Oct 24 (Island) By that title I mean the Ramanya and Amarapura Nikaya monks who made a joint statement disapproving the 20Amendment and advised the government to amend it drastically or better, withdraw it and concentrate on more urgent national matters, with a new Constitution drawn up later. Some other bhikkhus went to the extent of threatening the present government with: “We brought you to power and we can take that power away.” (Not verbatim; gist is intact) more..

Oct 24 (FT) The two-thirds victory of the Govt in passing the contentious 20th Amendment on Thursday failed to boost the Colombo stock market yesterday as investor sentiment was mixed. The benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) declined by near 3 points whilst the S&P SL 20 Index moved north on the same basis. Turnover was Rs. 1.74 billion, relatively low in comparison to recent weeks. After Thursday’s late-night vote, most analysts were anticipating the stock market to gain more..

Oct 24 (AD) Another Covid-19 infected individual in Sri Lanka has died of the virus today (24), health authorities confirmed. This brings the total number of novel coronavirus deaths registered in the country to 15. The deceased, a 56-year-old male from Unaleeya, Kuliyapitiya, was receiving treatment at the Kuliyapitiya Hospital. Its Director, Dr. Prabhath Werawatte said the patient was admitted to the hospital on the 14th of Oct more..

Oct 24 (Island) SJB Kalutara District MP Dr Rajitha Senaratne told Parliament yesterday that if the government had heeded the calls from the Opposition to take timely action against the COVID-19 outbreak, the country would have been safe. Participating in the debate on the pandemic at the time of the adjournment of the House, Dr Senaratne said that COVID-19 was not just a local problem but one of the greatest crises that had befallen on the entire human civilisation. more..

Oct 24 (TM) All events by Shangri-la hotel Colombo has been cancelled due to an employee testing positive for COVID-19 on 23 Oct, while precautionary measures according to health guidelines are also being taken by the Area PHIs. “Our colleague’s role does not require any direct guest-facing responsibilities,” Shangri-la hotel confirmed in the statement. Contact tracing of all residents and guests of the hotel are also being done to identify if there have been any more..

Oct 24 (FT) Opposition MPs yesterday blamed the Govt for falling to take timely action to prevent the spread of a second wave of COVID-19 infections in the country. Taking part in an adjournment debate in the House, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said the short-sightedness and negligence of the Govt were the root causes of the spread of COVID-19 in the country. He said the first reports of COVID-19 came in Feb more..

Oct 24 (Hindu) A SL fishing boat was detained by the Indian Coast Guard for fishing in Indian waters and brought to Karaikal Harbour for investigation on Friday. The boat with six crew members was sighted by a Coast Guard Dornier, 75 nautical miles east of Karaikal, and the vessel, was subsequently apprehended by the Indian Coast Guard ship Abheek. At the time of apprehension, the vessel Nathaliya was engaged in fishing and streaming in fishing nets in violation of the Maritime more..

Oct 24 (AD) 70 more individuals infected with COVID-19 have made complete recoveries today. As per the situation report issued by the Epidemiology Unit, 17 patients from IDH, 12 from Welikanda Base Hospital, 5 each from Minuwangoda Base Hospital, Hambantota District General Hospital and Rambukkana District Hospital, 09 each from Colombo East Base Hospital and Theldeniya Base Hospital, 7 from Laggala Pallegama Hospital and 1 from Galgamuwa Base Hospital have been more..

Oct 24 (AD) Sri Lanka has reported 201 more positive cases of Covid-19 this evening, says Army Chief Lt Gen Shavendra Silva. 140 of them are close contacts of the coronavirus patients linked to Peliyagoda Fish Market. Meanwhile, 24 other positive cases were identified from several fisheries harbours across the country. The remaining 37 infections have been detected from quarantine centres. more..

Oct 24 (FT) For over three decades, Rotary International with its partners WHO, UNICEF, Bill and Melinda Gates org, CDC, GAVI and Governments of various countries have by working together succeeded in bringing down the incidence of the world’s polio cases by 99.9%. Today the number of cases stands at 132 down from an estimated 450,000 to 650,000 per annum. Just two countries in the world – Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to report cases of wild polio virus. more..

Oct 24 (TM) Referring to today’s Covid-19 positive cases detected in the hotel industry — Hilton Colombo and Shangri-La Colombo specifically — President of The Hotels Association of SL Sanath Ukwatte, said that no safety measure in place is 100% foolproof. He shared that upon identifying temperature hikes in the employees of both hotels, the staff were immediately isolated, the hotels were shut down, and all the staff present at the time tested; the staff are being kept in the hotel more..

Oct 24 (ST) The PCoI now sitting into last year’s Easter Sunday massacres has seen a blame game publicly exchanged between the former President Maithripala Sirisena and former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe apportioning responsibility for the incident on the other. The evidence so far in the public domain has spilled over to sparing of a political nature ranging from name-calling to contempt of each other. more..

