Oct 26 (CI) Five foreign players, including Andre Russell, Faf du Plessis and David Miller have withdrawn from the Lanka Premier League (LPL) less than a week after they were drafted into franchise teams. Miller, du Plessis and Dawid Malan have become unavailable because of the limited-overs series between South Africa and England, set to begin on November 27. Russell, meanwhile, has pulled out due to injury, more..

Oct 26 (EN) Ministry of Health issued details of high-risk areas for COVID-19 transmission in the country after analysing the Minuwangoda and Peliyagoda clusters, with the sub clusters emerging in the country in the past weeks. Colombo District: Areas under Colombo Municipal Council, Nugegoda, Battaramulla, Kollannava, Kahathuduwa , Moratuwa, Kaduwela. Gampaha District: Ragama, Minuwangoda, Wattala, Divulpitiya , Jaela, Ekala, Katana, Seeduwa, Gampaha, Attanagala, more..

Oct 26 (AD) Sri Lanka has reached yet another grim coronavirus milestone as the total number of infections reported from the country exceeded the 8,000th mark. With the recent detection of 280 COVID-19 cases, the total number of cases recorded in Sri Lanka is at 8,152. Among them, 4,203 are active cases and are receiving medical care at selected hospitals across the island. Meanwhile, the Minuwangoda and Peliyagoda clusters have grown to 4,678 cases. more..

Oct 26 (CT) According to telephone data reports, a 159-second telephone conversation had taken place between former President Maithripala Sirisena and then Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena at 7:59 a.m. on 21 April 2019, before the Easter Sunday bombings. Also, another telephone conversation had taken place between the two on 20 April 2019 at 6:16 p.m. more..

Oct 26 (CT) Chairman of the PCoI on Political Victimisation, former SC Judge Upali Abeyratne, said it has been observed that former IGP N.K. Illangakoon, who was named a respondent in the complaint lodged with the Commission by Minister Udaya Gammanpila, is ignoring notices issued by the Commission and as a result, it has been decided to name him as a person who is avoiding the Commission. In relation to the complaint lodged by Minister Udaya Gammanpila with more..

Oct 26 (CT) Chairman of PCoI on Political Victimisation, former SC Judge, Justice Upali Abeyratne, warned lawyer Shiral Laktilleke, who represented respondent Champika Ranawaka and argued that the Commission did not have the authority to summon him, stating that Commission has the authority to do so and to avoid arguing on that point. Ranawaka’s lawyer, Laktilleke pointed out to the Commission that Minister Udaya Gammanpila was a representative of the Legislature more..

Oct 26 (ST) The country’s major fish markets closed down as the potential threat of the COVID-19 virus spreading through its workers, customers and associates increased, leaving behind an unsold stock of more than half a million kilograms of fish, officials said. Export markets also were hit as a result after most suppliers from various parts of the county including the north and east also stopped sending supplies to Colombo from Friday. more..

Oct 26 (FT) The world’s first Sri Lanka-featured mall has been opened in Kiev, Ukraine, providing unrivalled Ceylon tea shopping facilities and experience. The initiative is following discussions between Sri Lanka Tea Board and Fozzy Group, one of the largest trade industrial groups in Ukraine and one of the leading Ukrainian retailers, with over 500 outlets. Slipo was established in 1998 and the Fozzy Group sells food and household products via its Silpo supermarkets chain and Le Silpo. more..

Oct 26 (EN) The Singapore unit of energy and commodities trader Vitol has won a long-term contract to supply Sri Lanka’s govt-run oil refiner and retailer with petrol and diesel, the state information office said. The Cabinet of ministers this week decided to award Vitol Asia Pte Ltd. the deal to supply the island’s government diesel and petrol for the next eight months from 15 July 2019 till 14 March 2020, a statement said. The unit of Vitol, the world’s largest independent oil trader, more..

Oct 26 (FT) The SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has made the tourism investment process easy by streamlining the project approval process and the facilitation services provided by the Investor Relations Unit (IRU) – the unit established within SLTDA as the centralised facilitation arm for tourism investments in the country. The key objective of this effort is to provide a single point of contact for the investors more..

Oct 26 (AD) Kelani Right-Bank (KRB) Water Treatment Plant is the joint-largest in the Country, and is expected to benefit more than 1.7 million people in industrial zones and fast-growing suburbs of Northern Colombo & Gampaha. It is a significant milestone in the Govt’s efforts to enhance access to safe drinking water for all citizens, while preparing to meet future demands of a rapidly developing country. Newly constructed water treatment plant will be ceremoniously opened in Nov 2020, more..

Oct 26 (Island) Minister of Plantation Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said on Friday (23) that Parliament should commend all those doing their utmost to control the COVID-19 epidemic in the country. Participating in the adjournment debate on the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister said: “It’s the people’s responsibility to adopt a healthy lifestyle while the govt, led by the President takes the responsibility of protecting their lives. “To date, 427,000 PCR tests have been conducted in the country. more..

