Nov 20 (DM) An explosion has taken place at a building at Cinnamon Gardens on Reid Avenue, Colombo 7, SSP Nihal Thalduwa said. The explosion took place inside the hotel premises owned by McDonald's, the fast food company, located on the ground floor of the old Race Course building. It is suspected that the explosion might have been due to a gas leak and the Colombo Municipal Council Fire Brigade and more..

Nov 20 (ST) SL Press Institute (SLPI) Director General’s Kumar Lopez’s annual report for 2021 states that the SLPI has been able to engage with journalists on several platforms, including on operational health safety in pandemic reportage and professional security-related capacity-building programmes, ensuring their commitment to freedom of expression and free media, a news release states. SLPI also launched a fact-checking unit, along with a research team to complement more..

Nov 20 (AD) SL today commenced rolling out the third dose of COVID-19 vaccine for fully vaccinated immunocompromised and highly vulnerable comorbid individuals aged 20 years and above. In a communiqué issued by the Director-General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena yesterday, it was noted that selected categories are eligible for prioritization for the third dose of COVID-19 vaccination: • Immunocompromised patients due to disease or treatment; Patients with more..

Nov 20 (DM) The Govt should take over unclaimed Malwana mansion, money disclosed by Pandora Papers and money defrauded through airbus deal just as the Finance Minister proposed to transfer Rs. 8.5 billion earned by Perpetual Treasuries Limited in CB Bond scam to the Treasury, NPP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake said. He told Parliament that the proposal to take over PTL funds was praiseworthy and that if more..

Nov 20 (AD) Using antibiotics without a medical prescription to recover from novel coronavirus infection can pose serious health problems, the SL College of Microbiologists warned. Antibiotic resistance due to the unnecessary and excessive use of antibiotics is now developing into a global health crisis. According to President of SL College of Microbiologists, Consultant Clinical Microbiologist Dr. Geethika Patabendige, a large number of people are using antibiotics to control virus infection, more..

Nov 20 (SLN) A special operation conducted by the Navy at the Shanthipuram beach in Mannar today led to the seizure of an illegally stored 7990 Water Gel sticks, a type of commercial explosive, weighing about 998.750 Kg. The Navy also nabbed 02 suspects at the location in connection to the incident. The Navy has been conducting regular operations in the coastal areas of the island to prevent smuggling activities. In a similar operation, a special team of naval personnel attached to more..

Nov 20 (FT) At last, Governor of Central Bank and his team of experts have come to realise the truth that excess money supply, either through printing currency or reducing interest rates, in the name of providing adequate liquidity to maintain aggregate demand in times of economic depression, has only a limited use. In general terms, the traditional tools of monetary policy have lost their bite long ago, when money itself has undergone a revolution in identity. With the onset of globalisation, more..

Nov 20 (FT) Carl Sagan nails it with harrowing, unforgettable clarity: “One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.” Here is an example of more..

Nov 20 (Island) SLFP leader and former President Maithripala Sirisena, MP, has warned the SLPP-led govt that the support of coalition members shouldn’t be taken for granted. Sirisena has warned of consequences of the SLPP’s current attitude towards its constituent partners, which he said, could even break it up. The former Prez issued the warning less than a week after the presentation of Budget 2022. more..

Nov 20 (Island) SJB MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka told Parliament yesterday that he did not deem the raid conducted at the Directorate of Military Intelligence safe house at Millennium City, Athurugiriya illegal. It was wrong for a senior army officer to keep weapons there at the time and that incident had been used by some parties against the then govt, Field Marshal Fonseka said. He said army intelligence operatives had never been deployed in long range reconnaissance patrols. more..

Nov 20 (EN) With a majority of the population vaccinated and the administration of a booster dose already under way, the govt of SL has done everything it can to contain the COVID-19 epidemic, and the rest is up to the public, health minister Keheliya Rambukwella said. “We have done everything we can do as a govt. So far over 75% of the total population have received both doses of a vaccine. Only three or four countries in the world have reached that level,” he said. more..

Nov 20 (Island) Byproducts of the Sapugaskanda oil refinery such as furnace oil, jet fuel, kerosene and naphtha are vital for many SL industries and its shutdown will have a devastating impact on various sectors, FSP Education Secretary, Pubudu Jayagoda says. He said Minister Udaya Gammanpila had stated that importing refined petrol and diesel was much more economical than purchasing crude oil. more..