Oct 24 (AD) The weekly fair in Nugegoda was temporarily closed for the public today following the detection of Covid-19 infections. It is reported that two fish vendors at the marketplace have contracted the novel coronavirus. The marketplace was disinfected following the new development, Dr. Manoj Rodrigo, the Chief Medical Officer of Health at the Kotte MC said. Meanwhile, District Base Hospital Rikillagaskada halted its operations after it was confirmed that one of its doctors has been more..

Oct 24 (AD) A team of CID officers has recovered a T-56 rifle and a revolver, which allegedly belong to the notorious underworld figure Podi Lassie. The firearms have been found from the house of the suspect’s grandmother in Telwatte, Ambalangoda, according to reports. CID officers had led Podi Lassie to the location where the two firearms were recovered last evening. Podi Lassie who was recently granted bail by the Galle Magistrate, continues to be held by the CID under more..

Oct 24 (AD) The PCoI probing the Easter Sunday Attacks yesterday decided to record a statement from the wife of the Easter Sunday terror attack’s ringleader Zahran Hashim. Abdul Cader Fatima Saadiah was brought to the Commission for the second consecutive day on Friday (23), however, evidence hearing was carried out without the presence of media personnel. When Fatima Saadiah was produced before PCoI panel more..

Oct 24 (TM) Hilton Colombo confirmed that one of their team members has been diagnosed with Covid-19 and that hotel is taking precautionary measures to curtail the spread of the virus. A Hilton Colombo spokesperson shared: “We can confirm that one of our team members has been diagnosed with COVID-19. Upon detection of possible symptoms, the team member was admitted to a designated medical facility and the hotel has taken further precautionary measures to curtail more..

Oct 24 (AD) Sri Lanka Railways says several trains leaving the Colombo Fort and Maradana stations to Chilaw, Polgahawela, Rambukkana, Aluthgama, Avissawella and Kosgama will not operate until further notice. The decision was taken in the light of low numbers of passengers commuting in trains as quarantine curfew was imposed in certain areas due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation. Deputy General Manager of Railways communicated the announcement in a notice issued today. more..

Oct 24 (FT) The Govt moved yesterday to take control of the Chair of the crucial Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance, passing a motion in the House enabling its members to decide who chairs the committee. The motion to amend the Standing Orders of Parliament, which stipulates that the Chair of the 11-member Public Finance Committee should be a member of the Opposition, was carried in the House by more..

Oct 24 (EN) The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) has called for an explanation from the four of their MPs who voted in favour of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution on Thursday, a statement from the party said. The SLMC which joined the SJB alliance to contest this year’s Parliamentary General Elections had issued a three-line Whip for all its members to vote against the Amendment which gave Prez sweeping powers over Parliament and the Judiciary. more..

Oct 24 (AD) Quarantine curfew will be imposed in two more police areas within Colombo District this evening, says Commander of Army L Gen Shavendra Silva. Thereby, Gothatuwa and Mulleriyawa police areas will be under quarantine curfew starting from 7.00 pm today. Seven other police areas in Colombo District, namely Mattakkuliya, Modara, Wellampitiya, Bloemendhal and Grandpass, Kotahena, Dematagoda and Maradana are also currently under more..

Oct 24 (ST) Despite govt assurances that students sitting national examinations would be kept safe from COVID-19 infection, education unions say health measures are sadly lacking. Basic facilities for invigilators and exam administrators during the exams have not been provided, nor is there sufficient cleansing equipment, disinfection or monitoring of health protocols with more than half a million children gathering for long hours in more..

Oct 24 (ST) Stocks of sardines, onions and oil have all but disappeared from shops as wholesalers hold onto stocks rather than sell at the new lower prices announced by the Govt, creating a false shortage that keeps prices high. While consumers are calling for the new prices to be gazetted so that traders and wholesalers would be forced to sell them at the lower prices, a CAA official explained that this could not happen yet. Sathosa, the only outlets selling tinned fish, onions & sugar at lower prices, more..

Oct 24 (ST) A herd of elephants tore through a village in the Puttalam district this week and caused damage to crops and coconut plantation, Divisional Secretary Dulanka Athukorala said. She said more than 400 coconut trees were damaged by the wild elephants at Sembukuliya in the Mahakumbukkadawala area in what she described as a serious escalation in the human-elephant conflict. So far 20 acres of coconut plantation had been destroyed in the area due to more..

Oct 24 (DM) Even though the Govt had shortcomings in their past decisions with regard to containing the COVID-19 virus, the recent decisions taken by the Government are satisfactory, and if it continues in this manner, the situation would gradually return to normalcy, Public Health Inspectors Union of SL (PHIUSL) said. Its Secretary M. Balasooriya said the health and law enforcement authorities were doing their best in promptly more..

Oct 24 (ST) With more than 170 elephant deaths and about 60 human deaths, reported so far this year, the ravages of the human-elephant conflict has gone unnoticed due to the many months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, environmentalists say. Sajeewa Chamikara, environmentalist and director of the Environmental Conservation Trust, said the deadly conflict is mainly a result of habitat loss and fragmentation. He said forests are being cleared by farmers and food more..

