Oct 20 (TM) Former Presidential Secretariat Social Media Head Shermila Rajapaksha is set to be appointed as the National Zoological Gardens Department Director General (DG) in the days ahead. Rajapaksha is slated to fill the vacancy left by the much-talked-about resignation of former DG Ishini Wickremesinghe in early September. Rajapaksha had served in the role of Head of Social Media at the Presidential Secretariat before submitting her resignation in June 2020. more..

Oct 20 (EN) Sri Lanka’s long delayed provincial council elections will not be held until a suitable election system has been decided on, a cabinet spokesman said on Tuesday despite persistent Indian pressure to have the polls by the end of the year. The provincial council system was introduced through the controversial 1987 Indo-Lanka accord aiming to devolve power to the provinces as a remedy for issues faced by more..

Oct 20 (SLN) SL Navy (managed to rescue 02 fishermen aboard a sunken Indian fishing boat poaching in SL waters across the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) northwest of the Kovilan Lighthouse in the evening of 18th Oct. Further, Navy’s search and rescue operation is still underway to find another fisherman went missing following the incident. SLN units on patrol were engaged in chasing away Indian fishing trawlers poaching in SL waters via the IMBL, more..

Oct 20 (EN) A flight from Colombo carrying politicians and monks will be the first to land at Kushinagar International Airport in India, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narenda Modi. Kushinagar is the city where Buddhist believe Lord Buddha passed away known as Mahaparinirvana. The majority of citizens of Sri Lanka, which has an Indianized civilization, are Buddhists. “Kushinagar is considered to be a focal point of the Buddhist Circuit in India and the new international airport more..

Oct 20 (AD) A local study revealed that the antibody response decline in all age groups, 12 weeks after being fully vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine, especially among those over the age of 60. However, the study finds that the T cell response persists. It had been conducted by a group of virologists from SL and Uni of Oxford to determine the kinetics and persistence of immune responses following the Sinopharm/BBIBP-CorV, more..

Oct 21 (DM) The harrowing fertilizer crisis with farmers, who are a vital cog in the country’s food chain, being ploughed deeper into the mud have no relief in sight apart from worthless words being spewed out by government members. Words are no substitute for the much-needed fertilizers to nourish the farmer’s starved food crops. What he needs on an urgent basis is fertilizer, whether organic or inorganic and the insecticide to keep the weeds and insects away. more..

Oct 21 (DM) If you browsed the internet using the search words terrorism + USA you will find lots of information including lists of foreign terrorist organizations, terrorist attacks in the USA and US travel advisories, among lots of other things. Dig further and you will find that there are domestic terrorist organizations as well, where ‘domestic terrorism’ is defined as acts of terrorism carried out within the USA by US citizens or permanent residents. more..

Oct 21 (DM) Indian PM Narendra Modi wanted to inaugurate the Kushinagar International Airport with the landing of an aircraft from Sri Lanka with a high profile delegation on board. A flight with five Cabinet and State Ministers, and 100 members of the Buddhist clergy descended to the airport on Oct 20 heralding the opening of the airport. It is beneficial for tourism between the two countries. more..

Oct 21 (CT) I will use the designation Ceylonese instead of Sri Lankan because it has scientific inclusivity more suited to my topic. What got me excited was when a cantankerous buddy (ask his wife about him), for a change, sent me this most welcome YouTube link. I will not attempt to summarise it but every Colombo Telegraph reader should watch it and circulate it among compatriots. In one sentence, what authors (Drs Gayani Galhena and Nandika Perera), two local genetic more..

Oct 21 (CT) The question of the long delayed, little awaited, Provincial Councils (PCs) Elections, the terms of the elected representation of which have all lapsed and are presently under the administration of Provincial Governors, is something of a crucible. The Provincial Councils, established through the 13th Amendment, under the benevolent jackboot of the neighbourhood big brother – India, represent for India, an orphaned child, for Sri Lanka, a bastard child, for the Govt of Sri Lanka, more..

Oct 21 (TM) Animal welfare is a highly contested topic in SL owing to several issues, such as disparities between the pacifist Buddhist culture and agricultural practices that often see villagers in conflict with wild animals, as well as traditional practices that involve the use of animals and opposition from animal rights activists. The issue again came to the forefront of discussion from a different angle when it was proposed to ban more..

Oct 21 (TM) The govts that came to power during the past few decades have resorted to deception in varying degrees, predominantly to give the people a false sense of assurance and to buy time, and sometimes to conceal the truth or failures. However, it is a measure with a short life span, and often leads to the worsening of the existing issues. The same could be seen happening during the past few months. Despite the islandwide lockdown, which was dubbed a quarantine curfew, more..

Oct 21 (CT) Govt has announced the resumption of academic activities of the primary sections of schools that have less than 200 students from today (21) as the first phase of an ambitious plan of completely reopening schools in the country in November. Accordingly, about 5,000 schools in the country that have less than 200 students are to be reopened from today. Education Ministry expects to reopen 5,056 schools today with 463,995 students, 53,615 teachers returning to schools. more..

