May 1 (AD) A special discussion between the Election Commission and the representatives of the political parties that have submitted nominations for the General Election has been scheduled for tomorrow (02). A spokesperson of the Commission stated that the meeting will take place at 11.15 am at the Elections Secretariat. The Commission has reportedly made a request to send one representative from each political party taking into account the prevailing health risks. more..

May 1 (AD) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, through his Secretary, responded yesterday to the letter sent to him by former MP Mangala Samaraweera on April 28. This response that was sent with Secretary to the President P. B. Jayasundera’s signature noted that the letter of Mr. Samaraweera has been compiled based on a number of misinformation. Prez noted that it is a matter of great regret to receive such a letter. more..

May 1 (Island) The clearance of cars at the Hambantota Port is slow, and the port is concerned that they would not meet the April 30th deadline for clearing imported vehicles. "No vehicles were cleared over the weekend, and the number cleared on Monday was 203 while port dues have been paid for 425 chassis, which we hope would leave the port soon. We cannot understand why they are not clearing the vehicles on time, as the demurrage waiver period is ending soon," more..

May 1 (DM) Commenting on Minister Bandula Gunawardana's remarks that elections have been held even when people died from dengue, star Cricketer Kumar Sangakkara asked, "Not the most enlightened comment, is it?" At the Cabinet press briefing yesterday, Minister Gunawardana said the elections were held during the previous govts times when people were dying from dengue. He said this in response to a question asked on holding the general election during COVID-19 pandemic. more..

May 1 (EN) Many of the ex-MPs from the Opposition invited by PM Mahinda Rajapaksa to meet at Temple Trees on Monday are unlikely to attend. The JVP has already announced that it will not attend and the Sajith Premadasa-led Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) is also very unlikely to make it to the meeting, a source at the alliance told EconomyNext. The SJB had called a party leaders meeting Friday night to make a final more..

May 1 (EN) SL is validating all PCR tests imported and stocks imported from China has been checked before use and official said. “We validate all kits before use,” Dr. Anil Jasinghe said. “The stock sent by JackMa (Chinese billionaire) had no problem.” JackMa, the owner of Alibaba had gifted testing material to a number of Asian countries hit by the virus from China. Jasinghe said China was a top supplier of testing material since it was the country where the disease originated. more..

May 1 (AD) Ministry of Education has issued a set of guidelines to the Provincial Directors of Education on reopening schools following the mitigation of COVID-19 outbreak. Accordingly, ministry has given instructions to disinfect all schools before reopening. More disinfection operations will be carried out under several phases after schools are reopened. However, it was noted that schools will not be reopened for all grades and that studies will be resumed for students of grade 10 and above, more..

May 1 (AD) Ministry of Health has issued a set of guidelines to be followed by the public and the Buddhist clergy when celebrating the Vesak Festival this year. The instructions have been issued in order to safeguard the people of the country from the COVID-19 epidemic. The press release states that it is suitable to engage in Amisa and Prathipaththi Puja centered around home as much as possible while maintaining social more..

May 1 (FT) UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, issuing a statement to mark May Day, called for comprehensive solutions on COVID-19 recovery from the Govt and a united effort by all Sri Lankans to mitigate the virus impact, which he warned will last for at least a year. He stressed that policymakers and the public should understand that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be long-term, and that both int'l and domestic strategies are necessary to navigate evolving more..

May 1 (EN) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday in his May Day message said it was time for SL to focus on a “unique” economic policy and self-sufficient economy, as the COVID-19 crisis has undermined the viability of the open economic system. He also said the Govt was committed to the welfare of millions of workers, including migrant workers, despite the economic upheaval caused by the virus. He also praised frontline workers and others providing essential services for their more..

May 1 (Island) The senior management of the CEB has decided to install three (35MWX3) new gas turbines at the Kelanitissa power plant to save more than Rs. 4 billion annually. The CEB seeks funding for the Rs. 16 billion project. A unit of electricity to be generated by the new gas turbines will be less than Rs. 25 while a unit of electricity produced by the existing one costs as much as Rs. 39. As part of the long-term more..

May 1 (EN) UNP has urged the govt to provide essential services staff and delivery staff with protective equipment. Calling on the govt to assist essential workers in carrying out their duties effectively and safely, the UNP said in a statement: “These individuals are risking their lives to ensure we stay home, the govt has the responsibility to ensure their lives are also protected.” Noting with concern the high number of confirmed COVI-19 cases in the armed forces, more..

May 1 (EN) Colombo Stock Exchange will have three circuit breakers during a sharp falls in the market and stop trading for the rest of the day when it falls 10%, the island’s Securities and Exchange Commission said. The first 30 minute trading halt (circuit breaker) will kick it when the S&P SL20 index falls 5% and the second will kick it if the market falls by another 2.5% to 7.5%. If the index falls by another 2.5% to 10%, trading will end and the market will be closed for the day. more..

