Jan 27 (AD) On the instructions of Prez Rajapaksa yesterday (25), SL Embassy in Beijing today (26), submitted an application to land a Sri Lankan Airlines aircraft in Wuhan city airport to airlift 32 SL students including their family members. Embassy is closely following up with the Foreign Ministry of China and Foreign Affairs Office of the Wuhan Province to expedite the process of obtaining clearance for the landing of the aircraft, more..

Jan 27 (DM) While claiming that there was no need to panic over the Corona Virus, the Health Ministry has advised the general public to wear face masks as a safety measure. Meanwhile, CMC Chief Medical Officer Dr Ruwan Wijayamuni also requested all who come to Colombo to wear face masks as a precautionary measure. He advised to adhere to this method when entering public places, hotels and restaurants in the Colombo city and also to wear a mask to hotel employees and staff. more..

Jan 27 (FT) President uses powers under Article 44 (2) of Constitution to delegate Ministry and non-Cabinet functions Confusion remains as to hold Defence portfolio as 19A bars President from holding ministerial portfolios Minister of State for Defense Chamal Rajapaksa has been assigned the Dept of Immigration and Emigration, one out of the 31 state institutions that come under the purview of Ministry of Defence, by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. State Minister was assigned more..

Jan 27 (Island) Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa, yesterday promised a party where everybody would have a say and its leader could be expelled if he or she was at fault. Premadasa, speaking at a meeting consisting of MPs, LC members, PC members and supporters, at the Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre, Colombo, said he was a seasoned politician and would contest parliamentary election under a new alliance more..

Jan 27 (Island) Cabinet decision to approve the construction of a coal power plant and two LNG plants ran counter to Prez Rajapaksa’s promise to meet 80% of SL’s energy needs through renewable sources by 2030, Secretary of Solar Industries Association (SIA), Lakmal Fernando said. Last week, Cabinet approved the construction of a 600 megawatt extension of Norochcholai Coal Power complex, an LNG plant with a capacity of 300 Megawatt as a joint venture with CEB more..

Jan 27 (FT) Tests conducted on four people with suspected symptoms of the coronavirus infection have come back negative, the Government said. The National Medical Research Institute said the tests have confirmed the four people tested for suspected symptoms of coronavirus were not infected by it. Four individuals, including a Sri Lankan medical student who had returned from Wuhan, & 2 Chinese tourists and a Chinese child with suspected symptoms of coronavirus, more..

Jan 27 (TM) Govt is likely to renegotiate the Japanese-funded Fort-Malabe Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project in an effort to lower the contracted price, LRT Deputy Project Manager P. Dissanayake said. He said the Transport Ministry was looking at the possibility of amending the loan conditions to enable a competitive bidding process instead of permitting only Japanese companies to bid for the project. more..

Jan 27 (DM) The political party leaders have decided to have a two-day debate on February 18 and 19 on the forensic audit report regarding the CB bond scam. JVP leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake requested Speaker Karu Jayasuriya last Tuesday to have a debate this month. However, the Speaker had informed that a decision would be taken following a discussion with the leaders of the political parties in Parliament. The forensic audit report was handed over to the Speaker by CB recently. more..

Jan 27 (AD) The report of the special inquiry carried out on the bus accident which took place in Madolsima, Passara on January 06 has determined that lack of proper maintenance and negligent vehicle servicing. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera had instructed Chairman of the SLTB Kingsley Ranawaka to make a special inquiry into the accident which killed 09 passengers and critically injured 40 others. The report containing the reasons for the accident and recommendations, more..

Jan 27 (HCI) On the eve of the 71st Republic Day of India, Govt of India has decided to confer Padma Shri Awards on Deshabandu Dr. Vajira Chitrasena and Late Prof. Indra Dassanayake, two women from Sri Lanka for their pioneering contributions in their individual fields of work and for strengthening India-SL ties. Padma Shri Awards are one of the highest civilian awards in India, and are conferred on the recommendations more..

Jan 27 (FT) While there are 70 registered political parties in the country, in a letter addressed to the Commission PAFFREL stated that only half of these contest at elections. In addition to this, the organisation stated that political parties formed for personal or business gains should be discouraged. In the letter, PAFFREL has presented seven areas that should be given consideration when registering political parties, including discouraging applications for political parties more..

Jan 27 (Island) SLPP had come into power by instilling fear in the Sinhala Buddhists and Catholics as regards the Easter Sunday attacks and promising to probe the bond scams, JHU General Secretary Champika Ranakawa said. Speaking at an event in Colombo yesterday where UNP Deputy Leader met all UNP local govt members, Ranawaka challenged the govt to complete bond scam investigations and to take action against suicide bomber Zahran’s Godfather. more..

