Nov 11 (Island) England barely last three days in Galle. The extreme heat, turning tracks and little help for seam bowlers makes the venue a nightmarish experience for most visiting teams, particularly the ones from England, Australia, NZ and SA. But exactly two years ago to this week, England achieved the unimaginable. They won a Test match in Galle which has been a true fortress for successive SL teams over two decades. SLC makes a kill when England visit the island. more..

Nov 11 (AT) SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, has been spreading exponentially across the world over the last 10 or so months. More than a third of the global population has been placed on lockdown. The global economy is experiencing the deepest recession since World War II and massive numbers of people are losing their livelihoods and suffering serious effects on their physical and mental health. The pandemic has allowed states and corporations to tighten more..

Nov 11 (CT) Govt is planning to provide sweeping tax benefits to pharmaceutical investors keen on investing in factories at a specialised zone in Southern SL. Cabinet on Monday agreed to establish a 400-acre pharmaceutical investment zone at the Arabokka Estate in Hambantota. Presidential Task Force for economic revival and eradication of poverty has identified the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry as more..

Nov 11 (FT) The ACMC wrote to the SJB, informing it that the party could not take action against two of its members who voted for the 20th Amendment last month until Party Leader Rishad Bathiudeen was able to preside over a meeting on disciplinary action. “I wish to inform you that the political authority of the party is either handicapped or unable to take any decision with regard to the conduct of the said MPs at this juncture, in view of the fact that the Leader of the ACMC is unavailable to preside over more..

Nov 11 (Island) The TNA Mullaitivu District politicians are protesting against the construction of a Buddhist temple at Bogaswewa near the Sapumalgaskada archaeological site. They claim that the area traditionally belongs to the Tamil people. TNA NPC member elected from Mullaitivu District T. Raviharan says that the area belongs to Tamil people traditionally and it was known as Kachchcalsamalankulam. The PC member says that Tamil people have been given paddy fields more..

Nov 11 (Island) Dissident SJB MP Dayana Gamage said that she had renounced her British citizenship in 2015 to launch her full time political career here. She insisted that she had obtained an official SL passport in her capacity as Chairperson of Ranminithenna Tele-Cinema village in 2017 during yahapalana govt. SJB National List MP said so when she was repeatedly accused of having entered parliament despite being a British national. more..

Nov 11 (DM) Cabinet of Ministers this week approved the proposals to award contracts to UAE-based ES Energy DMCC and Singapore-based Swiss Singapore Overseas Enterprises Pte. Ltd. to procure petrol (92Unl) and diesel for the next 8 months. The proposal was based on recommendations of the Standing Committee on Procurement appointment by the Cabinet. Accordingly, govt would procure 1.8 million barrels of petrol from ES Energy DMCC from Nov 1 more..

Nov 11 (FT) Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) has reported a recovery in sales and profit in the third quarter in tandem with the reopening of the economy after the COVID-19-induced shutdown. The company’s performance in the three months ended 30 Sept, show a healthy recovery reverting to nearly early 2020 pre-COVID-19 levels and posted a growth in sales volumes in comparison to the previous quarter of the year due to countrywide resumption of economic activities from more..

Nov 11 (CT) Although SPC Chairman Prasanna Gunesena claimed that the technical evaluation committee (TEC) has not issued the validation for the Rapid Antigen Test kits that were imported by a local private company from two Korean companies, the kits had already been imported on 5 Nov, alleged SJB MP Rajitha Senaratne. “The kits were imported before even the TEC report was issued to the tender committee. more..

Nov 11 (ST) Factories are now compelled to fall back on the previous half pay for workers at home as no proper work had got underway since the first week of last month following the outbreak of the COVID-19 Minuwangoda cluster. Lately factories have requested that the Labour Minister grant an extension on the half pay for workers at home or Rs, 14,000 whichever is higher since they were unable to carry out work since October 8, Free Trade Zone Manufacturers Association Gen. Secry said. more..

Nov 11 (CT) The training activities of the national team which had been deferred temporarily for a second time due to the COVID-19 impact, is set to be kick started on 13 Nov by SLC, sources revealed. In-house training programme is set to be conducted from 13 to 22 Nov at the Pallekele International Stadium premises, while it is to be confined to a 22-member squad. This particular training programme has been geared towards the upcoming 2-Test tour to South Africa. more..

Nov 11 (DN) The Parliamentary Council which met yesterday cleared the names of six nominees as Supreme Court Judges and Justice Arjuna Obeyesekere as the Appeal Court President, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said. Speaker Abeywardena chaired the meeting and it was attended by all members of the Council. The meeting, which commenced at 10 am, continued for about an hour. more..

Nov 11 (Island) Findings from Sri Lanka’s first dedicated National Survey on Violence against Women and Girls reveal that women in Sri Lanka are more than twice more likely to have experienced physical violence by a partner than by a non-partner. According to the Women’s Wellbeing Survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department, 7.4% of all women, since age 15, experienced physical violence by a partner in their lifetime and 7.2% experienced by a non-partner. more..