Oct 24 (MFA) Ambassador Godfrey Cooray had a zoom meeting with CEO of the Norwegian Investment Fund, Tellef Thorleifsson on 9 Oct to seek possibilities on getting more development and investment assistance to Sri Lanka and he thanked Tellef Thorleifsson for giving the opportunity to have the zoom meeting and highlighted that being owned and funded by the Norwegian Govt, it has already signed agreements with SL Financial Institutes such as Hatton National Bank and Softlogic. more..

Oct 24 (EN) SL is continuing to send first contacts of confirmed Coronavirus patients on home quarantine with pending Covid-19 PCR tests, amid a serious situation health officials said, showing a wide gap from strategies followed by more successful countries like Vietnam. Though serious, the situation was not uncontrollable, a top health official who called for public co-operation to follow isolation requests & limit movements more..

Oct 25 (CT) History will remember the fatal day of 22 Oct 2020, when a group of Muslim carpetbaggers joined the ruling gang and supported the controversial 20th Amendment, which is destined to pave the way for the slow death of democracy in SL and establishment of a clannish autocracy. In the future, after tasting the bitter fruits of an autocracy, generations of SL Muslims would lament over the folly of their forefathers for choosing community leaders without any commitment to more..

Oct 25 (SO) The passage by a two-thirds majority of the 20th Amendment in Parliament on Thursday was a landmark development in local politics. The people gave an overwhelming mandate to abolish the 19th Amendment which had become a major hindrance to smooth governance (as former Prez Sirisena experienced himself) and replace it with a governance mechanism that would be far more people friendly and practical. 19th Amendment with its many contradictions and ambiguities more..

Oct 25 (SO) Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said the Govt has taken every possible measure to combat the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, setting an example to the entire world. Minister said when compared with other countries, Sri Lanka is far ahead in controlling the spread of the disease and providing facilities to the Covid-19 hit patients. Minister said no country in the world has adopted various mechanisms as in SL to more..

Oct 25 (CT) It was the history of deceit and shamelessness in the repeat. When the 20th Amendment was put to a Vote in the Parliament recently, Eastern based political opportunists bearing Muslim names became turncoats and sold themselves to the Rajapaksas presumably for proverbial thirty pieces of silver by voting in favour, allowing the brothers to rule SL with an iron fist. It was however not the first time that these political scumbags acted against public interest more..

Oct 25 (TM) After weeks of wild speculation about the fate of the 20th Amendment, the controversial piece of legislation comfortably sailed through the legislature with an overwhelming two-thirds majority giving the incumbent executive near absolute power. The latest amendment to the Constitution of SL restores almost all of the powers taken away from the executive through the 19th Amendment and vested in independent commissions, which has now been consigned to the dustbin of history. more..

Oct 25 (SO) Sri Lanka is committed to the non-aligned neutral Foreign Policy Friends with All under Prez Rajapaksa and it is the driving principle in Sri Lanka’s relations with all states, said Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena. Referring to Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the sea lanes, Minister said Sri Lanka maintains strong bilateral relations with all, including China, US and India marked by high level visits this year. more..

Oct 25 (ST) Opposition’s attempt to delay the inevitable naturally had to fall on deaf ears. The Govt would not countenance any of the calls to postpone or make alternate seating arrangements in Parliament for the debate on the 20th Amendment (20A) to the Constitution owing to the increasing intensity of the spread of COVID-19. Social distancing and mask wearing became law over the week, but lawmakers showed themselves to be above the law. more..

Oct 25 (ST) My dear Mother Lanka, I thought I must write to you to let you know that, almost unnoticed amidst all the hullabaloo surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have reached a critical milestone in your history. That is because yet another amendment – for the twentieth time – has been made to your Constitution. The changes that were approved last week could bring major changes for you, Mother Lanka. Some say it is the beginning of the end of democracy for you. more..

Oct 25 (TM) The much talked of 20th Amendment to the Constitution last week received parliamentary approval with 150-plus votes after creating much controversy within the governing SLPP as well as the Opposition SJB in the run up to last Thursday night’s vote on the legislation. The aftermath of 20th Amendment has created chaos in the SJB and disunity among the members over eight errant MPs who supported 20th Amendment despite an official SJB decision of not supporting the legislation. more..

Oct 25 (ST) Left-hand batsman, Clive Clay Inman (born 29-1-36), played for St. Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya, with great distinction, and crowned his school cricket career by scoring a glorious double century (204) in the Big Match against St. Joseph’s College, Colombo. He played for the school’s First XI cricket team for five seasons, and captained it to victory in the Battle of the Saints – against St. Joseph’s College – in his final season in 1954-55. more..

Oct 25 (CT) Despite reservations and concerns, the Bill titled Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution, was passed in Parliament with a two-thirds majority. The Bill was passed with amendments during the Third Reading, with 156 voting for and 65 against. The Second Reading of the 20th Amendment Bill received a two-thirds majority, with 156 votes in favour and 65 against in the 225-member Legislature. more..