Jun 29 (DN) The promotion and relegation rule will not be implemented in this year’s SLC Premier League Inter-Club Cricket Tournament which is set to resume next month after the clearance from the Health Ministry authorities. “This is what the Tournament Committee has decided. There will not be any promotion and relegation of teams. Tournament was interrupted midway due to the Coronavirus pandemic,” a top official of SLC said. “It is not fair by the clubs. more..

Jun 29 (CT) The curfew which came into effect from 20 March this year, to deal with the COVID-19 threat, has been lifted from yesterday, with SL handling the pandemic situation in the country very professionally as well as effectively. In the backdrop of several countries, particularly even the highly developed countries still struggling to control the challenges posed by COVID-19, SL has dealt with the situation for the praise of the international community in dealing with the pandemic. more..

Jun 29 (TM) Both the Ministry of Finance and the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) confirmed that there are no plans to increase the prices of imported milk powder at the moment. The query was made by us from the CAA and the Ministry of Finance as milk powder importers told The Sunday Morning Business two weeks ago that they made a request of the CAA via a price increasing application to increase the price of imported milk powder. more..

Jun 29 (DM) As at Sunday (28), more than 501,000 people worldwide had died from the coronavirus since it emerged in China late last year. The number of persons who had contracted the disease has also crossed ten million mark. In China where the virus originated, 4,634 deaths were recorded since the epidemic began, according to the WHO. In addition, China reported 85,148 coronavirus cases. The US with 2,425,814 persons, Brazil with 1,228,114, Russia with 619,936, India with 490,401 and more..

Jun 29 (ST) Sri Lanka has a proud cricket history and with the 1996 World Cup triumph, Island nation became one of the formidable teams in the world. Similarly post-1996 era was a phase where a player needed the combination of talent and a bit of luck to get into the national team. Jeevantha Kulatunga is one such example, who had the talent, dedication and attitude but ran out of luck to prosper at international level. Kulatunga’s cricketing journey began at an early age. more..

Jun 29 (CT) Former SL all-rounder, Russel Arnold, who played a fair share of his int'l career with spin-wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, has opened up on why the latter was called Motor Mouth. A few weeks back, former SL captain, Kumar Sangakkara, recalled the instance when he had to convince Murali to postpone his retirement plans so that the legendary spinner would be able to achieve the magical milestone of 800 Test wickets. more..

Jun 29 (EN) Prez Rajapaksa had given the go ahead to Shipping Minister Johnston Fernando to start talks on changing an agreement signed building a container terminal in Colombo port, Minister Bandula Gunewardene said. Sri Lanka Ports Authority had signed agreement with India and Japan to run the partially built East Terminal after dropping plans for a standard build-operate-transfer deal which drew responses from top shipping firms amid opposition from then Prez Sirisena. more..

Jun 29 (FT) Bank of Ceylon (BOC) is bolstering foreign funding as part of diversifying its sources of finances to spearhead critical post-COVID revival of enterprises and entrepreneurs in the country. Tomorrow BOC will sign a deal for $ 140 million three-year financing facility at an attractive rate from the China Development Bank (CDB), the world’s largest development financial entity. BOC will draw down the funding via two tranches of $ 70 million each in August and December this year. more..

Jun 29 (TM) Police is to observe whether the public adheres to respiratory etiquette (RE) by wearing facemasks when entering public spaces with heavy crowd density for a period of one week starting from today. With the country’s economic operation now returning to normal and the workforce being able to report back to work, many have returned to their daily routines. However, law enforcement authorities are required to more..

Jun 29 (AD) Responding to former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage’s match-fixing claims on 2011 World Cup, Muttiah Muralitharan says that he need not comment on the matter as Aluthgamage had clarified the players were not involved in the alleged incident. Although he was a part of the playing XI in the 2011 ICC World Cup, Muralitharan says he has no issue with the statement as the former Minister himself has mentioned that players were not involved in the matter. more..

Jun 29 (Island) UNP leader and former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday called on the govt to make a clear statement on whether or not it would sign the Millennium Challenge Corporation agreement with the United States. Addressing the media after attending religious observances at the Sedawatta Weheragoda Purana Viharaya, the UNP leader said the govt should reveal to the public what it had told the US and announce its stance to the public on signing the MCC Agreement. more..

Jun 29 (AD) The curfew imposed on the island in order to curtail the spread of COVID-19 has been completely lifted, President’s Media Division said. This decision will be in effect from today (June 28, Sunday). Previously, the curfew imposed on the whole country from March 20 was partially lifted with the country returning to normalcy. Accordingly, the curfew was only in effect from 12 midnight until 4 am daily until today. more..

Jun 29 (AD) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga says that the complete reopening of airports may be delayed due to the increased number of registrations to arrive in the country. Previously it was targeted to reopen the airports from Aug 1 and the country will be open for tourists. Considering that situation, date of complete reopening may be postponed to after Aug 15 or towards the end of August, he said. However, Ranatunga said that they will try their best to reopen the airports by Aug 1. more..