Nov 20 (Island) The current administration had very little popular support, TNA leader, R. Sampanthan said yesterday. He said that the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration had enjoyed considerable support among the Sinhala Buddhists, who, too, were now fed with the govt. Sampanthan said that within two years the govt had become extremely unpopular. He added that the govt was extremely stubborn and didn’t listen to anyone. “Any govt can face protests and union action. more..

Nov 20 (FT) SL’s COVID-19 detections rose to 555,204 with 745 persons testing positive for COVID-19 yesterday. The patients detected yesterday were from the New Year cluster. On Thursday, 737 patients were detected from the New Year cluster. The cluster has a patient count of 450,353. The Peliyagoda cluster has 82,785 cases, the Prisons cluster has 9,053 cases, and the Divulapitiya cluster has 3,059 cases. SL’s imported cases include 6,967 Lankans, 328 foreigners. more..

Nov 20 (FT) Colombo stock market suffered one of the sharpest dips in nine months, partly due to profit taking and anomaly in illiquid but heavyweights whilst turnover remained high. The All Share Price Index plunged by 3.3% or 366 points whilst the more active S&P SL20 gained 22 points or 0.6%. Turnover was Rs. 9.4 billion involving 322 million shares. During the week, the ASPI lost 0.07% whilst the S&P SL20 gained 1.62% and more..

Nov 20 (MFA) Delivering the Keynote address of the 5th South Asia Forum on Sustainable Development Goals in Colombo, on Tuesday (16), Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage said that Sri Lanka has improved its global rank by 7 positions and is now placed at the 87th rank out of 165 countries, according to the Sustainable Development Report 2021, despite the challenges of the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic. Highlighting the priority attached to the SDGs by the Govt, more..

Nov 20 (DN) Minister Dullas Alahapperuma told Parliament yesterday that all parties claim to be innocent like Bodhisathvayo when they are in the Opposition and become Devadattas when their government takes over. Alahapperuma said that this is what has happened throughout history, adding that all are pointing the finger at an unpleasant and irresponsible past and not the future. Minister said this while participating in the Fifth Day Debate on the Second Reading of the Budget. more..

Nov 20 (FT) Vistara Airlines of Tata SIA Airlines joint venture resumed its thrice-a-week services to Colombo from New Delhi yesterday after having suspended operations owing to the COVID pandemic. An Indian full-service airline, Vistara first began operations to Colombo in 2019. The first flight yesterday (UK138) (A320 Neo) arrived at BIA at 1010 hours with 138 passengers (3 business class, 16 premium economy, and 119 economy class). The first flight was welcomed with more..

Nov 20 (CT) During the first eight months of this year, Govt incurred an overall budget deficit of Rs 1.118 trillion, up 14.7% compared to Rs 974.8 billion recorded during the same period last year. During the period under review, ended August 2021, Govt revenue and grants increased 3.8%, while expenditure and lending increased 9.5%, according to data. During that time, Govt Revenue and Grants reached Rs 943.56 billion, up 3.8% compared to Rs 908.88 billion recorded a year earlier. more..

Nov 20 (TM) According to allegations by Lanka Industrial Services Agencies (Pvt) Ltd. and its associate company, Assent International (Pvt) Ltd, which took part in the tender process for the supply of alcohol breathalysers to the SL Police in 2020, Securatec Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, which also took part in the tender process, had fraudulently represented itself as a foreign supplier of alcohol breathalysers with the intention more..

Nov 20 (FT) A heated argument took place in Parliament yesterday as the SJB challenged the permission given for the ruling party-led religious event held in Anuradhapura, where the Prez and PM participated. The SJB MP Rohini Kumari Wijerathna argued on the justification of the Govt to hold such an event with a large gathering of people amidst COVID, whilst penalising the Opposition on its protest staged this week. “COVID does not choose between protests and religious events,” more..

Nov 20 (Island) Dr. Hiranthi Wijemanne who is well known for her role at UNICEF SL as a national professional for 27 years contributing her expertise to many children related projects pre/post and during the civil war of SL has launched her autobiography. Titled as In the best interest of every child tells us about the relentless pursuit of her journey to give every child the best possible healthcare in SL, how they achieved remarkable healthcare milestones during the peak of the war, more..

