Mar 12 (CT) A circular was issued by the Secretary to the Ministry of Education permitting students of Govt and Govt-approved private schools to attend schools physically from tomorrow (14). The circular was issued to Provincial Educational Secretaries, Provincial Educational Directors and other Educational sector authorities directing them to permit all students to physically attend school as opposed to the previous mechanism by which only a limited number of students were permitted more..

Mar 12 (ST) A 5-fold increase in clinical waste due to the pandemic situation has overwhelmed existing limited infrastructure and resources in the health care waste management system of the country, a UN agency commissioned assessment report revealed recently. This has created an additional burden on Health Care Facilities (HCFs) and the Health Ministry to safeguard staff and the environment, the report also revealed. It is estimated that daily clinical waste generation is more..

Mar 12 (ST) When Ukrainian film maker Andrii Morozov (36) arrived in SL on Feb 16 for a family holiday, tensions between his country and Russia were already high. There was a heavy build up of Russian troops and military equipment along the border with Ukraine. Yet, many expected that there will still be a last minute diplomatic solution. “We didn’t expect war to break out,” he said. On Feb 24 however, just eight days after they arrived more..

Mar 12 (Island) The British govt says sanctions in respect of Sri Lanka Army Commander General Shavendra Silva, who is also the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), are among a variety of tools available to them. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Minister Vicky Ford said on March 09: “We are grateful for the submission by the International Truth and Justice Project on General Shavendra Silva. We keep all evidence and potential designations under close review. more..

Mar 12 (DM) Due to the prevalent power outage, many varieties of frozen food which are not fit for consumption are being sold in the market and shops, the Public Health Inspectors Union of SL said. PHIU Head Chairman Upul Rohana said many areas of the country experience nearly seven hours of power outage affect the quality of food items that are stored in refrigerators, deep freezers and chest freezers. As such, in the past two weeks, 387 vendors have been prosecuted for selling more..

Mar 13 (SO) The depreciation of the Rupee by a significant margin during the past few days was not altogether unexpected, as many economists and multilateral lending agencies have been insisting on such a measure for quite some time. This will automatically make imports more expensive while driving up the costs of goods and services that are paid for in dollars in the final stage, such as airline tickets. Prices of at least two essentials went up almost overnight after the depreciation was more..

Mar 13 (CT) After months of saying they would never allow it, the Sri Lankan govt has let the exchange rate float. Once upon a time the dollar fetched five rupees: now it’s nearing 280. Things are becoming more expensive, and corporations and companies are trying to keep profit margins up. Fuel prices have already climbed, with Lanka IOC hiking petrol by LKR 50 and diesel by LKR 75 to a litre, while importers of pharmaceuticals have conferred with the relevant Minister over similar hikes. more..

Mar 13 (SO) Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said the UNHRC was treading the same path as its predecessor, Human Rights Commission, meddling into matters which fall on domestic jurisdictions of countries. He added, even a cursory glance shows that 85 percent of the issues raised in the High Commissioner›s report on SL to the HRC interactive dialogue at the recent session, covered internal matters and it has nothing more..

Mar 13 (CT) For the people, it is the worst of times. Never before has life in SL become so unbearable, so suddenly, and for so many. Never before, as well, has there been a SL govt so incompetent, so confused and so unfocussed as the present one. Leading by example, the Prez has publicly and cavalierly disclaimed responsibility for any and all that is going on. When Peradeniya uni student Weerasuriya was killed on campus by police shooting, on 12 Nov 1976, more..

Mar 13 (TM) A reading of key macroeconomic indicators reveals the extent of the economic crisis SL is faced with. Indicators in all four sectors of the economy (i.e., the real sector, fiscal sector, external sector, and monetary sector), have been at their worst level in recent years, and in some cases, at levels never before seen in the post-independence history of this country. Growth was negative in 2020 and continued in the negative territory in the third quarter of 2021. more..

Mar 13 (SO) Minister S.B. Dissanayake said if there are 11 constituent parties in the SLPP led Govt, majority of them have secured an MP post thanks to the SLPP. If they were separately contested from their parties, they should have never entered Parliament. He said these constituent parties should first realise their strength and capacity. If they have any major issue which cannot be discussed and sorted, they should quit the Govt and more..

Mar 13 (Island) The signs have been ominous for the past several weeks and finally the axe has fallen. Plagued by both mismanagement and bad governance by the ruling Rajapaksas, aggravated by an ineffective opposition, the bad news is now very much here and the people have to face the harsh reality. Last week’s sharp devaluation of the rupee against the dollar, long resisted by the CB and its Governor, has been forced upon the SL economy & a population that moved from gas queues more..

