Jul 2 (FT) The All Ceylon Bakery Owners Association (ACBOA) has decided to postpone its decision to increase price of bread and other items by Rs. 10 from next week following the Govt’s assurance to control wheat flour prices in the market. The assurance was given to the ACBOA following a discussion held with State Minister of Consumer Protection Lasantha Alagiyawanna and Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) top officials more..

Jul 2 (ST) Govt has cancelled permission given to import a number of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) including tankers and milk bowsers with stainless steel tanks for the transportation of milk, a gazette notification issued by Finance Ministry on June 11 revealed. Permission given to import SPVs under the measures to ease import restrictions for companies registered under the Temporary Import and Export Processing Scheme has been repealed due to misuse of this facility, more..

Jul 2 (DM) Despite the Health Ministry stressing that they were on high alert on the spreading of Indian variant in the country, the Public Health Inspectors who are in the field slammed the Govt for not paying adequate attention to prevent further spreading. PHI Union Head Upul Rohana said that the Govt had not yet orchestrated a proper plan to combat against the dreaded Indian variant, known as the Delta. “What is happening right now is that the Govt is continuing with the action plan that more..

Jul 2 (FT) Fearing imminent collapse, the Colombo City Restaurant Collective (CCRC) on Tuesday urged the Govt to grant immediate relief by way of waivers as well as ensure early reopening with precautions. CCRC’s concerns were expressed during a meeting chaired by CB Governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman and involving Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, State Minister Nivard Cabraal, more..

Jul 2 (Island) Steeplechaser Nilani Ratnayake was the first Sri Lankan to secure a top ranking in any Olympic sport to have hopes of qualifying for Tokyo Olympics. By end December 2020 she was ranked 35th in the world, well within the required range to secure a berth. But lack of competitions due to the Covid 19 pandemic saw her dropping lower in ranking.. By the time the qualifying period ended on June 29, Ratnayake had dropped to 46th position in the Road to Olympics Rankings. more..

Jul 2 (SLN) Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training Exercise-2021 held with the participation of SL Navy, United States 7th Fleet and Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) from 24th to 30th June in the Trincomalee harbour and off the eastern coast concluded on a successful note. The closing ceremony of this multi-lateral naval exercise was held virtually at the Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee on 30th June 2021, under the auspices of Deputy Chief of Staff and more..

Jul 2 (AD) District Farmers’ representatives on behalf of 1.1 million farmers across the island, have urged Prez Rajapaksa not to reverse the steps taken to use organic fertilizer. The farmers’ representatives have highlighted that it was their absolute duty and responsibility to return to the traditional farming methods and provide the people with a non-toxic healthy diet. They added that citizenry will be grateful to the Prez for more..

Jul 2 (DM) 2,000 new three wheelers were provided to all island police stations to carry out police duties in a more efficient manner. The Ministry said the main objective is to provide these three-wheelers to strengthen and promote the concept of the community police by enhancing crime prevention and investigation. In addition, these three-wheelers will also to be used for investigating various complaints, deploying for 119 emergency calls, duties in the Children and Women's Bureau more..

Jul 2 (Island) Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and CHEC Port City Colombo signed a MoU to enhance the capital markets in Sri Lanka by taking advantage of the Port City Colombo’s special emphasis of the Colombo International Financial Center, in order to establish a regionally recognized financial exchange within the country’s borders. The MoU was signed with the objective of working on a collective mission to establish an International Multi-Currency Exchange within the Port City Colombo. more..

Jul 2 (CT) SJB MP Imthiaz Bakeer Markar said Govt is showing a political drama using Udaya Gammanpila and Basil Rajapaksa, to cover up the actual situation in the country He claimed that the SLPP has failed to reach a common agreement regarding its next Prez candidate. He said that currently there is a debate within the SLPP to determine whether its next Prez candidate will be MP Namal Rajapaksa or SLPP National more..

