Aug 13 (DM) Three veteran artistes who were featured prominently in Sinhala tabloid magazines recently were Sanoja Bibile, Sathischandra Edirisinghe and the evergreen Ravindra Randeniya. These three artistes are still in demand. But they have their reservations regarding where the local cinema and the tele drama industries are heading. The biggest concerns by these seasoned artistes is that youngsters are getting into the industry without doing much of a study on cinema. more..

Aug 13 (DM) COVID- 19 has been a part of our lives for more than a year now, but like how everything in this world, mutates and evolves- the virus too has evolved into various variants. Currently, 70%- 90% of COVID- 19 cases in Colombo is due to the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Speaking to Daily Mirror, Prof. Neelika Malavige, Head of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, University of Sri Jayawardenapura stated that the Delta variant was also seen in Galle, Matara more..

Aug 13 (DM) UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardane, in an interview, speaks with confidence that his party will form a govt at the end of 2023. He also responds to questions about the present predicament of the party. Q: You, as the chairman of the UNP, were campaigning for the nomination of your leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as the National List MP. You were talking about his future plans. He has been sworn in now. more..

Aug 13 (CT) Govt of SL (GoSL) will need to keep up with its current COVID-19 vaccines momentum if it is serious about averting another lockdown, which will further scar the economy and the people of this country financially. This is in the context that COVID-19 terror, like Taliban terror’s relentless advance in Afghanistan currently, entered its 564th day yesterday, since the detection of the island’s first COVID-19 patient on 27 Jan 2020. Coinciding with these developments, more..

Aug 13 (CT) The basic premise of this debate was to discuss the measure available, being taken to reduce the gap between Consumption and the Earnings, and in turn to improve the current account balance i.e. primarily the expenditure and revenue of imports and exports respectively. I attentively watched the program on YouTube and have captured salient points which I intend to document in this article. In short, the modalities proposed by the two individuals despite more..

Aug 13 (CT) Running up to the 2019 prez elections, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the golden glory boy of Lankan politics. It resembled Prez Obama’s pre-election glory in 2008. Millions of Lankans pinned their hopes on him. Most believed he was made of a different cloth and he was the incoming Mosses of the Lankan people. They didn’t quite care of his citizenship issues, white van gossip or hard hitting attitude on Western media. more..

Aug 13 (GV) Their playground is a graveyard; their toys are sticks and stones. They run in the sand and dirt, flying kites and joking, fighting and laughing. They are Tamil children living on the edge of a cemetery in Veyangoda. The desire for a better life away from the grinding poverty and hopelessness of the tea estates brought their ancestors to this Sinhala area in the 1950s. Some people migrated from Colombo while others came from the North and other parts of SL, mainly due to marriage. more..

Aug 13 (Island) Headlines in The Island of Friday Aug 6: Govt in a bind over massive salary and pension bill: revenue dwindles amidst pandemic. So that seems to be a new discovery of Dr Nalaka Godahewa, who proclaimed the lament. Weren’t these current expenditures always present and usually budgeted for? And if the salary bill is high it is the fault of maybe this govt and very definitely those of previous govts mostly SLFP administrations, whose ministers and more..

Aug 13 (Roar) As of 2020, SL was home to roughly 7,500 wild elephants. One of the island's most popular attractions, the animals are unfortunately dying at record rates as a result of continuing encroachment, worsening human-elephant conflict, and the illegal elephant trade. On World Elephant Day, Roar would like to share a selection of past stories that delve into the treatment and plight of elephants in SL, highlighting the urgent need for the protection of one of the country’s most more..

Aug 13 (TM) As time passes by, the world learns more and more things about the pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the people, and the lessons we learn are not always about what to do; sometimes, they are about what not to do. Rectifying a mistake they made, the authorities have revoked the temporary license granted to the infamous Dhammika Paniya, manufactured by Dhammika Bandara who claimed to be an Ayurvedic/indigenous medical practitioner. more..

Aug 13 (TM) Even though the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) yesterday granted permission to Laugfs Gas PLC to increase the price of Laugfs liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), Laugfs Gas PLC Chairman W.K.H. Wegapitiya was not satisfied with the price increases. When contacted by The Morning, he said that it is not sufficient to increase the price of 12.5 kg and 5 kg gas cylinders by Rs. 363 and Rs. 145, respectively, more..

Aug 13 (FT) Industry giant State-owned Bank of Ceylon (BOC) formally announced stellar financial results for the first half, which have overtaken the performance of 2020 full year, reinforcing that the slew of recent measures amidst challenges had paid off. Profit before tax in the six months ended 30 June 2021 amounted to Rs. 27.1 billion, up by 291% from the corresponding period of last year. The end June result confirms BOC has already surpassed the 2020 full year pre-tax profit of Rs. 27 billion more..

