Mar 24 (DN) The CID yesterday filed a B report in Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court against MP C.V. Wigneswaran for allegedly making statements to the media in a manner of inciting racial or religious hatred among ethnic communities. The CID field this B report pursuant to a complaint made by Attorney Dharshana Weraduwage. Weraduwage had lodged a police complaint urging to take legal action against Parliamentarian C.V. Wigneswaran regarding his offensive remarks. Taking into consideration more..

Mar 24 (Reuters) U.N. human rights boss Michelle Bachelet received a mandate on Tuesday to collect evidence of crimes during Sri Lanka’s long civil war, which ended in 2009 with the defeat of the separatist Tamil Tigers and an upsurge of civilian deaths. Rights groups said the decision was a critical step in gaining justice for victims of war crimes, and could have significant implications for the current Sri Lankan govt. Here are answers to some common questions: more..

Mar 24 (TOI) India on Tuesday abstained from voting in the UNHRC on a resolution titled Promotion of Reconciliation Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka. The resolution sought to fix responsibility for war crimes and human rights violations against Tamils by SL authorities in the final days of the Eelam War IV. Eelam War IV is the name given to the fourth phase of armed conflict between the SL military and the separatist LTTE. more..

Mar 25 (DM) Sri Lanka is slowly moving into an uncertain future. The reason for this would be that the lawmakers of this country are adamant at promoting their personal views ahead of reality. The present environmental issues that have cropped up underscore that those in power give scant respect to dissent and would silence critics who speak against the regime. How the Police went to record statements from Bhagya Abeyratne because she voiced concerns against deforestation more..

Mar 25 (DM) The vote on the resolution against SL was adopted on Tuesdays at the 46th Session of the UNHRC in Geneva. That slant was reflected in the vote as well. The resolution was passed 22-11 with 14 abstentions. First let us examine the story told by the numbers. There were 40 co-sponsors, 12 of whom had voting rights. The vast majority of the co-sponsors were from Europe and North America. In essence, then, it was a WHITE Move (note: the history of white people when it comes to more..

Mar 25 (DM) Since the invention of the Small Pox vaccine by Dr. Edward Jenner in 1796, vaccines have saved millions of lives that would have otherwise perished because of infections. Vaccination or its end result which is known as immunization has thwarted epidemics of deadly diseases such as whooping cough, tuberculosis, and measles. Smallpox was eradicated from the world since1977 due to more..

Mar 25 (DM) The Daily Mirror in a front page news item today states that according to UN sources, the resolution on Sri Lanka adopted by the UNHRC on Tuesday will take immediate effect with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) beginning the process of closely monitoring Sri Lanka. It says that monitoring SL will be carried out immediately with the existing staff while other related work will be implemented once the UN General Assembly approves funding later this year. more..

Mar 25 (CT) The UNHRC in Geneva on Tuesday passed a resolution on Sri Lanka by a majority of 11 votes, with 22 voting for, 11 against and 14 abstentions. Sri Lanka campaigned against this resolution among the 47 voting States. The 22 which voted for the resolution were Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cote D’Ivoire, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, France, Germany, Italy, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Korea, Ukraine, UK and Uruguay. more..

Mar 25 (TM) Following the fatal accident that took place in Passara on 20 March, which cost 14 lives, road accidents in SL became a topic of discussion again. Even though road accidents are not at all a new issue, the rising numbers emphasise the need for newer and more practical solutions apart from traditional measures. Road accidents that took place between 2016 and 2019 have resulted in a total of 12,030 deaths. more..

Mar 25 (CT) UNHRC Resolution 46-L1/Rev1 which was adopted on Tuesday, had an interesting inclusion after the third informal session on the draft. Resolution S-11/1 of 2009 was recalled for the first time in a UNHRC resolution 12 years after it was first adopted, to emphasize SL’s resolve to seek a political settlement, and to highlight the endorsement of the Joint Communique between Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa and then UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the importance of accountability. more..

Mar 25 (CT) This govt is stumbling from one crisis to another. Poor economic management, dismal management of Covid-19, and now to disastrous management of foreign diplomatic relations. The vote on the SL resolution at the UNHCR showed how few friends we have retained. The lowest point in foreign policy management since the end of the conflict. The present resolution is heavily weighted towards the correction of the infringements of human rights of the past 16 months over the issues more..

Mar 25 (ST) Veterans of Sri Lanka’s tea industry on Wednesday urged various sections of the industry to come together on a joint platform of work, action and policy-making as tea is facing one of its strongest challenges while it marks 150 years of Ceylon Tea. Making the first call, Anslem Perera, founder and Managing Director of Mlesna Tea – who has been associated with the industry for more than 50 years –. told a representative audience of the industry that times have changed in the sector with more..

Mar 25 (ST) It was a glorious Thursday morning with another column waiting to be written. So what is the topic? Earlier in the morning, I was woken up to a telephone call and the tuneful melody of Aldoris, the choon- paan karaya’s tuk-tuk accompanied by barking from the neighbourhood dogs, keen to follow the vehicle along the road. “Hello… hello, how are you,” I told Karapincha Perera, the tea-kade gossip, the early morning caller. “Fine, fine, I hope I didn’t wake you up,” he said. more..

