Covid-19 at the Welisara navy base, have revealed that even a decade after the conclusion of the war, sailors have been denied proper accommodation. The failure on the part of Navy Headquarters to ensure basic facilities caused the rapid spread of coronavirus there. SL brought the war to a successful conclusion on May 19, 2009. The situation at the corona afflicted Welisara base had been so bad, bunk beds were in three tiers, more..

May 23 (Island) Former Chief Minister of the Northern Province C.V. Wigneshwaran says he honestly appreciated the actions taken by the incumbent govt to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The govt took swift and correct measures to save the lives of people, he said, adding that he hoped that the govt would not attempt to accrue political capital out of its success in saving people’s lives. The country had suffered for more than 30 years from a conflict because of the wrong political decisions more..

May 23 (EN) Prez Rajapaksa is pledging support to a request from leading members of the Buddhist Clergy to begin a discourse regarding the allegations against Monks who bring discredit to Buddhism. The President expressed this view at his regular monthly meeting yesterday, with the Buddhist Advisory Council adding that corrective measures could be taken during his tenure if they are proposed. Prez’s promise comes a day after one of the main Buddhist Monastic Orders more..

May 23 (Island) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the Rs. 5,000 allowance, given to the people who had lost their daily income due to COVID-19 pandemic, would not be stopped though there had been a decision made not to pay it for the month of June, owing to opposition by some political parties. PM said that the govt had been asked to suspend the payment owing to petitions by Opposition political parties to the EC, against paying Rs 5,000 to people who had lost their livelihoods. more..

May 23 (AD) Seven new positive cases of COVID-19 were confirmed as of 5.15 pm today , raising the country’s total cases count to 1,085. Five of these patients have been identified as navy men. The remaining two are returnees from Dubai who are undergoing quarantine procedure at the facility in Giragama. 17 positive coronavirus cases have been confirmed so far within the day. 15 of these infections were confirmed from the Navy; Ten from the Kandakadu quarantine centre and 05 from Mullaitivu quarantine centre. more..

May 23 (AD) Forty more patients who had tested positive for Coronavirus have fully recovered and were discharged from hospital today, the Ministry of Health said. This brings the total number of Covid-19 recoveries in SL to 660. New recoveries are reported from Infectious Disease Hospital (8), Colombo East Base Hosptial (6), Iranawil Hospital (1) and Navy Hospital (22). SL has detected a total of 1,068 positive cases of COVID-19 so far and out of this total 550 were found from SL Navy. more..

May 23 (EN) It was a quiet Avurudu, then Vesak and now it’s going to be a muted Eid celebrations as well this year as the usual large gatherings characteristic of the end of the annual Ramadan fast have been banned due to the CIVID 19 pandemic. Police and the leaders of the Muslim community are urging those celebrating Eid to abide by the curfew and also the Health guidelines to avoid the spread of COVID 19. Police said the island-wide curfew imposed from tonight until more..

May 23 (Island) Police arrested a trader, in Kilinochchi, on Thursday, for possessing around 12,000 kilos of steel, removed from several bridges, including the Kudamurittu Bridge, on the B357 route, connecting Paranthan and Pooneryn. The stolen items were recovered. during a raid conducted by the Kilinochchi police in the Kanakapuram area, following a complaint lodged by the RDA, in Kilinochchi, that some persons, including drug addicts, had removed parts of bridges and sold them to scrap iron traders. more..

May 23 (Hindu) A consignment of drugs procured from several States and moved close to the shoreline in Ramanathapuram district, for smuggling to Sri Lanka by boat, was intercepted by the police on Thursday. The suspects used the COVID-19 pass to cross police barricades and reach a common point near Tiruvadanai to deliver the sample contraband substances to an agent. They had applied for an emergency pass, stating that a close relative had passed away. more..

May 23 (EN) Sri Lanka has extended import bans for three months on a wide variety of goods and started a license regime on other goods in an import substitution drive after money printing brought currency pressure on top a Coronavirus crisis. Sri Lanka is relying on a law widely in the 1970s to control imports and cripple economic activities in the 1970s as the central bank was unable to deal with the collapse of the Bretton Woods system which also sent oil prices up. more..

May 24 (SO) In the words of the WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the world passed the grim milestone of five million coronavirus cases around the globe over the past few days, with more than 325,000 deaths. Indeed, it is a very bleak announcement that somewhat undermines the medical advances that we have gained over the past 100 years, after the Spanish Flu claimed more than 50 million lives back in 1918-20. However, it is also true that the death toll could have been much more..

