Jul 7 (Island) SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella told Parliament yesterday that the govt’s attempts at introducing amendments to the criminal and civil procedure codes would not exonerate the latter of the grievous crime it had committed by passing the 20th Amendment and thereby interfering with the judiciary. MP Kiriella said so while participating in the debate on the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading more..

Jul 7 (EN) A plug and play industrial park for home appliance factories by China’s Xinji group has begun construction three weeks after an agreement was signed with an industrial port run by CM Ports which is providing support services to speed up the project. On June 11, Hambantota Int'l Port Group (HIPG) which a unit of China’s CMPorts which operates the port and industrial zone singed a joint venture deal with Shenzhen Xinji group, more..

Jul 7 (FT) Two utterly misleading headlines hit the press. One was bemoaning how we are ‘testing’ less people, back down to 14,000 per day. The suggestion was we therefore don’t know the state of COVID spread. Frankly, I have to say, and all rational people should be saying, “So what?” Positive tests via flawed, fickle, imprecise tests, replete with lab contamination, false positives, unknown amplification settings, inherent issues of picking up residue & viral debris for 30 days, more..

Jul 7 (FT) A 9-member expert committee has been appointed to advice on the proper restructuring of the LPG industry. The move follows the Cabinet of Ministers last month deciding to proceed with a proposal to harness possible synergies between Litro Gas Lanka and LAUGFS Gas Company to strengthen the LPG industry amidst rising global prices. Committee is headed by Finance Ministry Deputy Secretary R.M.P. Rathnayake and comprises of Public Enterprises Dept Director General more..

Jul 7 (CI) SL's men's limited-overs cricketers have signed tour contracts that cover the forthcoming series against India. But SLC's decision to withdraw its offer of annual contracts had caused substantial dismay among players. Angelo Mathews, who was offered a tour contract for the India series, is the only member of a group of 30 who declined to sign. Although an SLC release said Mathews had asked to be relieved from more..

Jul 7 (DM) Despite Health officials saying the country is experiencing a downward trend in COVID-19 infections, the Health authorities today stressed that the decline in COVID cases at present is not a result of that downward trend but due to some other factors. Addressing the media, Dr. Samitha Ginige, Director of Epidemiology Unit said the recent trade union action carried out by Health workers could be identified as one of the main reasons as to why COVID cases are drastically on the wane. more..

Jul 7 (TM) Consultative Committee on Defence, which met yesterday agreed to impose a fine of US $ 500 in addition to visa fee for foreigners staying in the country for an extended period of time without a visa including the submission of Immigration and Emigration Orders to Parliament for approval on several amendments to the visa issuance process. Accordingly, these orders have been published in the Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2126/13 dated 03rd June 2019 for the amendment of more..

Jul 7 (CI) SL's ODI squad face an anxious wait for the results of their PCR tests on returning home, following a Covid-19 outbreak in the England squad after the final match of their tour in Bristol on Sunday. England's entire ODI squad and backroom staff were forced into self-isolation after a number of positive Covid tests, with an entirely new 18-man squad called up ahead of the first ODI against Pakistan on Thursday. more..

Jul 7 (CT) A Cabinet Paper to provide permanent employment to over 8,000 casual, daily and contract workers in Local Govt Institutions will be submitted during the next Cabinet meeting, Minister of Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Govt Janaka Bandara Tennakoon said. Minister Tennakoon said he was instructed to take necessary steps following a discussion with PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, adding that the Premier would submit the Cabinet paper in his capacity as Minister of Finance. more..

Jul 7 (CT) Following consultation with agronomists and scientists, the Govt will import a list of materials including natural nitrogen and phosphorus used in organic fertiliser to encourage the manufacture of organic fertiliser locally. The list of materials will be published in the near future. Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, said organic components and natural raw materials are now being identified in response to a question about what assistance the Govt is willing to provide to farmers who are more..

Jul 7 (CI) Angelo Mathews has informed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) he is considering retirement, after turning down the tour contract for the forthcoming series against India. Mathews, 34, in understood to be disillusioned at the treatment he and fellow senior players have received during the contracts standoff with the board. He was also unhappy to be dropped from the limited-overs sides earlier this year, though he has since been more..

Jul 7 (CT) SJB MP S.M. Marikkar, yesterday, asked the Govt whether the latter would take steps to recover tax arrears of W.M. Mendis and Co. Ltd, after the licence granted for restarting operations was revoked on Monday (5). Raising a Point of Order in Parliament, Marikkar said it was reported that this company has to pay Rs 1.1 billion to the Excise Department. “Not only that, their VAT dues amount to Rs 3.5 billion, while they have to pay Rs 2.6 billion to the Inland Revenue Department. more..

Jul 7 (TM) SriLankan Airlines will resume flights to the Russian capital, Moscow with a weekly scheduled flight between BIA and Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport (DME) from 30th July 2021. Accordingly, SriLankan would commence its flights to Russia every Friday using an Airbus A330 configured for 269 economy and 28 business class seats. The frequency of operation will be once a week, having a flight time of around 08 hours and 25 minutes. Flight UL533 will depart more..

