Sep 21 (EN) Cinnamon traders in Sri Lanka can now export the spice in bark form to Brazil using a phytosanitary certificate issued by the National Plant Quarantine Service office in SL, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “As per Brazilian customs classification and the plant health requirements, Sri Lanka cinnamon in bark form is listed under wood and its products category due to the nature of the product. In order to facilitate entry of SL cinnamon to the Brazilian market, more..

Sep 21 (Island) Those who had a hand in engineering Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa’s defeat at the 2015 presidential election were behind the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, National Congress MP A.L.M. Athaulla said. He blamed 2014 organised attacks on Muslims in Aluthgama, Beruwela and Darga Town also on the same group hell bent destabilising the country. Instigating ethnic violence was part of their strategy, a one-time UPFA Minister said, urging all communities to be vigilant of more..

Sep 21 (Island) The govt has taken on UNHRC Chief Michelle Bachelet for her criticism of the 20th Amendment (20). It has dismissed her concerns as unfounded. The Opposition seems to be deriving some perverse pleasure from the rap on the knuckles the govt has received in Geneva. True, 20A in its present form is a draconian Bill, which, if enacted, will jeopardise democracy, but the question is whether the UNHRC is genuinely interested in protecting human rights and democracy in Sri Lanka. more..

Sep 21 (AD) Twelve more patients who had previously tested positive for COVID-19 have been discharged from hospital after fully recovering. Seven Sri Lankans and 01 foreigner receiving treatment at the IDH, 03 patients from the Welikanda Base Hospital, and 01 from Iranawila Hospital have been discharged in this manner. This brings the total number of COVID-19 recoveries in Sri Lanka to 3,100. A total of 3,287 novel coronavirus cases have been reported in the country thus far more..

Sep 21 (AN) Constitutional changes giving Sri Lanka’s president immunity from prosecution and the power to dissolve parliament will meet the aspirations of the people and help push the country to become a developed nation, the country’s justice minister told Arab News in an exclusive interview. The widely criticized 20th amendment, which will be voted on by lawmakers in October, will roll back the 19th amendment of 2015 that curtailed presidential powers. more..

Sep 21 (Island) A leading Buddhist monks says the members of the Maha Sangha have to wear imported robes as local producers lack the wherewithal to cater to the demand for robes. There were around 40,000 Buddhist monks in the country and their annual requirement of saffron robes was around 100,000 and the majority of them had to buy robes made abroad, prelate told Minister Wimal Weerawansa, at a meeting, on Thursday. Anunanayake of the Kotte Chapter Prof. Ven. Kotapitiye Rahula Thera said more..

Sep 21 (CT) Traffic Police will not fine those violating the Lane Law, which was to commence today, instead the offenders will be directed to mandatory advisory classes. A special programme is in place to identify drivers who violate the Lane Law, said Deputy Police Chief adding that CCTV systems in Colombo City as well as mobile units and drones will be in use. However, SSP Indika Hapugoda said the traffic law will be strictly enforced since the implementation is a success. more..

Sep 21 (AD) CIABOC has filed indictments against former Minister Ravi Karunanayake and the Perpetual Treasuries Limited owner Arjun Aloysius at the Colombo High Court. Karunanayake has been charged under Section 19 (c) of the Bribery Act for taking up residence –all the while serving as the Finance Minister– at No. 5 PH2, Monarch Housing Complex acquired under the Walt & Row Associates (Pvt) Ltd, where the second accused of the case Arjun Aloysius is a director, more..

Sep 21 (AD) State Minister of Batik, Handloom Fabrics, and Local Apparel Products Dayasiri Jayasekara requests all public sector employees to wear local attire to work every Friday. He made this request addressing an event held in Pannala recently. He said that recommendations regarding the dress code will be informed in the future. However, stating that this is not a rule, but a kind request, Jayasekara says that for people to have a local mindset, they must value what their country produces. more..

Sep 21 (Island) Fast moving vehicles at the Horton Plains National Park is causing serious problems to many animals that live there including the SL dull-blue flycatcher, an endemic bird, Chathuranga Dharmaratne of the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies at the Uni of Sri J'pura says. Those birds generally occupied road banks as their nesting sites and many were killed each year by fast moving vehicles at the National Park, especially during the month April which was their breeding season, more..

Sep 21 (AD) The owner of the building in Kandy, which collapsed claiming three lives, told media that he had built the building in accordance with proper standards. A five-story building on the Sanghamitta Mawatha in Buwelikada, Kandy collapsed onto a nearby house last morning and a family of three – father, mother, and one and half month old daughter – was killed in the incident. Their bodies are to be handed over to the relatives today, following the post mortem at the Kandy Hospital. more..

Sep 21 (CT) World Clean-up Day is the largest one-day civic action against waste to emphasise the global mismanaged waste problem and its impacts on the environment. Millions of volunteers joined globally to do beach clean-ups to promote behavioural change, create awareness of the waste around us and to divert attention to this crisis. Pearl Protectors, a volunteer-based, non-profit marine conservation organisation, that seeks to reduce the human impact on marine environment with volunteerism, more..