Nov 11 (AD) The extraordinary gazette notification for maximum wholesale and retails prices for while sugar has been published by the CAA. The document, signed by the CAA Chairman Shantha Dissanayake, was issued under the powers vested in by Section 20(5) of the Consumer Affairs Authority Act, No. 09 of 2003. Accordingly, the maximum retail price of packeted white sugar has been declared as Rs 90 per kilogram. Maximum retail price of 1kg of bulk white sugar has been set at Rs 85.00. more..

Nov 11 (AD) The Ministry of Transport has decided to revise bus fares based on changes made in transport regulations due in line with the current health and safety needs of the COVID-19 situation. Thereby, bus fares will be increased by a 1.2 ratio and the minimum bus will hike from Rs 12.00 to Rs 14.00. The price hike, which is set to come to effect from midnight today (10), is expected to cover 3 safety options for public transport. more..

Nov 11 (FT) Cabinet yesterday decided to stop export of scrap metal unless approved by the Sri Lanka Industrial Development Board, to provide local industries with sufficient raw material for their products. The Inter-Ministry Task Force on Industry and Enterprise and the Task Force on Economic Rehabilitation and Poverty Alleviation had discussed the issues relating to the metal industry before taking the decision, the Government Information Department said yesterday. more..

Nov 11 (CT) Every individual has the responsibility to eradicate COVID-19 by adjusting their behaviour in their homes and offices, Sectional Head of Health Promotion Studies of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of the Rajarata Uni, Dr. Duminda Guruge said. Since everyone has the responsibility of caring for and protecting elders in their homes, they should control their behaviour and act with consideration to health protection, he said. Dr. Guruge also said responsibility has to be taken when more..

Nov 11 (AD) Minister Keheliya Rambukwella today refuted speculation doing the rounds on social media, which says that the Cabinet granted the approval for the burial of COVID-19 victims. The minister added that the Cabinet position still remains that the final say on such a sensitive matter, lies with medical experts alone. He said the topic was brought to the attention of the Cabinet by various members and more..

Nov 11 (TM) Ministry of Fisheries is taking necessary steps to reopen the Peliyagoda Fish Market – which was a hot spot of one of the two recent large Covid-19 clusters – next week, according to Secretary to Ministry of Fisheries Indu Rathnayake. The decision was taken as a measure to revive the fisheries industry affected by the recent spike of Covid-19 patients around the country. “The market will be reopened, adhering to the safety precautions issued by the health authorities. more..

Nov 11 (Island) The first consignment of e-waste from Sri Lanka will be exported to Japan today for recycling. Environment Ministry, Dept of Posts and Central Environmental Authority (CEA) said the first batch of waste collected at post offices countrywide during the e-waste collection week, last month, would be exported to Japan from the Katunayake Investment Promotion Zone. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that the step had been taken by INSEE cement company based in Puttalam. more..

Nov 11 (FT) The dual COVID-19 cluster that emerged from Divulapitiya and Peliyagoda exceeded 11,000 cases, with the identification of 430 patients among contacts of the Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster yesterday. The dual cluster has thus increased to 11,233 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the island to 14,715. In addition to the dual cluster, the total count includes 1,467 SL returnees from abroad, more..

Nov 11 (FT) Although Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected Prez of SL, he was toothless with powers limited only over the armed forces. He received powers on 30 Oct after signing of the Parliament-approved 20th Amendment by the Speaker and the Gazette notification. Although large numbers including Buddhist priests opposed 20A, few understood the disastrous situation the Prez inherited. In late September, Moody’s, the world’s economic watchdog, downgraded SL’s more..

Nov 11 (FT) Never before has SL seen such a downturn of economic activities during the last few decades. I do remember, as a school kid in 1983, a university student during late 1990s, then as an employee until 2009, our nation went through economic, security as well as social issues and we were resilient to overcome such. However, COVID-19 is yet to settle down. World is reacquainting itself with new environment, new norms & new ways of socialising, educating, conducting business. more..

Nov 11 (Island) General (Retd) Daya Ratnayake, chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) refuted recent news reports in media which claimed that Indian conglomerate Adani Group was all set to develop Sri Lanka’s thwarted East Container Terminal (ECT) in the Port of Colombo. “It’s all speculation without any concrete basis” Gen. Ratnayake said in response to a question by The Island Financilal Review whether the news story being circulated that the present govt more..

Nov 11 (FT) In an effort to counter increasing rice prices and shortages, Cabinet has given approval for District Secretaries and Govt Agents (GAs) to begin releasing paddy stocks via Sathosa outlets countrywide. The paddy stocks owned by the Paddy Marketing Board will be utilised for this purpose. “Given the current rice shortage in the market and the owners of rice mills unable to supply sufficient rice stocks under the controlled price, Cabinet granted approval to take necessary more..

Nov 11 (FT) What kind of govt reduces expenditure on health in the midst of a global pandemic? In the first week of Oct, Cabinet approved the Appropriations Bill for 2021. Of a total estimated expenditure of Rs. 2.68 trillion only a paltry Rs. 159 billion was set aside for health. Defence got Rs. 355 billion. Highways got Rs. 335 billion. Health didn’t get even half of what the Highways got. In 2019, with no global pandemic, more..