Jan 27 (FT) Prez Rajapaksa has appointed a 12-member high-powered Task Force for Poverty Eradication and Livelihood Development with wide powers and a year-long mandate to ensure that the Govt programs to uplift the lives of low-income families is a successfully executed. The Committee will be headed by Retired Dy Secretary to the Treasury S.B. Divarathne and consists of academics, medical professionals more..

Jan 27 (FT) The plantation companies are expected to submit their alternative proposal for consideration by the Govt, which has announced a wage hike for estate workers from 1 March. The alternative model will be a productivity-based wage system through which, if accepted, workers could enjoy a higher pay that the Govt has proposed. A fortnight ago Prez, fulfilling an election promise, said estate workers’ daily wage will be increased by Rs. 145, or 17%, to Rs. 1,000 in March from Rs. 855 at present. more..

Jan 27 (HCI) To commemorate India´s 71st Republic Day a special cultural concert Divine Quartet featuring legendary maestros from India, Grammy winner Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Grammy nominated Pandit Subhen Chatterjee enthralled the music lovers of Colombo at BMICH on January 25. The cultural evening was presented by High Commission of India, Colombo. More than 1500 guests attended the cultural event where the legendary Mohan Veena maestro more..

Jan 27 (Island) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells, said the US and SL have compelling shared interests that include countering violent extremism, strengthening maritime security, preventing narcotics smuggling, promoting investment and economic growth as part of a free and open Indo-Pacific. During a briefing at the US Department of State on her recent trip to more..

Jan 27 (AD) A 22-member National Action Committee has been set up by the Ministry of Health to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Sri Lanka. This committee was initiated under the instructions of Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Accordingly, the Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi has appointed a committee comprising of the following, to implement health measures and future programs to prevent the Coronavirus from spreading in SL: 1. Rear Admiral Jayanath Colombage, more..

Jan 27 (FT) The Govt has decided not to proceed with a Rs. 250 million SriLankan Airlines flight kitchen expansion project, a top Minister confirmed. The new strategy aims to maximise existing capacity and improve productivity to be competitive pricewise. “We have decided not to go ahead with the SriLankan Airlines Catering flight kitchen expansion after much observations from employees and experts in the field,” Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga told the Daily FT. more..

Jan 27 (Island) Constitutional Council has decided to summon Attorney General (AG) Dappula de Livera to question him on the instructions he has issued to the Police to arrest Judge Gihan Pilapitiya. The CC, which met, on Friday, had decided that Speaker Karu Jayasuriya should summon the AG to inquire into the matter, the Communications Division of Parliament said. "Attorney General Dappula de Livera’s more..

Jan 27 (FT) Top in-house professional Ranjith Rubasinghe has been appointed to the Board of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) as a Director along with three others – Lalith Seneviratne, Mohan Weerakoon PC, and A.K. Seneviratne. Rubasinghe and Seneviratne are Non-Independent Non-Executive Directors, and the other two as Independent Non-Executive Directors. Earlier on, tea industry veteran Rohan Fernando was appointed as Chairman of SLT. Rubasinghe has been with SLC for 18 yrs more..

Jan 27 (EN) Secretary to Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will visit Qatar for talks on clean energy, following visit by the minister energy minister of the Gulf State Saad Sherida Al Kaabi to the Indian Ocean island. Qatar is a top global producer and exporter for liquefied natural gas. President nominated his Secretary P B Jayasundara as his representative to visit Qatar for energy talks following an invitation by the visiting minister the President’s office said. more..

Jan 27 (DM) No one involved in the bond scam would be penalised despite the disclosures in the forensic audit report as Perpetual Treasuries Chief Arjun Aloysius and former CB Governor Arjuna Mahendran were good friends of seniors of the main parties, MP Hirunika Premachandra said today. Ms Premachandra told a press conference that no one involved in the bond scam would be penalised as more..

Jan 27 (CI) For a side playing their first Test in 14 months, Zimbabwe's defiance was encouraging. Ultimately, however, it was fruitless. They batted 148 overs in the first innings, and 92 overs in the second, but where most batsmen's defence was in order on a docile Harare surface, they were less adept at scoring runs. You could forgive a scoring rate of 2.41 as they made 358 in the first innings. But in the second dig, where run-scoring was a legitimate means of making SL work harder for victory more..