Jul 2 (TG) Hundreds of turtles have washed ashore after a ship caught fire and sank off the west coast of Sri Lanka in June in the country’s worst-ever marine disaster, a court in the capital Colombo has heard. A fire erupted on the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl on 20 May, carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid along with other chemicals and cosmetics. It sank on 2 June as a salvage crew tried to tow the vessel away from the coast. more..

Jul 2 (FT) Sri Lanka’s largest banks are the most susceptible to heightened sovereign risk due to their higher exposure to foreign-currency denominated Govt securities and, in some cases, weaker capital positions, says Fitch Ratings in a new report. Domestic banks have significant direct exposure to the sovereign, largely via Govt-security holdings, as well as to the wider domestic economy and local financial markets through their Sri Lanka-centric operations. more..

Jul 2 (CT) Nurses’ strike in State health service crippled the services of several hospitals. Govt Nursing Officers’ Association (GNOA), Public Service United Nurses’ Union (PSUNU) and All Ceylon Nurses’ Union (ACNU) launched a 2-day nurses’ strike yesterday, demanding fairness in promotions given to them. GNOA Chairman, Saman Ratnapriya, said Medical Officers received their first promotion after a lapse of two years. more..

Jul 2 (DN) PM Rajapaksa Wednesday (30) called on all industrialists and the business community to protect their employees and face the challenges they have to face during the pandemic instead of dismissing them. He was speaking at a discussion at Temple Trees on issues facing the SL Apparel Brands Association (SLABA) and SL Retailers Association (SLRA). Delegates from the two organisations spoke on issues such as obtaining bank loan concessions, resolving issues in more..

Jul 2 (Island) Police arrested three more suspects including the Deputy Chairman of the Mihintale Pradeshiya Sabha, Lalith Edirisinghe, on Wednesday night for removing a 15-year girl from her parents and forcing her into prostitution in Mount Lavinia. Edirisinghe is a member of the SLPP. SDIG Ajith Rohana said that the Deputy Chairman had been brought to Colombo for questioning and that the three suspects had been remanded till 15 July by the Hulftsdorp Magistrates’ Court. more..

Jul 2 (Island) GMOA informed the Health Ministry that security forces continued to interfere with the anti COVID-19 activities carried out by the health officials. Security forces carried out vaccination programmes across the country in an ad hoc manner and that would lead to confusion, GMOA added. GMOA Secretary Dr. Senel Fernando said that their representatives from the East had informed that security forces were meddling more..

Jul 2 (FT) The lack of adherence to the law can be considered as an inherent and prominent characteristic of our society and the rulers. In SL it is typical that many important things take place contrary to the law, and outside the constitutional framework. In this context, SL can be considered as a country which has lost civility in politics and respect for the rule of law. Our inability to conduct ourselves towards a law-abiding nation which respects the Constitution, the supreme law of the country, more..

Jul 2 (FT) The issue of the X-Press Pearl is still very much alive and on and new words are getting into the day-to-day vocabulary, such as nurdles and pellets. Though the ship is now mostly out of sight and images of bellowing smoke gone, it still is a pollution hotspot with its under-deck cargo mostly spared the fire now present in waters below. It being placed on the approach path to the harbour may also be an underwater object of concern and thereby affect the operational efficiencies of the port. more..

Jun 3 (SLN) SL Navy managed to seize about 2021kg and 400g of dried turmeric attempted to be smuggled into the country, during special operations conducted in the beach areas of Achchanakulam, Naruvilikkulam and South Bar on 29th and 30th June and 1st July. The operation also made way to apprehend 6 suspects, 2 dinghies, 1 van and 1 three-wheeler in connection to these dried turmeric rackets. The Navy has been conducting regular operations in island waters with a view to curb smuggling by sea routes. more..

Jun 3 (AD) Police have intercepted three luxury buses traveling from Colombo to Batticaloa in violation of the inter-provincial travel restrictions currently in effect. Police and army personnel on duty at a checkpoint on the Chenkalady-Badulla road had stopped and searched the buses in question. It was then uncovered that none of the buses had any permits or documentation allowing them to cross provincial borders. Meanwhile after the passengers of the buses were subjected to Rapid Antigen Tests more..