May 1 (Island) The authorities in Tamil Nadu have declared the SL Tamil refugee camp in Koodal Nagar in Madurai a containment zone after a 36-year-old driver from the camp tested positive for the novel coronavirus (Covid-19). A senior official from the Health Department of the Madurai Corporation said that they had tested all the contacts of the patient, including relatives and employers. He added that they immediately began asking more..

May 1 (TM) Committing towards the ongoing national efforts to combat COVID-19, Sunshine Healthcare Lanka Ltd—a fully-owned subsidiary of the diversified conglomerate Sunshine Holdings PLC—donated LabGun Covid-19 PCR test kits to Ministry of Health by the staff of Sunshine Healthcare. LabGun COVID-19 new PCR test kits, which are worth Rs. 4.8 million, will further strengthen SL’s testing capacity and will be useful in the country’s efforts in dealing with more..

May 1 (DM) Three suspects have been arrested with 1 kg of heroin during a raid in Welipenna early this morning, police said. They said the Kalutara Division Unsolved Crimes Unit officers initially arrested two suspects with 700 grams of heroin while being transported in a motor car at Madawala in Welipenna. After questioning the suspects, the police raided a house which they were residing on a rental basis. During the search of the house, police arrested a suspect and recovered another more..

May 1 (AD) SL Police today announced that the period during which the leave of all police officers will be cancelled has been extended until May 15, 2020. DIG Ajith Rohana stated that initially the leave of all police officers had been cancelled until April 30 and that now a decision has been taken to extend this further until May 15. He stated this decision was taken due to the fact that the police must provide maximum support to more..

May 1 (TM) The entertainment and event industry is no stranger to last-minute changes and unforeseen circumstances. These usually range from guest cancellations to unexpectedly long registration lines and technical issues. However, these issues pale in comparison to the current pandemic that has upended the $ 1.5 trillion global industry, and absolutely nothing could have prepared them for it. Around the world, everything from private weddings and parties to international conventions and more..

May 1 (NR) The JVP says the COVID-19 pandemic has proven that capitalism as an economic system is a complete failure. Speaking at Labour Day celebrations held today, Chief Secretary of the JVP Tilvin Silva while expressing his views on coronavirus mitigation efforts said leaders have emerged with no vision in a capitalist system. He said the President pledged to reduce the price of a canned fish and a kilogram of dhal, adding that a month later prices have risen. more..

May 1 (AD) Three more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in SL, bringing the positive cases tally to 674. Total of 9 coronavirus cases have been confirmed so far today (01). Five of them are close contacts of naval personnel. One patient was identified from Colombo area and the remaining three are from the Navy. Meanwhile, three patients recovered from the virus earlier today, as the recoveries tally escalated to 157. more..

May 2 (CT) The 2020 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and social lockdowns by govts, has caused a massive economic shock to businesses around the world. SL suffered a double whammy, as our economy was just recovering from the Easter Sunday Attacks of April 2019. For businesses everywhere, this pandemic is an extinction-level event. Airline companies are falling like flies; South African Airlines has shut down after 86 years in operation; pte airline companies are failing, more..

May 2 (DM) The May Day liberation song, Sa dukin pelanawun, dan itin nagitiyaw, anthima satanata paminiayaw, was not heard yesterday. Instead all over the world we heard the “mayday, mayday airline distress signals as the international community continued what is seen as a third world war against the unseen monster, the Covid-19 pandemic. By noon yesterday, the number of Covid-19 cases was about 3,308,680 while the death toll was more than 234,000. The good news was that about more..

May 2 (ST) Sri Lanka is a long way from getting back to normalcy and freeing itself from the coronavirus nightmare that burst forth in early March when the first local became infected. Some restrictions imposed to contain the highly infectious coronavirus have been lifted, but life has changed drastically for the worse within weeks — big and small businesses and factories are shuttered, schools remain closed, millions have lost more..

May 2 (CT) Following the countless days of social and economic quarantine, political leaders and citizens across the globe, eager to re-emerge from CoVid-19 fuelled lockdowns. The question is, how? Propose a framework for what is arguably the ever-difficult challenge that any govts has ever faced since the existence of the governance: a responsible lockdown exit strategy. Literally, physical distancing measures such as lockdowns only slow down the spread of the virus. more..

May 2 (Island) The COVID-19 is a public health crisis first and foremost, but the response to that crisis is raising questions with profound implications for how we organize our economy, society, and politics. First, it directly challenges ideas such as global governance and international cooperation. Individual states, whatever form, or ideology they may espouse, are now in the driving seat, tackling the pandemic within their capacities. Coronavirus, in other words, more..

May 2 (DM) SLPP chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris, in an interview with Daily Mirror, responds to calls by the opposition to reconvene Parliament. He argues that there is no constitutional obligation for Prez Rajapaksa to do so. Q: The opposition argues it is unconstitutional for Prez Rajapaksa not to re-summon the dissolved Parliament, since the day of polling has been postponed by the Election Commission. How do you see it? more..