Jan 27 (ENS) In a shocking case, a 50-year-old man murdered his sister under the influence of alcohol. R Tharageshwari, a SL native, was staying at a rented house in Valasarvakkam with her mother and son. She worked at a photo studio. “Her brother Guha Dasan, who lives in SL, had come to Chennai a few days ago. He was in India to undertake a pilgrimage to Sabarimalai. On Friday, he returned from the temple and consumed alcohol. She hid the alcohol bottle as he started picking up a fight with her more..

Jan 27 (Island) Former Governor of the Central Bank of SL, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, has issued the following statement in response to the Forensic Audit report bond issuances: "In 2015, I went before the DEW Gunasekera COPE Committee and provided details about my relatives in the Banking Sector. I had also provided a clear explanation about my relatives in the banking sector, through a media statement, in 2007, more..

Jan 27 (Island) In a hard-hitting editorial, The Island, on 22nd Jan, following a decision taken by the Malaysian government to send back 150 containers of plastic waste to 13 countries, including Sri Lanka, condemned the dumping of the garbage in the developing countries, since China banned the import of plastic waste in 2018. Of the 150 containers, 43 to France, 42 to the UK, 17 to the USA, 11 to Canada, 10 to Spain and the rest to Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Portugal, China, Bangladesh. more..

Jan 27 (CT) Daya Gamage worked at the American Embassy in Colombo, as the Sole Foreign Service National and as a Political Specialist with Dr. Robert Boggs, who in recent times served as Professor of South Asian Studies at the Near East South Asia Centre for Strategic Studies at US National Defence University, from 1989 to 1993. Dr. Boggs was the Foreign Service Political Counsellor while Daya Gamage was the Foreign Service National Political Specialist. more..

Jan 27 (Island) The 19th Amendment was introduced to rid the police, etc., of political interference, but nothing of the sort happened. The Constitutional Council (CC) was set up to ensure the independence of the police among other state institutions, but it too served as a rubber stamp for the yahapalana govt. It was packed with members loyal to the UNP-led administration. IGP Pujith Jayasundera, currently on compulsory leave and in remand custody, has told the PCoI probing more..

Jan 27 (SO) Picking the most valuable player in a cricket tournament may be a tad easier than picking the most effective talent in a political entity, particularly a relatively new one. Or a new governing coalition. But if we put the idea to a test, would there be general agreement on the most valuable player on the side of the new SLPP led political forces? This writer remembers penning an opinion piece around the beginning of the second Mahinda Rajapaksa tenure as President, more..

Jan 27 (CT) They were childhood mates from pre-school and thereon and lived in the same village in Badanagoda rural Beruwala. The 28-year-old student, Rosani Kanchana was on the home stretch in her medical studies and was set to pass out as a doctor of Medicine within the next three months. If she had successfully gone beyond the post in her medical endeavours within the next few weeks, 28-year-old Kanchani would more..

Jan 27 (ST) Notwithstanding understandable wrath that Sri Lankans may feel over political betrayals of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe coalition during 2015-2019, the way forward does not lie in giving sweeping majorities to any political force in the upcoming General Elections. True, the scorching fury of good governance being replaced by no-governance to the extent that Islamist jihadists were emboldened to strike at hotels and churches on Easter Sunday leaving death and destruction more..

Jan 27 (ST) If the croaking of frogs signal imminent rain in the offing, then the occasional rumble of CEB officials followed by attending claps of thunder boomed as warnings by their heavily tutored and house trained minister portend the call for the indispensable need for another coal plant or two to avert power cuts and prevent the age of darkness from settling on the land. Last month when a deluge of rain fell on the land just before the advent of Christmas, an engineer at the CEB brought more..

Jan 27 (ST) Ranjan Ramanayake tapes saga continues to be the hot topic on people’s lips, no matter what other issues exist in the country. The scandal is such that even those who have no connection to it cannot escape its overarching influence. Journalists themselves are starting to find this out the hard way when they try to get stories. Not only their close contacts, but even Govt officials and others who journalists need to speak to more..

Jan 27 (CT) The political phone call syndrome is fast leading to a hunt culture that seeks to sweep into hiding the reality of politics and its manipulation of law and order in the SL democracy. The Ranjan Ramanayake situation, arising from the questionable exposure of telephone call recordings, raises many questions on the trend of democracy today, and also in the past, especially in the past four plus decades, in the country that was Asia’s first to vote in a democratic govt in the late 1930s. more..

Jan 26 (CT) Any critical assessment of Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa must take into consideration the salient characteristics that make him stand out from the run-of-the-mill politicians who had occupied the peaks of power. The first notable characteristic is that he is the first head of state to come from the SL diaspora. Initially it was a disadvantage tangled in legalities of citizenship. Later it smoothened out and has been an invaluable asset to him. His existential experiences as an expat in America more..