Jun 3 (AD) The Sri Lankan govt has apprised the European Union (EU) of the progress in specific areas of reconciliation, as part of its regular engagement and dialogue with the organization, says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Accordingly, the ministry, on June 25, informed the EU of action underway to revisit provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, No 48 of 1979, with the study of existing legislation, past practice, and international best practices. more..

Jun 3 (CT) Major General Mohan Rathnayake, General Officer Commanding, 21 Division HQ, who was arrested yesterday morning over his involvement in a brawl with a team of Wildlife Department officials in the Habarana area on Friday, was granted bail in two sureties by the Kekirawa Magistrate. The Kekirawa Magistrate on 30 June had ordered the arrest of Major General Rathnayake. The Wildlife Officers had complained to the Police that they were positioned at the Minneriya National Park on 23 June night more..

Jun 3 (CT) After losing the second ODI against England, SL set a new record having lost most number of ODI matches in the history of ODIs. SL have so far lost 428 ODIs, while India have lost 427 and Pakistan 414. Since the year 1975, SL has played 860 ODI matches so far, winning 390 and losing 428. SL lost 62% of ODIs since 2015. Sri Lanka has a win/lose ratio of 0.911, which is higher than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe among the top cricketing nations. South Africa tops the list with a ratio of 1.770. more..

Jun 3 (AFP) SL's World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga on Friday slammed the island's sports leaders for agreeing to a tour by a second level India side. Ranatunga, 57, said the tour undermined the country's dignity as he attacked Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka Cricket. India's team led by Shikhar Dhawan arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday to prepare for the three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 games that start July 13. more..

Jun 3 (AD) The strike launched by leading nurses’ trade unions entered day two on Friday (2), as their demands remain unmet. The two-day trade union action was initiated by the Public Service United Nurses’ Union, Govt Nursing Officers’ Association and the All-Ceylon Nurses’ Association on Thursday (1). They have called for several demands to be met, including the granting of promotions every 5 years, the inclusion of nursing staff in work shifts similar to other govt staff and immediate issues more..

Jun 3 (AD) Dept for Registration of Persons says that it will resume services to the public with effect from Monday, through prior appointment basis only. It said that although the department was temporarily closed for public services due to the Covid-19 situation, the department will be reopening from July 5 for a limited number of applicants who have reserved a date and a number. Applicants who have already submitted applications and wish to come to the Dept for Registration of Persons more..

Jun 3 (AD) PM Rajapaksa has declared open the Kapuduwa Interchange of Southern Expressway and Getambe Underpass today. Further, PM laid the foundation stone to construct a Maritime Facilitation Centre at the Colombo Port. The construction of Maritime Facilitation Centre, undertaken by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, is expected to be completed in 2023 at the cost of Rs. 4,999 million. Its ceremonial groundbreaking was virtually kicked off by PM this morning. more..

Jun 3 (CT) All Ceylon JamiyyathulUlama (ACJU), while stating that the Cabinet of Ministers has made decisions pertaining to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) without taking into consideration the opinions given by Islamic religious and civil organisations, called on the Govt and the Minister of Justice to re-evaluate such decisions. General Secretary of ACJU, Ash-Shaikh M. ArkamNooramith, stated that decisions should be made by giving due consideration to fundamentals of the religion more..

Jun 3 (FT) Forced by import restrictions, Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) has decided to venture into the assembly of vehicles. “The current Government policy with regard to vehicle imports led us to consider the option of assembling vehicles in Sri Lanka. We have obtained the necessary approvals to perform a vehicle assembly operation on a semi-knock-down (SKD) basis, and the service will be available in the market soon,” DIMO Chairman Ranjith Pandithage said. more..

Jun 3 (TM) Excise Dept has granted permission to the liquor manufacturer W.M. Mendis & Co. Ltd., which has defaulted on large sums of back taxes owed, to recommence operations to produce liquor in their distilleries. Excise Commissioner said that permission was granted as per several requests made by the company to operate. The licence of the liquor distillery W.M. Mendis & Co. Ltd., had been suspended by the Excise Dept for the non-payment of taxes since Jan 2018. more..

