Dec 2 (CI) Seven bowling innings, 21 Test wickets, and on a day in which the left-arm spinners went missing in stretches, an outstanding 6 for 70, which brings the average down to 23.52. If you'd followed Ramesh Mendis at first-class level or in the SL A side, you might have thought - oh, here's a decent batting allrounder who can do the job with the ball. But SL has a knack of finding spinners in unusual places (though, to be fair it must more..

Dec 2 (Island) Royal College player Thehan Wijemanne clinched the men’s open singles title of the 106th Colombo Championships as he beat Chathurya Nilaweera in the final played at the SL Tennis Association courts on Wednesday. Wijemanne who partners Nilaweera in the men’s open doubles was tied 1-1 in the singles final before pulling off a 10-7 win to seal his victory. The final scores read 6-4, 4-6, 10-7. The Royalist beat Kiran Vairavanathan and Archana Lokuge in a row more..

Dec 2 (FT) The Port City Colombo Marina welcomed MY Kalizma – the classic superyacht once owned by Hollywood screen idols Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The first superyacht to sail into the Port City Colombo Marina, established Colombo as a calling port in the Indian Ocean with facilities for berthing luxury superyachts. Pierre Pringiers, Chairman of the Sail Lanka Yachting Group which manages the Port City Colombo Marina said, “The 145’ Kalizma – built in 1906 by G.L. Watson in Scotland – more..

Dec 2 (ST) Sri Lanka’s only Asian Games medal winner in karate, R.J. Edwards strongly believes that funds granted by the Ministry of Sports on the development of athletes and coaches through the High Performance Programme, should transmit properly, if benefits are to be reaped. The 47-year-old head coach of national team, is adamant that the Karate Federation of Sri Lanka should manage funds only for the development of athletes and coaches and make them professional. more..

Dec 2 (DN) Former SL captain Angelo Mathews is likely to be ruled out of the upcoming Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2021 cricket tournament due to the thigh strain he sustained in the ongoing 2nd Test against the West Indies. SL Cricket Medical Committee Head Professor Arjuna de Silva has confirmed Mathews will most probably be ruled out of the LPL tournament since this type of injury requires 4-6 week of rehabilitation. He said Mathews has suffered a grade 2 hamstring tear. more..

Dec 2 (TM) Amidst a spate of gas cylinder-based explosions around the country over the past few weeks, energy experts have requested the Govt and the relevant authorities to ensure that the durability of all accessories attached to a gas cylinder are strengthened relative to any change in gas composition, in order to prevent such explosions. “Experts and all others have stated that the gas cylinders do not explode, but more..

Dec 2 (FT) Aitken Spence Travels, the leading destination management company (DMC) in SL working in partnership with TUI Kazakhstan, welcomed its first flight for the winter season from Kazakhstan yesterday. Air Astana, the flag carrier of Kazakhstan, will be operating three flights per week every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and has a capacity of 160 passengers. The flights will continue until April 2022. All travellers booked through Aitken Spence Travels are fully-vaccinated more..

Dec 2 (FT) COVID-19 vaccines were administered to 72,003 persons on Tuesday, with 74.1% of the total population now having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to date. 2nd dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to 63.94% of the population. In total, first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to 15,932,194 persons and 13,749,891 persons have received the second dose as well. The third dose has been administered to 656,942 persons, more..

Dec 2 (TM) Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) has filed a police complaint, alleging that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has resorted to importing cheaper, low-quality fuel, due to the existing foreign currency shortage in the country, resulting in their buses suffering breakdowns. LPBOA President Gemunu Wijeratne claimed that he had filed a complaint with the IGP that over the past two to three weeks, more..

Dec 2 (DN) Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris said that the government will expedite the distribution of 500 houses built by Saudi Arabia for tsunami victims in 2004 in Noriccholai in the Akkarapattu Division in the Eastern Province. The Saudi Charity Fund, through the United Nations built 500 houses for tsunami victims in 2004 at a cost of US$ 10 million. The whole complex with a playground, community centre, mosque and shopping mall has been abandoned due to some disputes. more..

Dec 2 (Island) Sri Lanka made a huge splash at the 26th World Route Development Forum (World Routes 2021), which took place in Milan, Italy, recently. By making its presence felt at the forum, Sri Lanka pitched its destination for global airlines to consider it as one of the top holiday destinations for the upcoming winter season and beyond. Sri Lanka Tourism officials were able to directly engage with decision-makers from the global route development community, including world’s air services, more..

Dec 2 (Island) More than 150 Colombo City-based members of the CEB Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) yesterday surrounded the CEB General Manager at its headquarters in Fort in protest against the Board’s decision to send AGM Transmission Janaka Aluthge on compulsory leave. General Manager M.R. Ranatunga was not available for comment following the noisy protest. A senior CEBEU member told The Island that they would not take the matter lightly. The irate union member alleged that more..

