Sep 16 (TM) Public Security Ministry is ready to take action against the former Prison Management and Prisoners Rehabilitation State Minister Lohan Ratwatte, who resigned yesterday in connection with recent incidents that took place at the A'pura and Welikada Prisons involving him, if a complaint is made. Public Security Minister, Sarath Weerasekera said that the Ministry, under the purview of which the Police Dept comes, more..

Sep 16 (CT) The SJB said it would be a disgrace to Sri Lanka if UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has to intervene to ensure the existence of democracy in the country. SJB MP Imthiaz Bakeer Markar said the Sri Lankans in Italy are pushing the international community to protest because of the loss of democracy and the loss of human rights of people in Sri Lanka. “Yesterday (15) was an important day, as the United Nations declared it as the Day of Democracy in 2007. more..

Sep 16 (TM) Approximately 20 patients are currently receiving treatment for the Long Covid-19 syndrome at the National Hospital of SL (NHSL) in Colombo, and are experiencing symptoms which are continuing past the 14 days infection period of the Covid-19 virus. “We are increasingly concerned about Long Covid-19 symptoms in patients now. Although a vast majority of patients recover after the 14 days period of the virus, currently about 20 patients are receiving treatment at the NHSL more..

Sep 16 (TM) The Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) Chairman Dr. Jatal Mannapperuma tendered his resignation from the post yesterday citing several reasons for his decision, but refused to specify any reasons to the media. “No one would resign without a reason. There were several reasons for my resignation. I don’t like to talk about them to the media though,” he explained when The Morning contacted him. more..

Sep 16 (PTI) SL may end its month-long lockdown soon if the high-powered committee meant to decide on COVID-19 related matters in the country recommends it during a meeting later this week, the panel's head General Shavendra Silva said on Wednesday. The island nation went into a lockdown on Aug 20 due to the sudden rise in coronavirus infections. Silva, who is also the SL Army chief, said that a recommendation on how to reopen the country under strict lockdown would be made more..

Sep 16 (TM) The Wildlife and Forest Conservation Ministry will be accepting the resignation letter of the National Zoological Gardens Dept Director General Ishini Wickremesinghe, according to Ministry Secretary Somarathne Vidanapathirana. “I have been forwarded a copy of Wickremesinghe’s resignation letter, which cites personal reasons for her resignation. We will be accepting that,” Vidanapathirana said. Wickremesinghe’s resignation followed a Court decision on 6 Sept which more..

Sep 16 (Island) State Minister of Prison Reform and Rehabilitation Lohan Ratwatte said that he had informed Prez Rajapaksa that he would step down immediately from his post as the State Minister of Prisons. However, he will continue to be the State Minister of Gem and Jewellery Industries. Minister Ratwatte said that had decided to step down after taking responsibility for the incidents that took place at the Welikada and Anuradhapura Prisons. more..

Sep 16 (Island) The United Nations (UN) office in Sri Lanka says it condemns any ill-treatment of prisoners. The UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy said that it is the duty of the State, as per the Mandela Rules, to protect the rights of prisoners. “In our work on prison reform and drug rehabilitation UN Sri Lanka works to strengthen capacities to uphold the rights of all those in custody and condemns any ill treatment of prisoners,” Hanaa Singer-Hamdy tweeted. more..

Sep 16 (EN) Several Sri Lankans including children who recovered from COVID-19 have been diagnosed with a rare disease known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS) which has been identified as a long COVID condition, an expert said. Prez of College of Pulmonologists Dr Geethal Perera said that some COVID-19 patients can develop MIS about two to six weeks after recovery from the virus. MIS is a condition that causes different body parts to become inflamed, more..

Sep 16 (FT) Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 detections exceeded 496,000 with the detection of 2,314 COVID-19 cases yesterday and the addition of over 3,000 delayed cases. The patients detected yesterday were from the New Year cluster. Health officials yesterday added 3,152 COVID-19 cases reported between 6 and 14 Sept to the total patient count after verification. This raises the country’s total COVID-19 patient count to 496,423. more..

Sep 16 (Island) Lankan born Kamzy Gunaratnam has been elected a member of the Norwegian Parliament. Jonas Gahr Støre’s Labour Party won the Norwegian parliamentary election. Gunaratnam was elected to Parliament from the Labour Party. Stoere, 61, is expected to replace Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg, 60, as tallies showed a decisive swing in favour of the centre-left. Gunaratnam was born in SL and came to Norway as a refugee when she was three years old. more..

