Sep 10 (AD) A group of inmates held at the Boossa Prison have launched a hunger strike this morning. 39 out of the 45 detainees convicted of serious crimes are engaging in this hunger strike, including the notorious underworld figures Kanjipani Imran, Podi Lassie and Wele Suda. However, Potta Naufer, Kevuma, Army Sampath and three other infamous criminals have decided not to support the strike action. more..

Sep 10 (TM) The report which has reportedly revealed that State Minister Sanath Nishantha’s brother Jagath Samantha was responsible for the destruction of the Anavilundawa wetland in Wanathawilluwa has been refuted by Minister of Wildlife & Forest Conservation C.B. Rathnayake. “No govt officials were involved in or responsible for the destruction of the wetland as revealed in the Parliamentary statement yesterday,” stated Rathnayake. The statements revealed that more..

Sep 10 (AD) The body of a male had been found floating in the Diyawanna Oya near the Polduwa Bridge in Battaramulla, this morning. Based on a tip-off, Welikada Police recovered the body and launched investigations to determine if the deceased had been swept by currents after falling into water or whether he was murdered. Subsequently, identity of the deceased has been confirmed by his relatives to be a 74-year-old resident of Sinhapura, Hokandara. Reportedly, deceased male had left his house more..

Sep 10 (EN) Sri Lanka will offer to cap forex risks of investors in a bid to draw investors into rupee debt which will reduce the country’s dependence of international sovereign bonds and strengthen the external sector, State Minister for Finance, Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reform said. “We want to encourage foreign investment in rupee bonds,” he said. “To give comfort to investors we will provide a forward risk cover through a swap. more..

Sep 10 (AD) The water samples obtained from the sea near the ill-fated oil tanker MT New Diamond has been handed over to the Govt Analyst by the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA). Attorney General Dappula de Livera, yesterday, directed Chairperson of the MEPA Dharshani Lahandapura submit samples of oil collected from the sea near the oil tanker to the Govt Analyst’s Department. The AG further instructed MEPA to issue necessary directions to the salvors of more..

Sep 10 (AD) An interdicted postman attached to the Battaramulla Post Office has been arrested by the police, today. The arrest has been made at the Akuragoda area in Battaramulla. The Police said that various narcotic drugs and a stash of cash have been found on the arrestee. Accordingly, 04 grams of heroin, 10 grams of Ice (Methamphetamine), 06 narcotic pills, and cash worth Rs 43,000 have been recovered from the suspect. The arrestee is a 31-year-old resident of Battaramulla. more..

Sep 10 (DM) TMTK MP C. V. Wigneswaran said yesterday, Tamils in the North and East were facing issues as they were prevented from continuing their cultivation activities due to claims that certain paddy lands were archaeological sites. He told parliament that a venerable Bhikku member of the Eastern Archaeological Task Force recently prevented the farmers from entering nearly 1,000 acres coming under Trinco–Kuchchaveli PS more..

Sep 10 (NR) The WHO has awarded Sri Lanka two awards for the successful elimination of rubella and mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The awards were received by Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi at the WHO office in Colombo at the 73 WHO Regional Committee for the South East Asian Region via video conference. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus taking to Twitter congratulated SL for eliminating rubella and mother-to-child transmission and congenital syphilis. more..

Sep 10 (AD) The five individuals arrested over the assault on police officers who were on a cannabis raid in Atalugama, Bandaragama have been remanded until Sept 24. The child taken into custody over the event has been put on probation. Five individuals including females were arrested yesterday, over an assault on several police officers who had carried out a raid at a house in Marawa, Atalugama. During the raid, had been carried out based on a tip-off that a cannabis racket more..

Sep 10 (AD) Colombo Magistrate’s Court today ordered the CID to regulate the investigations into Rifkhan Bathiudeen, who was accused of allegedly forging documents to alienate a land of 80 acres. The CID was also instructed to arrest any other individuals who are linked to the incident and to produce them before courts. Rifkhan Bathiudeen was arrested following a complaint lodged by an individual residing in Maradana, more..

Sep 11 (CT) Muslims of Sri Lanka, after more than a millennium of integrated and peaceful coexistence, have become a hated, or to put it mildly, highly suspected minority at least in the perception of ultra-Sinhala Buddhist supremacists, led by BBS and a coterie such movements supported by influential political monks. The ruling Rajapaksa regime that came to power with the backing of these elements has so far failed to distance itself publicly from them and allay the fears of their victims. more..

Sep 11 (CT) The govt and Health Minister Pavitra are only part truthful when they say why they are in a funk about reopening BIA. Tourists may be COVID carriers and they fear a second-wave. But the real story is much more, it’s about SL workers abroad, especially in the Middle East. The govt is broke and does not want them back. A broke govt does not want the cost burden of about 60,000 returning workers on its hands. They will have to be quartered for two weeks on arrival, fed and cared for, more..

Sep 11 (DM) On Aug 13, a woman happened to meet a child who was in desperate need of help. The child’s only plea was Aney Aunty, mawa beraganna (Please save me Aunty). The child was promptly escorted to the Wattegama Police Station, in Kandy where they were made to sit for hours simply because of a snag in the country’s police system. OIC of the Wattegama Police Station informed them that as the child was more..

