Sep 5 (ST) My dear Gota maamey, I thought of writing to you because many people are worried about what is happening in Paradise – and as the captain of the ship of state, most people are blaming you. Of course, the coronavirus is not your fault, but the way it is being managed is what is causing concern. As we have heard, Gota maamey, there were many calls for a lockdown for several weeks. But we got the impression that you didn’t want a lockdown, even when all the medical experts more..

Sep 5 (Island) Many years ago President Ranasinghe Premadasa had a favourite slogan: Big investor, small producer. This related to a strategy of helping the rural agricultural community of this country, comprising a very large segment of SL’s population, to enhance their incomes and lifestyles by cultivating largely non-traditional crops. What the president, well known for his genius of addressing and overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges, was looking for was largely more..

Sep 5 (GV) On Aug 30, Prez Rajapaksa declared a State of Emergency across the island, on the basis that he was “Of the opinion that it is considered expedient to do so in order to ensure the Public Security and wellbeing and maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community in view of the prevailing emergency situation in SL in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic now steadily on the rise throughout SL”. While this announcement came in the midst of local & int'l media more..

Sep 5 (ST) In decades of the dreaded Public Security Ordinance (PSO) in Sri Lanka, this is perhaps the first time that the use of this law has been justified by the Office of the Prez as necessary to ensure the availability of staples such as rice, dhal and sugar to the populace at reasonable prices. What an extraordinary fall for the mighty PSO, one might well chuckle. Even as the Govt’s lawyers employ the full strength of their (palpably unconvincing) lungs to emphasize more..

Sep 5 (ST) Something strange occurred when the World Health Organisation’s SL office took down two critical reports compiled by an Independent Group of Experts from its website. WHO-SL issued a notice on Wednesday saying; “WHO has not released any recommendations on the COVID-19 quarantine curfew or issued any statement to the media on the matter. WHO continues to support the vaccination drive more..

Sep 5 (SO) Food is a fundamental right of the people and food security is one of the cornerstones of national security. Sri Lanka, which is primarily an agricultural nation, had once been known as the Granary of the East. Even amid two World Wars and Northern and Southern insurgencies, Sri Lanka never experienced anything close to famine or even a limited food shortage. The inward looking economic policies that prevailed during the 1970-77 period did result in limited rationing and more..

Sep 5 (ST) Four South Asian nations, namely Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and SL, have joined hands in support of proposals to review the international match calendar, while the global governing body of football, FIFA, too has acknowledged its support to the notion. The proposal, as it explains in an official press release issued by the four nations, is a healthy one which gives equal share to all nations, mainly from the Asian region when it comes to global events more..

Sep 5 (TM) Despite it being two months since the WHO recommended tocilizumab, a drug used to treat arthritis, as a treatment for patients severely ill with Covid-19, Sri Lanka is still struggling to secure new stocks to meet the growing local demand, especially from private hospitals. The stocks ordered by Medical Supplies Division (MSD) of Ministry of Health through SPC in April are yet to be received. more..

Sep 5 (ST) Tharindu Fernando, a multi-talented individual, and Head Coach of basketball at Gateway International School, Colombo was been appointed by SL Basketball Federation (SLBF) as Coach of SL Under-23 team for the upcoming FIBA U-23 World Cup, to be held in Mongolia. An achiever in the making, Fernando has been engaged with basketball ever since he was a student of De La Salle Brothers, where he took up one of world’s popular, yet locally thriving sport. more..

Sep 5 (SO) “We had a special plan and managed it very systematically from 2017. That is the success story behind this Tokyo Paralympics,” said National Paralympic Committee (NPC) President Lt Colonel Deepal Herath. The 16th Paralympics was the most successful Games for Sri Lanka who won a gold medal and a bronze medal. Both Javelin throwers Dinesh Priyantha Herath clinched the first ever gold with a world record while Samitha Dulan won the bronze medal. more..

Sep 5 (CI) Janneman Malan scored his third ODI century and anchored a strong South African batting effort to level the series 1-1. South Africa's 283, scored in the absence of Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma, required Sri Lanka to pull off the third-highest successful chase under lights on the island in 47 overs, before a much-improved bowling performance from two days ago all but ended Sri Lanka's hopes in the sixth over of their reply. more..

Sep 5 (SO) Sri Lanka’s Palitha Bandara had to be satisfied with the fifth place from among nine competitors with a distance of 13.40m at the Paralympic Shot Put F- 63 final held at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium yesterday. Bandara the 28 year old soldier who was also the last competitor of the nine member Sri Lanka team at this Tokyo Games did his best at the fourth attempt while he covered 12.67m, 13.08m and 13.30m distances at his first, second and third attempts. more..