May 24 (DN) As reported by communications dated March 31, 2020 and April 1, 2020, the Election Commission has requested the Prez to seek a determination from the Supreme Court on conducting the general election owing to the current situation concerning Covid-19 outbreak. The Election Commission has apparently said that failing to convene the Parliament on time if the pandemic continues, would create a constitutional crisis. Prez’s secretary by his communication dated April 9, more..

May 24 (SO) Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, said the int'l community has commended and appreciated the leadership given by Prez Rajapaksa to the program launched to combat the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. They have also extended their support in all forms including financial assistance and medical equipment that SL needs at this moment. He said this is mainly because the int'l community has understood the prevailing more..

May 24 (Island) Sri Lanka has emerged as the shining star in the efforts to tackle COVID-19 pandemic. However, the global economic recession has started impacting Sri Lanka at all levels. Globalization and its much talked about benefits have been heavily questioned and challenged. The negatives of heavy-reliance on food imports to feed our nation, costing a colossal sum of foreign exchange, has been realized day-by day. Agriculture has become the talk of the town. more..

May 24 (Island) Sir. John Kotelawela, who was prime minister of this country over sixty years ago used a pithy Sinhala aphorism which spoke volumes when he said henda athey thiyanakam bedaganilla. This literally means as long as the ladle is in your hand, serve yourself. This is true for the recent approval of the so-called Independent Police Commission to assign units of serving policemen to retired IGPs and Senior DIGs to presumably serve during their (the ex-cops) lifetimes. more..

May 24 (ST) A retired Lt Colonel of the Army, now serving as Security Manager of a revenue-earning state corporation, caused a sensation this week. In a signed message to his bosses, he said, that ISIS was planning attacks in Colombo taking advantage of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Such a threat, if true, would have raised not only fears but even insurance premiums. The message went viral in the social media prompting a strong denial more..

May 24 (ST) My dear Unknown Soldier, I thought I should write to you at a time when the nation is remembering you for making the greatest sacrifice, and ending a terrible war that had torn apart our country for nearly 30 years. We are eternally grateful for your heroic deeds which allowed us to defeat terrorism and be free from fear. Had you been with us, you would have been pleased to know that the sacrifices you made were commemorated this year with the dignity it deserved. more..

May 24 (ST) COVID-19 or not, the new Govt was not going to let go an opportunity to celebrate an anniversary commemorating the defeat of the LTTE. Some of those who mutter from abroad that the Govt is showcasing triumphalism are the very ones who saluted the victorious battles of World War I a century back and WW II 75 years ago. The eventual defeat of the LTTE on the battlefields on the North-east of the island is part of this country’s contemporary history. more..

May 24 (ST) A living SL sports legend Summa Navaratnam once dubbed the fastest man in Asia turned 95 on May 21. “I dropped about 10 pounds in the last two months without going out because I can’t walk too far. Mentally I am going crazy. It’s a good thing in a way. I feel good,” said Summa delighted to be greeted on his birthday on Thursday morning. “It’s just normal living. Fighting with people, getting friendly with people, enjoying a normal life,” quipped Summa when asked for the secret of more..

May 24 (CT) SANASA Development bank has appointed its Senior Director, Lakshman Abeysekera as Chairman effective last Friday (22), replacing Samadanie Kiriwandeniya, who retired from the bank board after completing nine years of service as per Central Bank regulation, the company stated. Abeysekera, who served as a Senior Director and Head of the Board Audit Committee, is a cross disciplinary expert who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new role as Chairman. more..

May 24 (CT) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa addressing the National Ranaviru Day commemoration insisted that he will not allow any room for attempts to discredit and destroy the dignity of war heroes who made countless sacrifices to bring peace to entire Sri Lanka. Prez Rajapaksa also said he will not hesitate to withdraw from any international body or organisation, if such entities continue to target the country & war heroes, more..

May 24 (SO) The fundamental rights petitions calling to annul the June 20 general election and the Gazette issued by the Prez dissolving Parliament was heard throughout last week before a 5-member Bench headed by the CJ Jayantha Jayasuriya. The counsel made submissions for the SC to decide if it will grant leave to proceed for the petitions. The petitions filed by seven parties, cited the Election Commission, Prez’s Secretary P.B. Jayasundera, Director General Health Services more..

May 24 (Island) Not a day goes by without the Elections Commission (EC) making the front pages of newspapers and all for the wrong reasons. It may be just one member playing ducks and drakes but the fact is that the EC has become one of the most controversial institutions in the country – a situation that never existed when the there was an Elections Department headed by the Elections Commissioner. If the Elections authority in any country is hitting the front pages regularly, that is a sign of trouble. more..

