Dec 29 (ST) Phew what a year it was! As we turn the page to Jan 1, 2021, every Sri Lankan, and for that matter, every citizen in the world would be hoping for a better year than 2020. Peering into the crystal ball, what can we expect? Observance of social distancing, limited contact with crowds, washing the hands and using hand sanitizers and most important of all, wearing a mask when in a public space will continue to be the norm unless the vaccine is proven to be an effective deterrent against more..

Dec 29 (ST) Under–fire MTD Walkers PLC directors are likely to face more charges after the capital market regulator directed an audit. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hired a local audit firm to get to the bottom of MTD accounts. The auditors will advise future course of action against MTD Walkers taking grave notice of default in payment by the company on the type B debentures issued, the non-submission of the Annual Reports for the financial years ended 2018/2019, more..

Dec 29 (DN) Unduwap Poya is a day of historic and cultural significance to Buddhists in Sri Lanka. This Poya tells us the most important and interesting facts of Buddhism. The Buddha said, “go forth Bhikkhus into the world taking the message to them, show how one could be of service when one is in need and anxiety.” Accordingly, Sri Lanka had the good fortune of being blessed with his supreme gift -his doctrine and the message of the Dhamma. The earliest available documentary sources, more..

Dec 29 (TM) Securities of The Finance Company PLC (TFC), the license of which was cancelled in May this year, were delisted from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) with immediate effect yesterday. The edict was made under Section 53 of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Act No. 36 of 1987. TFC is a finance company that was severely impacted by the failure of a number of financial institutions within the Ceylinco Group in 2008. more..

Dec 29 (TM) Trade-related chambers in Sri Lanka are expected to jointly oppose the implementation of a number of budget proposals, The Sunday Morning Business learns. The joint opposition has come about as a result of the Govt taking measures to implement these proposals disregarding requests from the industry to reconsider them, according to National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) CEO Shiham Marikar. more..

Dec 29 (CT) The Govt of Sri Lanka is taking steps to develop the Kankesanthurai (KKS) Port and Harbour Complex, Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda speaking at Kayts on 23 Dec said. The occasion was the opening of a sub-office of the Merchant Shipping Secretariat at Kayts. Speaking further, he said that the development of KKS would enable ships carrying essential goods imported from India to directly dock at KKS, thereby enabling the people of the North to obtain their goods cheap. more..

Dec 29 (DM) SL migrant workers continued to send back their hard earned money in large sums to their loved ones at home, repeatedly higher than what was sent last year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and certain extremely negative forecasts. SL has received US$ 611.7 million as workers’ remittances income in November compared to US$ 515.3 million in the corresponding month in 2019, recording the 7th consecutive monthly increase since May. Nov receipts marked a 19% jump from a year ago. more..

Dec 29 (CT) Sprinter Amasha de Silva stole the limelight at the 98th National Athletics Championship as she clocked a sizzling 11.55 seconds to win the 100m women’s event. Competing on day three of the competition, 21-year-old hailing from Swarnamali GC Kandy returned to her first competition since last year’s South Asian Games, clocking a personal best of 11.64 seconds to win the heat. more..

Dec 29 (TM) Plans are afoot to stop the sorting and exporting of minerals extracted from the Pulmoddai Mineral Sand Depository to be sold as raw materials to foreign countries, and instead steps are to be taken to begin the value-adding process to increase revenue, Minister Wimal Weerawansa. He said: “I have summoned the Chairman and General Manager of Lanka Mineral Sands to Colombo to discuss the process of stopping the export of this precious mineral as a raw material, more..

Dec 29 (FT) The Navy and the Kankesanthurai Police in a joint operation have recovered 360 kilograms of Kerala Cannabis (ganja) floating in the seas off Kankesanthurai beach – Jaffna, the police said yesterday. SL Navy troops of the Northern Naval Command and the officers of the Kankesanthurai Police conducted a joint search operation and found the stock of Kerala cannabis floating in the sea off the Kankesanthurai beach. Police say they suspect that the smugglers more..

Dec 29 (CT) Over 600 pregnant women contracted COVID-19 at the beginning of the first and second waves of COVID-19, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist attached to the Colombo East Base Hospital, Dr. Mayuramman Devolage said. Most of the women had gone home after receiving treatment while vertical transmission of the Disease from mother to fetus and the new born have been minimal. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) more..

Dec 29 (CI) Kagiso Rabada has been added to South Africa's squad after recovering from a groin strain that saw him miss the Boxing Day Test. Rabada was set to enter the biosecure environment before the start of the second session on Monday after clearing all Covid-19 protocols. Rabada's inclusion means that South Africa have a handy stock of seamers ahead of the New Year's Test which includes the four currently playing in this match - Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje and more..

Dec 29 (DM) The Central Bank said the newly introduced housing loan scheme at 7% cannot be utilised for settling existing housing loans and by commercial scale real estate developers. A scheme aimed at offering housing loans at 7% for State and private sector employees confirmed in their employment went into effect on Dec 10, giving life to a budget proposal made in November. The key objectives of the scheme were to support the expansion of home ownership of Sri Lankans more..