Dec 2 (DM) National Council for Road Safety has decided to increase the payment of compensation for the dependents of victims of serious injuries, Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said. She said the payment of compensation for victims of accidents caused by unidentified vehicles has increased from Rs. 200,000 to Rs. 250,000 and for seriously injured victims from Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 150,000. Following the instructions of the Minister, this new compensation scheme will be implemented more..

Dec 2 (AD) Bank accounts of those who distribute and receive money through unlawful money transfer methods will be frozen with immediate effect, Governor of CB Ajith Nivard Cabraal said in a tweet today. Accordingly, the CB has urged all migrant Sri Lankans to use only legal channels to repatriate their earnings. Earlier today, it was announced that SL migrant workers would receive an additional Rs.10 for each USD more..

Dec 2 (CT) Parliamentarians should be allowed to enrol in the Sri Lanka Law College or any other university to further their studies, Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella said. Participating in the Committee Stage Debate on Expenditure Heads of the Education Ministry, Kiriella said a debate is taking place in society about the education levels of MPs. “There was a programme like that in the 1970s. Under that, some MPs enrolled at the Law College without sitting for the entrance exam. more..

Dec 2 (FT) SL’s COVID-19 detections rose to 564,733 with 744 persons testing positive for COVID-19 yesterday. The patients detected yesterday include 559 persons from the New Year cluster and the Health Promotion Bureau states that 8,815 PCR tests were conducted. The previous day, 719 persons from the New Year cluster and three SL overseas returnees tested positive for COVID-19. The Health Promotion Bureau states that 6,615 PCR tests and 3,100 rapid antigen tests more..

Dec 2 (TM) The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) said that they would escalate their ongoing work-to-rule trade union (TU) action against the Yugadanavi deal from today (2), where they will not address emergency power restoration activities which fall outside their eight hours of work. “We were on a work-to-rule trade union action as we wanted our demands about this illegal New Fortress Energy Inc. deal met. more..

Dec 2 (EN) SL Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa on Wednesday met his Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi discussed steps to deepen economic cooperation with India amid expectations of support for the country’s foreign exchange crisis. Rajapaksa’s visit comes as Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves have fallen to low levels and liquidity injections to maintain 6% policy were pushing up imports above dollar receipts raising doubts over the ability to make debt repayments. more..

Dec 2 (CT) Following a series of trade union action, CEB Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) warned that they would be compelled to launch a strike, which would result in an islandwide blackout similar to the one that took place in 1996, if their demands, including terminating the Yugadanavi Power Plant deal are not met. CEBEU Chairman, Saumya Kumarawadu, said the CEB management, led by the Chairman and General Manager, have changed the CEB senior management staff who were serving in crucial more..

Dec 2 (FT) To boost inflow of workers› remittances via official channels, the Central Bank announced a time-bound incentive scheme offering Rs. 10 per each US dollar remitted and converted. The move was under the prevailing Incentive Scheme on Inward Workers› Remittances launched in December last year. Previously, Rs. 2 per US Dollar was offered and with effect from yesterday incentive was increased by Rs.8 more..

Dec 2 (FT) Investment in tourism is something that needs to be understood in its entirety if we are to make it a viable industry. Understanding it sooner rather than later is a vital factor in today’s context, especially given our faltering economy. Failing to understand the vital makeup of tourism investment may very well lead to a disastrous failure of this industry. A primary fact everyone from the state sector to the smallest entrepreneur needs to comprehend, is that tourism cannot thrive more..

Dec 2 (FT) Several Opposition parliamentarians said in Parliament that Sri Lanka’s net foreign reserves had plunged to an all-time low of $ 1.2 billion and warned of the several consequences. Sri Lanka also has gold reserves of $ 300 million that can be liquidated in a crisis. Ironically, the Govt members did not refute the Opposition claim of record low reserves, which amounts to less than one month’s ($ 1.3 billion) worth of imports, which is said is the all-time low. more..

Dec 2 (DN) Govt expects Samurdhi beneficiaries to be able to earn an income without depending on Samurdhi benefits. As such the Samurdhi managers should work to strengthen the livelihood empowerment of Samurdhi beneficiaries, A'pura Govt Agent Janaka Jayasundara said. He was speaking at the 2021 progress review meeting of Samurdhi managers in the A'pura district. Eradication of poverty in SL was in the hands of the Samurdhi Development Dept, more..

Dec 2 (USE) Nearly 200,000 additional Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses arrived in SL today as a donation from the American people. This gift demonstrates the ongoing commitment of the US to support SL in the fight against COVID-19. As the pandemic continues and new variants emerge, the US continues to partner with the SL Ministry of Health, UNICEF, and the WHO to vaccinate as many people as possible and build a world that is safer and more secure against the threat of more..