Jun 3 (NDTV) SL cricket team which is currently touring England has been going through a very rough time as they have failed to put up a fight against the English team in the limited-overs series. This has prompted former England skipper Kevin Pietersen to enquire about the state of the current team which once had champion players like Aravinda de Silva and Muttiah Muralitharan among others. "Aravinda, Arjuna, Vaas, Murali, Mahela, Kumar, just to name a few SL players that would have walked into more..

Jun 3 (Island) The largest Poson pandal in Europe is now being displayed at the Sri Saddhatissa International Buddhist Centre, Kingsbury. The pandal was opened at an event that was participated by High Commissioner Saroja Sirisena and the members of the staff at the High Commission of Sri Lanka. The pandal is a part of the Poson celebrations organised by the Sri Saddhatissa International Buddhist Centre in Kingsbury under the aegis of the Chief Incumbent Aggamahapandita Ven. Galayaye Piyadassi, MBE. more..

Jun 3 (DM) Both the ruling party and the opposition parties representing the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) had come against a local politician who is representing a major political party in Colombo after he had allegedly taken money from city dwellers in Wellawatte to provide COVID-19 vaccines. All members of CMC had come against him after he had assaulted the SLPP member of the council, W. Sumithralatha earlier this month. Ms. Sumithralatha said that she visited the community centre more..

Jun 3 (Island) Opposition to Chinese-funded projects was politically motivated, SLFP MP Angajan Ramanathan said. MP said that since Independence Sri Lanka had received foreign aid from many countries. “However, in recent times, some groups have been painting a black picture of China. While claiming that they are against discrimination, they are spreading the most awful xenophobic propaganda against the Chinese.” He said SL and China had maintained commercial and diplomatic relations more..

Jun 3 (TM) No agreement has been reached regarding the demands of the inmates of the Mahara and Welikada Prisons who recently staged protests demanding that their death sentence be commuted to a term of life imprisonment, according to the Prisons Department. The inmates have since voluntarily called off the protests, the Department noted. Following the release of former MP Duminda Silva (who was jailed in Sept 2016 after the Colombo High Court found him and several others guilty of more..

Jun 3 (AD) SL received another consignment of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines today, says State Minister Prof. Channa Jayasumana. A charter flight carrying 1 million doses of the China-made jab has touched down at BIA in Katunayake early this morning. The govt of China delivered the vaccine consignment to SL as a part of the purchase order placed by the State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) to boost the country’s inoculation drive. SL ramped up coronavirus vaccinations upon more..

Jun 3 (AD) Ministry of Education is mulling the reopening of schools with less than 100 students in July, in conformity with recommendations of the health officials, says Prof. G.L. Peiris. The Prez has stressed that it is mandatory to vaccinate teachers against the novel coronavirus in order to go ahead with the said move, Prof. Peiris said further. He added that the education ministry expects to reopen a total of 2,962 schools in July. Accordingly, 1,439 schools with less than 50 students more..

Jun 3 (SLN) During special operations conducted in Eastern, Southeastern, Northwestern, Northern and North Central Naval Commands in past 03 months commencing from 1st April to 30th June, SL Navy managed to apprehend 442 individuals, along with 153 fishing boats and other fishing accessories, while engaging in illegal fishing practices. Accordingly, these individuals and the rest of their belongings were held for fishing without valid passes, using unauthorized nets, engaging in night diving to catch fish, more..

Jun 3 (Island) Prominent civil society activist Harsha Kumara Navaratne has been nominated as SL’s High Commissioner to Canada. After the change of govt in Nov 2019, Navaratne received appointment as a member of the Human Rights Commission of SL. The Parliamentary High Posts Committee has been informed of the govt decision. Sources said that Navaratne had been proposed by the govt following Canada’s refusal to accept retired Air Force Commander Air Marshal Sumangala Dias as the SL envoy. more..