Dec 29 (FT) Sri Lanka yesterday welcomed 185 passengers from Ukraine’s charter operator SkyUp – the first set of international tourists to arrive in the country since COVID-19 restrictions were imposed in March. The inaugural flight from Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, touched down at MIA yesterday at 2:08 p.m. bearing holidaymakers, including 20 children, under the breakthrough pilot project championed by former Ambassador more..

Dec 29 (AD) Three more deaths have brought Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 death toll to 194. Two males and a female have succumbed to the virus in this manner, according to a report by the Govt Information Department. A 90-year-old man from Dharga Town has died upon admittance to the Kalutara District Hospital on December 24. The cause of death has been determined as COVID-19 related blood poisoning and a cardiac arrest caused by high blood pressure. more..

Dec 29 (NA) Bangladesh Cricket Board is in talks with its Sri Lankan counterparts to stage the two-match Test series which got postponed last year, in April, 2020, informed a BCB official. ‘We are in talks with the SL board about the SL series. The proposal basically came from Sri Lanka Cricket,’ BCB chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury said. ‘Right now, we are targeting April. Both we and Sri Lanka have a slot available at that time. We are working on it accordingly,’ he added. more..

Dec 29 (Island) The police have warned of legal action against those who give refuge to those who escape from COVID-19 treatment facilities or quarantine centres. Police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana, said legal action would be taken against such individuals under the Quarantine Ordinance. He said that health authorities had placed 22 residents of six houses in Makola-North in Sapugaskanda under self-quarantine as more..

Dec 29 (Island) A group of relatives and family members of the LTTE cadres in custody met the TNA leaders in Jaffna, on Sunday, seeking the latter’s support for campaign to secure the release of the detainees. The family members of the LTTE cadres in custody met ITAK leader Mavai Senathiraja and requested the TNA leaders to meet with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Justice Minister and other relevant ministers to discuss the plight of the inmates and secure their release. more..

Dec 29 (FT) A report on the disposal of COVID-19 remains by the committee of specialists appointed by the Health Secretary is expected in the coming days, Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Sudath Samaraweera said. According to him, the quarantine ordinance at present only permits the cremation of COVID-19 remains. However, the Govt’s decision against the burial of remains, despite WHO recommending both burial and cremation, has been met with opposition both locally and internationally. more..

Dec 29 (Island) Education Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said that the govt was going ahead with plans to re-open schools on January 11 in areas not isolated due to the rampaging Covid-19 pandemic. He emphasized schools couldn’t be kept closed indefinitely though the pandemic posed a quite a threat. Prof. Peiris, who is also the Chairman of the ruling SLPP said that the decision to re-open schools wasn’t political. more..

Dec 29 (Island) The country’s focus is apparently shifting from the pandemic to polls, of all things. The govt is in a mighty hurry to conduct the Provincial Council (PC) elections, and the Opposition has let out a howl of protest. SLPP is trying to consolidate its power in the PCs before COVID-19 and the attendant problems take their toll on its popularity and electoral performance. Facing another election is a worrisome proposition for Opposition, which is in disarray; hence its opposition to PC polls. more..

Dec 29 (DM) It is obvious that Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa should be the common opposition candidate at the prez elections in 2024, SJB National Organiser Tissa Attanayake said. He said that Mr. Premadasa is the only alternative leader, the country can think of as of now. “We will put forward this proposal to opposition political parties officially whenever the prez election is declared,” he added. He said SJB had embarked on forming a grand opposition alliance & is to begin discussions more..

Dec 29 (Island) Those of us who were hoping for some sanity to emerge in the energy sector were given a severe jolt on 15th Dec on reading the press release from the Presidential Secretariat, presumably after the President’s meeting with the Ministers and senior officials of the energy sector. This stated that the President had given instructions to develop action plans to achieve the target of 70% contribution to the electricity sector by 2030 using Hydro, Solar Wind and LNG resources. more..

Dec 29 (DN) Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara has said that geological experts have found two locations in the country where the ground water level is at a considerably deep level. Citing the report presented by experts, Minister however has said that even at these two locations the ground water level is around 30 feet deep. The two places according to Nanayakkara are Marichchikaddi area in Mannar and Eragama area in the East. Nanayakkara has handed over the report to more..

Dec 29 (Island) The SL Customs and the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) have failed to take legal action against the companies responsible for importing 263 containers full of hazardous waste from the UK. With more foreign garbage entering the country, this time from Ukraine, environmentalists and authorities are up in arms. A senior lawyer said that the AG’s Department would soon submit a report to Parliament, more..

Dec 29 (FT) An official delegation from the SL Embassy in Moscow, Russian Federation, with concurrent accreditation to the Republic of Belarus made an official visit to Belarus since Prof. M D. Lamawansa assumed duties as the Ambassador to Russia in May 2020. The primary objective of the visit was to present the copies of the Ambassador’s Credentials to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and to open the avenues to further enhance bilateral relationship in the fields of more..