Oct 26 (AD) There is a risk of a crisis in the country if steps are not taken to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus under a new methodology, says the GMOA. GMOA Editor Dr. Haritha Aluthge said that SL is now on the verge of a community spread. “Nearly 300 new cases were identified yesterday, and the majority among them have been identified from the general society. If SL reaches a community spread, there will be congestion more..

Oct 26 (Island) Police investigations have revealed that drug baron Madush Lakshitha, alias Makandure Madush had purchased a 3-star hotel in Dubai for Rs. 40,000 million he had earned from dealing in drugs. Madush was shot dead allegedly in a crossfire between the Police and other suspected underworld figures at the Maligawatte Housing Complex last week. Investigations into Madush’s financial transactions have revealed that he owned a 60-room luxury hotel complete with more..

Oct 26 (Island) SLT (Sri Lanka Telecom) has once again put their customers first. With the launch of the sltgo Wi-Fi solution, SLT broadband customers and overall internet consumers of Sri Lanka will be able to enjoy Wi-Fi connectivity on the go via community Wi-Fi networks. This connectivity will extend to over 23 million Wi-Fi hotspot connections in over 25 countries around the world. Community Wi-Fi networks offer wireless network access to visitors and nearby users more..

Oct 26 (EN) Tamil Opposition MPs signed a petition to the President to pardon and release convicted politician Duminda Silva on humanitarian grounds MP Mano Ganesan said. Silva, who was sentenced to death five years ago for the murder of fellow politician Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, has exhausted all appeal processes. Ganesan and the five MPs from the TPA, part of the group headed by the SJB, joined all MPs from ruling SLPP more..

Oct 26 (Island) The govt would go ahead with the fourth power plant at the Norochcholai coal power complex, as soon as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed, CEB Chairman Vijitha Herath said. He that the Cabinet had already endorsed the plant’s fourth unit although the Attorney General’s Dept and the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) were still studying the proposal. The EIA is be conducted by the CEA following a request from the CEB. more..

Oct 26 (AD) The Z-score cutoff marks of the 2019 G.C.E. A/L Examination have been released online, the Chairman of the UGC Senior Prof. Sampath Amarathunga said. He stated that the minimum Z-scores for selection to courses of study of universities in respect of each district and detailed information of course selection based on the A/L Exam in 2019 can be accessed through the website- www.ugc.ac.lk The release of the cut-off marks was repeatedly delayed due to COVID-19 more..

Oct 26 (AD) Moving forward Sri Lanka intends to maintain a neutral foreign policy while remaining a non-aligned country, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colambage said. He pointed out that Sri Lanka is in the center of the spheres of influence of major players in the world such as USA, India, China, Japan, Australia, and the European Union and that their focus of attention is crisscrossed on SL. more..

Oct 26 (EN) SL is to use Rapid Antigen testing to detect COVID-19 patients as the number of people infected with the virus continues to increase exponentially a member of the country’s National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) said. Member of NMRA Dr Ananda Wijewickrema said that the Authority has given approval last Friday to order the new Rapid Antigen testing kits which were approved by the WHO to identify COVID patients. SL is expected to receive 20,000 test kits more..

Oct 26 (FT) Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, will provide scheduled services to SL, Kuwait, and Bahrain, effective 25 October, and increase frequency to destinations in Oman. The airline will operate two weekly flights each to Colombo, Kuwait and Bahrain. Earlier this month, Oman Air resumed services to Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi, and Islamabad and Lahore. Oman Air will also increase flight frequency to cities, including Salalah, with three daily round-trip flights; and more..

Oct 26 (AD) Ten Special Task Force (STF) personnel are reported to have contracted the COVID-19 virus. Reportedly, they had recently visited the Peliyagoda Fish Market where a COVID-19 outbreak was detected. They had been identified as infected while undergoing quarantine at quarantine centers. The 10 officers reportedly serve attached to the Kelaniya, Kalubowila, and Rajagiriya camps of the STF. more..

Oct 26 (AD) Parliament will remain closed for business today and tomorrow, Deputy Secretary-General of Parliament Neil Iddawala announced. As the Parliament premises will be disinfected during these two days, all staff have been instructed not to report for duty. While operations will resume from Wednesday (28), the staff needs to report for duty only if informed by the relevant department heads, Iddawala added. A Sub-Inspector of Parliamentary Special Intelligence Unit more..

Oct 26 (CT) From November, sand will be transported by train, which will enable the public to buy quality sand at lesser prices, Minister Gamini Lokuge, said. A tipper load of sand is about Rs 30,000 and when sand is transported by train, the price of a tipper load of sand can be reduced by about Rs 5,000, Minister pointed out. Sand will be transported from Punanai in Batticaloa to Colombo from 1 Nov and a trial run was done on 24 Oct, which he said proved to be very successful. more..