Oct 21 (CT) SL’s Head Coach Amir Alagic, who is also the Technical Director of Football Sri Lanka (FSL), will remain at the helm till Jan 2022. Keeping in mind the Four Nation tournament scheduled to begin from 8 Nov, FSL has taken this decision. Earlier FSL announced that Alagic will be released from his Head coach duties after the SAFF Championship but will continue to function as Technical Director to overlook the technical strategy and pathways for the next generation of more..

Oct 21 (CI) 0 - Number of times a team has managed to score 150-plus in men's T20Is after losing three wickets for less than ten runs, before Sri Lanka scored 171 for 7 against Ireland. The previous highest was Panama's 148 for 6 against Mexico. Panama had lost their first three wickets by 8, the same score as Sri Lanka today.. The previous highest by a full-member nation from 8 for 3 was Australia's 147 for 6 against England in the 2010 World T20 final. more..

Oct 21 (CI) Two quicks capable of bowling faster than 145kph, one allrounder who gets up into the high 130s range, a spanking new mystery spinner who is yet to be decoded, and a world No. 2 legspinner with a killer googly. These are SL's frontline bowling stocks for this World Cup. They are so good, says coach Mickey Arthur, they could be almost the ideal attack. They were excellent against a Namibia side that more..

Oct 21 (Island) The ongoing tug of war between protesting teachers and the govt has been at the expense of the hapless student, whose neck has got caught in the rope they are pulling on madly. What we are witnessing seems to be a different version of The Caucasian Chalk Circle. The govt is determined to reopen schools today although the teachers’ trade unions have refused to report for work until next Monday. It says there is a plan to ensure that schools will function properly today more..

Oct 21 (Island) The passing away of one of the last of SL’s Big Men drew immediate concern as to the state of independent broadcasting in SL. Such was the impact that Rajendram Rajamahendran – who passed away in July 2021 – had on the political and commercial landscape of this island nation. Our paths crossed some years ago when I decided to compile a book on the wealthy in Sri Lanka. I had to create some hype and awareness and I called on good fortune from the past. more..

Oct 21 (CI) For the second game in a row, SL survived an early scare to record a commanding win. This time, Ireland were at the receiving end, Andrew Balbirnie's men thumped by 70 runs as SL guaranteed safe passage to the Super 12s. A superb all-round performance by Wanindu Hasaranga, who smashed 71 off 40 balls and doubled with figures of 4-0-12-1, rescued his side from the perilous position of 8 for 3, first carrying them to 171 more..

Oct 21 (FT) A decline was seen in SL’s COVID-19 vaccination drive with only 18,790 persons receiving a COVID-19 vaccine dose on Tuesday. SL has thus far administered the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to 14,788,141 persons and the second dose to 12,839,638 persons. 68.78% of the country’s total population has received the first dose, as of 19 October, and 59.63% has received the second dose as well. At present, students who are sitting for the A/L examination this year as well as more..

Oct 21 (TM) For every Sri Lankan of every nook and corner who are around fifty years or more of age, Bandula Warnapura is an integral part of their cultural universe. Hence, Bandula Warnapura’s death yesterday (18), rekindles a lot of nostalgia and pain. It was Warnapura who we first met when The Sunday Morning newspaper was launched in Oct 2018. He was a retired leader then, who had retained his interest on the game to make an administrative change in the local cricket more..

Oct 21 (SLN) Special operations conducted by the Navy led to the recovery of over 2272kg of smuggled dried turmeric in seas off Ariyalai, Jaffna, beach areas of Kolankanaththa in Puttalam and Yahappar in Mannar on 19th October 2021. The Navy also managed to take hold of a dinghy used for this illegal act, during the operations. During a special operation in seas off Ariyalai in the morning of 19th October, SLNS Welusumana in the Northern Naval Command got hold of 12 sacks of more..

Oct 21 (FT) Health officials confirmed 18 more COVID-19 fatalities on Tuesday, raising the country’s death toll to 13,543. The deaths confirmed on Tuesday include 15 persons over the age of 60 and three persons from the 30 to 59 age group. Zero deaths were confirmed from the under-30 age group. The Epidemiology Unit states that 76.53% of the total fatalities are over the age of 60, while 22.3% of the fatalities are from the 30 to 59 age group & 1.17% of the fatalities are below 30. more..

Oct 21 (TM) A total of 3,168 Covid-19 patients are currently being monitored under the Health Ministry’s home treatment programme, which is approximately 30% of the patients that were part of the programme when it was initiated four months ago, Association of Specialist Family Physicians President Dr. Malkanthi Galhena said. She noted that this indicates a clear reduction in the number of Covid-19 infections. more..

Oct 21 (FT) SL’s COVID-19 detections rose to 533,305 with the detection of 539 COVID-19 patients yesterday. The patients detected yesterday include 537 persons from the New Year cluster and two overseas arrivals. Health Promotion Bureau stated that 6,518 PCR tests were conducted yesterday. The country’s total COVID-19 detections include 428,699 persons from the New Year cluster, 82,785 persons from the Peliyagoda cluster, 9,032 persons from the Prisons cluster, and more..