Mar 13 (Island) For a long time educationists have debated the fact that secondary education (British style) is not broad based enough. On the other hand, we can take an average American product of their ‘broad based educational system as being a complete Jack- of-all-trades and a master of none. I am speaking only of secondary education and not of Universities where obviously the American and British systems are more on a par with each other. The Universities in those Western countries more..

Mar 13 (ST) With its friend and neighbour, as India’s ambassador to the UNHRC last week referred to SL, gasping for economic oxygen, a one billion dollar emergency aid lifeline sought from his country has been kept dangling as a carrot at the end of a list of conditions by the lender to the borrower. The conditions are two-fold. One is economic, the other is geo-politics. The nomenclature for the first is a road map, while for the second it is strategic calculations, not originally coined but more..

Mar 13 (ST) A four-dayer turned out to be batting practise as both the teams piled tons of runs with batters from both the sides amassing big scores at the other National Super Provincial four day between Dambulla and Galle, at Dambulla, yesterday. At an early day-three stumps, Galle had racked up a near-500, leading by 81. The foundation for this 499 was laid down by Hashan Dumindu stroking a masterful 167, but cruelly falling only one shy of his personal-best of 168. more..

Mar 13 (ST) In SL politics, changing party colours often or making ‘U’ turns on critical policies for one’s own political convenience is not something new when the ultimate goal is securing votes and retaining your seat. It could be one of the reasons why we have had only a handful of statespersons and plentiful of run of the mill politicians in our recent political history. One such complete ‘U’ turn was witnessed this week when Opposition Leader more..

Mar 13 (ST) My dear Shane Warne, I thought of writing to you this week after hearing of your sudden departure to the Land of No Return. Some may wonder why I am writing to you when so much is happening in Paradise. Yet, while your demise is so sad, Paradise too seems to be dying a slow death and the less said about it, the better. To be honest, Shane, you were not a very well-liked cricketer in Paradise for most of your playing years. In fact, for those here following your career over the yrs more..

Mar 13 (SO) He was kept waiting for nine years, then branded a physical fitness failure, was cut from the SL cricket team and ended up in Parliament after hundreds of agitated fans publicly protested his omission from last month’s tour of India. The stark truth was that Bhanuka Rajapakse was a victim of a political cross-fire between some of the keepers of the sport and political backers who cared little about player welfare and inflate their egos enjoying the kind of luxuries that has made more..

Mar 13 (ST) Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera are among the four male cricketers to receive Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) top category (A1) contracts for the ensuing year. SLC has finalised a list of 20 players in the national contracts and 10 in the domestic player contracts. However, with seamer Suranga Lakmal retiring from int'l cricket at the end of the second and final match against India currently being played more..

Mar 13 (ST) Despite Colombo given a flying start by their openers, bad light forcing an early stump made the hosts wait for its second successive win versus Kandy yesterday at the R. Premadasa Stadium. Chasing 260 for win, hosts were sitting pretty at 114 for no loss, with both the openers, Nipun Dananjaya and Krishan Sanjula, notching up fifty’s. The former, except for an odd first innings cheap score, continued from where he left after scoring a match-winning century in their first win last week, more..

Mar 13 (Island) I visited the Northern Province from Feb. 25-28 starting at Pudukudiruppu in Mullaitivu, where the final stages of the battle against the LTTE was fought. About 50 people, both men and women were present for nearly two hours and their representative in the Pradeshiya Sabha, Johnson, and I made the initial speeches, lasting over one hour, followed by an interesting discussion. Poverty and hardship of the people was heartrending. I doubt whether they had a proper daily meal. more..

Mar 13 (CI) 16: Wickets that fell on the opening day of the Bengaluru Test, the most ever on day one of a day-night Test. The previous highest was 13, on four different instances, including the two previous day-night Tests in India, against Bangladesh in Kolkata, and against England in Ahmedabad. Sixteen is also the most wickets to fall on the opening day of a Test in India since the start of 2006. It was two more than the total wickets lost on day one in Ahmedabad in 2008, when SA bowled India out for 76 more..

Mar 13 (SO) SL’s ace woman pole vaulter Sachini Perera found conditions ideal again as she improved on her own SL record with a leap of 3.70m at the second selection trial held at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Diyagama on Friday. She established a new record of 3.65m at the first selection trial held last month at the Sugathadasa Stadium and now she bettered it again. Meanwhile, Olympian Sumedha Ranasinghe recorded the 2nd best feat of his career in Javelin throw more..

Mar 13 (CI) It's just one thing after another. A sledgehammer. A scalpel. A bandsaw. A stick of dynamite. A lockpick. Any tool they need. Whatever it takes to tear the opposition down. On any conditions that present themselves. Batters who will take on the short ball early. Batters who will leave judiciously, defend until the bad balls come. Others who charge out to the crease, reverse pressure, seize a passage of play by collar. more..