Sep 16 (FT) Nivard Cabraal justified his request to elevate the post of Central Bank Governorship to the rank of a Cabinet Minister. “There is nothing wrong in giving that kind of recognition. The Cabinet ranking is not only for me. I will finish this and go, but others to follow will have that recognition,” Cabraal said after assuming duties as the 16th Governor of the Bank and his third term in the role. Noting that the Central Bank Governor controls the main features of the entire economy, more..

Sep 16 (FT) Economy in the second quarter had grown by 12.3% as against a 16.4% contraction a year ago, while full recovery is yet to be achieved. All 3 major economic activities recorded significant positive growth rates with Agriculture up 8.1%, the Industrial sector up 22.1% and Services by 7.5%. “These recorded high growth rates come back as a result of the contraction reported in these activities in 2nd quarter last year” more..

Sep 16 (EN) SL’s reappointed central bank governor will be giving leadership to address prevailing challenges including foreign exchange rates and lower reserves, President’s Secretary P B Jayasundera said. Former State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal assumed duty as the 16th central bank governor on Wednesday. He held the same post from 2006-2015 and led the central bank in transforming SL’s economy from a lower income to middle income economy in post-war growth. more..

Sep 16 (MFA) State Minister of Regional Co-operation Tharaka Balasuriya undertook an official visit to Russia from 5– 8 Sept 2021, to participate at the opening of the SL pavilion at the OTDYKH Leisure Fair and a Sri Lanka tourism promotion campaign in Moscow. SL’s participation at these events were organized by the SL Tourism Promotion Bureau targeting the winter season tourists from Russia. During the visit, the State Minister participated at the opening of the SL pavilion more..

Sep 16 (FT) New Governor of CB Nivard Cabraal yesterday assured that he would stabilise the economy amidst unprecedented times by guiding markets with prudent policies and being mindful of repercussions. Reducing foreign debt, increasing non-debt inflows and thereby increasing the foreign reserves, better managing the external account, stabilising the rupee, navigating the GDP growth upwards & enhancing infrastructure, more..

Sep 16 (MI) Lasith Malinga’s T20 dominance has been undisputed. He climbed highs none dared to see, took strides so massive that he swept through records with every run-up of his. His phenomenal career set the bar for a T20 bowler very high, and the numbers speak for themselves. And his 16-year-old career came to an end with a heartfelt tweet from the man himself. Malinga was the Captain and kingpin amongst Sri Lanka’s pantheon that lifted the 2014 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. more..

Sep 16 (CI) Kusal Perera may miss the T20 World Cup after sustaining a hamstring injury during Sri Lanka's third T20 International against South Africa. Allrounder Lahiru Madushanka, meanwhile, is definitely out of the World Cup, having fractured his collarbone while fielding in the same match. Perera was clearly struggling with his hamstring while running between the wickets during his innings, in which he top-scored for SL with 39. Dr. Daminda Attanayake, a team physician, said. more..

Sep 16 (CT) The Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) Sri Lankan duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera have left for the UAE, ahead of the upcoming second phase of IPL 2021. The duo will ply their trade for the ViratKohli-led side after being roped in as replacement players for the remainder of the season. The two cricketers were part of the recently concluded Sri Lanka-South Africa T20I series and hence will have to serve just a two-day quarantine upon their arrival in the UAE. more..

Sep 16 (FT) High Commissioner-designate of SL to India Milinda Moragoda paid a courtesy call on Foreign Secretary of India Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla yesterday at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. This was in keeping with the established practice of calling on the Foreign Secretary by newly arrived Heads of Diplomatic Missions in the Indian Capital. Foreign Secretary Shringla warmly welcomed the High Commissioner-designate of Sri Lanka and more..

Sep 16 (TM) SL national cricket selectors, headed by Pramodya Wickramasinghe, are to meet the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) hierarchy today (16) with a view to evaluating the progress of the national team following their defeat against South Africa in the recent limited-over series. Sri Lanka won the 3-match ODI series 2-1 against South Africa before being trounced by them 3-0 in the subsequent 3-match T20Is on Tuesday (14). more..

Sep 16 (CT) The UPFA convened yesterday, after a lapse of many years, under the leadership of ex-Prez and SLFP leader MP Maithripala Sirisena. The meeting which was conducted via Zoom technology had also been attended by MEP leader and Minister Dinesh Gunawardena as well as the leader of the SLMP SLPP MP Asanka Navaratne and other party leaders. At the commencement of the meeting former leader of the SLMC and CWC Arumugam Thondaman, ex-Minister Mangala more..

