Nov 25 (Island) The govt should allow the Muslims who died of COVID-19 to be buried, SJB MP Harshana Rajakaruna told Parliament. Bodies of COVID victims were buried in 200 countries. Therefore, SL too should follow suit, he said. “I am not saying this to gain any political mileage. I express this view as a Buddhist. “When WHO allows bodies of COVID-19 victims to be buried, they do not follow it, when it comes to the use of vaccination, they say WHO does not allow it. more..

Nov 25 (AD) Former Director of the CID Shani Abeysekara who was being held at the Mahara Prison has tested positive for COVID-19. The National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak citing Prisons Department sources confirmed the development. Following his positive result Shani Abeysekara was subsequently transferred to the Welikada prison hospital. Shani Abyesekara was arrested and remanded more..

Nov 25 (Island) The Court of Appeal yesterday annulled the summons issued on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the disappearance of two persons in Jaffna in 2011. Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganathan went missing in 2011. Last year, Jaffna Magistrate’s Court issued summons on Rajapaksa over a habeas corpus petition filed by the relatives of the two missing activists. They had named Rajapaksa one of the respondents since he was the Defence Secy more..

Nov 25 (FT) Multiple proposals of Vision 2024 for ICTA: A digitally transformed Sri Lanka were echoed in the Budget 2021 proposals, the maiden of the present Govt, it was observed. In Jan 2021, the current administration has charged the Information and Communication Technology Agency of SL (ICTA) with implementing a detailed roadmap in line with Prez Rajapaksa’s vision to establish a digitally inclusive SL, with a citizen-centric digital Govt for the convenience of every Sri Lankan. more..

Nov 25 (Island) Former Governor of Eastern Province, M.L.A.M. Hizbullah on Monday night told the PCoI probing Easter Sunday attacks, that he had not had any links to National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) leader Zahran Hashim. The NTJ members had assaulted his supporters at Kattankudy in March 2017, he said. Hizbullah said so when the Commissioners asked him about his links with Zahran. more..

Nov 25 (wsws) PM Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also the country’s finance minister, presented his 2021 budget on Nov 17 amid an escalating economic collapse intensified by the coronavirus pandemic. The govt, which is teetering on the edge of default, currently faces annual loan repayments of $4.5 billion for the next five years. The spuriously entitled “development budget,” which will be voted on by the parliament on Dec 10, is designed to boost foreign investment and enrich the wealthy while more..

Nov 25 (AD) A significant number of COVID-19 deaths reported from the Minuwangoda and Peliyagoda COVID-19 clusters have occurred at home, says Chief Epidemiologist Specialist Dr. Sudath Samaraweera. He points out that the elderly and individuals with chronic diseases in high-risk areas should be more alert about new illnesses. “Elderly people in high-risk areas and people with chronic illnesses need to seek medical attention immediately if they develop new symptoms. more..

Nov 25 (Island) Former President Sirisena informed the PCoI that he had banned former IGP Pujith Jayasundara from the National Security Council (NSC) ignoring the provisions of a gazette making the IGP’s presence compulsory at the NSC, because Jayasundara had breached his trust. Sirisena said so during the cross-examination by Anura Meddegoda, PC appearing on behalf of the former IGP. more..

Nov 25 (NIA) When the British ruled SL, peasant agriculture, with paddy as the main crop, was systematically weakened to yield place to plantation-based commercial agriculture monopolized by them. SL peasant agriculture is yet to recover from the historical neglect as the island nation continues to be dependent on food imports to fill vital gaps in supply. In 2018, for example, the import of grains, milk, and a variety of food items of common consumption accounted for 7.2% of more..

Nov 25 (AD) The engineer of the Provincial RDA office in Udugampola, who was arrested for assaulting a female Management Assistant, has been granted bail by the Gampaha Magistrate’s Court. he accused was ordered released on a personal bond of Rs. 200,000 by the magistrate’s court. An engineer attached to a provincial office of the Road Development Authority (RDA) has been arrested over an incident of assaulting a woman, the Police said. A video of a person assaulting more..