Sep 21 (CT) A senior member of the UNP said that the attention of senior members of the Party has been focused on giving UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe a new post within the Party. This senior member said attention is being focused on giving Wickremesinghe a new post, in appreciation of the service he has rendered to the country, the Party and the people while being the UNP leader for 26 years as well as being a Parliamentarian, a Minister, PM as well as Opposition Leader for 43 years, more..

Sep 21 (EN) Transferring an elected president’s powers to a group of unelected individuals such as the constitutional council would be an undemocratic act in and of itself, a senior govt minister said. Minister of Education Professor G L Peiris speaking to reporters today complained that the 19th amendment to the constitution has severely limited the president’s powers to make key appointments without the recommendation and approval of the constitutional council. more..

Sep 21 (SN) SL's Ambassador to Moscow Meegahalande Durage Lamawansa said on Monday he planned getting inoculated with Russia's vaccine against COVID-19, dubbed Sputnik V, in the near future. "I am ready to receive Sputnik V vaccine in the near future, as soon as I come back from SL. The vaccine is now going through Phase 3 trials, I would be happy to take part in it", Lamawansa said. "As a doctor, I want to add that although some countries have recently recorded some decrease in the spreading of COVID-19, more..

Sep 21 (DM) The clause relating to the dual citizenship which was introduced in the 19th Amendment should be retained in the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, DLF Leader Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara said. He said he could not totally reject the 19A as there were several positive aspects in the 19A which could be retained. “Some aspects such as provisions guaranteeing Right to Information, limiting the term of President to five years, limiting the number times one can contest for Presidency more..

Sep 21 (FT) A Special Audit Report on the storage and distribution of petroleum in SL has recommended that the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm be renovated and used to address a number of issues in the energy sector including storage in fuel shortage facilities and risks and costs associated with land transportation of fuel. The audit report released by the AG’s Dept recently said that at present there exists in the country a high risk of fuel storage due to lack of storage facilities more..

Sep 22 (DM) In the 1920s, SL had a 49% forest cover, but by 2005 this had fallen by approximately 26%. Between 1990 and 2000, SL lost an average of 26,800 ha of forests per year. This amounts to an average annual deforestation rate of 1.14%. However, with a long history of policy and laws towards environmental protection, deforestation rates of primary forest cover have actually decreased since the end of the 1990s, thanks to a strong history of conservation measures. more..

Sep 22 (CT) PM Rajapaksa’s announcement to ban cattle slaughter is yet another measure to please Sinhala Buddhist hardliners who were the backbone of his party’s victory at the last General Election. They were also responsible for Prez Rajapaksa’s win in his race for presidency. If the proposed constitutional changes were to go through the parliament unchallenged, they will make vegetarian GR local Fuhrer (the original Fuhrer in Germany was also a vegetarian), parliament reduced to more..

Sep 22 (CT) Although it happened over 20 years ago, Mahesh* (32) remembers every excruciating detail of that day. “It was at my grandfather's funeral. I remember feeling confused, at first, when [he] started pulling down my pants, and that turned into fear very quickly at what happened next. I was ten years old,” he recalled, describing the moment he was taken into a private room and raped by a close relative. more..

Sep 22 (CT) Strange revelations and unfolding theatrics now getting exposed hidden behind the disastrous event on the Easter Sunday of 21st April that shocked the whole world, make us to ponder over the disorderly and the primitive state of affairs that has existed in the country then. Grotesque enough and highly farcical, nevertheless lamentable, state of affairs arising out of the statements made by the former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, deserves a closer examination not more..

Sep 22 (DM) The environmentalists have come up with a fretful confrontation with the govt over the Sinharaja issue. This irritable attitude of environmentalists is justifiable with what is said and done so far by the govt regarding the few environmental issues arose after the new regime came in to power. There is no need for further talks with the govt if it sees, that it is an advantage to keep away those who are generally accepted as environmentalists without giving them more..

Sep 22 (DM) Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, comments on the 20th Amendment and responds to questions about it. Q: The 20th Amendment has been the subject of criticism these days. What is the rationale behind the govt’s move? A: The 20th Amendment has been brought forward to address very practical questions. The opponents of the 20th Amendment are trying to raise various controversies. The rationale is very simple. more..

Sep 22 (CT) Stunting and deficiencies in higher learning are twin evils that SL needs to tackle if it’s to progress in developing its human capital, data on the 2nd Edition of the World Bank (WB)’s Human Capital Index (HCI) 2020 report released on Wednesday (16) showed. In this connection, WB’s Country Manager for SL Ms Chiyo Kanda warned that though the WB and SL have worked together for decades to invest in human capital, today these hard-won gains are at risk. more..

Sep 22 (Island) Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has warned that the proposed 20th Amendment (20A), if passed, will reduce Parliament to a mere post office. One cannot but agree with him that 20A seeks to strengthen the position of the Prez at the expense of Parliament, and everything possible should be done to prevent its passage in its present form. However, it is doubtful whether the Opposition and the civil society outfits backing it will be able to drum up enough public support more..