May 2 (CT) During a meeting held on 27 April with the participation of retired heads of defence forces and experts representing the health sector, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrived at a decision to appoint a fresh Presidential Task Force (PTF) with the objective of ensuring the health security of military personnel at military camps. Western Province Governor, Air Marshal Roshan Gunatilleke, is tasked with leading the newlyappointed Presidential Task Force in preparing, more..

May 2 (ST) There are other sides to this corona tragedy that have remained buried in govt statements and political obfuscation. From London to Colombo, debate on this unprecedented human tragedy has been obscured because an essential ingredient of democratic governance has been absent at a critical time. In London, House of Commons has just emerged from its Easter vacation. In SL, there is no parliament, which cynics might add, is not a bad thing after all, more..

May 2 (DM) With the number of COVID-19 patients in SL relatively fast mounting, the behaviour of local media during the coverage of the pandemic has also increasingly drawing flack from the defence and health authorities. This media behaviour is under scrutiny again especially after hundreds of Navy personnel fell victim to coronavirus, as the media coverage of the situation has started to reflect adversely on them as well as on the activities of the armed forces who are engaged in combating more..

May 2 (Island) Gratitude is something rare in this country. The outbreak of Covid-19, and the fear it instilled in everyone, made the public realise the value of the much-maligned public health workers, who, unhesitatingly, took up the challenge of curbing the spread of the disease. When the battle began, they did not even have proper protective gear. They have received high praise for serving in a high-risk environment, and even come to be known as suwa viruvo (health sector heroes), more..

May 2 (Island) This is May Day, when many years ago there were thousands on the streets in Mai Dina Pelapaali, loudly singing Saadukin Pelanavun - Dan ithin negitiyav - the LSSP’s revolutionary theme song, with focus on the hunger of the people. There are no May Day processions or rallies, today (01), with the spread of Covid-19 bringing a ban on all public movements, which are not possible with the physical distancing, emerging as a new social more..

May 2 (Island) In 1979, when Air Lanka was formed, it was the members of the Air Ceylon Pilots’ Guild who lobbied to have a practising airline pilot as its Chairman. In support of the appointment, the members of the Guild, even polished the floors and moved the furniture into the new Air Lanka Chairman’s office in the Mesageries Maritime (Free Trade Zone) building, in Fort. I remember how, after moving the furniture, we sat around the Board Room table pretending to be representatives of more..

May 2 (ST) The Sri Lankan economy is in a perilous state. Most economic activities have ground to a halt in the last month and their reactivation is uncertain. The country’s external finances are in a critical condition and require immediate international assistance. Nearly all economic activities, with the exception of agriculture, have been adversely affected. Manufacturing has had a severe setback owing to the inability to produce as well as export. Services have plummeted owing to more..

May 2 (Island) A group of more than 200 lawyers, including several President’s Counsel, has informed the President of the Bar Association, Kalinga Indatissa PC, that the CID, inquiring into the Easter Sunday attacks, followed the due process in respect of attorney-at-law Hejaaz Hizbullah taken into custody, on April 14, over his alleged involvement with those responsible for the Easter Sunday carnage last year. more..

May 2 (FT) Lanka Hospitals, the internationally accredited multiple-award-winning healthcare provider, made a donation of over Rs. 6.7 million to the National COVID-19 Healthcare and Social Security Fund under the guidance of Lanka Hospitals Group Chairman Dr. Bandula Wijesiriwardena. The contribution was generously made by the Chairman, Board of Directors, Consultants and employees of Lanka Hospitals to collectively support fight against COVID-19. more..

May 2 (Island) Reputed long distance coach Gamini Siyamudali has been using social media to upload videos with instructions for athletes to follow and train from home during the past few days. According to the veteran coach, who is also a project officer of the Ministry of Sports, the videos were uploaded as part of an initiative by the Sports Ministry to keep the sportsmen occupied. With uncertainty surrounding the immediate future of sports in the country, the Sports Ministry has laid out a six point plan more..

May 2 (Island) Nominations, accepted for the 2020 parliamentary elections, would be valid as long as Prez Rajapaksa didn’t issue a fresh proclamation, announcing a new date for the election, authoritative sources said. Election Commission (EC) accepted nominations, from March 12-19, for the parliamentary polls, originally scheduled for April 25. However, at the conclusion of the nominations period, EC Chairman more..

May 2 (DN) Albeit Sri Lanka’s January – March 2020 exports have declining over the corresponding period a year ago on account of the COVID -19 pandemic, Export Development Board (EDB) Chairman Prabhash Subasinghe expressed confidence yesterday , that he and the EDB firmly believed that exports will be rebound in the near future.” “However the EDB is taking every effort to assist the exporters to resume operations, despite this decline, he asserted. more..

May 2 (CT) The Bangladesh Cricket Board revealed that it is yet to completely rule out touring Sri Lanka in July, stating that discussions between the two boards were ongoing about potentially playing the series. The board, however, insisted that govt instruction will be taken into account before making a final commitment with regards to the series. BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury confirmed that both boards were having regular meetings regarding the future of the three-Test series. more..