May 24 (EN) The deaths of three elderly women caused by a stampede during an aid distribution event on Thursday in Colombo central is a “tragedy that happened due to extreme poverty,” former MP Mujibur Rahman said. He said that the curfews and lockdowns that had halted economic activity had caused many people living in the inner-city to go without work as most of them were daily wage earners. more..

May 24 (Island) Warning that 500,000 workers ranging from three-wheeler drivers to high level executives would lose their jobs due to the impact of the rampaging Coronavirus, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said last week that the govt, by printing Rs. 200 billion during an economic recession, had only succeeded in pushing up inflation. Pointing out that the govt’s response to the crisis was inadequate, he said the country should be provided with an economic assessment of more..

May 24 (EN) Most of the victims of horrific Easter Sunday bombings were Christian, majority killed inside three churches, and the bombers were Muslims. Immediately after the attacks, many Muslims unreservedly condemned the attacks and offered support and solidarity to mostly Christian survivors and families of victims. As churches across the country closed in the aftermath of the bombings, at least one Mosque offered to host Christian prayer services. more..

May 24 (Island) Serious management failures leading to colossal waste of public funds and alleged match fixing incidents are among number of key issues raised by the committee to review SL’s participation at the last South Asian Games. It is almost three months after the committee headed by Gregory de Silva submitted the said review report to the Minister of Sports Dullas Alahapperuma, who promised more..

May 24 (SO) The deadly Covid-19 pandemic seems to be slowly but steadily fading away and people’s lifestyles, which came to an almost standstill, is just beginning to restart. With the commencement of the people’s day-to-day work, some people have even begun their physical training. Even during the corona lock down, the highly interested sports-minded people used their backyards to do some light workouts. Now with the Govt gradually opening lifestyles of the people, they have now been more..

May 24 (SO) A women’s footballer, Yasmin Bunter of SL heritage born and bred in England, is now knocking on the door of the island’s national team with the intention of helping it to rise to a competitive level internationally. She follows hot on the heals of Marvin Hamilton also with SL roots who is targetting a place with the men’s team. Bunter, whose mother is Sri Lankan, has discussed her prospects with the Football Federation of SL (FFSL) with intentions of joining the women’s national team. more..

May 24 (ST) A social media outcry triggered by ill-timed announcement that a multi-million dollar cricket stadium was to be built in Homagama forced its suspension after PM gave heed to those campaigning against the initiative. Led by former SL skipper Mahela Jayawardena, several cricketers protested against the proposed complex on the grounds that the funds would be better spent on development of the sport than more..

May 24 (ENS) Fayaz Mohideen, 46, from Sri Lanka is ready to return home healthier and happier after successfully undergoing liver transplantation in Kochi, once the international flight operations begin after lockdown. Fayaz, an employee in a tour company in Colombo, was suffering from end-stage liver disease for close to one year and was told by his doctors in Colombo that he had just a few months to live unless he underwent transplantation. He visited Kochi’s VPS Lakeshore Hospital more..

May 24 (Island) As the COVID-19 pandemic challenges the way of life for all Sri Lankans, safety and hygiene has been at the forefront for all during these challenging times. Keells as retailer, is leading the way with many measures to ensure the safety of customers, team members and with even guidelines for safe home deliveries. To reassure all customers who wish to shop at Keells, many measures have been implemented in line with the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health. more..

May 24 (ST) SriLankan Airlines has downsized staff with about a thousand already retrenched, the airline’s Chairman Ashok Pathirage said on Tuesday. “We have retrenched contract and trainees and reduced outsourced staff,” he said adding that there would have been about a total of 1000. When queried whether there would be further retrenchment of staff, the chairman noted, “We have reduced as much as possible.” more..

May 24 (ST) The T20 World Cup in Australia is most likely to be postponed as a result of the global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 when the ICC Board representing member boards hold a tele-conference this week. A cricket source from the ICC said that this will be at the top of the agenda when they meet on Thursday. The Board members will decide the fate of the tournament, exploring all scenarios including playing the tournament on scheduled as planned earlier, playing within closed doors, more..

May 24 (ST) Finance Ministry is now preparing another 3-month Vote on Account commencing from June 2020, the third for the year, to raise the necessary finances from the Consolidated Fund, the top official at the Treasury revealed this week. The move comes amidst protests from opposition parties that the new govt’s spending must be subject to Parliamentary approval. The money will be used for uninterrupted govt services, COVID-19 eradication activities & holding of Parl. elections. more..

May 24 (TM) Project on Prison inmate rehabilitation through technical skills development for better social integration and employability carried out by Avant Garde and the Prisons Department will be taken forward amid COVID-19 setbacks, Avant Garde Group said. “Despite the global setback suffered due to the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic and the difficulties in continuing with a programme of more..