Sep 5 (SO) It is a dream come true for Sri Lanka’s two Davis Cup debutants, 20-year-old Vibuda Wijebandara and 16-year-old Chathurya Nilaweera. Both have represented Sri Lanka in the Junior Davis Cup but the upcoming Asia-Oceania Group 3 ties in Jordan will be huge for the duo. Vibuda has been playing tennis since the age of six, captaining Ananda’s age group teams from under-8 to under-19 leading them to victory in the inter-school championships. more..

Sep 5 (ST) Sri Lanka will kick off physically participating at travel fairs from this month following discussions between the authorities and industry to engage in these to ensure the much needed foreign exchange flows back into the country. Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau officials said that while Sri Lanka will participate at the annual travel show in Moscow, Russia from Sept 6 they will also continue to be present at the Ukraine fair more..

Sep 5 (TM) People are infuriated over the recent drastic price hikes on essential food items, and analysts and policymakers are attempting to make sense of what triggered this. Some argue that the increasing global commodity prices are indeed the root cause of these local price hikes. In my opinion, however, global price hikes cannot be the sole reason. This conclusion is misleading as the domestic prices of these food items are higher than the percentage increase of global commodity more..

Sep 5 (SO) Primary Health Care System Strengthening Project (PSSP) of the World Bank which is now in progress in SL at a cost of US$ 191 million will focus on preventing and controlling Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the community, PSSP Director Dr. Jayasundara Bandara said. He said that US$ 58 million has been disbursed so far and the rest of the funds will be disbursed this year, next year and in 2023. This year around US$ 98 million will be disbursed for the project. more..

Sep 5 (TM) The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) continued its growth momentum, and on Friday, 27 August, it set new records with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) crossing the 8,900 mark once again, registering a turnover of about Rs. 16 billion. Investors, delighted, started Twitter polls in anticipation of predicting which share price is going to go up when CSE opens for another trading week on Monday (30). However, Monday had its own plans and CSE experienced technical issues. more..

Sep 5 (AD) The company in charge of NMRA software system says that several files in the database were deleted by mistake by an engineer and that the data could be restored once the system was allowed to enter. State Minister of Drug Regulation and Supply and the Chairman of the Authority stated that the originals related to the deleted data are safe. NMRA is the body that regulates issuance of licenses to pharmaceuticals, medical devices & pharmacies in the country. more..

Sep 5 (SO) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera called upon teachers and principals to resume work on behalf of the children as the Govt has taken the most reasonable decision on their salary anomaly issue in the face of a sharp decline in Govt revenue due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “We hope that whatever stance is maintained by the trade unions, the majority of the teachers and principals will engage in their online teaching more..

Sep 5 (ST) Some exporters, in the wake of the currency exchange crisis, are contemplating or have already decided to shift their manufacturing businesses to countries in the burgeoning West African region depriving SL from earning export dollars. “Unless there is a viable policy to retain and encourage them to remain here, we will lose the little chance of earning export dollars in the future as well,” an industrialist cum economist pointed out. The exchange rate crisis has brought more..

Sep 5 (ST) Director General of Health Services has given clearance for fully vaccinated tourists and those who have completed their quarantine period to move out of the bubble and visit other areas of the country. Health Services Director General Dr Asela Gunawardena on Friday conveyed the decision to all provincial Directors of Health Services, Regional Directors of Health Services and Medical Officers of Health. Accordingly, tourists who have completed the mandatory quarantine period or more..

Sep 5 (EN) SL’s food shortages are not genuine but are the venomous acts of a few traders, Foreign Minister G L Pieris said as authorities slapped price controls as money printing triggered forex shortages and inflated the rupee. SL now has shortages of milk after CAA, which had previous created shortages in lentils, tinned fish as well as cooking gas refused to let prices go up. SL invoked emergency laws last week & seized sugar more..

Sep 5 (ST) Sri Lanka is to import fertiliser inputs to the tune of US$ 63.7 million for the Sept-March Maha season alone. According to a letter issued by the Agriculture Dept Additional Secretary Mahesh Gammanpila in awarding the contract to Valency International Pvt. Ltd. in Singapore on August 4, 2021 to import fertiliser inputs from Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group in China, the total value of the imports will amount to $63.7 million (which includes a quantity from Singapore). more..

Sep 5 (SO) A new batch of Public Health Inspectors (PHI) will pass out next month. The people should understand that it takes one and half years to produce a PHI and do their best to stop the spread of Covid-19, Health Services Deputy Director General Dr. Hemantha Herath said. He told the media at the Health Promotion Bureau (HPB) yesterday that it is the responsibility of all to get together to stop the spread of Covid-19. Pointing fingers at each other will not do any good more..

Sep 5 (TM) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week presented a briefing note to foreign missions in Sri Lanka on the progress made by the Govt on human rights-related issues in connection with the 48th Session of the UNHRC scheduled to commence next week. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is to make an oral presentation on the human rights front on SL on the opening day of the sessions. more..