Mar 13 (Island) Merrill J. Fernando Charitable Foundation and Ian & Barbara Karan Foundation have together funded and constructed a 90 bed Ward Block to modernize and expand services at the Point Pedro Base hospital. The Rs. 110 million project serves the people of the Jaffna District, and all Sri Lankans with the construction of a three-storeyed wing housing Psychiatric, Medical & Surgical wards and consultation rooms. The previous wards were over a century old, more..

Mar 13 (EN) Central Bank has allowed local suppliers exporters to be paid in foreign currency and will also allow companies approved Strategic Development Act exemptions from a mandatory conversion rule on foreign currency. In October 2021 the central bank ordered all exporters to convert residual dollars after allowable payments including raw material imports, debt repayments and dividend payments. The central bank in a gazette notice dated March 11 said it will allow exporters to more..

Mar 13 (AD) The COPE was surprised to learn, that the same entity which represents the owners of the charred feeder vessel MV X-Press Pearl, is also providing consultations to the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA). The vessel caught fire and sank in SL waters in May last year, and caused what has since been called the world’s worst marine disaster to date. However, the conflict of interest was not the only issue more..

Mar 13 (Island) Keells Supermarkets on Thursday, officially launched its Rs.4.6 billion, state-of-the-art centralized distribution centre (DC) in the industrial zone in Kerawalapitiya. Facility is equipped with latest cutting-edge technology and systems on par with global retail giants. This will serve as Keells Supermarkets’ first owned and operated DC and is a testament to their commitment to product and service excellence, said a press release. 260,000 square feet Facility occupying 9 acres more..

Mar 13 (ST) SriLankan Airlines aims to expand its services as it targets breakeven next year following the announcement of profits for the first time this year and plans to go it alone. The airline’s Chairman Ashok Pathirage speaking with the media on Tuesday said that they want to expand their existing fleet of 24 aircrafts with about 10-20 second hand aircraft over a period of three years. This is currently a key concern for the airline that will have to purchase aircraft once they open up to more..

Mar 13 (Dawn) An anti-terrorism court on Saturday indicted 89 individuals accused of lynching 49-year-old SL factory manager Priyantha Kumara in Sialkot over blasphemy allegations last year. Kumara was lynched by a mob comprising hundreds of protesters, including the employees of the factory he was the manager of, on Dec 3. The mob had tortured him to death and later burnt his body. A first information report was registered against 900 workers of Rajco Industries on the application more..

Mar 13 (TM) CEB is struggling to open Letters of Credit (LCs) for another four shipments carrying a total of 240,000 MT of coal to operate the country’s only coal power plant in Norochcholai for this season. The Board has established one LC on Friday (11) to clear a shipment carrying 60,000 MT that reached the Russian Port of Vanino at the last moment while it had also postponed another shipment scheduled for this season to bring down next season, hoping the financial situation more..

Mar 13 (ST) Sri Lanka and India have sped ahead to sign agreements that give India greater access to SL’s Trincomalee and Mannar area, days before Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa is due in New Delhi to secure Colombo’s request for a US$1bn credit line. The deals tied to the credit line were rushed through before new dates for Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s twice-postponed visit to New Delhi were announced. more..

Mar 13 (TM) Govt is to hold preliminary discussions with the IMF tomorrow on finding a way out of the current economic crisis faced by the country. A group of IMF officials are to meet with Minister Basil Rajapaksa tomorrow to officially commence the discussions on an IMF assistance programme for SL. IMF team is to meet Prez Rajapaksa on Tuesday (15). It is learnt that the discussions will focus on addressing SL’s forex crisis as well as seeking assistance in restructuring SL’s debt. more..

Mar 13 (ST) Russia Today (RT) international news channel has gone off the air in SL. Russian state controlled channel was telecast in the country via Dialog TV. However, it suddenly went off the air this week and its slot has been taken over by German broadcaster DW-TV (Deutsche Welle). “Dialog is not receiving the relevant satellite feed. We regret any inconvenience caused,” a Dialog TV official said in response to a query. An industry source said SL obtains its satellite feed from India, more..

Mar 13 (TM) Govt last Friday (11) signed a MoU with India’s Adani Group allocating two large-scale renewable energy generation projects in Mannar and Pooneryn in the Northern Province to the company. The two renewable energy projects are to generate a combined capacity of an average of 500 MW while the value of both projects has been estimated at around $ 500 million. MoU with Adani was signed last Friday at more..

Mar 13 (SO) Discussions between Indian and SL fisher representatives on settling the contentious issue of bottom trawling by Indian boats, on the sidelines of the Kachchathivu feast yesterday, ended in a stalemate. Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda who was a moderator promised to call for another round of talks in May after briefing Prez Rajapaksa in Colombo, on the outcome of yesterday’s meeting. Indian side has sought time to end encroaching into SL waters using more..