Nov 25 (EN) Sri Lankans will get the vaccination against Covid 19 as soon as the World Health Organisation-approved vaccine is made available, Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi told Parliament today. She said her Ministry has begun the process of implementing a vaccination program against the Covid 19 virus. Minister said that Sri Lanka has already entered the COVAX program and GAVI vaccine alliance which are working for more..

Nov 25 (CT) A convicted Tamil prisoner, detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), at the New Magazine Prison, wrote to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, pleading to allow the Court of Appeal to hear the two cases against him without delay or to hang him, after declaring him to be a political prisoner. Kanagasabai Thevadasan, who is in his 50s, has appealed against the two cases (HC 6194/12 and HC 5638/11) that sentenced him to 20 yrs in prison & life imprisonment, respectively. more..

Nov 25 (EN) On Nov 18, Mahinda Rajapaksa celebrated his 75th birthday. The most recognizable and probably best-known person in SL, also completed more than a half-century as a MP, this year. As the world and SL head into 2021 where the Covid pandemic and our economic troubles will converge to create a major crisis, the enduring popularity of the PM will be important for the governing coalition. At present Rajapaksa is the PM and Finance Minister, a ministry he held more..

Nov 25 (Reuters) Sri Lanka’s govt is digging a moat around one of its landfills to keep out hungry elephant herds and reduce conflicts between the animals and villagers. Dozens of elephants lumber out of the forest daily into a garbage dump near the eastern town of Ampara, rummaging through mounds of rubbish for wilted vegetable scraps. This has become a common sight at the country’s three largest landfills, more..

Nov 25 (AD) Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar has rejected a bail application submitted by former Presidential Chief of Staff Dr. I.H.K Mahanama, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty in a massive bribery case. The bail application was rejected by a bench comprising Justices Sampath Abeykoon, Sampath Wijeratne and Champa Janaki Jayaratne. Attorneys representing Dr. Mahanama informed the court that a large number of Covid-19 infected persons more..

Nov 25 (CT) A discussion took place between State Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion Piyankara Jayaratne and officials of SL Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) on 23 Nov regarding the South Korean job placements that were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We decided to make arrangements to send those applicants who had been successful at the Korean Language exams to South Korea for employment after discussing the matter with the Republic of Korea. more..

Nov 25 (FT) Patabandi Don Nandasiri Wijeweera known to the world at large as Rohana Wijeweera was killed 31 years ago on 13 November 1989.The revolutionary leader of the JVP was 49 years old at the time of his death. The mastermind behind two bloody insurrections – in 1971 and from 1987 to 89 – was taken into custody on 12 Nov in the Kandy District and brought to Colombo. With Wijeweera’s capture & execution, more..

Nov 25 (CT) More than 37,000 persons have, by yesterday, sent appeals to the authorities requesting that they be granted the Rs 5,000 allowance, Colombo District Secretary Pradeep Yasaratne said. He said that even though they have already distributed the Rs 5,000 allowance to more than 25,000 individuals in the Colombo District, the Colombo District Secretariat has received these appeals, adding that they are yet to look into them. He noted that they distribute Rs 10,000 more..

Nov 25 (NR) SL’s COVID-19 caseload surpassed the 21,000 mark today. 294 new COVID-19 cases were detected in the country today, bringing the total number of infections to 21,261. All new cases have been identified as contacts of the Minuwangoda-Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster. Accordingly, at least 17,730 cases have been confirmed during the second COVID-19 wave in the country. 5,720 individuals including 11 foreign nationals are currently receiving treatment for coronavirus more..