Nov 11 (DM) At least 30 people out of 100 people who are randomly tested in high-risk areas within the Colombo city detected as COVID positive, forcing the CMC to increase the number of PCR tests by five fold, CMO Dr Ruwan Wijayamuni said. The high-risk areas were mainly the Colombo North and Borella areas. “We have noticed that almost 30 persons out of 100, on whom PCR tests were carried out, are found to be COVID-19 positive, in high-risk areas which are already affected. more..

Nov 11 (AD) A new bridge would be constructed across the Rajagiriya-Nawala Canal at a cost of Rs. 1.6 billion. Limited competitive bids were called to award the contract for the construction of a new bridge across Rajagiriya – Nawala canal connecting Angampitiya Road at Ethulkotte and School Lane, Rajagiriya at Nawala. Accordingly, the proposal submitted by the Minister Johnston Fernando to award the relevant contract to the State Development and Design Corporation for more..

Nov 11 (AD) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has directed the authorities not to allow any individual to move in and out of isolated areas. He further gave instructions to take necessary measures to restrict people in Western Province travelling to other provinces. The directives came during the daily meeting of the Task Force in Covid-9 prevention held at the Presidential Secretariat earlier today (11), PMD said in a statement. more..

Nov 11 (AD) The fully functional 10-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU), gifted by Dialog Axiata, was inaugurated at the Homagama Base Hospital by Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi today. Dialog Axiata had commenced civil work for the expansion and provision of all equipment to establish the fully functional ICU at the Homagama Base Hospital in July this year. Funded entirely by Dialog, this is the second component of the pledged Rs. 200 Million towards urgently required ICU capacity more..

Nov 11 (EN) Prez’s Office has released the accounts for Covid Fund showing that the most expensive item the fund has invested in is PCR testing. More than LKR42mn has been spent on these tests the release said. A new laboratory for the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital is also a big-ticket item with LKR112mn allocated for that facility. With institutional and personal donations and direct deposits the balance of the COVID – 19 Healthcare and Social Security Fund reached more..

Nov 11 (AD) Two more coronavirus deaths in the country today, increasing the death toll due to the virus to 44. A 40-year-old, who is a resident of Colombo 11, died on admission to the Colombo National Hospital. The cause of the death is cited as a heart attack caused by the Covid-19 virus infection. The other victim is a 45-year-old male from Kelaniya. He had been receiving treatment at Hambanthota District Hospital since Nov 1 more..

Nov 11 (FT) SL privately-owned carrier FitsAir has started a dedicated freighter service to cater to post-COVID air cargo demand. To serve this purpose, FitsAir recently added a P2C A321 and converted it into a freighter and has concluded cargo flights to the Maldives and Dubai. The P2C A321 converted freighter aircraft can carry 20 tons within a five-hour range. The airline expects to commence scheduled cargo flights to the several other Middle East and Indian subcontinent markets on demand. more..

Nov 11 (FT) The www.fromSriLanka.com platform is getting increased interest and confidence from exporters and potential exporters of Sri Lankan products. So far over 100 companies small to large have gone through the registration process with many more getting on board continuously. “I feel that this is the link that SL was missing. IT-BPM services are booming due to the rapid digital transformation happening around the world. We have many products and services to support this in SL more..

Nov 11 (BT) The 36-year-old founder of Doctors with Disabilities Australia is Queensland’s 2021 Australian of Year. Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM is senior resident at the Gold Coast University Hospital, a recent law graduate as well as the doctor for the Gold Coast Titans physical disability rugby league team. Dr Palipana has built an international profile through his speeches with TEDx talks and has contributed immensely to spinal research more..

Nov 11 (TM) Two local and four Chinese employees employed at a separate China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) project in Kotahena and who were temporarily residing at one of the accommodation facilities at the Port City Colombo construction site tested positive for COVID-19 during the testing for all staffs. In a statement, it said the accommodation facility was only used by the workers employed for the Kotahena project and not employed or engaged in any interaction with more..

Nov 11 (AD) Sri Lanka and India inked a MoU on Tuesday for community development projects implemented in the island nation to the tune of Rs 600 million. Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, S.R. Attygalle and High Commissioner of India to SL, Gopal Baglay had signed the MoU in the presence of PM Mahinda Rajapaksa at his official residence in Wijerama. MoU was initially signed in 2005, during the presidential term of PM Rajapaksa & it was subsequently extended every 5 yrs. more..

Nov 11 (EN) SL’s Muslim minority is still hopeful that the govt will lift the order for the mandatory cremation of the remains of all those who die of Covid 19, community leaders say. N M Ameen, President of the Muslim Council of SL said that community leaders have renewed their appeal to the govt to revisit the decision which goes against the dictates of their faith. Muslims, Jews and many Christian sects abhor cremation as their more..

Nov 11 (NR) The CEA has issued several guidelines pertaining to disposing face masks and other waste used by persons amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The set of guidelines have been issued to all local authorities and applies to isolated areas, houses and all other public places. Employees and vehicles that are not attached to local authorities must be utilized to dispose of clinical waste in isolated areas. Face masks and gloves used by COVID-19 patients must be put into a yellow bag and separated. more..