Jun 29 (PMD) The final report by the Expert’s Committee appointed to review the proposed Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact (MCC) has been made accessible for the general public. Prez Rajapaksa appointed a four-member Committee to review the proposed MCC on Jan 1st, 2020. The Committee was chaired by Lalithasiri Gunaruwan, a Professor of Economics. Former Secretary to Ministry of Transport Dr. D.S. Jayaweera, Justice Nihal Jayawardena, more..

Jun 29 (Island) Contrary to US embassy denial that funds required for preparatory activities related to controversial MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) project had not been disbursed or put off pending finalization of the decision, the US and SL signed two agreements worth USD 10 mn in July 2017 and June 2018, according to authoritative sources. US Embassy twitted that no MCC grant monies more..

Jun 29 (FT) I had indicated I would move on from COVID-19 and sought to do so in last week’s piece about moving on. Since then, every conversation I encounter, again seems to be kowtowing to misinformed COVID-19 orthodoxy, to the extent I’m getting increasingly concerned we’re going to spend our lives continuing to read about mystical second waves rather than realising there will be periodic outbreaks, that will need to be targeted, briefly, in a focused way in that neighbourhood or more..

Jun 29 (FT) I remember my first encounter with former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (CBK) so vividly. 7 years ago, around mid-morning in late August, I returned a missed call on my phone. I made the usual greeting and asked who it was that I had missed a call from, and an authoritative voice replied: “This is Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.” Fair to say, I was stunned for a few moments, and I faintly remember asking if the person on other end was joking. more..

Jun 29 (DN) Showcasing the transformational potential of 5G Technology, Mobitel SL’s National Mobile Service Provider powered South Asia’s first 5G enabled Mixed Reality Live TV Show via its 5G Network in partnering with SLT Peo TV Charana TV Channel. This historical moment in spearheading a new era of live TV Broadcasting with 5G Technology was graced by Oshada Senanayake, Director General of the TRC and Rohan Fernando, Chairman of SLT/Mobitel. more..

Jun 29 (DN) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that the govt strongly condemns the Karuna Amman’s statement and it is regrettable that the son of a leader who had a history of supplying arms to the LTTE was shedding crocodile tears over it. The Minister was responding to a question by journalists after attending a meeting at the Sun Castle reception hall in Wattala last Saturday. Minister Ranatunga said Karuna said that he accepted the weapons that Premadasa gave to the LTTE. more..

Jun 29 (FT) President J.R. Jayewardene, performing the Chancellor’s function, in 1984, of presiding over the Silver Jubilee Convocation of the rebranded Vidyodaya University as the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, prognosticated that Sri Lanka could win the 21st century if and only if the country could go for science and new technologies. He wanted the local universities to reorient their programs to deliver this to the nation. more..

Jun 29 (AD) A group of 288 SL nationals who were stranded in Oman due to the Covid-19 pandemic arrived in the country this morning onboard a special repatriation flight. The passengers had reached the BIA at around 4.30 a.m. today onboard SriLankan Airlines flight UL-206 arriving from Muscat Int'l Airport. The returnees were subjected to PCR tests within the airport premises upon arrival in the country. Meanwhile another 26 SL nationals stranded in Hong Kong were also repatriated more..

Jun 29 (TM) Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) announced the appointment of Dumith Fernando as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CSE with effect from 1st July. Fernando has served on the Board of the CSE since 2017 and succeeds Mr. Ray Abeywardena, who steps down as the Chairman after completing his three-year tenure. Fernando is Chairman of one of the leading investment banking firms, Asia Securities Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, engaged in Corporate Finance more..

Jun 29 (EN) The Presidential Election of 2019 was the poll where Social Media played a major role and widespread unethical conduct was seen on mainstream media as well, a report released by an Election Watchdog group has said. The CMEV is warning that such activity will be part of the upcoming Parliamentary Poll and is recommending close monitoring and immediate debunking of false and malicious news. more..

Jun 29 (PMD) Prez Rajapaksa and PM Rajapaksa attended the special screening of the movie; The News Paper. The movie was screened at One Galleface-PVR yesterday (June 28). The film has been co-directed by Sarath Kothalawala and Kumara Thirimadura while its co-producers are Minister Bandula Gunawardana, Raveendra Guruge and H.D. Premasiri. The movie is scheduled to premiere on the 2nd of July and the first show (10.30 am) will be open to the public free of charge. more..

Jun 29 (AD) The Special task Force (STF) has recovered a stash of weapons during a raid carried out in Pitipana, Homagama. The raid has been carried on the tip-off that a weapon stash belonging to the underworld figure and drug racketeer Gagana, who is currently imprisoned. Reportedly, the STF has found 12 T-56 firearms have been recovered in the raid. It is considered to be the largest stash of firearms belonging to an underworld crime gang, found in Sri Lanka. more..

Jun 29 (EN) Sri Lanka is not in a list of 15 countries being considered first by the European Union to relax travel restrictions from, though the gains made by the Indian Ocean island against Coronavirus is recognized, the bloc’s delegation in Colombo said. “The EU and Member States Ambassadors resident in Colombo recognise the successful efforts of the SL govt to contain the spread of COVID-19,” EU delegation said. more..