Dec 29 (AD) Another flight carrying more Ukrainian tourists has arrived at the Mattala Int'l Airport (MIA) this afternoon. The flight arrived from Kyiv, Ukraine, with 204 tourists and 9 crew members. Meanwhile, 180 more Ukrainian tourists arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday, and all of them underwent PCR testing upon arrival. They were directed to selected hotels in Koggala and Bentota. They will be subjected to a PCR test once again following several days, the Ministry of Tourism stated. more..

Dec 29 (CI) South Africa's quicks tore through a beleaguered Sri Lanka batting line-up in the first half of day four, to secure an innings victory in a match they have utterly dominated over the past two days. Wiaan Mulder made the early breakthroughs, but all the quicks contributed in this innings, taking two wickets apiece. Sri Lanka had very much been in the Test in the first four sessions of play, but despite having made more..

Dec 29 (DM) CEB Technological Engineers' and Superintendent' Union (CEBTESU) requested to conduct proper job evaluation to establish services according to appropriate wage structure. CEBTESU Secretary Jayalal Athukorala said that the Marasinghe National Salaries and Cadres Commission should be applied as soon as possible. He said with the Marasinghe Commission, no salary ratio issue was raised. "In 2003, the B.C. Perera Salary Commission was implemented. more..

Dec 29 (NR) 704 individuals have recovered from COVID-19 and have been discharged during the past 24 hours. Total recoveries in the country accordingly increase to 33,925. 127 individuals were discharged from the Punani treatment centre, 79 from the Kahawatte treatment centre, 47 from the Ichchilampattu treatment centre, 41 from the Hambantota District General Hospital and 38 from the Neville Fernando Hospital. 7,484 active coronavirus patients are presently being more..

Dec 29 (DM) The rehearsal programme of the Park & Ride system will take place tomorrow from Makumbura Multi-modal Transport Centre (MTC), Kottawa, State Minister Dilum Amunugama said. He said that the programme scheduled to be launched from January 1. SL Police and the SLTB will join the rehearsal tomorrow, he said. He also said the trial programme is to be launched to create awareness among more..

Dec 29 (CT) The COVID-19 District Steering Committee (DSC) has suggested that people be barred from going to Sri Pada (Adam’s Peak) till the end of January. Sources close to the Committee said, there was a serious concern regarding the climatic condition in the area being conducive for the Virus, in addition to the presence of the Disease in the area itself. There may be large crowds arriving with the beginning of the season from today, Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day. more..

Dec 29 (CT) The Kelaniya Crimes Division raided an illegal gambling den, operating in a star class hotel, 250 metres from the Kandana Police Station, at dawn of 27 Dec. Some 23 suspects present at the gambling den had been arrested while a few managed to escape. Police said, among the suspects had been a 25-year-old. Police suspect that the illegal gambling den had been operating since early this month. Police stated, they had also seized 6.21 grams of heroin along with more..

Dec 29 (AD) Total of 61 people exiting the Western Province have tested positive for COVID-19 infection following random rapid antigen tests. DIG Ajith Rohana said that the infected persons were identified from nearly 10,000 rapid antigen tests conducted from Dec 18 until 6 am this morning (29). A total of 1,359 rapid antigen tests had been carried out yesterday and 7 of them have been identified to have contracted virus, more..

Dec 29 (AD) No permission has been granted for the burial of the bodies of COVID-19 victims, says Director-General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena. Stating that misinformation is spread on social with this regard, Dr. Gunawardena said that there is no change in the decision to cremated COVID-19 victims. He said, “We have not granted permission to bury [COVID-19 victims] anywhere. If it is a COVID-19 positive death, the body must be cremated. more..

Dec 29 (EN) Sri Lanka has agreed to sell airtime on a former Deutsche Welle relay station in Trincomalee in the North East of the island to UK based Encompass Digital Media Services, London. Germany’s DW built the relay station in Sri Lanka in 1980 for mainly for international shortwave (HF) broadcasting. It also has a medium wave transmitter for South Asia. The station was given to state-run SLBC in 2012. The rise of television and the internet had made int'l broadcasts more accessible, more..

Dec 29 (CT) Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda, on 23 December, released Rs 4.6 million worth of prawn fingerlings to the Vettakkali Tank, located in the Delft Island (Nedunthiv), Jaffna. A total of 50 fisher families live off the Vettakkali Tank. Through this scattering of prawn fingerlings, each of these fisher families would be able to harvest about 15,000 kilos of prawns during the harvesting season. more..

Dec 29 (SLA) The SL National Guard (SLNG) troops this morning (27) extended a warm welcome to Lt Gen Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army when he arrived at the SLNG Regimental HQ in Wehera, Kurunegala, along with Mrs Sujeewa Nelson, President, Army Seva Vanitha Unit in order to inaugurate a few new constructions and welfare projects. At the start of the agenda, Lt Gen Shavendra Silva as the Chief Guest for the occasion was invited to unveil more..