Oct 21 (Island) St. Joseph’s College all-rounder Shevon Daniel played the sheet anchor role to help SL Under 19 pull off an exciting three wickets victory over their Bangladesh counterparts in the third Youth ODI as the hosts clinched the five-match series with two games to spare at Dambulla on Wednesday. Chasing a cautious target of 185 runs to win, the hosts lost both their openers – Harindu Jayasekara and Ryan Fernando- cheaply. The batsmen from St. Thomas’ Matara and S. Thomas’, Mt Lavinia more..

Oct 21 (FT) The country’s trade deficit topped the $ 5.5 billion mark by end-August as imports remained high despite many curtailing efforts. As per the latest data released by the Central Bank, the trade balance in the first eight months amounted to $ 5.5 billion, up from $ 3.8 billion in the corresponding period last year. The deficit was purely due to robust imports up 31% to $ 13.4 billion, whilst exports, though resilient, more..

Oct 21 (Island) Amidst continuing protests in several parts of the country against a severe shortage of fertiliser, SriLankan Airlines yesterday (21) airfreighted a stock of nano-nitrogen liquid fertiliser from India.UL 1156 touched down at the BIA 12.25 am. Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena and State Ministers, Shashendra Rajapaksa and D. V. Chanaka and Agriculture Secretary Prof. Udith Jayasinghe were there to receive the first consignment of fertiliser. more..

Oct 21 (DM) The Cabinet this week decided to relax the govt policies on the Trincomalee Harbour to attract investors for multiple heavy industries at the port. Ports and Shipping Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena on Monday sought the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to amend the existing policy of one heavy industry to one harbour, with the objective of attracting interested investors to inaugurate heavy industries in the Trincomalee Harbour. more..

Oct 21 (Island) Retired High Court judge Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena on Tuesday (19) recorded former Prisons Minister Lohan Ratwatte’s statement as regards incidents involving him at the Welikada and Anuradhapura prisons, sources said. They said that the retired judge had asked for two months to prepare her report on the incidents at Welikada and Anuradhapura on 6 and 12 Sept. respectively. Justice Minister Ali Sabry, PC asked the retired HC judge to inquire into the incidents. more..

Oct 21 (Island) A SL delegation headed by State Minister of Regional Cooperation Tharaka Balasooriya and State Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Market Diversification Priyankara Jayarathna recently visited the State of Qatar to explore employment opportunities there for Lankans. The following is the text of a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry: “The Embassy of SL in Doha organised a series of meetings for the SL delegation headed by two State Ministers. more..

Oct 21 (TM) People who visited the SL pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai are complaining about the state of the pavilion labelling it as underwhelming and one of the worst. According to certain participants, the SL pavilion has been described as an embarrassment to the nation, as the pavilion appears to largely consist of items displayed in a monotonous manner with no attempt made to provide visitors with a unique experience. more..

Oct 21 (CT) Minister Johnston Fernando recently blamed the JVP for farmer protests. In response to a question by reporters in Colombo about the fertiliser shortage and farmers predicting famine, Minister said it was the JVP who instigated the farmer protests after spreading lies. “The JVP is a party that has killed farmers and set fire to agrarian centres and tractors in the past. They are aware that farmers constitute a sizeable portion of our (Govt’s) voter base. That is why they attempt to incite more..

Oct 21 (Island) Environment Ministry and the Tourism Ministry had joined hands to appoint a joint expert committee to formulate an eco-tourism strategic plan, a senior govt official said. Secretary to the Ministry of Environment Dr. Anil Jasinghe said that the objective of the programme was to promote the tourism industry as well as environmental protection. “Sri Lanka has a vast flora and fauna biodiversity, pristine beaches and priceless ancient sites. The mangrove system can also attract more..

Oct 21 (AD) Minister Namal Rajapaksa met Indian PM Narendra Modi at Parinirvana Stupa on Wednesday after the inauguration of the Kushinagar International Airport in the city. Following the inauguration ceremony, SL’s Cabinet Minister gifted a Sinhala version of the Bhagavad Gita to PM Modi, which also carried a message from PM Mahinda Rajapaksa. Speaking at an event organised to mark Abhidhamma Day, more..

Oct 21 (DM) Special programmes such as counselings and other activities will take place in schools today and tomorrow to make the children familiarise with the school environment after staying at home for more than 6 months due to COVID pandemic, Education Ministry Secretary Prof. Kapila Perera said. He said that relevant documents and books notifying the programmes have already been sent to the schools. "The grade one children who were admitted to schools, could not come to more..

Oct 21 (AD) Prez Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has directed relevant authorities to continue ongoing interprovincial travel restrictions until 4.00 a.m. on Oct 31 (Sunday), says the Commander of Sri Lanka Army, General Shavendra Silva. Sri Lanka lifted the island-wide quarantine curfew, which was in effect for over a month in a bid to curb the pandemic situation, on October 01 as the country started seeing a considerable drop in the number of daily COVID-19 cases and deaths reported. more..