Dec 2 (AD) Azath Salley, the former Governor of Western Province, was acquitted by the Colombo High Court today from the case filed against him over the controversial remarks made during a media briefing held last year. The order was given by High Court Judge Amal Ranaraja when the legal matter was taken up this morning. Delivering the verdict, the high court judge stated that the plaintiffs have not proved that the defendant had more..

Dec 2 (GDI) A delegation of South India Powerloom Federation, the confederation of weaving associations in the Southern States of India, along with the Chairman of the Federation Dr. M. S. Mathivanan, visited Sri Lanka on 22 Nov, under the invitation of the Deputy High Commissioner of SL in Chennai Dr. D. Venkateshwaran. As South India is historically the largest contributor to the Powerloom industry in India, the objective of this visit was to strengthen business links between more..

Dec 2 (EN) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa asked co-operation of Islamic nations to revive the island nation’s economy hit by the Coronavirus pandemic as the country is facing twin crisis of external debt and foreign exchange amid risks of sovereign debt default. The request was made at a meeting with envoys of Islamic countries in Colombo-based diplomatic missions on Tuesday (30) at Shangri La hotel. “PM told that he expects cooperation from Islamic countries to revive SL economy,” more..

Dec 2 (CI) Dhananjaya de Silva came to the crease with Sri Lanka only 23 runs ahead, with three wickets down, and their most experienced batter injured an unable to play normally. By the time his work ended on day four, SL were 279 runs ahead, with two wickets still in hand, in firm control. De Silva, in sublime touch for much of this knock, was 153 not out off 259 balls by stumps, put on 78 alongside Pathum Nissanka more..

Dec 2 (TM) Foul play has taken place between the Litro LP Gas company and the Govt, in order to sell off the company which will benefit the Govt in return, SJB MP Harin Fernando alleged in Parliament today. “Recently, it was exposed that the Litro gas company had done a valuation of their company and assets. This was surely done so that it can be sold off and the demand for LP gas can reduce with the excuse that the Gas cylinders are not safe. We can see people are looking for alternatives such as more..

Dec 2 (MFA) Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga and State Minister Tharaka Balasuriya jointly addressed the SL Heads of Mission and Post abroad on accelerating the tourism promotion activities of the SL Missions and Posts on 1 Dec 2021 at the Foreign Ministry. Chairperson of Sri Lanka Tourism Kimarli Fernando made a detailed presentation on the wide range of tourism attractions in SL and the way forward to increase the number of inbound tourists. more..

Dec 2 (TM) Prominent members of the Board of Directors of the Board of Investment (BOI) have stepped down from their positions. This was made known via a statement issued by the BOI today. The statement reveals that the Chairman of the BOI, members of the Board of Directors and Director General assumed office with the singular intent of supporting the President’s vision to double SL’s GDP in this decade, and in line with this, more..

Dec 2 (EN) INSEE Cement in Sri Lanka said it had inked a deal with China-run Hambantota International Port Group to handle raw material to its factory after one million tonnes of dry bulk cargo was brought through the port in 2021 allowing it to cut costs. INSEE has a cement grinding plant in Galle. Hambantota port had allowed INSEE to bring larger ships lowering costs. “Due to the limitations we have experienced in our previous operations, we couldn’t bring bigger vessels with larger volumes,” more..

Dec 2 (CT) MP Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was the President of the Indian Ocean Conference (IOC), will join President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on his visit to Abu Dhabi. MP Wickremesinghe was the President of the IOC Executive Committee from 2016 to 2019 and the position was subsequently handed over to Prez Rajapaksa. However, MP Wickremesinghe continues to be a member of the Executive Committee of the IOC. President Rajapaksa is expected to deliver his maiden speech at more..

Dec 2 (Island) SJB MP Champika Ranawaka said in Colombo recently that managing the economy of the country should be handed over to a group of independent technocrats. “The general public and the business people are growing increasingly less confident about the capacity of the political leadership to pull the country out of the current economic crisis. So, the situation calls for the govt to turn over more..

Dec 2 (Island) SL’s classical music and cultural legend Pundit Amaradeva was commemorated in the United States, making it the first such overseas presentation of, maestro’s work. The commemorative cultural presentation was held in the City of Las Vegas in the State of Nevada, in November, by the SL America Association of Las Vegas, with the assistance of the Amaradeva Foundation in SL. The newly formed Sri Lanka-America Chamber of Commerce whose more..

Dec 2 (CT) Following the ferry accident in Kinniya in the Eastern Province which killed seven persons including five children, the RDA in Jaffna has provided life jackets to passengers travelling between Karainagar-Kayts Islands on ferries. RDA has been providing the islands with a free ferry service for decades without safety gear to passengers who are mostly students. The ferry service covers about a half a kilometre of sea and is a vital route for people living in Karainagar more..