Mar 25 (CI) Earnest, hardworking, measured, organised. Whatever you have thought of Lahiru Thirimanne through the course of an international career that now spans 192 appearances, and stretches over a decade, those virtues have always defined him. Where his once partner-in-crime Dinesh Chandimal has undergone a transformation, going from savage to staid, Thirimanne has been in this one mode. The grim expression. more..

Mar 25 (DN) The Southern Province school swimming trio from Matara, Vihanga Dilmini (18 years) of Sujatha Vidyalaya, Abhiman Wellappili (18 years) and Shazan Azeem Inthaaj (15 years) both from Rahula College are ready to create open water schools swimming history when they swim through the Polk Strait covering a distance of 30Kms from Mannar to Dhanushkodi, India on March 26. Meanwhile 31-year-old Roshan Abeysundera of SL Air Force, old boy of Matara Central College more..

Mar 25 (GV) The UNHRC passed a resolution on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka despite govt opposition. This will allow ongoing monitoring of a situation that has grown worse over the past year, especially for minorities and dissidents, as well as putting the spotlight on past abuses and the needs of the bereaved and survivors. A Core Group made up of Canada, Germany, Montenegro, Malawi, Northern Macedonia and UK drew up the resolution. more..

Mar 25 (CI) Pathum Nissanka's century on debut - the fourth Sri Lankan to achieve the feat, the first since Thilan Samaraweera in 2001, and the first to do so overseas - and an equally vital 96 from Niroshan Dickwella, crowned a dominant day for Sri Lanka, in which they seized command of the first Test, and put themselves in prime position to secure a first win in the format in over a year. The pair's 179-run stand for the sixth wicket, more..

Mar 25 (CT) Ministry of Youth and Sports and Nestomalt announced the first three events of the eagerly awaited 46th National Sports Festival – marathon, cycling and race walking – would take place between 26 and 29 March 2021. The competition will be held under strict Health Ministry regulations to ensure participants’ safety, and winners will be considered for selection to the National pool. Many past winners such as Jeevan Jayasinghe, Indrajith Cooray, and more..

Mar 25 (DN) Anchor and Fonterra Brands Lanka yesterday, joined hands with the Ministry of Sports to nourish high-performance athletes who aspire to represent SL on a global stage. The partnership enriches a long term, progressive approach to developing high-performance athletes, initiated by the Ministry of Sports in conjunction with the National Sports Council. For the first time in the history, 59 National Tier 1 athletes from all walks of life have been contracted on a professional more..

Mar 25 (FT) The country’s COVID-19 patient count yesterday exceeded 91,000 with the detection of 253 COVID-19 positive patients. Among the persons who tested positive for the virus yesterday are 244 associates of the Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster and nine persons linked to the Prisons cluster. The COVID-19 clusters that emerged from Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda and Prisons currently stand at 86,408 patients. In addition to this, 2,529 SL returnees from abroad, 950 Navy personnel & their contacts, more..

Mar 25 (FT) A total of 844,327 persons have received the COVID-19 vaccine in Sri Lanka to date, with 5,972 persons vaccinated on Tuesday and 8,490 persons vaccinated on Monday. At present, the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is being administered in Sri Lanka, with supplies purchased from the Serum Institute of India used to vaccinate persons over 30 and the vaccines received through the COVAX facility used to vaccinate persons over the age of 60 in the Western Province. more..

Mar 25 (TM) Sri Lanka is likely to lose World Health Organisation (WHO) funding for tobacco control in Sri Lanka due to the recently introduced cinnamon cigarette championed by Minister of Industries Wimal Weerawansa. “Sri Lanka was an example to the world to study about tobacco control, but due to this illegal cigarette, everything would change,“ said WHO National Professional Officer Thirupathy Suveendran said. more..

Mar 25 (DM) A multi-pronged approach is required to rebuild the hard-hit economy, which was already on downward path even before the pandemic struck, according to senior economist and former central banker Dr. W. A. Wijewardena. Pointing out that there are no quick fixes, nor a single step fix to resolve the vast array of economic issues faced by SL today, he asserted that policy makers must start with removing the restrictive policies currently in place, which serve little purpose in achieving more..

Mar 25 (FT) Finance Ministry has received Cabinet authorisation to obtain services of a consulting firm to promote Sri Lanka as an attractive destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Cabinet approved a proposal by PM Rajapaksa in his capacity as Finance Minister to take the necessary steps to obtain the services of a leading international consulting firm which contributes to the promotion of FDI, statement released by Govt Info Dept said. No names were mentioned in the hand-out. more..

Mar 25 (FT) UN Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet has expressed hope that Sri Lanka would change course from current policies as she welcomed the decision of the UNHRC to ramp up monitoring of human rights and war-time abuses in the island. On Tuesday, 22 member states of the UNHRC voted to adopt Resolution 46/1 to promote reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka and expand UN oversight on more..