Sep 16 (Island) Lohan Ratwatte is reported to have resigned as the State Minister of Prison Management & Prisoners’ Rehabilitation over two separate incidents where he and a group of persons, described as his friends, forced themselves into two prisons and threatened some inmates and made a nuisance of themselves to the prison officers. He, however, will continue to function as the Sate Minister of Gem, Jewellery related Industries. (A gem of a minister!) It is a criminal offence more..

Sep 16 (FT) SL should carry out urgent and credible economic reforms to create a stable environment to emerge from one of the worst economic crises in its history triggered by unsustainable spending, debt and stifling controls, a panel of economists said. “There is no doubt that SL is facing a severe economic crisis. Macroeconomic stabilisation is the need of the hour,” said Advocata Institute Senior Research Fellow more..

Sep 16 (CT) “The Honuorable Minister of Finance, In July, 1948, the Govt of Ceylon transmitted a request to the Govt of the United States through the American Embassy at Colombo asking for the service of an official of the Federal Reserve System to advice upon the establishment of a Reserve Bank for Ceylon. As a result of subsequent negotiations you accepted on Nov 25th the offer of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to lend my services for an initial period of six months. more..

Sep 16 (DM) We begin today’s column with a plea to those who have still not obtained their vaccines to visit one of the vaccination centres and get their jabs as soon as possible. It is one of the most important ways of safeguarding themselves and those they come in contact with. In the wake of the vaccination programme launched for those between 29 and 30 years of age, media reports quoted CMC’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ruwan Vijayamuni as saying that there is a lack of enthusiasm among more..

Sep 16 (GV) As the UNHRC meets for its 48th session, the dire situation in Sri Lanka is under int'l scrutiny. Amidst ongoing concerns, work has begun on holding the SL state accountable, according to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on 13 September. The UN Core Group on Sri Lanka consisting of the United Kingdom, Canada, Malawi, Germany, North Macedonia and Montenegro also flagged grave and persisting problems, while Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris more..

Sep 16 (TM) The story that Lohan Ratwatte allegedly stormed into the Welikada and Anuradhapura Prisons while drunk and threatened certain suspects with a firearm at the Anuradhapura Prison spread like wildfire, becoming the most recent example of how politicians abuse their powers not only to entertain themselves, but to interfere with public officials’ duties. Ratwatte remains the State Minister of Gem and Jewellery-Related Industries, even though he decided more..

Sep 16 (AI) Responding to reports that SL’s State Minister Lohan Ratwatte, forcibly entered a state prison in Anuradhapura on 12 Sept and held Tamil prison inmates incarcerated under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) at gunpoint and threatened to kill them, Yamini Mishra, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director said: “These dumbfounding reports go to show that our ongoing concerns regarding SL’s treatment more..

Sep 16 (DM) In a way, it is a stroke of irony that His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, had to end up seeking justice from the international community, the UN affiliated western establishment in particular, with regard to the Easter Sunday bombings. It was the very same Cardinal, who in his homily at the Annual Feast of the St. Matthew’s Church, Ekala in Sept 2018, denounced those western countries and the Human rights regime they represented calling it a secular religion. more..

Sep 16 (DM) As the SL Govt contends with urgent economic and public health crises, the specter of the 48th session of the UNHRC hangs over it. Recent sessions have emphasized SL’s short-comings in the context of previous commitments. A Jan 2021 UN report “warns that the failure of SL to address past violations has significantly heightened the risk of human rights violations being repeated. It highlights worrying trends over the past year, such as deepening impunity, militarization more..

Sep 16 (CT) General Secretary of BBS Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera says he has already warned Prez Rajapaksa of the possibility of terror attacks that could be launched in the country at any given moment by Islamic extremists based here, similar to the Easter Sunday blasts of 2019. He said having sent two letters addressed to the President on 4 and 9 Sept, he had warned of the serious threat posed to more..

Sep 16 (CT) It was evident since the death of D.S. Senanayake, rituals of democracy in Sri Lanka have been one of the biggest scams on earth. The result of this hideous act carried out by the present and past politicians is evident through the two major violent uprisings carried-out by Sinhalese and Tamil youths of the country. The deceptive politicians of every colour survived the wrath of these young people due to the intervention of the impartial heroic armed forces of the country. more..

Sep 16 (Island) The reason for the SLFP leaders to celebrate its 70th birth Anniversary, I believe was promoted by a desire to make a comeback out of the depths to which it has sunk in recent times. Despite the desire to come back, has it the vitality, the elan left to do so? This is a question to be asked not only by the SLFPers themselves, but by the vast majority that happens to be the children of ’56 and also by all those who are interested in the well- being of the country-the nation. more..