Oct 26 (FT) Institute of Policy Studies or IPS is famous for presenting a comprehensive analysis of a hot theme in its annual State of the Economy or SOE reports. Last year, it was on how SL should prepare itself for the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0. The year before, it was on Climate Change, Food Security and Disaster Risk Management. This year, it is on the hottest issue faced by Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 26 (DM) Let us start respecting the virus at least now. Boastful statements and media circuses will not get rid of it. No country has been spared. Bigger and more powerful countries than us have been brought to their knees by it. The countries and States that were held as lighthouses of COVID-19 control had to eat humble-pie within months. Swift and decisive action taken by the President, the Armed Forces, the Public Health and Hospital staff from March to June protected us. more..

Oct 26 (Island) The four SLMC MPs who voted in favour of the ‘20A’, had been asked to explain their position to the High Command of the party, SLMC Secretary, Nizam Kariapper said on Saturday. “Consequent to the SJB Parliamentary group meeting, the leader of the SLMC Rauff Hakeem, summoned its parliamentary group for a meeting at his residence Friday evening. After a lengthy discussion on the matters relating to vote on ‘20A’, it was decided that the SLMC MPs, more..

Oct 26 (FT) The short-notice Colombo visit of a high-level Chinese delegation, to be followed now by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s this month-end should be of interest as much to the Indian strategic community as to their counterparts in Sri Lanka. The question is that if the Chinese visit was a reaction to the recent Quad Ministerial at Tokyo, and the delayed one by Pompeo, likewise, has been influenced by the latter. “Negotiations are underway for a ¥10 billion (Renminbi) currency-swap more..

Oct 26 (FT) Let me make an unequivocal statement: SL, by and large, is clearly winning in its aim to contain and manage COVID-19, and our results are among the best in the world, the new cluster is utterly irrelevant to that assessment. As the mortality needle has only moved by two additional people as of this writing, and we will be two weeks past the so-called surges of the first 10 days of October by this current weekend, and if indeed the mortality needle doesn’t move further beyond that, more..

Oct 26 (FT) The rise in COVID-positive cases forced the Govt yesterday to impose indefinite quarantine curfew in business hubs Fort and Pettah among a few other new areas, triggering fresh fears of a major hit to economic activities. Adding Pettah, Fort, Borella and Welikada expanded the quarantine curfew to 64 Police jurisdictions by yesterday, including the Gampaha Dist where most of Export Processing Zones more..

Oct 26 (Island) The US even before sending its State Secretary Mike Pompeo to Sri Lanka has issued a veiled threat that Sri Lanka had to decide with what foreign powers it should align itself, says the JVP, demanding the Rajapaksa govt to explain its stance on US bullying. JVP National Organiser Bimal Ratnayake addressing the media at the party headquarters in Pelawatte, said the US State Department had commenced cranking up pressure on Sri Lanka days ahead of Pompeo’s visit. more..

Oct 26 (AD) Another person infected with Covid-19 died today, bringing the total number of deaths reported in Sri Lanka to 16, says the Director General of Health Services. The deceased was identified as a 70-year-old male from Colombo 02 area. He was admitted to the Colombo National Hospital on the 23rd of Oct to be treated for blood infection. Due to complications, he had been moved to the ICU of the hospital, where he was under medical until he passed away this morning. more..

Oct 26 (CT) GMOA said although there was no necessity to overreact with regard to the prevailing COVID-19 situation, there was an urgent need to ensure timely action in locking down the identified red zones, where there were large pockets of patients. GMOA Secretary, Dr. Senal Fernando, said even according to the exit strategy the Union had submitted in April this year, identifying procedures that needed to be followed when more..

Oct 26 (EN) Sri Lanka’s indigenous Veddah tribe has halted domestic tourists from visiting their village as the latest Coronavirus outbreak spread across the country infecting over 4,000 persons and claiming at least two lives. “Rutter podge-jer wutterthanaymer may ledder podge-jer mung-gutch-cher vellar,” Vedda leader Uriwarige Wanniela Attho told reporters in footage broadcast over Sri Lanka’s privately-run Swarnavahini Television, referring to the spread of Covid-19. more..

Oct 26 (NR) The Minuwangoda-Peliyagoda cluster has increased to 4,398 following the detection of 348 cases yesterday. Three arrivals, two Filipino nationals and a returnee from the UAE, also tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. Accordingly, the number of coronavirus cases confirmed in the country since January has risen to 7,872. Ministry of Health confirmed that 4,054 COVID-19 patients are currently receiving treatment at 30 medical facilities across the country. more..