Sep 11 (DM) The present regime is doing a lot to raise the country’s image, but not knowing the thin divide that separates what’s accepted and what’s not certainly won’t help this govt. Theme that defines this regime is hiring people who are performers. Prez Rajapaksa underscored this point when he canvassed for the Pohottuwa Party in the run up to the Parliamentary Elections. All what the prez said about hiring people who have track records of performing is accepted without debate. more..

Sep 11 (DM) Parliament has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over all govt institutions, including executive and judicial bodies. Hence it is only just to send people with dignity and a sound education to serve as lawmakers. But the history of the SL legislative body is such that we have seen individuals with questionable backgrounds being elected to parliament time and time again. What would make this topic of entering parliament look ridiculous is that there is no educational more..

Sep 11 (CT) Never in Sri Lankan history we’ve had State Ministers handpicked for rural industry promotions such as clay, kithul, sesame, coconut, cane, brass, clay, furniture, batik, gems and jewellery, cashew, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, betel, solar, wind, grid power generation projects, paddy and cereals, organic foods, vegetables, fruits chilli, onions potatoes, seed promotion and high tech agriculture, tanks more..

Sep 11 (Island) “If we are to advance as a united and prosperous Sri Lanka, political parties based on race and religion should be banned.” This was the rallying cry of the very pragmatic religious leader Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. However, we should remind ourselves that this ideal was achieved, not by law but by consensus, 74 years ago when the UNP was formed under the leadership of D.S. Senanayake on 6th Sept 1946. The original partnership of Ceylon National Congress, more..

Sep 11 (CT) It was reported recently that there is a severe shortage of drugs and equipment at SL’s most prominent public hospital, National Hospital of SL (NHSL) in Colombo. Due to this drug shortage, patients suffering from heart diseases and admitted to the NHSL had been compelled to purchase essential drugs from outside for months. It would not be an exaggeration to state that in a context where heart patients have to wait for a long time after being listed in the waiting list to get their surgeries more..

Sep 11 (TM) The extent of concessionality in loans is being overestimated, and that in some cases loans that are deemed concessional can be less favourable than borrowing on international financial markets, said Verité Research in a recent study it published regarding borrowing by the SL Govt. Multilateral and bilateral borrowing is often favoured by govts such as Sri Lanka because such financing tends to have concessional elements, relative to the international financial markets. more..

Sep 11 (Island) A very important statement SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem made, on Monday, before the PCoI probing the Easter Sunday attacks, got buried in an avalanche of political news including that of the swearing in of a convict as an MP. What the SLMC leader said there should receive the attention of the govt, the police, the security forces and the public. He said neither the National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) or its putative head Zahran Hashim had had any links to the ISIS, more..

Sep 11 (Island) With Italy based sprinter Yupun Abeyratne claiming the national record in the 100 metres on Tuesday, Sri Lanka now has three current athletes who have run the glamour event of the track and field sport under 10.30 seconds, a strong position not many countries of this region can boast of. The recent performances of these three sprinters and the other emerging athletes are indicate a bright prospect in more..

Sep 11 (Island) Various unsubstantiated utterances have been made by some on oil palm cultivation in Sri Lanka, without looking in depth into the subject. Little knowledge is a dangerous thing! A leading politician, in the south, some months ago, prior to the elections, went to the extent of felling a few oil palm trees along a stream bank, probably growing out of seeds dispersed by birds and animals from existing plantations around. He was, of course, seeking to impress villagers more..

Sep 11 (GV) The proposed 20th amendment will be the death of free and fair elections in SL. The study of political communications and digital propaganda for over a decade leaves no room for doubt on what will follow if (when?) the 20th Amendment, in its current form, is passed in Parliament. Worse, if the proposed amendment is a harbinger of what is expanded and entrenched in the new constitution, SL will enter a new dream state. Elections will be bereft of physical violence, but more..

Sep 11 (FT) Cabinet approval has been given to import 300,000 metric tonnes (MT) of fertiliser to meet requirements of the Maha Season, an official said yesterday, adding that the Govt has decided to distribute all paddy fertiliser free-of-charge. Minister Ramesh Pathirana said that the decision had been made to support farmers who were faced with numerous difficulties due to sporadic changes in fertiliser subsidy policy more..

Sep 11 (ST) Dimuth Gunawardena, the newly elected president of the Amateur Rowing Association of SL (ARASL) stated that he intends to carry forward the projects initiated by his predecessor and see rowing reach the phenomenal level. This he said after taking over the ‘oars’ of the ARASL last week, from Rohan Fernando, who steered the rowing fraternity on two back-to-back tenures. With the outgoing Fernando taking up a new role as part of the National Sports Council, more..

Sep 11 (TRT) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa submitted a proposal that legislates against the slaughter of cattle across the island nation – a decision that could inflame ethno-religious tensions. PM has proposed a complete ban on the slaughter of cattle in the country after parliamentary deliberation on Tuesday. Rajapaksa made the proposition while addressing the party’s parliamentary group meeting, stating that cattle slaughter should be prevented since many opposed the practice. more..