Jun 29 (AD) The Appeal Court announced that the decision on issuing an interim order preventing the execution of the arrest warrants issued by the Fort Magistrate, against former minister Ravi Karunanayake and others over the Central Bank treasury bond scam, will be delivered on July 7. The writ petition filed by Mr Karunanayake and the other defendants was taken up for consideration before the judge-bench comprising President of the Court of Appeal A.H.M.D Nawaz, more..

Jun 29 (AD) An engaged couple who had visited the Sera Ella Falls in Matale to conduct a pre-wedding photoshoot had fallen off the falls. As the Sera Ella Falls is a popular spot to hold wedding photoshoots, the couple too had arrived at the spot yesterday with relatives and the photographer. However, the couple posing for a photograph had fallen into the water during photo shoot. The woman had been rescued by a cousin while no one had been able to save the man, according to witnesses. more..

Jun 29 (DM) Former SL Cricket Captain Aravinda De Silva has been summoned by the Special Investigation Division of the Ministry of Sports to record a statement over the 2011 ICC World Cup Final match-fixing allegation, SSP W.A.J.H. Fonseka said. De Silva was the Chairman of the Selection Committee of the Sri Lanka Cricket at that time. He said the Police would record Mr Silva’s statement tomorrow. more..

Jun 29 (DN) Kosgoda police have launched a murder investigation following the discovery of the body of the Chief Prelate of the Galkanda Sri Wijaya Dhamma Pirivena, Ven. Yatiyana Buddhananda Thera (79), this morning. The thera was hacked to death allegedly by an organized group trying to rob the temple, police said. His body was found lying on the floor of his chamber at the Galkanda Sri Wijaya Dhamma Pirivena in Induruwa. It had cut and stab wounds over the body, police said. more..

Jun 29 (EB) SJB National List candidate Eran Wickramaratne is saying that if any part of the MCC grant money was given to the previous govt then the Auditor General can easily trace the transaction. He said that the US embassy in Colombo issued a statement saying that no MCC grant monies were ever transferred to or spent by the Govt under the current $480 million grant. He said apart from that if they had given out any money then it should have being received at the Finance Ministry, more..

Jun 29 (TM) The UNP has refuted allegations leveled against the former Yahapalanaya govt by the MCC review committee headed by Prof Lalithasiri Gunaruwan. “According to media reports, Gunaruwan’s report alleges that US 10 million was provided by the MCC to the then govt following the signing of two agreements with the MCC in 2017 and 2018. However, Gunaruwan goes on to state that there is no record of these finances at more..

Jun 29 (TM) Kalutara Urban Council (UC) Chairman was arrested by the police today. Chairman was arrested on charges of allegedly entering a sports complex, unlawful assembly and violating quarantine regulations. The incident had taken place on the 23rd of June. Following a complaint lodged by the manager of the stadium Kalutara Police launched an investigation into the incident. Last week, the Opposition Leader of the Kalutara PS S.A.D. Nilantha and another suspect were more..

Jun 29 (TM) Commander of the Army Lt General Shavendra Silva appealed to the general public to continue following guidelines set by health authorities for the prevention of Covid-19 within the country. This included the use of face masks, maintaining social distance, and washing hands with soap. The Army Commander made these remarks last Saturday afternoon, speaking to the media in Kandy regarding the Covid-19 control measures in place in the country, SL Army said. more..

Jun 29 (AD) Attorney General has informed the Acting IGP that he cannot appear on his behalf in the writ application filed by High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya, due to his failure to comply with the AG’s advice. A writ application filed by the interdicted High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya seeking an interim injunction order is set to be considered at the Court of Appeal today. On June 08, Appeals Court issued an interim order more..

Jun 29 (Island) Police have arrested five persons living near the Welikada and Magazine prisons, for allegedly providing drugs, mobile phones and other equipment to prisoners. The police media unit said that the suspects were arrested during operations conducted by the Borella police. The police raided houses near the Magazine Prison and recovered several parcels ready to be thrown over the prison walls. Investigations have revealed that the suspects had tried to deliver banned items more..

Jun 29 (DM) The strike action which was launched by the postal workers at the Central Mail Exchange (CME), decided to call it off after authorities gave an assurance to carry-out election duties at the CME instead of a separate location, Lanka Postal Services Union President Jagath Mahinda said. However, after a written assurance from the Post-Master General, the union decided to call off the strike, he said. The categorisation and the distribution of election postal ballots papers more..

Jun 29 (PDO) “Ms. Lyu, please tell me your mother’s name. I’ll pray for her at the temple,” a SL engineer said to his Chinese colleague, Lyu Zeying. Lyu is a high-pressure welder with China Machinery Engineering Corporation, the Chinese contractor of the Puttalam coal-fired power plant in SL. The power plant generates more than 40% of the electricity needed by the country. In March, SL govt announced curfew measures to contain more..

Jun 29 (DM) Over 1,200 people have been sent to self-quarantine for failing to wear face masks in public places in Western Province yesterday, the Police said. Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon said a total of 1,217 persons have been identified and they have been directed to undergo 14-day self-quarantine. Earlier, he said that a special operation will be carried out to identify the persons who fail to wear face masks in public places and that they would be arrested. more..