Sep 22 (ST) Most politicians love to leave behind something that they will be remembered by after their departure. That explains why they set up foundations with their name, have buildings and roads named after them and sometimes even fight with their local rivals to claim the right to open a facility (euphemistically called vesting it with the people) where their name will be mentioned on the plaque. National level politicians will probably like to be remembered by what they achieve for more..

Sep 22 (Island) There is no need to elaborate that the collapse of buildings or any other structure will result in very grave consequences. It may lead to loss of life and serious injuries not only for the occupants but to the neighbours and the people around when the collapse happens. These will be in addition to the loss of valuable physical assets and further legal claims. We frequently hear about building failures in crowded cities across the world. However, until recent times there were not more..

Sep 22 (TM) Attorney General’s Department on Thursday (17) revealed the total cost incurred for the firefighting and rescue operations carried out to salvage the MT New Diamond crude oil tanker since 3 Sept to be $ 170 million. The ship had sounded the distress call while positioned 38 nautical miles off the coast of eastern Sri Lanka from the Sangamankanda Point, after the ship’s boiler room exploded, causing a massive fire onboard. more..

Sep 22 (Island) Over the past several days, we have been hearing various criticisms of the 20A by members of the opposition as well as from pro-govt quarters. Some members of the govt audit service too came out against certain provisions in the 20A. Are these criticisms valid or are we missing something? If we grade the criticisms that have got the most amount of media coverage from the most serious to the irrelevant, the most serious allegation relates to the issues concerning the AG and more..

Sep 22 (ST) The three friends had gathered under the margosa tree and were discussing about returnees from West Asia amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. “Mata hari santhosai mage yaluwo dennek pita ratin Lankawata giya sumane apu nisa. Hariyata duk vindala thiyenawa padi nethuwa. (I am happy that two of my friends from West Asia returned to Sri Lanka last week. They had been suffering abroad without proper pay),” said Kussi Amma Sera. more..

Sep 22 (CT) It is reliably learnt that consensus has been reached between Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) regarding the disagreement that had cropped by between the two Boards related to the quarantine programme to be undergone by the tourists upon their arrival here for next month’s three-Test series. As a result BCB has agreed to subject its national team to mandatory quarantine programme more..

Sep 22 (FT) Finance Ministry has allowed the Board of investment (BOI) approved apparel manufacturers to engage in local sales or to undertake sub-contracts from retailers or suppliers for three months starting from 10 Sept subject to conditions. The move was both an outcome of a request made by the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) and a result of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. BOI approved apparel manufacturers can undertake sub-contracts to the domestic more..

Sep 22 (TM) The once exclusive and principally constituted Nuwara Eliya Golf Club (NEGC) that was steeped in colonial traditions has allegedly been taken over by personnel who have little to no regard for such deep-seated traditions and constitutions which were followed for generations. A handful of NEGC members recently shared an incident that has led to the unearthing of the misuse of the club’s monies and breaking of a clause of the club’s rules and conditions to acquire movable assets more..

Sep 22 (PMD) Prez says that one of the top priorities of the govt is to formulate and implement a strategy that will cover the entire process from early childhood education to tertiary education in order to ensure that future generations will choose right path for them & their future. Prez emphasizes since early childhood development and primary education are the most stages in a child’s life special attention should be paid to that aspect. more..

Sep 22 (DN) We are going to make a new concept for this National Youth Sports Festival and it will be a five day event (earlier only three days) while this time we are planning to give more prize money for the winners as well as increase the facilities for the participants added NYSC president. So far all participants get accommodation from the schools and the three day event extended to five day with additional two days for the special feature activities for them and they can really enjoy more..

Sep 22 (Island) The BOI signed an agreement with Indra Hotels and Resorts Kandy (Pvt) Ltd., a joint venture between John Keells Hotels PLC and Indra Traders (Pvt) Ltd., to build a 160-room, three-star, lean luxury hotel in Kandy. The agreement was signed on behalf of the BOI by Susantha Ratnayake, Chairman of the Board, and Indra Silva, Chairman of Indra Hotels and Resorts Kandy (Pvt) Ltd. The US$ 29.32 million project will facilitate the building of this second lean luxury property which more..

Sep 22 (Island) Schools cricket has been in limbo for more than six months now due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Though there had been no action discussions were underway to find means of improving standards. One of the suggestions received by an eminent panel consisting of former national cricketers is to change the age limit of the premier schools cricket tournament from Under-19 to Under-20. more..

Sep 22 (Island) Increased production to meet local demand has enabled CEAT Kelani Holdings to increase its monthly purchases of natural rubber in the domestic market by as much as 35% by Sept, the country’s leading tyre manufacturer has disclosed. The company, which sources all of its natural rubber requirements locally, said its purchases in Sept 2020 alone would reach 500 tonnes (500,000kgs), generating Rs 150 million in revenue for SL producers in areas such as more..

Sep 22 (LBO) Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) embarked on a progressive national digital initiative by entering into a MoU with the Commissioner General, Department for Registration of Persons (DRP). This will enable the CSE and the Central Depository Systems (CDS) to obtain digital verification of the National Identity Card (NIC) details available with the DRP when a person wishes to open a CDS account via the CSE digital App, more..