Nov 20 (Island) Having dumped several seniors from SL’s white ball teams, the national selection panel has recalled them for the two match Test series against West Indies that will get underway on Sunday at the Galle Int'l Stadium. This is SL’s first assignment in the World Test Championship and a total of 24 points (12 points per Test) is on offer. Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne along with former captains Angelo Mathews, more..

Nov 20 (CT) It is a well-known fact that SL is lacking in world class football stadiums. The Island nation has many international standard cricket stadiums, but football stadiums are scarce. And the ones that do exist have served their purpose and are not up to the mark anymore. However, football in SL is about to rise from the ashes, where Football Sri Lanka (FSL) are going ahead with plans on a much-needed project - building of a new international-standard football stadium, FIFA Prez Gianni Infantino more..

Nov 20 (Island) Thrower Jayavi Ranhinda Alwis of Royal College, Panadura accomplished a remarkable achievement in the shot put at the Youth Selection Trial held at the Sugathadasa Stadium last week. The 16-year-old hurled the 5kg implement to a distance of 17.74 metres, the furthest a SL athlete of his age has ever thrown the put in history. The massive throw rightly puts him in contention for a place in the country’s team for next year’s Youth Asian C'ship which will be held in Kuwait. more..

Nov 20 (DN) The Sri Lanka lasses pulled off a close 12 (2 tries 1 conversion) to 10 (2 tries) victory over Malaysia in their curtain raiser in the Dialog Asian Rugby Sevens Tournament played at the Dubai Sport Centre grounds yesterday. Trailing 0-5 within the first five minutes, the lasses bounced back and scored their first try through skipper Dulani Pallekondage, who sneaked through the rival defense to equalize, but Anushika Samaraweera failed to add the extra points, more..

Nov 20 (ST) Red Bull Outriggd returned for 2021 bringing back the age-old tradition of outrigger canoeing to SL after a two-year absence, promoting the sport among the youth. All the action took place last week at Port City, Colombo and this is the very first water sport event which took place on the beach promenade inside this new location. Through this interesting competition of outrigger canoeing, the mind and body were put to the ultimate test as participants took on the choppy waters of more..

Nov 20 (CT) The Sapugaskanda oil refinery was doing its best while struggling half the time. Since 1969, the Iranian-built facility had never been upgraded or replaced and this resulted in the plant shutting down for the first time. This is amidst the rapid spread of technology used worldwide for sustainable and cost cutting of importation of oil products. Certainly it did not go well with Sapugaskanda and the decaying plant more..

Nov 20 (TM) US and Indian engagement in SL, as in the other smaller South Asian states, is increasingly shaped by the fear of losing ground to China. In the past decade-and-a-half, China’s footprint in SL has rapidly expanded through infrastructure projects, financial aid, as well as growing Chinese tourism. In the shadow of these changes, US and Indian engagement has become increasingly wary of antagonising the often intolerant Sinhala Buddhist sentiment that dominates the island’s politics more..

Nov 20 (TM) Even though serious complications result from illegal abortions, causing both maternal morbidity and mortality, since reducing such has proven a challenge due to ethical, religious and political factors taking precedence over health related aspects, academics in the field of forensic medicine called on the medical and legal communities to initiate a discussion to reduce the number of maternal deaths resulting from illegal abortions. more..

Nov 20 (Island) The beginning of November is known for its Remembrance Events — All Souls, Poppy Days and in our political past the Suriyamal Day too. But as we move to mid-November it marks the highlights of Political Power. Who could forget the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as President of Sri Lanka, by 69 lakhs of voters! Just two days after that is the birthday of PM Mahinda Rajapaksa – reaching 76, more..

Nov 20 (Island) Newton Gunasinghe, easily one of the most brilliant minds of 20th century Sri Lanka, was the country’s first Marxist anthropologist. Gunasinghe’s contributions to the fields of social science and anthropology have not gone unacknowledged. Yet it took some time for his essays and scholarly works to be published: his doctoral thesis on Kandyan social relations came out in 1990, two years after his death, while a collection of his articles followed six years later. more..

Nov 20 (CT) In 1930, SL introduced a new agricultural system to improve the harvest. The system was initiated with the use of chemical fertilisers on H grade paddy. Traditional rice has a high concentration of Glutamic acid, and a high concentration of vitamin fibre with a low concentration of sugar. However, due to the usage of chemical fertilisers, it has lost many nutrients, said State Minister Shehan Semasinghe. Samurdhi Department has implemented a programme more..