Sep 11 (ST) Brides-to-be, those visiting beauty salons for facials and those desperate to have a bleached white skin are being warned of illegal skin whitening creams widely available in cosmetics stores and online. While Sri Lanka permits 1 milligram per kilogram (mg/kg) of mercury content in beauty products, it was revealed that some products claiming to be beauty cream, beauty whitening cream, spot removing cream, contain up to more..

Sep 11 (DN) SL has produced several sportsmen who excelled at International level bringing honour to the country. One of them is Uvaisul Karnain, a double International who represented the country in hockey and cricket in the 1980’s. The now 58-year-old Uvaisul Karnain is an old boy of Isipathana College, Colombo. He hails from a sports loving family. All his six brothers played Cricket and Hockey for school and BRC. He was very enthusiastic to play rugby for his school but his parents more..

Sep 11 (Island) Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in SL (AHK SL) and Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF SL) recently launched a timely initiative in SL named Sustainable supply chains as driver for global competitiveness. This initiative will help SL companies to have broader and easier market access to the EU by adhering to EU’s strictly documented compliance with certain sustainability standards related to social & environmental aspects. more..

Sep 11 (FT) Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA), one of the largest and most established private alternative investment firms in Asia, has announced it will buy Virtusa in all-cash transacted value at $ 2 billion. NASDAQ-listed Virtusa Corporation, founded in Colombo in 1996 with a key operation, is a global provider of digital strategy, digital engineering & IT services/solutions that help clients change/disrupt markets through innovation engineering. more..

Sep 11 (CT) There is a strong possibility ex-SL pace bowler Pramodya Wickremasinghe will be included as the fourth member of the currently three-member SLC Selection Committee which was formed on 6 August last year, Ceylon Today reliably learns. The term of the Selection Committee comprising Asantha de Mel, Vinodhan John and Chaminda Mendis was due to expire this August, but has now been extended, with Wickremasinghe (a former selector) tipped to be the fourth member. more..

Sep 11 (DN) SL Netball Federation officials headed by Lakshmi Victoria are planning to give youth players a break. We are ready to focus on youth players and coaches and will start our development programmes in the outstation areas said Netball Chief Victoria. Most of the affiliated clubs have already promised to give their support to the Federation and we hope to go ahead with these development programmes. The officials are going to start with their programmes on Sept 12 more..

Sep 11 (FT) SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne warned Parliament that SL should prepare for its worst Budget deficit in 35 years, a situation that he said was brought on by the policy errors of the Govt. “It is fully expected for expenditure to increase during a health crisis to support health expenditure and to support livelihoods, but that is not what has happened. The crisis has occurred due to the collapse in Govt revenue. more..

Sep 11 (Island) Constantly innovating and pioneering digitalization in telecommunication in SL, Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) takes bill payments to the next level with a cash-less bill payment facility through the addition of QR codes on all SLT bills. Ensuring a safe and hassle-free process from start to end in the experience with SLT, has been an objective of the country’s national telecom service provider throughout. The dynamic QR code system now makes even the final transaction more..

Sep 11 (DN) Sri Lanka is yet to put across a serious business proposal to reap economic benefits from China, said new Sri Lankan Ambassador to China, Dr. Palitha Kohona in a special interview with the Daily News. “My priority would be to change this lethargic and unprofessional attitude and have a structured approach that will allow not only Sri Lankan business to flourish in China but a wider spectrum of Sri Lankan products to move to the shelves of Chinese super markets. more..

Sep 11 (AD) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa responded to comments by the Opposition and its allies on the 20th Amendment and the court ruling on SLPP Ratnapura District MP Premalal Gunasekara. Referring to the allegations by the Opposition during today’s meeting with State Ministers held at the Presidential Secretariat Prez Rajapaksa said the objective of the 20th Amendment is to remove the obstacles imposed by the 19th Amendment and move forward. more..

Sep 11 (Island) Anuradhapura District SLPP MP Uddhika Premaratne, on Tuesday, told Parliament that he had brought 10 kilos of maize to be handed over to the Parliament kitchen to be used for the MPs’ meal as a substitute for imported lentils. Participating in the debate on the CB report at the time of the adjournment of the House, the MP said that his intention was to promote farmers’ produce and its members should consume maize produced locally instead of imported lentils. more..

Sep 11 (FT) The Govt has not held discussions with Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) yet to amend the agreement in a manner so as to remove its clauses that have been deemed detrimental to the country, State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal told Parliament. Responding to a question raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa on the proposed agreement with the MCC, Minister Cabraal said the Govt had been able to identify the adverse clauses of the agreement through more..

Sep 11 (CT) Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said, he would look into the possibility of providing laptop computers to each MP. Speaker made this remark when the MPs said they could not take away the laptops that have already been given to them as they were fixed to their desks. Raising a Point of Order during yesterday’s Parliamentary Sittings, SJB MP Buddhika Pathirana said, providing MPs documents including annual reports and more..