Sep 5 (DM) A cargo containing the first phase of the four million doses of Chinese Sinopharm COVID-19 Vaccine vials arrived at the Colombo airport this morning, the airport duty manager said. Sri Lanka to receive a total volume of four million doses of Sinopharm vaccines, purchased from the Chinese manufacturer this week. The consignment, weighing 16,192kg and packed in 42 boxes with dry ice, landed at around 4.48 am. The cargo was freighted by SriLankan airlines from Beijing. more..

Sep 5 (DM) The CID has commenced questioning close contacts of the Sri Lankan who carried out the attack at a supermarket in Auckland, New Zealand, police said. Authorities revealed that the suspect, Ahmed Adil Mohamed Samsudeen, also known as Ahmed Adil Mohamed Samsudeen, a resident of Kaththankudy. It was reported that Mohamed Samsudeen is the youngest in a family of four with two brothers and a sister. His two brothers are reportedly residing in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. more..

Sep 5 (ST) Milinda Moragoda, SL’s envoy designate to India, arrived in New Delhi this week, almost a year after he was confirmed by the Parliamentary High Posts Committee, to be the country’s High Commissioner. However, there appears to be still a delay before he is accepted by the govt of PM Narendra Modi. The reason — he had submitted an updated agrément (or a set of credentials) where he has referred to himself more..

Sep 6 (DM) In a week’s time, UN General Assembly will be holding its 76th sessions. The organization was set upon Oct 24, 1945 with the aim of setting up a mechanism that would help maintain international peace and security, give humanitarian assistance to those in need, protect human rights, and uphold international law. However, on Nov 29, 1947, the UN adopted a proposal for the partition of Palestine via Resolution 181 (II), without any reference to the people of Palestine. more..

Sep 6 (TM) Covid-19 pandemic served as a grim reminder of many things. Above all, it called for strong unity among people while keeping safe physical distance from each other, and reminded us how fulfilling our individual civic responsibilities has a direct impact on others around us as well. Our responsibility during this trying time extends beyond fulfilling responsibilities pertaining to the prevailing health crisis; it is also about taking care of our fellow members of the human race. more..

Sep 6 (TM) The past few weeks have been quite stressful for SL consumers due to the spate of price hikes and shortage of several essential goods. While the shortage of some goods was a result of low production/importation, according to the authorities, it is a fact that some traders attempted to hoard goods and create an artificial shortage to increase prices. During the past few weeks, there was an astronomical increase in prices of more..

Sep 6 (DM) Date: Sep 6, 1946: Time: 5.00 pm: Place: Palm Court, Albert Crescent, Colombo 7. Col. John Kotalawala, welcomed those present and read the letter conveying the meeting. S. Nadesan, Member State Council for Kankesanthurai proposed, “This meeting resolves to form a political Party to be called the UNP,”—it was seconded by T. B. Jayah, Muslim nominated member, State Council. SWRD Bandaranaike, minister of local govt proposed the name of Don Stephen Senanayake as prez, more..

Sep 6 (CT) It is an acknowledged fact that corruption has become a way of life in Sri Lanka. It has been described as a virus as virulent as the Corona virus. Their combination knows no bounds. But who is worried? Not the all-pervasive Crown. And, corruption in the Health sector, at this moment, is most disconcerting. In the wake of the current Covid-19 crisis, corruption has taken on a new dimension of free rein for corruption. Bribery was a limited concept for over a hundred years when more..

Sep 6 (CT) A 15-year-old boy died, in late August, after his parents had confiscated his mobile phone due to his addiction to an online video game. It was reported that the student, a resident of the Rotumba area in Matara, had died by suicide after his mother had confiscated the mobile phone. After this tragic incident, many parents in the area, who spoke to the press, claimed a number of children in the area are addicted to mobile video games. more..

Sep 6 (ST) President’s issuance of Emergency Regulations this week with a view to rationing the supply of and imposing price controls on essential food items sent shock waves through the country, evoking nightmares of the 1970-77 era. But the writing was on the wall. Only those in denial of the build-up to this economic crisis would not have seen it coming. Those familiar with the socialist experiment of that era will recall the precious ration card which provided every family with more..

Sep 6 (ST) On Monday, by midnight gazette, the President invoked the provisions of the Public Security Ordinance, effectively placing the country under a state of emergency. The proclamation stated that this was being done to ensure the supply of essential food. Accordingly, in terms of Section 5, imposing Part II of the Ordinance took effect throughout Sri Lanka from thenceforth. The President stated in his proclamation, these provisions were being invoked since more..

Sep 6 (Island) Int'l Paralympics Committee’s decision to strip Malaysian shot putter, Ziyad Zolkefli, of his gold medal has triggered a social media firestorm. But the committee members have sought to defend their position. The reason they have adduced in a bid to justify their controversial decision is that Zolkefli arrived three minutes late for the F20 shot put event. Zolkefli was allowed to participate in the competition for athletes with intellectual disabilities, and disqualified after more..