Jul 7 (Island) The govt should temporarily suspend all ad hoc salary revisions and other corrective measures agreed with trade unions recently with immediate effect and review salary scales and grades of public servants in a uniform, fair, equitable and transparent manner on a scientific basis, Dr R. Gnanasekeram, General Secretary of the Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) said. He said that the govt had lost the confidence more..

Jul 7 (TOO) A MoU, has been signed between Chairman of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), and Prez of National Chamber of Commerce in SL. "On the sidelines of the Oman-SL Business Forum, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed a MoU with the National Chamber of Commerce in SL with the aim of contributing to enhancing the volume of commercial cooperation and developing the network of communication between business owners in the 2 countries," more..

Jul 7 (NDTV) The US has advised its citizens to avoid travelling to Bhutan due to the Covid situation there and urged them to reconsider their travel to Sri Lanka because of terrorism. "Do not travel to Bhutan due to COVID-19," the State Department said in a latest travel advisory. In a statement, the State Department said the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not issued a travel health notice for Bhutan, indicating an unknown level of COVID-19 in the country. more..

Jul 7 (BN) SL’s risk premium for a default jumped, reflecting concern that the pandemic is damaging the nation’s ability to fill its foreign-exchange coffers ahead of at least US$2.5 billion debt due in the next 12 months. The nation’s 5-year credit default swaps rose to 1,553 basis points on Monday, the highest since March 1. A separate gauge of one-year default probability was at 27.9%, steepest in Asia, up from around 13% over 6 months ago more..

Jul 7 (TOI) Last month, after a long gap, about five dozen Sri Lankan Tamils were apprehended for clandestinely entering Tamil Nadu by taking a boat ride across Palk Bay. While one group of 23 people was arrested in Madurai, the other group which moved from Tuticorin to Karnataka was held at Mangaluru. Their plan was to leave India once overseas air transport normalised and reach Canada. At least that’s what they were promised by the cross-border network of middlemen, more..

Jul 7 (TM) Secretary General of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Martin Chungong, has written to the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka requesting for permission for an international observer representing the IPU to follow remotely the hearing on the Fundamental Rights (FR) petition of MP Rishad Bathiudeen. As of now, the hearing is scheduled to take place on 08 July. “The Committee would like to seek your leave for more..

Jul 8 (DM) A very wise man, then an undergraduate at the University of Peradeniya, once said that there are no wrongdoers in this world — everyone justifies their actions/decisions. The act or decision may be illegal or unethical respectively, but in the mind of the doer it is justified, it is right, it is even ethical, whether or not the world understands or sanctions. No, I didn’t count the number of hypocrites in Sri Lanka. Neither is it a calculated guess or a ballpark figure. more..

Jul 8 (DM) It is sad indeed to contemplate the tragedy that befell the turtles and other much-loved marine species such as dolphins and whales in the catastrophic aftermath of the blazing inferno on board the MV X-Press Pearl. As of last week, 176 turtles, 20 dolphins and four whales had been washed ashore in various parts of the country. Endorsing a habit, well known among politicians to jump into unwarranted conclusions even when facts are staring them in the face, more..

Jul 8 (DM) MP Charitha Herath, Chairman of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee COPE, is tasked with the onerous responsibility of turning hundreds of unviable public enterprises into profit making ventures by minimising waste, corruption, mismanagement and maintaining their audit reports and accounts to meet the highest quality standards. Prof. Herath shared his views on the progress of COPE inquiries and more..

Jul 8 (DM) The post –Covid -19 world is poised to be different to what it was before the pandemic. Fresh economic challenges and alteration of social fabric are all too visible now the world over. Coinages of new phrases are constantly done to be added to the lexicon to describe the emerging scenarios with the pandemic continuing to take its toll on human life. Vaccination of the global population to achieve herd immunity is considered the only option to curb the spread of the highly contagious viral disease more..

Jul 8 (CT) The Govt, in a very commendable and timely move, has taken steps to set up over 2,000 Resource Centres throughout the country, benefitting a large number of rural students who hitherto had been handicapped, being unable to properly access online lessons, mainly owing to deficiency in signals. Accordingly, the Ministry of Education commenced setting up 2,096 Resource Centres, well-equipped for students in remote areas, across the country from Monday, more..

Jul 8 (CT) Not curbing unregulated sand mining and monitoring sand miners in SL has paved way for a massive Illegal sand mining mafia to rise mainly during the coronavirus pandemic which has devastated ecosystems and natural water resources in the Districts of Puttalam, Polonnaruwa and the Eastern Province. Polonnaruwa is famous for illicit sand mining and until now no authorities have been able to stop the menace. more..

Jul 8 (TM) On the outer wall of the Welikada Prison is the famous inscription, Prisoners are human beings, which shows that Sri Lanka is a country which believes, at least officially, that prisoners deserve to be treated as human beings. This notion, in every sense of the word, should be the basis on which laws and policies affecting prisoners are formulated. However, how SL treats its prisoners, be it suspects, accused parties or convicts, has not been so great in recent memory, more..