Mar 25 (AD) SL has reported 02 more coronavirus-related deaths. The new deaths bring the number of COVID-19 related deaths witnessed in Sri Lanka to 554 in total. 01. The deceased is a 65-year-old female resident from Colombo 15. She died on 21.03.2021 at her residence and the cause of death is mentioned as Covid-19 pneumonia and heart failure. 02. The deceased is a 76-year-old male resident from Kolonnawa. He was diagnosed as infected with the Covid-19 virus more..

Mar 25 (CT) The unprecedented shortage in containers and rising freight rates has severely hampered SL’s port services, the Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents (CASA) said. Since mid 2020 and the outbreak of COVID-19, the global shortage of shipping containers has grown. Containers, mainly shipped from China (Far East) destined to the US and Europe were held up mainly due to labour shortage, inefficiency at terminals, ships being delayed at ports as the average more..

Mar 25 (TM) As SL has announced the ban on vehicle imports is to be extended until end-2021, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera requested the Govt to consider importing solar-powered or electric vehicles (EVs) after the review of the vehicle import ban, due at the end of this year. Central Environmental Authority (CEA) further addressed concerns on air quality levels dropping in Colombo and Kandy districts, more..

Mar 25 (CT) The Police Investigation Unit for the Prevention of Acts of Corruption in Sports, yesterday, recorded a statement from the former curator of the pitch at the Galle Int'l Cricket Stadium, on a charge of match-fixing. The curator who was questioned had been identified as Tharanga Indika, who was also manager of the Stadium. Former player Tharindu Mendis had also given a seven-hour statement to the Unit concerning the same charge. Al Jazeera network had first revealed details more..

Mar 25 (TM) As flights that fly between Afghanistan and SL have a stopover at India, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to SL has recently proposed direct aviation connectivity between the two countries. Ambassador Ashraf Haidari proposed this measure during a meeting he had with SL’s Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena in Colombo where both parties discussed bilateral issues. Two dignitaries agreed to continue the current momentum of bilateral engagements with their strong more..

Mar 25 (Island) Govt MP Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, says the Muslim World League owed families of those who had perished or suffered injuries in the Easter Sunday terror attacks USD 5 mn. One-time Justice Minister Rajapakse said that Dr. Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdul Kareem Al-Issa had, on behalf of the Muslim World League, given an assurance in that regard, at a National Peace Conference, at Nelum Pokuna under more..

Mar 25 (DM) Justice Minister Ali Sabry yesterday presented the Code of Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill which makes provisions to ensure that suspects in custody are protected to the extent provided for in the Convention against Torture and other Cruel inhuman or Degrading Treatment or the Punishment Act No 22 of 1994. It will be the duty of every Magistrate to visit every police station situated within the judicial division in respect of which he is appointed, at least once in every month to more..

Mar 25 (Island) It was reprehensible that the UK, as the leader of the Core Group on Sri Lanka and a member of the UNHRC, had suppressed robust evidence of utmost importance, Lord Naseby said. The Conservative party member said in his capacity as the President of the All Party Parliamentary UK – SL Group: “It is unforgivable and is a black day for my UK Govt.” The following is the text of a statement made available by Lord Naseby’s Office in the aftermath of the UNHRC adopted more..

Mar 25 (FT) Cabinet has approved legislation that once gazetted and passed in Parliament by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, an Economic Commission will be established for the $1.4 billion Colombo Port City enabling it to attract investment and function as an international financial city, a top official said. Prez Rajapaksa had presented the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill to Cabinet after it was completed by the legal draftsman. more..

Mar 25 (Island) The Application for a Writ of Mandamus filed by Ranjan Ramanayake, in the Court of Appeal, will be next called on March 31. It was called before the Court, yesterday, and all parties said that written submissions had been filed on schedule. SJB MP Ramanayake was convicted by the Supreme Court for contempt. He was sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment. Ramanayake filed a Writ in the Court of Appeal, seeking a Mandatory Order on more..

Mar 25 (TM) Arcade Independence Square, which comes under the purview of the Urban Development Authority (UDA), has been recently leased out to Softlogic Holdings, a leading conglomerate in SL. The lease agreement, which is valid for a period of 10 years, was signed recently between UDA Chairman Harshan de Silva and Director General Prasad Ranaweera, and Softlogic Chairman Ashok Pathirage and Softlogic Vice President Haresh Kaimar. The decision to upgrade the Arcade more..

Mar 25 (Island) More than 4,000 wells had been affected due to pollution in and around the Muthurajwela Wetlands Sanctuary, Member of the Archbishop’s Committee and environmentalist Dinusha Nanayakkara said. “More than 100 factories have been set up here without any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), resulting in water, air and noise pollution,” he told journalists during a field visit on Tuesday. more..

Mar 25 (FT) The Sinharaja forest is the country’s most priceless jewel that belongs to the future generations to come. Any person or entity that has destroyed this jewel has committed a crime where punishment is useless as this forest and its bio diversity can never be regenerated by punishing anyone after the event. However, punishment there has to be, very dire punishment, to deter others from continuing to commit this crime and reducing this jewel to rubble. It is not only some official more..