Nov 25 (EN) Several free trade deals with Asia and Pacific has generated sharply more exports than imports in the first six months of 2020, with the Indo – Lanka Free Trade Agreement bringing most of the results. In the six months to June 2020 SL had exported 93.7 billion rupees under several trade agreements and imported 26.64 billion rupees of goods or three and a half times the imports. SL had exported 52.3 billion rupees of goods or more..

Nov 25 (FT) Prez Rajapaksa has ordered the suspension of ongoing advertising and marketing programs of State entities and subject them for review. Secretary to the Prez Dr. P.B. Jayasundera has issued a directive to this effect to all Chairmen and Board of Directors of State enterprises, State agencies, State banks and insurance companies. In the memo, Dr. Jayasundera stated: “Prez has directed me to instruct all Chairmen and Board of Directors to suspend all ongoing advertising more..

Nov 25 (TM) The COPE of Parliament is scheduled to meet online tomorrow for the first time. COPE Chairman Prof. Charitha Herath said the Environmental Audit Report on water pollution of Kelani River is scheduled to be discussed online tomorrow. Secretary to Ministry of Health Dr H.S Munasinghe, Secretary to Ministry of Industries Chulananda Perera and, the Secretary to Ministry of Public Services, PCs & Local Govt J.J Ratnasiri are to be contacted online at this meeting. more..

Nov 25 (AFP) The ICC is investigating an alleged attempt to fix SL Premier League matches due to start Thursday. The complaint alleges a former national cricketer approached a Lanka Premier League player, and is being looked at by the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), the mass-circulating Lankadeepa said. "The former national player who allegedly made the approach is currently overseas," newspaper said, more..

Nov 26 (CT) Budget 2021 records a critical juncture within the SL economy. At one level, the budget illustrates the neoliberal crisis that has been unfolding over the last four decades. Also, it renews the promise of development, the poverty free economy for the 75th time. In parallel, we are encountering the existential threat posed by the ecological crisis of which Covid-19 is a premonition. How the global economy will evolve within the next year or two is also a cause of concern. more..

Nov 26 (DM) The COVID-19 pandemic is showing no signs of relenting or loosening its grip on Sri Lanka and is continuing to spread without let or hindrance. As of yesterday morning the number of coronavirus cases stood at 21,261; deaths at 94 and the recovered at 15,447 with last Saturday’s nine COVID-19 related deaths being the largest number in a single day. Up to 4 Oct, there were only 13 deaths while between then and now, Sri Lanka had recorded 81 more. more..

Nov 26 (DM) In light of the recent leopard deaths (11) this year, including that of a black leopard and other snaring incidents which grabbed much media attention and created a public outcry, this status change of the Sri Lankan leopard may come as a surprise to many. However, there is much more that needs probing when assessing an overall species status and probability of its long-term survival. more..

Nov 26 (CT) Every year, the month of November is an emotional and moving time where Eelam Tamils around the world and supporters of the Tamil struggle collectively stop to commemorate the unimaginable sacrifices made by our freedom fighters, our martyr-heroes, our Maveerar. Leaving behind their dreams and separating from their families, our brothers and sisters in Eelam sacrificed their lives to free us safe from the enduring political and ethnic violence Tamils were experiencing more..

Nov 26 (DM) It’s a mischievous headline, admittedly. Citizens are not taking the judges to court. And, even if that happened, the simple matter of interest-conflict would force all judges in all courts to recuse themselves from entertaining such a petition. We don’t have a perfect judicial system. Neither is it as horrendous as some have claimed it to be. Those in the legal profession, the judges themselves and citizens from all walks of life, however, would not doubt unanimously claim that improvements more..

Nov 26 (DM) Media and the Govt often don’t see eye to eye and this is applicable to most countries, be it democratic or not. Sri Lankan media platforms too have faced much censorship while many journalists also fell prey to draconian laws of yesteryear. With the advent of social media platforms, the global media landscape has drastically changed in the face of New Media and Govts are now more focused on controlling more..