Jul 8 (CT) After UNHCR’s hard hitting resolution in Geneva last year, a foreign policy disaster for GR regime, the looming threat of GSP+ withdrawal by European Union has put the regime on notice, and given a choice either to comply genuinely with Geneva stipulations or face economic constraints. The situation is more serious than what Nivard Cabraal, State Minister for Economic Reforms for instance, was trying to convey by citing past experience. more..

Jul 8 (Island) Many eyebrows were raised when the Geneva-based UK Mission to the WTO, UN and other International Organizations recently referred to one-time Director of the CID Gnendra Shani Abeysekara. In a brief statement, dated June 22, 2021, that dealt with Sri Lanka, the UK, on behalf of the literally self-appointed Sri Lanka Core Group (whether we like it or not), comprising Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Malawi, Montenegro & UK, demanded the safety of Abeysekara. more..

Jul 8 (ST) Though I did not hear the deafening sounds of relief, there surely must have been many from different quarters back in our Resplendent Isle. Concerns began to mount as Chinese nationals in seemingly camouflaged military-type fatigues were spotted digging up the ancient Tissa Wewa in Tissamaharama not too far from the Hambantota port. It was bad enough when hundreds upon hundreds of Chinese began dredging the sea to build the new port over which they have now more..

Jul 8 (Island) Genuine post-war national reconciliation will not be possible unless grievances of those who had suffered during the war and after were addressed, Harsha Kumara Navaratne, a member of the Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) says. Emphasizing the responsibility on the part of the govt as regards concerns of all communities, Navaratne asserted that the alleged disappearances of persons who had been more..

Jul 8 (Island) So, Basil Rajapaksa has become a National List (NL) MP after months of dilly-dallying. His appointment has come as no surprise. What is surprising is that he took so long to enter Parliament. He is however different from other NL MPs in that he would have been able to get elected to Parliament easily if he had cared to renounce his US citizenship and contest last year’s general election. He is sure to receive very powerful Cabinet portfolios. All those who made & broke Mahinda Rajapaksa govt more..

Jul 8 (Island) Vallibel Finance has again demonstrated its time-tested resilience and industry leadership status by achieving impressive results in all its KPIs across fixed deposits, lending portfolio and profitability, while recording positive growth as compared to the negative growth recorded by the overall financial services industry in the 2020/21 financial year. Company recorded a Profit before Tax of Rs. 2.3 b which was an increase of 28.3% and its Profit after Tax soared to Rs. 1.7 b more..

Jul 8 (FT) The jewellery industry yesterday labelled the import licensing scheme unfair and has urged for its removal or postponement, so as to encourage foreign exchange income, after the Cabinet on Monday decided to bring gold under the import licensing scheme. In response to the move, the industry held an emergency meeting with officials from State Ministry of Gem and Jewellery Related Industries, more..

Jul 8 (DN) An unprecedented increase in air freight rates to almost all destinations have badly affected the local Floriculture industry. “Cut leaves, which accounts for over 50% of the local exports, were the worst affected and saw an immediate decline in exports. Though the rooted plant sector too saw its costs escalating due to high freight, survived the initial impact through negotiated price revisions and other productivity measures. The export of tissue culture plants was the least affected since more..

Jul 8 (CT) All rounders Dasun Shanaka and Dhananjaya de Silva are reportedly the front runners to captain the SL team in the series against India, which is scheduled to begin on 13 July at the R. Premadasa Stadium, sources at SLC revealed. After a dismal performance on English soil in the recently concluded tour under new skipper Kusal Perera, it is learnt that the selectors are looking for other options to avoid another clean sweep, this time at home. It was seen that the burden of captaincy did not more..

Jul 8 (FT) A total of 1,243 persons tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, with the Health Promotion Bureau stating that 6,403 PCR tests were carried out over the course of the day. Health officials have previously said the drop in testing was due to health sector trade union action. The trade union action ended on Tuesday and Dr. Asela Gunawardena said laboratory operations returned to the usual last evening. more..

Jul 8 (TOI) More than 2.6 tonne of turmeric meant to be smuggled to SL was seized from Chippikulam sea shore in Tuticorin district of TN in the early hours of Wednesday. The turmeric, stacked in 87 bags, was to be smuggled to SL in a fishing vessel. The ‘Q’ Branch got a tip-off that turmeric was to be smuggled from that village. A team led by inspector Vijaya Anitha spotted three youths under suspicious circumstances on two motorcycles around 1.30am and picked them up for questioning. more..

Jul 8 (TM) Remaining committed to further expanding coverage to deep rural communities across the nation, Dialog Axiata, the widest network in SL, inaugurated the Gamata Sanniwedanaya initiative by the TRCSL in Kachchigala, Ratnapura. Dialog aims to enhance coverage to deep rural communities through 450 additional towers, including TRCSL’s Gamata Sanniwedanaya project, in the next 6 months, targeting 100% population coverage. more..