Aug 13 (FT) Mediquipment Ltd., SL’s leading biomedical engineering service provider, which specialises in high-end medical imaging technology, announced the introduction of an advanced standard in medical diagnostics with the successful installation of the first ever Canon AQ One PRISM Edition CT scanner at the Radiology Department of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. The new 320 row/640 slice Canon AQ One CT scanner is currently the only machine in more..

Aug 13 (TM) The parents of the 11 youths who were allegedly abducted and forcibly disappeared by a group of Naval intelligence officers have filed a complaint with the CIABOC on 9 August against the Attorney General (AG) Sanjay Rajaratnam. The parents of the victims have objected to the AG’s recent decision to temporarily not proceed with the charges against former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, more..

Aug 13 (Island) The govt is coming under pressure to close the country again. Lockdowns are a frightening proposition, given the heavy economic costs they entail, but it is doubtful whether there will be any other way of containing the pandemic. Covid-19 death toll is climbing steadily; it reached 156 yesterday. The healthcare system is facing an unprecedented capacity crunch. Medical oxygen is in short supply, according to media reports. (A few months ago, this newspaper warned of more..

Aug 13 (FT) A strong second quarter, during which its loan book crossed the milestone of Rs. 1 trillion, another first by a local private bank, has generated noteworthy growth in key indicators for the Commercial Bank of Ceylon Group for the six months ended 30 June 2021. Comprising Sri Lanka’s largest private sector bank, its subsidiaries and an associate, the Group reported gross income of Rs. 79.931 billion for the period, reflecting a growth of 6.34% over the corresponding more..

Aug 13 (FT) The Govt has decided to facilitate tourists from India after three months, subject to strict health guidelines and prior approvals. In May, Indian tourists were restricted due to the surge in COVID-19 cases with the highly-infectious Delta variant. India is the biggest tourist source market for SL. According to the latest Health Ministry quarantine guidelines effective from 12 Aug, fully-vaccinated foreign nationals arriving from India, including transits, are required to obtain more..

Aug 13 (FT) Aitken Spence PLC said it has made an impressive comeback in the first quarter ending 30 June 2021 by recording a 145% increase in Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs. 1.2 billion compared to Rs. 513 million in the previous year from the non-tourism sectors. Group’s non-tourism sectors recorded a 96% increase in EBITDA (Earnings-inclusive of equity accounted investees, before interest expenses, tax, depreciation & amortisation) of Rs. 1.9b compared to Rs. 990m in previous year. more..

Aug 13 (TM) Representatives of the teachers’ and principals’ trade unions, along with representatives of a number of trade unions in several other sectors, staged a satyagraha protest action in Colombo yesterday (12) to oppose what they claim to be the Govt’s continuous failure to address the problems in the education sector, including the teacher-principal salary anomaly issue. Representatives of CTU, CTSU, more..

Aug 13 (FT) Immigration and Emigration Dept has finalised the digital nomad visa at $ 500 for the first year, but it is yet to decide on criteria for the long-term visa and a fee for the extended stay. Following Sri Lanka being ranked second-best for digital nomads in 2021 by the influential French travel and tourism operator Club Med, the Government last month decided to attract the fast-growing segment of travellers with long-term one-year visas. The regulations to accommodate long-term visa more..

Aug 13 (Island) Promising junior sprinters Isuru Kaushalya and Tharushi Karunaratne are set to form Sri Lanka’s first mixed relay team with Lakshima Mendis and Dilshan Bandara and compete internationally after Sri Lanka Athletics included a team for next week’s World Junior Athletics Championship in Nairobi. Sri Lanka are yet to compete in the newest addition to the athletics programme, the 4×400 metres mixed relay which made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020. more..

Aug 13 (CT) Introducing further guidelines for travellers from overseas, Director General of Health Services, Dr. Asela Gunawardena said it was mandatory for travellers aged two years or above arriving in Sri Lanka to carry a negative PCR test report in English done 72 hours prior to embarkation. He noted that a predeparture COVID-19 RAT report would not be accepted. Dr. Gunawardena, cancelling circular more..

Aug 13 (CI) SL batter Dinesh Chandimal is the latest high-profile player who will feature in the Everest Premier League, Nepal's domestic T20 tournament. Chandimal, 31, will represent Bhairahawa Gladiators in the tournament, which will be played from Sept 25 to Oct 9 at the Tribhuvan University Int'l Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. "I am so excited to visit the beautiful country of Nepal and I am very much looking forward to a great Everest Premier League season with the Gladiators," Chandimal said. more..

Aug 13 (Island) Sports Officer Madura Perera who trained middle distance runner Shanika Lakshani to reach qualifying standards for next week’s World Junior Championship in Nairobi will not join the team leaving for Kenya after testing positive for Covid 19. Perera, who was instrumental in carefully guiding Lakshani during a trouble-stricken 2020 to shatter one of SL’s long standing junior records, tested positive for the virus on Aug 10, the day the team of six selected athletes and five officials more..