Nov 26 (CT) On 12 Nov, the Independent in UK reported former Irish Prez Mary Robinson’s comparison of Trumps refusal to concede US Election with volatile and undemocratic situations in States such as Kenya, SL & Zimbabwe. Robinson’s concern over the US Prez’s refusal to respect the democratic transition of power is not of concern but her comparison of SL to a volatile and undemocratic state is factually incorrect and borders on an insult not only to the Govt but to the people as well. more..

Nov 26 (Island) Male MPs, wearing as they did their hearts on their sleeves, yesterday, wept buckets for hapless women who suffered harassment and violence at the hands of savages who call themselves men. They made themselves out to be knights errant in shining armour on a mission to help those in trouble, especially damsels in distress. They did so when Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa brought to the notice of the House an incident where a female worker had been assaulted by more..

Nov 26 (CT) Back in June, GR insider, author of the inaccurately titled Gota’s War (2012) and SL’s new ambassador/PR to the UN-Geneva, dedicated his regular Sunday Politics sermon to a ferocious full-page assertion of why Trump will win and a rousing endorsement of that prospect. His article dated June 19th 2020 and entitled Trump and Civil Unrest in America argued assuredly that polarization around the law and order vs. anarchy issue guaranteed a white majoritarian tsunami for Trump. more..

Nov 26 (Island) Many portals of information of various types of media are agog, enthusiastic and terribly excited with the so-called fantastic news of the possibility of the arrival of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19. This little blight of a virus has been responsible for causing a pandemic that has spread through the entire world like an uncontrollable wildfire, practically causing chaos, disorder and bringing untold misery to more..

Nov 26 (FT) Manufacturing and services sectors took a strong hit in October with the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) declining significantly amidst heightened job losses, increased backlogs and reduced expectations of future business activities due to the second COVID-19 wave, CB said yesterday. Manufacturing activities indicated subdued performance in October due to the adverse impacts of the second wave of more..

Nov 26 (CT) A spokesman for the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) said they were keeping a close eye on stock brokers and related operators who submit exaggerated analysis and reports on companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). He said they were looking into who had submitted such misleading reports through various social networking sites and YouTube channels. “With the recent rise in popularity of the stock market there were a lot of more..

Nov 26 (FT) Court of Appeal by Judgement dated 16 Nov quashed a decision taken by the Consumer Affairs Authority dated 27 Nov 2014 in respect of a motor vehicle purchased from Associated Motorways Ltd. The case was instituted by Associated Motorways Ltd. against the Consumer Affairs Authority (1st Respondent) and Savinda Enterprise Ltd., whose complaint led to the inquiry by the Consumer Affairs Authority. Associated Motorways Ltd. inter alia took up the position more..

Nov 26 (CI) It seems almost ludicrous now, but between 2009 and 2014 no T20 team was more dynamic than Sri Lanka. Their win/loss record during those five years (34 wins, 19 losses) was comfortably the best in the world. In World T20 tournaments, they were the most dominant, making three finals in four campaigns, before winning in 2014. And there was an innovative magic here. A sense that as even Tillakaratne Dilshan more..

Nov 26 (FT) 2020 has been a profoundly challenging year for SL and the world at large with the COVID-19 pandemic causing an unprecedented crisis, so much so that for the very first time since UN Development Program (UNDP) established the concept of the Human Development Index in 1990, annual global human development is on track to decline. COVID-19 has interrupted education, disrupted livelihoods and has caused instability in socio-economic conditions of populations at large. more..

Nov 26 (DM) Despite the massive customer deposit pile-up at banks, thanks to COVID-19 restrictions, SL’s licensed finance companies have failed to have a piece of the pie or at least to cling on to their existing deposit base. While the banking sector attracted Rs. 1.2 trillion worth of customer deposits during the first eight months of the year, logging a 12.9% increase, the licensed finance companies saw a drain of deposits to the tune of Rs.22.7 billion or negative 3% during Jan through Aug. more..