Aug 13 (Island) SLFP has emphasised the need for a mixed electoral system at the Select Committee of Parliament to identify appropriate reforms of the election laws and the electoral system and to recommend necessary amendments. SLFP, UPFA and PUF handed over their proposals in writing on Wednesday to the Select Committee of Parliament to identify appropriate reforms of the election laws and the electoral system and more..

Aug 13 (FT) A total of 360,693 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered on Wednesday and Sri Lanka has thus far administered the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to 11,534,750 persons and the second dose to 3,775,976 persons. On Wednesday, 81,000 persons received the first dose of Sinopharm and 228,790 persons received the second dose of Sinopharm. In total, the first dose of the vaccine has been administered to 9,140,644 persons and the second dose to 2,884,051 persons. more..

Aug 13 (EN) Ceylon Tobacco Company reported profits of 3.9 billion rupees in the June 2021 quarter up from 3 billion rupees a year ago, through sales volumes were down 16% from the March quarter. The firm reported earnings of 20.90 rupees for the quarter. In the 6 months to June Ceylon Tobacco reported earnings of 41.82 rupees on total profits from 7.88 billion rupees, up from 6.9 billion. Revenue for the quarter with govt taxes rose to 30 bil rupees from 24 bil rupees a year ago. more..

Aug 13 (Island) The govt was contemplating lockdowns in most parts of the country today, but the Colombo District would be kept open till the vaccination campaign was over, a senior govt official said. He said that the vaccination campaign in the Colombo district was a huge success up to now and the contribution by the SL Army should be praised for covering a large spectrum of the society. The official also said that once more..

Aug 13 (CT) Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon instructed officials to not charge money from families to cremate their COVID-19 dead. He added that steps will be taken by the Central Govt to pay for the cost of cremation incurred by Local Govt institutions. He made these statements during a virtual discussion with the heads of Local Govt institutions. During the discussion, Tennakoon questioned officials on issues that have arisen when cremating COVID victims. more..

Aug 13 (Island) Chief Opposition Whip Kandy District MP Lakshman Kiriella yesterday said that the country should be grateful to the security forces for their dedication to reopening the country, but the rulers should also pay heed to the warnings of medical experts. He said that he pleaded with the govt to impose travel restrictions in Kandy District and the adjacent districts to prevent the Delta variant from entering those areas. “I have spoken with some doctors in the district. more..

Aug 13 (FT) Sri Lanka’s daily COVID-19 detections exceeded 3,000 for the first time since 5 June, with the detection of 3,039 COVID-19 patients yesterday. The patients detected yesterday include 2,420 from the New Year cluster. Over 2,000 COVID-19 patients have been detected daily since 29 July, with no signs of a drop in detections. Despite this, govt is yet to impose strict travel restrictions or countrywide lockdown. more..

Aug 13 (Island) Federation of National Organizations (FNO) alleged that an influential section of the govt and milk food importers had connived to have import duty on milk powder abolished before they cleared already imported milk food stocks. A spokesperson for FNO compared the racket to issuance of a special gazette in early Oct 2020 to reduce sugar import duty to 25 cents from Rs 50 that caused massive losses. Head of the FNO Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera, in a statement issued more..

Aug 13 (DM) Another crucial meeting will held this morning between Prez Rajapaksa and the Presidential Task Force on Prevention of COVID-19 to decide if travel restrictions will be imposed over the weekend to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Army Commander General Shavendra Silva said that the meeting will be held with the participation of ministers, Director General of Health Services and several other experts to discuss the current developments and further decisions more..

Aug 13 (Island) Sri Lanka was still at the early stages of the COVID wave created by the Delta variant and it had not spread to most parts of the country, Dr. Chandima Jeewandara of University of Sri J'pura said yesterday. He urged the govt to take immediate action before the variant spread to other parts of the country. “We found the Delta community spread in early June and by the end of July Delta is the most dominant variant in Colombo. more..

Aug 13 (FT) A brief post published by me in social media with a questionnaire, proposing a methodology that can be adopted in selecting a suitable leader to steer SL into a successful path, has become a subject of heated debate. In response Jaliya Darmasena had remarked that all the questions I had raised have been addressed by Nagananda Kodithuwakku in his policy statement. Samantha Liyanaarachchi had proposed that Ranil Wickremesinghe who is an experienced more..

Aug 13 (FT) Draconian and scary are two terms that automatically hit you when one peruses the SEC Bill that will be debated in Parliament and made law soon. The current SEC Act came into force in 1987 and created the capital market regulatory body – the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC). With the development of financial markets locally and globally, the market conditions have demanded a few amendments be made to facilitate market conduct. more..

Aug 13 (DN) The Govt will soon ensure the provision of basic labour rights to domestic workers similar to those enjoyed by other workers including social security benefits such as EPF and ETF. Labour Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said amendments to the relevant Bills to establish a Wages Board for Domestic Workers and to grant membership of the Employees Provident Fund and Employees’ Trust Fund to those domestic workers will be submitted to the Cabinet soon. more..